Heritage United Methodist Church 1604 East Pointer Trail

Van Buren, AR 72956-2326

Periodical

Postage Paid

at Van Buren,

Arkansas 72956

Permit 24448

Mission Statement:

To Love and to Lead

The Mission of Heritage United Methodist Church

is to Love God and people passionately and to Lead

people into a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ.

In Hospital:

Jodie and Emily Ammons (Willow Creek)

At Home:

Eddie Black, Fae Dyer, James Minor, Judy

Spencer, Dorinda Stewart, Bill Thomas,

Connie Warren

Assisted Living:

Shirley Bromley (Methodist)

Steve Burns (Fianna Hills NH)

Mary Coble (Crawford H&R)

Mary Dempsey (Valley Springs)

Gerlinde Dibble (Methodist)

Lavita Middleton (Sebastian County Retirement Center)

Doris Ricks (Brownwood Manor)

Warren Taylor (Methodist)

Therese Zolk (Valley Springs H&R)

In Thanksgiving: Benjamin and Jodie Ammons and their

children Jakob, Elijah and Abigail in the

birth of their daughters and sisters, Olivia and

Emily.

Levi and Mariah Pannell in the birth of their

son, Bradlee James. Proud grandmother is

Rhonda Chambers.

Nick, Kimberly and Olivia Holman in the

birth of their son, Lincoln. Proud grandmother is

Anita Barnett.

In Sympathy:

Roy Elkins and Family in the death of his

sister, Dorothy Tucker.

Joe Stewart and Family in the death of his

aunt, Cora Alice Kuykendall.

Benjamin and Jodie Ammons and Family

in the death of their daughter, Olivia Ammons.

LaToya Shepherd and Family in the death

of her uncle, Tyrone Garner.

Michael Tursky and Family in the death of

his father, Dan Thomas Tursky.

Bethany Morris and Family in the death of

her aunt, Janie Sue.

JANUARY VOLUNTEERS

Ushers

8:05 am Jerry Frederiksen Kevin Fontaine

Drew Cone Bruce Brown Eddie Prince

9:30 am Wayne Stewart

Mark Evans Joe Stewart

Scott Weege

11:00 am Russ Aikman Erich Bauman Ryan Breeze Cindi Breeze

Acolytes 1/7 - Hayden Fontaine

Devin Franklin

1/14 - Annabelle Lovett Maggie Adair

1/21 - Matthew Carter Judah Martin

1/28 - Jaylin Woodard Madelyn Elliott

Heritage Happenings is published weekly Office Hours: Mon - Thurs: 8 am - 5 pm; Fri: 8 am - 12 pm

Phone: 479-474-6424

FAX & E-mail Address: 474-8549; office@heritage.church

Church Web Page: www.heritage.church

Arkansas Area Bishop: Rev. Gary Mueller

District Superintendent: Rev. Steve Coburn

Lead Pastor: J. Wesley Hilliard, whilliard@heritage.church

Pastor Emeritus Bill Kelton, bekelton@sbcglobal.net

Director of Ministries: Roger Goins, rgoins@heritage.church

Worship Arts Minister Caleb Lester, clester@heritage.church

Welcome Minister: Becki Kneeland, bkneeland@heritage.church

Congregational Care Pastor: Max Goins, mgoins@heritage.church

Outreach Pastor LaToya Shepherd, lshepherd@heritage.church

Ministry Development Pastor: Ron Lewis, rlewis@heritage.church

Accompanist: Rick Endel, rendel@heritage.church

Youth and Family Pastor: Brian Seewald, bseewald@heritage.church

Associate Youth Minister: Brad Martin, bmartin@heritage.church

Middle School Pastor: Brad Sneed, bsneed@heritage.church

Children’s Minister: Shea Marsh, smarsh@heritage.church

Business Administrator Bobby Boyakin, bboyakin@heritage.church

Publications Secretary: Kathy Goins, kgoins@heritage.church

Staff Secretary: Pam James, pjames@heritage.church

Facility Manager: Steve Kelton, skelton@heritage.church

Newsletter/Bulletin Announcements: office@heritage.church

Heritage Happenings (USPS Periodical Permit 24448) is published weekly (except Christmas) by Heritage United Methodist Church, 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren AR 72956-2326. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Heritage United Methodist Church, 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren, AR 72956-2326 PH 479-474-6424

Volume 32 Issue 1 January 4, 2018

From Your Pastor’s Heart ... Three, two, one ... It’s LAUNCH Time! This Saturday, we launch the regional campus of the College of Prayer International, and WE get to host it at Heritage Church! It will go from 9:00 a.m. – 4 p.m. Get in on the ground floor of this anointed ministry. Each module builds upon the next, so start now with the introductory lessons which lay the foundation for the rest of the course.

The College of Prayer has a three-year curriculum with 36 lessons. We will cover 12 lessons per year. Each year we will meet 2-3 times for a total of 3 ½ days each year. Our next module will be July 13-14th with Rev. Jon Mitchell coming back to lead.

Year One: Lord, teach us to pray as INDIVIDUALS. Year Two: Lord, teach us to pray as FAMILIES. Year Three: Lord, teach us to pray as a CHURCH.

