Champion Life Magazine Summer 2011

SPRING/SUMMER 2011M A G A Z I N E

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Champion Life Magazine

purposes to equip

people to live successful

Christian lives.

ABOUT US

The mark of a good leader is loyal followers; leadership is nothing without a following.

— Proverbs 14:28

8 Momentum by Kevin Gerald

1 4 The Road to 25 Years by Kevin & Sheila Gerald

2 4 The Power of Focus by Kong Hee

I N T H E K N O W

6 Champions Foundation Update

1 1 Real Life Application

2 2 Champions Centre College

I N E V E R Y I S S U E

3 Let’s Talk

4 You to Us

2 0 Champion Finds

2 9 Real Life Champions

3 2 k. Wise

FE

AT

UR

ES

Spring-Summer 2011 | 1

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHERS

Kevin Gerald & Sheila Gerald

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jodi Gerald-Cameron

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER Jen Mueller

ART DIRECTOR Heather Stajgr, Hemisphere Design

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Abbie Buck, Corianne Burton,

Andrea Dashiell, Kim Ludwick, Stephanie Jannsen, Raelynn Poulin,

Leslie Powell, Elizabeth Woody, Judi Shackett, Mark Stewart

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY J. Hobson Photography

CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC DESIGN Venessa Koehn & Mickey Elliott

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kevin Gerald, Jodi Gerald-Cameron,

Samuel Deuth & Todd Griggs

DISTRIBUTION Kim Ludwick

PRODUCER Champion Life Magazine is produced by Kevin Gerald

Communications (KGC). KGC is a department of Champions

Centre in Tacoma | Bellevue, WA, a non-profit organization.

TO SUBSCRIBE

www.championscentre.com

Phone: (toll-free) 888-935-6914

TO SPONSOR If you are a business who would like to partner with

our magazine through distribution or sponsorship please contact

us at: 253-475-6454 x361

QUESTIONS / COMMENTS / IDEAS Let us know. We welcome your

feedback. Please write us at: [email protected]

MAIL

Champion Life Editorial

1819 E. 72nd St.

Tacoma, WA 98404

Produced by Champions Centre Publishing © 2011. All Rights

Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without expressed

written permission is prohibited and a violation of applicable laws.

2011 copyright

Printed by Capitol City Press

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LET’S TALK

In the Pacific Northwest, we had the longest winter that most of us can remember. Well, it appears that summer is

finally here! Now that the sun is back and the long, bright days are ahead of us, it’s not time to forget about God

and the priorities in our life. It’s time to get out into the community and make God famous through our relationships,

actions, and service, because “the best we have done is not the best we will do!”

In our past 25 years in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve done some fun—even some great—things. It’s not about getting

caught up in the past, but instead, using it as a platform to propel us into the future.

We feel like the future is alive with possibilities, and we are calling that into your

life as well. We hope the rest of this year is the best of this year for you!

We have a new friend joining us this issue, and he will also be a guest with

us during our summer TC 2011 Conference, coming this August. Kong Hee

tells us about the “Power of Focus” on page 24. Through good times and

tough times, the power of focus can take you to the next level.

Take a look at some of the journey Champions Centre has taken over

the last 25 years, and where we’re looking to go (page 14). The road

of 25 years has been full of great things, lessons learned, and lives

changed. Something we’ve learned along the way, is that building

and riding momentum is a huge part of success. I wrote

about some of what we’ve learned on page 8.

Also, something that our team has been made

aware of in the past year is the reality of Human

Trafficking around the world, and on American

soil. Our Champions Foundation team lays

out some of the alarming statistics for you,

including what we can all do about it on

page 6. Plus, hear about some Real Life

Champions who have overcome adversity

in their own lives (page 29).

Make the most of the next few months!

Step out of the box, encourage

someone in your life daily, think big,

and imagine the possibilities! There

is greatness in you! It’s time to do

something new and fresh, and

continue to make God famous!

P.S. Throughout the different CLM

Issues this year, we invite you to let us know

how you have been encouraged, inspired and

challenged through this ministry by emailing

[email protected].


Do you have feedback or a story to share? CLM welcomes your comments. We want to hear from you!

Please write us at: championlife@

championscentre.com Mail:

Champion Life Editorial, 1819 E. 72nd

St., Tacoma, WA 98404

YOU to US

Our internal fire of passion

and purpose doesn’t burn

strong within us if it’s not fed

fueled and stoked. Feel the

fire! —@kevingerald

Team player? One of the great

keys to success is to help others

to succeed. When you do that,

you can’t help but succeed

yourself. —@sheilagerald

Feels good to be in the house

of God this morning at @

CCTacoma – I'm needin some

rejuvenation this morning.

—@djphinisey

If you don't already, do

yourself a favor and follow

my Pastor @kevingerald. 18+

years under his leadership has

changed my life!

—@brandonmstewart

Vision is like a magnet.

Everyday let it keep you going

toward your destiny.

—@sheilagerald

Up early watching @

KevinGerald speaking in

@SheilaGerald Women's

Conference. Am I jet lagged or

in need of a t-booster? Great

Job, BTW! —@terrycrist

How you treat small

opportunities will determine if

you get bigger ones.

—@kevingerald

Jesus showed up @CCBellevue

like he does every week. If you

were expecting him to come he

did. He will be here next week

too. —@Jakesutherland

It’s quicker and less painful to

learn from advice then from

experience. —@kevingerald

Congratulations on the 5 year

anniversary! Your magazine is such an

inspiration to me and so many readers.

I want to thank you for always being so

relevant. I love reading every issue and

every article. Great work! —Jake A.

Thanks to your magazine I was

introduced to Pastor Kevin’s podcasts. I

recently started listening to them on my

drive to work. They’ve been so helpful

and uplifting—a positive way to start

my day. I’m looking forward to future

downloads. —Mark K.

Check out Kevin Gerald’s podcast now available through iTunes. Search for “Kevin Gerald” or “Champions Centre” in the iTunes Store. Video streaming and MP3 downloads are also available on kevingerald.tv.

Yesterday was our second service at

Champions Centre and we loved it!

Thank you for making our family's

transition from Michigan a bit

smoother! —Amber M.

I loved the Lion-Like article about how we

view Jesus. Gives different perspective

than how I viewed Him growing up in

Sunday school. After reading this article,

I’m more inspired to go after God’s plan

for my life. —Steven S.

