Randi Kisner 11/1/25 Randi Kisner 11/1/25

Inside Grace | November 2025

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO FEEL LIKE AN INSIDER AT GRACE

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES: NOVEMBER 2025

Last month, we had a Pastoral Forum session on “What is an Evangelical?”

In the process of the presentation, I cited a number of different resources that might be helpful for you to have.

“What is an Evangelical?” (National Association of Evangelicals) - This is the article I drew the diagram from that showed the diversity of theology within evangelicalism.

“Who are Evangelicals?” (Christianity Today) This is the best short-form article I found on the history of the evangelical movement.

Books:

Who is an Evangelical? By John Dickerson
- This is the book that is the most similar and direct treatment of what I presented in the Pastoral Forum from a historian.

The Great Evangelical Recession by John Dickerson
- A helpful guide to the statistics behind the gap in Evangelicalism I discussed at the forum between the 24% of Americans who self-identify as Evangelical/Born Again and the 7% of Americans who hold consistent Evangelical beliefs and actions.

PASTORAL FORUM: WHAT IS AN EVANGELICAL

THREEFOLD COMMUNION

Threefold Communion | November 16 | 5:00 PM

Threefold Communion is a cherished part of our church’s heritage, because it echos the meal Jesus shared with his disciples on the night he was betrayed:

We share a meal together (like Jesus and the disciples did)
We wash one another’s feet (like Jesus did for the disciples and told them to do for one another in the future)
We take the Bread and Cup (as Jesus instituted for his followers)

It is an intimate night. Sharing home-cooked food is intimate. Washing one another’s feet is intimate. Praying together is intimate.

Maybe that sounds intimidating to you. I get it. But I hope that as you wrestle with whether to come, you’ll consider the possible good that could result in your spiritual life by increasing your intimacy with God through His people.

The meal will be a carry-in potluck based on last name:

Main Dish: A-J
Veggie/Salad: K-R
Dessert: S-Z

Schedule note: This year we are trying something different: We are hosting Threefold a week earlier than previous years, so that it is 11 days before Thanksgiving (instead of 4 days before).

CHRISTMAS SEASON AT GRACE

**Seal Beach Christmas Parade Outreach | December 5 | 7:00-9:00 PM**
The annual Seal Beach Christmas Parade is December 5th and we’ll be out on our lawn sharing cheer with the community! Volunteer sign ups will open soon, we hope to see you there!

**Senior Ministry Christmas Party | December 10 | 3:00 PM**
We are bringing back our hugely popular Senior Ministry Christmas party for another year! This year, our Student Ministry is hosting it for us. They’ll be leading the music, the games, and helping distribute the food (appetizers and dessert).
Tickets are free, but we do expect to “sell out” again this year, so sign-up soon! Sign ups available below.
We will be collecting donations at the event for the Scholarship Fund for Student Ministry to send kids to Camp.

**Grace Kids Christmas Workshop | December 13 | 9:00 AM**
Grace Kids will be hosting a Saturday morning workshop for Dads and Kids to prepare for Christmas. We’ll help dads have a spiritually significant conversation with their kids about Christmas, and build a special gift for mom.

**Grace Kids in Worship Service + Child Dedication | December 14**
We will have the kids join us in the worship service on the 14th to sing and celebrate the Christmas season together. We will also be dedicating young children to the Lord that day, as well.

**Christmas Eve Worship Services | December 24**
We will have three all-ages services:
2:00 pm, 3:30 pm , and 5:00 pm
Nursery/toddler childcare (up to 5 years old) will be available for all three services.

ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING REVIEW

Once per year we ask our members to set aside their Sunday evening to come and hear how the church is doing - in our mission, our values, and our administration. We voted and approved the annual budget for 2026 and accepted the nomination of Ben Badgett, Paul Kneeland, and Glen Fukumura for the elder board. Thank you to all who were able to attend to pray and sing together, and celebrate what God has done.

For those who were not able to attend, you can watch the livestream of the meeting below. You’ll also find the Annual Report below as well.

WATCH: ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

VIEW: ANNUAL REPORT

Update from Children’s Ministry Director Search Team

We heard an update from the Children’s Ministry Search Committee they have called a new Children’s Ministry Director! We are proud to introduce to you Josie Ramirez as our new Director of Children’s Ministry! Read more from our Search Team about their call of Josie and hear from Josie herself about this new role below.

