1. Art and Diseño

february 2015
Heaven, How I Got Here: The Plan
If you ask the average American, “Do you think you
will go to heaven?” they will most likely respond,
“I hope so.” If you ask “Why?” they will generally
answer, “I think I’ve been a pretty good person.”
Most people lack certainty about their eternal
destiny because they lack clarity about what it takes
to get to heaven.
We have a tremendous opportunity during Holy
Week to invite our friends to a live adaptation of
Pastor Colin Smith’s new book, Heaven, How I Got
Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross, which was
written for people who are uncertain about going to
heaven or are unclear about how to get there.
The Orchard will present Heaven, How I Got Here:
A Night with the Thief on the Cross, featuring
actor and evangelist Stephen Baldwin in the role
as the thief in this one-man performance. The
six scheduled events are specifically designed
to provide an experience of exceptional clarity
about the Gospel. The thief on the cross had no
opportunity to earn God’s favor through a good life
or to make up in any way for the life he had lived.
His story – portrayed during the performances and
then presented in the book each guest will receive
– will open the door for hundreds of conversations
about the fact that salvation is by grace alone
through faith alone in Christ alone. Our prayer is
that this gift of clarity will lead hundreds of people
to make certain where they stand with Jesus.
Pastor Colin called this account “the clearest story
in Scripture illustrating the fact that salvation is by
grace alone and cannot be by works.”
WHAT’S THE PLAN?
Live performances of Heaven, How I Got Here: A
Night with the Thief on the Cross are scheduled
for March 31, April 1 and April 2 – the Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday of Holy Week – at both
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at The Orchard’s Arlington
Heights Campus. With six events planned, there are
nearly 5,000 seats available for the performances.
Ideally, 2,500 people from The Orchard will invite
2,500 of their friends, family and others in their
spheres of influence. Of course, the math probably
won’t work out quite that neatly, but it gives you
an idea of the great opportunity we have to invite
people to hear and experience the Gospel.
In order to fill all of those seats, we all need to be
proactive in reaching out to the people God has
placed around us.
PARTNERING WITH STEPHEN BALDWIN
Stephen Baldwin grew up in a Catholic family in New York. He
followed his three older brothers into the acting business and
quickly became successful. He also dived headlong into drugs
and alcohol and escaped their deadly pull only through Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA) and
a desire to salvage his
relationship with Kennya,
the woman he eventually
married. After the births
of their two daughters,
it was Kennya who hired
a housekeeper from
her home country of
Brazil. And it was Kennya
who pleaded with this
Christian housekeeper,
Augusta, to sing about
something other than
Jesus all the time.
WHOM SHOULD YOU
INVITE?
These events are for people
who are uncertain about going
to heaven or are unclear about
how to get there. Invite people
with whom you interact regularly.
Who are the people in your
“neighborhood” or circle of influence?
Augusta laughed as she
explained that the reason
she had come from Brazil
to work for the Baldwins
was not to clean their
house. No, she had come
because of a prayer meeting at her church through which she was
convinced that this Hollywood couple would become born-again
believers and one day have their own ministry. Both Stephen and
Kennya scoffed at this prophecy, but two years later it proved true
for Kennya and eight years later for Stephen.
When Stephen does anything, he does it all the way – whether
it’s acting, motorcycle racing, skydiving or following Jesus. He
describes himself as God’s pit bull, straining at the leash and
racing from one ridge to the next. He compares his daily faith
experience to skydiving without a parachute – being lifted up
by the Holy Spirit – and he says, “the thrill of this ride tops any
adrenaline rush I have found.”
It is no accident that, of all the possible actors to play the role
of the thief on the cross, Stephen Baldwin was asked. It is no
coincidence that Stephen not only happened to be available
but instantly connected with the character of the thief. It is a
providential partnership between The Orchard, Unlocking the
Bible and this zealous Christian actor – all three parties sharing
the same commitment to glorify the Risen Christ and make the
Gospel both clear and compelling. Learn more about Stephen’s
story: www.iamsecond.com/seconds/stephen-baldwin.
Who else can you add to the list?
These events will have lifechanging impact if a great
number of those who really need
to understand grace come, hear a
clear presentation of the Gospel
and are given simple steps to
learn more. These events will be
far less successful if thousands of
believers simply get together for
a fun evening, sharing the novel
experience of having a famous
actor at the church.
HOST A FRIEND
Pastor Darin Anderson
When I invite friends over to my
place for dinner, I think through
the timing of the meal, the
arrangement of chairs and the
overall atmosphere of the room.
I consider their schedule, their
dietary preferences, their family
situation… I offer a warm and
personal invitation, I prepare
for their arrival, I meet them at
the door and welcome them in. I
show them around and help them
get comfortable. I take care of
everything they need and do all
that I can to ensure they enjoy
their time with us. (Ok, if we’re
being accurate, my wife takes
care of all of these details, and I
just show up for dinner….)
This is precisely how we want to
treat the friends, neighbors and
family members we invite to the
Heaven events. Let’s host them
warmly and personally, from the
first conversation through the
night of the event. Let’s meet
them at the door or drive over
together. Show them around
the place and make sure they
are comfortable. Anticipate
their challenges and make all
the arrangements so they enjoy
their visit to our church and their
preview experience of Heaven.