I particularly enjoyed reading The

Marriage Mirror from Ed and Lisa. They

were so great at MESH Conference.

I love how real they are. Not every

relationship is ‘happily ever after’. But

there is hope and we’re working on our

fairy tale ending. —Nat W.

Champions Centre Tweets

Here are some of the recent online tweets

we’ve seen about Champions

Centre in 140 characters or less. Join the

conversation at twitter.com.

Comments from Fall 2010 Issue

4 | Champion Life Magazine

http://www.twitter.com

worth your time.

Relationship Conference

Feb 8-9, 2012

Women’s ConferenceCelebrating 10 YearsMay 17-18, 2012

Summer Conferencefor EVERYONE

Aug 1-3, 2011

Men’s Conference

Oct 6-7, 2011

www.championscentre.com/conferences

See back page for more info on TC 2011

http://www.championscentre.com/conferences

1.An estimated 27 Million people (mostly women and children) are in modern day slavery across the world

2.There are approximately 100K-300K victims in the United States alone

3.Every year, 1 million children (girls and boys) are exploited by the global sex trade

4.The average age of a child who is forced into prostitution is 13 years old

5.Victims are forced to sleep with up to 40 buyers a day

6.Human trafficking generates $32 Billion a year

7.The Northwest (basically my back yard!) is one of the highest trafficking areas in the United States.

My jaw dropped as I sat there that night. How could this still

be happening? I thought this only happened in movies or the

history books... It was almost one year ago now, I was listening

to Christine Caine (one of our guest speakers at Oxygen

Conference). I heard stories of young girls being kidnapped or

sold by family members. She told us that many of the victims

were raped, beaten violently, humiliated and sometimes even

murdered. Unfortunately, she also said that only a few of the

victims were ever rescued. It’s an industry that is more lucrative

than drug trafficking—it is human trafficking—the buying and

selling of men, women, boys and girls.

Feelings of disbelief, anger, helplessness and sadness

overwhelmed me. In the midst of such a great conference my

world was rocked by what I was hearing. I really felt a tug on

my heart to do something... but I just kept thinking to myself,

“what can I do?”

Over the next few months I began to research and what I

found was beyond anything I could ever imagine. Here’s just

a snapshot:


Shared Hope InternationalHuman Trafficking tip hotline:

1-888-373-7888

RED VEWITH

I was astonished! For many nights I went to bed sick to my stomach.

The weight of this issue was so heavy on my heart. My husband was

taking notice, and after a couple months of me feeling overwhelmed

by this issue he said, “do something or stop researching!”

So I decided to do something. I attended an awareness event where

I met Former Congress Woman and President of Shared Hope

International Linda Smith. From there I began to attend other events,

talk to friends and family, and do my part to eradicate this injustice.

This opened the door for Jake and I to become Ambassadors of

Hope for Shared Hope International.

We realize that through awareness many young people can avoid

becoming victims. This crime grows in the dark and awareness

brings light to this issue. Many of the teen girls who are trafficked

from our area are scouted out by local pimps in malls or even

schools. We hope to get the word out so that parents, teens and

young adults know what to look for and what to do about suspicious

circumstances.

Also, we see the importance of Safe Homes, where rescued trafficked

victims can receive the desperately needed treatment after their

traumatic exploitation. They are a place that is safe from the threat

of their trafficker, and a place where these beautiful children, women

and men can be restored.

There are many ways in which we all can combat this issue.

Here are just a few: (It’s where I started)

» Pray

» Become aware

» Tell someone

» Give financially

We have a lot of ground to cover but together we can make an

incredible difference. It’s time to be bold and courageous. It’s time

to be the church!

www.championsfoundation.com


http://www.championsfoundation.com






http://www.kevingerald.tv

http://bold.championscentre.org/

http://www.championscentre.com/calendar.php?action=view&id=23051

Take a WalkDownMemory Lane

Looking back helps us to dream and look to the future. This year we celebrate 25 years of ministry in the Northwest with Pastors Kevin and Sheila Gerald. Not only are we celebrating victories we have achieved along the way, we are also looking ahead to the next 25 years.

THE ROAD TO

25 YEARSQ & A with

Kevin and Sheila


Peoples Church builds a church with wooden dome inspired by the Tacoma Dome.

1981 1982 1986Jesus of Nazareth, a major outdoor tourist attraction in the NW for over 22 years begins during the summer months. Scrooge the Musical begins in the winter at People’s Church.

Kevin and Sheila Gerald move to the Northwest to pastor Meridian Christian Ministries in Puyallup. The congregation began with 70 people.

MCM hosted Jesus of Nazareth Production on site.

Champion Life Magazine had a chance to sit down with Pastors Kevin & Sheila to talk about their first 25 years of ministry in the Pacific Northwest, how they got here, and where they see Cham-pions Centre going.

Champion Life: What brought you to the NW?

Kevin: We started coming to the Northwest

from St. Louis, MO to be part of the Jesus

of Nazareth (J.O.N) Passion Play in the early

1980s, when we were in our twenties. The

Passion Play, which was written by Sheila’s

brother Steve Munsey, became a major out-

door tourist attraction in the summer months

for over 20 years in Puyallup, WA. We would

come in the late spring to be part of rehears-

als and help out through the summer months

with the production.

Sheila: Honestly, I just came along for the ride.

The summer before we would end up moving

here, I jumped in at seven months pregnant

with Jodi. With my stomach in the way, I made

up for the production!

Champion Life: When did you become a pas-tor in the NW?

Kevin: We came to help the church that had

been partnering with the Passion Play in

Puyallup locate and name a pastor. I trav-

eled alone back and forth from St. Louis

to Puyallup for a few months preaching on

weekends for the church and working with

the church board because the church was in

significant debt. After a couple months, we re-

ally felt God calling us to stay in the Northwest

and I was voted in to become the pastor. That

was the summer of 1986.

Sheila: Kevin came out before me to help

the church, preach on Sundays and get the

Amphitheatre summer season on course. I

missed him and so did our daughter Jodi,

then, 3 and 1/2 years old. I was not even

thinking about staying when we came out

to visit. I was there to support Kevin. We are

both preacher's kids, so I was just focused on

my future with Kevin as eventually being the

lead Pastor at His father's church in Missouri.

I was ready to head back home to the easy

road where “Everyone knows my name!" I just

thought that was God's plan for our future. So

anything different than that was beyond what

I ever imagined.

