In The Loop Connecting with God, Growing In Christ, Serving Others Valley Life Community Church May 2012 Newsletter What s Inside Pastor s Page Ministry of the Month News from the Elders and Trustees VBS Upcoming events and activities The KREW News The CURRENT Ministry Updates It s not too late to do a little Cooking in the Kitchen! This month long Faith Raiser ends May 13 th. The goal is to raise $12,000 to complete the kitchen in time for Vacation Bible School that begins June 10 th. See the insert in your bulletin to get Cooking in the Kitchen. Please contact Lyle Gessford or Marv Brown for more information.
Meals Ministry The Ministry of the Month for May is the Meals Ministry. Valley Life is richly blessed by the cooking and baking skills of our church family. The Meals Ministry serves those in our church as well as in our community who are in need of some help in the kitchen. This ministry has blessed those who have brought home a new baby, had a surgery, are recovering from an illness, or mourning a death. Having a meal provided can be a huge relief knowing that is one less thing to have to think about. Rachel Evenhouse has led this ministry since it began more than 13 years ago. The ministry was started by several ladies who appreciated the value of a home cooked meal after bringing home new babies from the hospital. Rachel says that she enjoys cooking and baking so what better way for her to serve others while doing what she likes to do. After having four babies of her own she truly understands the value of a home cooked meal without having to make it herself. Sometimes things can get pretty hectic with scheduling when there are several families being served by the ministry but Rachel makes it happen with many great volunteers who are willing to provide a meal to those in need. Rachel said that there may be several months without anyone needing this ministry and other times we may have more than one family who needs a home cooked meal delivered to them. Shortly after this ministry began, Valley Life had a baby boom! Six babies were born in a span of just a few months. The Meals Ministry was very busy! In addition to our VLCC family they have provided meals to members of the community as well. What a great way to share Christ s love to those who may not know Him. This ministry is always looking for others who would like to share their gifts and talents in the kitchen. Please let Rachel know if you would like to be put on the rotation list to bless others with your cooking skills.
Pastor s Page Taste and see that the Lord is good; O the joys of those who takes refuge in Him. Ps. 34: 8 When we eat together as families and friends, it s a real blessing from God. Jesus enjoyed many occasions of fellowship around the table with family and friends as well as tax collectors and sinners! He joined the celebration at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. He fed 5,000 people at one time, and He even compared the Kingdom of God to an incredible banquet! When David gave us this wonderful promise in Psalm 34:8, he wasn t speaking of meal-time moments, but rather of God s unending faithfulness and the blessing and security that comes from trusting Him alone. But why couldn t they be combined? Encouraging each other in the Kingdom, witnessing to the good things that God s given us all around the food that we love! As we anticipate the completion of our Cooking in the Kitchen faith raiser on Mother s Day, I want to encourage EVERYONE to be involved in whatever way you can! Our goal is 100% participation, young and old, all of us together we can get it done! Also, prepare to be tasting some of those good things as we inaugurate our new kitchen at the Vacation Bible School dinners this year, served just for teachers before the VBS begins! (By the way, the only way you can get in on those is to volunteer to help in VBS what are you waiting for? Talk to Dawn about what openings she still might have left.) I also want to encourage you to keep living your faith OUT LOUD. I m sensing a lot of people around us are seriously watching, listening and checking our Christian faith and lives out. Is there someone you know that needs a little challenge from you to taste and see that the Lord is so good? Ask God to show you how to season your conversation with a little salt and a lot of grace-filled listening! And be ready for their questions. Which means you may want to prepare some of your own research and reading from the Questions to Faith series. There are a lot of great books out there that are quite recent to help answer even more questions. The Reason for God, by Tim Keller; The Case for Faith, by Lee Strobel; I Don t have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, by Norm Geisler; one I was given recently by Dave Hannah, called Ready with An Answer, by John Ankerberg and John Weldon a great book. And the classic 2 volume set from Josh McDowell called Evidence that Demands a Verdict, and More Evidence that Demands a Verdict (really original, huh?!) is still a favorite of mine. The best way to get prepared is to just start talking about your faith and the topics that are coming up at MY church and not to authoritatively pin down the answers, but locate some of the personal clues, that make sense to you. Jesus said, Come, I ll make fishers of men. What do you say, let s go fishing this month! God bless you in all you do you are the sweet savor of Jesus in this ol world! O taste and see! Happy May! PT
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER - Thursday, May 3 rd @ Noon. You re invited to join the governor, legislators, civic and church leaders and other fellow citizens on the steps of the State Capitol to pray for our country, our leaders and ourselves. This year s theme: ONE Nation under GOD. Call Pastor Tom if you d like to carpool. From the Board of Directors Annual Business Meeting Sunday June 3 rd at 12:30 Nominations for Elder and Trustee - Nomination forms are available in your Sunday bulletin for the office of Trustee. The Church Board has also nominated Mr. Dave Hannah to serve the 2 nd term (3 years) of his election in the office of Elder. Please complete the nomination form and put it in the can on the info table or mail it to the church office. The Nomination Committee will take your nominations, process them, interview the candidates and present our new Church Elder and Trustee to the congregation for confirmation at our Annual Business Meeting. Church Directories are now available. There is one for every family. Please pick yours up today on the cart in the lobby. They are a great tool for writing words of encouragement and praying for one another. NEW CONNECTION CLASS 101- Two Wednesdays in May (5/9 and 5/23) @ 7-9pm, Room 25. Ever wonder where Valley Life is headed? What are the vision and values of this church? How you can get connected with some new friends here? Then this class is just for you! It s the starting line in getting connected at VLCC. BELIEVER S BAPTISM- Next Sunday! May 6 th @11am. If you ve made a commitment to follow Jesus as the Savior of your past and the Lord of your future, you re invited to be baptized. Please contact the church office or Pastor Tom so we can celebrate your baptism together!
