This past summer as I was walking around CRC’s
pond I was impressed by how beautiful the 40 acres of CRC have
become. Arbor Acres (the official name of the 40 acres) is literally
a dream come true, the dream of Charles and Monetha Huenefeld.
Over fifty years ago God gave them a vision for using a run-down
farm to become a place of beauty and an outreach for Christ. Charles
spent many hours shaping the land and planting trees. Their dream
was that children and teenagers in the area would have a place
to come to learn about and enjoy nature, and also to be challenged
with the claims of Christ. Each summer their dream comes true.
What are your dreams? How are you investing your
time, talents, and resources in the cause of Christ? Each of us
as believers has been gifted and empowered to impact our world
for Christ. I am honored to have been chosen to share a dream
with other believers and to invest my life in seeing that dream
come true. I (along with the Board and staff of CRC) covet your
prayers as we seek to improve our ministry, and continue to reach
out to the surrounding communities with the call of Christ. I
also offer my heartfelt thanks to those of you who share in the
financial needs of this ministry.
From My Heart (Chas)
“Grace” is such a pleasant word to
say. It slides out the mouth with ease and simplicity. Yet, grace
is such a difficult thing to dispense. It’s costly, risky,
and can often lead to further pain. It’s so easy to want
life to be black and white, with rules too clear to misunderstand
and too enforced to be broken. That way life is predictable and
controlled. And if everybody else simply lived by those black
and white rules, I would not be taken off guard or hurt by them.
The problem is, life would also be quite rigid
and bland. Can you imagine a world full of people who all obeyed
the exact same rules…on everything? We would basically be
“cookie-cutter” people. There would be no diversity.
And there would certainly be no room for mistakes or new ideas.
I understand that, within God’s sovereign
reality, there are certain things that must hold true for all
people, whether they like it or not. The truth that Jesus is God’s
Son and the only way to the Father is not open for debate. One
may not accept it, but it is true nonetheless. The fundamental
truths of the Christian faith are true, even black and white,
for all. But, God has left so much room for uniqueness and diversity
among people’s personalities, tastes, and consciences. Greater
still, God has made room for grace.
Guys like me need a lot of grace. I make a lot
of mistakes and I have a lot of “weird” and “newfangled”
ideas. Quite frankly, most of those ideas fail. I had a seminary
professor tell me once, “Chas, you’re a visionary.
Get used to disappointment. Ninety-nine percent of your ideas
will never come to pass.” In other words, I fail a lot.
Well that’s fine, if I “get used
to it.” The problem is that a good number of my “bright
ideas” also impact others. The only way that those people
can possibly allow me to try, and fail, is by grace. They must
show me grace!
For almost 10 years I have served at CRC. The
best word I have to describe working with Paul is “grace”.
He has a knack for allowing me to try new things and even fail
at them, without being condemning. He encourages me to try what
I feel led to try. Sometimes those things have been at great cost
to CRC and to his own peace of mind. Yet he is gracious in the
midst of it all. Thanks, Paul! It’s an honor to minister
with you.
Now, I serve as a pastor. That’s a new
one for me. I would hate to count up my unpolished and lengthy
sermons, inappropriate words, or not-so-great-ideas. Yet, the
congregation I serve can best be described by the word “grace”.
They are so patient with my personal and professional failings.
They appreciate me for who I am. Thanks, YEFC for being sooo patient
with me.
I say all that to simply let you all know that
I feel so blessed to be doing what I am doing and know the people
I know. As hard as grace is to dispense, I have been on the receiving
end of it a good many times. I only hope I can be as gracious
to others as they are to me. Thanks, Lord, for those you’ve
brought into my life!
FOOTPRINTS
Size 8 - Paul
What a great summer! I thoroughly enjoyed the
summer camps and working on making improvements on the CRC 40
acres. Seeing the young people that come to camp, and knowing
that CRC can make a difference in their lives brings me great
joy and satisfaction. Working with the summer interns on the grounds
and watching them become more beautiful is also a source of joy.
