Please make sure you complete the 2017 permission form for your children and students. This form covers everything for the year; please be sure to check before your child or student leaves on a trip to make sure we do have it and that all of the information is current and up to date. Please click on the button below to access the form, then return the completed form to Kimberly Tussing or David Hughes.

2017

Questions? Email here

If you have any questions, please send us an email. Merry Christmas! 

"Christmas on Air" will be live on December 11, 18 and Christmas Eve at 1, 3, 5 and 7PM.

Click here for all the information ::

Tags will be available in the MPCC lobby on both December 11 and December 18. Please drop off your gift at Mountain Park beginning on Sunday, December 18, with the last day of drop off being December 20. Gifts should be wrapped in gift bags only and must have the accompanying tag with it, for identification.

Thanks for your help this Christmas season. If you have any questions, please contact Greg Battle

Serving Opportunities

Candle Prep: prepare 4,000 candles: Email Debbie

Hospitality Hosts: host guests in the overflow rooms: Email Greg 

Children's Ministry: care for children on Christmas Eve: Email Kimberly

Christmas Eve Food Team: prepare, set up & clean up food for volunteers: Email Debbie

Sign up to bring food here.

Hot Chocolate Hot Shots: prepare, serve and clean up hot chocolate: Email David

Parking: be the first to welcome visitors in the parking lot: Email Greg

Creative Team: Help backstage, take photos : Email Chris

Tech Team/Creative Team

ctaylor@mountainpark.org

Greeters/Ushers

gbattle@Mountainpark.org

Food for Volunteers

dquigley@mountainpark.org

MPkids

ktussing@mountainpark.org

Serving Hot Cocoa

dhughes@mountainpark.org

Tech Team/Creative Team

ctaylor@mountainpark.org

General Volunteers

dquigley@mountainpark.org

http://planetgreenrecycle.com/fundraising/?purl=mpkids

Items we will be collecting include:

Inkjet Cartridges
Laser/Toner Cartridges
Cell Phones & Accessories
GPS & Radar Detectors
Calculators
eBook Readers
iPods/MP3 Players
Digital/Video Cameras
PDAs
iPads/Tablets
Video Game Consoles

Items do not have to be in working condition.

Look for our recycling collection bins in the MPKids hallway!

We would be honored if you would provide the name, rank and branch of service of your loved one. We look forward to honoring them this November.

Click the blue button to submit your loved ones information.

Register

To help assist Trunkers, those enthusiastic souls decorating their cars for Trunk 'N Treat, we will be having a candy drive. Bring your candy to church and help us keep the evening special for the kids.

Our goal is to collect 50,000 pieces of candy. Cash donations to purchase candy are also welcome. Drop your candy donation in one of the bins in the lobby. 

RoleGroups are small groups of adults that meet weekly to connect and pursue spiritual growth. Our hope is that every person will get plugged into a group, as they are a great way to live life in community. RoleGroups, made up of 8-20 individuals in a similar life stage, meet for 12 weeks; you are welcome to jump in any time.

Classes are where you deepen your knowledge, skills and under- standing of a particular topic that interests you. Each class will explore one topic for a short time; the schedule of each class will vary. You can sign up for a RoleGroup AND a class.

Care & Support Groups are designed to provide a safe place for you to connect with others during a tough season of life. You will walk through the struggles you face with others who are experiencing similar challenges. These groups are ongoing; you are welcome to jump in at any time.

On Wednesday evenings before RoleGroups begin,
dinner is served at 5:30 pm.
Childcare is also available.

New Here?

DiscoverMP
We invite everyone attending their first Launch to start with DiscoverMP. Whether you’re new to Mountain Park or have been attending for years, this fun, interactive group experience lays the foundation for you to build on.

In this five-week group, we’ll discover more about each other as we discover more about Mountain Park together. How did Mountain Park get started? What do we believe? How do I take my next steps here? These are just a few of the questions we’ll explore together. If this is your first Launch, then this is the group for you!
Sunday morning 9:00 am Learn more & register

Discover the Christian Faith
Are you a new Christian, just checking out this Christianity thing or wanting to review the basics of our faith? If you want to know more about the Kingdom of Christ, this class is for you.

