I hate packing. It always seems so daunting, and I spend about a week worrying about what I may forget.

But when it comes to actually doing the task, it’s no problem since I have everything at my disposal…and I wonder why I worried about it in the first place.

10 days worth of clothes? Check. Toothbrush? Check. Bible? Check. Underwear? Double check.

That’s my list of things I’m taking to New Delhi for our mission trip in a few hours. I’m actually pretty excited about this trip just to see what God is going to do. But this has literally been a year long process for me to get to this point.

I started off 2011 by going on my first missions trip ever to Orissa. I went by myself, but before I left I was completely discouraged, confused, unsure, and….worried. 2010 was quite possibly the worst year of my life with so many question marks involving work, school, family, and ministry. There was not one area of my life that wasn’t in utter confusion. All of that culminated into one giant, random (so it seemed), decision to go on a missions trip to Orissa in January.

Determined to make 2011 different, I went. I came back excited about preaching the Gospel, but little did I know that God was prepping me, and my friends, to grow closer to Him through a series of events through the next 12 months. The discouragement turned into encouragement. The troubles of the prior year served as lessons and guardrails for this year. Every so-called trial of the past revealed itself as having a purpose to make us stronger as a unit.

You may have seen our “Give Thanks” video on YouTube that we put up on Thanksgiving Day. We really meant it. This year, and seeing God literally revealing Himself to me through my job, family, friends, and ministry, I can honestly say 2011 has been completely amazing. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. The lesson I learned can be quickly summed up by James 1:2-4 (NASB):

²Â Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What is this perfect result? I can’t describe it. Am I there yet? No way. But to give you a glimpse, I’d like to share a picture from my trip to India back in January. I went on that trip in an utter state of confusion. But during my time there, I had the chance to go on a “houseboat”.

A houseboat is the Indian version of a…umm…boat with a house attached to it. But this was my view. The moment I sat on that boat, put my feet up on the deck, and stared out into the never ending river, I experienced a peace I’ve never felt before. It was pretty surreal on how I could feel so at home during a time in my life where everything was supposed to be confusing.

That’s God working through your trials. If you approach trials with the faith that He is perfecting a good work in you, it will give you a whole new outlook when challenges come your way.

Are there obstacles in the path of this upcoming trip? Sure. Have I seen discouragement come my way mere days before we leave? Of course. But this time, I expect it. Because I know better. This time, I know there is a reason for the trials. And to be honest, I’m ready to confront them head on because they are going to make us even stronger.

Yeah, I still have to pack. But I’m not worried. I’m actually pretty excited for what’s in store.

This Saturday is Project Outreach! Join ROC322 and New Creation from Chattanooga, TN as we serve and feed the homeless. Rain or shine, we will be in beautiful downtown Chicago at Millennium Park from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. We will be meeting at “The Bean” and dispersing into groups from there. This is a perfect opportunity to break outside the four walls of the church and to invite your friends into an environment where you can serve people and share the Gospel.

For more information, email us at info@roc322.org or follow us on twitter @ROC322. See you Saturday!

Come out and join us for our weekly TNP (Thursday Night Prayer), starting at 7:30pm

Where?  Contact us for details:  info@roc322.org or find us on twitter @ROC322

“God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.”  - Psalm 145:18 (The Message)

"Hater don't hate; participate"

It’s that time again. It’s our 2nd Annual Project Outreach event, and this time we are partnering up with New Creation Ministries from Chattanooga, TN! We will be going out to Millennium Park in beautiful downtown Chicago to pass out lunches to the homeless. Join us as we serve as a community for Christ!We will be dividing into groups and meeting at “The Bean” sharply at 1:00pm on Saturday, September 3rd. If you would like to be part of a group, help out, and minister with us, join our event page on Facebook or email us at info@roc322.org. Many participants from last year are now leading groups this year so don’t miss out on being a part of our growing community!

Follow us on twitter @roc322 for the latest updates, and check out our video of the epic lunches we are making :)

God bless and see you Labor Day weekend!!

Hey internet world,

It’s been a very long time since the last blog I’ve done and a lot has happened since then, so I’ll be going through everything that has happened event-by-event…….. JK!  I won’t bore you with those details… today at least :)

I must say though, looking back at the past 6 years of ROC 3:22, God has done AMAZING things.  This should come to no surprise, since our God is an AMAZING God, and we shouldn’t expect anything less of Him and His awesome ways, but from a small prayer group that started out with just a few of us guys willing to sit down and pray to God for some direction to a small prayer group that is still going strong with many new additions, God has done so much!  You’re probably confused right about now.  You’re probably thinking… “you guys went from a prayer group to still a prayer group?”  My answer, along with everyone’s in our group’s answer (and I know this because they know exactly what I’m talking about), but OUR answer is YES!

The difference?  We’ve definitely come a long way and have been able to reach many youth in Chicago, and also we’ve been able to consistently fundraise for various causes and have even done several homeless outreaches within Chicago itself with ALL Glory to God of course, but all of THIS aside…. the best part has been the prayer over the years.  The consistent sitting/kneeling down in prayer to God.

I moved out of Chicago about 3 years ago, but if there’s one thing I can always be sure of, is that these guys will be gathering together to pray each and every Thursday – I’m not saying all of this to put anyone up on some pedestal… not at all actually, but rather, to say that NOTHING IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT PRAYER!!  God may use you in various ways, but let me tell you something… in my life, I know that when I am feeling closest to God, it’s because of prayer.  It’s because I know I can always go to God with anything and everything!  He’s your best friend, your Redeemer, your Savior, your “go to guy” – but not just when things go sour, but always!  At least He’s always there whether or not we utilize that opportunity to go to Him about things.  The best part about prayer is that prayer is a communication with God, an actual conversation with your creator – which actually means, He can respond back – and He WILL!  Do you want to hear from God?  Just go to God :)

I don’t want to make this some long drawn out post, but it’s time to sit/kneel down – in fact, go ahead and do it now (RIGHT NOW!) and just say a prayer to God.  It might be a thank you to God for everything He’s done in your life, or it might be about some issues that you’re facing, you might just need to vent to God, or perhaps you’re angry and you need someone to talk to… man, let me tell you – just go to God!

Be blessed.