< Previous10Worship / Belong / Serve / GoRESPONDING TO RACISMRodney Melton has attended Westwood Community Church for 24 years with his wife. He spent many of those years helping with men’s ministry and the children’s ministry. He is a football coach at Chaska High School. Rodney said he began to be concerned about his district when racial bias began to change the Chaska community. He was personally affected by the racially discriminatory incidents that took place there over the last year. When asked if he wanted to start the Racial Justice and Reconciliation team at Westwood, Rodney didn’t even give it a second thought– his answer was yes. The Racial Justice and Reconciliation team, or RJR, has 3 goals: To awaken to the pertinent issues at hand, to learn the critical histories which have led to and further compound present realities, and to act in specific ways which align with and activate Westwood’s mission and vision. The team is comprised of people who care deeply about showing God’s love to all people. They are seeking first to understand where others are coming from. Only when they do, can they be a part of creating a positive and biblical change not only within the church, but within the community as a whole. Rodney says that first and foremost, their mission is about honoring and enjoying God, “Our framework is the love of Jesus Christ. God intended for us to live in his love.” The team’s reflection verse comes from Acts 17:26a, “and he made from one blood every nation.” Together, they want to start stripping down some of the untruths and stereotypes that exist in our community. Pretending there isn’t a problem, doesn’t work. You must first understand the issue and then address it. “This team means so much to me. I believe the Spirit is doing a work within the church, calling us toward the joy of unity through repentance. This team is a part of that work” says Ben Rosenbush, a member of the RJR team. “God is calling Christians to rise up and confront the racial injustices of our communities, to live into a true reconciliation in our world, as we awaken to the hurt, learn how to find healing, and act in the way of Jesus. We need to boldly examine the history of racism that we as a church have been complicit in—which still manifests today—in order to imagine a new future together in the love of Christ. This team is the start of something—it’s one step toward becoming new and whole.” The RJR Team will be hosting events throughout the year that are open to anyone in the community. Check out our website for upcoming events. If you have any questions or are interested in getting involved, send an email to rjrteam@westwoodcc.org. “God is calling Christians to rise up and confront the racial injustices of our communities, to live into a true reconciliation in our world, as we awaken to the hurt, learn how to find healing, and act in the way of Jesus.”1011Stacia Fetters has been attending Westwood Community Church for the past 11 years with her husband Ben and their three children Cade, Carlee, and Dylan. Stacia is a stay at home mom who enjoys attending and serving with Bible Study Fellowship and volunteering at her children’s school. This last year, Stacia has been serving as trainer for the Volunteer Development Team. She loves the consistency of seeing, serving and growing alongside her teammates. Serving at Westwood has helped the church to feel more like a home to her and allowed her to get to know many people and form meaningful relationships with them. “I learn something new and continue to be changed each time I step out in obedience to serve. Even when the ask or call seems overwhelming, God has proven faithful in equipping and providing in powerful and beautiful ways. Serving has fed and strengthened my faith in our awesome God,” she shared.Interested in joining a team at Westwood? Check out page 25 for serving opportunities or head to our website at westwoodcc.orgVOLUNTEERPROFILE:Stacia FettersStacia FettersWe’re so thankful for Stacia and the rest of our incredible volunteers!1112Worship / Belong / Serve / Go12Worship / Belong / Serve / GoWorship / Belong / Serve / Go13These are lyrics that were sung by 23 boys and girls rescued from slavery off Volta Lake. Everyone from the Westwood Justice Team who was part of a delegation to Ghana was in tears as they listened to the song and stories of the children recently rescued by International Justice Mission (IJM). These children who once endured harsh treatment and conditions are now safe, well cared for and in school thanks to your praying, giving and the courageous efforts of IJM Ghana. Even though these children are now free, they know others as young as 4- and 5-years old who are not. Many remain enslaved in remote villages, deprived of proper shelter, food and education and forced to fish on the lake.As a church, Westwood has joined with IJM/Ghana and GlobeServe Ministries International to fight for the freedom of these children and to equip churches and community leaders in Ghana to act justly. Says Chaz Nichols, Director of Missions and Outreach, “Westwood was asked to participate in the launch of the IJM office in Ghana five years ago. We have been deeply invested in working and praying justice would come for the children on Volta Lake. It may still be early, but after attending this and other justice conferences, I am sensing a real change taking place in Ghana regarding a desire to see Biblical justice in their country.” “We were oppressed, We were tortured; But there is a God who is alive, Who came to our rescue. He will make us so great That our enemies will see And be ashamed.”ON THE FRONT LINES OF JUSTICEContinued on next page14In September, Westwood’s Justice Team was invited to be part of Justice Conferences in the cities of Ho and Tamale, Ghana. This invitation was a tribute to the long-standing partnership Westwood has had with IJM. The goal was to raise awareness among church and community leaders regarding the trafficking of children on the lake and to equip them to bring an end to such injustice. There were 100-120 pastors along with local government and tribal leaders present at each conference. The response among those in attendance was overwhelmingly supportive. Pastors were equipped with a valuable discipleship resource, The Justice Thread, and they were eager to use it among small groups in their churches. Community and tribal leaders extended invitations to GlobeServe and Westwood to host additional Justice Conferences and resource churches in their communities to respond to the needs of children and families.In addition to the conferences, IJM, in collaboration with The Bible Society of Ghana, hosted the first-ever National Justice Conference, held at the prestigious Bank of Ghana Auditorium, at the University of Ghana in the capital city of Accra. Over 500 people attended the event, including police and military personnel, Ministers of Parliament, High Court judges and many of the top Christian leaders of Ghana.The highlight of the National Justice Conference