Christian Chapel | September Digest

The Chapel Digest - September

The Best Church Problem

At Christian Chapel we believe that God created us to be whole. He intends to resurrect, restore, and reconnect everything sin has destroyed in our lives. As we experience this gift of grace and new life, we can’t help but share it with others.

Over the past few years, our experience of wholeness in Christ and desire to share it with others has created one of the most enjoyable challenges a local church can experience – we’re running out of room! Our two Sunday morning services are consistently at 75-90% capacity, even after we have dismissed our 1st-6th graders to Chapel Kids following worship. This means that the auditorium feels completely full to a first-time guest or a late-arriving family.

We could create more space by removing our kids and teenagers from the entirety of our Sunday morning worship experience, but this would go against our value of multiple generations worshiping together. We could also explore expanding the auditorium, building a new facility, or launching another campus. These potential solutions are being evaluated but they are costly and take a while to implement.

Our most effective immediate solution is to add a third Sunday morning worship experience. This enables us to create more space for more people to experience wholeness in Christ.

On Sunday, September 10 we will launch 3 Sunday Services at

8:30 a.m. / 9:45 a.m. / 11:15 a.m.

Each service will offer full kids ministry including nursery, preschool, and Chapel Kids. Breakfast will be available at 8:00 a.m. before the first service, and a Next Gen lunch for college students and young adults will be served after the 11:15 service each week.

I’m excited for this new season of ministry at Christian Chapel! Please pray that we will be able to effectively welcome, disciple, and encourage every single person that God brings into our community! Please continue sharing the Good News of wholeness in Jesus with your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates! As we do, this won’t be the last time we navigate the challenges of a growing community of believers!

Chris Dow
Lead Pastor

“Always err on the side of attempting to obey the Great Commission. When you wonder, ‘Should I share the gospel with them or not?’ ‘Should I spend the extra money for that outreach?’ ‘Should I make the extra effort to reach and serve them?’ ‘Should I go to these people or not?’ Go! Go as far as you can, as fast you can, while you can. Jesus has already given the command for us to go.”

- Dr. Billy Wilson, The Power of One: Reaching Every Person on Earth -

Dee Helsee - Thyroid Cancer

On August 1, 2020, I felt a lump on my right collar bone while sitting at my daughter’s college graduation. I made an appointment with my doctor, and he referred me to a surgeon.

On September 1 the lymph node was removed. Two days later, my doctor called with the shocking news that the lymph node was filled with cancerous cells that had metastasized from my thyroid. I had thyroid cancer.

I was so shocked by this news that it took several days for it to sink in. Initially, we only told my family and close friends. As we were driving to church the following Sunday I told my husband, "I don't want to tell anyone, let's just enjoy the service and go home."

However, at the end of the service we sang "WayMaker.” I started crying and decided to go to the prayer room. The prayer team surrounded us with love and compassion. The news was still so new to me that I felt vulnerable and raw.

One of the ladies in the prayer room told me, "I'm going to organize 12 people to pray for you the next 12 days as you are meeting with doctors and deciding what treatment plan to follow."

We met with the radiologist and the surgeon that next week and it was decided that I needed a complete thyroidectomy. Additionally, they would remove 20 more lymph nodes since the cancer had spread into my neck. My second operation was scheduled for October 1.

The timing of my discovery of the lump on August 1, my first surgery on September 1, and my second surgery on October 1 reminded me of a dream I had almost a year earlier. It was a memorable dream about the Order of Operations. It was so vivid I had written it down. Now a year later, I read through it and was reminded that God was in complete control of my situation and had a plan to use this suffering for my good, and to bring Him glory.

As I started this journey, I sensed God telling me, "Dee, I am teaching you how to receive love. I want to expand your heart. I want you to LET people bless and minister to you." So, I did. I was overwhelmed by an outpouring of support, encouragement, gifts, messages, visits and meals. This experience fundamentally transformed me as a person. I will never be the same. I can't be, after the ways I've been loved.

The scripture that carried me through this season was Genesis 40:51 "God has made me fruitful IN the land of my suffering." I finished my 33 treatments of radiation on February 1, 2021. It was exactly 6 months after I found the lump. I was and continue to be cancer-free. I received a first-class healing through human hands, but I know it came straight from the Father's heart to me.

