Connect @ Grace

We believe that every child is important here at Grace Fellowship. And so, we are very excited to announce a special opportunity to begin partnering with families that have children with Special Needs.

Beginning very soon we will be opening the doors of Maliki Land (our PreK environment) and Rush Hour (our Elementary environment) to children with special needs.  It is our desire to see our special needs children incorporated into what we are already doing as much as possible.  We realize that each child is unique, and so at appropriate times to your child he or she will also have time in a dedicated special needs classroom, with their aide.

If your child has special needs, would you please take 2 minutes to fill out this form so that our team can contact you to set up a time to meet with you and learn about your child’s unique needs, and how we can partner with you to make Sunday mornings not only special for your child, but for you too?

If this kind of opportunity sounds exciting to you as a volunteer opportunity, please take 2 minutes to fill out this form so that our team can talk with you about where your help can be put to great use.

We really look forward to helping to make Sunday mornings one of the best hour of every kids’ week – and their parents, too!

by Gina Leach

If you are anything like me, you work on the next thing coming up, and then the next, and then the next…  So following this pattern, I found myself making yet another list today of what needs to be done for the things that are coming up next.  I was thinking, “We got the supplies we needed, made the new name tags and table signs so now we need to put up the Christmas tree, make copies, blah, blah, blah.”  Then I got to thinking about the lessons for December.  We won’t be using the lessons written for Dec. 18th & 25th… Uh oh! How are we gonna fit it all in with only two weeks? Combine lessons?  Double up on stories?  What if we don’t tell them everything?  What if we miss something?  We’re gonna have to make a list of what we want to use and what we can leave out.  And then it occured to me… who cares?  Don’t get me wrong, I love lists and details are important, but they don’t mean anything if we miss the point.  The December lessons are great, but getting everything done and fitting everything in doesn’t really matter as long as we get to the heart of it all.  As long as we tell the kids that God loved us so much that He gave us Jesus and that Jesus loved us so much He came to save us, what else matters?  I was so wrapped up in lists and details that I forgot the most important thing…  It’s all about Jesus! 

So my prayer for all of us this month is that we will not be bogged down by the lists and details that tend to bombard us especially at this time of year, but that we would be filled to overflowing with the love that is at the heart of this season and that we would remember that with everything in life…  It’s all about Jesus!

We have so much to be thankful for.  This month, we’re excited to help your family develop a heart of thankfulness – while you share what God has given you with children in crisis areas around the world.

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Since 1993, OCC has provided gifts to more than 86 million children in more than 130 countries.

We want your family to share in the joy of packing gifts for children who have never received a Christmas gift.  So grab a packet this Sunday, set aside some time for your family to use the Parent Cue – 7 Steps to a Thankful Heart, and bring your wrapped boxes between Oct. 30th and Nov. 13th.  If you have any other questions, please call the office @ 987-7763.

by Tim Hester

Our small group series, “Not a Fan” just started this week.   We’ve already gotten positive feedback through email and other social media.  I anticipate great results from this campaign.  However, I wanted to address a question or concern that has been raised concerning the Journal exercises included in this study.

This morning I followed the suggestion of singing a song to Jesus.  Actually, I plugged in a song from itunes and sang along with it.  Here’s what I wrote in my Journal reflecting on the experience:

This is awkward.  I sing to Jesus every Sunday morning but doing it this way feels out of place especially for a guy.  However, even though He knows my heart I realize I need to say out loud, “I love you Jesus” not so much for His benefit but for mine.

Here’s the deal:  there’s been some resistance on the journal exercises and for good reason.  Kyle told us on the first day that many of them would feel weird especially to those of us who aren’t familiar with focused meditation.

One particular exercise in week two, day four Kyle asks us to build an altar to the thing that tends to enslave us and then to kneel before it “as if” in worship.  This sounds idolatrous at first.  And Kyle is careful to clarify not to actually worship but to imagine bowing or surrendering to worthless items or issues that pull us away from full devotion to Jesus.  Just reading the suggestion speaks loud and clear to my spirit how insane it is for me to give my life to anything but my Lord and Savior.  When I let money, pride, or other relationships take priority over Jesus that’s exactly what I’m doing:  bowing to an idol.  That image has made a lasting impression on me.

