I was reading Luke 8 today in our Life Journal Reading Plan at Center City Church and I found myself full of gratitude for all those that support the ministry of our church through their generosity in tithes and offerings. This is the model that God has set up for us to continue to do ministry.Check this out...I had never noticed this verse before. Even Jesus was supported by the generosity of others, as shown in Luke 8:1-3...it tells the story of the many that were traveling with Jesus and this is said:"...and many others who were contributing to their own resources to support Jesus and his...

Here's a look at a piece that we designed that we are making available to our church family to show the different ways that they can support the mission and vision of Center City Church.

We have just released our biggest, most unified initiative in the history of Center City Church. We are distributing journals to everyone in our church that include reading plans and examples on how to engage the Scriptures through prayer and journaling. We're asking everyone to gather on a consistent basis with a handful of people and talk about what they are learning.After releasing this plan to our community, we are now looking to the future to try to anticipate the needs of our community and the challenges that may arise as we move forward. One of the role of pastors & shepherds...

You were not mass produced. When God created you, he didn't create you on an assembly like to look like every one else and process things like everyone else. He knows you. He cares for you. He designed you. I have been totally enamored by the artisan industry lately. Artisans train for years to become masters at what they are making. They actually care about the product that will make it to the marketplace. Artisans are found in a variety of fields - bread, cheese, wine, clocks, etc. If God is the master craftsman, what does that mean for us? What is our role? We are called to be artisans of...

An entire community, gathered around the Word. That is our aim for 2013 at Center City Church. On top of reading the same Scriptures together all year long, we will also be forming Life Groups all across our city to dig into the journey in the context of community. The following is a list of FAQ's that will help you get a feel for what these groups are and what they are not. If you have any questions, email Pastor Joseph Phillips. LIFE GROUP FAQ'sWhat is a Life Group?A Life Group is simply a group of people that decide to get together once a week and discuss what God is...

Happy new year to our Center City Church family! I'm so excited about the days ahead for our community. Four words sum up our desire for you at Center City Church in 2013: Read. Pray. Gather. Go. Every person at Center City gets a free Moleskine journal.  Included in this journal is a Bible reading plan. Every day there will be a selected reading for you. Read this with the knowledge that God is speaking to you. Read slowly.  Before and after you’ve read, take some time and quiet your heart. Ask God to show you something about Himself and about yourself. If you miss...

Jesus left the message of salvation, freedom, healing, etc. in the hands of imperfect men and women. Those that deal with doubt. Worry. Insecurity. Disappointment. This is an incredible reality. He could have chosen to do this any way he wanted, but he chose people like you and I to pass along this message to all that would hear. We don't get it right all the time. We don't live out what we say we believe every step of the way. We fall. We get up. We disappoint ourselves and others. We are imperfect. And that's exactly why we need each other. We can do more together than we can alone....

The final few weeks of every year are always a great time to make final, tax-deductible contributions to organizations that you believe are doing great work in communities across the world.I would love for you to consider making a year-end contribution to the work we are doing at Center City Church. We are continuing to grow, both numerically and spiritually, as a church family. Any gift, big or small, is appreciated.Would you prayerfully consider making an investment into our community?Click here to easily give safe and secure via PayPal.

Every time that I want to learn more about my wife, Dara, I go to her Uncle Forrest (pictured above). He has known Dara for her entire life. He loves her so much and he's a great story teller. I ask him questions about her. He tells me story after story about Dara's life. I don't talk right to Dara. I just talk to Uncle Forrest because he's known her for a lot longer than I have.There are other times that I want to learn more about her from other perspectives, so I always call her sister, Tori (pictured above). She and Dara are as close as sisters can be, so Tori is a treasure trove of...

I recently wrote this letter to a group of friends at Center City Church. Seemed appropriate to put it on my blog so that as many people from our community as possible can get on the same page with where we are headed in 2013 as a church family.---------------------------------------------- Friends…If you want to know where God is taking us as a church family in 2013, check out the front page of our website and click on the first picture you see (read, pray, gather, go). This is a simple gathering of people who want to dig into the Word together. It's not formed by the leaders, but by...