Joy City

Being a resident of Joy City is as the Apostle Paul says, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” You see God’s purposes are bigger than our own lives or our own communities. Now I know we don’t like to hear that, but we know God cares, matter of fact He cares so deeply He sent Jesus to the cross. I mean Christ is called the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It is through that level of love that He is able to draw us so close in order to comfort and strengthen us.

In Joy City, it’s about FAITH – even in adversity or with scarcity of resources, we can pursue God with daily communion and in His presence is a fullness of JOY. 

Friends, true Christian worship is a MYSTERY, yes, a MYSTERY! I say that because when we give our lives completely over to the King, our worship does not rise and fall on our circumstances or situations or even our humanistic inclination or instinct. NO, not at all, the focus remains on God and who He is. 

Now I get it and I am growing every day as many of you are. But, we can get so caught up in what I call “Santa Claus” Christians. A Santa Claus Christian eagerly looks for God to put up a Christmas tree with all their gifts under it. Now, that Christian is grateful and praise Him for that, that is right and proper to be thankful for all God does for us and all the good; large and small, that He gives us. However beloved, that is the lower level or first floor kind of love God requires us to grow out of. 

We are instructed to worship God, but we will skip that to worship a man or a woman, a job or that money. Many worship celebrities, I mean look at how many reality shows glamorize bad behavior of the rich, famous and aimless – even a sporting event. I can’t worship God right now the GAME is coming on. I mean we will scream, shout and jump up and down, clap our hands and if it’s a concert, even sing along-not one bit concerned with who is around us or what others think of us. 

But lift my hands, open my mouth and say hallelujah, I don’t dare clap or bow my knees. NO, I just couldn’t do that! 

 I cannot even adequately articulate the glory of the God we are called to worship. I mean if I could explain these thousands of attributes and His dwelling in an unapproachable light – then we may be humbled. I mean we just aren’t as humble as we ought to be, and to me, this is why we fall short outside the gates of Joy City. 

The prophets who did not have an easy life at all or even Job who says naked I came into the world and naked I shall depart, the Lord gives and the Lord has taken away, I’m still going to bless His name. But his wife, like many of us, sees the good things gone, her kids gone, their livelihood gone and her husband covered in boils – curse God and die. Cause God can’t still be good can he? That’s a question you my friends have to answer. The prophets describe Him as radiantly beautiful, that he is fair and royal, gracious and majestic, true and righteous, loving and romantic. Human language was exhausted in trying to describe Him. So after awhile, even the prophets gave up on trying to describe Him.

No one can come face to face with what God is like and ever be the same. Welcome to Joy City. Seeing His true image, touches the depths of our soul and beholding His glory will renew our minds, transform us and give us strength to live this life for Him. Come on in, where the table is spread and the feast of the Lord is going on. I want to invite you to be a part, a resident of Joy City. A place where the Body becomes stronger and our love for others only increases. 

I’ve enjoyed being your host and you can comment below, or email me at [email protected] or call me at (209) 522-3583. 

Hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA and my co-host brother John Cunningham Jr., who we call brother J.C.  

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where YOU can find your joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in your life. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful.  

This is truly getting real, as you and I have a dear friend whose wife is battling a debilitating illness, we have been fasting & praying and others around us are battling , in and out the hospital – one sister in hospice care, hurricane just tore thru Louisiana and we have an on-going war.

Being a resident of Joy City is as the Apostle Paul says, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” You see God’s purposes are bigger than our own lives or our own communities. Now I know we don’t like to hear that, but we know God cares, matter of fact He cares so deeply He sent Jesus to the cross. I mean Christ is called the man of sorrows and aquainted with grief. It is thru that level of love that He is able to draw us so close in order to comfort and strengthen us.

In Joy City, it’s about FAITH – even in adversity or with scarcity of resources, we can pursue God with daily communion and in His presence is a fullness of JOY. 

