Another Soul is Saved: Part Two!

The story continues with the baptism of Shalonda Randolph on Sunday, February 24, 2008! Shalonda, a graphic designer, who you heard about briefly in the story of her friend, roommate and now sister Erika Glosson who was baptized only a week earlier, fought throughout her studies against Satan's lies and negative thoughts with scriptures and prayer to come out victorious! Shalonda studied the Bible the last 5 weeks with Marge Gross, Terri Johnson, Vera Toth, Aileen Ramis, Stella Lynn, and other sisters that sacrificed their time to take part in this exciting time. Shalonda was challenged to call different people in her life that she needed to apologize to, and not only did she do that, but also thought of more people she needed to ask for forgiveness from. An amazing battle was fought and won for God the day the disciples got to witness Terri Johnson and 1 week old baby Christian, Erika Glosson baptize our new sister Shalonda Randolph into His Kingdom! Shalonda truly is an amazing woman with a great character! The GLB Singles welcome our newest addition Shalonda and look forward to the many ways God will use her new life for His good!

-Written by Kim Norment

Another Soul is Saved!

Sunday, February 17, Erika Glosson made Jesus Lord of her life! Erika was met by Marge Gross after a hard, tear-filled conversation she and I were having only a foot away from the table that Erika and her friend Shalonda Randolph, who is currently studying the Bible, decided to sit. Erika has been attending our services regularly since the Solemn Assembly which was an amazing time for all the disciples to be open and put our worse foot forward in order to be refreshed by God. Erika’s initial exposure to the Kingdom was a true test to what she is willing to do for a relationship with God. Erika saw the disciples making the Bible our standard and the way we are in each other’s lives in the friendships we share and it made her all the more eager to be a part of what God has blessed us with! Erika’s studied the Bible over a 4 week period with Marge Gross, Yuthana Kong, Patricia Hori, Rayna Hernandez and me. Perseverance is definitely something that comes to mind when I think of Erika, she took every challenge the sisters gave her in stride. Erika has already spoken of great plans to use her career in the fashion design industry to serve the Kingdom through outreach to battered women and others that are less fortunate. God has already blessed her with the opportunity to be a part of Shalonda’s studies! It has been such a delight to all of us who were able to be involved in Erika’s studies and we are looking forward to seeing God continue to move in her life! Congratulations & welcome Erika!



-Written by Kim Norment

Jimm Kelly gets Baptized!!!!

"Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"

Acts 8:36

After midweek, this past Wednesday, February 13th, Jimm Kelly was baptized into Christ. Jimm, an x-pro baseball player with the Cubs and now Mortgage Banker, was very excited to start his new life with Christ. Jimm has been studying the Bible for the past couple of months with Greg Watson and Joe Eades and over the last 2 weeks he has been studying with the singles ministry. Jimm is a man who has a genuine love for God and a desire to serve Him in great ways. It has become very obvious that God will use Jimm's talents and abilities in big ways now that he is a Christian. We are all very happy to welcome Jimm into our fellowship!!!

Sisters Appreciation Night - 02/08/08

On behalf of the sisters of the GLB Singles Ministry I would like to extend a warm, heartfelt thank you to all the brothers for putting an amazing night of encouragement together!


The brothers really went out of their way to make each of us individually feel special and loved. The brothers from my group led by Patrick Lao, teamed-up with Edgar Posada’s group to put together a full evening… Each sister was escorted to a beautifully set table, made complete with fresh cut tulips, where we were waited on hand and foot. We started with a delicious meal prepared with the brothers own hands! We were each then presented with handmade cards, along with words of encouragement that each brother came out and shared from their hearts and God’s Word! We even got dessert! PIZOOKIE® (A fresh baked chocolate chip cookie with a scoop a vanilla bean ice cream on top) for all of you BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse fans!

We ended the evening by coming together with the remainder of the South Region of the LA Church to hear an inspirational poem by Mark Tureaud from the Peninsula ministry and more sharing from the heart’s of two of our baby brother’s in Christ Mark Nacion, also from the Peninsula ministry and GLB’s very own Evan Rodriguez. The sisters were also given the opportunity to share their gratitude towards the brothers for all the hard work that they obviously put in to making the evening one of great success. Each sister had similar stories to share of how the brothers truly lived out the scriptures and did as Jesus would do. All this before we danced the night away… Wait, did I mention the Chocolate Fondue Fountain! No night is complete without dessert, especially chocolate! It was above and beyond what any of us sisters could have asked for or imagined!

Special thanks goes out to the Pellizeri’s, Landi’s, Gross’s and all the other married couples that helped to serve our singles ministry. This night would not have been possible without your great sacrifice for God’s Kingdom!

We are looking forward to continuing in the spirit of encouragement and giving with a Brother’s Appreciation Night! Stay tuned for details…


-Written by Kim Norment
-Photos by Evan Rodriguez

The Solemn Assembly

There are times that as a disciple life can seem like a moment straight from the pages of God’s word. Moments like these happen when we see someone converted through the power of the gospel, or an answered prayer that remind us of how our creator is intimately connected with every detail of our life. These moments are faith building. They draw us near to the Almighty and closer to the fellowship of believers, and they remind us that we are truly part of God’s eternal kingdom. On Jan 12th 2008, The Greater Long Beach Church of Christ experienced one of these moments on a corporate level as we gathered for the “Solemn Assembly,” a day of worship, scripture reading, sacrifice, confession, repentance, and prayer.
For 40 days leading up to the Solemn Assembly the entire congregation had been studying out repentance on both a corporate and personal level throughout the bible. We searched our hearts for where we had held back or pulled away from God’s call in our life. It was an emotional upheaval and confrontation of our sin, as we allowed God’s word to once again cut our hearts with His truth. When we finally gathered for the assembly our hearts were soft and eager to be reconciled to our Lord and to the commitment we made at our baptisms.
After several hours of worship together and confession in small groups, the evangelist, Joel, and his wife Julie went before the church to publically confess their sin and vow their repentance. Joel then left the podium open to whom ever felt compelled to confess. Not a minute later there was a line formed and members began to confess their sin before the church. One after another, disciples of all ages spiritually went up and in tears of remorse confessed their lack of commitment to God, or unloving heart toward others, or fear, or impurity, or bitterness, or whatever they had need to repent of before the Lord. The disciples became so eager to confess that after two hours the elder had to turn people away, because the building location of the assembly was only rented for a certain time frame and we had already gone an hour over the agreement.
With cleansed and refreshed hearts we gathered a few hours later to share communion together and have a feast. The rest of the night was spent in rejoicing and dancing as we all joyfully embraced the family we are a part of, each one of us feeling more intimately connected to one another than ever before, reminded of the words of john, that “... if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
This was one of those moments. It was a first time experience for any of the disciples here in Long Beach. It was a time just as in the days of Asa, in 2 Chronicles 15, when all Judah repented and gathered together to take an oath to seek the Lord wholeheartedly. Just as they did, in their repentance, we too rejoiced and found “rest on every side.” The overflow of confession continued beyond that day, as the disciples continued to go before the church to confess at the midweeks that followed. The Greater Long Beach ministry is already seeing the fruit of repentance, as more disciples invest in their ministries and relationships. Many people in recent weeks have studied the bible, and we are seeing God open up the flood gates of those who need to be saved. For those who were visiting and have seen the disciples confession and repentance, it has been a testimony to the sincerity our relationship with God and his grace. We know that God is working to receive glory through his church and we believe that in the months to come our repentance will produce more than we could ask or imagine!

(Written by Elias Delault)

Singles Raise Money for San Diego Fire Victims

I am so sorry for not blogging over the past few weeks - it has just been so busy around here. I have been studying the bible with many people as well as dealing with some difficult business stuff.

I did want to let you know that the GLB Singles Ministry hosted an auction to benifit the San Diego wild fire victims. This auction raised over $2000 to help many people that are still displaced from their houses in the recent wildfire. People sold jewelry, furniture and other stuff - even a yoga session to raise money for those that really need it. Thank you so much, Justin and Heather, who came up with this great idea. It is awesome to know that I am a part of a giving fellowship!!

Not only was this a night to give but it was also a night of fun. There was lots of food and entertainment including a new song that our very own Elias wrote and preformed (see the video clip below). Being together with the ministry always helps me to realize how lucky I am. It was a night that we will all remember for a long time!!

Thanksgiving

But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.

Jonah 2:9

This past weekend, many of the small groups had their Thanksgiving parties. These parties were a way to thank God for all He has done in our lives as well as an excuse to invite many friends over to hang out with disciples. Our group decided to join up with Elias' group and together we had an incredible time! We ate great food, incredible fellowship, pool, domino's and karaoke! Most exciting was the fact that 11 of our friends and neighbors joined us for this night of fun!

As the end of 2007 is in sight, we have much to be thankful for. Some include forgiveness of our sins, awesome friendships, a life with a purpose, many baptisms, discipling, small groups and much, much more. Above all, the greatest thing we can be thankful for is our relationship with God! God has given each one of us more than we deserve! The holiday season is a perfect time to tell others how thankful you are about your relationship with God.


As a personal note, Marge and I want to let all of you know, the members of the GLB Singles, how thankful we are to have you in our lives. You have helped us to grow in our relationship with God and have inspired us to dream again. Thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of your lives!


I can't wait to see what God will do in 2008!