Clean water is something that I have personally been involved in over the past few years. At Riverside Community Church, where I serve as Arts & Missions Pastor, we partnered with a global organization based right out of our hometown to bring clean water to children’s homes in Cambodia, one of which our sponsored daughter Srey Leak resides. I’ve visited these homes, I drank the water, I’ve seen how it continues year after year to provide health and wholeness to the children living in these homes.

Clean water solutions work. But they only work as long as their parts work. When a pump breaks down, who is going to repair it and provide the parts to fix it? When the installation teams leave, how do we know that the local people will use the water sources correctly? And on goes a list of inevitable things that could go wrong and over time will go wrong. This is why choosing who we partner with is essential to guaranteeing that our donation will last for a significant amount of time and have maximum effort in providing a long-term solution to the water crisis.

We helped Kylie choose an organization that meets several key factors that were vitally important for us to feel confident that the money she raises will multiply and will last for years to come. We chose to fundraise through an organization called “charity: water” for their partnership with “water for people” in Rwanda. This is a video explaining how the dollars she raises will make a lasting difference in the community where her water project will take place. And with charity: water, 100% of the money that she raises will go directly to the field to support this project.

You can donate to her campaign by click the following link:

http://my.charitywater.org/kylies-birthday-wish

Thank you for partnering with Kylie and the organizations that are bringing long-lasting, sustainable clean water solutions to children and families living in Rwanda.

http://my.charitywater.org/kylies-birthday-wish

In this scene from the movie, Mary the Mother of Jesus asks to be taken to where Jesus is as He walks the Via Delarosa carrying the cross to be crucified. In this “station of the cross” Mary sees Jesus fall and she flashes back to the memory of Christ as her little child running and falling and crying to his mother for help. As she flashes back to this memory in her head where she is running towards her little boy, she finds herself running towards Christ now, beaten, battered, bruised and ready to carry out the sentence of death.

Jesus and Mary lock eyes and He says to her, “See Mother, I am making all things new.” Gibson and his writers certainly take some creative license here but there’s a major ring of truth to this scene as we view Revelation 21:5 and the teachings of Christ in regard to the sacrifice of His own life that had to be made so that we could be made like new in Christ Jesus Himself.

The lyrics to this song are as follows:

Peace be still, You are near
There’s nowhere we can go
That You won’t shine redemption’s light
Our guilt withdrawn

As You rise, we come alive
The grave has lost, the old is gone

And You’re making all things new
You are making all things new
You are making all things new
And we are free

Hope is found, You are here
Our hearts forever sealed
By this love that came for us
Now we are Yours

As You rise, we come alive
The grave has lost, the old is gone

And You’re making all things new
You are making all things new
You are making all things new
And we are free

Your love never ending
Your grace never failing
Redemption is calling us home

And You’re making all things new
You are making all things new
You are making all things new
And we are free

But this new adventure of hers takes all of that to a new level. Kylie believes that she can change the world — and we believe that she can! She has developed a burden for children living in other countries who lack clean and accessible drinking water. She has come to us wanting to do something to help and through careful research and consideration, Kylie “pledged her birthday” to raise awareness and support to fund water projects for children and families living in Rwanda through charity: water. This is one of the most fantastic and reputable non-profit clean-water organizations out there and they’ve got  a great network of partners in the countries that they help provide clean water solutions to.

Kylie said on her campaign page, “Women and children around the world walk hours every day to collect water for their families. And the worst part? The water they collect can make them really sick. That makes me sad. But what makes me happy is that we can actually do something about it!” Her initial goal was to raise $1,000 over her 90-day campaign but when she met that goal after the first few days, she had to increase that goal for the remaining 80-some days that are left. Her new goal is $2,500 and the campaign ends July 29th. Would you consider joining together with Kylie in this endeavor to provide clean, safe and accessible drinking water for families living Rwanda?

For more information or to contribute, please visit’s Kylie’s Birthday Wish campaign page for clean water at http://my.charitywater.org/kylies-birthday-wish

Thank you so much!!

Be sure to make it out to our next worship concert taking place in June (details coming soon). In the meantime, check out some pics that we took to document the weekend’s atmosphere!

Photo credits to Jeremy Rife, visual communications director at RCC. Download Riverside Community Church from the App Store or Android Market today for more media from RCC.  Visit www.riversideconnect.org for more info.

And always a huge thanks for all who are a part of the creative arts ministry at RCC!

“Hey. I have to share this with you. I picked up my son at his grams house today. When I got by him I was quietly singing “Grace Abounds” and he looked at me and smiled.  

 I knew what he was thinking, so I asked him if he has been singing songs in his head today. 

He got all excited and said, “Yes dad, I’ve been singing, “Grace Abounds, “Revelation Song” and also “Because of the Cross” and “Never Let Go”

 It led me to the thought of how “penetrating” it is, what you and the creative arts team’s ministry does. That a 6 year old boy (and I) has these songs going through his head (as well as others I’m sure), therefore having fellowship with God, while going about his innocent day of kindergarten. All the glory to God, but it’s though the team’s passion to produce heartfelt worship. 

Well done good and faithful servants! 

Please continue to lead your team with God’s guidance and thank you for penetrating mine and my son’s heart. 

So to all of you who serve the kingdom on a regular basis through the arts — what you do is a tool that God uses to penetrate the hearts and minds of those who witness your art. To God be all the glory!

Last night we sang a song from Hillsong’s Cornerstone album titled “Grace Abounds” and I didn’t want to take for granted that we adults understand what grace is all about when most of the kids probably have no clue. So I asked the group to raise their hands if they knew what the word meant. Very few hands raised.

In summary – I defined to them why we sing about grace. We have ALL done wrong. We have ALL made bad decisions, acted inappropriately at times, been mean to others or disobedient when we should have listened. We have ALL sinned. We have ALL made mistakes. And we ALL make mistakes daily. We ALL need to be forgiven. We ALL need to be made clean from the ugly things we do, say or think.

Grace through a cross

Then I explained that God who made all things is PERFECT. That He sent His PERFECT Son. That for the 33 years that He walked this earth, Jesus lived a PERFECT life. That he NEVER did wrong. He NEVER made a bad decision, acted inappropriately or disobeyed. God NEVER sinned. He NEVER made a mistake.

Grace is that place where in spite of our IMPERFECTION a PERFECT God paid an awful price through His Son to make us PERFECT in His eyes. It is in that place where we are FORGIVEN. We are made CLEAN. We are set FREE. We are made PERFECT.

And daily we must go to that place where GRACE meets us in our SIN.

Holding onto something that we are passionate about usually doesn’t lead to greatness.

Greatness is achieved as we give it all away.

Let us hold loosely to the little picture in order to keep a grip on the big picture.

God, today I choose to let go of what I want and what I think should take place. Today I realize that You see the big picture, not me. I’m yours..

Sometimes our outward lives seem to reflect that we leave Christ out of the label Christian.

It’s all because of Jesus that I’m alive. He alone is worthy of every part of me.

Jesus Christ.

Say His name today… Jesus Christ…

I invite You in Lord Jesus.

I claim Christ!

I had no idea who you were. I never heard of you yet. There I was, chilling out in my mother’s womb, growing and becoming a human, but you already knew me.

You loved me even then.

You loved me when you created the universe and since you dwell outside of our understanding of time – you knew when I would be here on earth. Even then you loved me.

You sent your Son to die for me. He saved me. He rescued me.

Thank you God for loving me! Thank you Jesus for saving me! Thank you Holy Spirit for whispering the Father’s love to me every day!

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

(Jeremiah 1:5)