After being here for a couple of months, one

day my husband out of the blue says, "I think

God has called us here." Of course, the first

thing that came out of my mouth was some-

thing like I hadn't got the update from God. I

remember he very calmly asked, "Did you pray

about this?" It was hard to admit anything

in that moment, but I can truly say that God

has you in mind and will let you know the next

move if you listen.

The

Grea

t Northwest Passion P

lay


1991 1992 1998Meridian Christian Ministries grows from 70 to over 1600 in 5 years. Looking to expand the campus, but the county denies progress because of water problems.

Meridian Christian Ministries merges with the People’s Church in a unique “marriage” of two congregations to become Covenant Celebration Church.

Wisdom for Life Leadership School is established and classes begin for people looking for relevant leadership development.

THE ROAD TO

25 YEARSQ & A with

Kevin and Sheila

Champion Life: What were some of the chal-lenges that you faced in the beginning?

Kevin: One of the biggest challenges we faced

was the church was thousands of dollars in

debt with no strategy to recover until we

stepped in. The first year we were here we

took our very first “Liberty Offering”... at that

point it was call “Debt Destruction Offering” or

something like that, and we brought in around

$7000. It was enough to pay for 13 or 14 bills.

So our church of 70 people or so rallied to-

gether, paid off some bills and burned the bills

as a monument! Another challenge was obvi-

ously that we moved our family of three more

than 2500 miles away from any family or

friends. That was a huge personal challenge.

Sheila: It was a challenge for me as a woman

feeling a loss of security financially; plus, as

a young mom with no family support to help

me, and as a young leader, I felt very alone.

Financially we walked by faith. We didn't have

a church supporting us as a planting church.

There wasn’t even money to afford a moving

truck to move our belongings from our home

in the Midwest to the Northwest (or even to

bring our cars)! That really limited me from

having my familiar surroundings and getting

around to do things. Kevin had challenges in

getting the church back on track and up on its

feet. I really challenged myself to not com-

plain and to keep his spirit lifted. Many times

I would make it a big deal doing small things

with all three of us as a family.

Champion Life: What were some of the steps you took to grow the church and get to a place of security?

Kevin: We made a plan, we had some bold

conversations with lenders, and we continued

to manage Jesus of Nazareth production and

saw thousands of people pray a life changing

prayer of salvation at the end of each show.

For the next five years we saw our church

attendance grow from 70 people in to more

than 1500 people in a very unchurched part of

our nation. We encouraged our church fam-

ily to invite and bring people to church with

them. Word of mouth is a powerful tool of

church growth.

Sheila: Although I knew that I married an

amazing man, I just have to say I really saw

Kevin walk in a higher level of confidence and

wisdom when we moved to the Northwest.

Champion Life: After five years of growth, what happened?


1999 2001 2002Project 2000 is launched to raise funds to expand the children’s and youth departments in a major capital campaign. Several million dollars are raised over a couple of years.

Champions Centre addition has grand opening in the fall with beautiful classrooms, play zone, youth auditorium, game zones, offices, bookstore and more.

The Coffee Shop opens daily proudly serving Starbucks Coffee.

First Women’s Conference.

Covenant Celebration Church changes its name to Champions Centre.

First Team Church Conference.

Kevin: We were looking to expand the cam-

pus, but the county continued to deny any

structural expansion because of water prob-

lems. So, we were faced with the decision of

what to do and where to go. I have to admit,

I wondered if it was some kind of a sign that

I was supposed to move back to where my

dad was a pastor, but I was committed to

the Northwest and we really felt like God had

called us to this region. So we were in a bit of

a holding pattern.

Sheila: I remember one night, Kevin was

talking to me and saying that maybe this

was a sign for us to go back home to the

Midwest. Doors seemed to be closing with

the county to further build. He knew what

God had put inside him and the next phase

for growth was put on hold. After about 30

days of prayers other doors began to open. It

was a move—but it was just eight miles down

the road.

Champion Life: So, you feel like you were taking laps around a mountain, and then there was an opportunity that opened up, what was it?

Kevin: In 1991, a few months after we had

given up on expanding our Puyallup campus,

we were contacted by People’s Church in Ta-

coma. They were in some financial difficulty

and since we had a track record of financial

turnaround—and because I believe we had

positioned ourselves in a way that always

honored Pastor Owen Shackett and his min-

istry at People’s Church—they approached

me about merging the churches together

and making Sheila and I the senior pastors.

Champion Life: Was it an easy decision?

Kevin: I don’t know that it was easy. But,

after a lot of prayer and counsel we took

on the challenge of merging two different

churches and began the process of bringing

another impossible financial situation to a

worth your time.


Feb 9-10

Women’s Conference

May 19-20


Aug 1-3

Men’s Conference

Oct 6-7


Pastor Owen & Betty Shackett,

Founders of Peoples Church


2005 2006 2007Champions Centre records their first worship CD, Because of You.

Champion Life Magazine is launched.

First ever— Men’s Conference is launched.

Champions Foundation begins.

A second location is added at an elementary school in Bellevue, WA and plans begin to look for a permanent location.

THE ROAD TO

25 YEARSQ & A with

Kevin and Sheila

strategic plan of success and faith. It took a lot

of faith in that transition.

Sheila: I was happy that we weren’t moving

out of state, I had just begun to feel more con-

nected in this area—so when we felt like we

were in a holding pattern and wondering what

was next I didn’t want to pick up and move far

away. At the same time, I knew the pressure

and stress that taking a church out of financial

debt brought on Kevin and knew it was going

to be a challenge. The first day we were senior

pastors we had to let more than 15 staff go

between both of our churches!

Champion Life: Church merges hadn’t really been talked about, were there things in the transition that stood out?

Kevin: It was tough, right after we merged

we had a natural influx of the two churches

coming together as well as new people walk-

ing through the doors for the first time, but

we also had plenty of people walking out the

door because the church they had known was

changing—and a lot of people are resistant to

change. We had a lot of transition going on in

our teams, in our budgets, in our membership.

I had to fly to Wisconsin to meet with a board

of lenders and boldly negotiate a miracle—we

got close to $1 million dollars written off of

the People’s Church debt and laid out our

plan of action. There were difficult times, but

our team worked hard and God always came

through. God always provided.

Champion Life: How did your faith keep you steady through those first few years of transi-tion?

Sheila: I think us both being PK’s (preacher’s

kids) helped out a lot because we knew God

would provide. We believed that He wouldn’t

call us to something and then let us down.