We’ll discuss who the church is as a body of believers. We’ll answer questions like: What do we believe? Why do we believe it? By what authority do we declare these things true?

We’ll give you the tools to utilize the power of the Word of God in your life, including practical insight on how to read, study and use the Bible every day. This class begins October 12.
Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register

RoleGroups

Parents of Kids (Birth-5th Grade): Sunday 9:00 am Learn more & register
Men: Sunday 5:00 pm Learn more & register
Young Adults: Sunday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
1823 College-age: Sunday 7:00 pm Learn more & register

Limitless: Monday 6:30 pm Learn more & register

Men's Wakeup Call: Tuesday 6:30 am Learn more & register
The Classic Club (Boomers & Beyond): Tuesday 6:45 pm Learn more & register
Men: Tuesday 7:00 pm Learn more & register

Men: Battle Tested: Wednesday 5:30 am Learn more & register
Men: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Parents of Kids (Birth-5th Grade): Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Singles: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Women: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register

Women (Childers): Thursday 9:00 am Learn more & register
Women (Markins): Thursday 9:00 am Learn more & register
Men: Reveille: Thursday 6:00 pm Learn more & register

Classes

The Battle Plan for Prayer: Tuesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
 
Marriage and the Smart Stepfamily: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Premarital: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Rocky Point Mission Trip Prep: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
War Room: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
What's it say? What's it mean? What's it mean to you?: Wednesday 6:30 pm *This class is full*

Care & Support Groups

DivorceCare: Tuesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Men’s HOPE: Tuesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Senior Focus: Tuesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register
Women’s HOPE: Tuesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register

MPkids

Entourage: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register

Student Union

High School Service Teams: Various Days & Times Learn more & register
Jr Service Teams: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & register

Please contact Alex or Zach with questions about any of these groups.

We have eight different High School Service Teams, each serving in different ways to different people groups. You are able to join a Service Team at any time, but we encourage changing teams at the beginning of each semester. You can participate in two teams at any time. Here are our eight High School Service Teams.

• Children's Ministry Team ::Do you enjoy being around kids, engaging them in fun activities and teaching them about God's story? This is a fantastic place to serve the little ones, from the nursery, all the way up to 5th graders.
  Meets Mondays, 6:30-8:00 pm
  Serve Time: Sunday 9:00-10:00 am or 10:30-11:30 am or Wednesday 6:30- 8:00 pm 
  
  
• Worship Team :: Do you have a passion for music and/or technology, and want to help create a worship experience for others? You'll be working with the student worship band and tech team.
  Meets Tuesdays, 6:00-8:00 pm
  Serve Time: Sundays 7:30-11:30 am  
  
  
• Middle School Ministry Team :: Ever have a desire to mentor and guide middle school students through the difficulties they are facing? This is an incredible opportunity for you to become a Small Group Leader for a group of middle school students, and mentor and guide them in their faith.
  Meets Tuesdays, 6:30-8:00 pm
  Serve Time: Sunday 9:00-10:00 am or 10:30-11:30 am or Wednesday 6:30- 8:00 pm  
  
  
• Perk Team :: Do you have a passion to learn more about how to run a business and use that knowledge to serve God in a cool way? The Perk is our student run coffee shop, where you can see first hand what running a Christian business looks like.
  Meets Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 pm
  Serve Time: Sundays 7:30-11:00 am  

• Sunday Welcome Team :: Do you have a passion for helping fellow students get plugged into the SU community? On Sundays, we aim to celebrate God's story and you help us do it by greeting guests, selling SU gear and leading games/announcements during our Sunday Celebrations.
  Meets Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 pm
  Serve Time: Sundays 8:30-11:00 am  

• 3rd Friday Team :: Do you love seeing our student community connect with each other and have a good time? Us too! This team is designed to organize and run our monthly 3rd Friday gatherings.
  Meets Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 pm
  Serve Time: Every 3rd Friday 8:00-10:00 pm

Feel free to register or just arrive on a meeting night. Looking forward to serving together!

