This week’s article will be a bit “newsy,” as I relate to you three things about which I would like you to be aware. First, you may have missed it if you do not have a family member or friend with special needs, but we now have two new opportunities at the church that will help us minister to children/adults with special needs. With our new expansion opening up additional space in the children’s wing, we were able to convert one of our old classrooms (Outer Limits Room) into a sensory room for children who need additional one-on-one care. The room is staffed with volunteers who have a heart to work with children with special needs and is filled with many items that allow children the ability to interact with media and objects that are helpful to them as they learn. We have also started a Bible study that is directed toward adults with special needs that meets on Monday evenings at the church. The study includes a curriculum suited for learners with special needs, along with instruction and music. If you have questions about either of these opportunities, or would like more information, please contact Mary Veal ( ).
Second, if you have not checked out the church library lately, please take an opportunity to do so. Carol Amos and Katy Gorrell have teamed up to renovate the library and make it more user-friendly. We have gone to some lengths to provide good books/study helps both for adults and children. I think you’ll find it to be a good resource if you are looking for good reading materials, particularly for those of you with children who would like to get them started toward a lifetime as good readers. In the near future we hope to streamline the automated checkout process and help you locate volumes in the library more quickly. The library now serves as a reading room as well, so come and check it out!
Finally, our Missions Emphasis for 2016 has drawn to a close, and although all the numbers are not in, I can tell you that we will go into 2017 with more people supporting missions with more dollars promised than ever before in the history of our church family. As of this writing, over 275 people/families have promised support amounting to over $335,000. This allows us to continue our strong support for the missionaries/agencies with whom we have partnered, and to support short-term missions in a significant way. Becky Gluff, a member of LifePoint who served as a missionary herself in Ukraine for many years, will take over as chair of our Missions Planning Team in 2017. Katie Smith, who has served admirably for the past two years, will be stepping down to serve the church other ways. Dedra and I give as generously as we are able to missions through the Faith Promise, and I can’t tell you how pleased it makes me to know that we are joining with so many of you to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations. I attend most of the Missions Planning Team meetings, and I can confirm that the dollars given to missions are prayerfully and thoughtfully distributed in ways that significantly impact the ministries and missionaries we support. If you have not yet been able to fill out a Faith Promise card and would like to, please don’t let the fact that the numbers are so positive dissuade you from giving, thinking that the work is done. Join with us as we combine our gifts to serve in gospel ministry this way. You can find Faith Promise cards in the offering boxes located on the walls outside the Worship Center, or feel free to call the church office to obtain one and have any of your questions answered. As a final thought on this matter, please continue to give as the Lord enables you to until your Faith Promise has been met. At this time of the year, we occasionally see a significant drop-off in giving to the missions fund that jeopardizes our ability to meet our monthly obligations to the missionaries we support. I suspect it is just a bit of giving weariness that hits us as the year wears on, but please remember that we budget on every missions dollar promised, and we do not ever want to have to withhold funding from those we support. We have never had to do so, and I hope and pray that we never will.
Don’t forget that this Sunday we will hear a message from Pastor Tom Madon, founding pastor of Community Church of Southport / LifePoint Church. For those of you who know and love Tom and Linda, you’ll have a chance to greet them on Sunday. For those of you who have yet to meet them, you will be blessed to hear from Tom and sit under his preaching.
Well, how’s that for a newsy Jym Shorts article? No church history, no martyrs, and no stories of dead guys and gals who went before us. Ah, but just wait for next week…
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym