On the first day of May in 1961, Alan

Shepard was poised atop a Redstone rocket inside the Mercury capsule named,

"Freedom 7." Countless checks were completed and the countdown was proceeding as planned until the mission was scrubbed because weather had moved into the area. The rocket was secured, Shepard removed and the countdown reset. A few days later, Shepard was again inserted into Freedom 7 and the clock began to tick. Again, Shepard waited to become the first American to burst the atmosphere and travel in space. And he waited…. The entire flight was to last 15 minutes, but Shepard remained tightly strapped into the cramped capsule for over four hours while the countdown was stopped and restarted several times. So there he sat, his eyes peering into the blue horizon as seagulls mockingly circled above him.

Chaparral has been blessed with a rich and beautiful history of service to the Kingdom of God. Together, we have built, planned, sung, studied, and dreamed. We have designed the engines, secured the pad, built the rockets, and trained the pilots. Unfortunately, over the last few years, weather has moved in over the launch site. The countdown to our future has been put on hold. Or so I thought….

Where are we heading at Chaparral? Has the course been set? Coming from an engineer, those are great questions. But, on Sunday night, as I watched one of our largest groups of teens perform Godspell, I felt those questions fade into the background like an overused-checklist. From the stage, you could feel their excitement and see the results of their hard work. I wondered how would their lives be forever changed because of

Let’s light this candle...

this moment? From the stage of the Commons, in the faces that would define our future, I caught a glimpse, a reminder, of why Chaparral exists. On that night, the weather began to clear. Now, the time has come to resume the countdown.

The details of our future are not the real questions. Thanks to wise and Christ-centered leaders, we have been answering the detailed questions very well for over 30 years. The one question which will get the countdown restarted is directly related to our dedication and trust in God and the mission we have been given. Like Abraham, we have been blessed to be a blessing to our neighbors throughout the world. The question is, how committed is each of us to the work the Messiah has given us since his resurrection. Are we fully committed to do what it takes to make "disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that [he has] commanded [us]?" (Matthew 28:19-20) That is the question that will get the fire lit. The rest, God, along with sound leadership, will take care of in flight.

I can only imagine how anxious Alan Shepard was as he sat watching seagulls play across his view. I am not sure I would have lasted four

hours (and I am sure Stacy would agree). But, finally, Shepard pressed the intercom and told launch control exactly what they needed to hear, “Let’s light this candle.” With that courageous reminder of their mission, terminal countdown to the United States' first manned flight began.

The creativity, imagination and courage that defines Chaparralians is infectious. We are

no longer willing to sit comfortably in our place on Shea Boulevard and watch the birds circle overhead. Chaparralians are ready to soar toward new summits and new challenges. Now is the time, to "light this candle" for the sake of the world!

Frank Shirvinski, Sr. Minister

Dear Chaparral members,

My wife and I visited a lot of other churches before we walked through the doors of Chaparral. Many of them were fine churches, but they were not quite right for us. Almost immediately upon walking through the doors of Chaparral on that Sunday morning more than ten years ago, we knew that we had found our church home.

When I ask myself why I choose Chaparral Christian Church, the answer is simple. I choose to be a part of Chaparral because of its beautiful history as a people who set themselves apart for God’s glory; I choose Chaparral because of what it is today; and I choose Chaparral for what it will be as my children grow into adulthood. That is what Chaparral Soaring is all about. We are honoring the history of

the Church, addressing the current needs of the Church and preparing for the future that God has planned for us.

As Christians, we know our calling comes at the ultimate cost. The story is told that one of the world’s

finest violinists was giving his final concert. After it was over, a young man came up to the foot of the stage and said, “Sir, I would give my life to be able to play like you.” The old man bent down and said, “Young man, I have given my life to play like me.”

We do not talk about it much, but every one of you reading this letter is going to meet Christ face-to-face within a span of seventy years or so. When I think about that day, I have no doubt that it will be a time of unspeakable joy. I am also aware that there will be an examination of my deeds here on earth. I cannot say that I fear that moment, for I am

Artie Eaves, Chairman

assured of the end result. At the same time, I cannot help but be mindful of the closing scene of the film Schindler’s List. The film centers around Oskar Schindler, a war profiteer who had spent much of his wealth to purchase Jewish prisoners, and, thereby save them from Nazi concentration camps. As the story closes, Schindler is surrounded by the faces of some of those he was able to protect in his factory. Yet, he also knows that there are hundreds who were imprisoned, tortured and murdered. As he stands in his fine suit, next to his shiny automobile, he does not swell with pride over the considerable good that he has done. Instead, he collapses in remorse as he laments that which he did not do. He cries out that if he had only sold his car, he could have bought ten more prisoners from the Nazis; he sobs that the pin on his lapel could have purchased one more life. When he sees the prisoners face-to-face, he laments that he did not give everything.

I hope that you will seize the opportunity to make the most of your resources. This brochure gives some creative and meaningful ideas for making the most of our finances, priorities and relationships for the Kingdom of God. But, the real power is in our desire and commitment to grow the work of

God at Chaparral, in our local community and the world.

I have seen God’s hand at work in this campaign already. With God on our side, the victory is already won. I ask each and every one of you to engage in a campaign of prayer. Please ask that God will give you guidance and wisdom as to how He wants you to participate in this campaign, but also ask the Holy Spirit to move among other members as well. Like the fine violinist, we are called to make beautiful music in the heart of the world. Now, we give our lives. ! ! ! ! ! ! In Christ, ! ! ! ! ! ! Artie Eaves

What are you doing that will make a difference fifty years from now? What worries and cares do you have that will be relevant in fifty years? What can you start doing that will fulfill your part of the journey that belongs both to those that came before you, and those who will come after?

The Church brings the right companions and the right tasks together. Not only are we passing through this time and place, we’re passing through the lives of important people around us. Some are important because of what we need to receive from them. Some are important because of what we need to give them. The Church is the community of faith in which people are shaped, and God’s journey accomplished.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9Dr. Hostetler

Making a difference

PlaygroundsNearly every day, children from our church fill the playground aptly placed in the center of Chaparral’s campus. In fact, if you close your eyes and remember your favorite childhood games you can see them. Can you remember looking into the endless sky above and pretending to travel to the moon or watching the game winning homerun sail out of sight? Can you remember the limitlessness imagination or the boundlessness of hope that is seen through the eyes of a child?

I thought I knew about hope and imagination as a child growing up in Indiana. Then, many years later, I actually saw it. There, on a crowded playground, inside of an AIDS orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, children played. The playground was very different than ones I had known, but the smiles were the same. The balls that they kicked around the dust covered fields were worn and deflated, but the spirits of those who chased them were fresh and bursting with life. On that field, children wanted to swing, spin, laugh, and be tossed into the air. Beneath an endless sky, children were seeking life with limitless hope…in the midst of the shadows of death.

Under the same endless sky, life and death dwell in the reflection of hope; a hope that does not look to the skies to see if God is looking down through the windows of Heaven to watch his children playing in the warm sun, but a childlike hope that reaches out her hands inviting the Father to join the game.

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; the world and all who live in it. Psalms 24:1-4

Frank Shirvinski

PersistenceOne of the most beautiful fields I’ve ever seen was on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier. About a dozen of us backpacked nearly fifty miles on the enchanting trail. We had climbed up through a pass out of the Indian Bar campground, and it had been grueling. The snow-covered slopes weren’t so dangerous as they were difficult. You knew if you fell you wouldn’t hurt yourself, you’d just roll to the bottom of the slope. As one of our people said, “climb very carefully, if you don’t, you’ll have to do it all over again!”

As we reached the top of the pass, there was Mt. St. Helen framed by two slopes on either side. Before us stretched out a flat valley, a great field of snow, its beauty was reward for all our hard work. Now we walked easily across the flat, snow-covered ground. Off to the left was another high part of the peak, and as I looked I saw other hikers going up a trail to the top. I thought to myself, “I’m sure glad we don’t have to climb all the way up there.” Shortly our trail began to turn toward the high peak. Gradually it dawned on me that the trail to the top was the main trail, and that’s where we were headed.

Laboriously we made our way to the top, and there discovered an even more beautiful vista than before. Sometimes the level field reveals a difficult way ahead, and it can be discouraging. But for those who persist, the glory of God’s world is revealed.

And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Dr. Hostetler

In God We TrustAbout once every month, I get a mass e-mail warning us that the U.S. Treasury Department seeks to remove the words, "In God We Trust," from our currency. In many ways, I like the reminder. After all, when I pull a bill from my wallet, I am usually more interested in the number in the corner than the statement of faith written on the edge. Perhaps therein lies the irony that is really at the heart of this debate. Like most words we use, their true significance is found in the actions and intentions which underlie them. These four words, "In God We Trust," form a powerful statement only when matched by a sincere faith which undergirds them. Therefore, what I do with the bill or coin that I hold in my hand says far more about where I place my trust than any words written on it. The current economic downturn has made its presence felt in ways beyond the obvious. For some, the dinner table has been rediscovered as a trendy local venue for the best in rustic cuisine and meaningful conversation. Others have found a new family hobby on Sunday afternoon stacking, clipping, and organizing coupons (and maybe reading the comics). Despite the new reality of economic instability, many have seized this opportunity to embrace simplicity and refocus on our True Source of strength and lasting hope.

The same is true of our Church family at Chaparral. We, too, have felt the impact of these challenging times. Yet, our mandate to be the presence of Christ does not apply only when we are able to act out of our abundance. Together, we must refuse to shrink from our responsibilities as citizen's of the Kingdom of Heaven for this time and place. Our community still needs us to continue to be a source of light, life and hope. As we soar into the future, we are committed to making our programs, worship services, camps and outreach programs the very best. We can only do this together. For the remainder of this year and into the future, may those around us see the words "In God We Trust" engraved in the character of our actions and not just what remains written in our wallets.

