Help us bless Delta High School!

This year, in lieu of Christmas for Kids program, where we take kids shopping, we want to bless our new neighbors: Delta High School, by providing a Christmas gift on their last day of school.

This gift will include a movie ticket pass, some candy, and an Element bookmark.

We really can't do this every year without your generous donations. You can write a check and and turn it in at the small Christmas Present at the Welcome Center, or donate online here, and select "Christmas for Kids!" in the first drop down box.

If you have questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" (Matthew 25:40 ESV)

Take a moment to envision with me a common experience in any city in the US.

You're in middle school and come home from school to find someone from Child Protective Services (CPS) and a police officer waiting for you. They tell you that your single parent made a mistake, and you're going to have to go with CPS so that they can find you a safe place to sleep tonight.

Situations like this happen often, but there other times when the situation has no criminal or law enforcement element.

A teenager might have the wherewithal to know what to grab on the way out of the house. But what if it's a crime scene now, and you cannot even enter your own home? What if all you have is your backpack for school and a skateboard?

Here in the Santa Maria Valley, we have this outreach that helps prepare people like the CPS staff with the most basic of items that they can have ready for situations just like this. They call them GoBags.



At Element, we've helped put together these GoBags in the past, and we're doing it again. During the month of November, after each service, there will be a table set up where you can get any questions answered, and pick up a large zip lock bag with all the instructions. You can choose between making up a bag for an infant, toddler, school-aged child, or a teenager. 

All we ask is that you go purchase the items on the list and return the bags to us within the month of November. These are regular items that you would need to make that first few nights not as bad as it could have been. The list has common items for their first nights such as: Pajamas, a Toothbrush, Socks, a Blanket, and a small toy or coloring book. We ask that these are new items for safety and hygiene reasons.

Then just bring the filled bag, along with the original instruction card, to the GoBag booth before or after the service you attend.

Again, we’ll be doing this all of November. Please take the time to consider how supporting children with GoBags can and does impact our community here in the Santa Maria Valley.

"But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'” (Matthew 19:14 ESV)

As we mentioned two weeks ago, Advent is just around the corner. Advent means arrival, coming into a place, or even coming into being. We want to take a concentrated look during the Christmas season about what the arrival of Jesus meant, and still means, to all of us.
 
We want to encourage all of you to join us on Sunday, November 22^nd for a shared meal in people’s homes as we kick off our Christmas Advent Season. This will be a Thanksgiving type dinner with a time of reflection and joyful celebration.
 
The dinners we have done on past years during the month of November are called Agape meals. Agape is a Greek word for love that was used to translate a Hebrew word for love that was only ascribed to God in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we are told that we are first given love by God in order to love like God loves. Agape dinners are designed to encourage people to see that a dinner in, and surrounded by, community is not a one-time yearly event, but a symbol of Jesus in our daily lives as we are united and growing as His disciples in grace and love.
 
Just like the Agape meals encourage us to share the love of Jesus year round, so Advent does the same thing. Advent reminds us that Jesus’ incarnation was not just good news for those that lived 2000 years ago, it is also good news for us today.
 
This year we are combining the kick off of Advent and the Agape meals together in order to better understand God’s grace as we live with one another.  We will hand out Advent journey guides at these meals so we can all take this ride together. We will have several host homes throughout Santa Maria, Lompoc and Nipomo and would love for you to join in.
 
If you are not comfortable joining one of our Gospel Communities for a meal, we would still encourage you, at the start of Advent, to grab some journey guides, invite your family and/or neighbors over for a meal and spend time with them, getting to know them better.

Signup here to join a Gospel Community/Host Home 

This year at Element we are doing something we have never attempted, we are celebrating a season of the church calendar called Advent. This will be arriving to you in the form of an Advent booklet that we have been painstakingly putting together for the last few months. On November 22^nd we will all take this Advent journey together as a church. It will start in a time of sober reflection that should (and will, in our case) lead to a time of loud joy.
 


Advent takes place over the four weeks that lead up to Christmas, with each week being a reflection of Christmas (Christ’s) fulfillment. Why are we doing Advent this year? I would love to explain.
 
As a culture, even in churches, we tend to forget what Christmas truly entails. We buy gifts, run to parties, eat too much, possibly drink too much, and when Christmas is over we feel the presence of Christ less than when we started. This should never happen as the point of Christmas is Jesus, the word Christmas even starts with “Christ.”
 
So, prepare the way…and prepare yourselves. There will be more coming.
 
Advent 2015

I have to admit, I love change.  For those of you who haven’t heard, Children’s and Youth ministry here at Element are going through some changes.  Our beloved Youth Director, James, is flying out of the nest and spreading his wings (like one of his many animal t-shirts, he has to own an eagle one, right?). He will be heading to Washington, and as a result of that flight, we are taking this time to do something that we’ve been contemplating for a long time, merging the Children’s and Youth ministries under one heading:
 

This is an exciting time, and the best decision for our church (in my humble opinion), but I’d be lying if I didn’t say change is hard and nerve wracking. First of all, who wants to try to fill James’ shoes? Certainly not me, that’s why I’m not even going to try. We have amazing leaders in the youth program, and that isn’t changing. The relationships your kids have developed will stay constant.
 
