Volume 20 Issue 4 April New Life Community Church

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1 1 Volume 20 Issue 4 April 2019 New Beginnings New Life Community Church A Christ Centered, Bible Based, Spirit Empowered, Prayer Dependent, Ministry Minded Church Where new life is found in Christ April Highlights SATURDAY, April 13 Ladies Spring Brunch SATURDAY, April 13 Potluck with Don Rogers WEDNESDAY, April 17 VBS Meeting SUNDAY, April 21 Easter Sunrise Service Please check calendar for more events coming up! (by John Motz, pastor) Surprise! Have you ever walked in, completely unaware of a surprise party thrown on your behalf? Caught by the feeling of wonder so sudden that it takes a moment or two to regain your composure to fully realize what is going on? Or perhaps you ve received a gift that you deeply wanted but didn t dare dream you d ever actually get it? Such moments of life-altering joy come along now and then, and when they do you wish you could hold onto it, perhaps bottle it and make it last. Such moments of sudden joy are in a small way a starting place to understand Easter. For the women that first Easter morning, the magnitude of sudden joy was beyond comprehension as in their darkness they are confronted by the angel s words Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:5-6) It was not what they expected, a surprise beyond even their wildest dreams, they are at first bewildered and then want to share but can t fully express what they d experienced. This is Easter! By contrast, our celebration of Easter is so familiar it feels ordinary. We know the story, go to church, perhaps we dress it up with bunnies and colored eggs (as if it needs a little more pizazz) but are we surprised? Are we astounded by the sudden joy of the life changing good news that Jesus is Risen!? This is the reality that brings hope to face every challenge that life

2 2 John Motz, Pastor continued...throws our way. This is the reality that is not trapped in space and time as our life here is, yet enables us to transcend this life as well. This is what is offered to us, so let us be astounded once again by this God who overcame death and lovingly invites us to live in the light of this new reality. Circle of Faith to be announced. Circle of Faith NLCC Ladies Spring Brunch Women s Ministries Setting in Motion Dear ladies, you are invited to our first women s ministry fellowship spring brunch, Saturday, April 13 at 11am. Bring your favorite breakfast or brunch dish to share. RSVP or text Kelly Conour at Child care will be provided, but please advise the number of children. Mark your calendars! You won t want to miss this!! Children of the World Time to ROAR into action for this year s VBS program. Looking for all who are interested in a summer Safari to Africa where we will learn of the plight of the Israelites and their journey to the promise land and how, through it all, God was with them. Our first meeting will be Wednesday, April 17th at 6pm in rooms 7&8 at NLCC. Please come and be part of the fun of VBS! If you have any questions, please call Kelly Conour at Thanks to all who stepped up to help host Children of the World International children s choir during their stop here in Atwater. What a blessing the evening was for all who attended, and I m told that the brief time here was a blessing to the kids in the choir. Please continue to pray for the children as they continue to tour and share about the needs of children around the world.

3 3 Missions Part of our mission s conference from last month needed to be pushed into April, and we can now prepare for a fantastic weekend with Don Rogers (April 13-14). Don, who is the president of Empowering Lives International, a multifaceted ministry in East Africa dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in that part of the world will be with us to encourage us with what God is doing in our world and how we can join in. Dinner with Don (Africa Night) will be a pizza potluck on Saturday night presenting a relaxed atmosphere to get to know Don and the work in Africa. Please come and share with others with our favorite pizzas (6:00pm). Sunday morning Don will preach for us, and we will all have the opportunity to take the faith promise challenge becoming more available to be used to reach the world for Christ. Faith Promise The idea behind Faith Promise Giving is simple: God loves the world and wants to work through us to reach it. The Faith Promise has two parts; a prayer and a promise. Our prayer is that God will supply money for missions beyond what we expect. So we pray for a specific amount that we do not currently expect to earn or receive. We also promise to give that money to missions when God supplies it. Faith promise giving implies faith that God will supply. And it works! Beginner s Bible Study (for young adults) Starting on Wednesday night, April 10th, a new study is beginning for young adults at the church. Tyler and Brittany Button are leading this group through a look at the New Testament letter of 1st Peter, applying the truth of God s word to our everyday lives. 6:00 is the start time and childcare will be provided. Future Home At our last meeting, the New Life Board of Directors adopted procedures to follow for the purchase of property/facility. At this time there is no purchase eminent, but when the day comes, the board will be better prepared. Toward that end, our future facility team (lead by Jeff Stopper) is still at work, keeping our eyes open for what the next step toward permanent facility for our New Life family to call home. Everyone is encouraged to pray for God s direction, timing and provision for our next steps.