Now I get it, over the last 2 years, we all have been challenged and at times, have had to focus on SURVIVING. I mean whether it was threats to our health, our sense of justice, our safety, our relationships, as well as the disruption of so many of the routines and forms of what we call NORMAL life. We were all forced to expend energy on SURVIVING.

Yet, having a Joy City mindset allows us to seek ways to experience Christ and live into our purpose. 

You and I both know, cause we have been in contact with thousands of men and women, young and old who have faced so much adversity in their lives and their brains have been wired to activate when faced with perceived danger. They have been forced into survival mode since a young age. Whether it’s the prefrontal cortex or the amygdala – fight flight or freeze is real and the power of the brain to lock up – and stay locked up into adulthood is real. Now neither you nor I are scientist or nuerosurgeons, we have just seen this behavior on the street and in the pews. 

Too many people are still living in poverty, and we will never ignore that fact, and they are faced with daily violence or subject to systemic injustices and this can and has triggered a SURVIVAL mindset.

This mindset has been forged by fear, subjected to threats so it is reactive and we get that, we understand that and GOD does as well, which is why He has made a way for us…

He has INVITED us, as people of faith, to lean into His love by the Holy Spirit. As Christians we understand that we live in 2 realities; the spiritual and the natural. As mere mortals we find ourselves pulled between the 2 – however, God has given us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to dwell on the inside as well as the Mind of Christ so we can focus on fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives and in this world. In that we rejoice and in that we find our Joy in Joy City. 

I’ve enjoyed being your host and you can comment below, or email me at [email protected] or call me at (209) 522-3583. 

Hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA and my co-host brother John Cunningham Jr., who we call brother J.C. We want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of our daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can help YOU change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of YOUR life. Knowing that the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for YOU, so let’s enter in, to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where YOU can find your joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in your life. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for YOU and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

We welcome Divine Adesida, one of our Conference Ministerial Candidates who tells us her journey to a relationship with Jesus, how her life plans and goals were interrupted by this life in Christ and her call to the ministry. Working in the Tech industry and making great occupational strides, yet quit her job in 2018 to travel the world and go to Bible School. 

Divine shares about knowing she was “dead-set” on being a lawyer when she was 4-years old. She talks about being an immigrant, Nigerian born and travelled to the United States with her parents and four suitcases. Learning a new language, a new culture and being accepted. 

Both of Divine’s parents are bi-vocational pastors and she was rather head-strong and a bit rebellious, doing it like she wanted to do it. She also speaks on rejection and relationships – just a powerful example of determination and trust in Jesus beyond all life’s circumstances. Rejected from graduate school three times, not finding her first true friend until she was 19 years old. 

She comments about the work of the Holy Spirit in leading her into her calling to pastoral ministry. She is a worshipper and figured she would be a worship leader and walk in the prophetic calling in her life. It was a prophetic word by an instructor in Bible School.

Divine leaves us with, “To whoever may be listening to this, we prayed for you and we prepped for you. God loves you, cares for you and wants a relationship with you.” 

So when God opens our eyes in Joy City we can clearly celebrate others for our differences, we can support one another in our efforts and we can cheer one another on in the spirit of unity and when One wins we all win. 

No one can come face to face with what God is like and ever be the same. Welcome to Joy City. Seeing His true image, touches the depths of our soul and beholding His glory will renew our minds, transform us and give us strength to live this life for Him. Come on in, where the table is spread and the feast of the Lord is going on. I want to invite you to be a part, a resident of Joy City. A place where the Body becomes stronger and our love for others only increases. 

I’ve enjoyed being your host and you can comment below, or email me at [email protected] or call me at (209) 522-3583. 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. Joined today by my co-host, brother JC and we want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of our daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can help YOU change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of YOUR life. Knowing that the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for YOU, so let’s enter in, to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where YOU can find your joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in your life. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for YOU and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

Our goal in Joy City is GOD! Yes, God and our relationship with Him and how to maintain that relationship. It’s not about happy or sad, it’s about not allowing our situations and circumstances to determine our relationship with the Lord. The Apostle Paul reminds us in the challenges of the times, “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” So if YOU want to make a huge difference in your circle of influence or the people you come in contact with daily, THINK ON THESE THINGS….and those people will always want you around, they will always be excited to hear from YOU and this will give YOU the chance to change a life. 

