FEBRUARY 2011
The
Livingston Ministry Report
The Payes family from left to right:
Cindy, Makayla, Jovan, and Jacob.
THE PAYES FAMILY HISTORY
Jovan and Cindy Payes have been married
since March 3, 2001. They are very proud of
their two children, Makayla who is in the 4th
grade, and Jacob who has just started
kindergarten.
Jovan did not grow up in the Lord’s church,
but obeyed the gospel in 1996. He was born
and raised in San Francisco, and lived the life
of a gang member before obeying the gospel.
As a member of the Civic Center church of
Christ, in San Francisco, Jovan received his
training from Donald W. Hinds and David
Hinds. Desiring to preach, Jovan began
preaching by appointment in 1998 in the San
Francisco Bay Area. He attended the Golden
Gate Bible Institute hosted by the Airport
church of Christ. In 2004, Jovan earned a B.A.
in Bible from Freed-Hardeman University,
and is continuing his education in biblical
studies.
Cindy grew up in the Lord’s church. Her
father James Tuggle preached for several
years, and has served as a deacon. On her
mother’s side, she has two uncles who are
gospel preachers. She has work side by side
Jovan in hosting Bible classes in their home,
helping the sick, and teaching Bible classes in
the education program of the church.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
SUNDAY
Bible Class 10 AM
Morning Worship 11 AM
Evening Worship 5 PM
We All Have Different Work | Jovan Payes
When writing to the Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul
affirms the principle upon which congregational unity can be
built – mutual respect and appreciation (Rom. 12.3). God has
provided each Christian with a “measure of faith”, and that
binds us all together.
Paul then explains how we are bound together, and he does
this by using the imagery of a body with its various functioning
limbs (Rom. 12.4). Logically, then, if we are a part of one body,
then we are inseparably connected to each other.
The question, then, is not regarding whether or not
Christians have anything in common with each other; quite to
the contrary, Christians “are one body in Christ” (Rom. 12.5).
The question consists of how can individual limbs (“members”)
carry out their unique functions (“gifts”; Rom. 12.6).
The answer is that each Christian has different work to
accomplish as a member of the church. That is what Paul
affirms when he wrote, “we do not all have the same function”
(Rom. 12.4).
Paul then encourages that all Christians to engage in the
work of the church:
If prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our
serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one
who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes,
in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who
does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Rom. 12.6-8)
These different ways to contribute to the work of the church are
described as “gifts” given according to God’s “grace”.
This reinforces the point that we make individual
contributions to the church, as we all share a rich commonality
in Christ. For this reason, we recently provided the congregation
with an “Involvement Questionnaire”, so that the members can
offer their strengths and gifts to accomplish our congregational
goals. The questionnaires are in, and we are looking forward to
the opportunities that await us in the months to come.
4th SUNDAY WEDNESDAY
Bible Class 10 AM Bible Class 7 PM
Morning Worship 11 AM
Birthday Fellowship Meal 12 PM
Afternoon Service 1:30 PM
FEBRUARY 2011
The
Livingston Ministry Report

Creating a New Web Presence | Jovan Payes THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

“Some men live most of their lives on

the sidelines, watching others work for
the Lord. Don’t let that be you. Move
out into the main stream, by becoming
a Christian. As you give yourself to
Christ and take his banner you will
follow his great leadership in doing
good.”

– Batsell Barrett Baxter, As a Man

Today many people shy from visiting a “brick and mortar” Thinketh In His Heart (Nashville,
church; instead, they visit faith-based websites for their spiritual Tenn.: Washington Industries,
intake. “Click and mortar” evangelism is an important aspect of 1966), 50.
our outreach, and we have begun experimenting with how we
can use the Via Digitalis as Paul did the Via Egnatia.
Here are a number of ways we are using the Internet to
supplement our local evangelism in Livingston. WANT TO BE A FELLOW WORKER
WITH THE LIVINGSTON CHURCH
 We send out our bulletins in mass emails. OF CHRIST?

 Our website allows readers to subscribe to our blog; our If you or your congregation would
visitors can leave feedback on our Contact Us page; Our like to be a fellow worker with us to
address: www.livingstoncoc.wordpress.com.
spread the gospel, here is what you
 Our Facebook page is used to link articles, events, and can do:
other content to drive online traffic to website.
(1) Pray for our work.
 Use of Twitter to both provide news and drive traffic to (2) Come visit & worship with us.
our website to learn about the church and our events. (3) Contribute a onetime gift.
Follow us @ www.twitter.com/lcocupdates. (4) Tell others about our work.
 We publish our Daily Faith bulletin and The (5) Ask for our Packet! We will
Livingston Ministry Report in pdf format on email it, or snail mail it to you
Scribd.com. We intend to offer in-depth studies in the so you can consider working
future through this publishing website. with us on a yearly basis.
 In the future, we hope to add video and audio content.

LIVINGSTON CHURCH OF CHRIST

639 2nd Street
Livingston, California 95334
209.394.3511 office
info.livingstoncoc@gmail.com email
www.livingstoncoc.wordpress.com website