Register Here

Feed

Pray

The Senior Fellowship Program exists to prepare high school seniors to realize their role in God’s story after graduation. During the year, Fellows are equipped with a theological understanding, practical spiritual disciplines and an experience of participating in an intentional Christian community. They explore and remember the Biblical Story, how to share it with others and listen openly to others are they share their stories. They learn to think critically about topics like creation and humanity, sexuality, life and death and world religions. They are confronted with the way they are wired, their personalities, talents and passions, and asked to explore how those aspects of who they are connect to their role in this grand story.

High school juniors have the opportunity to apply to Fellows during the spring of their junior year. Selected students will begin the program the first week of August of their senior year. The year-long program is a ten-hour a week commitment:

• Gather Monday and Wednesdays (3:30-5:00pm) Fellows come together in a classroom setting to cover the topics of theology, biblical survey and biblical interpretation. The group also focuses on a spiritual practice, share life stories and challenge one another.
• Practice Four hours of homework will be assigned weekly. This could include engaging in spiritual disciplines, reading, listening to podcasts, reflective writing or creating a project.
• Lead Fellows are asked to co-lead a middle school small group or a high school service team. There are a variety of times throughout the week that this can take place.

Scholarship
Fellows who completed their study in 2014, 2015 and 2016, were awarded scholarships towards their future educational endeavors. While it is our hope to offer similar awards each year, awards will be offered on a year-by-year basis.

The application contains answers to important questions. Click on the blue button for FAQs.

Application

Our next organized training hike will be April 16 at 6:30 am at the Chandler and 19th Ave trailhead. We will be going up Pyramid, down National to the stone house and back!

Remember, His love never quits, and neither do we!

If you want to meet some great people and take a good hike, meet us at 6:30 am next Saturday, April 2 at the trailhead at the end of Chandler Blvd at 19th Ave as we hike up to the top of Pyramid! You don't have to be going to Havasupai to join us.

Our RoleGroups are made up of 12-30 individuals with the express purpose of helping you Launch into your story. Each group leader is trained and equipped to help group members learn and practice living out the Five Big Questions. We offer RoleGroups four times a year, twice in the spring and twice in the fall.

Some RoleGroups follow a more traditional small group style, some are much more experiential and some are a mix of both. But no matter what the format, they’re always designed to help you realize your role in God’s story!

Below is a list of RoleGroups being offered March 2016. Dinner is served at 5:30 pm every Wednesday evening before RoleGroups begin. Childcare is also available.

DiscoverMP

We invite everyone attending their first Launch to start with DiscoverMP. Whether you’re new to Mountain Park or have been attending for years, this fun, interactive group experience lays the foundation for you to build on.

In this six-week group, we’ll discover more about each other as we discover more about Mountain Park together. How did Mountain Park get started? What do we believe? How do I take my next steps here? These are just a few of the questions we’ll explore together. If this is your first Launch, then this is the group for you!

Sunday Morning 10:30 am Learn More & Register

RoleGroups

War Room: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register
30 Days to Understanding the Bible: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn more & Register

College-age: Sunday 12:00 pm Learn More & Register
Premarital: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register
Young Couples: Sunday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register
Young Couples: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register

Parents of Children: Sunday 9:00 am Learn More & Register
Parents of Children: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register
Single Parents: Sunday 9:00 am Learn More & Register
Blending Families: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register

Empty Nesters: Sunday 10:30 am Learn More & Register
Empty Nesters: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register
Boomers and Beyond: Sunday 10:30 am Learn More & Register
Limitless: Sunday 9:00 am Learn More & Register
Limitless: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register

Women: Perfect Love: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register
Women: 30 Days to Understanding the Bible: Thursday 9:00 am Learn More & Register

Men: A Man and His Fatherhood: Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More & Register

Children's Ministry: Entourage Wednesday 6:30 pm Learn More

Please contact Caroline Clock with questions about any of these groups.