Today's episode, brother JC and I discuss the amazing testimony of Dr. Ron Archer. Dr. Archer is a national powerhouse, he has spoken to Presidents in the White House, representatives of Congress, Generals in our Armed Forces as well as countless CEO's all over the world. However, it didn't start out that way for Dr. Archer. At 10 years old, he tried to commit suicide by placing a loaded handgun to his head and pulling the trigger. Thankfully the gun didn't fire. 

You see, Dr. Archer tells of his birth story, what is known as a "trick baby." This means his mother was a prostitute and she was inpregnanted by one of her johns, so he never knew his dad was. He was born pre-mature with major complications. His mother lived in the streets, his uncles were heroin addicts and he was brutally raped by a babysitter. He had a stuttering problem, so much so that other kids called him "retardo" and any time he was called on to speak was a major show. 

This bought him to the plan of suicide, if his first 10 years were like this, he sure didn't want another 10 like it. However, God intervened and a teacher took him aside and said, "Let me read you your story from the Bible." Before you were formed in your mother's womb, I knew you says the Lord God. Transformed his life, he went on to memorize nearly 2,000 passages of Scripture and his entire family was saved. Amazing testimony.

Join brother JC and I as we discuss Bishop Dr. Archer in this episode of Joy City. 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. I want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of my daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can help YOU change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of YOUR life. Knowing that the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for YOU, so let’s enter in, to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where YOU can find your joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in your life. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for YOU and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

Our goal in Joy City is GOD! Yes, God and our relationship with Him and how to maintain that relationship. It’s not about happy or sad, it’s about not allowing our situations and circumstances to determine our relationship with the Lord. The Apostle Paul reminds us in the challenges of the times, “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as having nothing yet possessing all things.” So if YOU want to make a huge difference in your circle of influence or the people you come in contact with daily, THINK ON THESE THINGS….and those people will always want you around, they will always be excited to hear from YOU and this will give YOU the chance to change a life. 

I'm joined today by my co-host John Cunningham as we discuss the war in Ukraine, the death of a mother & father just weeks apart, the loss of colleagues and the challenges that are facing so many and how to combat them with the Word of our God. 

In John 17, Jesus prays for His disciples and one important part of that prayer is when He says, "...so that they may have the FULL measure of My joy within them..." You see, Jesus is saying that in the midst of struggle, hardship and impending martyrdoom, they can have JOY within them, because they have Him. 

The Apostle Paul speaks similarly when he says, "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing and as having nothing, yet possessing all things." 

Be blessed Beloved. 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. I want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of my daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of our lives. Knowing the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for many of us, so lets enter in to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where we find our joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in our lives. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for me and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

This week, I finish up my conversation with Gerry Coates. Gerry serves the FMCUSA as the Director of Global Engagement and is part of the Executive Team, serving as the Strategic Catalyst of Cross Cultural Collaboration. 

In this episode, we talk family & marriage and making the committment to serve as missionaries and how his family worked through that calling.

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. I want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of my daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of our lives. Knowing the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for many of us, so lets enter in to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where we find our joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in our lives. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for me and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

Gerry Coates, Director of Global Engagement and Strategic Catalyst for Cross Cultural Collaboration on the Executive Leadership Team for the FMCUSA joins the show. Listen in as we talk "global engagement," "strategic catalyst," missions and so much more. Gerry shares so many amazing stories about how the Holy Spirit is still showing up in powerful ways and the exploding growth of the global church. He also shares his interactions with the FMC Bishops as well as how his wife and children embraced ministry callings. So many tremendous nuggets that I hope you will learn from and be able to apply as we all fight the good fight of faith to enlarge the Kingdom of God and lift the name of Jesus even higher all over the world. 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. I want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of my daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of our lives. Knowing the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for many of us, so lets enter in to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where we find our joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in our lives. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for me and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

Co-host Brother JC and I discuss how to handle disappointments and storms in this amazing episode. As the Apostle Paul  warns the Captain of the ship that it's not safe to sail, his warnings are disregarded and the ship hits a raging storm. Our initial discussion surrounds how to respond when you have knowledge or discernment regarding a certain situation and it's disregarded? Are you hurt? Saddened? Angered? The Apostle gives us sound wisdom in Acts 27. 