Much of what the journal encourages us to do is envision or imagine; in other words, get a mental picture of what you’re thinking about and pursuing.  Again, if you’re not accustomed to focused meditation this may sound unusual and inappropriate.  The purpose behind these suggestions is for you to personalize your encounter with Jesus.  For many of us, in my opinion, men more than women, we tend to intellectualize our relationship with Jesus and shy away from the intimacy aspects that Jesus desires.  Most of us guys aren’t that comfortable saying, “I love you” even to those we love most.  So, these guided prayer exercises challenge us to step out of our spiritual comfort zone.

In all of our campaigns we approach the materials by using what is helpful and discarding what is not.  No curriculum is perfect.  However, just because it feels uncomfortable may not be reason to ignore it; quite the contrary.  So, I hope that all our participants will push themselves into unfamiliar territory in their relationship with Jesus and see what He does with it.

I know you’re out there. I don’t exactly know how it happened, but last season I got hooked on a reality TV program called The Biggest Loser. As I got familiar with the contestants, I found out that we had a mom and a daughter (Marci and Courtney Crozier) from the Valparaiso area on the program. You just had to love Marci as she mothered and encouraged girls on the ranch. And Courtney was amazing as she had lost 100 lbs. even before being accepted into the Biggest Loser program. Well now you have an opportunity to not only meet these two amazing women, but also help support a fund raiser for Camp LRCA (where our kids go to church camp). On October 1st Camp LRCA is holding a Faith, Family and Fitness Event and 5K Run. They are also going to conclude the day with a Christian Concert. If you would like to take your kids to the inspiring Faith, Family and Fitness event, registration is at 12 noon at the cost is $35 dollars for a family of 4 (each additional family member is $5). If you would just like to participate in the 5K Only registration is at 3:30 pm and the entrance fee is $25. There are brochures on the mission table at church if you would like more information or you can check out their web site www.camplrca.com.

In my house, the main hallway that runs back to two of our bedrooms and our second bathroom is a long stretch of wall space. So a while back we put three pictures up. One is of Caleb when he was two; one is of Haley when she was born, and the other is of Jessica when she was pregnant with Haley.

First, a confession: I’m obsessed with things being in VERY straight lines, or being straight across from each other (dining room chairs). I hate clutter. If I had it my way, our house would always look like it was ready for a realtor to show it. It’s a sickness. It drives my wife batty.

So, I decided to hang these three pictures in a straight row, exactly the same distance apart from one another. So I got out my tape measure, pencil, and level (I really need one of those laser levels). I hung them perfectly. Just right.

But, now when I walk down the hall I’m constantly focusing on the tops of the picture frames and if they’re straight or not. If they’re not, I’ll straighten them. Instead of focusing on the beautiful gems that are pictured inside of the frames, I’m focused on the frames themselves.

How often do we do this with our families? We focus so much on the “stuff” and not near enough on the relationship. We focus so much on correct behavior, and very little on the precious children that we get the privilege of raising and spending time with. I’ve lost perspective of what’s important, on put it on the thing that’s really not all that important.

Where do you get off focus? Where do you lose perspective of what is truly important?

by Lauren Wierzba

This summer I have had the opportunity to be the youth assistant (intern) and I am very thankful that I was given this job for the summer. To start here is a little background info: A few years ago I started college and I was not sure what I wanted to do as a career, which caused me to choose a major, then change it quite a few times. It is very common for college students to change their major, but around the 3^rd time I was getting frustrated with trying to find something to do with my life.

Anyways, I have gone on several youth events both as a student and a sponsor, but one of those events really stands out to me. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the specifics of the event, but I can remember one thing. As we were leaving one of the sessions and walking to the main area, Jonathon told me how he has been wearing a “one bracelet”, which is a bracelet to remind you to pray for God to do something specific in one persons life. He briefly said something about how he has been praying for me to do something in Children’s Ministry. I was shocked because I never knew that someone was praying for me for so long or for something so specific.

