About Us

Jesus was criticized most severely by the religious people for being a “friend of tax collectors and sinners.”  But Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and he truly enjoyed spending time with people. 

In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warran describes this as a God sized hole in people’s hearts that they are trying to fill.  We all have a need for God.  We were made for a relationship with Him.  Without Jesus, life is broken and doesn’t make sense.  Acknowledging the pain and struggle of people living apart from Jesus in a sinful world is essential.  As the saying goes, “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”  It’s wonderful that we know Jesus and want to share what we know of him, but does that person know that you care.

www.metanoia4u.org is the website for Christians like you who want to understand, pray for, and support the mission of Metanoia Ministries.  My goal for the Metanoia website is to inform and inspire you, but (with joy that you are a Christian, and with all love and respect), as a church going Christian, you are not the main focus of Metanoia.  You have pastors for your spiritual care.  I am now a Missionary and not a pastor.  As a missionary, I need you to walk along side of me, to pray, encourage, support and get involved in the work of Metanoia.  This website is to inform and inspire so that hopefully you are inspired to do that, but this website is not the main website for the work that the Missionary at Large of Metanoia will be doing.  The main work of any Missionary of the gospel is to get the word of God out and into the ears of unbelievers.  If unbelievers are not flocking into our churches, I doubt that they will flock to this very churchy sounding website.  This is where Jesus strange sounding words come into play: “Be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).”

In the garden of Eden, the serpent slipped his sinister empty lies into God’s paradise for people, and with wicked intent turned the hearts of people against God and His plan for mankind upside down.  With all love, innocence and Godly intent, another separate website will be deliberately introducing God’s healing word to hurting unbelievers through means that may be more appealing to them as unchurched people.

Fellowship with other believers is essential.  The step from being introduced to God’s word to become a church member is huge.  Metanoia will be forming fellowship/discipleship groups centered around food and fun to bridge that huge step.  These fellowship groups will often meet in homes, sometimes in public space, and especially through social media and technology.

When people finally feel welcomed by Christians, they are more open to formally hearing about the hope that we have in Christ.  There are foundational classes that are key.

1. The Basic Teachings of the Christian Faith – maybe for you this was called confirmation or discovery.

2. God is for you! – A study in the covenants of God.

In reading the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, he taught new Christians something that rapidly moved them from being new followers of Christ to being disciples willing to be martyred for their faith.  I have become increasingly convinced that what Paul taught them was the covenant promises of God.  In Hebrews 6, the Apostle Paul speaks of how certain we can be that God is for us.  First it is impossible for God to lie and he has promised us forgiveness, life and salvation.  Second, he speaks of God’s covenant relationship that he made with his people (in this chapter he mentions Abraham).  Not only did God promise us his blessing, He bound himself to us in an unbreakable covenant in Christ.

As the vision of Metanoia Ministries is:  Changing Minds, Changing Hearts, Changing Lives, nothing changes a person’s mind, heart or life more than realizing that God is for us!  In unbelief the heart once imaged that God was against us.  What God has done for us in actuality is to bind Himself to us.  God who cannot lie, and God in covenant has made doubly sure that God is unwaveringly, unbreakably, and unescapably bound to us.  Based on His unbreakable promise and everlasting covenant God delights to be, and indeed must be for us.  Like Paul, I am excited to bring this teaching to new Christians and too you as well.

3. The Basic Bible Stories – As our culture becomes more and more and unchurched culture, people no longer pass on the stories you that learned in Sunday School. These stories help us in our Christian walk because they show us that God has always had a plan to bring us into glory.  It also show us how God has always faithfully acted in behalf of his covenant people.  I think The Story is a great resource to teach the Bible Stories to new Christians, and is a great refresher for others who have forgotten some of the Sunday School stories.

The goal of Metanoia is to see people living with Christ now and forever.  Joining a congregation is that huge step in identifying as a baptized child of God and follower of Jesus.  People who are touched by the ministry of Metanoia will be encouraged to join established Bible believing congregations.  Some may return to a church they once attended.  Others may be joining a church for the first time.  Still others may choose to be part of a mission congregation or a church plant.

Metanoia will always be striving to get the word of God to unbelievers.  We expect to be inspiring Christians by participating in mission festivals; conducting evangelistic services in unique and inspirational settings; equipping believers to share their faith; visiting prisons and training Christians for prison ministry; conducting services and raising up worship leaders in senior communities, and conducting funerals for unchurced families.  Who knows which avenue the Holy Spirit will bless.  He may even move us to create a viral video or documentary.  Please pray that God opens the doors that He wants us to go through.