COOKING IN THE KITCHEN- A 5-week 5 faith raiser to fully complete our kitchen! Our Goal: To raise $12,000. Project Time-line: Ingathering on Sunday, May 13 th. To Be Completed : For VBS by Sunday, June 10 th! We re asking EVERY person, every family to be involved in the way God leads you. Pledge cards and gifts will be received on Mother s Day, 5/13! Cabinets, gas stove, refrigerator, countertops, dishwasher, coffee unit, and a microwave are all part of the project. Please check out the blue sheet on the lobby cart for more details! YOU RE INVITED TO HELP US START COOKING IN THE KITCHEN! THE CURRENT! NIGHT- Wednesday, May 16 th @ 8pm. CADET BADGES & RECOGNITION All parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and friends are invited to this special event as we wrap up Cadet Year #1! Refreshments to follow. Everyone is welcome! We only have two more Wednesday nights (May 2 and 9). But get ready for a sweet end of year celebration. We will be giving you all the details soon! Don t forget that just because its summer your leaders are not taking the summer off! Let us know if you need anything during the summer break!
SonRise National Park VBS Kick off Sunday April 22nd Join us as we kick off registration for this year s Vacation Bible School. We are going to the beautiful SonRise National Park where kids will have a great time singing songs, watching skits, creating crafts and playing games. They will learn they can always depend on Jesus and His promises of true riches, true power, true love, and true hope! Join us at SonRise National Park where all trails lead to Jesus! SonRise National Parks VBS: June 10 th th. 6:30-8:45pm -14 Registration Cost: 10.00 per child 25.00 Max per family! All gifts and talents are needed to make this year s Vacation Bible School a success. See Dawn Joseph or call the church office at 939-7557 if you are willing to help. Philippians 4:19 My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. NIV ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMIT SEEKERS Will continue for several more weeks all kids invited to join us in the KREW Sunday mornings for an awesome adventure! Summer Fun Help! We would like to give our teachers a break for the summer! Can you help us out for a week and play games out side or watch a movie with the kids? Our KREW will begin its Summer Fun Program on June 3 rd. If you are willing to serve, e-mail Dawn at daviddawnjoseph@hotmail.com or call 899-7452.
NEW MESSAGE SERIES-Sundays Sundays in May! You re invited to take the challenge Questions to Faith: Tough Questions Real People Ask. 5/6-- Hasn t Modern Science disproved Christianity? 5/13- Can I be a Christian and Still Have Doubts? 5/20- How Can a Loving God torture People in Hell? 5/27- Isn t Christianity just a Straight-jacket? 6/10- How Can You Say Jesus is the ONLY Way? Come ready to think, study, and grow! And invite a friend to join you (All messages end with a Q & A upfront.) Praise Team Psalm 84:4 - Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising you. This is what our VLCC Praise Teams are all about...ever PRAISING THE LORD. We want everyone who shares in our Musical Worship to truly know the presence of the Lord. We love to lift our voices together as the Body of Christ. To Give Him all the Glory! If you would like to be part of this exciting Ministry here at VLCC please come out and audition. We meet Thursday nights in the Worship Center at 7:00 PM. Contact Kathy McCandless for more information, 899-7451. "The Lord has put a song in your heart, Praise Him with it" Ministry Update from the Boise Rescue Mission: HOME OF THE BRAVE! After 2 tours of duty in Afghanistan, Joshua returned home to face a new battle against post-traumatic stress disorder. The fight cost him everything and almost took his life. Thanks to you, Joshua and more than 40 chronically homeless veterans have found help at our Veteran's Ministry Program. You can read Joshua's story in the Boise Rescue Mission April Newsletter at boiserm.org and see the difference you are making in the lives of those who need it most.