Out With the Old, and In With the New!: page 4Another Year Already! : page 5
Next Generation Ministry: page 7
COMPASS
Center on PrayerEldon Howard; Mason Adair; Margie Sneed; Carol Gray; Michele Pece; John Tigner; Justin Bentley; Diane Cathcart; R. C. Oakley; Joanie Snow; Keith Exum; Steve & Beverly Stewart; Corrine Carpenter; Mary Kate McMahan; Robert Zagwyn; Rose Anderson; Harry Boss
Remember Our Shut-Ins Vic Whited - Home Robbie Kendall - Home Coralice Henderson - Atlanta Evelyn Hines - Newnan Mary Johnson - Home Alice Pendley - Benton Village Barbara Hiers - Dawsonville
Average Attendance & Giving DECEMBER Average Attendance: 127
Monthly Giving for DECEMBER: General: $ 17,992.96 Missions: $ 2,354.04
Family & Friends Becky Childre; Paul & Victoria Crawford; Penny Fulton; Neal Steward; Leroy Brown; Amy Werho; Malynda Cardell; Mary Dyson; Antonio Featherston; Buddy Johnson; Sally Johnston; Jim & Rachel Price; Leroy Fulton; Tom Lewis ; Beverly Boone; Lilly Stavola; Savannah Holcomb; Ricky Holcomb; Moran family; Pipkin family; Ruby Steele;
Happy New Year Faith Family, I am so excited about the upcoming semester! We are kicking it off with an 8 week series on the life and legacy of Joseph. I am eagerly waiting to see how God will impact the Next Generation of our church through this hero of the faith!
Berea Kids Ministry
Bring your Kids and Grandkids to Jungle Jam,
and Lil’Jungle this semester as we start
Dr. Tock’s Traveling Clock January 4th @7 !
Berea Student Ministry
TrueNorth invite your friends this semester as we start
United: A Dreamers Chronicle January 4th @7 !
The saying goes, “if you have a job today, it’s a good job”. While there may be some truth to
that, it’s certainly not why we are grateful for our jobs at Berea! While we are glad to be
employed, we are very grateful to be working here with you and for you as we try to impact
the Kingdom of God in our community. It’s an honor and a privilege to be serving a
congregation that Loves and Supports us, and expresses that in tangible ways. Thank you so
much for all you do for us, and we especially want to say thanks for the more than generous
gift we received over the holidays.
David & Janet; Dennis & Wanda
Richard & Jessi; Patti & Tim
FOOD PANTRY - JANUARY 21
Donations are always needed to keep our food pantry running. If you would like to make a monetary donations, be sure to mark your check “Food Pantry” We always in need of volunteers, see April Greer if you can help in any way.
Saturday … January 14 All men, all ages are encouraged to
meet us in the Fellowship Hall at 8:00 a.m. An awesome breakfast
followed by time of prayer, fellowship and studying
God’s Promise.
Sunday 1/1 Sunday 1/8 10:30 Nursery: Lisa Burndam 10:30 Nursery: Lisa Sneed
10:30 Pre-school: Carol Dudley & Michelle Pece 10:30 Pre-School: Bobby & Clara Johnston
Sunday 1/15 Sunday 1/22 10:30 Nursery: Celeste Daniel 10:30 Nursery: Buffy Lappner
10:30 Pre-School: Vicky LaJesse 10:30 Pre-School: Charlie & Kendra Watson
Sunday 1/29 10:30 Nursery: 10:30 Pre-school:
BEREA’S NURSERY & PRESCHOOL SCHEDULE
HIGH MILERS 2017 Annual Birthday Party
Thursday, January 19th
Be sure to be present to celebrate everyone birthday and help to decide who can decorate the
best birthday cake. We will start the day with a pitch-in luncheon at 12:00 in the Fellowship Hall,
then it’s cake decorating time.
LADIES OF FAITH THURSDAY, JANUARY 5
11:00 a.m.
