Our Children Project

By Sarah Salcido

After returning from a vision trip this past summer, the Lord placed a desire in my heart to invest time into developing relationships with others who have been marginalized in our society. Our vision team met a group of individuals in the Philippines who are involved in a ministry that goes into an impoverished area week after week. This ministry simply loves on people by listening to their stories and praying for their needs; I was in awe of their dedication and the amount of time they give to others. In the way that the Lord is relentless in His pursuit of us, I saw a glimpse of how we as Christ followers can be the hands and feet of Jesus by pursing meaningful relationships with others who may feel unseen.

When I returned home from our vision trip, I started praying for an opportunity to get involved in our own community and I became aware of Our Children Project. This ministry involves spending time with children who live in a group home due to immigration detention. Through this ministry I have gotten to know the stories of the girls that live there and have learned more about issues related to immigration. Immigration can be a controversial topic, but this ministry has allowed me to gain a better understanding of how God sees and loves these children at the group home: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” (Zechariah 7:9-10). The opportunity to get to know the girls at the group home has drawn me closer to God’s heart and the things that matter to Him. I came into Our Children Project hoping to bless others and in return I have been changed.

Our Children Project will be launching new volunteer teams in April! There are opportunities to volunteer with girls or boys. If the Lord has placed a desire in your heart to love others in a tangible way and are interested in being apart of this transformational ministry you can attend a training this Saturday, April 2nd from 10:00am-12:00 pm. I know you will be blessed! For more information you can contact Bethany Anderson at bethanyanderson@solidarityrising.org

Saturday, April 2nd 10:00am-12:00pm
Crittenton Offices
801 E. Chapman, Ste. 203 Fullerton, CA 92831
Light refreshments will be served

To RSVP for the above training, please contact Bethany.

Be Changed: Women's Retreat Reflection

By Lora Kim

When I was deciding whether to attend the NOC women’s retreat, a voice inside me groaned at the idea of spending (even a day and a half!) with women who I did not know intimately. When I was growing up, I was always into sports and video games, and felt closer to my male friends. Guys were easy to get along with, whereas girls were petty, competitive and cliquey. I am a pretty friendly person, but I always guarded the most intimate details of my life fiercely, especially with other females.

Of course, as I blossomed into a young lady, things got very complicated with close male friendships. Also, I started to become more comfortable in my own skin and although I still enjoyed doing “guy” things, I embraced my girlie side. I realized all those things I disdained about girls were my own insecurities coming to the surface. Not being pretty enough, thin enough, popular enough, but most important – feeling like my worth needed to be justified by a male’s attention. This stemmed from different hurtful events that have occurred over the years. I felt for a long time that I was alone in my struggle, and that no one understood how I felt. At the retreat, Kate (our speaker) told us that God wanted us to know that He loved us. He wanted us to know that He saw us in our struggles, hurt, addictions, temptations, and blatant disobedience and still loved us. I felt camaraderie with my sisters, knowing that we all had different struggles, but the same loving Father. For the first time, I did not feel alone in my journey. Kate’s words were a great reminder to me in my current season.

Last year, I left my job in February. This was a huge blow to my self-esteem because I was in a situation where I felt wronged. I was being pushed to leave by the company due to a sexual harassment complaint made on my behalf. I was told I could move to a location with a very difficult commute, or find another job. I felt cornered and made the decision to leave. Shortly thereafter, I hit rock bottom. I felt utterly defeated, worth nothing, and my confidence was obliterated. I had been sporadically attending church, but I fooled myself into believing I was doing just fine on my own without God’s help. It was this prideful thinking that led me to such a hard fall. The following five months were very difficult, but also the most wonderful.

I told God, “I have nothing left, do what you want with me, and change me how you want. I will obey, I will follow.” And God answered. What happened next was the biggest breaking of my soul, heart, and mind that I have ever gone through. God brought to surface so many issues I had conveniently swept under the rug and forgot about. This was a harsh reality, but I THANK GOD for His faithfulness for answering my desperate prayer, because He changed me for the better. After the breaking down, there was light and renewal, joy, and so much love. I would have previously thought feeling joy in every cell in my body would be impossible, but God did it and it changed my life.

