Every New Year we hope this will finally be the year that things will change. We make promises about the new person we're going to become, pledging to get a grip on our finances, get in shape, become a better parent, spouse, even a nicer human being! But there’s one problem: our resolutions seldom work. The busy pace of life gets the better of us, and suddenly, the year is over with little to no personal growth having occurred in our lives.

“My One Word” is an experiment designed to move you beyond the past and look ahead. The challenge is simple: lose the long list of changes you want to make this year and instead pick ONE WORD. This process provides clarity by taking all of your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single thing. One word focuses on your character and creates a vision for your future. So, we invite you to join us and pick one word in 2010 (click here to learn how)!

_______ Saves.  How would you fill in the blank?  This answer speaks volumes about where you place your trust, gain your significance and view your worth. It cuts to the depths of one’s heart and shines light on where your worship resides. If we're all wired by God to worship, that means we all bow down to something.  The question we must ask ourselves then is WHAT do we worship?  There’s the mom who pursues portraying a perfect household, the refridgerator as a refuge for the person who comforts themselves with food, or the computer at night for the guy who is lonely... At its very core, idolatry is a heart issue.  Anything can become an idol if we places our attention and affection on it instead of God. The first step in rooting out our idols is shining light on where they reside. Join us as Mike helps us begin to expose the idols of our hearts.

Ephesians 4:15 tells us to "Speak the Truth in Love," but we tend to fail at doing this in one of two ways--by not speaking at all, or by speaking with no regard for how we say what we say... Join Brian Few as we look at how to move forward and speak the truth in love the way we are commanded to.

AROUND 2,000 YEARS AGO, A COLLISION TOOK PLACE THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD TO ITS CORE. From the moment of impact, the world witnessed grace, mercy, love and true forgiveness in ways never before seen. This collision was the life of Jesus Christ, who gave Himself to share His life with us. Rather than leaving us in a thousand different pieces, this encounter with God opened up a way to heal our brokenness.

The beauty of this collision is found in an invitation to live a life filled with freedom and hope. When we collide with the cross, we can find the very fullness of life our heart has been yearning for. The truth is when you see Him you are able to see yourself in a new light. But the impact depends on what you do with the encounter. We are honored that you would join us for the “Collide” series as we take a deeper look at the process through which we can embrace His life!

What comes to mind when you think about God? This is a critical question to think about. Because whether you are a believer or not, we all have some sort of picture of God. A way we think about Him. A view of God. In this message, we will be challenged to begin shaping our view of God through the lens of truth. And when we do, we will begin to see not only who God is, but will see how much he really LOVEs us.

Even though we know “He’s got the whole world in His hands,” it does not stop us from fretting over the uncertainties of this world. When things do not happen quickly enough or our plans suddenly change, worry begins to creep into our heart. If left alone, anxiety affects our sight by altering our perspective. Worrying over the cares of this world suddenly makes sense in our minds and slowly we allow worry to suffocate God’s work in our lives. In this series, “The Whole World,” we will explore what is required to develop a perspective that stands strong in the face of uncertainty.

Everything we do at PC3 serves to reach out to our community and provide a place for them to consider their next (and and often times, first) steps towards Christ. Every environment here is critical to that process.

We believe that you are a crucial piece of making these environments possible. If you have been at Port City for any length of time, and don’t volunteer, we invite you to simply “Jump In.” Everyone you see behind the cameras, in our Family Ministries, or greeting at the doors all started by simply jumping in. We encourage you to do the same—and our staff is here to help you find a great place to serve!

OWN IT

If you already serve on one of our teams, we say “Thank you.” You have made JUMP IN possible. In fact, you make every week possible. But we don’t want you to stop there. We want you to own the mission and share the vision to impact our city. We want you to leverage your influence to help others find their place to serve and help them Jump In.

We are excited about what God is doing here and want to invite you to not only jump in, but to own it!

Jonah is mostly seen as a children’s story known for one man’s encounter with an enormous fish. But there is so much more to it.

The Book of Jonah is not about the message of the prophet, but what the prophet did with the message. Jonah runs from God and we learn lessons about running. But as we follow the life of Jonah in this short book, we see that it is a story about grace and mercy. Jonah is about change. Jonah challenges us to embrace God’s plan and the struggle that is required to let go of our heart and embrace God’s.

