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LETTER |
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Vol. 1 No. 2 |
Our Mission: To glorify God and share the Good News of Jesus Christ as one body unified by love and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.
Guiding Principles:
Sharing the Good News:
(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
World Bible School
The elders want the congregation to be more aware of our involvement in World Bible School. We have several teachers working with this program now. Harrison and Sarah Long have been tirelessly leading this effort for 11years. As of the first of the year Wayne and Mary Sharp will be taking over their work. Thank you Harrison and Sarah! This work has two categories of effort. One is world wide and the other is the local work. These lessons that have been extremely successful in teaching the Gospel in many countries are also sought after here in our local area. Please check with Wayne Sharp if you would like to be involved in either or both categories.
Fall Bible Event
We moved our Vacation Bible School (VBS) from the hot part of the summer to the cooler part of the fall and now we refer to it as our Fall Bible Event (FBE). We plan to have this now as part of our yearly schedule of activities. In the fall of 2007 we want to let the whole community know about this event and be prepared to host a much larger crowd. Please be ready to volunteer your effort when you read the note in the bulletin that preparations are under way next spring.
Serving the Community:
(Mat 9:35‑36) Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. {36} When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Leander Christian Preschool
This program has been a service to the community for 25 years. Megan Pennington is the Director this year. We have 44 children enrolled. We want to let the families of these children know that we care about their children and about them. They have scheduled their Christmas program for Wednesday evening December 13, 2006. The children perform songs they have learned in school. Parents, friends, and families are invited to join the congregation in a short devotional period and then enjoy the children’s performance. This can be a tremendous outreach to people that come to our building!
Parenting Seminar
Starting in February, Whit Pennock will be offering a class on a Biblical study of parenting. The class will be held as a part of our Bible School program on Sunday mornings in classroom #1. The format will include panel discussions with parents who have raised their
children in the Lord.
Financial Seminar
Become Debt Free!!
Imagine yourself one year from today having eliminated the bulk of your personal debt and being well on your way to having a less stressful life. “What are the odds,” you might ask? After all, today’s financial economy is much different than in years past. It is indeed possible by applying the principles that God reveals in His Word.
This coming Spring National Speaker and Author Bruce Ammons reveals the 5 step principles to becoming debt free so that you can. Details will be available next month.
“Stop worrying about finances and rapidly eliminate debt, including house and cars, while saving for the future to retire with confidence!”
Building Up the Body:
(Eph 4:11‑13) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, {12} to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up {13} until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ministry of Evangelism
This Spring Dane Boyles will offer a Wednesday evening six week course on the Ministry of Evangelism. If you are interested in signing up for this class, please see Dane or leave your name with Janet. Enrollment is limited so please get your name in as quickly as you can.
Life Groups
We had a wonderful year of LIFE Groups during 2006! An average of between 140 and 160 members gathered every Sunday evening to become better acquainted and to build each other up in the Lord.
LIFE Groups are on “furlough” during December to provide a break for members and leaders and for training additional leaders.
Sign-up sheets are available during December for you to select which LIFE Group you would like to join. You are encourage to select a different group in 2007 as one of the goals of these groups is to help us become closer to more folks than before.
There is a limit to the number of adults in each group so if you want to be with a particular leader, you need to sign up early. We plan to have an even better year of LIFE Group in 2007 and we want you to be a part of that success!
Involvement Survey
We are taught that the Lord gives various talents and gifts to each of us to use in our own growth and in the furtherance of His kingdom. In order to help each of us assess our invlovement in the various activities of the church, we would like to begin the new year with an Involvement Survey. In January we will provide material that explains each area of service, and we will ask you (1) Where are you involved today? and (2) Where would you like to be invovled in 2007? Each of us is encouraged to participate in appropriate acts of service. The Involvement Survey is intended to help us accomplish that.
Events Calendar
In addition to our calendar listing the birthdays and anniversaries of our members we will place an events calendar in the bulletin at the beginning of each month to let you know what will be taking place at the building during the month. If you want to schedule an event, please let Janet know so she can include it in the events calendar.
2007 Budget
The budget for 2007 is being finalized. If you are assigned a budget category and have not turned in your budget requirements, please do that this week.
Beginning February 1, 2007, every ministry leader that has a line item in the budget will be given a report each month indicating the budgeted amount and the amount spent at that point in time.
Expressing our Gratitude to God
(Heb 13:15) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise‑‑the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Improvements to our Worship
It is the Shepherds’ intent to improve our worship service and make it more meaningful and focused on the Word. We will be working with worship and communion leaders so that our structure has that focus using well- known inspiring songs. We will work toward a service that inspires us to tell our neighbors, “please come to church with us, you will love being there.”