First Church of God. Contact Info. Phone Fax Office Hours M-F 8:30am-4pm. Lead Pastor Andrew Rehbein

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1 First Church of God Contact Info Phone Fax Office Hours M-F 8:30am-4pm Lead Pastor Andrew Rehbein Associate Pastor Lynn Higgins Youth Pastor Bob Cheney Administrative Assistant Jessica Marlin Jesus left us a great commission before he ascended. He said, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Often we connect this verse to global missions, because it calls us to go into all nations. Nevertheless, our own country is becoming an increasingly ripe mission field all to its own. Here are some staggering statistics: There are currently over 200 million unchurched people in our country. North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing. No county in America has a higher percentage of churched persons today than 10 years ago. 4,000 churches (10 per day) are closing their doors every year...only about 1,500 new churches are planted each year in the US. Over half the churches in America did not add one new member through conversion last year. Statements like these are sobering, and force me to deal with the reality that in many ways we must not be taking Christ s commission seriously. Often times our churches have become a place that are centered on serving the needs of those already gathered there, instead of finding ways to reach those who need to be there! The reality is that these numbers really represent names; these statistics are truly souls. With that in mind, we are working to create as many opportunities for people to hear the gospel as possible. That is why we are taking each of our Sunday morning worship services in a slightly new direction. We will continue to offer two Sunday worship services, one at 8:45 and one at 11am, but the praise and worship music will take on a unique style in each gathering. At 8:45 we will experience an upbeat gospel style service, more traditional than our existing services. This will feature hymns and gospel songs that have been a part of the Church s history, and will resemble a revival/campmeeting feel. At 11:00 we will utilize more contemporary songs and sounds to express our worship to God. Different styles of music speak to different groups of people, and the goal in moving this direction is two-fold: 1. Those already worshiping at FCOG will find a service where they can more naturally engage and express their love for God. 2. Those not yet worshiping at FCOG will be drawn to one of these unique worship opportunities. I d encourage you to try both services out at least once so you will know what each one is like. I also would encourage you to invite someone to come that you think would enjoy one of these worship gatherings. Be in prayer for Pastor Lynn and our music teams as they prepare for this new venture, and join us in praying for the unreached people right here in Pryor who need to know Christ and experience His Church! Our prayer is that they might find a way to connect right here at First Church of God!

2 Sunday in April New Series Starting Sunday, April 14 The great commandment in the New Testament purposely instructs us to love God not just with our heart, soul, and strength, but also with our mind. Repeatedly, the New Testament points out to us how vital our thinking is in our pursuit to become more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit, in fact, is in the business of renewing our minds. Over the next four weeks, we will examine the state of our minds, discover ways to cultivate God s renewing work in them. Every Sunday at 10am New Classes starting Sunday, April 7 Community Life Class Starting Andy Stanley s Twisting the Truth Challengers Class Starting Max Lucado s Facing Your Giants

3 Senior Adult Ministry Springtime jubilee branson trip If you signed up for the Springtime Jubilee, Branson Trip, here are some things you need to know: Meet in Fellowship Hall Monday, April 8:30am Depart Pryor on Bus at 8:59am Stop for Lunch in Mt. Vernon, MO Have a great tip in Branson Return to Pryor Late Afternoon on Wednesday, April 17 Worship Ministry NEW WORSHIP SERVICES COMING! Pastor Lynn Higgins Exciting things are continuing to happen here at the church. Beginning April 14th, we will be offering two distinctly different worship services on Sunday mornings. The first service (8:45), will be an upbeat gospel style worship. This style of worship will include a variety of song styles that would include hymns, gospel songs, southern gospel, and bluegrass. The second service (11:00), will be a contemporary/ modern worship. This style of worship will use more contemporary song selections. We believe by offering two different worship choices we can reach more people for Christ and worship for believers can become even more meaningful. My suggestion would be for you to try both services from time to time. This will expand your personal worship by stretching your understanding of worship in new and different ways; and you will have the opportunity to fellowship with other members of our church that you might not ordinarily get to see. Please be in prayer for our church as we expand the worship ministry.

4 Student Ministry MISSION INDY WORK DAY SUNDAY APRIL 7 STUDENT CENTER 3PM

5 Children s Ministries Important News The Board of CE and Church Council are excited to introduce a candidate for Children s Pastor to the congregation. On Sunday, April 28, we will be able to introduce a candidate we believe would be an excellent addition to the ministry staff, and will provide exciting leadership to our children s ministries (birth-6th grade). Pastor Andrew will be sending more correspondence in regard to this in the coming weeks, but we wanted to make sure you marked Sunday, April 28 on your calendar, so you can be a part of this special Sunday. Continue to be in prayer as we move forward in staffing this vital area of ministry! Mark your calendars for our annual Vacation Bible School. We always need volunteers to help make this a successful event for our kids. If you can volunteer throughout the week from 9am-noon, please contact the church office: Phone office@pryorcog.com MORE INFO COMING SOON 3rd-6th Grade Camp. June Our kids will perform their special spring musical Sunday, April 7th at 11am.

