In addition to the meals Rice Bowls is giving to orphans, our team also gave a free website to the biggest giver. Ikon Church, lead by Pastor Jason Oesterling in Wadsworth, OH, is our 2012 winner! With their small congregation of 50 people (which includes children) they were able to raise $430.05 from Thanksgiving until Christmas morning. The entire challenge lasted until New Year’s Day, but they decided to end it on Christmas to help turn their hearts toward giving to those in need. Many of the parents in the church encouraged their children to give to the challenge instead of buying a Christmas present.

The Red Bowl Challenge was open to any church, ministry or person who wanted to give to orphans during the holiday season. Although most of those involved were churches, we did have a few individuals step up and give. The following is a precious story that challenged us.

In one of the poorest schools in Dallas-Fort Worth Texas, an elementary school teacher decided to take the challenge with her class. As a believer, the teacher wanted to help her students learn that it is better to give then to receive. The students are poor and the only meals they usually get are breakfast and lunch from the school. Even still, the children were generous and together they gave $40. One day during the challenge a student came up to the teacher and said he didn’t have any money for lunch that day. So the teacher took a few dollars out of the red rice bowl to pay for the meal. When all the students asked why she did that, the teacher replied, “this money is going to help hungry kids and we have someone here who needs it today”. The teacher then told her class that she would add money to cover what the student used, which she did… Lesson learned.

If you would like to join this teacher by helping to feed orphans all year long, Rice Bowls has brown bowls available to order for free. You may order as many bowls as you need at http://ricebowls.org/order. Although the Red Bowl Challenge has passed, you still have an opportunity to give meals. Please pray about what the Lord might have you give.

Here is a video with some of the happy children we were able to feed.

Sajina and kids thank the Red Bowl Challengers from Rice Bowls.

Below is a list of a few of our favorites from these past 3 months.

EFCA Start Churches ReachNational – Minneapolis, MN
efcastartchurches.org – Relaunched: December 2011

Redeemer Church – Norman, OK
redeemerchurch.cc – Launched: December 2011

Damascus Road Church – Marysville, WA
damascusroadchurch.org – Launched: November 2011

Red Bowl Challenge | Rice Bowls – Spartanburg, SC
redbowlchallenge.org – Launched: November 2011

Green Run Baptist Church – Virginia Beach, VA
greenrunbaptist.com – Launched: October 2011

Immanuel Baptist Church – Traverse City, MI
immanueltc.org – Launched: October 2011

We all need a good friend like Linus. A brother to come along and remind us of the facts so we don’t get caught up in our emotions. That is why we partner with gospel-centered ministries. We want to serve people like Linus, people whose mission is to remind forgetful Charlie Browns like us. Praise God for Linus!

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men.” (Luke 2:8-14 KJV)

Thank you Linus… that is what Christmas is all about.

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

Although we have been getting a number of kind comments about this major update, here are a few notes that we wanted to share with our Bloggage readers.

"I really like all the upgrades to the Content Management System! Especially for the rotator. Thanks for all the work you guys put into it."
~ Robin Verderame, Grace Community Church

"I was just over there playing with the rotator. More fun than a human should be allowed."
~ Tom Jackson, Christian Believers United

"Just want to say I LOVE THE NEW CMS!!!!! It's awesome!! So user friendly and fast too! I was able to easily get the hang of posting videos and updating my navigation... Thank you sooo much and God Bless!!"
~ Marilyne Cartagena, Fordham Manor Church

Here is a list of some new/updated features that we added...

• Create New button (Dashboard and Admin shelf) - quick access to create new content.
• Help Center tab - pop up video tutorials and articles that help with every module.
• New navigation module - drag and drop functionality has been significantly enhanced.
• New tabs in sermons, events, posts - no scrolling for overview, details and content.
• Blogs are now Posts - many people use this module for articles so "Posts" made sense.
• Files and usage - we now display what percentage of your 100 GB that you are using.
• Upload a new file - easier to upload, link to and/or embed files within every module.
• Rotator module - easily select, link, and organize images with 6 transition effects.