FELLOWSHIP HALL After a time of sharing, prayer and God’s word, we all head out to lunch. All the ladies at Berea are invited to
join us, no age restrictions.
DAUGHTERS of the KING
MONDAY, JANUARY 9
7:00 p.m.
FELLOWSHIP HALL Just bring a finger snack and join us for a time of devotion, time of prayer
and a time of fellowship. All the ladies at Berea are invited to
join us. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” Mark 10:45
January 8th and 15th you will be given the opportunity to stand up and be a part of the workforce, and commit to His kingdom here at Berea and our Community. Where will God lead you to serve in 2017? There is a job for everyone of every age.
ANOTHER(YEAR(ALREADY?!(( (
Another year already? Whoever said “Time marches on” is way behind the times. Time is now turbo-charged and moves at warp speed! It is more than amazing what has happened in little more than a century. Back then:
The average life expectancy for men was only 47 years ... Fuel for cars was sold only at local drug stores ... There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads ... The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub ... Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone ... The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower! The average US wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour ... The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year ... A dentist $2,000 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year ... and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year. More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME ... 90 percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as ‘substandard.’ Sugar cost four cents a pound ... eggs were fourteen cents a dozen ... coffee was fifteen cents a pound ... Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. The American flag had 45 stars ... the population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30 !! ... crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet ... there was no Mother’s or Father’s Day. Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write and ... only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. There were 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.!
It staggers the mind, doesn’t it? Or, at least, staggers mine. There is another set of stats that stagger AND sadden my mind. These are not stats from yesteryear, but stats from my early years at Berea. A national survey by the Sunday School Adult Quarterly said 10% of church members cannot be found ... 20% never attend church ... 25% admit they never pray ... 35% admitted they never read their Bible ... 40% make no contribution to their church ... 60% never give to missions, 70% never serve in a ministry ... 85% never invite anyone to church ... and 95% have never won another person to Christ. Yet, 100% expect to go to heaven! Strange, strange stats. That first set of stats have been altered with the passing of time. That last, and more recent set of stats? Only we can change them. Let’s pray that 2017 is the year that Berea blows that survey out of the water. Above all, let’s accept the responsibility and claim the privilege of leading another to Christ as Savior. Lord, bless Berea in 2017 and may she be a blessing!! !
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--Dennis
Out With the Old, and In With the New!
The older I get, the less I like that saying! I think it’s very unwise to discard something based solely on its age! In fact, at some point, age stops diminishing value and begins to add value! For instance, a classic car becomes more and more valuable the older it gets.
As we begin another New Year together, let’s make sure we don’t throw out the old just because it’s old.
At the same time, bringing in the new and improved has some appeal too. Is there anyone among us that doesn’t have a microwave oven? Sometimes, accepting the new is imperative to growth and improvement in life. But just because something is new, does not mean it is better!
As we begin another New Year together, let’s make sure we don’t bring in the new just because it’s new!
The real question as we make tough decisions regarding what we keep and what we hang on to has to do with value. If it’s something that still has value – useful to us – we need to hang on to it. However, if it’s something we are hanging on to just because we have always had it even though there is a better, more valuable, more useful option, we need to be willing to let it go and embrace the new.
Think about it like Spring Cleaning. Can you really make an impact on the look and cleanliness of your home if you go into Spring Cleaning determined NOT to throw anything away? No! You carefully evaluate and determine what needs to stay and what needs to go.
I believe God designed it that way. We see this in the human body! Each and every day we lose almost one million skin cells! Of course, they are replaced with new skin cells that are more valuable and useful to our body skin. Unfortunately, as we age, we stop replacing those skin cells at the rate we used to, and the affects are obvious and damaging to us physically. Part of living is losing…letting go of those things that need to be let go of and bringing in new, valuable, useful things to replace them.
The Church is a living organism. If we are unwilling to let go of those things that no longer bring value and life and replace them with things that do…the result is a church that is “aging.” Not physically aging, but spiritually aging! One that has less life, and energy and resources to fulfill it’s mission.