After that convention, I started to wrestle with the idea of God using me in Children’s Ministry, but I just kind of pushed it to the side since I was going to a secular University and knew I couldn’t get a degree in that.  So back to the beginning, I changed my major 3 times and nothing seemed to really feel right. Finally, I reached the major of Human Services and I was learning a lot about the development of children and behavior of adults, etc. With this major I knew that I had narrowed my career path down: I wanted to work with and help people. After I figured this out, I started thinking more about what Jonathon said about praying for me to get into children’s ministry. Since I knew that the idea of children’s ministry was making its way back into my life, I decided to call up Jonathon and asked him about doing an internship at church to see if ministry was really something I needed to pursue.

Thankfully, he and the elders said yes so I was able to start working at Grace Fellowship as soon as my summer started. For the summer, I did a lot of office work, worked with the Sunday School a lot, and did some stuff with the teenage group. Working with the Sunday School was probably my favorite part because I love working with kids! I did some large group teaching, but I mostly did the behind the scenes work such as, making sure the small group teachers had their scripts and the large group had a teacher/worship leader as well as getting props for the lesson.. It doesn’t sound like a lot of work, but there is way more that goes into it. Basically, I really enjoyed everything that I had to do this summer, except for making postcards.

God blessed me so much with this short summer position and I am extremely grateful. I enjoyed working with all the office staff so much and I learned so much from all of them. Also, sharing an office with Jonathon was a huge blessing throughout this process. I learned so much from him and can’t even start to thank him for sharing his office (even though his side of the desk was always messy) and guiding me through this summer. With all joking aside, I am really thankful that God brought Jonathon to Grace Fellowship as the youth pastor. Because of him praying for me and sharing his knowledge with me I want to pursue a career in Children’s Ministry as well as something with Special Needs Ministry.

p.s. Jonathon needs to dust his office more.

by Jonathon Mitchell

Beginning this week, August 14th, our Pre-K children’s environment – Maliki Land – and our Elementary environment – Rush Hour – will be moving to 2 services!  This will provide more options for your family.  Small groups for your children.  And the opportunity to impact more families with the love of Christ.

All you have to do is make sure your child CONNECTS with the SAME leader and the SAME friends during the SAME  hour every Sunday.  This will ensure that your child has a consistent adult leader speaking the same things you’re saying at home, and the same friends that believe what they believe.

Are you welcome in either service on a given week?  Absolutely!  Sometimes our family schedules need us to pick a different service that we don’t usually attend.  This is part of why we wanted to make this move for your family.

We’re excited to kick this into gear this week!  Help us out in getting the word out.  Connect with us on Facebook or Twitter and link any posts, or retweet any tweets to get the word out!

by Jonathon Mitchell

We are excited to launch The Great Family Experiment this week here at Grace Fellowship as a part of our current series, Modern Families.

This is an experiment to help begin reinforcing the family value of “Create a Rhythm” for your family.  We hope that it is a blessing to your family as you begin to look at how your family values faith as a part of your reality.

If you did not pick one up, or missed this week, they are available to pick up during the week in the offices, or you can always grab one next week.

We’d love to hear your feedback from this as well.  Just go to this evaluation form and let us know how it went for your family.

Last week John and I took a quick trip to Haiti to work on plans for our Spring Break 2012 mission trip. While we were there we were also able to check out the farm where the 107 goats that the family of Grace Fellowship donated are going to live and be distributed from. When we told Pastor Jephthe how many goats we would be donating to the farm, he was overcome with joy and had a smile that almost reached his ears. He is so excited that so many families will be able to be helped and blessed by this project. Thanks to all who donated the funds for goats. We are so excited that even our Rush Hour and Maliki Land kids got involved and provided for three goats. It’s really fun to be able to give to a project that will make such a big impact for years to come.
Jan