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 18, Issue 6 June 2015 Dear Church Family On Wednesday, June 3, at 7:00 PM we will be having our next ALL-CHURCH PRAYER EVENT. This time we ll be praying for all of our SUMMER MINISTRIES, most of which will primarily bless kids and youth. Here s a preview of what we ll be praying for: CAMP TAPAWINGO SUMMER CAMPS There are four camps this year: High School Camp, Middle School Camp, Junior Camp, and First Chance Camp. Kids of all ages will be participating in these camps. The camping experiences each year is a very influential time for the students spiritually. They grow dramatically in their relationship with the Lord during these times. If you know of students that would like to participate in summer Bible camp, please let them know now so they can get registered in time. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Every evening, July 20 th -24 th we ll be gathering the kids for a POLAR EXPRESS. VBS can be a very impactful time in the life a young child. They ll hear the story of Jesus and begin to consider what it means to follow Him. They ll have fun and energetic games, singing, snacks and Bible stories that will make for an exciting time with their friends. If you know of kids in your neighborhood that are the right age for VBS, please give them an informational flier as an easy invite. YOUTH GROUP ACTIVITIES Pastor Bobby will be planning various fun activities throughout the weeks for both the Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers. Please keep Bobby and his youth leaders in your prayers. AUTLAN, MEXICO MISSION TRIP Kevin Fenn will lead a team of youth and adults to Autlan, Mexico for a weeklong mission trip. They ll go to support the missionaries there with activities like VBS, Jail ministry, Rehab meetings, and general encouragement of all the people. Let s support the team this year with our prayers and our finances. Already the team has been working on their Hire-A-Servant Fundraiser. Yet to come is a Bake Sale on Sunday, June 7 th and a Mexican Dinner on June 20 th. May we dedicate this summer to the Lord as He works through the people of West Hills Community Church! Pastor Marcus Inside this issue Vacation Bible School Elder Highlight Missions Update Jesus Church Rummage Sale 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.
PREMISE: If Jesus is the Head of our church (Ephesians 4:15-16), then we should look to Jesus to discover how we should relate to God, to one another, and to the world. JESUS LEADS JESUS WELCOMES JESUS SAVES JESUS TRANSFORMS JESUS EXALTS JESUS SERVES JESUS SPEAKS JESUS SUPPORTS JESUS UNIFIES JESUS SENDS values: discipleship, obedience values: God s love, welcoming new people values: forgiveness, new birth, baptism values: sanctification, righteousness values: worship, prayer values: servanthood, work ethic values: Word of God, sola scriptura values: fellowship, Lord s Day, small groups values: unity, encouragement, no gossip values: mission, outreach Annual Rummage Sale... Our Annual Rummage Sale is coming up July 30, 31 and August 1. We need you to help make this another success! Please begin to set aside clean, reusable items to donate; we start collecting items at WHCC on July 27. Please consider helping before and/or during the sale. There are many opportunities to lend a hand and we would love for you to join in! The rummage sale is a profitable fundraiser and a great way to share Jesus with our community as they stop by and shop! Men s Ministries... Page 2 Greetings to our West Hills Church family! Our men s ministries commission has been meeting to plan our annual combination breakfast and target shoot for 2015. Be sure to join us on Saturday, May 30 at 9AM for a pancake breakfast in the fellowship hall, including a short testimony and devotional. Following the breakfast, we will go to Rob Buechner s farm for a target shoot. Our commission is forwarding our mission statement to the Elder board for approval and we look to publish it next month on this page. Several items are on our working agenda. These include a men s Bible study, a service project idea and a men s hobby show. We are open to suggestions along these lines. We continue to pray for the men of West Hills, as well as their family and friends. Please join us in this pursuit. Stan Wiens
Elder Board... The AWANA year is over and with it comes mixed feelings. There is a bit of a letdown from the bustle and from not seeing the clubbers and other helpers. It is amazing how easy it is to make some new relationships if you help out at AWANA time. One example, in the Truth & Training group I helped with, TJ and I had fun with the end of Acts 4:12 which he and I were memorizing. We accentuated the end of the verse, by which we must be saved. I was also blessed by getting to know my other T-n-T helpers! Extra thanks go to Doug and Pat Iiams for helping me through my rookie year. They were the glue that helped us all head together in the same direction! When I weigh the value of helping young people memorize The Word, and learn it better myself, against the time you sacrifice to be at club time, I find being an AWANA leader is a worthy pursuit. I was amazed at how many verses the clubbers were learning. I have pondered over how many verses adults are learning compared to our children in AWANA. The Elder Board is going to be featuring what verses they are currently learning by sharing one person at a time in each newsletter. Please join us in continually learning new verses! Learning Together for Him, Ron McNinch Elder Feature... Ron McNinch s Current Memory Verses These are special to me because Jesus is the Way (and I learned Acts 4:12 with TJ) and Jesus has encouraged us to not be stagnant, but to be active in helping others. There are so many ministries that provide an opportunity to be serving like you could/should. AWANA is one of the best. Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Total Amount Pledged: $769,816 Total cash already received: $532,746 God continues to move us forward in this project to build a Gym for our church and school. Thank you all for your generous and sacrificial giving. As you can see, we have reached our pledge goal of $750,000 and our cash received goal of $375,000 to begin construction PRASE GOD! If you haven't had a chance to participate in this exciting effort, please consider making a pledge. We are not limiting what God can do! Page 3
