Refuge Christian Fellowship

Join us thisSunday as we consider the concept of Creedal Faith.After our miniseries on Liturgy, we are eager to begin this new series through thetopic of the Apostle's Creed. We'll be taking theApostle's Creed line by line and considering the implications of this document that speaks to the basic tenets of what we believe. The Apostle's Creed series will take us through the month of August.

Join us for an outdoor breakfast on Sunday, May 9. On Mother's Day, we like to take the opportunity to honor each and every one of the Refuge Ladies. And we ar...e excited to do so by sharing a meal together before our Sunday service. We will be offering a breakfast buffet including eggs, pancakes, and more (GF options available). Arrive anytime between 8:30-9:15am (breakfast will not be served after 9:15) before our 9:30 indoor service. Please register by Tuesday, May 4 so we can effectively plan to serve everyone who would like to join. See more

Last Sunday we began our new miniseries on Liturgy. Because habits shape who you are and who you will become, everything we do is liturgy. The intent of this series is to spotlight the elements we do on Sunday mornings. Our Call to Worship, Confession + Pardon, and Benediction are integral parts of our worship service and they deserve teaching lest they become empty rituals. And we practice these rhythms (among many others) because they help to form us as disciples of Jesus. Join us this Sunday for the study on the Confession + Pardon.

We are excited to announce we are starting a new, 52-week curriculum with our Refuge Kids! And we want YOU to partner with us. We believe home study plays a vital role in our children’s spiritual development. Our new curriculum will be taught and studied on Sunday, but our prayer and hope is you will come alongside us and teach these truths at home throughout the week. Our new curriculum is called, #newcitycatechism . What is a Catechism? A catechism is a collection of bibli...cal doctrines, assembled into a question-and-answer format. The term comes from the New Testament word katecheo, which simply means to teach or instruct. The process of catechesis has rich Reformation roots. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other Reformers endeavored to catechize both children and adults in order to combat doctrinal ignorance and biblical illiteracy. This biblically derived process has proven hugely influential at critical points in the history of the church. Link in profile See more

We had the honor of partnering with the Stack Family as they dedicated their twin girls Colette and Imogene last Sunday. This sweet family stood before us and shared their hearts to raise their children in a way that honors Jesus in the hope that all four of them will choose to put their hope and faith in Him. We’re grateful to support so many young families in their discipleship journey alongside their kids. #comefindrefuge

You saw, me, you listened to me, you loved me. This is the overwhelming testimony of the people at Refuge of the Brodersen family. We are grateful for the love and service that Char and Grace have poured into our community. We praise the Lord for bringing them to Santa Rosa and we praise the Lord for continuing His work in their lives/our community - even at the cost of saying goodbye to this family. Thank you, Brodersens. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for serving us. We love you and we’ll miss you. We trust in the GOOD plans that Jesus has for Char, Grace, Judah, Hudson, and Evelyn. We trust in the GOOD plans that Jesus has for Refuge Christian Fellowship. And so it is with great hope that we look to the future, using the past as our guiding light, and say yes and amen to all that the Lord has in store.

In addition to gathering in person on Sunday morning, there are also other ways that you can still join us. We will continue to livestream our service and you can choose to watch it from your own home or by gathering in small groups as some already have been doing. Please take a moment to RSVP so we can have a better understanding of how our church body is engaging with the sermon. Help us understand how we can best serve you - whether you'll be at home or at Refuge. https://refugecf.churchcenter.com/registrations

On Sunday we heard the third installment of The Good Neighbor Initiative of 2020. Yes, the THIRD! While we had hoped to debut a stirring challenge on how to be a well rounded counter cultural follower of Jesus every month, we have had to press pause on this endeavor (among others) for the majority of this calendar year. Kelsy Young reintroduced this initiative on Sunday by bringing Bridges Pregnancy Clinic and Care Center to the center of attention. Bridges Pregnancy Clinic a...nd Care Center During her brief presentation, Kelsy shared why this faith based non-profit organization exists, how it practically works, and how we as a church body can come alongside them and support their mission to provide free services such as pregnancy tests, sonograms, prenatal medical appointments, resource appointments, education classes, sexual abuse counseling, STD ccreening, peer counseling and post abortion healing. This isn’t our first time introducing Bridges to our church body, but if Kelsy’s presentation stirred something in your heart and you’re feeling a slight tug to take the plunge, we invite you to consider serving in the following ways: Be a medical volunteer. If you have medical training, consider giving your time to meet these needs Be a listening ear. Listen to the stories of the women who come through the door and need support. Be a financial donor. Even the smallest donation allows Bridges to continue offering free services to the community. Listen to the full presentation if you haven't already. https://www.refugecf.com/the-good-neighbor-initiative See more