Aside from my work with the camps and grounds
I also continue to Pastor at Stockham Community Church. This summer
I officiated at seven weddings, plus did pre-marital counseling
with each couple. In August Kathy and I went to Dallas to visit
Nate, Angie, and Ellie. We had a great time visiting them. As
Fall comes I will now begin my winter Bible Studies: two youth
studies, two adult studies plus a men’s study. These are
in addition to my teaching responsibilities at Stockham.
Size 12 - Chas.
My summer with CRC has been filled with our Arbor
Acres Rural and Rurban Pastors’ Training (AARRPT) and with
our day camps and travel camp. Between the course preparations
and operations, grading student papers and assignments, leading
camp worship, teaching the Jr. High Day Camp lessons, half the
Travel Camp lessons, taking pictures, and working on the camp
grounds, my life has been busy, but enjoyable. On top of those
things, I have done some counseling through CRC and oversaw an
evening of Homeschool families using the CRC grounds one evening.
Now I’m laying the groundwork for next year’s training
course.
With York Evangelical Free Church (YEFC) I have
been preaching a series on adulthood. I plan to start a series
on the book of Galatians in mid-October. I have spent some time
in counseling and discipleship, though less during the busy summer
months. We are continuing to fine-tune and implement a family-style
Sunday School class and another adult S.S. Class. The men’s
discipleship group is starting up again, also. Recently we had
a great time of ministry by holding a Car Care Clinic, where we
worked on 19 cars of widows and single-moms to get them ready
for winter. This is an outreach ministry that we hope will be
used by the Lord to give us an opportunity to be and share Christ
with the lost. Already, we have had positive response from the
ladies we served.
SUMMER CAMPS
Elementary Day Camp
This year we had a total of 118 campers in grades
3-6. Our theme was “Lessons from Life – Pictures of
Our Walk With God.” Our activities included nature studies,
games, go-karts, canoes, archery, obstacle course, singing and
devotions.
Both the Junior High and the Elementary Day Camps
went very smoothly. We are honored to have the privilege of working
with the youth and children in this area. Thank each of you for
helping to make this ministry possible.
Junior High Day Camp
This year we had 70 campers in Junior High Day
Camp. Our theme was “Mission: In Search of God.” Our
activities included time spent at CRC, a trip to the Omaha Zoo,
swimming at Sutton and Island Oasis, and skating at Skate Island
in Grand Island.
Travel Camp
This years’ Travel Camp was our Canada
trip. We saw the beauty of Montana and Canada, in spite of the
forest fires. We had to evacuate our camp at West Glacier, and
cancel our White Water Raft trip. The campers were great even
with the inconveniences and disappointments. Our theme this year
was “The Road Less Traveled” emphasizing the commitment
to follow Christ in our daily lives. This was an exceptional group
of high schoolers and made this one of the best camps ever. Our
staff this year; Paul and Kathy Nauman, Chas Bauer, John and Sara
Williamson, Seth Dunham, Cora Huenefeld, and Sandy Gowen. Thank
you for your prayers, this was a very special camp.
ARBOR ACRES COOPERATIVE TRAINING PROGRAM
Working Together to More Effectively Bring the
Way to Out-of-the-way Places
This last June we had our second Arbor Acres
Rural and Rurban Pastors’ Training. It went very well, with
3 students, 2 wives, and a number of people sitting in on various
parts of the course. The most beneficial thing that happened was
that, Dr. John Reed, the Director of the Doctor of Ministry department
at Dallas Theological Seminary came and sat in on the last three
days of the course. He called me a few weeks before the course
and said that the Academic Dean came upstairs to his office (which
is apparently a very rare occurrence) and asked him to come to
our course and observe.
Dr. Reed was very pleased with the course and
would like to work on getting more Dallas students interested
in attending. Not only that, but he and another researcher at
Dallas are working with me to conduct a national survey to validate
our “Five Roots (formerly “Pillars”) of Effective
Rural and Rurban Ministry.” This will add validity to the
course as well as get our name out.
This year we have changed the name of the course
to The PRâRI Course (pronounced “prairie”).
It is short for The Pastors’ Rural and Rurban Immersion
Course. It’s quite a bit easier to remember than AARRPT.
I head out to visit Denver Seminary, Dallas Theological
Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in October.
Please pray that God brings the students He wants to visit with
me regarding the course.
