The Daily Disciple April 2018
Dear Church, Easter Sunday is almost upon us! I am so excited for our Holy Week services. There are a couple details that I want to highlight. First, we will have a joint worship service on Good Friday with the New Knoxville United Methodist Church. It is a blessing to worship alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in New Knoxville. The service will take place at First Church, with members from both churches singing in the choir and reading scripture. Second, I am excited about the Youth SonRise service this year. Tory and the youth decided to do something a little different this year. They have planned an interactive prayer service that focuses on Christ s journey to the cross. The service will end with a celebration of the resurrection and communion. Later that morning, we will worship together during our regular 9 a.m. service. I invite all of you to participate in these services as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! After Easter, I will begin a new sermon series on the life of Paul. This will be a great follow up to both our Jonah series and our Easter celebration. It follows Easter because Paul s life is an example of someone who was profoundly changed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. It demonstrates the kind of transformation that is possible only through a saving relationship with the Risen Lord. A study of Paul s life is also a great follow up to the story of Jonah. Paul is a perfect foil for the reluctant prophet. While Jonah ran away and dragged his feet all the way to Nineveh, Paul traveled all over the known world and suffered greatly for the cause of Christ. There is much we can learn about what it means to follow Jesus from studying Paul s life. He told the church in Corinth, Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Grace and Peace, Pastor Joel 2
Maundy Thursday Service with Communion Thursday, March 29th 7:30 p.m. Joint Good Friday Service with N.K. UMC Friday, March 30th 7:30 p.m. Easter Sunday Fellowship and Worship Opportunities Sunday, April 1st Youth SonRise Service 7 a.m. Ministry Center SonRise Breakfast 8 a.m. Social Room Easter Worship Celebration Service 9 a.m. Sanctuary Betty Henschen Otterbein St. Marys Retirement 11230 St. Rt. 364 St. Marys, OH 45885 Phone # (419)-305-7886 3
Dear First Church, A special Thank You to all my beloved church friends who showered me with good wishes, telephone calls and gifts for 98th birthday. This was a memorable occasion. Sue Hoge Dear First Church, thank you for the beautiful rose in honor of our 54 th anniversary. Lee & Diane Katterheinrich Dear First Church, Thank you for the beautiful red rose honoring our 60 th wedding anniversary. Carl & Mary Schmehl We extend our love and sympathy to the family of Betty Herbst who entered Christ s care on Friday, March 16, 2018. She was 89 years old. We also extend our love and sympathy to the family of Homer Ganger who entered Christ s care on Sunday, March 18, 2018. He was 80 years old. 4
Grant Wallace Congratulations to Clinton & Danielle Hirschfeld on the birth of their son Grant Wallace who arrived on Friday, March 9 weighing 9 lbs. 3.6 oz. and was 21½ long. He was welcomed home by his sister Reagan and brother Benjamin. Grant s grandparents are Erik & Janna Hirschfeld and Chris & Kathy Bruynis. Amelia Rose Congratulations to Hailey Roop & Jake Allen on the birth of their daughter Amelia Rose who arrived on Friday, March 16 weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19 long. She was welcomed home by her sister Bella. Amelia s grandparents are Michael & Jenny Allen and Jason Roop & Brandie Bowman. 5
A Word from our Youth Pastor, Tory Spring is finally here! It has been an exciting couple of weeks with Wonderful Wednesday s and getting our Confirmation students ready for Confirmation Sunday! One of the things we start planning during the spring is Vacation Bible School! VBS is right around the corner and we are getting excited! This year for VBS will be June 4 th -8 th and our theme will be Game On: Gearing Up for Life s Big Game. The entire week will be a big sports camp! Our theme this year is perfect for our kids and the love they have for sports and other team based activities they are in throughout the year. Our VBS will be centered on 2 Peter 1:3- His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Our kids will be challenged to find new ways to apply their faith in Christ to their daily activities. I hope and pray that our kids will grow in amazing ways this year at VBS. We cannot make this week happen without you! You all play a massive role in our community VBS. This year we will have many roles that we need help with. We need teachers, music, art and game leaders, student helpers, snack helpers, and a prayer team! I am always amazed at how many people volunteer to serve at VBS and the way the Lord uses each of them to impact the Kingdom. If you are interested in serving with us at VBS this year, please let me know. tory.bretigan@nktelco.net 6