All right church! We got a fresh meal train for a freshly born baby! Brent & Morgan have welcomed their daughter Sutton! Sutton was born October 26, 2020, just a few days sooner than expected. She has been anticipated by many, especially her three older siblings. Now is our time to put meals on the table for a family who loves and is generous with many. It's been a while since we've had the pleasure of caring for a family in this way - sign up today at RefugeCF.com/mealtrain

Have you been curious about what it would look like to foster a child or support a foster family from your church? RSVP to a one-hour virtual Interest Meeting today to learn more. Fosterthebay.org/rsvp

Tomorrow! This Sunday we will be hosting our annual harvest party. Join us after service for lunch + activities. We'll be doing some of our beloved activities and games but obviously changing things up a bit to meet current guidelines around large group gatherings. We'll be having a pumpkin carving competition, pumpkin decorating for the littles, and some line dancing as well! And of course there will be foooood! A few things to note: Please bring your own pumpkin if yo...u'd like to enter the pumpkin carving contest. Dress the part! Think flannels, boots, gingham... See you tomorrow!

Sunday’s service will de dedicated to hearing from the elders who will be added to the team. Be sure to read through 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and come out ready to celebrate the individuals who have committed to serving our church body.

First baby dedication of our Sundays in the Parking Lot! We had the honor of coming alongside the Sampietro family as they dedicated their little guy Odin this past Sunday. It is such an honor to support this family and their endeavors to raise a son who knows and fears the Lord.

Tomorrow morning! Gather with us to hear the word of God preached, to minister to one another using our spiritual gifts, to fellowship, to sing songs of praise and worship, to take communion together as a church body. To gather as the collective saints of the body at Refuge Christian Fellowship. 9:30 am in person or on YouTube.

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise."But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"But they kept silent, f...or on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.For the one who is not against us is for us.For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' For everyone will be salted with fire.Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." See more

Due to the #glassfire, Valley of the Moon Children’s Center, an emergency home to 16+ children was evacuated. Due to fire and smoke damage to the facility the children will remain displaced through the end of November.Please consider donating: Dominos gift card Mountain Mikes gift card Safeway gift card Target gift card ... Walmart gift card Costco gift card Olivers gift card Hygiene supplies (new) Twin bed sheets (new) Box fans (new) Duffle bags (new) Rolls of quarters Bring any donation you choose to church on Sunday or email [email protected] for pick up. See more

Parts 3 + 4 of the Refuge Weekly Rhythms : apply it and live it. Moving on from studying the text and hearing Sunday’s sermon, the second half of the rhythms involve putting time and thought into what you learned. How do you incorporate the teachings into your life?

Join us tomorrow morning in the church building parking lot for our outdoor service. After streaming last week's service, we are excited to meet together as a church body. Additionally we will be live-streaming the service this Sunday. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and join us live on Sunday at 9:30am.

14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teet...h and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." 19 And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 23 And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." - Mark 9:14-29 See more

Part 3 of the Refuge Weekly Rhythms is all about sharing the ways the Holy Spirit is teaching you and leading you to apply what you’re learning. Ideally, you’d be meeting in small groups weekly and working these things out as accountability partners. An essential part of following a Jesus is community. You aren’t meant to live your life as a Christian without other Christians to walk along with you and to point you to Jesus.

This morning we shared an update on missions at Refuge. We focus on both the local expression of missions as well as ministry to the uttermost parts of the earth. We shared about 3 of our ministry partners today: the Burns in Japan, the Underwoods who are working with Nexus International and the Wilderness Ministries institute, and the Sodestroms in Uganda who work with Frontier Force Christian Ministries (each partner and org tagged here). Be sure to watch the update by watching the sermon from this morning (link in profile) and read more about RefugeCF.com/missions. We plan to send 4 individuals to Uganda in early 2021. Watch the missions update to learn how you can partner with us.

We are excited to share a Missions Update with you all tomorrow morning via our livestream service. Refuge partners with various organizations and individuals in our endeavor to evangelize the unsaved, disciple followers of Jesus, or minister to those in need in the name of Jesus to be in fulfillment of the Commission given by Jesus. We’ll be dedicating our announcements to hearing from @nicolaimaersk share about what we’re doing as a church and how you can be a part of this ongoing ministry.