This update has truly been our labor of love for the past year and a half. To give you a taste of these new features, here is an overview video from our Managing Director, Dustin Stearman.

Our hope is that more than 1,000 churches and gospel ministries will partner with Rice Bowls during this holiday season. To help motivate the givers, we are giving away a FREE Church Plant Media website (valued at $1,000 one time + $50/month) to the church or gospel ministry that sponsors the most meals between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day.

If you don’t need a new website, then the FREE website will be yours to give away in January!

Will you take the Red Bowl Challenge?

1. Fill out the form to order 1 red bowl for your church or gospel ministry.
2. Fill the bowl – inspire everyone to donate between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day.
3. Send the funds to Rice Bowls by Friday, January 6th and feed some kids!
4. The biggest giver will be given a FREE Church Plant Media website in January.

Who can win the free website?

Any gospel-loving church or ministry that provides the most meals can win. This challenge is designed for congregations and para-church ministries to pool their resources and feed children. The only stipulation that we have in order to win the free website is that participants affirm our Gospel Agreement.

How many meals will be given to orphans?

With the help of over 50 Christian orphanage partners across the globe, Rice Bowls is able to provide 4 meals for every US dollar. That means you can provide 250 meals for the price as a 16-pound Turkey. We’re not saying don’t eat the bird… but we would love your help in feeding the children too!

Why is it an awesome time to give now?

The holidays are a great time to celebrate and give thanks for all that the Lord has done for us. That’s why we have teamed up with Rice Bowls to challenge churches and ministries to take part. In fact, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, Church Plant Media has committed to give a percentage of every website sale, directly to the Red Bowl Challenge. If we all work together, we can do something amazing for orphaned children around the world in the name of Christ.

When will we announce the winner of the website?

We will announce the final meal total along with the website winner on this blog after the 1st week of January. Still have questions? Call Rice Bowls at 866-312-5791, and ask about the Red Bowl Challenge.

To learn more about the Red Bowl Challenge go to: www.redbowlchallenge.org

To give you a taste of the album, we have posted the song, 4:17-32 The New Life below.

Track Listing

1. 1:1-2 Greetings
2. 1:3-14 Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3. 1:15-23 Thanksgiving & Prayer
4. 2:1-10 By Grace Through Faith
5. 2:11-22 One in Christ - feat. Ben Otero
6. 3:1-13 The Mystery of The Gospel Revealed
7. 3:14-21 Prayer for Spiritual Strength
8. 4:1-16 Unity in The Body of Christ
9. 4:17-32 The New Life - feat. Ben Otero
10. 5:1-21 Walk in Love
11. 5:22-33 Wives & Husbands
12. 6:1-4 Children & Parents - feat. Ben Otero
13. 6:5-9 Slaves & Masters - feat. Ben Otero
14. 6:10-20 The Armor of God
15. 6:21-23 Final Greetings
16. Ephesians Overview
17. Fight for the Children

4:17-32 The New Life features Evangel from ChristCentric and Benjamin the Esquire. You'll hear Ben jump in at the 1:45 minute mark. Ben's lyrics are listed below so you can read along with his rhymes.

Let honesty be the policy with your neighbor
regardless of their flavor you're acknowledging the Savior
paying homage every day cuz He abolished the old way bruh
especially with the brothers of the household of faith
if you lie to one another seek the power of grace
if the hour is late the devil's prowling the place
he tries devouring the plates of cats who sour like grapes
but the seed that I planted grows the flower of faith
and while I'm rocking your brain upon this topic of change
let the crook who took just put a stop to his game
He should replace what he stole and make an honest living
Sharing from the wealth that the Lord God has given
Instead of foul speech that corrupts the listener
gather round peeps and instruct with wisdom to
spread more grace to those within earshot
Don't grieve the Holy Spirit if you really fear God
He brought us near God and is living amongst us
He sealed old heads and He does it for youngsters
guarantees that we will reach the final destination
my final exhortation is for life and restoration
hardened hearts breed anger and wrath
don't be a bitter spitter of pitiful slanderous crap
I write tough words so your heart will be softened
Christ forgave sins, so forgive your brothers often

So, why did we change our church-only policy and why did we lower our price?