SEARCH TEAM UPDATE: CHILDREN'S MINISTRY DIRECTOR

LOVE OUR CITY RECAP

In October, our church rallied to be a part of the Long Beach Church Collective’s event, “Love Our City.” Over 60 people from our church participated, which is amazing! We helped a number of our Compassion partners that day - delivering food, cleaning up old closets, painting, picking up trash, and other ways to be helpful.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

MONTHLY FINANCIAL UPDATE

WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

MONTHLY FINANCIAL UPDATE:

Budget through Sept 30, 2025 - $992,347
Expenses through Sept 30, 2025 - $950,253
Giving through Sept 30, 2025 - $950,550
Giving through Sept 30, 2024 - $897,630

WORSHIP SERVICE ATTENDANCE

2022 Worship service average = 274

2023 Worship service average = 291
2024 Worship service average = 317
2025 Worship service average = 324

Randi Kisner 10/1/25 Randi Kisner 10/1/25

Inside Grace | October 2025

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO FEEL LIKE AN INSIDER AT GRACE

PASTOR BOB’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

This summer a number of Christian leaders who were known for their bold public ministries passed away. By far the most prominent news story was the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. Given his young age and the traumatic nature of his death, it’s understandable that his death earned the most attention.

To see him shot down at such a young age was horribly upsetting. I’ve sat with people in our church for whom Kirk was a guide they admired and followed on social media. I’ve also heard from people in our church for whom Kirk’s conflation of faith and politics was off-putting, as was his debating tone. And there’s also a third group who did not know much about him at all prior to his death.

One of the things that I hope we can all agree on, though, is that it would be wonderful if Kirk’s death becomes a source of revival and people turning to Christ.

As Brett McCracken wrote about at TGC, there may be opportunities for Kirk’s death to serve as a wake-up call for our culture.

But Charlie Kirk was not the only one who died this summer. I also want to point out some other Christian leaders who passed away and leave a similar legacy of boldness and uncompromising convictions - Voddie Baucham and John MacArthur.

The reason I list these three together is that they all were cut from the same cloth with regard to temperament and personality. No compromise, just conviction. And the Church (big “C” = universal church) needs leaders like this.

But I also list them together because I’ve squirmed more than once over the years when I’ve been asked why I’m not more like each of these men. (And, yes, I’ve had people compare me unfavorably to each of MacArthur, Baucham, and Kirk).

There was a fourth Christian leader who died this summer who had more impact on me, personally: John Huffman. “Dr Huffman” was my pastor during seminary while I was an intern under him at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. He certainly wasn’t as famous as the other men on this list, nor as much of a firebrand, but no less bold in his convictions.

Christianity Today wrote an article about his confronting Richard Nixon in love at the height of the Watergate controversy, which I consider to be a good example of speaking the truth in love.

When I was teenager, my dad told me something that stuck with me: There’s room for all sorts of different personalities in the clergy. (Note: my dad wasn’t a pastor, but was a significant lay leader in our church).

I hope that as you reflect on the lives of Kirk, Baucham, MacArthur, and Huffman, you’ll praise God for the good, leave the bad behind, and pray for God to raise up more workers for His mission in the generation to come.

Our search for a new Children’s Director is now open! We’ve already received about a dozen applicants, and we’re excited to move forward in the process.

If you have an interest in the position, or in referring a friend to apply, check out the Opportunity Profile below. The application process is on the final page.

Opportunity Profile

"I'm an Evangelical Christian." Would you say that about yourself? Why or why not? For our next Pastoral Forum, Pastor Bob is going to lead us through a discussion of the history of the use of the term "Evangelical" over the last couple of centuries. By understanding the history, theology, and social use of the term, you can think through this term for yourself.

While we would love for you to join us in person, it will also be Live Streamed on our YouTube channel.

Youtube Channel

If you haven’t found a group that’s the right fit for you yet, or if you’d like to talk to someone before signing up, email Pastor Jason at jason@gracesealbeach.org. He’d love to help find the right group for you!

Our Stewardship Ministry Team would love to help you find a way to serve here at Grace! We’ve put together a page on the church website that is up-to-date with all the current needs in the church. You can find that page here. Take a look to see if there’s something that fits your passion, and jump on in!

Also, the Stewardship Team is starting a new short-term Life Group in October designed to help you think through what to prioritize in our busy lives. It’s called “Know Your Why” and will be led by German and Nicole Ospina.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES