Roots & Wings. Dear Church Family. W e s t H i l l s C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h

Transcription

1 W e s t H i l l s C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h Volume 21, Issue 7 September 2018 Dear Church Family In our church we value INTER- GENERATIONAL. This is very important to me, and I try to talk about it fairly often. We are not a Young Church. We are not an Old Church. We strive to be INTERGEN- ERATIONAL. It s a deeply Biblical concept. The gathered people of God were always intergenerational. In the OT, it was God s chosen people, the nation of Israel, made up of all ages. In the New Testament, it was churches filled with Christians of all ages. At West Hills, we love every generation. I love the fact that we have grandparents sitting next to grandkids. We have children and youth of all ages. We have middle aged empty nesters and singles. We have deeply committed collegeagers. I love it! But from time to time we have to step back and focus on one particular audience and give them some attention. Right now I m being led by the Lord to focus our attention on the CHILDREN OF WEST HILLS. Children are very important to us as a local body of believers. It may be cliché, but they are the future of our church. And in many ways, the Bible exhorts us to prioritize our children. I love the words of Psalm 127:3-5 (ESV) Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. The image is so clear our kids are arrows in God s army! We prepare the arrows when they are young, then we shoot them out into the world to be warriors of God s love. Roots & Wings If that s true and it is then we need to be fashioning those arrows with great care and effort. It starts in the home, of course, and then we in the church can help as well. Therefore, this fall I will be preaching a sermon series entitled, ROOTS & WINGS: Raising our children and youth to be image-bearers of God in the world. So, I ask for your prayers and support as I ask God to show me what to preach and how to lead our congregation to place HIGHER VALUE on our children. They are often the forgotten ones in our midst. They should never be the forgotten ones or the hidden ones. Please pray with me about how our church can be a place for the next generation of young families raising their kids. Please don t think that these sermons won t apply to you if you don t have kids at home right now, or if you re single. I m going to be working hard at making my sermons applicable to all of us. The principles I talk about will be universal, I believe. They will be spiritual principles that have application to every one of us. And lastly, I invite you to consider how you might be involved in making West Hills a great place for young families. I invite you to consider teaching a Sunday School class for the first time or coming back to teaching after taking a break or consider partnering with us in the AWANA ministry on Sunday nights. Our new Children s Ministries Director, McKenzie O Neil has a great desire to partner and support all the volunteers of our church who want to teach and train our children in the sight of God. OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR FU- TURE! I love you all! Pastor Marcus Inside this issue Men s Breakfast Awana begins Home Groups New Members Class Youth News OUR PURPOSE Building a community of people who are experiencing new life with God and with others, by believing in Jesus Christ, worshipping Him, and learning to live every day by the Word of God.

2 SUNDAY MORNINGS IN SEPTEMBER! September 9: CHILDREN S SUNDAY We will recognize our great group of West Hills kids and find out more about what s going on this year in Children s Ministries. September 16: HOME GROUP SUNDAY Everyone is encouraged to get involved in a Home Group this season. Get more information about each group and sign up at the Home Group Fair in the gym. September 23: RCS SUNDAY Riviera Christian School & Daycare families and staff are invited to join us this Sunday. We will be honoring our great RCS staff members during the worship services. Children s Ministries... West Hills, you have made me feel overwhelmingly welcome and supported during my first month as Children s Ministries Director. These last few weeks have been full of growing, learning, and relying on God. I pray this will be His ministry and not my own, completely for His glory and to see His Kingdom grow. As we head into the new school year, the power of prayer and the power of sharing your testimony have been on my heart. I met my best friend on our first day of 6 th grade, and that was also the beginning of my walk with Jesus. Without her family and her church teaching her to uphold and encourage others to have a strong faith and relationship with Jesus, I may never have come to know Him as my Savior. Church, this is what I desire in Children s Ministries at West Hills. I desire them to be passionate about sharing Jesus with others and to understand the importance of praying for those who don t know the Lord. Children can impact this world for God and I am so excited to be a part of teaching them to be His disciples. On September 14 th, there will be a Children s Ministries Volunteer BBQ for all current volunteers as well as those interested in serving. There is a need for more volunteers in Children s Ministries. Please pray about being a part of training the next generation of believers and doers of God s Word. I hope to see you there! McKenzie O Neil Page 2

3 Men s Breakfast & Vehicle Show! Saturday, September 15 at 9AM Gym and Upper Parking Lot This will also be a car, motorcycle and/or 2,3 and 4-wheeler show! Bring your vehicle to show it off, and invite friends and neighbors to do the same. Questions? Stan Wiens at or stancristina@comcast.net. sunday service times 9:00 a.m. & 10:45 a.m. New Members Class... Are you interested in becoming an official member of West Hills or maybe just finding out more about us and what we believe? Join us Sundays at 10:45 a.m. September 30 through November 18. Sign up on your connection card or at the resource center today! Finance Commission... June 2018 General Fund Giving: $39, June 2018 General Fund Budget: $44, June 2018 YTD income/expenses: $10, July 2018 General Fund Giving: $46, July 2018 General Fund Budget: $44, July 2018 YTD income/expenses: $14, Since the Capital Campaign officially ended in April 2017, we have received monies given each month for the purpose of paying down the mortgage principal for the gym: June 2018: $1,135 July 2018: $1,050 THANK YOU for your gifts! Kim Shubin On Behalf of the Finance Commission Page 3