The book we will be studying is not about Jonah and the whale, but Jonah and his God! As we look at his story, we will find our own and see how God wants to form His heart in us.

Our prayer is that God will use His word to change your life.

It’s that time of year again, and a new year means another new resolution and the hope that 2010 will be better than 2009. But whether this year is better or not doesn’t change the fact that life will happen. Join us as we spend the next couple of weeks learning how to live life as it happens.

From wrapping gifts and sipping hot chocolate to hanging mistletoe and singing Christmas carols, "'Tis The Season" for just about everything. Around this time of year families will gather and share a meal together, which will leave some feeling heavy and uneasy. This discomfort comes not just from that extra helping of pumpkin pie, but also from having to confront family dynamics, history and baggage. Yet, even in the midst of the holiday season, God gives us no wiggle room in the command to honor our father and mother. Join us in our series "'Tis The Season," as we unwrap how relating to your parents as God intends provides stability in your life.

Have you ever felt a sneeze coming on and asked someone for a “Kleenex”? You didn’t care if it was Puffs, Scott or Kleenex brand. All you needed was a facial tissue to blow your nose. Or what about those times growing up when you got a cut or scrape? What did you ask your parents for? You requested a Band-Aid, not an adhesive bandage. Just think of the brand names that have become generic: Tylenol, Coke and Ziploc. Generic brands simply serve to meet your needs, which means any “product” will do. Unfortunately, this is how our culture tends to view God. When we need a good blessing we seek out God and think any old brand will do. We invite you to join us for a series called “Generic Jesus” where we will examine how God sent his only Son into the world to accomplish something very specific—something far from generic, something only He could do...

A LETTER FROM MIKE

On October 25th, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of PC3--it was a very special time. What began with just a few people has grown into a powerful movement of our God. I can hardly believe what has happened over the past 10 years. The one thing that humbles me the most is how much each individual life adds to the story of PC3- and impacts our community.

In the past ten years, I have had the privilege of walking with people through moments of incredible joy and seasons of deep sorrow— moments when I couldn’t believe how good God is and moments when I could only cling to the hope of His goodness. Life is like that sometimes. The past ten years have cut a swatch through time which allows me to see how the Life that Jesus came to bring is the only hope we have in this world. I count it a great honor to share in both the joy and pain found in these stories. The grace of our God and the response of His people are an inspiration!

In the past ten years, I have seen God change people. I have seen marriages healed, faith restored, destructive patterns reversed, and lives redeemed. I have seen God’s hand of mercy sustain and bring victory from defeat and joy from pain, consistently demonstrating His promise to work everything for His good.

It has been a privilege to serve this body for the past ten years. People have been very gracious to me and we’ve have walked together with unity and experienced tremendous favor. But I am most grateful for what God has done in me. My life has changed. My marriage is richer and my family is stronger. My faith is renewed continually. These are not due to the fact that I am a pastor, but because I am a part of this body. And words cannot express my gratitude for this privilege I’ve had for the past ten years.

As I reflect on the past, I cannot help but to think of the future. And as fast as the past ten years have been, the next ten will be equally so. Many things will change in the next ten years. But my hope rests in the fact that God is faithful and He is good. And in His mercy He has trusted us to impact this region with His presence. We will continue to extend ourselves to reach our friends and family in order to help them pursue Christ and the life He has for them.

Thank you for being a part of God’s work here in this church. As we reflect on God’s faithfulness in the past, let’s use it as fuel for our faith for the future.

Deeply grateful,

- Mike Ashcraft

In this message, Brian Few, our Director of Overflow, speaks about why it is essential to stay connected to God as we walk with Him. This may seem like an obvious or basic aspect of having a relationship with God, but it is very challenging to actually live out in the everyday, ordinary moments of life. So we invite you to join us as we discuss why “Staying Connected” is essential, and how we learn to live this way.

Although the “Meek Squad” may employ the latest in “behavior modification technology,” the solution to pride can’t be provided by a for-hire service. For many the sin of pride may seem insignificant, or it may even go unnoticed. Yet at its core, pride creates a distorted view of our world. It can put us above others, and even above God. Although it can be difficult to see in our own lives, its devastating effects are hard to ignore. So the question becomes, “how do we root out the pride in our lives?” We are excited that you have joined us this week as we examine how pride prevents us from living the life we are meant for and why true humility can’t come from within.