VAN FOR SALE
Someone graciously donated a 2000 Plymouth Voyager
S.E. to CRC, with the understanding that we would sell it and
use the money for a building project (a Pavilion). We are asking
$8900 for the van. It has lots of extras, is very clean, and has
78,000 miles. If you, or someone you know is looking for a clean,
used van please give us a call. You may call Paul Nauman at CRC
849-2606 or Jay Hunnicutt 694-4860.
SUMMER INTERNS
This was our second year for the Summer Intern
program, and again it proved to be a valuable experience for us
all. Seth Dunham and Cora Huenefeld, both from Aurora served as
the interns this past summer. Seth is a student at Trinity International
University and Cory at UNL. Their main responsibilities were to
help us prepare for and head the camps. They also planned and
led a weekly activity of their choosing. This year that was a
college Bible Study. Here are a couple observations and comments
from Seth and Cora:
Seth
“Kids that age (high school) need real
encouragement… It is God’s work only that can change
someone’s heart. I think along with that I have noticed
even more so that change needs to take place within… the
heart and not (through) persuasion.”
“On to me a bit. The second to last night
(of Travel Camp) I didn’t really expect anything to happen
to me, but I was amazed… It is funny how God grabs you at
very odd times when you never expect Him to.”
Cora
"For me, this last summer was both fun and
personally challenging. I made a lot of new friends, learned a
lot about myself (what I'm good at and what I still need to work
on), and got to encourage others in their own walks with God at
the same time. In return I was greatly encouraged by the maturity
and testimonies of the campers on TC, as well as the time with
other college students as we gathered for our weekly Bible Study.
It turned out to be one of the most spiritually profitable summers
I've ever had.
I had been praying that God would give me others my age that I
could experience real Christian fellowship with, and He answered
that prayer through our Bible Study. In fact, the challenge was
not finding people interested in coming, but finding a place big
enough to fit us all!
As I look back on this summer, I get a real sense
of privilege. I am grateful for the time I got to spend with Paul,
Chas, Seth, and Kathy learning from their experiences and actions.
And it's blessed my heart to see what my grandfather had dreamed
of 50 years ago--kids gathering to learn about God and nature--still
being fulfilled today, and to have the privilege of being a part
of his dream."
Email us [arboracres@hamilton.net] if you
would like to
receive CRC's
Update Letters
via email.
Volume 28, Issue 1
Spring 2003
From My Heart (Paul)
The day that I am writing this is also the last
day to meet with a group of high school students in a before school
study called “Counter Culture.” As Kathy and I have
met with these students over the past year, we have been both
blessed and encouraged. Blessed in that these are very special
young people, and encouraged that God is raising up a new generation
of active, committed Christians.
Our theme this school year was “lifestyle evangelism.”
We learned about a faith that is a way of life as well as a system
of belief. We prayed each week for families, teachers, and fellow
students. We also prayed for each other as we faced the challenges
of being “light and salt” in our culture. It is very
encouraging to me to watch how the Lord always has a witness in
each new generation. It’s easy to become discouraged when
I look at the direction our culture is moving, but then I realize
that God is always raising up, and equipping people to live in,
and minister to, their culture. Please pray for the youth and
young adults who are in the “front line” living their
faith and sharing their witness each day. Be encouraged that God
has His people scattered throughout our culture, and a new generation
is rising to meet the challenges of a new time.
From the Heart (Chas.)
There is a gentleman I have been discipling for
awhile. We’ll call him, Bob. Recently, he said he knows
that his wife loves him. I asked him how he knows that. His response?
“Because she needs me.” I asked him if he thinks that
needing someone is the same as loving them. Not following my train
of thought, I said that I need food to survive, but that doesn’t
mean I love food. I pointed out that a drug addict “needs”
a fix, but he doesn’t love drugs.
As the lights began to go on, I said that God didn’t send
His Son, Jesus, to die for us because he “needs” us.
Needing is not the same as loving. As we explored the meaning
of love together, I explained to him that “needing”
is self-focused. “Love,” on the other hand, is other-focused.
I let him know that true, agapé, love is “giving
up that which is valuable to myself, in order to enrich the life
of another.”