This post will cover the past few days because this blogger was down and out for a couple of days. As can happen on any trip, a few of us fell ill. Two of us fell ill enough that our host church members who are nurses here in Honduras insisted we visit the hospital. That itself is an experience that could use its own news blog, but it was nice to be so loved and cared for and I am happy to report we made a quick recovery with the medicine we received.

We have been in San Jorge each evening for dinner and church service on Sunday, but Wednesday was the first day we invested of our time to work in the community. As is common in Honduras, the day’s plan to do ceramic tile work and drywall work was changed at the 11th hour. Delivery problems meant that we could only do the drywall work. Moving the drywall sheets up to the second floor went very quickly with all of the extra hands available. This is where the backup began. With three ladders and three drills, 25 people (plus the Honduran workers) couldn’t all fit into or work on the drywall ceiling in the classrooms.

The beautiful part of the whole experience was the group naturally found other opportunities to be of service. Many took note of the uneven ground in the courtyard and set to work knocking out remnants of old cinder block walls while others found dirt from around the site to level the ground. Playing football in the courtyard is now safer without the tripping hazards. Some members of the group went to the church to help with the distribution of health packages and others took the time to play with the children that were hanging around the worksite. One of the highlights every year is the day we dedicate as Kids’ Day. 

Kids’ Day is something that developed because of the large number of children in San Jorge who would come and visit the worksite in years past and to honor the large number of children in Pastor Jaime’s school supported by Compassion International. The Tabernaculo de Dios building we have informally named the Compassion House provides education, food and a safe place to be for 300 children in Colonia San Jorge. Each year we added a few more activities informally until a couple from Mountain Park Community Church started putting together and planning the whole day and every year it gets better and better as we learn from the year before. A man on our trip with a musical talent and gift for working with children taught the kids a song using four languages and the kids loved it, singing along and copying the hand motions of other team members standing in front of the children. It was beautiful to see the children light up. Our team member seemed very moved as the children joined in with him on the songs.

The day progressed to stations set up around the church with games and activities. Members from our team were spread out making paper airplanes, picture frames, painting nails, playing games and face painting. A highlight every year is the photo booth we set up. Thanks to the two alumni organizing the day and acquiring portable photo printers, the kids get to take their photo home with them that day. A standout moment was seeing one of our young men on the trip smiling and joking with the children as he painted the little girls’ nails. There was quite a line waiting for his station at the church. Kids would run up to me showing me their nails and pointing to him saying they liked that he was here to paint nails. He said later he had no idea he’d be painting nails on the mission trip, but he said he had fun doing it.

As we prepare to return home after our cultural day at the Mayan Ruins, in reflection on the week behind us, many shared how they’ve been moved by God. This trip has stirred up emotions and dreams for the Hondurans we’ve served, the Hondurans who have served us and the members of our group. Many of us shared that if we don’t come home changed in some way the trip will have been a failure. Many alumni of the Honduras mission trip have gone on to great things inspired by what God showed them here in Honduras. Many are following inspiration to make an impact in Honduras, many are impacting the Phoenix area and everyone is forever changed in how they are with family and friends after a trip like this. 

We have challenged our group to come home and not answer the question, “How was Honduras?” with “Awesome.”  Everyone has many stories to tell, so when you ask one of us about the trip, hold us all accountable to give you one of those stories and not be dismissive with a simple “awesome.” The Word of God was first spread with spoken language followed by written language we recognize as the Bible and the Word has changed millions of lives. We can hope to change millions more lives for the better in the future. To do our part we need to be willing, as the title of our week’s devotional states, to Change the World One Person at a Time…

