Welcome! We
understand that a new church can be scary. Maybe your prior
church experiences were boring, irrelevant or non-existent.
That describes many of our experiences too. That's
why we decided to start a new kind of church. We have great
music, excellent teaching, and we meet in what used to be a gas
station, but that's not really the point. Those things are just the backdrop for our basic purpose: "Love God. Love People.
Period." Yeah, it's really that simple. What to Expect?
[e]station calendar
[e]station bulletin board...XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Feedback Fest 09 - August 8th at Epiphany Station!
The
last few years, this was called the "Set Me Free Fest" in Erskine. This
year, Epiphany Station hosts and has a few goals in mind. First of all,
let's face it, there's not much to do in TRF. Problem Solved. These are
amazing professional bands who usually play for crowds in the
thousands. (E-stat has connections. he he he.) Also, the local area
Food Shelf is currently experiencing more demand than
ever for food, and simultaneously they are experiencing a decrease in
donations. Epiphany Station will make a generous donation to the Thief
River Falls Food Shelf with the proceeds of this event. Let's ROCK out, and help feed some neighbors!
Wow. We've got a sweet lineup of bands this year: Come out for
some great music, and a great cause. Tickets are $15.00 each. Contact Ben for a special group price. Or, reserve your tickets online. If you are a local business, or a vendor, let's talk about how we can collaborate. All donations are tax deductible.
Go HERE for information about how to support this event. We need your support. Click Here to see the Facebook Event PageTickets:
Support:
Contact:
E-mail: benkosharek@gmail.com
Phone: 218-280-7181Supported by: (click logo's for a link)
Businesses click HERE for information about how to be a sponsor of this event.
Hope in Hard Times: Listen to the entire 6-week series online! Everyone goes through hard times at one point or another. Whether it's the current economic condition, grieving the loss of a loved one, difficult family and marriage situations, or various crises around the world. How do you cope? Beginning
on Easter Sunday, Pastor Jeff began a series candidly discussing difficult life
situations that we all face and how God's hope funds us in surprising
and unexpected ways. Each week offered the opportunity to
explore this hope further with peers in one of three different GPS
(Grow-Pray-Study) small group meetings in homes. Here's the list of messages. All 6 can be listened to from the Sermon Player above.
April 12: Surprised by Hope
April 19: Finding Hope in a Recession
April 26: Finding Hope in Grief
May 3: Hope for your Marriage
May 10: Hope for your Family
May 17: Hope for the World
BLOG: Church for Outsiders by Jeff Gauss
As a leadership team we are trying to define/refine our focus. Who are we trying to reach? The temptations is to say “everyone,” but what usually happens in that case is you reach no one. The reason the question becomes particularly important is it defines
our priorities. How are we going to use our resources? What ministries
are most important? How are we going to reach them? (Whoever “them”
are). It is also important because it dictates what critics we will listen to. We’ll never be able to reach everyone and we certainly won’t please everyone. So
when the naysayers come and the criticisms start, who are we going to
listen to? We can’t listen to them all or we will constantly be
discouraged and sidetracked by each and every voice. Defining our focus
helps us to only listen to the voices of those we are trying to reach. Continue Reading »
Posted 3/16/09
BLOG: Church is a Team Sport by Jeff Gauss
One of the things I really love about our church is that we are such team players. People don’t expect me as the pastor to do everything and I, in turn, have a cast of people I can count on to compensate for my weaknesses and do real hands-on ministry stuff. Yesterday was a great example.
Every Thursday a different church from our local ministerial association is responsible for leading a mini-worship service at 3 different nursing homes. Yesterday was my first turn. And I was scared to death! I’ve never done a nursing home service before. I didn’t grow up knowing my grandparents or any elderly at all so I feel quite awkward around them even now. It is a real stretch out of my comfort zone (even after spending two years previously pastoring a church with many senior adults).
Fortunately, I didn’t have to do it alone. I was surrounded by a great team. Tami accompanied me to play piano and lead the singing. She said she hadn’t played in years, but I don’t believe her. She did awesome!
Lyle also came and he was a godsend! He just got right in there and visited with all the folks like they were long-lost friends. It was great to watch him work the room (not to mention his aid in singing). The two of them really eased my discomfort and allowed me to focus more on just leading the service. We ministered to the people as a team.
