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Discipleship/Confirmation
classes are at 6:30 on Thursday nights.
Sunday School starts at 9:30
a.m. (Fall thru Spring)
A Moment with
the Pastor of Evangelism,
Richard Johnson
Where are The children???
Where
Are the Children???
esus said,
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
(NIV).
The Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant has always,
during its many years, been concerned for the children.
However, in recent years the number of children involved in
activities of the church has decreased noticeably.
Why?
What are
we going to do about it?
We have
faithful Sunday School teachers who are doing very well in
teaching the “Good News” to the few students who come.
We have a
terrific VBS program each June.
There have
been other serious attempts to minister to more children.
How much
more should we be doing?
With our
new vision: To be an open community and caring family that moves
outside the church building and actively ministers to all
people, bringing the good news of God’s grace and love;
we must think and act more effectively in reaching out to
the children in our communities.
One of the
goals set for 2008 includes the sentence: “The objective is
to have active ministries going by September 2008 based on the
identified needs, with initial priority being to expand
children’s ministry and ministries in senior communities”.
What will
it take to reach this objective?
1. Prayer. We must be
praying that God will inspire and direct us
according to His will. We must have compassion for the
children so that
we will be effective in participating in the love of
Jesus; “Let the little
children come to me . . . .” Let us ask God to give
us the compassion
necessary to motivate us to reach out to the children of
our communities
who need to experience the love of Jesus.
2. Prepare.
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What are our resources?
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What will it require of staff and volunteers?
-
What are the steps in getting an expanded
ministry into action?
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What Christian organizations are there that
could be very helpful?
Now is the time
to start working on these things.
3. Participation.
Are we ready to give of our
time, energy and money to see more children
come to Jesus? It will take much more than having a few
good Sunday
School teachers to reach children who are not already
part of our church family.
There
is the challenge. Are you willing to start with praying for
God’s direction?
If you are willing to help,
please contact Pastor Dave, Denise Green (CE
Chairperson) or myself.
Thank you!
_________________________________________________________
VISION
- > GOALS - > ACTION
Off the Bench . . . Into the Action
Church of the Good Shepherd
Evangelical Covenant is pleased to be presenting a new series
of leadership sessions. It does not matter if participants in
this workshop are presently in a leadership role or not, as these
sessions are for everyone who is open to God's direction in his/her
service for God and other people. Active leaders, potential
leaders and benchwarmers, come and let God speak to you about your
role in helping in the various ministries of our church.
Four planned, spring sessions are:
Session #1 - April 13th
@ 6:00 p.m. "The Leader's Edge"
Session #2 - April 27th
@ 6:00 p.m. "The Call of a Leader"
Session #3 - May 4th
@ 6:00 p.m. "Character of a Leader"
Session #4 - May 18th
@ 6:00 p.m. "Developing Leaders"
Each session includes an interesting DVD, discussion
time and refreshments. I welcome inquiries.
ALPHA
–
Explore the Meaning of Life.
What is the Meaning of Life?
This is a
wonderful course that is offered for everyone, but especially for
those who do not know Jesus YET! Along with a very inspiring DVD,
there is time for questions, discussion in small groups, and a
free meal. This course
is offered on Sundays right after the worship service, starting with
the meal. We will be offering childcare (the meal is for the
children also). There is no charge for the course or the meal
(financial assistance and/or food contributions with which
to cover the [costs of the meals] is always welcomed). This is a
great opportunity for you to invite others to come to know Jesus.
"Just Walk Across the Room"
is a four-session course of simple
steps pointing people to faith. Believers universally affirm
that evangelism is a vital part of what God calls them to do, but
very few make a practice of doing it, citing various reasons.
Bill Hybels addresses these
concerns and signals the next era in personal evangelism.
Drawing on fresh perspectives from the author's own experiences, as
well as time-tested and practical illustrations, this course
encourages and equips participants to routinely initiate spiritual
conversations with those who don't know Christ.
For further
information as to when the ALPHA,
"Just Walk Across the Room", or when any of our other courses will again be
offered, please contact me or the church
office.
May God bless you as you walk with Him.
Thank you,
Pastor Richard
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