Now, while in the storm, it becomes so intense that they cry out, "Let her drive." How do you handle the storms of life for one day, or perhaps one month, but for many it can be a lifetime of storms. Paul encourages those on the ship, "Unless you remain in the boat, you will perish." The beauty of companionship and community to support and encourage one another. Paul then has communion with those on board and what do they do, you bet, they rejoice. Joy City is not a geographical location, it's a MINDSET that is not dependant on your situation or circumstance but the fact that God is present and has promised to never leave or forsake us. That is a cause for rejoicing. 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. I want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of my daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of our lives. Knowing the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for many of us, so lets enter in to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where we find our joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in our lives. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for me and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

In today's episode, Brotehr J.C. and I discuss sadness and sorrow, death and tragedy in the lives of residents of Joy City. This week, I watched the Memorial service for Elk Grove Police Officer Ty Linehan and as former police officers, Brother J.C. and I are impacted at another level by this tragic loss. His wife, his kids, his parents - that may be you and it could be us. None of us are exempt from the tragedies of this life. Storms, fires, floods, building collapses, stray bullets flying or road rage - every day we turn on the news or pick up a paper, we read of a family's life forver changed. However, the Bible teaches, "Rejoice in the Lord always..."

So when God opens our eyes in Joy City we can clearly celebrate others for our differences, we can support one another in our efforts and we can cheer one another on in the spirit of unity and when One wins we all win. 

No one can come face to face with what God is like and ever be the same. Welcome to Joy City. Seeing His true image, touches the depths of our soul and beholding His glory will renew our minds, transform us and give us strength to live this life for Him. Come on in, where the table is spread and the feast of the Lord is going on. I want to invite you to be a part, a resident of Joy City. A place where the Body becomes stronger and our love for others only increases. 

I’ve enjoyed being your host and you can comment below, or email me at [email protected] or call me at (209) 522-3583. 

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Joy City, a weekly blog and podcast, hosted by yours truly, Stuart Welch the Lead Pastor of Life Connection Church located in Modesto, CA. I want to invite you in, to join with an amazing community of friends that are quickly becoming an intimate part of my daily life. I am your host and excited to hear your stories and deliver great content that can change your life and truly transform as we celebrate the greatness of God and His presence in the every day moments of our lives. Knowing the Creator, the Grand Weaver of our lives is present with us and then leaning into that Presence can be revolutionary for many of us, so lets enter in to the City – Joy City. 

You see, Joy City isn’t a geographical location, it’s a place where we find our joy and happiness in the kingdom of God, following hard after God and fulfilling the call of God in our lives. It’s a place that welcomes us all with open arms. In Joy City faith is all important, our trust and confidence in the ways, will and word of God. Let me hip you to this; Jesus never uttered and opinion, ha ha ha, He never guessed. He didn’t give us sound wisdom or keen observation like Solomon. Not at all, Jesus’ words are the essence of truth and when we adhere and follow them intently, we become stronger, healthier and joyful. Understanding that Christ overcame the world and for me and every other resident of Joy City, this brings great rejoicing. 

Today, I am so excited to be joined by my co-host, my dear friend John Cunningham Jr., who we affectionaly call JC. JC and I have been friends for nearly 25 years. We met while we were both Police Officers and later worked together as he was my company's administrator and we have served in ministry together in nealry every capacity imaginable. I admire this brother so much, his faith nearly unflappable, his life experiences would break most people and yet he rises each morning with a prayer and praise on his lips. 

Listen closely as we take a dive into the challenges of being residents in Joy City.