I did get a job in June, which I lost in February of this year. In all honesty, I was not surprised. God provided me this job to show me that He is truly the one in control of my life. I knew it was not a long term job for me, but I was just so thankful for getting it. When I was praying for 2011, God really impressed upon me that this year would be a year of change, and I would need to open my heart to all of it. I agreed thoughtlessly, not realizing the scope of what God was saying. That is, until I lost my job. Two months before that, a few days before Christmas, I got into a big car accident. The other driver ran a red light and slammed into the front of my car. It was a total loss, but I only suffered soft tissue injuries. God saved my life that night. What’s remarkable is that twelve years before that, when I was 17, I was in another car accident a few days before Christmas, which resulted in my car bursting into flames and burning to the ground. My cousin was in my car at that time, and there is no doubt in my mind that God saved us both that day.

I also have no doubt that God juxtaposed these two events at two very different times in my life to remind me of how faithful He is, how much He loves me, and especially how much God has redeemed, healed, and changed me. This year, instead of spiraling into the depths of despair, I praised God. I knew that His timing is perfect, and He has a plan for me. However, I am unfortunately imperfect. As the days went by, I became discouraged. I was not hearing anything from Him about what to do next, and not seeing any signs. I trusted that God was in control, but was getting antsy. At the women’s retreat, Kate gave a sermon on whether we see God as “Useful” or “Sovereign.” If you see God as Useful, you ask him, “What do you want me to do”, but if you see him as a Sovereign God, you ask, “What do you want to do WITH me?” This hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that everything that God allowed me to go through changed me dramatically, but that He is not finished with me yet. During the prayer time, I prayed, “God, change me how you still need to change me. Give me peace in knowing I don’t need to DO anything for You, but help me to be receptive to your changes In me.” It was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I have never been good with silence and solitude, but during the retreat, I found it. In the silence, I found that God’s voice was louder than I had ever heard before, and He told me that He was proud of me. I pray that you too can find His voice in the silence, and hear what He so desperately wants to tell you too.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to get to know some amazing women during the short precious time we had together. I am thankful for God meeting me in such an unexpected way. I am thankful for the safe space that the planning team provided to share and listen to the wonderful things that God is doing in the women at NOC. I am thankful to be part of this glorious community. I am so very thankful to know that I am not on this journey alone, but have many beautiful sisters journeying with me. I AM THANKFUL!

Joseph - Keeping The Faith

Genesis 45:4 - 7
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.


Have you ever felt inadequate, inferior, or stuck in a moment you can’t get out of? Pastor Peter introduces us to one of the first “Benchwarmers” of the Bible – people with flaws and dire circumstances whom God still used to play significant roles in His epic story of redemption. Joseph was the youngest of his family - pampered, and an arrogant braggart. Over the course of his life he was sold off as a slave, framed an adulterer, and then spent many years in jail. Rather than bemoaning his situation, Joseph responded gracefully and made the best of it, trusting that God was with him always. Through this time, Joseph learned of courage, humbleness, and unyielding faith. In the end, Joseph rose to power, and through his experiences, helped save many around Egypt. Let us do the same and focus on WHAT we can do rather than WHY!

Listen to this sermon and others online!
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Sermon Rewind 3/13/11 - How Salty is Your Cookie?

Colossians 4:2-6 (NASB)

² Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; ³ praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; ⁴ that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. ⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. ⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

Alex Wu rounded out the One series by challenging us to embrace lifestyle evangelism. Does sharing about Jesus generate the same excitement that sharing other good news does? Has our walk with GOD created a noticeable difference in us that the world can see? In our words, actions, and even our cookies, can others taste our saltiness? Paul encourages us to pray that the answers be "Yes."

My Son: Men's Retreat Reflection

By Tom Hsieh

I’m writing about my experience at the NOC Men’s Retreat in hopes of encouraging other fellas. I also write to remember that God had been good. (See Joshua, chapter 4.)

I had really low expectations for the Men’s Retreat. Prior to the retreat, I found out that one of the questions for a breakout session was something along the lines of “Who have been the most influential men in your life? Good or bad?” I mentally checked out at that point because my answer to that question was “no one.” I felt like I had dealt with the issue, and that I was okay with it, and that I had moved past it.

As background, my parents divorced when I was 6, I didn’t see my father much after that, and I haven’t seen him since I was about 12. About a year ago, I heard a Sunday sermon about the issue of “father wounds” or “father loss.” It didn’t really hit me until that night, when my wife asked me what I thought about the message. As I talked to her, I cried, probably harder than I had in years, and what triggered it was when I described my interactions with my father. For example, I remember reaching to hold his hand when we were walking on a sidewalk, and him pushing my hand away. I also can’t remember him ever telling me he loved me, hugging me, or otherwise showing any affection to me. When I became a father, it did hurt a bit, thinking about how much I loved my children, and comparing it to my experience with my father. Over the years, I’ve told myself that there are a lot of children from divorced or broken families and so my experience is not so unusual, that having a good mother made up for having an absent father, and that the hurt had happened so long ago. In other words – I’m good with this, I’m okay, it’s not a big deal.