As I applied that to my marriage, for sake of illustration, I
told Bob that there are days when I come home from work totally
exhausted. I would like to walk in, plop down on the couch, have
Kristen give me a back rub and fetch me a glass of tea. However,
when I walk through the door, out of my world and into hers, I
find a woman who is about to pull her hair out from dealing with
four small children, all vying for her attention. She is trying
to get supper ready, the baby is hungry, the phone is ringing,
she is missing a needed ingredient for her recipe, one of the
kids “had an accident,” and she is valiantly striving
to maintain.
At that point, I am given the choice to try to get what I “need”
from Kristen OR to give up that which is valuable to me (i.e.,
some rest and relaxation) and seek to enrich her life through
service (i.e. answer the phone, pour the drinks, tend to the kids,
and basically “get my hands dirty” in, what is for
her, a typical day of being a mom). I “love” Kristen
when I choose to do the latter. I simply “use” her,
when I choose to do the former.
I asked Bob, again, if he thinks his wife loves him. This time
he is more selective with his response. Then, I asked him if he
loves his wife. There in lies the PUNCH-line. I, as a man and
a husband, have to be more concerned about whether or not I love
my wife, than whether or not she loves me. I cannot control whether
or not she loves me, but I can control whether or not I love her.
Jesus came and died for me, even though He will NEVER get back
from me all that He has given up for me. And that is not why He
did it. He didn’t do it because He “needed”
me. He did it because He loves me. Jesus died for me, giving up
His treasured position at the Right hand of the Father, experiencing
death and separation from Him, in order to enrich my life. Indeed,
in order to give me life. He did that while I was still His enemy
and a sinner. He did that, even though I fail Him every day.
May we live as Jesus lived; dying daily to ourselves, to give
“life” to others. Not because we “need”
anything from them, but because Jesus first loved us. Lord Jesus,
help us to lay aside our “needs,” and to love those
You bring into our lives.
Footprints
Size 8 - Paul
This past winter-spring has been very rewarding
to me, and hopefully to those to whom I minister. The older I
get the more concerned I am of the truth found in Christ and His
Word. I thoroughly enjoy studying and teaching. My studies this
past winter included three adult Bible Studies, one high school
study, plus teaching grades 3-6 on Wednesday at Church, and an
adult Sunday School class at Stockham Community Church. I am preaching
through Ephesians during the church service.
Aside from these weekly teaching opportunities I have had three
funerals, two weddings, plus pre-marital for four up-coming weddings.
I have had the opportunity to speak at Nebraska Christian School
chapel and for a National Day of Prayer breakfast in Giltner.
Counseling, hospital visits, and now yardwork will keep me busy.
Size 12 - Chas.
This has been a winter of much adjustment, as
a family and as a minister. I have sought to come to some sort
of balance of my two ministries: CRC and York Evangelical Free
Church (YEFC). Through the winter months, I usually spend 3 days
at YEFC and 2 days at CRC. During the summer it will be more like
4 days at CRC and 1 day at YEFC. This is a challenge, to say the
least. But, I richly enjoy them both.
In regard to CRC, I have spent most of my time working on the
Arbor Acres Cooperative Training Program (AACTP). This has included
meeting with my awesome Executive Team, organizing our Arbor Acres
Rural and Rurban Pastors’ Training (AARRPT), sending out
proposals for AACTP to about a dozen evangelical colleges and
seminaries, following up on the proposals, visiting college and
seminary campuses to promote AARRPT and speaking in classes about
the need for more rural and rurban ministry training, and having
a leadership retreat for the teachers of “The Five Pillars
of Effective Rural and Rurban Ministry.” Whew!! I have also
done some counseling and outside speaking.
In regard to YEFC, I just finished a sermon series on 1 John and
am starting one on Adulthood. We also started a men’s discipleship
group, where we are developing a 3-stage curriculum for making
mature disciples of Christ. One of the unique requirements of
this course is that each man has to take someone else through
the material as they learn it. For those of us who are married,
that “someone else” gets to be our wives. I have been
doing some discipleship/counseling, and hospital visitation, and
have also had the privilege of officiating one wedding. We are
currently implementing a 3-month trial of a “Family-style”
Sunday School class which focuses on applying the morning sermon
message to our lives. I greatly appreciate this body of believers,
as they are extremely patient with their “greenhorn”
pastor.