There were plenty of days and nights when

I could see the pressures of church weigh-

ing Kevin down, but I did my best to keep

our home life fun and light. I tried to keep a

positive attitude with Jodi, because it was

important to us that she grew up loving the

house of God and not despising it. I “faithed it

‘til I made it” plenty of days.

Champion Life: What are some things that stand out in the past few years of Champions Centre?

Champion Life

Magazine is now

available online

championscentre.com

M A G A Z I N E

F A L L 2 0 1 0

W I N T E R 2 0 0 6 | I S S U E 1

issue_01_v2.indd 1

11/3/2005 11:31:46 AM

W I N T E R 2 0 0 7

worth your time.


Feb 9-10


May 19-20


Aug 1-3

Men’s Conference

Oct 6-7


The second CD recording, Nothing Compares, is produced.

Building begins in Bellevue of the new Champions Centre location.

Champions Forever Home opens in Johannesburg, South Africa for orphans of the AIDS epidemic.


2008 2009 2011First Relationship Conference.

Celebrate Recovery begins meeting on Tuesday nights in Champs Auditorium.

148th Coffee Shop is opened in Bellevue attracting local businesses and Bellevue College students.

The first ever Easter 3D is filmed marking the largest attended weekend in Champions Centre history.

WFL becomes Champions Centre College.

Celebrating 25 years of ministry, the church looks to the future with great expectations.

Kevin: Wow, the last five years we’ve started

a new campus in Bellevue, we started a new

relationship conference called MESH and we

had our first men’s conference just a couple

years ago. In 2007, we launched Champi-

ons Foundation so that we could continue

to reach our community under an umbrella

that the corporate world could back and get

behind instead of relying solely on the church.

(Sheila: And, we opened our first Champions

Forever Home in Johannesburg, South Africa

for children affected by the AIDS epidemic).

Just this year, we opened 148th Ave Coffee

Shop at our Bellevue Campus during the week

to reach out to the college students and busi-

ness community in that area.

Sheila: Church life is always busy around

Champions Centre—but we wouldn’t have it

any other way!

Champion Life: You’ve been in ministry in

the Northwest for 25 years now, what does that mean to you?

Kevin: We feel like there has been a good

foundation laid, and now we can launch into

even bigger and greater things because of the

groundwork that is there. Most pastors only

stay at a church for three years on average,

so we feel blessed and also proud that we’ve

pushed through tough times and capitalized

on good times and made it this far. But we’re

not done!

Champion Life: What is ahead?

Kevin: It would be easy to just sort of coast

through from here and live on past accom-

plishments, but we’re committed to continue

to take risks, push our faith to the limits and

believe God will do big things! It’s a privilege

to be pastoring in such a great part of the

country. We feel like the best is yet to come.

Honestly. There are things we are doing right

now that are causing us to rediscover the raw

faith that we had when we began. We know

that God has to show up to make it success-

ful. We’ll continue to step out—We see great

things ahead!

worth your time.


Feb 9-10


May 19-20


Aug 1-3

Men’s Conference

Oct 6-7


Bellevue building is dedicated, and Champions Centre is now officially one church with two locations.


Waiting onCoffee Image

CHAMPION FINDS

Walking The Path

(2 CDs; DVD)

Everyone is on a path

going somewhere, but

not everyone is on

the path God has for

them. In this message,

you will learn how to

get on, and stay on the

path God intended us

to be on.

Forces That Form

Your Future

(Book; 3 CDs)

The will of God is not

"whatever happens"

and "whatever hap-

pens" is not neces-

sarily the will of God.

There are nine forces

at work in your life

that are forming your

future. In this powerful

series, Kevin Gerald

shows how you can

choose to use these

forces to your ad-

vantage and create

opportunities of a

lifetime.

Honor Revolution

(2 CDs; DVD)

God called His people

to lead a revolution of

honor—beginning with,

and flowing from the

house of God. You too,

can be a carrier and

communicator of honor:

Honor up, honor down

and honor all around!

First Love

(4 CDs; DVD)

Have you lost your

first love? Love has a

tendency to grow cold.

This can happen in any

relationship, it can hap-

pen in your relationship

with God, it happens

with church, or in your

marriage. Falling in

love is the easy part,

staying in love is the

challenge! Whatever

your situation is, return

to your first love.


Waiting onCoffee Image

253.475.6454 ext. 361888.935.6914kevingerald.tv

Resource yourself at kevingerald.tvGo online to find a wealth of resources, including free wisdom tips from Kevin Gerald and mp3s of messages.

The Proving Ground

(Book; 4 CDs)

God will require

each of us to prove

our potential at one

level before being

promoted to the next.

In this book (and audio

series) from Kevin Ger-

ald, discover the nine

tests that prove your

personal potential.

Favor Forever

(3 CDs; DVD)

You can’t grasp the

extent of God’s favor

or understand its

magnitude. Favor is

full of grace, never

ending, and lasts

forever. Learn how to

unleash the favor of

God in your life.

The Big Life

(4 CDs; DVD)

This series is all

about living BIG!

We serve a big God,

who wants to do big

things, has big plans

for His Kingdom, and

calls us to think big

along with Him.

Follow

(1 CD; DVD)

Jesus was consistently

calling people to

leave the bleachers

of observation. He

wasn’t trying to win

a popularity contest

and He wasn’t worried

about being politically

correct. Jesus is

calling you to step out

and follow Him.




Somewhere along the line, though,

there’s a change. Somewhere along the

day, some people stay at being good

and others propel into greatness. What’s

the difference in the life of someone

we admire and look to? What makes

them great? Is it something like luck

or natural born talent? Is it years and

years of studying and multiple degrees?

Actually, it’s not that complicated. It’s

really quite simple.

It all comes down to the daily choices

we make. You see, we choose to stay

up late and then hit the snooze button

5 times. We choose to watch a TV show

rather than workout. We choose to pay

attention to the gossip and negativity at

work. Those types of things will not bring

greatness in our lives. There are many

small windows of opportunities that

present themselves throughout the day

that can allow us to become great. Are

we taking advantage of them?

Everyday 6.8 billion people wake up and for

a split second, everyone is on a level playing

field. You have people in Manhattan like Donald

Trump who takes his elevator from his condo

up to his office, to the farmer in Nebraska

who greets the sun as it rises from his fields,

to a sports star like Tom Brady who wakes up

on a Monday battered and bruised from the

previous days’ game. Then there’s the single

mom who wakes her kids to get them ready

for school and the roofer in Texas battling the

110-degree heat to the man standing at the

end of a freeway exit with a cardboard sign.