The foundation had been sealed and we were busy making column forms and mixing the concrete to put in the columns. Envision a site with a concrete mixer, pump and trough to move the concrete around the worksite and 20 feet into the air to pour into the top of the column. To turn on the mixer, the leader directed the placement of dry materials, the mixing and adding of water to the right consistency and people went to work bent over with shovels mixing up concrete in piles around the work site. This was a human concrete mixer. When the concrete was at the right consistency, we turned on the pump (more of a bucket brigade) and moved the concrete down the line and up onto the scaffolding where a worker would pour the concrete into the columns. It was back-breaking work in the sun but everyone was smiling and laughing throughout the day... and perhaps a little sunburned at the end of the day. It was great working alongside people from Mountain Park, some old friends and some new friends and our Honduran hosts. We were investing sweat, tears and prayers in that church building and with the Church at large by simply sharing time with our Honduran hosts. The Church is the people, not the building. Members here currently worship under a shaded carport as they await the completion of this new church.

Under the shaded carport just a quarter mile away, one alumni’s calling to help families with medical and general health needs was on display. Eight years ago after her first mission trip to Honduras and after many years in a good career, she was inspired switch careers. It is a long story to tell with the obstacles she faced, but she prayed and listened and overcame the obstacles with God’s help. At nursing school she was told she’d not be able to work with kids (where she felt God was telling her to serve) until after she had adult experience, but God showed her the path to a pediatric nursing position right out of school. After returning to Honduras on a subsequent trip, she continued to feel the calling to do more for the children of Honduras. After God cleared the way of all obstacles, she was traveling from Phoenix to Tennessee once a month for a week at a time to attend one of the top acute care pediatric nurse practitioner training programs and completing her clinical training in Phoenix. After hard work and determination she graduated, began a position working with children at the children’s hospital and went on to setup and see patients in the health care clinic last year in Honduras. The clinic served just one of the communities where Tabernaculo de Dios churches are established, so this year she provided for and arranged with the help of family, friends and your help, to provide 210 health care packages to distribute to the families all three communities. Here under the carport she, some members of Mountain Park and a Honduran nurse provided education on health and hygiene and distributed health care packages with medicine, vitamins and supplies many of us have in our medicine cabinets and take for granted in our everyday lives. Every family that came through and received the education and health package was prayed over by the team before they departed. Everyone’s talents come to light when the time is right and God’s love and teachings are passed on.

A new member of our team, a woman from Tucson unknown to most of the group until this week, being overwhelmed by the heat and work on the construction site, took refuge in the shade to recover and rehydrate. While she was sitting at the top of the hill overlooking the worksite, five young boys came over to visit her. With very little Spanish, she spoke the language of children… candy. With the biggest smile she gave the boys each a piece of candy and they settled in to trying to have a conversation. As many conversations go when the spoken language(s) isn’t understood, she pulled out a pad of paper and began to draw pictures. She called it Pictionary communication as she drew pictures and the boys would say what she drew in Spanish. The boys then drew pictures which she would say in English.  Noticing that one of the boys was wearing a hearing aid, she displayed another gift unknown to the team… sign language. While I’ve come to learn that sign language can be very different in each country, many signs remain the same. With a wave of her right hand, two fingers down over a flattened left hand palm up, the boy with the hearing aid began to dance and she began to dance and the other four boys joined in too.

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” -Francis of Assisi

The rain continued to fall as if to try and deter those of us gathered from enjoying the day's events. Determination was demonstrated as everyone’s spirits were high… and 90 minutes later the last group arrived. As the group gathered again at the edge of the water, the rain stopped. As we waded through the tidal pools to the Caribbean Sea, the clouds began to part and by the time we were standing holding hands in the breaking waves, the sun was shining and the clouds had moved to the edges of the sky. 90 minutes earlier and this would have been happening in the rain. In the morning before we left for the beach, we enjoyed our time in a group sharing about our experiences so far and one member of the church shared about solitude with God. We are here as a team but are encouraged to find those moments of solitude with God. I was reminded that if we don’t listen for God, we may not hear what God is telling us. Many of the Hondurans being baptized had made the decision months ago and some only this week were called to profess their faith. One by one the group made their way toward Greg, Brenda and Loren in the waves. They professed their faith, were baptized with the sea water and came up renewed. God is good. Seven members of Mountain Park Community Church also found time to reflect on the decision and also were called to profess and reaffirm their faith in Jesus Christ here with our team and sister-church as witness.  Pastor Greg said to the group, “Welcome to the family of Jesus Christ.”