COMING UP THIS MONTH

SUNDAY, 9.3.23 SERVICE - 9:15AM & 10:45AM

New SErvice times - 8:30am, 9:45am & 11:15am Starting September 10th

Tuesday, September 5th

6:30am - 7:30am I Chapel Men Bible Study [learn more]

9:30am - 11:30am I Chapel Women Bible Study [sign up]

Wednesday, September 6th

5:15pm - 6:30pm I Family Dinner

6:30pm - 7:30pm I Adult Discipleship Groups I Chapel Youth I Chapel Kids I Nursery [view groups]

8:00pm - 9:00pm I NEXT GEN Encounter

Sunday, September 10th

8:30am, 9:45am, 11:15am I THREE Services Kick Off

After Each Service I Home Group Sign Ups [view groups]

12:30pm - 1:30pm I NEXT GEN Connect

4:00pm - 6:00pm I Chapel Men Fall Feast [sign up]

Tuesday, September 12th

6:30am - 7:30am I Chapel Men Bible Study [learn more]

9:30am - 11:30am I Chapel Women Bible Study [sign up]

Wednesday, September 13th

5:15pm - 6:30pm I Family Dinner

6:00pm - 8:00pm I Chapel Youth - Full Send September

6:30pm - 7:30pm I Adult Discipleship Groups I Chapel Kids I Nursery [view groups]

8:00pm - 9:00pm I NEXT GEN Encounter

Sunday, September 17th

After Each Service I Home Group Sign Ups [view groups]

12:30pm - 1:30pm I NEXT GEN Connect

6:00pm - 8:00pm I Home Groups I Chapel Kids I Nursery I Chapel Youth D-Groups [get involved]

Tuesday, September 19th

6:30am - 7:30am I Chapel Men Bible Study [learn more]

9:30am - 11:30am I Chapel Women Bible Study [sign up]

Wednesday, September 20th

5:15pm - 6:30pm I Family Dinner

6:00pm - 8:00pm I Chapel Youth - Full Send September

6:30pm - 7:30pm I Adult Discipleship Groups I Chapel Kids I Nursery [view groups]

8:00pm - 9:00pm I NEXT-GEN Encounter

Sunday, September 24th

12:30pm - 1:30pm I NEXT GEN Connect

5:15pm - 8:00pm I Royal Family Kids Picnic & Pie Auction

Tuesday, September 26th

6:30am - 7:30am I Chapel Men Bible Study [learn more]

9:30am - 11:30am I Chapel Women Bible Study [sign up]

Wednesday, September 27th

5:15pm - 6:30pm I Family Dinner

6:00pm - 8:00pm I Chapel Youth - Full Send September

6:30pm - 7:30pm I Adult Discipleship Groups I Chapel Kids I Nursery [view groups]

8:00pm - 9:00pm I NEXT GEN Encounter

Saturday, September 30th

7:00pm - 8:30pm I NEXT GEN Worship Night

Wednesday Night Schedule

Join us, starting for a family meal served on Wednesday nights from 5:15pm - 6:30pm.

Adult Groups, Chapel Youth and Chapel Kids run from 6:30pm - 7:30pm. Nursery is available.

MENU

September 6 - Team Flo

Barbecue Pulled a pork Sandwiches

Baked Beans

Macaroni salad

Coleslaw

Ice Cream

September 13 - Team Candi

Honey Ginger Chicken

Teriyaki Rice

Asian Ramen Salad

Green Beans for kids

Almond Butter Cake w/Fresh Fruit

September 20 - Team Donna

Sub Sandwiches

French Fries

Lemon Bars

September 23 - Team Marilyn

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Sausage

Bacon

Scrambled Eggs

Fruit

Meet A Missionary

Middle East Missionary

Megan (not her real name due to security concerns in the nation where she serves) was born and raised in Oklahoma, but God put the Arab world on her heart as a teenager. Megan knew this was where God was calling her, but it took twenty years for His plan to be fulfilled.

Serious health issues led to disability as a young adult. God restored her health over time, and she began working in local ministries. She led a community center and church ministries serving low-income kids and families for nearly a decade before becoming a missionary.

