The witness The witness The witness The witness A PUBLICATION OF TOMS BROOK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH– MAY 2016 Greetings my friends in the Name of the Lord! It is a great joy to experience God’s grace every day and especially on Sunday mornings with God’s people in church. What a wonderful blessing to see so many visi- tors and new people added to our fellowship. Add to that the number of children pre- sent in both services and our church truly becomes alive. We even have six babies on the way so our cup “runneth” over. We are blessed to have young children in our church as they are the generation that will be leaders one day. One of the challenges of having so many children is to have a fully staffed nursery because our Safe Sanc- tuaries policy dictates that two adults must be present at all times. Presently, we do not have enough adults to staff the nursery so parents will need to keep their children in the service, which is fine for the primary school age kids. But not so much for the toddler age kids as parents can end up trying to quite them during the service which means mothers and fathers may not get a lot out of the worship service. I ask you to pray with me that the Lord will raise up persons with a passion for Nursery Ministry so that our young parents can receive much needed grace, for the week to come, from our worship services. Otherwise, we may have to go back to what we did when Rev. Tom Berlin was here and have paid nursery workers on staff. These growing pains are normal for growing churches, and the Lord will help us make the right decisions so that we can take care of both our children and their parents. It is a great blessing for me to be part of such a vital, alive, and growing congregation, and I look forward to the future the Lord has for us. The peace of God be with you, Pastor Stan
Transcript
The witnessThe witnessThe witnessThe witness A PUBLICATION OF TOMS BROOK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH– MAY 2016
Greetings my friends in the Name of the Lord!
It is a great joy to experience God’s grace every day and especially on Sunday
mornings with God’s people in church. What a wonderful blessing to see so many visi-
tors and new people added to our fellowship. Add to that the number of children pre-
sent in both services and our church truly becomes alive. We even have six babies on
the way so our cup “runneth” over. We are blessed to have young children in our
church as they are the generation that will be leaders one day. One of the challenges
of having so many children is to have a fully staffed nursery because our Safe Sanc-
tuaries policy dictates that two adults must be present at all times.
Presently, we do not have enough adults to staff the nursery so parents will
need to keep their children in the service, which is fine for the primary school age
kids. But not so much for the toddler age kids as parents can end up trying to quite
them during the service which means mothers and fathers may not get a lot out of
the worship service. I ask you to pray with me that the Lord will raise up persons
with a passion for Nursery Ministry so that our young parents can receive much
needed grace, for the week to come, from our worship services. Otherwise, we may
have to go back to what we did when Rev. Tom Berlin was here and have paid nursery
workers on staff. These growing pains are normal for growing churches, and the Lord
will help us make the right decisions so that we can take care of both our children
and their parents. It is a great blessing for me to be part of such a vital, alive, and
growing congregation, and I look forward to the future the Lord has for us.
The peace of God be with you,
Pastor Stan
Upcoming Missions and Outreach Opportuni�es
Page 2
Virginia Annual Conference Kits
The 2016 session of the Virginia Annual Conference will be held at The Berglund Cen-
ter (formerly the Roanoke Civic Center) in Roanoke, Virginia, June 17-19. The theme of this
year's Annual Conference is “Thy Will Be Done.” Toms Brook UMC will be collecting and
sending Health and School kits. Please watch the bulletin for materials and instructions. The
last day to drop off kits will be Sunday, June 11.
UM VA Conference Missions
A tornado struck Appomattox in the Farmville District last month. More than 50 structures
were destroyed and over 100 damaged. UMVIM Leadership Trainer, Forrest White has been
moved to the area to develop a long term disaster recovery operation and organize mission team
projects. Please keep this mission in prayer. They are not ready for teams but are in need of
funds to secure the needed resources.
Here is the link to make monetary donations for relief through the Virginia Conference. https://
vaumc.org/DisasterResponseDonation. You may also donate by check at church by indicating
“Conference Advance #5037 – Disaster Response” on your check's memo line.
If interested in participating in a disaster recovery team, contact Steve or Ellen Kern at 540-
335-9247. We hope to take a team in the late summer or fall.
TBUMC Members and Friends in Missions
4-H Mission to the Dominican Republic: Dakota and Niki Funkhouser will be traveling to
the Dominican Republic with a 4-H delegation July 19-26. The team will collect and deliver
school supplies to those in need and will participate in refurbishing service projects alongside
native teens. Please keep this team in prayer and see Dakota or Niki if you would like to do-
nate.
Africa: Amanda Kronk, daughter of Gary and Renee, will be traveling to the south coast of
Kenya October 12-21, 2016. The mission trip is organized through The Village Church in Dallas
where Amanda resides. She will be serving alongside an organization called NEXT Worldwide
to establish a new church. The team will be sharing the gospel and providing service-orienting
ministry. Amanda will be participating in leadership training to equip her both for Kenya and
back home. Please keep Amanda in prayer as she raises funds and prepares for her mission
work. Donations may be made at this site: https://shar.es/14zCWa
Hearts and Hands will meet on Tuesday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Spring House Res-
taurant in Woodstock for their annual dinner out.
Evangelizing the Neighborhood
How do we introduce the church to its neighbors? How do we evangelize our neigh-
bors? Should we even bother? After all, they know who we are, what we represent, and where
we are. As one parishioner told me once, "Trying to get neighbors to attend church is a waste of
time. After all, they all know we are here. If they want to attend, the door is open." But it isn't
that easy. After all, if you were offering something they wanted, they would be
there. Neighborhood evangelism requires commitment, determination, and research on the part
of the church AND a willingness to make changes, small or big, in the way the church does
ministry.
On Sunday, May 15, 3:00-5:00 p.m., Rev. Glen Langston and Rev. Bob Talbott invite
you to join them at Mount Tabor UMC (8337 North Valley Pike) for a workshop on
"Evangelizing the Neighborhood", during which we will explore the purpose and the tech-
niques of visiting the neighborhood for God. Everybody is invited, and there is no charge. Just
come with an open and creative mind.
Toms Brook Family Celebration Day Toms Brook Family Celebration Day Toms Brook Family Celebration Day Toms Brook Family Celebration Day –––– June 4June 4June 4June 4
Toms Brook UMC will be hosting a TOMS BROOK FAMILY CELEBRATION on Satur-
day, June 4, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.!!!. This is a time for all residents of Toms Brook to come to our
church for fun games, food, music and crafts. This is also a time for all church members to be
involved in an outreach to spread God's love to our neighbors. Help is needed from all ages.
Please contact Kathy Church at 481-4974 if you are able to help. LET’S ALL WORK TOGETH-
ER TO BRING OUR COMMUNITY INTO GOD’S CHURCH FAMILY!!!