From billionaires like Bill Gates to sports stars

like Kobe Bryant to everyday Joe’s, the moment

we wake up, we all have the same opportunity.

SIMPLY GREAT

MASTERING THE FUNDAMENTALS

B Y S A M U E L D E U T H – D I R E C T O R O F C H A M P I O N S C E N T R E C O L L E G EIn a nutshell, what separates those who

are great from those who are good?

Those who are great learn to do the

simple things really well. They master

the small things in order to conquer

the big things. Believe it or not, going

to the next level in your life, becoming

great, is rarely found in the big events.

The big events come few and far

between. It’s what you do in between

those events that determine if you will

be ready for them. Greatness is found

in the everyday small things that

happen. Most of these things we don’t

even notice because we are either: too

busy, don’t care, or are on autopilot

and miss them. It’s in the small things,

the everyday occurrences, and the

choices we make on a daily basis that

will propel us into a greater future.

Great people master the fundamentals

1. LOVE GOD AND LOVE PEOPLE

“‘Love the Lord your God with all

your heart and with all your soul and

with all your mind.' This is the first

and greatest commandment. And the

second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as

yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets

hang on these two commandments."

– Matthew 22:37-40


Somewhere along the line, though,

there’s a change. Somewhere along the

day, some people stay at being good

and others propel into greatness. What’s

the difference in the life of someone

we admire and look to? What makes

them great? Is it something like luck

or natural born talent? Is it years and

years of studying and multiple degrees?

Actually, it’s not that complicated. It’s

really quite simple.

It all comes down to the daily choices

we make. You see, we choose to stay

up late and then hit the snooze button

5 times. We choose to watch a TV show

rather than workout. We choose to pay

attention to the gossip and negativity at

work. Those types of things will not bring

greatness in our lives. There are many

small windows of opportunities that

present themselves throughout the day

that can allow us to become great. Are

we taking advantage of them?

MASTERING THE FUNDAMENTALS

B Y S A M U E L D E U T H – D I R E C T O R O F C H A M P I O N S C E N T R E C O L L E G EIn a nutshell, what separates those who

are great from those who are good?

Those who are great learn to do the

simple things really well. They master

the small things in order to conquer

the big things. Believe it or not, going

to the next level in your life, becoming

great, is rarely found in the big events.

The big events come few and far

between. It’s what you do in between

those events that determine if you will

be ready for them. Greatness is found

in the everyday small things that

happen. Most of these things we don’t

even notice because we are either: too

busy, don’t care, or are on autopilot

and miss them. It’s in the small things,

the everyday occurrences, and the

choices we make on a daily basis that

will propel us into a greater future.

Great people master the fundamentals

1. LOVE GOD AND LOVE PEOPLE

“‘Love the Lord your God with all

your heart and with all your soul and

with all your mind.' This is the first

and greatest commandment. And the

second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as

yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets

hang on these two commandments."

– Matthew 22:37-40

I know this two-part fundamental can

seem like the obvious no-brainer, but

that’s exactly why it’s a fundamental,

and why its so key that first, we never

move away from keeping a passionate

hot-heart for God. Great leaders,

lead from the strength of a vibrant

relationship with God. How is your

relationship with Him?

For most of us the reason why we

got into leadership was because

we had a certain desire to impact

people for the positive. Go back to

that, keep that fresh in your heart, its

all about people!

2. ASK THE CLARITY QUESTION

Truly effective people are that way

because they have taken the time

to be very clear with themselves

and those who are around them.

The fundamental here is taking the

time to get down to the core of what

you really want so that you can take

steps forward.

Here’s a great practice. When you get

the goal or vision written down that

you want to go toward, ask yourself

this question “How can I make this

more specific?” Then once you’ve

added clarity, ask yourself the same

question until you have laser clarity!

3. PREPARE WEEKLY & DAILY

Many people have the habit of getting

up in the morning and turning on the

autopilot switch and going throughout

the day. The alarm goes off in the

morning and their day begins with little

to no thought about it, and by the end

of the day it was all a blur and little got

accomplished. A simple way to avoid

getting on autopilot and losing out on

opportunities throughout the day is to

spend five minutes the night before to

plan the day, and a few minutes before

each week begins. Taking five minutes

a day for intentional planning is a very

small but practical step in getting to

the next level in your life.

There are others, but by the above

examples you see that I’m not talking

about rocket-science, we’re talking

about the fundamentals.

I encourage you to approach this

next season of life with a renewed

dedication to brush-up and master

the fundamentals, it’s in this effort

that you will see greatness emerge in

your life.

“Let us not become weary in doing

good, for at the proper time we will

reap a harvest if we do not give up.” –

Galatians 6:9

HAVE A GREAT ONE!

WWW.CHAMPIONSCENTRECOLLEGE.COM

SAMUEL DEUTH,

Director Of

Champions Centre

College


http://www.championscentrecollege.com

FocusA double-minded person

constantly swings between

conflicting choices in his

life, achieving nothing but

confusion and disarray.

Discover the power of focus

and let God’s creative glory

bring energy and power to

everything you do.

By Rev. Kong Hee

of

ThePower

As a young boy, I loved scouting. I was enthralled

with my magnifying glass. Often I would focus sun-

light through my magnifying glass onto a match-

stick, or a bunch of leaves, to see how long it would

take to start a small fire. My mother would get very

upset with me for playing with fire; but I did learn

something as a little boy: focused light has tremen-

dous power! On the other hand, diffused light, or

scattered light, has very little power. Noted pastor-

philosopher, Rev. Dr. A.R. Bernard, defines focus as

“the center-point of attention.”


In Luke 11:34 (KJV), Jesus teaches, “The light of the

body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single,

thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine

eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” By talk-

ing about the need for singleness of vision, Jesus was

advocating the power of focus. When you are sin-

gle-minded, you are focused. When you are double-

minded, you are constantly vacillating between two

opinions. Double-mindedness will make you a very

unstable person (James 1:7-8). But through mental

and intellectual focus, the glory of creativity will be

released inside of you.

Sunlight Versus Laser Light

Take the sun for instance. The sun is a

powerful source of energy. Every hour,

the sun washes the earth with billions of

kilowatts of energy. The temperature of

the outer, visible part of the sun is nearly

5,500 degrees Celsius. With some sun-

block lotion, you can easily sunbathe for

one to two hours without any problem.