One of the favorites was teaching the boys the game of American football. With a lot of hand gestures we made it work, it was fun. We struggled with kids only wanting to play quarterback and offense and switching teams but we were all smiling and we were all blessed to share that time together. Many of the boys shared a welcome message for us and one of the boys exclaimed that he thought he’d be bored today until he found out we were coming. Jenny told us that days like today are memories the children share with the staff for months after we are gone. I’ve been sharing memories like this for years. What a way to nurture ongoing relationships and create new ones?

In the evening we had the great honor of visiting the homes of two families. We began construction on these homes during last year’s trip. Pastor Greg and I were given the additional honor, this year, to bless and pray for the homes and the families they shelter during a ribbon cutting ceremony. At the ceremony, one of our alumni shared this story. 

Two years ago we were touring the village with Pastor Jaime and we came upon the old “house” of a widow and her children. It had a rotted wood frame and corrugated tin siding with a partial roof made of tin sheets. The widow met us on the road and invited us into her home. She knew we were from the sister church that visits Honduras  every year. Peanuts were roasting in a wood fired oven, made to sell on the street to make ends meet, and there was a single chicken in the yard. Seeing that we were weary from a long days’ work, she went to get her only chicken and said she would make us some soup and give us peanuts. Looking at the home we were in and the absence of food supplies, that was all she had to eat and she was offering up her only chicken to feed our group of 20+ missionaries. We, politely as we could, declined but thanked her with hugs and prayed together. That evening when we were recollecting the day, through tears, we revisited the story of the widow in the Bible who gave of everything she had and how the day's events mirrored that of the Bible story. The modern day woman in the story was one of the women found by the ministry for widow’s homes in San Jorge and one of the women who’s new home we are now standing in.

Pastor Jaime shared that when we open our arms to serve and give, we also have our arms open to receive. When we only open our arms to receive, we do not receive, but open your arms to give and you will receive and know God’s delight and His blessings will fill you tremendously for He desires to have that relationship with us. While we didn’t get to eat the chicken, we received the opportunity to help provide a home to two widows, and in giving we received the opportunity to be back in the widow’s new home to see God’s glorious works and be touched by an example of generosity and a profound relationship with God. While she received a house, I believe we all received something much more valuable, a deeper understanding of God’s love and relationship with us… and maybe a free bag of fresh roasted peanuts this year.

Members of our sister church were waiting with signs and hugs for everyone. It always feels good to be back with our Honduran family... who were so great to help us load 2800 lbs of supplies, 25+ carry-on bags, a baby, a five-year-old, two adolescents and 21 "adults" onto the roof of our bus, two Toyota pickup trucks and a mid sized SUV. We travel in style, with an entourage, to the hotel about 30 minutes away and it begins to rain as we pull in to the hotel and then have to unload 2800 lbs of supplies, 25+ carry-on bags, a baby, a five-year-old, two adolescents and 21 "adults" into the lobby area to get checked in. How did it happen that we all got 2nd floor rooms in a hotel with no elevator? All those bags... so as you might have figured out, we had to move 2800 lbs of supplies to... a conference room attached to the lobby on the first floor that I begged and pleaded for the use of. Gracias Dios. Llegamos. Thank you Jesus. We have arrived safely at our hotel in Honduras.

Friends and family back in Arizona, we are in good hands down here... God's hands. We are blessed to be here this year with so many first time missionaries. Many, who after years of personal debate on whether to travel to Honduras, made great sacrifices in their work and family lives for this great calling to serve the Lord here in this part of the world for eight days. I will be diligent to listen to what God is trying to tell us this week and find some examples among our group to share where God is stirring up emotion and thought and helping us reach our Full Potential.

On our team shirts this year:

Porque donde esté  vuestro tesoro, allí estará tambien vuestro corazón.  Mateo 6:21

(For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:21)