Thursday, January 10
The Presbytery of Santa Barbara
California
The Presbytery of Santa Barbara is the mission outpost of 32 congregations in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties, the city of Malibu, and the country of Albania.
Highlands Church in Paso Robles is a six-year-old new church development averaging over 800 in attendance and around 200 in youth and children’s ministry. At the 2012 Easter service, there were 2,100 in worship. The NCD’s prime effort is to reach the unchurched and dechurched with a radical style of worship and intentional community outreach events. Highlands has majored in evangelism and is now moving to build discipleship.
The presbytery’s elder-training program offers monthly courses for elders and deacons. Deacons find the course on pastoral counseling, taught by Rev. Valerie De La Torre, especially helpful. New courses this year include one on missional preaching, with Dr. Craig Williams. The distance-learning program reaches churches throughout the nation at over 30 locations. On finishing the 13-month program, an elder is eligible to be considered for status as a commissioned ruling elder. The program has been critical in developing leaders for the presbytery’s English-speaking Hispanic churches. Please pray for Bonnie Boe, dean of the program.
IMPACT is the presbytery’s program to send short-term mission teams overseas. Please pray for Bree Bouma and Marina Kookootsedes, program coordinators, who oversee 45 people in six teams in Ukraine, Brazil, Honduras, India, Haiti, China, Albania, and Uganda. A new partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Brazil and their medical mission boats on the Amazon find us sending people in mission year-round. Please pray for Bree and staff as they work to plan the mission trips for 2013–2014.
The Presbytery of Santa Barbara’s 32 congregations have 7,980 total members.
Let us join in prayer for:
Presbytery Staff
Dr. Jan Armstrong, executive presbyter
Elder Michelle Holmes, stated clerk
Bree Bouma, IMPACT director
Marina Kookootsedes, IMPACT coordinator
Bonnie Boe, lay leader training dean
Rev. Beau Smith, university ministry
Rev. Altin Hysi and Rev. Zefjan Nikolla, Albanian pastors
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Hollis Baker, Board of Pensions
Kristine E. Baker, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Let us pray
God of grace, we thank you that heaven and earth are full of your glory. We thank you for the work of the Presbytery of Santa Barbara and ask your continued blessings on the participants and leaders of IMPACT ministries and the presbytery’s elder-training program. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Daily Lectionary
Morning Psalms 46 or 47; 147:12-20
First Reading Isaiah 65:1-9
Second Reading Revelation 3:1-6
Gospel Reading John 6:1-14
Evening Psalms 27; 93 or 114