On the other hand, a laser is a relatively weaker source

of energy. A laser focuses a few watts of energy to

form a coherent stream of light. Yet, with laser en-

ergy, you can drill a hole into a diamond, cut through

steel beams, or wipe out cancer in a human body. In

fact, you can focus that little laser energy into tem-

peratures that exceed 5,500 degrees Celsius—hotter

than the surface of the sun! Focused light has tre-

mendous power!

As such, what Jesus teaches about focus is very im-

portant to us all, "You are the light of the world. A city

that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Let your light so

shine before men, that they may see your good works

and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:14,16).

Focus can bring energy and power to whatever you

do. Churches with focus will make impact in their cit-

ies. The future of your business or career depends on

the focus you put into it. Remember the old adage:

If you are a Jack of all trades, you become a master

of none!

The Great Cola War

One of the greatest illustrations of the

power of focus is the "Great Cola War"

between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola. In

the mid-1980s, the market shares of Pep-

si Cola and Coca Cola were about even.

Pepsi then started buying Frito-Lay—the maker of

"Lay's Potato Chips"— the world's largest snack

food company. Pepsi then bought Pizza Hut, Taco

Bell, and KFC, which were the world’s largest piz-

za, Mexican and chicken fast food chains respec-

tively. In addition to that, Pepsi also owns Hot n'

Now, Chevys, Californian Pizza Kitchen, DÌAngelo

Sandwich Shop, and East Side Mario’s. Altogether

Pepsi owns 24,000 restaurants, making it the larg-

est restaurant owner in the world. In comparison,

McDonald’s has only 14,000 restaurants.

In the drink’s department, Pepsi owns Pepsi Cola,

Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Pepsi XL, Mountain Dew, 7-Up,

Slice, All Sport, and even Lipton Tea. And just for

kicks, Pepsi also sells Russian vodka in the US.

Focus


When you look at the parent company PepsiCo, it is

very impressive. It has a much bigger spread than Co-

ca-Cola. After all, Coca-Cola is only a beverage com-

pany, period. But while PepsiCo is worth US$44 billion,

Coca-Cola is worth twice as much at US$93 billion. Per

dollar of sales, Coca-Cola is worth almost four times as

much as PepsiCo!

Pepsi's philosophy is to be all over the world as

quickly as possible. Coca-Cola has a simpler, more

focused mission: To be number one in America. First,

America, and only then, the whole world. That is the

power of focus.

Let us look at another comparison. While Pepsi owns

24,000 restaurants, McDonald's only owns 14,000 res-

taurants. But Pepsi's restaurants make only US$400

million in annual profit, whereas McDonald’s restau-

rants make US$1.1 billion in annual profit. The 24,000

restaurants that Pepsi owns have an estimated com-

bined value of US$10 billion. In comparison, the 14,000

restaurants that McDonald’s owns are worth US$31 bil-

lion. The smaller, more focused company is worth three

times as much as the larger, less focused company.

Success Is Not Hocus Pocus

Success is all about focus. Your vision

is what you focus on; vision is what you

see. Focus a camera on a flower and take

a picture. The photograph will not show

a tree, it will show a flower. Your vision

must be a picture of what you choose to

focus on. You will not experience success

in life if you focus on anything other than

the source of Life—Jesus Christ. No won-

der the great apostle Paul says,

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended;

but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are

behind and reaching forward to those things which are

ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the up-

ward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13-14)

Paul took all the energy he could muster to focus on

the purpose God had put in front of him.

When you read about our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gos-

pels, you will find that He was the most focused person in

the world. He was always focusing on His Father’s work.

Even at a tender age of 12, Jesus was already about His

"Father's business" (Luke 2:49). Jesus never did or said

anything that wasn't first initiated by His Father.

In Luke 9:51-53, we read that Jesus was so focused

on what He needed to do—going to Jerusalem, going

to Calvary, going to the cross—that He could not be

distracted. Three times in that passage, the Scripture

describes that Jesus was so resolute, the intensity of

His focus was evident all over "His face" and posture.

He was 100 percent single-minded to be the Savior of

the world.

Jesus ran His entire life according to God's purpose

for Him. He fully concentrated on His life assignment.

While He healed all who came to Him, He didn't heal

every sick person wherever He went. While He deliv-

ered the oppressed who came to Him, He didn't cast

out every demon in every town.

When He was at the pool of Bethesda, there was a

great multitude of sick, blind, lame and paralyzed. Je-

sus only healed one man who had an infirmity for 38

years. Only one! Why didn't He heal the rest of the sick

at the pool? It was not His heavenly Father’s assign-

ment for Him that day.


Countless times when Jesus went up to the Jerusalem

temple to pray, He would have passed by a lame man

by the Gate Beautiful. But not once did He stop to heal

him. Again, it was not God's assignment for Him. It was

a task meant later on for Peter and John after the Day

of Pentecost. As far as Jesus was concerned, He had to

stay completely focused on His purpose.

Establishing Your Purpose

The Hebrew word for purpose is

chephets, which means to "pleasure" or

"delight." That which gives pleasure or

delight to God is achieved on-purpose.

That which focuses on what "God wants"

and not what "we want" establishes His

purpose on which we must focus, in or-

der to know success in life.

To establish His purpose as your focus, you must do

three things:

1. Build on your strength. Ask yourself: "What are my

natural talents, gifts and abilities?"

All Olympic champions have one thing in common—

they spend most of their time focusing their strength

on what they are naturally good at. They are athletic

champions because they are naturally good at running.

They are swimming champions because they are natu-

rally good at swimming. They are gymnastic champi-

ons because they are naturally good at gymnastics.

2. Build on your distinctive. Ask yourself: "What is my

uniqueness?"

We can all probably do many things but if we are hon-

est to ourselves, there are only a few things we do really

well. So what are the few things that you are brilliant at?

What do most people find difficult to do that you find

easy, and get fantastic results when you do it? That is

your God-given talent; your special gift from God.

When you do things that you have a natural talent for

and you are gifted in, you will stay excited, passionate

and energetic. Even if it is hard work, you will enjoy it

because it will be like "play" to you. All successful peo-

ple discover their strength and distinctive, and spend

their entire life practicing those skills, honing them and

becoming excellent.

Jim Carrey is a mega movie star who now commands

US$20 million per movie (US$25 million for Bruce Al-

mighty). But there was a time when Carrey was faced

with many challenges along the road to stardom. As

a young man, he suffered from very low self-esteem.

At one point, Carrey was so depressed that he did

nothing for two whole years. He felt he didn't have the

good looks to be a successful actor. But Carrey real-

ized that he was really unique in doing one thing: he

could twist and contort his face and body into many

funny positions. It is almost like he was born with a

rubber face. So Carrey kept doing impersonations and

performed at small clubs in the comedy circuit. Al-

though he struggled with low self-esteem, Carrey kept

on working hard, practicing and honing his seemingly

bizarre comedy skill.

One day, he was offered a role in a movie called Ace

Ventura—Pet Detective. It had a reasonably good run

at the box office. Shortly after that movie, Jim Carrey

started visualizing himself being even more success-

ful. He wrote himself a check for US$10 million for "ex-

cellent service rendered." And because there was no

money in his bank to cash it, he postdated it. He would

then keep that check neatly in his pocket.

Whenever Carrey felt discouraged, he would sit on a

quiet LA hillside and imagine himself as a movie star.

He would take out the check from his pocket and con-

fess positively to himself—that someday, he would be

a real movie star. Then he would put the check neatly

back into his pocket.

A few years later, Jim Carrey was asked to be the lead

actor of a movie called Mask. For his role, he was paid

more than US$10 million. And the day the money was

banked into his account was almost the exact date as

the one written on the check he kept in his pocket! To-

day, Jim Carry is not just a comedian; he is recognized

as a serious actor who can act in practically any role.


3. Build on your revelation. Ask yourself: "What has

God shown me about my life assignment?"

What are you supposed to do for the Lord in this life?

Once God shows it to you, you must pray for the grace

of God to stay faithful to it.

In Acts 6:4, the apostles in the Early Church made

a decision not to do any more administrative work,

home visitation, counseling, marrying, or burying. In-

stead they were to stay focused on the Word of God,

and to get the mind of the Lord on all future directions

for the Church. In order to do these two things, they

had to free themselves up from other duties.

It is the same with me. Until our congregation hit 3,000

members, I was still doing most of the administrative

work in City Harvest Church. I was the chief editor,

graphic designer, home visitation leader, counselor,

deliverance minister, marriage officiator, janitor, and

building maintainer. But the moment the church grew

to over 3,000 members, I needed to stop. I had to stay

fully focused on my main purpose in the church, which

is to be (1) the Chief Leader, and (2) the Chief Feeder.

If I get distracted from God's assignment for me, then

City Harvest Church would not be a healthy church.

We would stop growing and stop having a positive im-

pact in the city. I need to always build on the revelation

God has given to me, which is:

To build a church with a strong spiritual atmosphere

of faith and purity, where every member is released

into ministry, discipled in the Great Commandment, to

obey the Great Commission.

Every single week, you must invest most of your time

doing what you do best, and let others do what they

do best. When you focus most of your time and energy

building on your strength, distinctive and revelation,

you will become successful in your God-given purpose.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are help-

ful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.

(1 Cor. 10:23)

This is the freedom a believer has. God has given us

the power of choice. But we must exercise that privi-

lege very carefully. The Bible says that not every "good

thing" we do will build up the vision God has entrust-

ed to our care. Life is too short to waste time running

around making the wrong choices. We don't have all

the time in the world to get distracted doing the per-

missive will and miss out on doing God's perfect will

for our lives.

KONG HEE is an anointed church

builder, an effective humanitarian,

a prolific conference speaker and

a successful businessman. He is

lead pastor of City Harvest Church

in Singapore. In 1989, City Harvest

Church was founded with 20 young

people. Today it averages 28,134 in

weekly attendance, and has a total

membership of 32,731. 28 | Champion Life Magazine

Real LifeChampions

REAL LIFE CHAMPIONS

Steven & Autumn WrightSteven grew up as a Pastor’s Kid in

a loving Christian environment, and

I was raised in a broken home with

divorce, abuse, drugs and alcohol

surrounding me. I got married at

a young age to what I thought was

an escape that ended in again an

abusive relationship. As a single

mother of one, I can only say it was

a blessing that us as two complete

opposites found each other and

fell in love. In the spring of 2002

Steven and I had our second son

Gaven. He was a happy baby who

loved life and most of all loved to

eat anything and everything. We

had it all… a wonderful relationship,

careers and a happy family.

The day that dramatically changed

our lives was a beautiful sunny day. I

can remember it as clear as if I were

watching a movie. Steven was at work

and our oldest son Evan was watching

Elmo and I was feeding our happy baby

breakfast when I looked at him and

noticed something very different. It was

as though he wasn’t there anymore, like

he checked out. As with any mother I

felt something inside of me say that

he wasn’t alright. After that day Gaven

stopped talking, eating and wasn’t

happy anymore. We frantically asked

everyone for advice and set up as many

Dr. appointments as possible. We would

go to the grocery store and Gaven would

scream… strangers would come up to us

and tell us that we were horrible parents.

It felt as though we were in a nightmare

and we would never wake up. We even

questioned if God was punishing us for

something in our past.

After almost a whole year of sleepless

nights, force feeding Ensure and endless

temper tantrums, Gaven received his

official diagnoses… it was AUTISM. We

were dumbfounded. What we knew of

Autism was from the movie Rain Man ---

not the child we had. Gaven didn’t repeat

words and count cards, he screamed,

didn’t talk, and most of the time we were

trying to calm him down while getting

bitten, scratched, kicked and punched.

From that point, our marriage felt

nonexistent, all of our time was given to

this little boy. Evan our oldest son was

shipped off to his grandparents most of

the time, I gave up my career to take care

of Gaven and Steven was in denial about

his flesh and blood having flaws.

I cried all the time and fell into a deep

depression. I was now on medication and

felt numb all the time. Where was our

God? Why wasn’t he helping us? Were

we not good enough?

What could we have possibly done to

deserve this?

Where was our God? Why wasn't he helping us? Were we not good enough? What

could we have

possibly done to deserve this?


Somehow, we still pushed forward. We

were bound and determined to never give

up, like it seemed God did on us. Years

had passed and Gaven had daily therapy

at the local hospital and was integrated

at age 3 into an Autism preschool. It was

very hard work, but again we didn’t give

up. After a few months, he started saying

words. A few months more, he didn’t have

as many episodes. A year later, he was

eating solid foods and after that he was

soaring immensely. We couldn’t believe it.