Hey Students... Youth Group will be meeting all together on Wednesday, March 28 th at 6:30 to put the final touches on the SonRise Service and to walk through the service together. Youth group will be from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Youth Group is back! We will start meeting again on Wednesday April 4 th. Junior High will meet from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and High School will meet from 7:45 p.m.-9:00 p.m. All cookie dough money needs to be turned into Tory by April 1 st. SonRise Service You re invited to come and participate in our youth lead Son- Rise Service on April 1 st at 7:00 a.m. in the Ministry Center. This year we will be having an interactive prayer service focused on the events leading up to Jesus death. We will be reflecting on the sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us. We invite you to come ready to participate on Easter Sunday. March 2018 Facts & Figures Date: Offering: Attend: Mission or Fund 3/4 $ 1861.16 207 Building Improvement/ Technology 3/11 $ 1717.00 202 Sanctuary Painting Project 3/18 $ 1969.12 217 Vacation Bible School The March mission project was for ABWE, Doug & Kathy McClain in Germany, Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Lima. Each ministry received a $1,500.00 gift from the Warner fund. 7
Opportunities to become more Rooted & Grow in your Faith Men's Bible Study is every Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. in the ministry center youth room. Our Grand Adults meet on Tuesday afternoons from 2-4 p.m. in the ministry center youth room. Please join us for cards, games, movies and snacks. If you can t drive let us know and we will arrange transportation, call Becky Huston at 419-753-2230. The Gospel Project for Adults This class, led by Pastor Joel, runs throughout the entire Sunday school year and meets in the ministry center. We cover the same topics and scriptures as the kids are in Sunday school each week. On Sunday s in the Heritage Room, Jay Elshoff leads an adult Sunday school group that works its way through the bible each year with a weekly lesson & reading. The Tuesday Morning Bible Study group meets weekly at 9:00 a.m. in the ministry center youth room. Everyone is welcome. The Gathering meets on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in the church social room. This small group uses the questions in the sermon study guide to dig a little deeper into the previous Sunday s scripture passages. This group has taken a break to participate in Wonderful Wednesdays and will resume again after Easter. Congratulations! Vernon & Joan Feldwisch are celebrating 69 years on April 3rd. Pat & Gene Schrolucke are celebrating 54 years on April 11th. Tom & Diane Fledderjohann are celebrating 52 years on April 16th. Bill & Edyth Henschen are celebrating 55 years on April 29th. 8
April Offerings 2018 April 1st-General Fund-Easter April 8th-Radio Fund April 15th-Building Improvements & Technology April 22nd-Christian Ed./Sunday School April 29th-Camp Scholarships The mission project in April is Mark Burd with Revive Ohio. Follow us on social media! Instagram-firstchurchnk Facebook-First Church of New Knoxville, Ohio Sermon.net-subscribe to First Church of NK Financial Summary February 2018 General Operating Fund Balance $82,042.20 Benevolent Fund Balance $30,278.31 VBS Fund Balance $5,582.17 Radio Ministry Fund Balance $34,171.40 Music Ministry Fund Balance $4,279.38 Bequest & Endowment Fund Balance $117,997.35 Camp Fund Balance $6,422.93 Building Maint. Fund Balance ($3,366.39) Jr. High Youth Fund Balance $2,799.33 Sr. High Youth Fund Balance $6,020.35 Christian Women s Fund Balance $7,593.17 Outreach & Evangelism Balance $4,914.18 Sunday School Fund Balance $1,220.73 Temporary Undesignated Gift $81,453.96 Those In Need Fund Balance $11,866.48 More detail is available by calling treasurer, Connie Schroer at the church office. 419-753-2446 9
Confirmation Students Class of 2018 Matthew Robert Michael Preston Andrew Deerhake Ellie Ryann Gabel Noah Michael Pax Skylar Lane Hough Dakota Nicole Lynn Kennedy Erica Renee Weadock Carsyn Leona Henschen Maxwell Louis Henschen Avery Josephine Henschen Gavin James Reineke Haley Lynn Fledderjohann A special thank you to confirmation teachers Glenn Culp, Jacob Breitigan and Tory Breitigan. Provers 22:6 says Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. You have all played a role in fulfilling this in countless young people as they have passed through your class rooms. We are grateful for your dedication to teaching our youth and being the hands and feet of our Lord and Savior. The confirmation students gave their faith statements in March. It was great to hear them tell the congregation how they are going to live their lives for Christ and help God s Church grow. 10
WONDERFUL WEDNESDAYS We cannot thank everyone enough for spending each Wednesday with us over the last four weeks! It was a blessing and a joy to serve the Lord while working with amazing kids! A big thank you to everyone for sharing these moments with us for the last month. We also can t forget all the adults and students who cooked, served, taught, led, & helped with this ministry. You lived out our mission statement to the community. Thank you! 11
Senior Pastor Joel Bucklin P.O. Box 339 200 W. Bremen St. New Knoxville, OH 45871-0339 419-753-2446 Office e-mail: firstchurchnk@nktelco.net Church Website: www.firstchurchnk.org Return Service Requested NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #5 NEW KNOXVILLE, OH 45871