MONDAY’S HERE
Thank you, church, for an incredible Sunday. My favorite 35 minutes of the day may surprise you (read to the end to see). But all of it was a thrill:
Sunday Worship was stellar as the kids led us. Wow! Did they sing well or what?
Matthew and his friend, Jeff, wove Isaiah 40 and Mark 1 together in an amazing way.
Marlin and Sally Vis touched us with the longing for Palestinian believers in Jesus.
If you missed any of it, you can see the whole service by clicking HERE.
CONGREGATIONAL CELEBRATION UPDATE
And, we tried something different with our meeting this year. People voted in the morning. And the evening soup and pie became a celebration of where we’ve been, where we’re at, and where we’re going. Here are some updates:
- 290 people participated in our ballots. Rick Clark was selected as Leadership Elder, and Kim Jongerius was selected as Leadership Deacon.
- Over 250 people came for our soup & pie and celebration.
- Dave Arnett, Adam Boone, Jenon Scallon, Marta Vander Top, and Dave Van Wechel shared stories of this year.
- Deacon Treasurer Jeff Joiner shared finances and budgets:
- Giving so far this year is around 8% ahead of least year.
- We need approximately $90,000 to the end of the year to meet expected needs.
- Open Doors II is over 100% fulfilled and we’ve paid off an extra $50,000 in principle on the loan.
- 2015 General and Benevolent Budgets will increase around 4.5% each.
- Other updates were also shared for 2015 ministry, including a discipleship focus through the RCA’s 15-year strategic plan, outdoor ministry opportunities, helping to transition our attenders from the crowd to the committed, and seeing more local mission opportunities.
- Those present were asked to share their response to the question, “What ministry opportunities is God opening to us in 2015 that we should pay attention to?” If you have an answer to that question, e-mail the church office.
Thank you for a great evening!
SYMPATHIES
We express our sympathy to Andy and Amanda Keller for the loss of Amanda’s grandmother Carolyn Hoelscher, of Popejoy, IA who passed away on Sunday, December 7th.
Funeral services are being handled by Linn’s Funeral Home in Iowa Falls, IA.
MY MOST BLESSED PART OF SUNDAY
As promised above, the most moving part of my day was the 35-minute service of worship, Word, and communion that Karen Barker, Cam Riibe, and I were privileged to lead at Prairie Ridge Care Center. We sang carols from memory, I preached on the timelessness and timeliness of God’s Word, and I invited these frail of body saints to recite their favorite Bible texts. And they did, with stammering voice, but depth of delight. They made my day! Oh, and we celebrated communion. There was joy upon joy in that place. Thank you, God, for these glorious saints.