Housing Update & Birthday Video

I wanted to give you an update on the housing situation, so here it is….

Purchase and Sale: 
Last week we had our inspection on the home which came back good except for some minor punch list items. After submitting the list of changes, we have heard back and the builder will be fixing mostly everything so we can potentially have a closing by the end of the year.

Financing: 
We talked to about 5 different banks and today landed on our lender. The good thing is that this bank will service the entire loan for its entire length, is located in Beverly and has a very competitive interest rate. This is helpful on a number of levels. This is a huge blessing for a number of reasons.

Fundraising: 
We are grateful to Jesus that people have shown interest in helping us with, what should be, our last effort of fundraising for a long time. We are still about $55,000 short of our goal but have 35 days to go. I am both nervous and excited to see how the Lord will provide. Please pray for Beth and I through this time.

Thank You and Birthday Video:
I am so grateful for your partnership with our family. Many of you have prayed faithfully, some of you have encouraged us continually and others have generously given financially. There is no way that Netcast would be who we are without your love. I love the church that God has given me to shepherd and lead. Just last week, I celebrated my 31st birthday and they made me an awesome video.

How to Give:
This is not a closing tactic by any means!! But, many of you have asked for information on how to give and I would hate to rob you of the opportunity. HAHA. All of that info is below.

Until all have heard,
      Matt and Beth

Send a check: 
Payable to Netcast Church 
Attn: Matt Chewning 
186 Cabot St. Beverly MA 01915 

Give Online: 

1. Click "Netcast Online Giving" 
2. Select "Pastor Support Matt Chewning" 
3. Fill out the remaining info and submit it.

Life-Story at Netcast Church

I love my job. It is stories like this that get me up in the morning.  

Matt: 

 I've considered myself a Christian my entire life, but I specifically gave my life to Christ in middle school. I knew I was His, but not with as much certainty as I know now. Growing up in a Christian household, attending church on Sundays, learning what it means to put my faith into action on a daily basis, all contributed to a foundational understanding of what it is that Christ's death on the cross accomplished for my life. When I asked Christ to take over my life, I underestimated His promise of hardship and discipline for those He loves. 

Understandably, life presented it's fair share of hardships throughout high school and college. Those hardships enabled doubt to blind me from the reality of Christ's forgiveness. I realize hardships will always be a reality. It's God's way of bringing the focus back to Him. In one sense, being baptized was my way of accepting that reality. I attended the baptism service without intending on being baptized. However, I was consumed by a peace that reassured me it was time I stopped letting doubt paralyze my desire to fully rest in the strength of Jesus Christ. I had no reason to deny any longer what I know to be true about my life. That peace slammed the door on the doubt that has so easily crippled my faith at times, or that has robbed me of an eagerness to serve the One who saved my life. I understand baptism to be an outward expression of what has occurred inwardly; the decision to be baptized was as much of an outward declaration to myself as it was to anyone who witnessed that service. My mom once told me: "Don't forget in the darkness, what you know to be the truth in the light." Being baptized was a way of recognizing and obeying His truth. 

Anyone who desires to make much of the name of Jesus Christ, will inevitably face countless moments where worldly desires and faith collide. While wrong decisions are unavoidable, and repercussions of sin ensue, the realization of Grace in my life is an overwhelming catalyst to my ever-growing faith in Jesus Christ. It is perhaps the single best way I can explain why I know that my life it not my own! I know that being baptized solidified a greater appreciation for the grace I so desperately need each and every day. 

Ultimately, I hope to be a man who praises God when times are bad, just as much as I do when times are good. The water rushing over my body is a moment I'll forever keep frozen in my mind, which helps me fulfill that goal. That image depicts what Christ's love has done to my heart. It renews my confidence that I'm forgiven, and that He is faithful, even when I am not. I try to hold on to that experience, that moment, as a way of preventing doubt from clouding my mind. Some days I'm better at it than others, but that's the beauty of His grace! 

I'm really thankful for the opportunity to be baptized at Netcast. I hope you enjoy your week. 

Take care,

Please Pray: Housing Situtation

I still remember sitting at my office in North Carolina and reading Deuteronomy 8:7-10 “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land…a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing...praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”

I was terrified and anxious yet full of adrenaline as those words jumped off the pages. Then Lord said, “Don't be afraid, I am calling you to Greater Boston and I will provide.” At that time we owned a new construction home, had 4 kids and never wanted to leave. I remember thinking how crazy it would be to give up such a great job, a great home, great friends and family; to move to one of the most expensive areas in the country. In addition to that I was going to start a church in one of the least reached regions in America. But the Lord was clear; so we went.

That was 3 years ago, and three years later we are still seeing God do amazing things.

Officially Under Contract
As most of you guys know, we have been looking for a house for the past 6 months. Yesterday we put down an offer on a home in Beverly. Today that offer was accepted and we're officially under contract. This is an extremely exciting day for our family. After serving here for 3 years, we are really excited about being in a permanent home that we can call ours.

Please Pray
Please pray that the Lord opens doors so this dream can become a reality. As much as I hate this part of my job, I have to raise a money for a down payment and have a short window of time to do it. I praise God for the people around me who love our family, believe in our calling and desire to see Netcast thrive.

Until all have heard,

Matt

Netcast is moving to 2 Services 9am & 11am

Netcast is moving to 2 Services.

After much prayer, planning and discussing; Netcast will be going to two services starting September 22nd. The service times will be 9am and 11am. By committing to launch an additional service, especially with the intent of filling it with new people, this gives us the potential of reaching more people for Jesus than we could with a single service. Simply by adding another option and making more room for visitors, a momentum can be created that we never thought was possible. However, this will take some serious commitment on all of our part. A commitment to plan, a commitment to pray, a commitment to give, and a commitment to serve and a commitment to grow in our unity as a body and a mature as worshipers of Jesus. If our volunteers are unable to increase in number and involvement, then our dreams will slowly grind to a halt. However, I truly believe that the road ahead is filled with excitement and adventure for Netcast.

Although this may be a scary thing for us, we will never settle for being a church that is driven by fear. Rather, I pray that we will consistently be driven by faith.

Kingdom-Minded at Netcast

The more I have studied the Kingdom, the less I wanted to teach on it. It is so massive of a topic that I think we could spend our entire lives learning about it and still not come close to fully grasp it's magnitude. The series has really challenged my thinking of mission, unity and the local church. Today I read John 1:1-18 and again was reminded of our responsibility of Kingdom-Mindedness.

John 1:1-18 
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

Our job as a local church is to always bear witness about Jesus. John the Baptist was a perfect model of this. He lived his life in an effort to decrease so that Jesus would increase. As people would look at him, he would point them back to Jesus, saying "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." May we model the same thing. May Netcast be a place that fights the temptation of trying to put butts in seats in order to build an empire, but rather utilize the influence that God gives to advance the Kingdom by point people to our King.