To be and develop Disciples of Christ
It is my privilege to bring to you my 26th report, coming up on completing 27 years as your pastor. You are a wonderful, alive, healthy congregation and I brag about you any chance that I get. Ministry Interns
I have very much enjoyed working with our three ministry interns, Connie Young with her District Minister’s License and Tonya Hockenberry and Robert Swedenhjelm with their Local Minister’s Licenses. Connie is almost finished with her preparation for ordination and has been approved for ordination at this year’s District Assembly on Friday evening, June 29th. She is currently serving as Supply Pastor at Meadville Nazarene doing their preaching and making hospital calls and other special visits. Tonya has served as our Children’s Ministry director and recently led another successful women’s retreat. Robert works with Worship and Technology and has developed our new webpage and been instrumental in getting our morning services broadcast live on the internet and available to watch anytime on YouTube. I enjoy working with all three of these ministers who have had their ministerial call recognized by our Church Board. It is an honor to work with these three fine ministers and I look forward to seeing where God is going to take them in their service for Him. Discipleship I especially want to thank Pastor Connie for her work this year as our Associate of Discipleship Ministries. She has led the Church Board through “Passages”, a small group discipleship Bible study and now many from the Board are leading their own groups. It is our prayer that many from these groups will then begin to lead new groups, both with people from the church and from outside of the church. We are seeing individuals growing closer to God and maturing in their faith as they study the Bible together and support each other in their faith journeys. Prayer Ministry We are also privileged to have Pastor Phil Gilmore and Deb as part of our congregation. Phil did his internship with us, then went to pastor our Corry Church of the Nazarene, and then moved back when he took early retirement due to his health. Phil has kept us updated on how to be in prayer for the needs of the church and community. We are stronger today because we have prayed. One example this year of answered prayer is with Jackson Ransom, who was born quite prematurely and has is now growing and gaining in strength. Every time we see Jackson we are reminded that we have a prayer answering God. There are many other examples of prayers answered this year. Continue to pray for Phil and Deb that he might receive the right kidney donation at the right time. Also, pray for them as they seek God’s guidance related to their future plans. Changes It looks like this is going to be a year of change in our congregation in several areas.
One of the clearest signs of the level of health and spiritual growth I am seeing in the church is in the willingness of people to step forward to volunteer. The response to nominations this year has been by far the best I have ever seen. We have just about twice the number we are electing agreeing to be on the ballot, including in the area of Church Board. We are electing 4 board members and have 8 names on the ballot, including 4 who have never been on our Church Board before! That is really exciting! As the makeup of the Board changes, we have new spiritual gifts, talents, and ideas brought to the table. There are other areas where people are stepping up to minister within the church and outside the walls of the church. God is growing His church! 50 Years!Niles Copeland chose not to be on the ballot this year, having completed 50 years on the Board of this local church! WOW! Thank you, Niles, for your faithful service. He continues to be committed to our church and will continue to serve with us in many areas. Thank you, Shirley! Thank you to Shirley Copeland for all of your work as Custodian. Shirley serves faithfully and certainly works “as unto the Lord.” It is great to know that when we walk into the church on Sunday morning it is clean and presentable to all. Be sure to thank Shirley for what she does. Moving Forward I am looking forward to our 2018/19 church year being one of our best!
Thank you for loving Carol and I so much and for being our church family. You are very important to us and we do love you! I say it again, it is my privilege to be your pastor! We are a very fortunate pastor and spouse to have a people like you to join with on our spiritual journey. Let’s keep fulfilling our Mission and living by our Core Values. Respectfully submitted, Pastor Wayne Hennen
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Dear Friends,
Jesus is Alive! We just remembered the suffering and sacrificial death of Jesus and then this past Sunday celebrated His resurrection! Because of His sacrifice for us, we can be forgiven of our sins and because of His resurrection, we know that we can have abundant life, a life freed from the power of sin, and an eternal life in heaven at the end of our earthly existence! That, my friends, is Good News! That is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Have you confessed your sins so that his sacrifice is effective for you? Have you fully given yourself over to God for Him to be Lord of your life so that His Spirit can cleanse you and transform you without you getting in His way? Our discipleship groups are up and running, studying the Bible together using a study entitled “Passages.” “Passage” is defined as:
If you did not get into a group this time around, I encourage you to make sure that you get into one during the next round. Let Pastor Connie or me know that you are interested. Many, if not all, of those in the groups will be looking to start their own group once they complete Passages. We are growing spiritually through these groups, through our Sunday School classes, through our worship services and sermons, through individual and family devotions, and through serving God with our lives. This past Sunday I announced the retirement of Denise Hites as our Administrative Assistant. She has served faithfully in this position for 33 years and we can’t thank her enough for all of her work through which she has gone above and beyond in the “job description” in service to God and this local congregation. Be sure to let her know how much you love and appreciate her! She will continue working as our church treasurer, for which we are very thankful. I also introduced our new Administrative Assistant Jenifer Crowl, who started working with Denise on April 2nd in order to learn from her throughout the month of April. Jen and her husband, Steve, and their two girls, Faith and Eden, have been attending our church since VBS in 2016. Jen comes to us with excellent skills in many of the areas involved with being our Administrative Assistance and the Church Board voted unanimously to hire her for 20 hours per week. Steve and Jen have been really growing as disciples of Christ and she recently shared this praise with me: Over the past few months a wonderful and amazing change has been taking place within me. I believed my whole life I WAS living for God and that I was so close to His understanding. Now I realize how far off I actually was! I’ve always, always known I was meant to do God’s work. I’ve always felt that was an honor! However, I never felt a clear assignment. When I went to God in prayer He told me, ‘You have a willing heart, but you’ve still never read the manual!’ So, for the first time I have been READING the Bible. Actually READING and studying. NOW, I understand what they mean by the ‘Living Word’! Something wonderful and filling happens while reading! I can’t explain it with words very well, yet I know it’s an amazing feeling that I suddenly can’t get enough of! I am excited because finally NOW God can use me more effectively in His purposes. Jen states that she is excited to serve the church and help it to thrive and grow. Jen, “WELCOME”! In Christ’s Love, Pastor Wayne |
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December 2019
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