Iraq Veteran Honored For Service To Community

With his long-term military tour of duty in southern California coming to a close, a Seal Beach resident and Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army was honored recently for his service to the country and the local community. With hugs of appreciation and prayers for their safety, members of Cypress Church said goodbye to Steve and Laura Matayoshi who are moving on to their next assignment in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, where Steve will be attending the Army War College.

For the last six years, the Matayoshi family, including daughters Cassie and Kara, have called the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station home. During that time Steve has had varied assignments in the local area and he just returned in June from a year long deployment to Iraq. He served there as the S4 Supply Officer with the 244th Aviation Brigade, Det.15.

Laura, who was formerly on active duty in the Army, served the community through teaching dance at the church and sharing her love of duty, God and country through weekly devotional emails. In addition both Steve and Laura served as the leaders of the Community Life Group home Bible study ministry at Cypress Church.

Their daughter Cassie is an active member of the U.S. Air Force and is currently serving in Germany as an Airman First Class in the computer and communications security field. Kara, who graduated in June from Los Alamitos High School, will be studying at the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois in the Fall.

"Cypress Church will really miss the entire Matayoshi family," said Outreach Director Bob Koehler. "They have been very active by opening their home for Bible studies and fellowship groups. Steve and Laura did an excellent job as leaders of our 40 Days of Community campaign in 2008 and Kara organized our Valentine Dinner Dance just a few months ago. They are true servant leaders and we have always been able to count on them to reach out to others in the name of Jesus."

The Cypress Church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. The public is welcome at Sunday services and Bible studies that are held at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. as well as many other activities throughout each week. Information about the church is available at (714) 952-3001 or online at http://www.cypresschurch.net. The public may also interact with the Cypress Church community on Facebook, Twitter and Livestream.

Photo Caption: L to R: Lt. Col. Steve Matayoshi, his daughter Kara and wife Laura at the June 10 “farewell” dinner Cypress Church held in their honor.

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001 - www.cypresschurch.net

Epicenter Conference 2010 Live Webcast at Cypress Church

The eyes of the world are focused on the events in the Middle East, the epicenter of the dramatic events that are shaping our world and shaking our future. Epicenter Conference 2010 will address today’s global crises in the light of Bible prophecy. Cypress Church will host the live webcast of this important conference on June 25th and 26th.

Why does the world refuse to take decisive action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons? Is the United Nations likely to become an increasingly anti-Israel organization? Why do only 4% of Israelis now believe that President Obama is pro-Israel, when 88% of Israelis believed President Bush was on their side? These are just a few of the many significant questions that will be addressed at the Epicenter Conference.

Conference organizer Joel C. Rosenberg has invited many well known authors, teachers, pastors and experts on the Middle East to share their views. Speakers include: Southern California Pastor and Evangelist Greg Laurie, Bible teacher Kay Arthur, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Lieutenant General William Boykin (retired), the former Under-Secretary of Defense for intelligence.

Rosenberg is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option and The Copper Scroll. His book entitled *Epicenter: How the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your World* has more than one million copies in print. He is also the founder and president of the Joshua Fund, a nonprofit charitable and educational organization that provides humanitarian relief for victims of war and terrorism in Israel and the Muslim world.

The Epicenter Conference 2010 will be held in Philadelphia. The webcast may be viewed live and free of charge at Cypress Church. The first session of the conference will be on Friday June 25th from 6:45 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Additional sessions will be broadcast on Saturday, June 26th from 8:30 a.m. until noon, from 1:15 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. and from 7:00 pm until 9:00 p.m. Cypress Church offers Bible studies and activities for all ages. The church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: jswgroup@aol.com. The public is invited to connect with Cypress Church on Facebook or Twitter.

Photo Caption: Best selling author Joel C. Rosenberg will be one of the featured speakers at Epicenter Conference 2010 on June 25th and 26th. Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Buena Park, Anaheim and Cypress area residents will have an opportunity to view the live webcast of this event free of charge at Cypress Church located at 6143 Ball Road.

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001

Ladies Book Club Forming at Cypress Church

Ladies from the Cypress, Buena Park and Los Alamitos area are invited to join others in the community for a cup of coffee or tea and lively interaction in a fun environment at *The Book Club*forming at Cypress Church. The club’s first monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday evening, July 29th, from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

The book for the month of June is: *I*ll have What She*s Having* by Christian author Bobbie Houston. In this book, Bobbie speaks openly, honestly and warmly of her conviction that all women, including those in leadership and ministry, ought to live lives that are the ultimate example of Christ-influenced character. Bobbie and her husband Brian are the founders of Australia’s largest Christian fellowship, Hillsong Church in Sydney.

The first book club discussion group will be led by Jill Olsen. Women from college age and up are encouraged to come to the meeting prepared for same educational and entertaining conversations. Coffee, tea and water will provided. The Cypress Church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. Information about *The Book Club* is available from Mary Edwards by email at: marydata@pacbell.net. Cypress Church offers Bible studies for women on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m., Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Information is available at church office at: (714) 952-3001, on Facebook or on the internet at: http://www.cypresschurch.net/.