I could go on and on with example after example about how people in our church work together and fill each others’ voids. People like Kevin, Dale, John, Ben, Daren, Carol, Heidi, Twyla, Fauna, Natasha, Lauren, Hazem, Amelia, Micah, Jason, Josiah, Grant, Alvin, Mark, Trisha, Suzanne, James, Susan, Gretchen, Michael and probably a bunch of others who I’m temporarily forgetting because they do things so secretly that nobody even knows it.
Epiphany Station is what it is because of all the great selfless dedicated people that give generously of their time, resources and talents to make everyday Sunday.
Prayer for today:
Lord, may I be a conduit of blessing to everyone I meet.
Use me as your vessel to pour your life into others.
Give me pure motives to serve you and others.
May you be glorified through your body, your church.
Posted 3/13/09
Kindness Challenge Results
Our GPS Groups hit the streets of TRF for about 4 hours on Saturday, November 22, to shower the community with numerous "Random Acts of Kindness." We had 14 adults and 6 kids participate. Here's a running tally of what we did to share God's love in our community:
- Visited a nursing home with children and gave away 6 homemade blankets.
- Bought a bouquet of flowers and gave them away.
- Bought lunch for 4 different parties (at 4 different locations).
- Picked up the tips for 11 different tables at a local restaurant.
- Gave away 35 free cups of coffee.
- Baked & delivered 33 dozen cookies (to 33 different locations).
- Picked up 7 trash bags of litter at 15 different public places.
- Handed out more than a dozen free bags of popcorn at local video stores.
- Paid for 11 loads of laundry and provided "bounce" sheets for customers at the laundromat.
- Gave friendly greetings to well over 100 strangers.
- Helped a woman and her child across the street.
- Smiled at everyone.
- Opened the door for no less than 5 different people.
- Listened to two people tell their story.
- Brought in a laundry cart for an elderly woman.
- Returned grocery carts for people in the parking lot.
- Gave monetary gifts to 3 different people.
- Paid for, pumped gas and washed the windows for two complete strangers.
- Paid for one person's video rental.
Posted 11/22/08
BLOG: The Gospel of the Kingdom by Jeff Gauss
Posted 10/26/08
What people are saying about Epiphany Station... We
have officially launched with our Grand Opening event last Sunday,
October 5. It was a great day of celebration as we christened our new worship
facility. After the service we had a meal for which a majority of people stayed. What was most encouraging about the day was
all the people that didn't come, but have since told us that they plan
on coming THIS Sunday because of all the great things they've heard. Of
course, we all know that we measure our success by it's lasting fruit,
but we are greatly encouraged that at least now a little seed is
starting to grow. *denotes satire Posted 10/8/08
Here are few of things we've heard this week from people in attendance:
"For the first time in my life, I'm actually looking forward to going to church next Sunday."
"I felt like people were genuinely interested in me, not just trying to sign me up for something."
"I never knew that church could be so fun."
"Your pastor is so hot."*
"I can't wait to come back."
"This is SO different from any church I've ever been to."
"This feels like home."
Coffee for a Cause
Music that rocks; a message that's relevant; and really good coffee! That one our many catch-phrases here at Epiphany Station. See for yourself by trying a cup of our "Special Brew" some Sunday morning.
The coffee beans are available for purchase in both "leaded" and "unleaded" for $10/pound with a portion ($3 per pound to be exact) of the proceeds going directly to supporting Mexico Missions.
Come and enjoy a gourmet cup of TRF's finest coffee -- FUEL -- on Sunday mornings, fresh ground and brewed in our commercial coffee brewer.
Updated 10/8/08
Grand Opening a Success
The official launch was a rousing success with just over 100 people in attendance for our Grand Opening on Oct. 5. We celebrated our first worship service in our newly renovated "warehouse" that is now connected to the station. Nothing captures the energy and essence of the day better than the new pictures uploaded to our Photo Gallery page, so check 'em out.
A huge, huge thank you to the many, many, many people who worked so hard getting us to this point. There were so many key contributions behind the scenes, as well as during our "initial" service. We still have plenty of work to do with the facility, but give yourself permission to briefly catch your breath and celebrate this important milestone in the ministry of Epiphany Station. Without a doubt, the Spirit of God was present. We put our best foot forward and God clearly did His part too!We extend a warm welcome to the many newcomers who visited this week. We genuinely hope to see you again and look forward to what God might have for us as we grow in our relationship with Him together. God loves you, period. Join us again as we aim to respond by simply loving God and loving people. Period.
Posted 10/6/08