4 Men s Ministries... Greetings to you on behalf of Men s Ministries Commission. We are praying that you and your family are purposing to walk close to the Lord Jesus, and that you are endeavoring to serve Him today. As summer comes to its end we have our sights set on Saturday, September 15th at 9:00 am for our quarterly men s breakfast, which will be combined with a vehicle show. We are asking that you bring your special car, motorcycle and that you invite your friends and or/ relatives to do the same. We will add the food, devotional and fellowship to complete the morning. Norm Fairchild will be bringing a devotional reminding us that, among other things, God s plan is bigger than our own sphere of influence. On that Saturday we also begin sign-ups for our Men s Bible Study Courageous. With home groups, AWANA and school all starting soon, the scheduling for the 10 week study is not firmly set and will be altered slightly by the Thanksgiving and Christmas season s activities. This Courageous Bible study is a different one than we finished some years ago, so though you completed that one, be encouraged to complete it again. Certainly sharing answers and insights from the Word will be a blessing to you. This study will call you to the accountability necessary to effectively lead and support your family and to live a victorious life in Jesus. Make the time to join us. Circle September 15th on your calendar! Stan Wiens Worship Pastor... Our next worship choir gathering will be Thursday, Sept 13 at 7:00. We will prepare to lead worship on Sunday, Sept 16. As always, this is a perfect way to get involved with singing on the worship team. Please contact Pastor Greg for more information. Community Life... I was so encouraged by the God s Team sermon given by Pastor Marcus a few Sundays ago! It spurred me on toward love and good deeds (Heb 10:24-25) and made me want to make sure everyone is getting the blessing of being on God s Team. One of the all-time best ways to support God s Team is to be involved with activities that strengthen relationships, like Home Groups. It was a target of our 2020 Vision team that everyone (100% of us) be involved in Home Groups or Sunday School. It s 100% important! We will have Home Group sign-ups on Sept. 16 th and 23 rd. I hope you are planning on being a part of this special team called a Home Group. You will have a chance to encourage and support others as you are also getting encouraged and supported. You really get to know your group members! They are people that will care for you; pray for you. Home Groups are so sweet! The fellowship, Bible study, prayer, eating and visiting are so sweet! I want only the best for you and Home Groups are the best! Be sure to sign-up! Do you have a home that could seat 10 to 15 people? We will need hosts. Could you take a list of study questions and share the questions with your group? We will need discussion leaders. If the Spirit nudges you to help host or lead, please contact me. pastorron01@gmail.com or Teaming Together for Jesus, Pastor Ron Page 4

5 Youth Pastor... Guess what time it is? It s back to school time! Now most of the students I know (including the two living at my house) are dreading the return to school. But not me! It s been a great summer with all sorts of activities and adventures. But summer time is filled with so much uncertainty due to vacations and camps and trips; but with school, it makes it so much easier to anticipate kids schedules. We re having a Back 2 School BBQ for both Middle and High School Youth Groups to help with the Back 2 School Blues. The Middle School BBQ will be on Tuesday, September 11 th, with the High School BBQ taking place on Wednesday, September 12 th. We ll make this a great time by having some fun games along with some prizes to make things interesting. Students are strongly encouraged to bring friends to this activity! Wednesday, September 26 th is the date of this year s See You At The Pole activity. On this morning, students are encouraged to gather around their school s flagpole and pray for their school, the city of Salem, the state of Oregon, and our nation. This takes place 30 minutes before school begins, so it will take some purposeful effort on the part of students who desire to participate in this activity. Thank you for all the support and prayer on behalf of the Youth Group. I m so glad we have a church full of people willing to pray for the Youth in our church. In His Grip, Pastor Bobby I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 AWANA Family Ministries Begins Sunday, September 23, 6:00-7:30 PM Cubbies: 3-4 year olds Sparks: Kindergarten through 2nd grade Truth & Training: Grades 3 6 Registration forms are at the Resource Center in the church lobby. any questions to pastormarcus01@gmail.com Birthdays & Anniversaries... September Birthdays Liz Gann 09/03 Bobby Van Kleek 09/03 Julia Dominick 09/05 Carolyn Gutz 09/05 Tyler Linerud 09/05 Kristin Thompson 09/05 Lisa Niblock 09/10 Nathan O'Neill 09/11 Griffin Kuykendall 09/12 Mike Niblock 09/13 Shelley Kuykendall 09/14 Dave Russell 09/14 Sierra Willems 09/15 Joseph Matarrese 09/16 William Velez 09/16 Richard DuVal 09/17 Annie Clark 09/18 Nathan Gault 09/18 Mark Matney 09/21 Scott Roberts 09/21 Adela Waldie 09/21 Tracy Torres 09/22 Kyle Gunter 09/23 Mike Evans 09/25 Betty Waters 09/26 Pat Iiams 09/30 Daniel Matarrese 09/30 September Anniversaries Stan & Cristina Wiens 09/06 Michael & Sarah Smith 09/11 David & Toni Roehl 09/14 Larry & Karen Rowat 09/18 Andrew & Irena Ivanitsky 09/28 Page 5

6 W e s t H i l l s C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h Marcus Elmer Senior Pastor Greg Denney Worship Pastor Bobby Van Kleek Youth Pastor Sorin Crivceag Hispanic Pastor Ron McNinch Community Life Pastor McKenzie O Neil Children s Director Julie Brumfield Church Administrator Sunday First Hour 9:00 a.m. Worship Service & Classes Second Hour Worship Service & Classes Hispanic Service Awana Club September May 10:45 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Tuesday Middle School Youth Group 6:30 p.m. Wednesday High School Youth Group 6:30 p.m. Breakthrough Prayer Team 7:00 p.m Brush College Rd. NW Salem, OR Phone: LABEL