4 4 Springtime is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Everything is fresh, new, and in bloom. If you are like me you go stir-crazy if you are inside too long, so after a long cold winter how can you not enjoy the warm temperatures and the bright sunshine upon your face. I love it! This spring we will begin to learn how changing seasons can teach us spiritual lessons. God s nature is revealed in his created world and we are to learn about Him through the world he has created. So, what are the spiritual lessons to be learned from the changing seasons, and the beautiful springtime that we are enjoying? 1) God s Faithfulness: The first lesson that we need to learn from the changing seasons is that God is a faithful God. We take it for granted that spring follows winter, summer follows spring, etc. What have we done to bring about this change in seasons? Absolutely nothing! God has done it without any of our aid or help. Yet while we sleep and wake, day after day God has been faithfully caring for his earth upholding it while it makes its yearly revolution around the sun. The earth never speeds up; it doesn t slow down; it doesn t veer off course. Rather it consistently rotates day after day while revolving around the sun. Why? Because God by the power of His might keeps it directly on course. So perfectly in fact that each season comes in due course. That is none other than the perfect faithfulness of our God. As you enjoy spring, do you need to be reminded of God s faithfulness? Perhaps it has been a particularly challenging year and life has been anything but consistent for you. Isn t it good to be reminded that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever? That his faithfulness is ever the same, and that faithfulness is applied to you as His child. That he loves you and never leaves you or forsakes you. We can rely upon Him as the firm foundation for our feet and more faithful than the changing seasons. 2) God s mercy: As we drove this last week and seeing all the blooming trees and flowers, my wife said to me that we often forget what a beautiful part of the county that we live in. That is absolutely true. During the spring everything looks fresh and new. That newness reminds me of Lamentations 3:22,23 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. God s mercy and love to us His children is new every morning. It is never used up or spent, but as infinite is God - so too is His love and mercy for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a wonderful promise to store up in your heart and your mind as you see the newness of spring all around. The flowers will bloom but eventually the petals will fall off. The grass will grow and need to be cut for a season, but it too will go dormant again. However there is never a time that God s love and mercy is out of season, or dries and shrivels up. It is new to us with every passing day. 3) Spiritual Renewal & Growth: We have been planting some flowers and trees lately because we know this is the time for them to get established and grow. It is the same in our spiritual life as well. Now is the season for spiritual growth. The Bible frequently uses the metaphor of plants growing to symbolize spiritual growth in our life (Mk.4:14-20), and in the kingdom of God (Mk.4:26-32). God expects growth and fruit. If a plant is alive, it will grow and thrive. This is true of those that are spiritually alive as well. If the Spirit of God has made us new then we should be continually growing and bearing fruit. Parents I encourage you to follow up and have conversations with your teens about changing seasons. Here are some questions that may help to start these conversation. What ways have you seen growth in your life? Sometimes that is difficult to tell on our own, but hopefully those around us see that growth and fruitfulness. Perhaps in a renewed commitment to the Word of God, or to service in your church? Perhaps in loving the things of this world less? These are some of the lessons we be learning from God s creation all around us. May we have the eyes to see our Great God and apply the lessons of nature to our hearts and minds. Pastor of Student Ministry, Jose Fuentes

5 Spring Women s Retreat May 3 5 Embrace the imperfec ons, the chaos, the HOLY MESS of your beau ful life! The 2019 Spring Women s Retreat will be held at Redwood Chris an Park in Boulder Creek. Retreat will begin with registra on at 4PM on Friday, May 3rs and will conclude Sunday, May 5th at noon. Dress for the weekend is relaxed and casual. Be sure to bring a jacket for cool evenings and mornings. This year s speaker will be Annie F. Downs. Annie is a best selling author and na onally known speaker based in Nashville, Tennessee. Flawed but funny, she uses her wri ng to highlight the everyday goodness of a real and present God. She is the author of several books for men and women as well as two for teen girls. By weaving together personal stories, humor, and Scripture, she invites you to experience fulfilled lives with a God who loves you deeply. REGISTER NOW We have a cabin reserved with accommoda ons for 8 women. The cost for the weekend is $190. This includes your cabin, meals, and all programmed accommoda ons. Bedding and towels are not included in the cabin. A non refundable/non transferable deposit is due $50 to reserve your spot with the remaining balance due by April 3 rd. You can register or get more informa on at redwoodchris anpasrk.com. Please do not let the cost of retreat prevent you from a ending. Scholarships are available. Please speak with Pastor John, Mary Herbert, or Maggie Fuentes if you are interested in a scholarship. YOU ARE WORTH IT Consider giving yourself the gi of a ending Women s Retreat this year. This is a special me for you to leave the chaos of everyday life and grow closer to Jesus. God will use worship, the speaker, His amazing crea on, as well as the other women to show you His love especially for you and help you grow closer to Him. Please contact Maggie Fuentes at for more informa on.

6 6 TREASURER S REPORT 2019 General Fund Giving January $13,584 February $14,079 March $18,800 An additional $295 has been donated to the Building Fund thus far in Thank you for your continued faithful support of New Life Church. The ministry and outreach wouldn t happen without you! Mary Herbert Treasurer, New Life Community Church Faith Promise Giving Faith Promise: Based on money I do not have but for which I will trust God, giving as He gives to me. Faith Promise donations are used to help support our monthly Missions commitments. Our current obligation is $21,150 each month Faith Promise giving to date: $2,023 We Are Family! Help celebrate these special occasions! APRIL Birthdays 4/02 Mary Monaghan 4/03 Katie Koehn 4/04 Christie Johnson 4/04 Robert Santistevan 4/08 Sarah Coate 4/08 Khloe Alvara 4/12 Sandy Rentfrow 4/13 Debra Frago 4/13 Reagan Button 4/14 Emily Coate 4/14 Kurt Wetzel 4/16 Joanna Campanario 4/17 Athena Gonzales 4/20 Jason Stephens 4/24 Gracie Santistevan 4/25 Pam Boesch 4/25 Jeanette Davis 4/26 Sue Peters 4/26 Jeremy Retzlaff 4/26 Shawn Conour 4/27 Debra Avila APRIL Anniversaries 4/04 Hector & Elizabeth Ayala 4/11 Harold & Terri Kadach 4/28 bill & Dee Gardner 4/29 Joe & Dorothy Beck 68

7 7 April 2019 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat D Street Shelter 5pm 6 7 Student Ministries 6pm 14 Don Rogers Holy Week Young Adult Bible Study 6pm Young Adult Bible Study 6pm Wed. 17th 17 VBS Meeting 6pm room 7&8 11 Board Meeting 6:30pm 18 Remembrance & Hope 7pm Ladies Spring Brunch 11am 19 GOOD FRIDAY Potluck with Don Rogers 6pm EASTER Sunrise Service Young Adult Bible Study 6pm Youth Worship Night 7:11pm 28 NO Student Ministries 29 30