New Hope Community Church May 2018 Volume 22, Issue 5 Inside this issue: Pastor s Article 1 Jack Bracy New Hope Praise 2 Kari Collins Community Group List 3 Newsletter Has Gone Digital 3 Student Ministries 4 Jenny Bussee Children s Ministry 5 Sandy Sooter Pastor s Article cont. 6 Jack Bracy Food Pantry Needs Help 6 May Birthdays 6 I Serve Jesus Best When Jesus Matters Most When Love Works As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. John 20:21, NLT What started out as a Why Not? kind of idea has blossomed into amazing ministry. We are called out of the world to be the light and salt of the world (Matthew 5: 13-16). In simple terms, to be in Christ is to be no longer of the world (Philippians 3:7), but to remain in the world on mission for Jesus. WHY? Because God loves the World (John 3:16) and desires all people to be with Him in Heaven for eternity (1 Timothy 2:4). When you put all this together you get an amazing picture of what the church is supposed to be. Here s an ugly kind of truth: too many churches no longer seek to be the light and salt of the earth. They exist for themselves, to feel good, to heal from the hurts of the world, and just to make it through life. Let s be upfront about this: God s goal for you is NOT to make it through life. Making it through life is a worldly/satanic concept. Such a concept is built around the idea that you only get one life, as short as it may be. NOT! Eternity is coming baby! This is our Hope. This is our Drive! This is our Purpose! To be in Christ is to KNOW that there is so much more to life than just making it. Our lives in Christ are about giving our lives away so others might know Jesus. We give our time, our money, our influence, and the best of us so that others might know the HOPE of Jesus Christ. What do we have that has not been given to us by God (I Corinthians 4:7)? We are richly blessed. What we value is not the accumulation of possessions and wealth. What we, who are in Christ value, is that others come to know Jesus and His forgiveness and healing just as we have. And this is what you are doing right now, and I am SO excited Through Love Works you are giving your time, money, and influence so that others might know Jesus and His love. You are providing necessary personal and household items to families that have had their lives ripped apart by violence and abuse. You are caring for veterans that have been forgotten by the world through cards, letters, and personal visits. You are giving bags and backpacks full of food, clothing, necessary items to the homeless and poor in various locations in Apple Valley and Victorville. You are fixing bikes, praying for the sick, and giving away Bibles, money and gift cards. You are taking the Continued on page 6
New Hope Praise Kari Collins 2 Hello Church Family, New Hope Praise would like to invite you and your family to Civic Center Park on Saturday, May 26th from 6pm-8pm. We will be playing worship music, some VBS music and talking and praying with people. We are also hoping to serve some cold lemonade or water while we're there. We will have VBS invites to give to the families there. It's going to be a great time, so come along! We will be set up next to the playground. Vacation Bible school is right around the corner. The dates are June 7-10 (Thursday - Sunday). You can see Sandy's Children's Ministry article for more details. Everyone be in prayer for this important ministry and start thinking of kids to invite! This is one of my most favorite events of the year. If you've never been apart of it, then you need to get involved so you can share in the fun and fulfillment! There is always good stuff happening here in our church family. I am so grateful for these upcoming events. See all of you there! ~Kari Civic Center Park in Apple Valley 14999 Dale Evans Pkwy Apple Valley, CA 92307 Directions from Church 1. Head North on Navajo Rd toward Pahute Rd. (1.7mi) 2. Turn left onto CA-18 (2.2 mi) 3. Turn right onto Dale Evans Pkwy (0.3 mi) 4. Turn right onto Bass Hill Rd. (0.2 mi) 5. Turn right. Destination will be on left. (144 ft) VBS 2018: June 7-10 (Thursday - Sunday) GEARING UP FOR LIFE S BIG GAME 2 Peter 1:3
3 Find a group that is right for you OR start one of your own. Just ask us how DAY & TIME LEADER(S) LOCATION GROUP Sun. 8:45 am Jean Bracy & Erin Kirk NHCC Mixed Sun. 8:45 am Kari Collins NHCC Men & Women Mon. 5:00 pm John Grace & Matt Briggs Apple Valley Veterans Mon. 5:15 pm Debee Steinhouse One of Life s Perks Coffee House Women Tues. 7:00 pm Fay Masters NHCC Mixed Wed. 6:30 pm Jean Bracy NHCC New Believers Wed. 6:30 pm Pastor Jack NHCC Men Wed. 6:30 pm Anja Powers NHCC Women Thur. 7:00 pm Paul Harvey & John Crisanti Apple Valley Men Fri. 6:00 pm Terrell Dotson & Darlene Russell Apple Valley Women Fri. 6:30 pm Paul & Gracie Cowley Apple Valley YA The New Hope Community Monthly Newsletter Has Gone Digital If you would like to keep receiving our newsletter electronically, please email us at... newhopeapplevalley@verizon.net
Student Ministries Jenny Bussee 4 In Transition Here it comes..high School graduation, Junior High promotion, 6 th grade promotion that s a lot of movement! We are entering into the beginning of transition season for the students of ReSet. With so much movement there are bound to be stressors your preteen/teen is facing. But how do we go about coming alongside them? Should we always be right? Here are a five tips I have found helpful during this exciting but stressful time. Lay the foundation if you haven t already. When our students are younger we make decisions that will affect them the rest of their lives. Some are within our control and others require deliberate intentionality on our part. Working outside the home, educational choices, outside activities, amount of tv/computer/phone time, etc. are all areas we should give thought and attention to. These formative years are fleeting and demand an enormous amount of energy. You will not regret the love and time poured into your children. Give your Student room to make mistakes and learn how to fix them. By always rescuing our teens we deprive them of the opportunity to fail and learn valuable lessons from that failure. It also gives us the opportunity to show grace and be a continuing influence in their lives. Spend more time listening than advising. I tend to have all the solutions when I need to just listen and be a sounding board. Avoid lecturing. If I don t listen, my teen likely won t talk to me. Choose the relationship over being right. So many times we want to prove we are right, but does it really matter? The relationship needs to be more important or your teen is apt to find someone else to share their life with. Pray for them. Sometimes we think prayer is the last resort, but it should actually be the first. Ask God to send people into your young adults lives that will be wise and encourage them in their walk with the Lord. Ask how you can pray for them. Actively pray with them. Above all else, remember that God is both behind and before us and our students. Nothing takes him by surprise. If you find yourself conflicted about a situation ask HIM for the Holy Spirits guidance. There is no better advocate for your student than God himself. See you Sunday! All Servant sale $$$/Hours due: May 20 th Camp balance/forms due: May 27 th Bonfire Fellowship: June 1 st 8-10 pm @ Jenny s. Bring snacks to share!