And the Junior High?  They’ll still get to do all those weird youth games on Sunday morning just like always (even the ones I don’t understand, like the Goldfish Game). There will still be service projects, Music, and Youth Trips. ? Check. Thursdays? Check.
 
The things that are changing are all for the better.  We want to turn ministry to families on its head.  We want you, as parents to be empowered to teach your kids spiritual truths, and then turn to Element for support in that job.  That’s how God laid it out in Deuteronomy 6:6-9  “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”
 
As Element itself focuses on Gospel Communities, eFamilies will be placing a large emphasis on Student Communities.  At Element we want to, "transform community into Gospel Community" as evidenced by our mission statement.  The understanding of GCs will start from the youngest child up. We want our students to experience community at their level, and then transition from student community to a contributing member of a church Gospel Community upon graduating from high school.
 
Our hope is that our student communities relationships will flourish and grow with the leaders they already know, and that will give the students the confidence to start new relationships with those outside of their circles to show Jesus to the people around them.
 
My hope is that I can serve as a resource to you as parents. I trust that with the Youth leaders’ help, we can add on to the foundation that Jesus has laid through James, and continue to see this ministry flourish and grow (to a point that we have trouble fitting the students into classrooms). My desire is to equip the leaders that are working with your kids to build relationships with them that model the love of Jesus as a supplement to the relationships that you hold with your children. My desire is to work with you to lead your kids to love Jesus, and your kids in turn to lead others to love Jesus as well.
 
I do love change, but I love change with purpose.  The best change of all is to see people come to Christ and to witness that magnificent transformation. I’m excited to take this journey with you and see what changes Jesus has in store in the lives of the students at Element.
 
If you want to sign up and get involved from the beginning, sign up here.  We have lots of ways to be involved, both on the front lines, and behind the scenes.
 

Last Sunday was our Baptisms, and we had 9 people baptized! If you didn't make it, or missed reading the stories, this weeks blog is simply a link to them. Please read them, be excited for them, and always stand amazed at the goodness of our great God.

This is James, and if you haven’t heard yet; I’m moving to Washington. I have felt this leading for over a year, maybe even closer to two years. Last year I went to Aaron and talked about this call in my life; he and the elders gave me the freedom to explore. After almost a year, and some craziness, I found a job I’m really excited about: I’ve been hired as the director of High School Ministry at Bethel Church in Richland Washington.
 
I was hoping that God would send me to the woodsy forest area of Washington, but He has His own plan and is sending me to the high desert with rivers. To be honest this has not worked out like I planned, my plan put me leaving a few months ago and settled me in the cool forest part of the Pacific Northwest, needless to say it’s been a little frustrating. In my plan failing God has been at work. God has provided better than what I envisioned.  With this post I would like to simply share some of my heart with you.
 
I have served as Director of Youth Ministries at Element for 7 years, and for each week of those 7 years I have looked forward to Thursday night as my favorite night of the week. In my 7 years I have grown a lot…I started this job when I was 19. I have learned a lot, I have failed a lot, and I have loved getting the chance to minister to your children. Sometimes (lets be real) as parents it’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of teenagers to the point that we don’t actually get to enjoy them. Let me remind you; you have awesome kids! The group that we have right now is a fun one, I have loved being involved in their lives and getting a front row seat to watch them grow in their love of Christ!
 
Children are a blessing; we say it often because we forget it often. Let me encourage and challenge you to enjoy the blessing God has placed in your life, lead them, teach them, and grow with them. Your children have been a wonderful blessing to me, and I will miss them greatly.
 
Leaving Element has nothing to do with me being mad at anyone who goes to Element (or especially) the leadership here. I love Element and I love its leadership. I’m excited to see what God has in store for Hailey and me, but I am terrified to leave (not because I worry for Element, but selfishly I’m worried for me). I’m hurting in leaving these great relationships that have developed over the years. I want to thank you for letting me speak the truth of Christ into student’s lives and into your lives.

Many of the students have surprised me with their reactions to the news that I am leaving, because many of them have said that the youth ministry is going to be just fine. A few students said, “We have been learning how to care for each other as you have been caring for us, you left us with a great example and we will be ok.” These responses have brought me the most hope as I get to look back on my time at Element not wondering if I could have done more (there is always more), but I get to look at my time at Element as a season where God used me to grow and develop these students. 
 
As I said, I have been working on moving for just about a year now, Christie and the team has been coming up with plans when I step out of youth. The plan they have is a brilliant one (and I’m not just saying that because that’s the right thing to say when you leave). I truly believe this plan is the best option for Element and our ministry to you, your children, teenagers, and all the families that come to Element.  
 
