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“Follow Me.” Two simple words spoken by Jesus that proved to be difficult to obey for four fishermen. In Mark 1:16-20, we read of one of times Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last time Jesus called these men.

In fact, we considered at least four different times Jesus called these men to be His disciples. But why would Jesus have to say, "Follow Me," to them so many times? Why would they hesitate?

It's a question we asked as we considered our own hesitations in following Jesus. And yet, despite their hesitations (and our own), Jesus continues to call.

Watch our listen to our study of Mark 1:16-20 and learn just how much Jesus wants to be with you.

Join us this Sunday as we continue our study in the Gospel of Mark. Our worship service stats at 10am. Join us in-person at the Regency or online at live.refuge.mn.

K-5th Proverbs 3 Study

We've been working our way though Proverbs 3 with the K-5th graders at Refuge. It's a wonderful chapter full of applications and insights into the character of God!

Part of our time with the kids is working on memorizing the chapter. It's a venture of faith, but one that we hope will bless the kids and their walk with the Lord. To help with memorizing, two awesome ladies have set the scripture (NLT version) to a tune and created actions that we've been reviewing with the kids during our time together Sundays. This video is our first take and it only covers the first 8 verses—we hope to make another version available soon with better quality and more verses but wanted to share what we have.

Even if your K-5th child accompanies you during Sunday services, we hope this video (and the versions to come) will be a blessing to you and your family as you work with your child to hide God's word in their heart. If you have any questions, feel free to connect with Pastor Nate at nate@refuge.mn.

Refuge FM

Our radio station is a direct extension of our ministry of here at Refuge. Tune in and enjoy the various musical selections that point to Jesus and communicate the Gospel. It’s a wonderful opportunity to reach our community for Christ.

You can listen right now on 96.1 FM (in and around the St. Cloud area), in the Refuge app (more info below) or online at Refuge.fm.

Download the New Refuge App

The Refuge app keeps you connected with our fellowship. Get instant access to our live stream worship services, archives of previous messages, and notifications of upcoming events. You can also share messages with others and download messages for listening offline.

Download it on your smart devices today—just search for Refuge-A Calvary Chapel Church in the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, or the Amazon App Store for Android.

We also updated our website! Check out the all new Refuge.mn for links to messages, access to live stream services, and much more!

New Online Giving Platform

We’ve moved from EasyTithe to Subsplash Giving! Giving will be simplier than ever and can be initiated on our website or in our app.

If you have recurring giving through EasyTithe, you’ll need to cancel your account and sign up for Subsplash Giving.

What you need to do:

• Login to your account on EasyTithe to turn off your recurring giving.

• Sign up for Subsplash Giving and set up a recurring gift (here’s a short video explaining the steps).

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Imagine that Jesus walked into your place of employment and simply said, “Follow Me.” What would you do? Would you follow Jesus physically? Would you leave your job? Would you leave your family? Would you leave your city instantly after only hearing these two words from Jesus?

This is the scene that we studied this past Sunday, and is seemed as though that’s exactly what happened to Andrew, Simon, James, and John. But when you put the puzzle pieces together from the other Gospel accounts, there was much more going on here than what we could see on the surface.

Mark 1:16-20 was only one of the times that Jesus said, “Follow Me” to these men. It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last time. Time after time, these men stutter-stepped and struggled in physically following Jesus—returning to their earthly identity again and again instead of walking fully in their kingdom calling.

Is that something that you struggle with—setting aside your earthly identity in order to walk fully in your kingdom calling? You may not be following Jesus physically on the dusty trails of Galilee, but the experience is just as real and the stakes are just as high.

Jesus is calling you. Jesus really does love you. Jesus really does want to be with you. And before you mutter all those reasons why your life doesn’t matter, Jesus is fully aware—and yet He still loves you and wants to be with you forever!

Starting right now, you could simply say, “Jesus, I’m tired of the stutter-step. I’m tired of the struggle. Please forgive me. Please help me. Please save me. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to follow You. I want to be with You forever! Thank you for hearing my prayer and receiving me into your family. In Jesus name, Amen.”