God has prepared a wonderful harvest for us...!

What Is A Dad?

At the funeral today of Dan Abbott, a wonderful man and a charter member of Hillcrest Church, I noticed this poetic tribute to fathers on the service program entitled, "What's A Dad?"

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it...Dad.

Helping NYC Churches Help Hurricane Sandy Victims

Wednesday, October 31st

Dear Antioch Church Family,

Earlier this year, our Pastors and Elders spent several days visiting churches and being mentored by leaders in the greater New York City area, including Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, the Bronx, and lower Manhattan, along with the New Jersey and Connecticut suburbs. Here is an excerpt from an email I just received from one of them about the conditions in their neighborhood:

70 percent of the people in our city, Jersey City, do not have power. Right now on my block I hear people honking horns and screaming at each other - the streetlights are not working. I'm concerned about the people that are in the housing projects a few blocks from us, I think they might be flooded. Our pastoral staff all have power which is quite a miracle, and our church also has power - many of the people around us don't so that was definitely God. The roof on my house is partially damaged lots shingles missing, and the church roof is damaged from the rains - its a tar roof, water was leaking into the building in a couple of spots during the rain. There has been some looting. Thankfully no one is hurt from the storm or anything else. We have asked the congregation members that have power to take in those that don't temporarily, its in the 40's at night. Convoy of Hope is supposed to be coming but I'm not sure where the resources will be applied, I would like to be able to at least get diapers, milk/formula - I'm concerned for the babies. We kept our daycare open, the parents asked us too so at least their kids would have somewhere warm to be - the schools are all closed.

This is only the second day with no power and people are acting crazy - it's such a shame, but I expect it from non-Christians when they are scared. There's two guys fighting outside right now. Power is supposed to be out for 7 to 10 days, so I'm not sure how people will be acting a few days from now. Hopefully it will happen faster - not sure.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy's devastation, the relationships we established with these pastors and local churches offer us an unusual opportunity to give direct financial assistance to the storm victims in a way that also provides for their ongoing spiritual care.

This Sunday, we will be receiving a special offering for Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief. When you receive this email, I encourage you to pause for a moment and ask God what He would have you give. If you will be unable to attend our worship service, you can also contribute online via our church website by clicking here.

100% of what you designate for this purpose will go to help these congregations meet this need.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call my Administrative Assistant, Lauryn Everett, in our church offices: 972-392-3992 or email her at: leverett@teamantioch.com.

As an Antioch Church, God wants us to meet human needs in His name through radical generosity. Your gift of whatever size will help us do this. Thank you in advance for your giving!

Teresa and I love you and thank God for the privilege of serving you!

Pastor Mark

Syvelle Phillips Funeral Service

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Dear Antioch Church Family,

Yesterday, our dear brother in the Lord, Syvelle Phillips, member of Antioch Church and of our Apostolic Oversight Council, went to be with Jesus.

Visitation will take place this Thursday evening, October 18th from 6-8pm at the Rest Haven Funeral Home at 2500 State Highway 66 East in Rockwall.

The funeral will take place this Friday morning, October 19th, at 11:00am at the Church in the City at 6005 Dalrock Road in Rowlett.

Please join us in praying for his wife, Lovie, and their family.

Pastor Mark

See you tomorrow at "A Family Affair...!"

Saturday, September 29th

Dear Antioch Church Family,

Don't forget our very special Family Affair Worship Service at 10:30am tomorrow morning at the beautiful Room on Main Street. You won’t want to miss this very special moment in God’s presence as our combined English and Hispanic congregations join together in Holy Communion followed by a free catered light meal. 

Located on the 6^th floor of 2030 Main Street close to the Central Expressway - Highway 75, the Room on Main offers views of our cityscape and easy access via automobile, DART rail, or Dallas city bus. We have arranged for free parking for our church family nearby as shown on the map below with detailed directions. Our children’s ministry will provide care for infants and toddlers up to 5 years of age. All other children will join with us in this family-friendly worship experience.