Megan is now part of the Live Dead Middle East launch team staff. Live Dead is a program within Assemblies of God World Missions that utilizes a team approach to church planting in unreached parts of the world. Megan’s primary role is helping new missionaries learn how to teach English and other programs at the team’s community center. They learn this skill while connecting with men and women who want to learn English, but also have never been introduced to Jesus.

Teaching English provides a credible, professional identity for missionaries serving in restricted countries throughout the Arab World where missionary visas are either severely restricted or immediately denied. Live Dead team members build relationships and share the Gospel with their students, neighborhoods, and other friends. The goal of Live Dead teams is to intentionally develop and grow house churches filled with local believers. Live Dead teams work throughout Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu communities. The teams in the Middle East focus on planting house churches among Muslim people.

Megan says, “All over the Arab World, we are seeing people putting their faith in Christ when they are finally given an opportunity to hear about Him. One example is a family that I met and one of them was dealing with a serious physical need. I asked if I could pray for the sick person in Jesus’ name. When I did, another family member’s face lit up! She told me that she had been reading the Gospel of John and loved Jesus, but had questions about him. It’s been a joy to walk alongside her and tell her about Jesus.”

This intense spiritual work requires team members to devote considerable time to learning Arabic and local culture to enable them to build relationships and plant house churches. Team members also study and experiment with various tools for sharing the gospel in Muslim contexts. After a couple of years on the launch team with Megan, graduates join Live Dead church planting teams in Iraq, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.

This month, every time you hear about the Middle East, take a moment to stop and pray for Megan, and all of our Live Dead missionaries serving in such important places!

10 q's with

EXECUTIVE PASTOR, CHRIS GODFREY

If you could meet anyone from the Bible other than Jesus who would it be?
The story of Nicodemus fascinates me. I see a lot of myself in him. As a Pharisee, he was a rule follower and it really seems he had the right heart about it, but his legalism was making it hard to understand what Jesus was meaning by being born again. I’d love to ask him about his conversation with Jesus and where life took him after Jesus ascended. Was he one of the believers in the upper room or did he return back to his station in the synagogues?
What are three words that best describe your personality?
Scheduled. Rule-follower. Introverted
If you weren’t a pastor, what job would you want?
Sportscaster or Cross-fit announcer.
Where did you work before Christian Chapel?
Spring Creek Assembly of God in Edmond, OK as a worship pastor.
Who’s in your family?
My wife of 17 years - Beth. My two daughters, Zoe and Zacarra - 17 and 10. Sainte (my dog)
What do you love about living in Tulsa?
It’s where I grew up but I get a bit of a different perspective living in Broken Arrow now vs Owasso where I grew up. I love that there are certain things that remind me of my childhood, but also so much that is new, growing, and exciting.
What do you do at Christian Chapel (and for how long)?
I have been the Executive Pastor for 4 years. My main focus is to come alongside our Lead Pastor and take care of as much as I can so that he is more free to focus on prayer, study, hearing God’s voice and spending time with people. These tasks can change from year to year or month to month. Whatever Pastor Chris needs in a particular season, I do my best to be helpful in those areas. At different times this has included our building and grounds, HomeGroups, Chapel Hosts, Chapel Prayer Team, Wednesday night discipleship groups, Men’s Ministry, Missions, Local Outreach, Benevolence and much more.
What do you love about Christian Chapel?
We exist to help people experience wholeness in Christ. I love working with our staff to help families enjoy purposeful events, activities, and ministries that are designed to help them experience wholeness.
What are you excited about concerning the future?
Personally, I am excited to be a grandpa (definitely in the future). At Christian Chapel, I am excited to see God move us forward to the full potential He has for us in Tulsa and globally.
What is your most memorable moment from being a pastor?
When I was a worship pastor, I met a young man who was an incredible drummer. I brought him to church one afternoon for a jam session. I had him serve with me even before he fully committed to God. That wasn’t my normal practice, but I felt convinced that it was what I was supposed to do in this relationship. I was able to introduce him to Jesus through our time together, and was thrilled to watch the rest of the band jump in to disciple him. The day I was able to baptize him is something I will never forget.