Solicitation for Charitable Purposes

The donation, or any part thereof, will go to or be used to further any of the charitable purposes of the Bay Area Christian Church (BACC). The principle office of the organization is located at 2471 E. Bayshore Road, Suite 520, Palo Alto, California 94303. The organization is tax exempt under California and federal law.

100% of the donation is deductible as a charitable contribution on your federal and state income tax returns, subject to general limitations applicable to your personal circumstances. Please consult your tax advisor.

The Bay Area Christian Church, the soliciting organization, and any of its affiliated programs or activities, is the organization that will benefit from the donation.

A receipt will be mailed or otherwise delivered to the donor at the address provided by the donor.

Information regarding the organization’s administration and fundraising costs may be obtained by contacting the organization’s principle office at the above address.

Thank you for your interest and support in the Bay Area Christian Church and it affiliated programs and activities.

I feel like this was a team that didn’t quit and we just kept fighting. We held everybody accountable for what we had to do to win. – Denard Robinson, University of Michigan Quarterback, 2011-12

In an interview after this year’s Sugar Bowl victory and one of the best seasons in the history of the University of Michigan football program, quarterback Denard Robinson attributed his team’s success largely to the accountability that the players had with each other.

This kind of accountability means having a deep mutual commitment to helping each other succeed. It is motivated by care and determination to reach a common goal. It will not let anyone settle for being less than who they could be. I believe that this kind of accountability amongst peers is the key to transforming any team, group or organization, whether secular or spiritual.

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)

A number of years ago, a small group of teenagers I know decided to be part of a Bible Talk called Double Edge. Something special took place in this group because almost all of the teenagers decided to become Christians and are now leaders on their college campuses. They are also all significant contributors to the BACC Campus and Y-Ministry. I believe what made Double Edge a successful and special group is the accountability that the teenagers had with each other.

Think about it: how often do you see a group of young teenagers (13, 14, 15 years old) taking responsibility for each other’s relationship with God and spiritual well being? This level of accountability and friendship helped each member grow and develop vision for the kind of person they could become and the kind of personal relationship with God they could build.

As the Bible says in Proverbs 27, the teenagers in the group strove to care about each other, sharpen each other, and have high expectations for each other. Nathan Schaffernoth was one of the original members of Double Edge and he said, “The thing that helped me was when there were no adults present and we were given the responsibility to talk to each other and engage one another. It was on us to help each other get better for the future.”

Nate Baker, another member of the Double Edge Bible Talk, said, “I think for me, it just put becoming a disciple on my radar and gave me the first taste of what it really meant to study the Bible. I wasn’t ready at that point to make decisions that I needed to make, but it helped build a foundation for the future.” Nate later became a Christian and now goes to Stanford University.

Peer relationships are extremely important but unfortunately they are also undervalued. Why? We often believe we need someone older and wiser to help us grow spiritually. I believe that our peers help us grow the most because they know us and have the most time to influence us. Our true character is most often revealed when spending time with our peers.

Do you have friends in your life who hold you accountable and have high expectations for you? How do you respond when they give you input or advice?

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Philippians 2:1-4

Decide to build transformative peer relationships; you will grow in your personal relationship with God and in your leadership. In Philippians 2, the Bible gives us a road map for how to do it. With these kinds of friends in our lives holding us accountable, 2012 will be our best year yet!

“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire” – Ferdinand Foch

There is a spark deep within all of us, a desire to leave a mark on the world that no one can erase. Every day we wake up & see a world that we are meant to change. Without God igniting that spark into a fire, we can live a lifetime ignoring that burning passion and accepting the status-quo.

At this campus retreat we will learn how “Catching Fire” can set our world ablaze. Register now!

But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Jeremiah 20:9

Stay tuned to this page for more information as the event date draws nearer.

We’re a couple weeks into the new year, and we’re happy to announce that our 2012 calendar has been completed and is ready for sharing! Feel free to download the PDF for printing and sharing purposes, and stay tuned as we release further details for each event on the website.

We look forward to seeing you at our events!

Download PDF

Having fearless faith means we can tackle anything. This is the kind of faith we want to build in 2012. What are the areas in your life you want God to help you change this year?

The first step to really changing is often to identify and overcome unbelief. Unbelief makes us think our challenges are too hard, too big, or too deep in our character to change. But God teaches something very different; in Matthew 17 we see a parent facing an impossible situation with his son and a group of unbelieving disciples trying to help him:

And when they approached the multitude, a man came up to Him, kneeling before Him and saying, Lord, do pity and have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy (is moonstruck) and he suffers terribly; for frequently he falls into the fire and many times into the water.
And I brought him to Your disciples, and they were not able to cure him.
And Jesus answered, O you unbelieving (warped, wayward, rebellious) and thoroughly perverse generation! How long am I to remain with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to Me. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.
Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked privately, Why could we not drive it out?
He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.
But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Matthew 17:14-21

Jesus has a very clear and quick response to the disciples’ unbelieving hearts – He says they are “thoroughly perverse”! We often don’t realize how awful the sin of unbelief is, when we do not put our faith in God’s power and in God’s love.

We can either start out this new year as a “Grinch” of unbelief, or fearlessly faithful. Which one are you?

1. The Grinch of Unbelief

We’re just past the holiday season, but there are still some lessons to be learned from those December stories. Take, for example, the Grinch. The Grinch is someone who lives in an isolated cave, disguises himself as Santa, and steals the Holiday spirit because his heart is “two sizes too small.” The Grinch of Unbelief, then, is someone whose faith and heart are too small! Characteristics include:

• Isolation – fears and insecurity dominate their relationships and therefore they have none.
• Disguise – The Grinch of unbelief will look and sound like someone who cares, but they are fake and superficial in their love.
• Small heart – The Bible says faith expresses itself through love (Galatians 5:6). No faith = no love for others.

2. Fearlessly Faithful

Jesus had a fearless faith, he didn’t run/hide/avoid/or ignore the toughest problems. He saw the boy who needed healing and said “Bring the boy to me.” (v. 17). He had a reputation for not quitting even when the situation seemed hopeless, and because of his faith in God he was able to turn impossible situations around.

Some characteristics of the fearlessly faithful:

• Give me the tough problems, I can help!
• We can tackle anything together.
• Small Is Big!

In verse 20 Jesus says “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain….move!” Fearless faith believes that even a small seed of faith can do great things.

Fearless faith believes in the power of:

• One phone call – can turn your heart around
• One text with a Scripture – can build someone’s faith, keep them faithful, give them heart for God’s Word.
• One prayer – can change everything and anything!
• One church service – can change a heart
• One simple choice – believe doing ONE SIMPLE thing could radically change your faith, your walk with God, your relationships!

Today, start making small choices that will defeat unbelief. What one small choice can you make today that will make a big difference for your relationship with God? What one small choice can you make today that can do something big for someone else?