Faith through Action

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

James 2:17

One of my favorite things about our three-year Daring Faith campaign is seeing goals being met and God blessing those who sacrifice. I loved reading a note from a member that chose to live a life of Daring Faith. It read, “Dear Pastor Rick, this is the first time I’ve ever made a faith commitment in giving, and it feels good to be stretched! I am putting my faith on the line, trusting God’s promise that if I put him first, he will take care of my needs.”

God is doing miracles both in our church and in the lives of people who are taking the greatest steps of faith they’ve ever taken. As a church, YOU are putting your faith into action! This week, some of our staff and members left for a pastors’ training conference in Rwanda to meet with church leaders from all over Africa. They’ll be sharing the vision of planting churches and taking the Good News to unreached people groups.

Just last week, our Pastor of Missions, Andrew Lossau, met with Rwandan delegates including the Rwandan Ambassador to the United States at the 14th Annual Rwanda Prayer Banquet in Washington D.C. God truly is strengthening our relationship with Rwanda in helping them become a Purpose Driven nation. This is another step in reaching the last 3,000 tribes on earth, one of our five F.A.I.T.H goals.

Your Daring Faith gifts are making a real impact! This month, we’ll start knocking down walls as we lay the groundwork for our new Global Training and Broadcast Center. This state-of-the-art broadcast center will help train our members and church leaders around the world.

 As you continue to take steps of daring faith, please remember to:

     1.   LISTEN to God’s Word.

“Faith comes from hearing the message and Word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

     2.   READ testimonies of others growing in faith.

"Follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” Hebrews 6:12

     3.   BELIEVE the promises of God.

“We’ve been given the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but God’s promises didn’t do them any good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith.” Hebrews 4:2

     4.  MOVE against your fear!

“I will not be afraid because I trust in God!” Psalm 56:11

I want everyone in our Saddleback Church family to be blessed by putting their faith into action! My heart was touched to learn that one of our members started a small group to reach a Turkish community in Orange County. Read his amazing story here. YOU too can step out in daring faith to change lives and help build God’s kingdom.

At our next SALT gathering, I'll be training and equipping you to do just that through effective leadership — an important step in our Daring Faith goals. Thank you for honoring your Daring Faith commitment and for giving to these works that spread the hope of Jesus Christ around the world.