I'll see you in the morning...!

Pastor Mark Brand

Our first service downtown is this Sunday...!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Dear Antioch Church Family,

This Sunday we will take an historic step forward as we celebrate our first worship service downtown at 10:30am in the Dallas Black Dance Theatre at 2700 Flora Street. After months of praying, believing, and preparing, God has opened a door for us to glorify Him and serve others throughout the Metroplex from the very heart of Dallas!

Here is some practical and important information to help you find your way to our new meeting location:

• HOW TO GET THERE - The Dallas Black Dance Theatre is quickly and easily accessible from anywhere in the greater Dallas area by either car or public transportation (See the end of this letter for details).
• TIME - Our English language worship service will begin at 10:30am. Our Spanish language worship service will run concurrently.
• CHILDREN’S MINISTRY WITH PASTOR PATSY – Check-in will begin at 10:00am.
• COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP - We will provide coffee and light refreshments for thirty minutes prior to the start of our worship services.
• FREE PARKING - Plenty of parking available in two separate lots. One is immediately adjacent to the Theatre itself. The other is located one block away at the corner of Ross & Routh Streets.We are expecting a great crowd, so if you want to park in the adjacent lot, I encourage you to come early!

As we enter into this new and exciting phase of our ministry, I want to encourage you to do three things:

• PRAY – Ask and believe God for His special blessing to rest upon our church family as we take this exciting new step forward into our destiny. Pray for the presence of God to fill the Dallas Black Dance Theatre as we gather together and lift up our voices in praise to Him. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give me a fresh, new anointing as I preach God’s Word. Pray for the army of volunteers that will be sacrificially investing their time and giftings in our ministries each week. Though often unnoticed behind the scenes, their work is absolutely vital to everything we do. Pray that souls will be saved and lives transformed in every single service and that God will give great increase to our congregation.
• SERVE – Worshipping in this interim, downtown location will require an enormous amount of set-up and tear-down every Sunday. We are also rolling out brand-new ministries designed to welcome and integrate our first-time guests. Here is the “bottom-line”: WE NEED YOU…! If you have not already found your place of service in our congregation’s ministries or if you are willing to invest additional time in service to the Lord through our church, please contact Pastor David Estrada immediately via email, text, or phone (david.estrada@teamantioch.com or 972-333-2094).
• BRING – God wants to grow our church. He will use you and me to do it as we bring others to our services and ministries. As I have been doing this myself in recent weeks, I have been amazed at the level of interest, even excitement, my words have sparked in the hearts of total strangers. The Holy Spirit is sovereignly at work preparing many, many people’s hearts to respond to a personal invitation to come and check out the new church God is birthing in downtown Dallas. I encourage you to capitalize on this by inviting everyone you can to come with you this weekend.

As I reflect upon all that God has done to position our church family for this moment and all that He is about to do in and through us, my heart is deeply moved. We are called to be a unique, Antioch kind of church…

…one filled with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit…
…one that loves God’s Word and tries to do everything it says…
…one that cares for the needy and works hard to transform our own community…
…one that sends out missionaries to impact nations around the world…
…one whose ethnic diversity looks like Dallas…

                                                                               …one that looks like heaven…!

As we allow God to use us to raise up this very special kind of spiritual community, we are going to experience the thrill and the privilege of seeing Him help us bring many, many people into a personal, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Nothing could be more fulfilling or more meaningful for any one of our lives.

I am so thankful for the privilege of working together with you to see this vision become a reality. Teresa and I love you and thank God for the privilege of serving you. We believe the very, very best is yet to come…and YOU are going to be a part of it…!

See you this Sunday…!

Pastor Mark Brand

P.S. Tomorrow, Saturday, September 8th, we are holding a special volunteer orientation and training session at the Dallas Black Dance Theatre from 3-6pm. We would love to have you join us if you are not already planning to attend. Email Pastor David Estrada at:david.estrada@teamantioch.com or call him at: (972) 333-2094 to let him know and we will add some additional refreshments just for you.