Click HERE for information on purchasing your copy of this month's book.

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001

4TH Of July Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed for the community Fireworks Extravaganza and Independence Day Celebration to be held on Sunday, July 4th at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. There will be carnival rides as part of the celebration and Cypress Church is recruiting volunteers to be game operators, ride operators and ticket takers for the rides from 3:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

50 volunteers are needed for this event. There will be two shifts available: 3:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and serve the community at the same time.

The public is invited to participate. Prospective volunteers should contact Volunteer Coordinator Bob Koehler at (301) 508-7909 to schedule their desired shift. More information is available by email from: captboblb@gmail.com.

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001

Cypress Church Celebrates 31 Years of Service to the Community

Cypress Church celebrated their 31st year of ministry to the community on Sunday, June 6th. The church began as a home Bible study in 1978. Now hundreds of area residents call Cypress Church their church home. The celebration began with songs of praise and worship led by Steven Brooks. The orchestra, composed of students from McAuliffe Middle School and Cypress High School as well as adults, was directed by Jeff Sisil.

Associate Pastor Justin McElderry and other staff and volunteers assisted with more than twenty baptisms. Mike McKay, the Senior Pastor, presented a message on the topic of *Life Changing Acts.* There were video reports of the many church activities during the past twelve months. Many area churches have needed to scale back due to difficult economic circumstances but Cypress Church has been able to expand their service to the community and reach out around the world with the life changing message of Jesus.

The celebration continued with reports from Elder Board Chair Terry Lambert and Business Manager Jim Hoffner. New Elder Board members were chosen including David Honey, Scott Miller, Gary Painter, and Foraker Smith. Members Robert Bailey, Janis Lacombe, Jim Macy and Brent Theodore were elected to the Trustee Board. Pastor McKay encouraged members to live out the call that God has given to Cypress Church to *meet unique and specific needs in our community.*

Cypress Church serves the communities of Cypress, Buena Park, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, La Palma, Lakewood, Anaheim, Long Beach and the surrounding area. Their service teams provide volunteers to assist at the local Senior Center. They also help with the Independence Day celebration held on July 4th at the Joint Forces Training Base and the Cypress Community Festival to be held on July 24th at Oak Knoll Park. This month three different public schools and a local home owners association will be using the church campus for awards ceremonies, graduations and meetings. The church sends teams of volunteers to serve the disadvantaged and needy in Orange County, Los Angeles County, New Orleans, Mexico, India and Ecuador.

The Cypress Church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. The public is welcome at Sunday services and Bible studies that are held at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. as well as many other activities throughout each week. Information about the church is available at (714) 952-3001 or online at http://www.cypresschurch.net/. The public may also interact with the Cypress Church community on Facebook, Twitter and Livestream.

Photo Caption: Cypress High Student Melissa Corrigan led the Cypress Church congregation as they sang *You’re The God of This City* during their celebration of 31 years of service to the community on Sunday, June 6th.

Click HERE to visit Connections Magazine online.

Watch Cypress Church programming 24/7 on Livestream:

Watch live streaming video from cypresschurch at livestream.com

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001

Registration Open for “High Seas Expedition” Summer Program

Registration has begun for *High Seas Expedition* Vacation Bible School for kids at Cypress Church. The dates for this special summer program are July 26th through July 30th. The cost is $10.00 per child for applications received by July 11th.

During *High Seas Expedition* children will be keeping an eye out for *God Sightings* in their everyday lives — they’ll even notice the daily demonstrations of His love that are often overlooked. Children will also discover how their actions can be a *God Sighting* by showing Christ’s love to others. They might place a fun treat or note on a family member’s pillow or give a smile to someone who doesn’t have one.

The youngsters will join a Crew where five elementary - age children form a small group. Each Crew has an adult or teenage Crew Leader. Crews rotate through seven stations every day and the daily Bible Point is reinforced at each station throughout *High Seas Expedition* in creative ways. Everyone involved in this VBS program will explore God’s Word and never be the same again!

Cypress Church has many exciting, fun and educational programs available for children in the Los Alamitos, Buena Park, Cypress, Anaheim and Seal Beach areas. Children’s Director Mike Haugland and his staff have vacation activities planned for June, July and August. Events for kids will include summer beach days, Vacation Bible School and camping at Hume Lake. Information about VBS, Hume Lake Camp and beach days is available from Mike Haugland at 714.952.3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net


The Cypress Church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. Sunday School and Worship Services are at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. The public is invited to interact with Cypress Church online through Facebook, Twitter and Livestream. The church website is located at: http://www.cypresschurch.net/

Click HERE to find more events of interest to your family in Connections Magazine.

Photo Caption: Registration is now open for *High Seas Expedition* Vacation Bible School at Cypress Church.