We were told by all the professionals that

Gaven wasn’t going to be able to adapt

to the real world, that he wasn’t going to

be able to do normal child activities and

here he was shining brighter than the sun.

Steven said it was the work of our living

God and I just laughed. Steven begged for

us to attend church and I continued to

laugh even more. We had gone to a few

services in the past, mainly to please

Stevens’s parents in hopes that they

would babysit again. But this time, Steven

was persistent and I finally caved in to go.

We went a few times and I still felt the

same. Nothing changed in me and I didn’t

see the point of church. One morning we

woke up late and Steven mentioned this

church down the street that had an 11:30

service, I thought here we go again... but

this time it was different.

From the moment we got out of our cars,

we could both feel it. Everyone seemed

to be so nice, especially a gentleman by

the name of Pastor Larry in the Children’s

Department. He was the only one we told

that Gaven had Autism. He assured us

that our both of our boys would be fine

and to enjoy the service. The worship

was amazing and we were completely

blown away by Pastor Kevin’s message.

From that day forward we knew that

Champions Centre was our home. Here,

our family has given their lives to Christ;

been baptized and have been totally

transformed by this life giving church.

I am no longer depressed and on

medication, our marriage is stronger than

ever and our son Gaven has miraculously

transformed. He now is on pace with his

peers and both of our boys have their

hearts on fire for God.

After being on our walk together for a

few years now, we can reflect back on our

lives and have come to realize that God

had never left us; he was always there

right beside us. We just didn’t take the

time to look up. The whole time I was

blaming him, he had his arms wrapped

around us. Sometimes we have to

remember that we might not be able to

see the end of the road, but it’s not our

job to do so.

We would like to say thank you

to all the Champions Centre staff

and volunteers. You are changing

lives and making a difference in the

Northwest.

REAL LIFE CHAMPIONS

I am no longer depressed and on medication, our marriage is stronger than ever...


I'm always amazed at how God

can take things that are broken

and make something incredible

for his purpose. We are a family

made up of broken pieces that God

supernaturally wove into a whole.

I grew up in a strict house with a father

I couldn’t relate to due to alcohol that

nearly destroyed our family. Only my

mother’s love and “never give up”

attitude held us together. I found

acceptance and success in sports and

music, both of which I excelled at. In

1977, I was the top ranked pole-vaulter

in Washington State, and by 1980 at

WSU, I was on track for the Olympic

trials that year. But it all ended when I

suffered a career ending injury during a

track meet. Everything I had dreamed of

was destroyed in seconds. I was without

direction in life and felt hopeless.

After college I came home, began

working as a building designer and

product development engineer and

have remained in that field to this day. In

1982, I started attending Peoples Church.

In 1985, I met Sandy and by 1986 we

were married and have been for nearly

25 years. She also came from a broken

family and was eventually adopted by her

stepfather into a stable loving home. She

has worked as a Payroll Specialist for

most of her career.

For the next several years we stayed

very active in the church until it split in

the early 90's. Leaving with the Senior

Pastor at the time, we were active in

helping to start a new church and served

several years on the church board as

an overseer. It was during this time that

we decided to try adopting a child. The

Lord gave us our miracle in our first son,

Joel, and a few years later, Jonathan.

Both boys came from broken homes

that had alcohol and drug abuse.

Though we loved our family at the

other church, we began to feel the Lord

speaking to us about change. After more

than a year of prayer, we finally visited

Champions Centre in 2006 and haven't

left. It was like coming home after a long

voyage. Pastor’s messages were fresh,

relevant and for us, life changing. Though

we were already born again, it was as if

life was starting new again. We began to

speak more positively, and live life with a

new purpose. Growth is an expected and

exciting part of our lives now.

We have since developed a true passion

for small groups being both CLG hosts

and coaches and have been blessed by

our involvement in Kingdom Builders,

the Worship team, kids ministries and

the Sound Team. Giving financially

into the ministry is not only easy for us

now, but it is a necessary part of our

lives that fuels our faith. Though we

still have many challenges in life, we

are able to face them with confidence

knowing that the God who saved us and

made a broken family into one will see

us through and make us stronger. I am

reminded daily of one of my favorite

scriptures:

“For I know the thoughts that I think

toward you, says the Lord, thoughts

of peace and not of evil, to give you

a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

(NKJV)

Ed & Sandy Ellis

Though we still have many challenges in life,

we are able to face them with confidence...


Have you ever felt like you were stuck in a rut? Maybe you’ve felt like

you are failing to move forward in God’s plans for your life? We get

comfortable being spectators and just sitting in the bleachers of life

watching things happen from afar. It may not be intentional, but rather

the result of indecision. Just one decision can set off a chain reaction

that dramatically effects and enriches our lives.

When it comes to relationship with God, everyone spends some time in

the bleachers. The bleachers are a place of comfort and complacency.

There is no push, no advancement and no use of your talent. However,

you can’t fulfill your destiny staying in those seats. A well-known story

of the Bible is the story of Zacchaeus who in one day went from being

just a spectator watching Jesus from the top of a tree to being a

guy who got back in the game. Perhaps many of you can relate to

Zacchaeus who preferred to watch things from afar. Something tells

me that it was not only his shortness that caused him to choose the

tree as an observation deck, but also the safe distance it put between

him and Jesus. Maybe Zacchaeus was more comfortable at a distance,

but that didn’t mean Jesus would leave him there. When Zacchaeus

was spotted by Jesus, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come

down immediately.” Jesus called him out of his very safe and distant

bleacher seat into an up-close, personal, and interactive relationship

with him and his people.

There comes a time when everyone in the bleachers will be called

back into the game just like Zacchaeus. Some of you may already

be believers but you have not been an active part of serving and

giving to your church. The following are four steps to a Pathway of

Purpose that can help advance you forward and get you back in the

game of life:

1. Make Contact and make church attendance a regular part of your life.

2. Get Connected and build some God assigned relationships.

3. Be Committed by getting planted in the House of God.

4. Live in Community by finding a place on a team and being a part of

the life-giving community at Champions Centre or your local church.

k.WISEGet In The Game

"Just one decision can

set off a chain reaction that dramatically effects and

enriches our lives."


swim with the current;

In matters of

in matters of

stand like a rock.

-Thomas Jefferson

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smart phone & scan

http://www.championscentre.com/teamchurch

Documents

Champion Life Magazine Summer 2011