FINDING OUR NEW LOCATION

By DART Rail

Take any train on any line toward downtown. Get off at the Pearl Street station. The Dallas Black Dance Theatre is 4 ½ blocks away at Ross Avenue and Arts Plaza. If you have problems walking that distance, please contact Pastor David Estrada via email, text, or by phone, and he will arrange for you to picked up at the station.

By DART Bus

City buses #24 and #51 stop immediately adjacent to the property (Get off at theRoss@ArtsPlaza stop).

Bus #24 runs between the Mockingbird and West End DART Rail stations.

Online schedules for both DART Rail and Bus are available at: www.dart.org.

By Car (via US 75/Central Expressway)

Coming south on US 75/Central Expressway, follow the I-45 signs past the Woodall Rogers Freeway and immediately take the Ross Avenue exit (#285). Turn right at the stoplight onto Ross Avenue and the Dallas Black Dance Theatre parking lot will be on your right.

By Car (via I-35/Woodall Rogers)

Coming either north or south on I-35, follow the US-75 signs onto Woodall Rogers Freeway. Take the Pearl Street/Arts District exit. It will loop around in a circle and bring you to the stoplight at the Woodall Rogers frontage road at the foot of the new Museum Tower Apartment Building. Turn right onto the Woodall Rogers frontage road and continue forward while staying in the far right lane past the Dallas Symphony/Meyerson Center, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, and the Booker T. Washington School for the Performing Arts. Follow the frontage road as it curves to the right past Fellowship.Com church until you come to the stoplight at Ross Avenue. Turn right onto Ross Avenue and the Dallas Black Dance Theatre parking lot will be on your right.

Step by step, the vision becomes reality...!

Why Move Downtown?

A very special announcement...!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Dear Antioch Church Family,

I have some GREAT news…!

We are going to be able to move our Sunday morning worship services into the heart of downtown Dallas starting September 9th…! The interim location God has provided for us as the architects and builders work on our own, permanent church campus is a very special place with lots of rich history. Our vision to be a church in the heart of our city is about to become a reality…! PTL…!

We have already relocated our church offices into rented space above the Chipotle restaurant on the West End DART Rail station platform, just a few steps away from our own property and across the intersection from the Corner Bakery. This is an ideal place for our ministry base during the upcoming construction of our new church campus.

Our staff and I invite you to drop by and check out our new offices during our “Open House” tomorrow afternoon (Friday the 17th) from noon - 5:00PM. We will have coffee and light refreshments and we would love show you around and answer whatever questions you may have about this new phase of our congregation’s ministry.

Our new church offices are located at: 208 North Market Street, Suite #450, Dallas, TX 75202. The easiest way to reach them is by taking any of the DART rail trains or city buses to the West End DART Rail Station. If you prefer to drive your car, please call us at 972-392-3992 so we can furnish you with a code you can use to park free in the lot next door.

I look forward to seeing you at our open house tomorrow and in our service this Sunday. Teresa and I love you and thank God for the privilege of serving you…! We believe the very, very best is yet to come and we are glad you are going to be a part of it…!

Pastor Mark

The Jankes Are Coming...!

Make your Vision Breakfast reservation now...!

We Have Bought The Block...!

Praying For Our City

Here are some thoughts that came to my heart this week while praying over our city downtown.

A Call to Prayer and Fasting...

HAPPY NEW YEAR…!

Dear Hillcrest Church Family,

Here we are on the cusp of a brand new year and as I heard one person put it many years ago, “Our future is as bright as the promises of God!” The Lord has planted a very simple yet powerful promise from His Word deep in my heart,

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8 ESV) 

As we begin our annual 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting today, I call upon you to ask God how He would have you to participate in this time. Through prayer and fasting, we are laying a foundation for our future as individuals and as a congregation.

In our service this morning, I am going to be sharing some key principles concerning fasting from the life of Jesus. If you would like further information on this subject, I encourage you to check out two of my blog posts from a few years back by clicking here and here.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark