Views From the Hilton

In Ephesians 3 the Apostle Paul writes a beautiful prayer for his readers regarding their spiritual growth. It is one of my favorite passages in all of Paul's writings. I am struck as much by what isn't here as what is here. In our western, "Do it yourself" "Work hard" culture, one often gets the idea that if you want to grow you've got to put your hand to the plow and make it happen. Paul though doesn't pray that the Ephesians will be better church attendees, better Bible readers, or more powerful prayer warriors.  Instead of praying for them to BE or DO better, Paul prays that they would SEE and UNDERSTAND better.  Ephesians 3:14-21 (NLT) 14  When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,  15  the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.   16  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.   17  Then Christ will make his home in your...

A few weeks ago, I celebrated 10 years of student ministry at my current Church. Spending 10 years in one spot brings a certain perspective to life and ministry. Over the next few days, I want to share 10 lessons I've learned. If I could go back to my younger self, 10 years ago, here are some of the things I would tell myself: 5. You can't do it alone  In ministry, we can be tempted to think that the world revolves around us. We begin to think that if we aren't physically present all the time, things will fall apart. This has a way of feeding our ego and making us feel "important" and "needed." We think we have to do everything. Our mantra becomes, "If you want it done right, you've got to do it yourself." I've been there before and it's a horrible place to be. The better way? Realize you need a team. The effort it takes to build a team is worth it in the long run. If you try and do everything yourself your impact will be li...

A few weeks ago, I celebrated 10 years of student ministry at my current Church. Spending 10 years in one spot brings a certain perspective to life and ministry. Over the next few days, I want to share 10 lessons I've learned. If I could go back to my younger self, 10 years ago, here are some of the things I would tell myself: 4. My Senior Pastor is (almost) always right I work for one of the greatest senior pastors in the world. Seriously. We don't always see eye-to-eye on everything, and I think that's very healthy. What help would I be to him if I didn't bring a different perspective to the table? He has taught me a great deal about how to be patient and pray about things rather than rushing in to save the day. He has saved me from great heartache on numerous occasions because of his wisdom, wit, and prayer. Over the last ten years of working with him, I've learned to see things from his perspective. I often find myself asking the question, "Wha...

In this message, Pastor Hilton lays talks about how  The world doesn’t need more perfect pictures. It needs more stories of God’s grace and redemption. Let God use your mess! "My Picture Perfect Family" - 5/14/17 AM Service from New Life Assembly of God on Vimeo .

A few weeks ago, I celebrated 10 years of student ministry at my current Church. Spending 10 years in one spot brings a certain perspective to life and ministry. Over the next few days, I want to share 10 lessons I've learned. If I could go back to my younger self, 10 years ago, here are some of the things I would tell myself: 3. Students need to be given something to do Many times I think we fail the people we minister to because we give them too much information and not enough application. For many, when they think of discipleship, they think of a classroom. But this isn't the way Jesus interacted with or taught his disciples. He took his disciples with Him to actually do ministry and taught on the job. What if the way we have been doing discipleship is actually keeping us from making disciples? I'm not arguing we should do away with classes completely, but if our discipleship strategy doesn't give students something to do with what they've learned, we...

A few weeks ago, I celebrated 10 years of student ministry at my current Church. Spending 10 years in one spot brings a certain perspective to life and ministry. Over the next few days, I want to share 10 lessons I've learned. If I could go back to my younger self, 10 years ago, here are some of the things I would tell myself: 2. Sometimes it takes a long time to see results     Several years ago we had a girl in our youth group who was always in trouble. She graduated high school by the skin of her teeth. She walked away from her faith, cursed me, and the church. Last week we had a deep conversation about her faith. She's not where she should be, but by building a relationship over time and being present, here we sit five years later talking about her faith. IT TOOK FIVE YEARS. Life isn't like a TV sitcom. If you want to see real results, sometimes you have to stick around for a while. In ministry, this means sometimes you ignore the high schooler who hates your...

In this message, Pastor Hilton looks at the Book of Jeremiah and reminds us not be afraid or manipulated by the false gods of our culture. "Don't Be Afraid of the Scarecrow" - 5/7/17 AM Service from New Life Assembly of God on Vimeo .

What does it take to have a meaningful life? Pastor Hilton explores the book of Ecclesiastes to find out what the Bible has to say about our search for meaning. "A Meaningful Life" - 5/7/17 PM Service from New Life Assembly of God on Vimeo .

A few weeks ago, I celebrated 10 years of student ministry at my current Church. Spending 10 years in one spot brings a certain perspective to life and ministry. Over the next few days, I want to share 10 lessons I've learned. If I could go back to my younger self, 10 years ago, here are some of the things I would tell myself: 1. Remember that relationships trump everything    You know what students remember? Not your sermon. Not your cool illustration. Not the nights you got the lights or the music just right. They remember when you were present. They remember when you showed up. They remember when you have fun with them. Above all else, build relationships. A few of my leaders (Who were middle school students when I began 10 years ago) put together a short video for me to celebrate 10 years. You know what they talked about most? I wish I could say it was my sermon or that really spiritual moment that one time, but they didn't talk much about those moments. They ta...