Children s Ministries 90 children. 2378 verses. During the 2014-2015 school year, we had 90 children (ages 3 through 6 th grade) in our AWANA program. Over those 8 months, 2378 verses were memorized and verbally shared. That s an average of 26 verses per child- with many children saying many, many more than that. We had a 2 nd grader who managed to complete two full books during the year. I m amazed by that! Our AWANA program is just one of the many ministries of West Hills. It is supported financially by the church. A significant number of people volunteer many hours of their year to make the program happen. Time and resources are poured into making it happen. Is it worth it? That s a question I ask myself about every program and event in our Children s Ministries. My answer to AWANA is a resounding YES! Under the leadership of Joyce Nagel and with the support of such a wide variety of people in our church family, AWANA is clearly ministering to children and their families. We will be starting AWANA again in September. I encourage you to consider if this is an area you can serve in. Out of the 8,760 hours in the year, would you be willing to spend 50 of those hours sharing the love of Christ with a child? For more information, please contact Joyce Nagel at (503)881-5781. Annie Willems Vacation Bible School... Polar Expedition VBS July 20-24 in the evening Kindergarten - 5th Grade Where Kids Discover Jesus Love Is COOL! Mission Commission... Autlan 2015 Short Term Missions Trip Happenings... West Hills Community Church, thank you for being a church that supports missions. We have the privilege of helping to support a team of eleven that will be traveling to Autlan August 10 th to August 17 th. The team includes four youth and seven adults. For five of the team members this is their first trip to Autlan. There are two upcoming events that you will be able to help financially support the team. First, the team will be holding a bake sale after church on June 7 th. We invite you to enjoy some treats while supporting the team. Second, the team will be hosting a fundraiser dinner on Saturday, June 20 th. Tickets for the dinner will be available in the lobby after church on May 31st, June 7 th, and June 14 th. Details for the dinner will be forthcoming in the Sunday bulletin. We encourage all that are able to come learn more about the team that will be headed to Autlan and participate in an encouraging time of fellowship. Lastly, I want to encourage the congregation to lift up the Autlan missionaries and the short term missions team in their prayers. Specifically, I ask for prayers for safety for those in Autlan and wisdom as the team plans for the trip. In God s Name, Kevin Fenn Page 4
Youth Pastor... It s beginning to feel a lot like summer! School is nearly out, camp registrations are being sent in, and lots of fun activities are planned for Youth Group. A couple of things to remember prayerfully: As we welcome new 6 th grade students into our group, it is my sincere hope that they will bond with the other students and me. I will be spending two weeks at Camp Tapawingo; pray for lots energy, good health and safety for all the volunteers serving. For the students who are attending Camp this year to grow in their relationship with Jesus, whether they are near or far away from him. Pray for opportunities for the adult volunteers to build relationships with the students who attend Youth Group which can impact their spiritual growth. Thank you for all the support directed toward the Middle and High School Youth Groups! 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 Financial Statement May General Fund Giving $35,388.69 (thru 5/24/15) May General Fund Budget $46,487.30 (thru 5/31/15) May Total Giving $47,630.05 (thru 5/24/15) May Capital Campaign Update: Capital Campaign giving $533,415.02 (thru 5/24/15) Capital Campaign pledges $769,815.95 Birthdays & Anniversaries June Birthdays Dorothy Gallentine 06/01 Seth Van Kleek 06/02 Gerald Arnold 06/03 Jack Niblock 06/03 Dan Rosecrans 06/03 Jack Snow 06/04 Deborah Ficek 06/05 Jenny Huff 06/09 Jim Austin 06/10 Twyla Campbell 06/11 Isis Johnson 06/11 Iesi Johnson 06/11 Brooke Callahan 06/13 Donna Johnson 06/15 Garrett Gault 06/16 Steve Willems 06/16 Nancy O'Neill 06/17 Oliver Velez 06/17 Jeff Fairchild 06/18 Scott Bradley 06/19 Kevin Fenn 06/19 Samuel Waldie 06/19 Cheryl Evans 06/22 Rory Arden Linerud 06/22 Nancy Brouse 06/24 Lara Matarrese 06/24 Grace Nagel 06/24 Joe Willems 06/24 Andrew Ivanitsky 06/25 Grant Fahey 06/28 Paulette Lewis 06/28 Peter Thompson 06/29 Tammy Aldrich 06/30 June Anniversaries Bobby & Cristy Van Kleek 06/01 Bill & Dannie Fryou 06/02 Joe & Melissa Glad 06/03 Paul & Lucille Alley 06/04 Charles & Millie Holmstrom 06/07 Bruce & Linda Merritt 06/10 Darrell & Betty Ward 06/12 Monte & Twyla Campbell 06/15 Doug & Danielle Lownsbery 06/15 Nate & Heidi Kravitz 06/17 Mike & Cheryl Evans 06/18 Norm & Sue Fairchild 06/18 Ed & Kim Gossien 06/20 Ron & Kim McNinch 06/20 Rob & Sherry Buechner 06/27 Joe & Kathy Terleski 06/27 Scott & Susan Roberts 06/29 Nathan & Tessa Gault 06/30 Page 5
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 Lon Huff Community Life Pastor Annie Willems Children s Director Julie Brumfield Church Administrator Sunday First Hour 9:30 a.m. Sunday School for all ages Second Hour Worship 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. 1650 Brush College Rd. NW Salem, OR 97304 Phone: 503-362-7621 www.westhillscc.com LABEL