Theological Partnership - Jon & Jayne Ortiz

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5a

Friends, we reflect on how the goodness and grace of God has established and rooted our fellowship at the Village in both the knowledge and application of the Gospel. Like Paul in Philippians, we confess “not that we are already perfect” (3:12), but “we press on” in the life of the Gospel. Therefore, we are blessed to reflect on a few examples of how the Gospel has played out in our lives. Looking at how Paul commends the Thessalonian church in the passage above, we may consider how the Gospel has been demonstrated in our own experience together. We are really excited to see how our present calling to these things will find their expression in times ahead at The Village Church. Here are some ways we have seen the Gospel expressed within our own fellowship:

Work of Faith: We rejoice over the consistent acknowledgment of the Sovereignty of our Triune God in all things. A dear brother, Mike Norse, has encouraged many because through his long walk with the Lord, complete with past and present trials, he constantly sounds the reminder that our God is Sovereign��"He is in control of all, and because of His immeasurable love and grace, we can trust Him even when we don’t know what our circumstances hold. In all that we do, we are reminded that it is God who works in us “both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13)

Labor of Love: Theological Partnership is a labor of love. From the teaching at Apprentice, Cross Training, Financial Peace, Community Groups, Advances and Retreats, Children’s and Youth Ministries, the Scripture Reading Team and countless informal meetings we have seen pastors/elders, deacons, teachers, leaders, and members of the Village labor to teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus��"“gospeling one another”. Their love for us and their commitment to our growth in the knowledge of our Lord and all that He has accomplished for us has been an amazing blessing. Our leadership is deep and wide…and in both regards continues to increase. We are so excited to see this because we know that where God is working so well among us, His Gospel will not be contained. He continues to add leadership, with many new members eagerly taking on responsibilities within the body. When Pastor Matt shared that he would love to see our church become a place where every man would aspire to be “elder qualified”, we were so encouraged because this signifies a commitment to growing strong men of character, understanding, and service. We have seen great progress in this direction and are thrilled with where the Lord is leading. The fruit will show in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our community.

Steadfastness of hope: The Gospel is our hope…and every Sunday we are reminded that not only are we about to get some “Good News” but that “Church happens more between Sundays than on Sundays”��"-which means we get to have “Good News” every day of the week! The Gospel is something we abide in; it doesn’t come and go, but rather it is an ever-present reality. We live in His kingdom and His rule is meant to be continuously working upon our lives. When Jesus rescued us years back from a pit of despair and financial devastation, He intervened, He pursued us, He literally arrested us from our wandering…and he did it through specific individuals at the Village. We heard testimonies, like that of Jeff and Tammy Scorziell who lost much for Christ. We often recall Tammy’s words “that we praised Him on the way up and we praised Him on the way down.” Their lives were so securely anchored in the gospel that circumstances could not shake their determination to worship God who is worthy of all devotion. They had such an impact on us, and then we saw them give up all that they had here to follow the call of the Gospel in Africa. During this season of our lives, the Elders of our church and several other godly men and women loved and ministered to us, and our lives have never been the same. That “steadfastness of hope” in Christ has become our anchor.

He has chosen us…(we know)…because The Gospel came in word and in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction. It is not just that we have great theological training at the Village Church (which we do), but we have witnessed the power of God, the Holy Spirit at work, the miraculous intervention of God and the full conviction of faith expressed in our fellowship. We have had intercessory prayers answered with miraculous healings, we have seen the work of regeneration resulting in numerous baptisms as outward expressions of God’s redeeming love, and we have seen the celebration of spiritual disciplines where God has worked in quiet ways to reveal himself by the Holy Spirit, opening our eyes to the wonders of His revelation. We have been encouraged with many resources to help, but it has ultimately been the power of God through the Holy Spirit to root us theologically in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God is truly at work at The Village Church, and we are so excited to participate with all of you in the life He has given us together. Let’s remember His goodness and continue to serve Him well in gratitude for all He has done for us!