6 Mark Your Calendars LOOKING AHEAD April 7 Spring Children s Musical. 11am Youth Center Work Day. 3pm April 8 Divorce Care. 6:30pm April 11 ROMEO. 8am, Juliet. 11am April Branson Trip. Springtime Jubilee April 21 Jenks Aquarium Trip. Noon Lauren Vincent Missions Speaker. 5:30pm April 27 Girl s/guy s Night (Youth). Noon April 28 Children s Candidate Announcement May Summer Youth Camp (Jr. & Sr. High) June 3-7 Vacation Bible School. 9am-Noon June Summer Kid s Camp (3rd-6th Grade) July Youth Mission Indy Trip Join at any time. Each Monday night at 6:30pm Wedding Shower for Andrea Mead Saturday, April 13, am-12pm Journey Student Center Andrea is registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, & Wal-Mart Come explore deeper meaning in the texts you are reading throughout the week in your E-100 reading plan. It s never too late to connect into the E-100 study each Wednesday night at 6:30pm (now meeting in the Gym). Enjoy a delicious meanlbeforehand at 5:30pm. Below is the menu for March. 4/7 Chicken Spaghetti, Green Beans, Bread & Dessert 4/14 Country Style Ribs, Baked Beans, Slaw & Dessert 4/21 Old Settlers Beans, Cowboy Potatoes & Dessert 4/28 Baked Potato Bar & Dessert You are invited to a Baby Shower for Chelsea to Welcome Tate Michael Rosebrough on Saturday April 13th at 3 o clock in the Fellowship Hall She is registered at Babies R Us, Walmart & Buy Buy Baby If you have questions or want more information about any events, please don't hesitate to contact the church office by phone M-F 8: or . office@pryorcog.com

7 Birthdays & Anniversaries 11 th Clint & Pat Lane 19 th Charles & Virginia Taylor 30 th Tony & Tommy Graves 2 nd Verland Lawrence 2 nd Ruby Thomason 4 th Christy Peters 6 th Dale Martin 6 th Theresa Holloway 6 th Pete Smith 9 th Deacon Greninger 10 th Zella Maslen 10 th Leonard Poppino 10 th Connie Holt 11 th Virgil Miller 13 th Eula Gage 14 th Erin O Steen 15 th Judy Colston 15 th Billie Cox 18 th Courtney Thomas 20 th Kyle Kemp 20 th Frank Owings 23 rd Betty Blakely 23 rd Carman Justus 24 th Linda Daniels 24 th Franklin Hart 26 th Dell Elkins 26 th Lloyd Colston 27 th Jerry Arnold 29 th Glendola King 29 th Lydia Lawrence 30 th Paul Marty If you want your Birthday or Anniversary added to the list please call the Church Office at Thank You! February Stewardship Update Average Sunday School Attendance 156 Average Worship Attendance 270 General Fund Giving $44, General Fund Budget Requirement $34, Designated Giving $4,982.00

8 PO Box 1091 Pryor, OK Presorted Standard Non Profit Organization U.S. Postal Paid Permit No. 81 Pryor, OK Love God. Love others. Live out

9 Celebration of Baptism Congratulations to Matthew Arnold & Erica Brown on their recent baptisms. Baptism is a step of faith that marks the life of a believer. It is a beautiful picture of one s belief in Jesus death, burial and resurrection. It also signifies that the individual has made a decision to die to self, put their old life in the grave, and be raised to new life in Jesus Christ. If you would like to follow the Lord in baptism to demonstrate your faith in Him, or have questions about what it means to be baptized, please contact Pastor Andrew at or andrew@pryorcog.com Live Out News SUCCESSFUL OFFERING Thank you for your participation in the First Quarter Live Out Offering. The special offering yielded $2, Half of this will be utilized by the Benevolence Team to meet local needs, with the other half going through the Missions Team to address global causes. If you would like a Live Out change can to start saving for next quarter s offering, visit the Welcome Center in the front lobby. The 2nd Quarter Live Out Offering will be held Sunday, June 23. CONTINUED TRAINING On Saturday, March 30, 15 people (including other community members and guests from Nowata FCOG), attended a Bridges out of Poverty training. This shed valuable light to some of our Benevolence Team members on how to be a better source of help to those in need. There is a more intensive training that will be held on Thursday, April 25 in Norman, OK. We will be sending a couple of our church members to continue learning and bringing back valuable insights to us!

10 Missions Speaker SUNDAY, APRIL 21. 5:30pm Lauren Vincent is on furlough from her mission work in Honduras. Some may remember Lauren s dad, Bill Vincent, who served as a youth pastor at FCOG in the 1980 s, when Lauren was a little girl. Lauren will share about her work with orphans and what God is doing in Honduras in the 5:30pm service on Sunday, April 21. Plan to attend this special gathering.