PURPOSE STATEMENT
Our purpose is….. To glorify God, spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, to live by His Word and to help others do the same.
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is…..To train people to defend themselves by the art of Tang Soo Do and JuJitsu. To draw out of them their personal best and increase true self-esteem. To teach truth, respect, loyalty, humility, patience, honor, integrity, compassion, gentleness, discipline——and to live by those virtues. To show God’s love to all.
VISION STATEMENT
Our vision is…...To teach the art of Tang Soo Do and the values of a Christian martial artist. To draw others into the family of love and support. To expand our ministry by sending our students out to multiply the mission and the ministry.
THE COMMISSIONING
On June 26, 2005, Nick and Matt were commissioned. You ask “What is that?” And I answer “I don’t know.” No, seriously, it is like ordaining someone. The pastor of the church we were attending had become a mentor to Nick and Matt, especially to Nick.
The service included Matt and Nick giving a testimony of their lives, their Christian faith and their Twin Tigers Karate Academy as a ministry. Then they were prayed over and “dedicated” to the Lord. Set apart. Sanctioned by this church as a ministry and doing God’s work in their business. Our Twin Tiger students and friends and families were invited and some were present. They were all asked to come forward, stand with Nick and Matt, and help in the praying. We had wanted this for a long time. We had never found a church willing to accept this strange business we have as a ministry. We use it all the time to witness God’s love to people.
It’s not that we need a church to support us monetarily. But we need emotional and spiritual support. We are a Christian business/ministry. We have openly declared Christian values. We pray openly in class. We read from the Bible. We openly advertise that we are Christian. Even in teaching karate to public schools, we are allowed to pray in our class (because it is an after school event). Nick has even served as a “chaplain” of sorts to one public elementary school. We have taken a bold stand in the community. Once you are labeled “Christian”, you are in a glass cage and watched as under a microscope. Ask any missionary or pastor, they know. Your reputation must stay spotless and above reproach.
I said all that to say—-when you take that bold stand, it is good to have a church body behind you, upholding you, encouraging you, praying for you, backing you up. That is what we have wanted for a long time. We are grateful to Pastor Dustin Pennington who encouraged us to do this. Thank you!
The service included Matt and Nick giving a testimony of their lives, their Christian faith and their Twin Tigers Karate Academy as a ministry. Then they were prayed over and “dedicated” to the Lord. Set apart. Sanctioned by this church as a ministry and doing God’s work in their business. Our Twin Tiger students and friends and families were invited and some were present. They were all asked to come forward, stand with Nick and Matt, and help in the praying. We had wanted this for a long time. We had never found a church willing to accept this strange business we have as a ministry. We use it all the time to witness God’s love to people.
It’s not that we need a church to support us monetarily. But we need emotional and spiritual support. We are a Christian business/ministry. We have openly declared Christian values. We pray openly in class. We read from the Bible. We openly advertise that we are Christian. Even in teaching karate to public schools, we are allowed to pray in our class (because it is an after school event). Nick has even served as a “chaplain” of sorts to one public elementary school. We have taken a bold stand in the community. Once you are labeled “Christian”, you are in a glass cage and watched as under a microscope. Ask any missionary or pastor, they know. Your reputation must stay spotless and above reproach.
I said all that to say—-when you take that bold stand, it is good to have a church body behind you, upholding you, encouraging you, praying for you, backing you up. That is what we have wanted for a long time. We are grateful to Pastor Dustin Pennington who encouraged us to do this. Thank you!
THE COMMISSIONING SERVICE
June 26, 2005, was a great day. I knew it was going to be because Satan had been at me for a few weeks trying to hold me down. I knew something good was around the corner.
Nick and Matt were commissioned by our church at the time, Cornerstone Fellowship. I have already explained the reasoning behind this so I will just tell you about the service. At CF you never know what is going to happen from Sunday to Sunday. Pastor Dustin allows the Spirit unction to move in the service so every Sunday is different.
We had invited our karate family and others to be there but we know that most of them have their own church to go to. We had around 35 people come to share in this with us. That was great.
After a time of praise and worship, Pastor Dustin then called Nick and Matt up front for the ceremony. Pastor Dustin introduced them to the congregation. Nick spoke first and explained briefly who they were and what they desired. Nick explained to the congregation that he wanted all that God has to give him and wanted to be all he could be for God. And he wanted the same for Twin Tigers. Matt then explained about his upcoming marriage in October and even though it was hard to keep up with karate right now, he made extra efforts to do so. And he thanked Nick publicly for filling in the gap till after the wedding. Matt also explained that we wanted a church behind us, praying, supporting, lifting us up. The congregation really responded to their needs.
Then Dave Sgro, our mentor from Fayetteville, NC. was called up front. He told everyone that Nick and Matt were special to him and he also read from a book about being a Christian business. He read a portion that stated how important Christian businesses were and how they could reach the outside world for Christ even better than the church sometimes. Very appropriate. Then Sa Bom Nim (Korean for Master Instructor) Sgro laid his hands on each one and had a wonderful prayer, asking God’s blessing in every area of their lives so that Twin Tigers would thrive and be able to give back by supporting missionary work of their own. He also prayed that their influence would not only be local but international because Sa Bom Nim Sgro believes that Matt and Nick have the ability and the dedication to become world wide missionaries for God through their karate. It was awesome.