5 Children s Ministry Sandy Sooter Hello Church Family, Vacation Bible School is fast approaching and we are going to need all of the help we can get! If you have never volunteered at VBS, I would like to encourage you to get involved. Our program at NHCC is unique and unlike any others that you have experienced before. Here is what makes ours different and why you should volunteer. VBS 2018: June 7 10 The Schedule: June 6th, Wednesday: Final Volunteer Meeting. Final Volunteer Meeting & Group Show and Tell 6:30pm-7:30pm in the sanctuary. June 7th, Thursday: Registration at 4:30. VBS starts at 5:00 and goes until 9:00pm June 8th, Friday: VBS starts at 5:00 and goes until 9:00pm. June 9th, Saturday: VBS starts at 10am and goes until 4:00pm June 10th, Sunday: 8:30am until church service at 10:00am. Parent Presentation at 10:00. The Rotations: Vacation Bible School consists of five different sessions that are taught in rotation. The sessions underscore a main spiritual theme. The five sessions include a bible lesson, a craft, games, a song and some choreography. Students rotate through each area on each of the five sessions. This sounds complicated but here is what it means for the adult volunteer you are only working in ONE area (craft, security, snack, etc.) and only need to focus on that. You will stay in the same area and the children will come to you. We need adults that will commit to just one job. Easy peezy! Break Time: I ll admit, this is my FAVORITE thing we do at VBS. We have a secret room that is stocked with food, snacks, puzzles and GOOD company! Every volunteer at VBS has scheduled breaks so that our workers can recharge. The Bracy family handles this area of ministry and they do an amazing job! We want our volunteers to be fresh, energetic and have patience with the kids. Our breakroom fuels and restores us. If you are new to our church, this aspect of VBS will allow you to get to know other church members during downtime. The purpose: Each year approximately 15 to 20 children give their life to Christ. I can say with certainty that MOST of the children that go to NHCC made this decision during or immediately after VBS. Two of my own children committed their life to Christ through Vacation Bible School. Why? It s simple. Instead of hearing about Jesus through 1 Sunday School teacher or 1 parent - The children are connecting with MANY adults who are sharing the importance of Jesus with them - Ms. Kari, Mr. Sean, Ms. Gracie, Ms. Melissa, Ms. Kim, Ms. Sharde, Pastor Jack, Ms. Jenny, and the list on and on. It is not lost on them that we do this for them! They are loved, valued and encouraged by seeing OUR FAITH IN ACTION. It works. If you want to be part of meaningful mission work right here in our own town, here is your chance. Mark your calendars for these dates. I look forward to serving with you! Ms. Sandy Children s Director
Food Pantry Ministry Needs Your Help For years our food Pantry ministry has taken the lead in helping us organize to help those who have need with a bag or two of food when life gets hard. Now this ministry is in need. We need people who love helping people to help staff the ministry. It s not a lot of work but it needs consistent monitoring of food storage and putting together food bags weekly. If you love helping people come check this ministry out. We need people now. For more information call the Church office or talk to Pastor Jack Feeding the Hungry, Helping the Hopeless Continued from page 1 6 LOVE WORKS All Believers are called to Love God, Love Others, and Serve their World message of the good news of Jesus outside of the Church to the parks and streets where people who need love and need Jesus live. When Love Works people feel like they matter and that they have not been forgotten, Christians are investing sweat equity into the gospel of Jesus Christ, Believers are making the gospel tangible to those who need it most, Followers of Christ are leading others to Jesus; Those that hope most in Christ are letting loose of what is theirs to give to those who forgotten and marginalized by society. When Love Works, we are most like Christ. Let me give a word of encouragement to those of you have been making plans and praying about how you are going to make your love for others work this month. The apostle Paul expressed it best this way So let s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don t give up Galatians 6:9, NLT. You have done well, but we are just starting. What you are doing now becomes the pattern for the rest of your life. I am looking forward to when we all share our stories Sunday May 27 th. See you next Sunday, Pastor Jack You Are Making A Difference in Your World for Jesus May Faye Carroll 5/15 Chris Valentin 5/18 Terrelle Dotson 5/19 Stevie Gary 5/30