To find out more about the Meek Squad, visit www.themeeksquad.com

Whether it’s time commitment, fear of vulnerability or not knowing what to expect, we all have reasons we either disengage from community or never consider being in a small group in the first place. We invite you to join us as we take a look past the excuses we use to check out of community in a two-week series called “100 Reasons NOT to Be in a Small Group.” During our time together, we will examine the bigger purpose community plays in our lives and why it is such an integral part of our walk with God.

Throughout the Old Testament, we catch glimpses of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. The life of Ruth, found in the book that bears her name, is one such tale. Loyalty, commitment, perseverance and ultimately redemption define her story. These four short chapters lay the groundwork for a redemptive plan that reaches far beyond the lives of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz and embraces us with the love and faithfulness of God. We invite you to join us during this four-week series as we explore what God is revealing about His heart and character in the Book of Ruth.

Our mission is to reach people and help them walk with God--all people, from our community to the ends of the earth. Missions is not a separate ministry or program at PC3; it’s the essence of who we are as believers in Jesus Christ. As our relationship with God grows, we develop His love for people. A natural expression of that love is the desire to serve others and an excitement about sharing the joy and hope we have in Jesus Christ to those who haven’t heard or don’t understand. To read more about how we serve in various parts of the world and how you can get involved, visit missions.portcitychurch.org.

Everyone loves a good story. Stories have the ability to draw us in, capture our attention and enable us to see something bigger than ourselves. No one understood the power of the narrative better than Jesus. He told stories not to illustrate a point, but to awaken our senses to the realities of the Kingdom of God. We invite you to join us as we explore the truths found within these “parables” and allow them to push us in the direction of understanding God’s heart in a series we’ve called “Nudge.”

Everyone thinks of God in one way or another. Then there’s Jesus, who most people know something about as well. But how much do we actually know about the Holy Spirit? In this series we will take a look at who the Holy Spirit is and what He does—and equally importantly, what He does not do.  We all have ideas and misconceptions about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  In fact, He is one person of God who is commonly referred to as “It” instead of “He.” So we are going to allow “Him” to introduce Himself in a series called, “Not It.”

If you’ve ever rushed through an airport terminal with two heavy suitcases and a carry-on, you realize the importance of packing light for a trip. Those bags have a way of weighing you down, tiring you out and causing you to stumble. Our emotional baggage has the same effect. Clinging on to those past hurts, failures and regrets hinders walking freely with Christ. We invite you to join us for the Baggage series where we will learn how our past determines how we move into the future.

Port City Community Church is home to some amazing ministries that contribute to our mission of reaching people and helping them walk with God, but these ministries wouldn’t exist without the dedication of our incredible volunteers. Week after week, lights are programmed, toys are cleaned, bulletins are assembled and coffee is made by different teams representing hundreds of volunteers—normal people, just like you, who want to honor God with their time and talents. Whether it’s during the week or on Sunday morning, there are many opportunities to volunteer at PC3, and a place for everyone.

Many refer to what we do on Sunday morning as a "worship service." That is an interesting term. Worship is a response. It is our response to what we see and is proportional to our perception of value. The Scriptures demonstrate the various human responses to God, and much of that response comes in the form of song. It is an interesting connection, and in this series we want to explore that as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus. We want to experience this connection and learn to worship with our lives and our voices in response to God's great worth in this series, called "I Stand Amazed."

We’ve all heard the expression that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." But have we ever considered what causes us to look over into the other yard in the first place? Fueled by a sense of entitlement and tainted desires, lust leads to discontentment, a distorted hope and unrealistic expectations. What we have to understand is that the grass was never meant to satisfy us in the first place. We invite you to join us as we explore how the end of lust is not the end of desire, but rather the beginning of pure desire and the leaving of a legacy.

When you walk into Port City Community Church on a Sunday morning--every environment you enter, every action that is taken and every word that is said has at its core the mission of our church--"to reach people and help them walk with God." This mission is essential to everything that we do as a church and every decision that we make is purposed toward this goal. But is it vital to the way that you live your life? What would it look like in our homes, in our city and in our lives if we made this mission more than a statement--but a personal declaration? With this series we invite you to join us as we examine what it means to be a part of the church and how "reaching people and helping them walk with God" can be what each one of us does with our very lives.