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001

Volunteers Return from Mexico Mission

On Monday, May 31st a team of volunteers from Cypress Church returned from a three day mission trip to serve disadvantaged children in the Ensenada, Mexico area. There were more than twenty Orange County residents in the group from six different families. The mission trip was led by Dan Punkay. Other participants included Mike Chai and his family as well as Tom and Kimberly Anderson and the Paris and Takazawa families. All age groups from elementary school to adults were represented.

This is the fourth year that volunteers from Cypress Church have partnered with YUGO Ministries to hold a two day Vacation Bible School in the community of Lomas Bonitas. This neighborhood is located in the mountains on the edge of Ensenada. More than 100 children from town participated in the weekend activities that included: arts, crafts, games, singing, piggy back rides, breaking a piñata, spirited soccer competition and Bible verses acted out as a play.

Dan Punkay gave the Sunday sermon in Spanish at the local *Centro Cristiano Jehova Jire* church while his son Andrew translated the message into English. Global Missions Coordinator Takeshi Takazawa and his family were part of the mission team. He stated: *This ministry effort is specially designed for volunteers to work together as a family unit to serve people in need and develop relationships.*

The community of Lomas Bonitas is unique in that the residents are immigrants from southern Mexico. There is no running water or natural gas service. The roads are dirt and in very poor condition and local wage is about $6.00 for a full day of labor. Families do not own homes and they live in one room structures provided for them by *Centro Cristiano Jehova Jire* and Yugo Ministries.

While the parents are working, Pastors Juan and Karina Ambrocio provide programs for the children in town. Many of the young people have never had a picture of themselves. The Cypress Church team brought cameras and a printer and were able to provide children with individual photographs to keep. In addition the team brought medical and sanitary supplies for the community.

Yugo Ministries has been taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Mexico since 1964. They train and host youth, adult and family teams from the U.S. and Canada to work in cross-cultural evangelistic, construction, and mercy ministry efforts. Cypress Church partners with missions organizations around the globe to spread the Good News about Jesus Christ to the world with actions as well as words. This summer other teams from the Buena Park and Cypress area will travel to Ecuador, India and New Orleans to assist needy individuals and families.

Information about global mission opportunities is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net. The Cypress Church campus is located at 6143 Ball Road just east of Valley View. Worship services are held on Sundays at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. Bible studies and activities for all ages are available. The church website is located at: http://www.cypresschurch.net/

Photo Caption: Global Missions Coordinator Takeshi Takazawa was part of a team of volunteers that travelled from Cypress Church to the Ensenada Mexico area to hold a two day Vacation Bible School for needy children.

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001

June Events at Cypress Church

Registration Begins June 1st for High Seas Expedition:

Registration is now open for the "High Seas Expedition" summer kids program at Cypress Church located at 6143 Ball Road. At Vacation Bible School children will be keeping an eye out for “God in action” in their everyday lives — they will even notice the daily demonstrations of his love that are often overlooked. The cost is $10 per child if you register by July 11th. VBS dates are July 26th through 30th. Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net.

Annual Celebration Planned for June 6th:

The Cypress Church Annual Celebration will be held June 6th beginning at 9:00 a.m. at 6143 Ball Road. The public is invited to discover more about how God is moving and what He is doing in the community. This is a great opportunity to meet new friends and discover exciting activities for you and your family. There will be live music, videos and a taco bar lunch. Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net.

Women’s Bible Study Begins on June 7th:

The Anointed Redeemed Transformed Women’s Bible study features three authors, three generations and three perspectives. Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur explore their lives and the life of King David. The study will be held on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. beginning on June 7th or on Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. beginning on June 9th. Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net.

Lt. Col. Steve Matayoshi to be Honored on June 10th:

Steve Matayoshi has just returned from a deployment to Iraq with the United States Army. He and his family will soon be transferred to Carlisle Barracks, PA. They will be honored at a special “Thank You” Party to be held on Thursday, June 10th at Cypress Church, 6143 Ball Road, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Please bring a main dish and also a dessert, salad or a liter of soda. . Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net.

Family Picnic on June 13th at Veterans’ Park:

The Cypress Church M.O.M.S Group is having their monthly outing at Veterans' Park near the corner of Ball and Denni in Cypress on Sunday, June 13th from 12 noon until 2:30 pm. Stay home moms, working moms and single moms with young children are invited. Bring a picnic basket and your family. This is a great opportunity to connect with others and make new friends. Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net.

Epicenter Conference Live Webcast on July 25th and 26th:

The eyes of the world are focused on the events in the Middle East, the epicenter of the dramatic events that are shaping our world and shaking our future. On June 25th and 26th, Joel Rosenberg, Kay Arthur, Greg Laurie, and other well know speakers will help viewers understand today’s global crises in the light of Bible prophecy. The live webcast may be seen at Cypress Church, 6143 Ball Road, starting at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, June 25th as well as at 8:30 a.m. and 6:45 p.m. on June 26th. Information is available at (714) 952-3001 or email: info@cypresschurch.net.

Watch Cypress Church programming 24/7 on Livestream:

Watch live streaming video from cypresschurch at livestream.com

Cypress Church - 6143 Ball Rd. - Cypress, CA 90630 - Phone: (714) 952-3001