Summer Camps
Elementary Day Camp
June 30 – July 11
This year’s camp will have as its theme,
“Lessons From Life – Pictures of Our Walk With God.”
The dates are: for those entering grades 3 & 4, June 30, July
2, 4, 8, 10; for those entering grades 5 & 6, July 1, 3, 7,
9, 11. Bring a sack lunch each day, drinks will be provided. The
cost is $15.00. Activities will include games, crafts, go-karts,
canoes, archery (5-6 grade only), nature talks, obstacle course,
singing and devotions. To register, send in a registration form,
for more information call CRC at 849-2606.
Junior High Day Camp
June 24 – 27
This year’s camp will have at its theme,
“Mission In Search of God.” The dates are June 24-27.
The cost is $35.00 per camper. Junior High Day Camp spends part
of its time at CRC and part away. Activities this year include:
at CRC, go-karts, archery, obstacle course, canoes, games, singing
and devotions; away from CRC, swimming (at Henderson and Island
Oasis), Henry Doorly Zoo, and Skate Island in Grand Island. We
are limited to 70 campers so sign up as soon as possible. Junior
High Day Camp is for those entering grades 7 – 9.
Travel Camp
July 22 – August 1
This year will be the 27th travel camp. We will
be touring South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Canada. We will
visit Devils Tower, Glacier National Park, Calgary, Banff, Lake
Louise, and the Colombian Ice Fields (a glacier) in Canada, and
white water rafting in West Glover, Montana. Our theme this year
is “The Road Less Traveled,” emphasizing the life
of Christ, and our commitment to follow in His footsteps. The
dates for the years camp are July 22 – August 1. Please
remember to pray for us.
SUMMER COLLEGE STUDY
Kathy and I will again host a college age Bible
Study in our home this summer. It will start Tuesday night, June
3 and go through July 15. Each night will start at 7:30, refreshments
will be served. This study is again open to all college age or
single persons whether you attend college or not. We will be studying
the video “Red Sky In the Morning.” It is a study
of the spiritual history of America and the current moral crisis
facing us today.
ARBOR ACRES COOPERATIVE TRAINING PROGRAM
Working together to bring The Way to
out-of-the-way places
June 2-11, 2003 will be our second round of the
Arbor Acres Rural and Rurban Pastors’ Training. We are truly
looking forward to these 10 days. Many, many hours of preparation,
travel, and promotion have gone into this program. That makes
the program, itself, a great joy to experience.
We would ask for your prayers, that God would continue to bring
more students and that He would truly use this training course
to instill in the students and their wives a vision for rural
and rurban ministry and to prepare them for effective rural and
rurban ministry.
UPDATE Via Email
We are always looking for ways to pinch pennies
around here. If you are interested in receiving our UPDATE via
email, please let us know by emailing us at arboracres@hamilton.net
or by going through our website at
www.christianresourcecenter.info. We will add you to our list
and you will then receive our future UPDATES through email.
SUMMER INTERNS
Seth Dunham, currently a student at Trinity University
and Cora Huenefeld, a student at UNL will be our summer Interns
this year.
Special Needs
There are a few, but costly, items that CRC would
like to purchase, in order to minister more effectively in our
training courses and Day Camps. Please prayerfully consider if
God would have you give toward these items, over-and-above your
regular giving to CRC. First, we are in urgent need of a new laptop
computer, as our current one is fading and failing fast (about
$1,800). Chas. uses a laptop extensively for operating and promoting
the Arbor Acres Cooperative Training Program. Next, we would like
to have a compact and bright multimedia projector to use for PowerPoint
presentations during the course and that Chas. can take with him
to promote the course on college and seminary campuses (about
$2,000). Third, we would like to have a portable sound system
that we can use during our course and during our Day Camps (about
$1,000). Last, the AARRPT course is costly, as we fly in a couple
of specialists to teach. The course costs us more than what students
bring in at this young stage of the program. We could use some
help in paying travel and honorarium expenses for our teachers
(about $1,500). If you choose to give toward any of these items,
please put a note in with your check, designating which item(s)
the gift should go toward. Thank you for your faithful support
of CRC.