After Dave’s prayer, Pastor Dustin called up his elders and all Twin Tigers people present to come and stand around Matt and Nick and pray over them. That was quite a scene. Ken was taping this and I was standing back taking pictures. Awesome to see all those people up front around my baby sons praying for them as individuals, as missionaries, as ministers of the Gospel, as business owners, etc. etc. etc. This was such a time of blessing for Ken and I as we have desired this for such a long time.
After the ceremony, Pastor Dustin preached a wonderful sermon on Koinonia. It was so appropriate because that Greek word is used in the Bible in many places and with many meanings. But that is another story some day.
After the preaching, things got a little crazy. People were chatting with one another and roaming around. We couldn’t get around to everyone to speak our hearts and how grateful we were for them to come. Then of course, people got out the door before we could get our heads together.
Sa Bom Nim Sgro made the move to say “I’m hungry, let’s go to lunch NOW.” So naturally since he is our mentor, we have to listen to him. So the ones of us that were left rounded each other up and found a restaurant to go to.
That should be another story in itself but I will tell you that the people at Valentino’s are extremely patient people. We had 24 with us and sat in several tables and booths in one corner of this small restaurant. Let’s just say we are not a mild mannered, soft spoken, somber group. In fact toward the end there the situation deteriorated to food fighting and we had to draw the line. We are a happy group and we try to behave—- but sometimes we get out of control. This was one of those joyous occasions we were almost out of control. I am surprised that we didn’t get asked to leave. But I guess 24 dinners $$ was worth the menace.
Anyway, it was a great day. It was one of those days and situations you want to lock away in your memory bank forever. But since my memory bank has a leak in it, we took lots of pictures!!
Nick and Matt were commissioned by our church at the time, Cornerstone Fellowship. I have already explained the reasoning behind this so I will just tell you about the service. At CF you never know what is going to happen from Sunday to Sunday. Pastor Dustin allows the Spirit unction to move in the service so every Sunday is different.
We had invited our karate family and others to be there but we know that most of them have their own church to go to. We had around 35 people come to share in this with us. That was great.
After a time of praise and worship, Pastor Dustin then called Nick and Matt up front for the ceremony. Pastor Dustin introduced them to the congregation. Nick spoke first and explained briefly who they were and what they desired. Nick explained to the congregation that he wanted all that God has to give him and wanted to be all he could be for God. And he wanted the same for Twin Tigers. Matt then explained about his upcoming marriage in October and even though it was hard to keep up with karate right now, he made extra efforts to do so. And he thanked Nick publicly for filling in the gap till after the wedding. Matt also explained that we wanted a church behind us, praying, supporting, lifting us up. The congregation really responded to their needs.
Then Dave Sgro, our mentor from Fayetteville, NC. was called up front. He told everyone that Nick and Matt were special to him and he also read from a book about being a Christian business. He read a portion that stated how important Christian businesses were and how they could reach the outside world for Christ even better than the church sometimes. Very appropriate. Then Sa Bom Nim (Korean for Master Instructor) Sgro laid his hands on each one and had a wonderful prayer, asking God’s blessing in every area of their lives so that Twin Tigers would thrive and be able to give back by supporting missionary work of their own. He also prayed that their influence would not only be local but international because Sa Bom Nim Sgro believes that Matt and Nick have the ability and the dedication to become world wide missionaries for God through their karate. It was awesome.
After Dave’s prayer, Pastor Dustin called up his elders and all Twin Tigers people present to come and stand around Matt and Nick and pray over them. That was quite a scene. Ken was taping this and I was standing back taking pictures. Awesome to see all those people up front around my baby sons praying for them as individuals, as missionaries, as ministers of the Gospel, as business owners, etc. etc. etc. This was such a time of blessing for Ken and I as we have desired this for such a long time.
After the ceremony, Pastor Dustin preached a wonderful sermon on Koinonia. It was so appropriate because that Greek word is used in the Bible in many places and with many meanings. But that is another story some day.
After the preaching, things got a little crazy. People were chatting with one another and roaming around. We couldn’t get around to everyone to speak our hearts and how grateful we were for them to come. Then of course, people got out the door before we could get our heads together.
Sa Bom Nim Sgro made the move to say “I’m hungry, let’s go to lunch NOW.” So naturally since he is our mentor, we have to listen to him. So the ones of us that were left rounded each other up and found a restaurant to go to.
That should be another story in itself but I will tell you that the people at Valentino’s are extremely patient people. We had 24 with us and sat in several tables and booths in one corner of this small restaurant. Let’s just say we are not a mild mannered, soft spoken, somber group. In fact toward the end there the situation deteriorated to food fighting and we had to draw the line. We are a happy group and we try to behave—- but sometimes we get out of control. This was one of those joyous occasions we were almost out of control. I am surprised that we didn’t get asked to leave. But I guess 24 dinners $$ was worth the menace.
Anyway, it was a great day. It was one of those days and situations you want to lock away in your memory bank forever. But since my memory bank has a leak in it, we took lots of pictures!!