was a speech given by her excellency, Hajia Mrs. Samir Bawumia, the second lady of the Republic of Ghana. A friend and ally of IJM, she delivered an impassioned address for all not to simply talk about justice, but to do justice. Westwood was the only western church to be asked to join them in delivering one of the two breakout sessions at the conference. In addition to the rescue of children, IJM and GlobeServe work to provide rescued children with aftercare services that include shelter, education and the support necessary to heal and be restored to life within families and the community. In the past year, Westwood has sent three teams to Ghana. With each trip, ministry partnerships have been forged and new initiatives are being identified to engage the church to respond to the needs of children, families and the churches of Ghana. God is on the move in Ghana to free the enslaved children and to redeem the lives of their oppressors. Join us as join with God to see justice carried out. Worship / Belong / Serve / GoWorship / Belong / Serve / Go15ghanaPastor Dave Trautmann enjoys downtime with local children near Lake Volta in GhanaWestwood Missions Director Chaz Nichols was encouraged by a Ghanaian Chief’s commitment to champion justice in local communities, a direct outcome of Justice Conferences held in Ghana last fall15Experience more of the story through this video16Worship / Belong / Serve / Go17stokholmSweden Mission Trip, August 2020 Westwood, in partnership with Woodridge Church, is going to Sweden in August 2020. This mission trip is open to adults or teens. The team will be leading the children’s program for New Life Church’s family camp from Thursday–Sunday, August 6-9. There are several options for the trip, depending on how much time you have available. You can also add personal travel to your trip before or after the mission experience. Let us know you’re interested on our website, westwoodcc.org/on-missionWhen most people think about sharing Jesus with the nations, they probably don’t think of Sweden. But Sweden is a country that has very few Christ-followers. Most citizens do not know anyone who is a devoted follower of Jesus. With significant immigration and refugee resettlement taking place, the world has literally come to Sweden. And we have a tremendous opportunity with our ministry partner, New Life Church, to bring God’s love to the people of Sweden. New Life’s ministry is focused on evangelism, discipleship and multicultural church planting. They launched a new church plant, New Life South, in Stockholm’s south suburbs in September. Westwood’s Europe team went to Stockholm to learn more about the work taking place there. Says team leader Doug Peterson, “We were amazed at how God is bringing people to faith in Christ in a country where Christian faith has faded significantly in the past century.” In August, Doug returned to Sweden for New Life Church’s all-church family camp. About 500 people from all nine church sites attend the camp for spiritual growth and community building. Doug, along with 14 other volunteers, got to share Christ’s love by leading the children’s program, which was similar to VBS. About one hundred culturally diverse children heard Bible stories, made crafts and sang songs. Some of the kids who participated were from Mongolia, Iran, Syria and Turkey. The language barrier proved to be no barrier in communicating God’s love. “We heard a lot of Swedish and English spoken, but many other languages as well. In the end, the love of Christ was communicated despite the differences. God is growing in us a deep love for the people of Sweden, the blue-eyed and blonde-haired, as well as those who are not. We invite you to be a part of what God is doing in this country,” says Doug.17Doug Peterson, who co-leads Westwood’s Europe Team with his wife Eileen, enjoys debrief time with Jim and Lyn Jarman. The Jarmans are Westwood-supported missionaries who serve at New Life Church in Sweden.18In March of 2018 we launched a 10-year strategy for multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ and disciple-making environments; here in our community, near in the ethnically-diverse Twin Cities and far, across the world. Some recent highlights:10/10/10 UPDATEHERENEARFAR• The Bush Lake Campus opened last Thanksgiving in a beautifully-renovated space. New attenders are coming, and Kids Ministry has increased 50% since launch!• Our online campus launched on November 10 with the aim of developing an online congregation. Additional multiplications efforts are under way at the Moose Lake Prison and in Mound. • A Tamil-language church has begun at our Bush Lake Campus, the only place in Minnesota where services are held in this Indian tongue. This is the first of several ethnic churches envisioned there.• An International Ministry Center is being developed for the other half of our leased building in Bloomington, providing a home for the vision to reach the Twin Cities for Christ.• Westwood, Grace Church and Wooddale Church have partnered with The Timothy Initiative to train Twin Cities immigrant pastors to reach their communities for Christ.• We’re partnering with GlobeServe to raise up church planters in West Africa. 78 churches and 93 home-based cell groups have already been planted.• Through the Converge denomination and New Life Ministries, we are helping to plant churches in Sweden and Germany, areas considered post-Christian.• Partnering with Cru, we are seeing dynamic churches planted in Moldova and other former Soviet-bloc countries.• Through six Timothy Initiative training centers supported by Westwood, 113 house churches have already been planted in Nepal, resulting in more than 400 new believers in Christ!• We’re working with the Global Association of Church Multiplication organization to plant churches in Nepal, Ghana, Sweden, Europe and Myanmar. 160 churches have been planted so far.1819OPEN HANDS FOUNDATIONThe Open Hands Foundation studies the needs of the local community and seeks to meet them. With a lack of resources available to an increas-ingly large number of homeless teens, Open Hands Foundation began Hope House, a shelter for homeless youth located on the Chanhassen Campus. Since opening in November 2015, Hope House has provided shelter to 300 teens and another 1,200 have been impacted through the help line. Thank you to those who have supported the work being done. If you’d like to learn more about ways to serve, please contact Executive Director Denny Laufenburger: 612.327.6800, denny.laufenburger@openhandsfoundation.com If you know a teen in crisis, contact the Hope House at 612.900.2077. LIVE IN MOUND/WESTONKA?A team is working on a Westwood multiplication effort in the Mound/Westonka area. While the exact form this will take and the timeline has not yet been determined, we are gathering the names of people from that area willing to engage in this God-sized adventure! To be added to the communication stream about a work in Mound/Westonka, please email tim.remington@westwoodcc.org.19Next >