The word “church” is front and center in our name and serving churches has been our primary focus many years. However, over the years many gospel-advancing, Christ-exalting, para-church ministries have approached us asking for websites. From time to time we have made exceptions to the church-only rule based on their gospel-centered focus. So instead of just making more exceptions to the rule, we thought it would serve everyone better if we just changed the rule.

Our mission is still all about the gospel. We want to help expand the reach of the gospel as far as we can. This is the primary reason we have lowered our price to $1,000. We’ve never been the least expensive website solution, nor the most expensive. We think this new price will be a very cost-effective solution to help advance even more gospel ministry.

If you agree, give us a shout and let us know how we can serve your church & mission.

Enjoy these recent favorites and give us a shout if you have any questions.

Grace Advance - Sun Valley, CA
 (design only)
graceadvance.org - Launched: September 2011

Trinity Life Church - Macon, GA
trinitylifechurchga.com - Launched: September 2011

Kirkplace - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
kirkplace.org.au - Launched: September 2011

Grace Fellowship Church - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
gfcto.com - Launched: September 2011

Anchor Church - Seattle, WA
anchorseattle.org - Launched: September 2011

Grace Fellowship - San Antonio, TX
gracefellowshipsa.org - Launched: August 2011

Leicester City Vineyard - Leicester, United Kingdom
leicestercityvineyard.org.uk - Launched: August 2011

Grace to You - Panorama City, CA (design only)
gty.org - Launched: August 2011

We are grateful to have Jim as a part of our team. If you are part of a large gospel ministry and you want to get connected with Church Plant Media, then Jim is your man! To learn more, please visit Jim’s bio page.

Welcome to the team Jim!

MYTH #1: We don’t have the money.

Although this may be true in areas of the world that are under the burden of poverty, it is seldom true in most of the United States. Our team has created a cost-effective solution with pricing that is reachable with very little fund raising. It really comes down to vision. If you have a vision for a website, you can find the money to fund it. Put your vision and the need to fund it before your people and ask God to move in their hearts. Time and time again we have seen God provide for online ministry when His people keep asking. But you usually have not if you ask not.

With that said, given the current economy we do not want to minimize the reality of financial hardship. We realize there may be a number of congregations that do not even have enough to pay for their pastor’s salary, let alone a brand new website. Never fear, there are a number of free and low-cost blogging services available that require little to no money. Simply type “free blog” into a search engine and you’ll find what you are looking for. A low or no cost solution is only a few clicks away.

MYTH #2: We don’t have the people.

This may be valid in some respects, but only to a certain degree. We understand that the pastor needs to be about the Father’s business, feeding and caring for the flock. But if the pastor understands email and has a Facebook account, he can easily have a functioning website without help. If you decide to go with our custom-built Content Management System (CMS), there is no technical knowledge needed. So even if there is no one to help, you can still update your website by yourself in a matter of minutes.

But you do not need to do the website on your own if you don’t want to. Again, you have not because you ask not. If you are not putting the need before the people, the people will not know you have the need. We encourage you to put your vision before the people from the pulpit and ask for volunteers. We also encourage you to pray. God knows your need even before you ask Him. Just keep asking, until the Lord provides.

MYTH #3: We don’t have the time.

This is a myth born out of a misunderstanding. Do you have time to check e-mail? Then you have time to update a website. Given how easy it is to build and maintain a website using our CMS, it just takes a matter of minutes to keep it current. The greatest time commitment is the initial setup. From there, you simply take 5-10 minutes each week to post new content and make updates.

My own pastor had this same concern at first, until he started posting his sermons every week. He was shocked at how easy it was to post his message manuscript and now he does it weekly. It probably takes him less time to post his sermon, then it does to print it out for his preaching notes. Although a very helpful communicator of God’s word, he knows very little about the Internet. He just needed some encouragement and a step of faith to try. We encourage you to do the same.

As we have seen above, the three biggest myths are rooted in not asking or not trying. We would encourage you to turn your heart to God’s word found in Matthew 7:7-11 for the best answer to these myths…

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (ESV)