Posts with the category “updates”

This September, we are kicking off our 2024-2025 ministry year with the theme: Captivated—Cultivating an Intimate Relationship with God! What captivates us attracts and holds our attention. To be captivated by God is to be drawn into knowing God—not only with an intellectual understanding of his attributes, but with a coming alive to God through surrender to Jesus’ love, knowing in an experiential...  Read More

Dallas Willard wrote in his book, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship, “The greatest issue facing the world today … is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into eve...  Read More

Kids Connect On Thursday mornings at Starbucks in winter of 2022-23, a few Open Life moms connected over coffee and conversation about a broad range of topics from parenting and marriage to sabbath and prayer. It was one moment during a hectic week where they could relax with a cup of coffee and a few friends and be reminded of how it feels to be one’s self before resuming the demanding rhythm of ...  Read More

I still remember loading the van to head to the airport for my first international mission trip to Ukraine over 24 years ago. The anticipation and excitement mixed with apprehension and fear of the unknown were palpable among the entire team of 20 moms and dads, pastors and youth. Reading from my journal I remember the prayer that began with that trip and echoes still in my heart every time I step...  Read More

At Open Life we believe that every follower of Jesus should “go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 16:15, NIV) In Acts 1:8, Jesus instructs his disciples, and consequently you and me, to testify as his witnesses to the good news that there is peace with God through him (Acts 10:36). We are to carry this testimony to our Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of ...  Read More

Each year Open Life takes the final Sunday of the year off to allow our staff and volunteers to take time to rest, reflect, and give thanks to God for the year that was. In this attitude, we offer to you, the Open Life Church Top Ten of 2023. This (non-exhaustive) list is meant to jumpstart your own practice of looking back at the past year and finding things that you can be grateful to God for. W...  Read More

Every year at Open Life we walk through a series of messages at Christmas time called Advent. For generations the church has celebrated advent, which refers to the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Advent means the arrival of a notable person, and in our case, it’s when we remember Jesus’ arrival and anticipate his return. We will look back and look forward with great anticipation, being filled ...  Read More

Type your new text here. Fall is in full swing around Open Life and there are some important things happening behind the scenes we would love to share. The Gathering Place WorkAs we finalize some adjustments to our plans for The Gathering Place drawings and await permitting and construction of the adjustments and additions sometime next spring. We are beginning to work on the stage and office spac...  Read More

Open Life Church is hosting a Serve Sunday event on April 23rd at 10am at Bonney Lake High School to assemble food bags for the Bonney Lake Food Bank. The event is a great way to kick off the Open Life's new message series called "Caught vs. Taught that will begin Sunday April 30th. Join us for a special Sunday where the whole family can participate.  Read More