HOW DO I GET TICKETS?
Tickets are available starting
February 15 at www.
theorchardefc.org. Each ticket is
$10 and comes with a copy of the
book Heaven, How I Got Here: The
Story of the Thief on the Cross.
The best seats will be sold first,
so don’t wait to buy your tickets!
Make sure to buy enough for the
people you plan to invite. You
may want to start inviting people
now so you know how many
tickets to purchase.
HOW ELSE CAN YOU GET
INVOLVED?
We need people not only come
to the events along with friends
they are hosting but also to come
to one of the events at which
they won’t be hosting a friend
in order to serve as volunteers!
We need prayer teams in place
for all six events. Parking teams,
greeters, ushers and hosts
are also needed to welcome
people and interact with them
in different sections of the
sanctuary. Contact Gina Catizone
([email protected]) if
you can volunteer at one or more
of these events.
UPCOMING
Preaching Schedule
FEBRUARY 8
Snapshots of a Godly Life
Trusted and Accused
Genesis 39:13-23
Pastor Colin Smith
FEBRUARY 15
Faith for Barren Times
Romans 4:18-21
Pastor Dave Harvey
FEBRUARY 22
Snapshots of a Godly Life
Suffering and Serving
Genesis 41:1-45
Pastor Colin Smith
MARCH 1
Snapshots of a Godly Life
Wise and Discerning
Genesis 41:1-45
Pastor Colin Smith
MARCH 8
Missions Weekend
Arlington Heights – Roy
Oksnevad
Barrington Sat. – Manikkam
Balasingham
Barrington Sun. – Mike Urton
Itasca – Manikkam Balasingham
Marengo – Kujtim Rushiti
Missionary Update
Craig & Alice Ott
ReachGlobal/Trinity
Craig serves as
ReachGlobal chair
of missions and is
Professor of Mission
and Intercultural
Studies at Trinity
Evangelical Divinity
School. He recently took on the role
of leadership of Trinity’s PHD program
in intercultural studies. In 2014, Craig
participated in three trips to Sydney,
Australia, Delhi, India and Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Alice had the opportunity to be
one of the women’s conference speakers
from The Orchard’s India mission team. The
theme of the conference was “affirming
the worth of women through Christ and as
image bearers of their Creator.”
Janet Murray
TEAM/Chad
has ministered to the women of Chad.
Jay & Kathy Pinney
ReachGlobal/Canada
Jay and Kathy
began their work in
Montreal, Quebec in
1994. Montreal is
the second largest
French-speaking
city in the world
and the neediest city spiritually in North
America. Less than 1% of Quebeckers
attend an evangelical church. Most of
the ministry done by Jay and Kathy is
conducted in French. Jay current serves
with ReachGlobal in a resource capacity
for training new missionaries in church
planting across Europe. Kathy leads Bible
Study Fellowship’s only French-speaking
group in Quebec.
PRAY for Janet to continue to be a leader and
PRAISE for The Orchard to have partnered
PRAISE for work accomplished in Ethiopia
mentor in the lives of the women she works
with Jay and Kathy all these years.
through leaders using training materials which
with each day and that many will be reached
PRAY for the team from The Orchard that
resulted in 55 church plants during 2014.
for the Kingdom.
is being put together to travel to Montreal
Janet has served
with TEAM in Chad
since 1983. Her
main ministry
involves training
women who already
hold leadership
roles in the church. She accomplishes
this through leadership training
seminars and investing time with
women who show spiritual maturity,
skill and motivation. Janet also
produces Bible study materials that
the women can use in their teaching.
PRAISE for the privilege of having The Orchard
partner with Janet for over 25 years as she
PRAY for those training others with the results
this summer to teach English and share the
of taking materials to a fourth generation of
Gospel with teens.
leadership.
PRAY for Jay and Kathy’s daughter Jessie who
PRAY for Craig as he takes his next trip
is currently in Uganda serving with YWAM
(February 23-March 1) to North Africa. He will
(Youth With a Mission).
be meeting with North African missionaries,
Pray for Jessie as she seeks God’s direction
national pastors and movement leaders.
regarding her future in missions and as she
raises support.
A Bit About Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story Of The Thief On The Cross
What if you woke up one morning knowing that it was your last day on earth? That’s what happened to the thief on the cross, who
died a few feet from Jesus. Heaven, How I Got Here is his story, told from his perspective, as he looks back from Heaven on the
day that changed his eternity and the faith that can change yours.
An excerpt:
I can’t begin to tell you what it’s like up here. I’ve heard it said that there is only a small distance between agony and ecstasy, but I can tell you from experience that there’s an unfathomable gulf. I endured the agony of crucifixion, but the ordeal passed and now I am savoring the perfect joys of heaven.
How I got here is still amazing to me, but I’m telling my story so that you can share the joys I’ve found. Looking back on what happened that day, I now see so much more than I was able to grasp at the time, and the more I discover, the more staggering and wonderful the whole story becomes…
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