With the plan there is going to be some restructuring, with all restructuring there will be hick-ups because it’s a time of growth, Element’s ministry to families is growing, please be patient and helpful in this stage of growth. Ultimately I believe these changes will platform Element, and you as parents, to better minister to youth and children so get involved!
 
There is so much to say, but I’ll end with these two things; 1. God is very good and I can’t wait to see what He does through Element and our ministry to Santa Maria. 2. Thank you for being patient with me as I have grown.
 
I will truly miss you all and the family that Element has been. 
 
Humbly,
James.
             

"What is your quest?”...”To seek the Grail!" 
 
In my attempt to treat my wife to an evening of culture, I recently took her to see a local production of Spamalot.  For those of you not acquainted with the finer works of the Broadway stage, Spamalot is a theatrical adaptation of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  If you are a fan of the movie, you won't be disappointed.  The play is exactly what you'd expect.  It has all of your favorite characters and scenes, but they are now set to music.  A song from Life of Brian even makes the bill. 
 
I am sure, for those of you who have not seen the musical, it is a safe bet you have at least seen the film.  The rest of you, seriously, get Netflix and join the human race.  Regardless of which camp you fall into, you should understand one important point about the plot: King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are on a quest from God to find the Holy Grail.  The Grail, just so we are all on equal footing, is the cup that Jesus drank from at the last supper (Matt. 26:27).
 
In the play as in the film, when King Arthur is given this quest, God appears in the clouds in all of His kingly regalia, complete with flowing white beard.  As any of us would do in this same situation, the knights commence groveling and averting their eyes (Matt 17:1-13).  That's when God gives King Arthur his purpose: to find the Grail.  Arthur is to use his quest to set an example in dark times. 
 
The irony was not lost on me that -- much like God does for King Arthur in the play -- Jesus set each one of us on a quest as He ascended into the heavens.  That quest is to make disciples of the nations and baptize them in His name (Mark 16:15-19).  And we, like the Knights of the Round Table, often find ourselves on many "holy" misadventures that distract us from the quest to which we were charged. 
 
Take King Arthur for example.  Here is a man who was the leader of the band, the man who received the primary instruction from God, yet he often found himself far from the path on which he started.  Shortly after consulting a blind oracle, King Arthur found himself lost in a dark forest embroiled in an epic struggle with the Knights Who Say Ni.  After matching wits with the fearsome Knights of Ni, Arthur uses all of his skill to produce a shrubbery, which appeases the Knights.  Now, I don't mean to suggest that Arthur was not devoted to the task of finding the Grail, but his efforts, noble as they may have been, didn't get him any closer to his goal. 
 
Like Arthur and the Knights of Ni, Christ followers devoted to the Great Commission of Jesus often find themselves engaged in Godly side quests that don't get them closer to their charge of winning souls.  What do I mean?  Christians do a lot of good for a lot of people.  We give money to the poor, we work in food pantries, we lead Bible studies, and we are generally good citizens; all good things.  However, as noble as those quests are, what they aren't is the quest that Christ charged us with: to make disciples of the nations, teaching them to obey all He commanded and baptizing them in His name. 
 
So, what can we do about it?  First, keep fighting the side quests! Give to the poor; lead a Bible study; slay the Black Knight; defeat the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog with the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.  But when you do, remember that all of those good works need to serve the Gospel. Take the time to tell people that Christ died in their place when you are out on your side quests. You will have to be brave, like Arthur and his Knights (except Sir Robin). The Gospel is offensive and its enemies are many.  However, you need not fear your enemies, because God promises to go with you on your quest (Matt 28:20, Ps 23).  Arm yourself with the Word of God, because like Excalibur, it cuts right to the marrow of those whom God has called. 
 
Let me encourage each of you: God has called you by name. You are on a quest.  Be brave like Sir Lancelot when he took Swamp castle, so his steed Concord would not have died in vain.  In our case, be brave and obey Christ to tell others about the gospel, because Jesus died that we might live. 

Our Jr. High & High School students are away at camp this week. Here is a picture of them leaving early Monday morning. We ask that you keep them and their leaders in your prayers this week and as they return on Friday

Did you miss the Volunteer Information Workshop we had a few weeks ago? Interested in knowing some of the many areas around Element we need help with? Jesus is gracious and good, His work on the cross in service to us teaches how to be servants ourselves. Element "happens" because so many people sacrifice financially and also give of their time and talents. Most of what happens around Element is done by volunteers, and for that, we thank you! 

We've put together a booklet that has some of the common areas of service at Element, with brief descriptions as well. You can download it by clicking on the link above. If you're interested in checking out any of the areas, you can either fill out this online form, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fill out the paper form in the booklet and visit the Welcome Center on Sunday!

We truly are grateful to all of our volunteers, and for you for considering how you can help us take the Gospel further!