Demonstrating that
the power of the Church
is not in what we do in the name of the Lord,but in
His Great Promise
to be with us.
Emmanuel Projects
Demonstrating that the power of the Church
is not in what we do in the name of the Lord,
but in His Great Promise to be with us.
A recent study concluded that one in ten Americans are depressed. Another study reported that one in five Americans are depressed or unhappy. Another report suggests that one in ten Americans are now taking drugs to combat their depression. “Happiness” has been the subject for numerous books and research projects. While all of the numbers reported by the various studies may not match, it is obvious that there is a "happiness" problem in our nation,
Despite the fact that we have more tools to help us perform our everyday tasks and more gadgets to keep us entertained than at any other time in the history, the whole world is still desperately seeking the path to happiness.
Emmanuel Projects' purpose is to help individuals and churches experience God through His Son, Jesus Christ, in the here and now. Experiencing God brings about such joy that, throughout history, the experience of “knowing God” has been powerful enough to motivate a great number of individuals to give up everything they had in order that they might "gain Christ", increasing their knowledge and experience of God. The joy that results from “knowing God” is a powerful elixir. The “Joy of the Lord’ is the most effective bait that Christ’s Fishers of Men have in their tackle box. It attracts other individuals who desire to experience the “Joy of Christ.”
Emmanuel Projects’ goal is to assist individuals and churches in their attempts to fulfill Matthew 28:19-20, and thereby receive the Great Promise of experiencing Jesus Christ, often referred to as Emmanuel, meaning "God with us". Because of a failure to understand these Scriptures, many Christians miss the blessing of experiencing Christ, and therefore, they miss the joy that was promised by Christ. While they dutifully attempt to fulfill what they see as their Christian "obligation", they miss the very thing that would make their task a joy and that would naturally draw others to Christ. Without the authentic joy that flows from the Lord when the purpose of these verses is fully understand the purpose, any well-meaning efforts and attempts to conduct activities and events to attract and convert the lost will be in vain, and the empty results of the efforts will only discourage those who labor for the Lord.
Emmanuel Projects is in the process of developing and publishing, The God-Built House, a book that explains the principles and methodology that serve as the basis for training people to "see and experience God". The God-Built House applies these principles to various activities and events within the life of the Church.
Emmanuel Projects also provides a variety of short-term ministries that utilize a systematic methodology to provide teachable moments that are designed to help individuals and groups experience God. All the activities are designed to teach a particular Biblical understanding and then offer practical experiential activities. Our intent is to provide individuals and churches with opportunities to develop and test these principles within their own context.
As they become available, we also plan to make various materials, handouts and workbooks, available here for the different ministry areas.