Ed talked about so many good things, and I appreciate his words of encouragement, insight, and wisdom. One of the things he talked about was that one goal he had for us was that we would get a deeper understanding that our Heavenly Father is crazy in love with us. He also talked about Ephesians 3, how we are jars of clay, how God has put His glory in us, but we tend to forget that and focus on how we are sinners. He talked about how all of us are broken, some of the brokenness is done to us, and some of it is our own doing. He also said that we need to remember who we really are – sons of God, and not our addictions, our sin, our past, our hurts.

The last day of the retreat, there was a time for us to reflect. Ed explained that often in the Old Testament, God would change people’s names after they had encounters with Him. Ed asked us to pray and reflect, to listen – to ask God, what is the name He has for us? Who am I to You? And even, who does God see us becoming in the future? Ed said that we might have a thought, see an image.

I didn’t really expect anything. But as the worship team played a song prior to us going off on our own for time to reflect, the thought came into my head, “My son,” and I started to cry. I think because I’m so dense, it was almost as if God was really emphasizing to me, that these words were from Him. I’ve told people over the years that the main reason I first started going to Newsong was the worship. Specifically, in response to the music and lyrics, I often cried and was moved – most often by the depth of my sin and the extent of God’s grace. So the fact that the thought “My son” came during worship was almost like God affirming that this was from Him.

During the reflection time, I found a rock to sit on, a quiet place. Two really powerful emotions came over me, two really powerful thoughts – that I had been hurt deeply by my father, but I forgave him. And second, that I was so afraid of hurting my own children, and so afraid that I already had done lasting damage to them by losing my temper – yelling at them, losing patience with them, etc. It hit me, that I really don’t care about career, about “success,” that what I desired more deeply was that my kids know that their father loves them. Though I was really grateful for that taste of God’s presence, those words “My son,” I also was a little disappointed, because I really was hoping for some thought or image for the future.

But God surprised me again. When we got back together as a large group, there also was another time of worship. And I noticed Solomon Tang in one end of the room, and his son Eliott in the other. I remembered how Solomon mentioned once (probably over a year ago) that when his kids were young, when he put them to bed, he read a prayer of blessings (I think from somewhere in Numbers – something along the lines of “the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord’s face shine upon you”). And it hit me – that was an image of a future I want. I want to also pour love, pour blessing from God into my children, and hope to see them with me at a retreat someday. I cried again, thinking that God was telling me, I’ve given you the words “my son,” and to remind You that I love abundantly, I’m going to give you even more, and give you an image of the future man I see you becoming.

I’m always a bit cynical when someone says they heard God tell them something. For me, it wasn’t an audible voice, it was a thought, and it was also even based on prior experiences (prior times of being deeply moved during worship, prior knowledge of some people’s stories – e.g. Solomon’s story of praying blessings for his children when he was with them). I’m deeply grateful for those experiences, the words “My son,” and the image of Solomon and Eliott, as a vision for my own future.

I’m positive that many other guys at NOC have father wounds, and that many of us fathers deeply want to bless our children, to build them up, to be good fathers, and are very much aware of our shortcomings. I’m convinced we can help each other with these issues. I do believe God was at work, in a mighty way, at the retreat, and I am hopeful it will continue. I’ve talked to so several guys after the retreat, and have been surprised by how many “informal” accountability groups have been meeting.

Finally, I’m also deeply grateful to be part of a community like NOC, where people are real, authentic, and servant-hearted. I do feel that God is here, and the retreat was a great reminder for me of that. For me, what keeps me at Newsong or NOC has never been about the lead pastor, but it’s been the people and God’s presence (for me, felt mostly through worship).

Sermon Rewind 3/6/11 - Living The New Life

Colossians 3:1 - 17
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


Pastor Peter continued The One series with a sermon expounding Paul’s decree for followers of Christ in Colossians 3. In the book of Colossians, Paul argues for the validity of Christ’s deity and the freedom that it provides for those who believe – we are made Holy, and no longer need to worry about worldly distractions and temptations. Though they may trouble us now, we were made for and set apart for another world. Like a child, however, we must learn and grow into this new life. Change is an ongoing, continual process. This means letting go of our sinful past – to not just remove immorality, anger, and lust, but to replace them. Since Christ made us holy, it is our endeavor to become holy and more like Christ – with kindness, forgiveness, and love.

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