Frank Shirvinski

TrustHidden codes, imagine laden shrouds, Jesus' face on a piece of toast, the Holy Grail, a splinter from the cross. For nearly 2,000 years, desperate souls have sought to wrap their hands around a mystery, a relic of time and eternity. Like children chasing lightening bugs on a warm summer evening, they chase fading glimpses of light in a frenzied attempt to grasp a bit of deity, capturing the Creator in the hands of his creation. A few years ago, my daughter asked an interesting question, quite out of the blue, “Daddy, are there splinters in heaven?” “I don’t know, sweetheart, maybe.” I answered while continuing to read.“Well, how does Jesus take them out?”Now that was a good question. But, what really struck me about her inquiry was how quickly dear old dad had been cut out of the picture. Don’t you know that in Heaven, Jesus takes care of the splinters? Children do. A child looks to Jesus to remove the painful splinters of life, while adults are busy trying to find them. Childlikeness is not really about innocence. It is about trust; trusting the One who has already carried those splinters, buried deep into his back as he stumbled through the streets of Jerusalem. And there, he left them, not so that we could pick them up again or display them in a museum. No, the splinter remind us that he can take a life as broken and splintered as his cross and make it whole. The real question becomes, do we trust the splinters we can hold or the God who holds us?

Frank Shirvinski

UnchartedIn frontier days, wagon trains would form up in cities along the frontier. The pioneers would find a wagon master to lead them to a new life in the west. They gathered their provisions and at the appointed time the wagon master would command, “Wagons, Ho!”

Those words must have been electrifying to the families who were breaking from the past and committing themselves to the rigors of the trail. They were courageous and bold – but came the moment when they had to move, to act on their boldness, all their brave talk now came down to their willingness to snap the harness and utter the word “Giddiup!”

How exhilarating it must have been! They knew hard days were ahead, but they preferred the challenges of the trail to the humdrum and ordinary lives they were leaving behind. The prospect of expanding the frontiers of a new nation, of opening up uncharted territories, of making their own future with their own hands drove them forward.

We are their heirs. As a Church, we have committed ourselves to expanding the frontiers of the Kingdom, to opening the eyes of lost people, and to discovering the full life that God makes possible. This we will not accomplish by our own power… it will be accomplished by faith.

The One who urges us onward is the Master of the Universe. It is He who proclaims “Heavenward Ho!” It is He who knows the way. It is He who will provide the strength. It is He who will make it possible to

achieve His vision for us.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

Dr. Hostetler

RenewalThe sun has broken the horizon and flashes off the

hundreds of corrugated tin roofs that make up the small village outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Children without shoes run across the streets made of rock and gravel. From smoke darkened doorways sunken faces rise to carry their burden another day.

In the midst of the village, the church gathers for worship. It costs them something to be here; hours spent on rocky roads, threats from their neighbors, and the constant risk of illness that fills their country. Outside, the village is very quiet, as if the life of suffering here has stopped to listen. In worship, everything seems so profoundly simple and so deeply sincere.

Moving like the wind through the blue tarp which makes the roof and walls of the Church, the Spirit of God moves among his people. The smell of the village and the cries of children playing in the street mix with hearts lifted in worship. The words of the songs are foreign, but the Spirit is not. With their eyes closed, the Church, in unity, sees the light of Christ.

The floor of the Church is broken. The door of the shed near the pulpit swings open in the circling wind. The wooden pulpit is tired and unsteady. Yet, the church is not the fluttering tarp above, the fractured floor beneath, or the open shed outside, but the Spirit and Light that fills it. Across from me, a man holds a crutch, but in his eyes you can see God cradling his heart. Behind, a blind man sings before God, and teaches me how to see God. This is the Church; the community of God’s people moving through the heart of the world, embracing sorrow and offering joy.

Frank Shirvinski

Living WaterThe river has died. The current that seemed to flow along an endless trail of life and passion is suddenly hurled headlong into the desert. All around, the desolate land and rocky slopes cry out for water from a “Dead Sea.” Has it always been this way? What has caused the current of life flowing from the Jordan to precipitate into swirling pools of bitter salt? Looking upstream, crystal blue waters majestically descend from the Banyas Falls of northern Galilee filling the land below with life and hope. Fish leap across the rolling tide and farms flourish against the shore the Sea of Galilee. From Galilee, the river continues its rapid descent through the Jordan Valley. While its physical appearance does not rival the great rivers of the world, the Jordan has the power to transform the desert into a fertile plain and to bring renewal to the surrounding communities. Here, the moving current impacts nature as much as it is impacted itself, and the two thrive. So, why has the Jordan River died; pooled-up and cut-short in a "Dead Sea?" When the movement of the River stops, all of the minerals and salts that brought life to the banks of the Jordan are suddenly collected in such abundance that everything in the sea dies. Simply, without movement, there is no life. Like the Jordan, the Church wells up from the spring of Living Water of the Resurrection and flows down from the mountains of history, touching the earth with the transforming presence of the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the Church, we can look upstream to see the witness of those who have gone before us and peer downstream to pray for the children of our future. As we look to the future, may our “salt” never become trapped in the deserts of our indifference, may "Living Water" continue to flow in us and through us to bring new life and light to a thirsty world.Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Frank Shirvinski

6451 E. Shea Blvd

Scottsdale, AZ 85254T: 480-991-9878

F: 480-991-2529www.chaparral.org

www.chaparralsoaring.org