We are blessed to have Rev. Fred Hartley, III., president and founder of the College of Prayer International to be here for the launch of our campus. He will also preach at Heritage on Sunday morning, January 7th. This is probably the only time we will be able to have him here.

Fred is also the Lead Pastor at Lilburn Alliance Church, a multi-ethnic church located in metro Atlanta, GA where he and his wife Sherry have served since 1988. Fred is the author of 19 books. They include Lord, Teach Us to Pray, Everything by Prayer, Prayer on Fire, God on Fire, Church On Fire, and his newest book, The Seven Wounds of Christ.

There are now over 5,000 campuses worldwide of the College of Prayer. January 15th, Rev. Hartley and Pastor Wes will travel to Ethiopia to teach the College of Prayer curriculum to members of the Ethiopian Parliament. Then, they will provide training for the top 100 leaders of a church in Ethiopian with over 9 million members. Your gifts toward this trip will go to provide a laptop computer for the head of parliament so he can teach the curriculum of the College of Prayer and launch more campuses.

REGISTER TODAY @ www.heritage.church. Cost is $20 for adults and $10 students (includes lunch, workbook and supplies). Check-in opens at 8:00 a.m. Saturday!

Let’s LAUNCH this together! See you Saturday!

Pastor Wes

SOCIAL MEDIA If you have a Facebook account, be

sure you add Heritage.Church as

one of your friends. We often post

upcoming events and interesting

information on our Heritage

Facebook page. You may also wish

to follow us on Twitter at

Heritage_VB. Both are excellent

ways to stay informed on the latest

information and both of our sites

welcome your comments!

HONORARIUMS AND

MEMORIALS In honor of Heritage Staff by:

Carolyn Loyd In memory of BILL COLLINS (father

of April Lingo and Hallie McDonald) by:

Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

In memory of DAN TURSKY (father

of Michael Tursky) by:

Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

In memory of GARY YOUNG by:

Rita Young

In memory of Barbara Green (mother

of Becki Kneeland and Rhonda Pittman) by:

Donna Parker (WM)

Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

Max and Leanna Garrett (WAM)

Dorvan and Mikie Wiley (BF)

Benton and Juanita Cone (WAM)

WM - Welcome Ministry BF - Building Fund

WAF - Worship Arts Ministry

BRRR! IT’S COLD OUTSIDE! The Valet Parking Ministry is a great

opportunity for senior adults,

people with disabilities/injuries and/

or parents who are by themselves

with children who need help getting

into the building–especially on rainy

or snowy days. Please look for the

sign on the northeast portico of the

Heritage building and pull under for

help for the 9:30 am service.

BIRTHDAY LIST A list of January birthdays is

available in the Great Hall.

HERITAGE RIDERS We have been invited to join the

Cavanaugh Church Riders on their

rides and they are invited to ride

with us. Their next ride is set for

Saturday, January 13th depart from

their church at 11 am (weather

permitting) for some time in the

saddle, fellowship and of course a

meal. Feel free to contact Max

Garrett at 479-471-8191 for more

information and if you are

interested in going or email at

garrett@heritage.church.

BLANKET CREW Please consider donating tooth

paste to give with the blankets that

are donated to the Rescue Mission,

area schools, shelters and foster

care children. Donations may be

placed in room 134.

RESTLESS LIFE GROUP Women of all ages who are seeking

a deeper relationship with God and

other women, join us on the

2nd Thursday of every month from

6-8 pm in the Welcome Center.

Our next meeting is January 11th.

MISSIONARY OFFERING If you have a birthday in January,

you are invited to place an offering

in our little white church on the

c h a n c e l r a i l d u r i n g t h e

announcements this Sunday. *Currently, birthday offerings go to support the

Rupp family ministering in East Asia and Jake

Hawthorne ministering in Canada.

CELEBRATION

Thomas Martin

Mankins

Son of Justin

and Tracy

Mankins

WORKSHOP You are invited to

The New Journey

workshop. Join us as

we explore the

Whys and Hows to

an empowered daily time with the

Lord. We will offer this workshop

two Sundays in a row: January 14th

@ 9:30 am and January 21st @

10:45 am upstairs in The Block (our

Student Building). For more information

c o n t a c t P a s t o r B r i a n a t

bseewald@heritage.church.

HERITAGE UNIVERSITY

CLASSES Please look for the information table

in the Fellowship Hall and join us for another great semester of learning

and spiritual growth! Classes begin

Sunday, January 14th!

PRAYER MEETING The River Valley Community Prayer

meeting is Monday, January 8th

from 7-8 pm at Hearts of Hope in

Alma.

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Timothy Team, Tiny Tims and the

Adult Bible studies will not meet

again until Wednesday, January

17th! The next TT teachers’

meeting will be Sunday, January

14th.

NEW CLASSES GriefShare will be offered on

Sundays from 3-5 pm and

DivorceCare will be on Sundays

from 5:30-7:30 pm beginning

January 14th. Pastor LaToya

Shepherd will facilitate both of

these classes.

LADIES: SAVE THE DATE The IF: Table is hosting a brunch

from 9-11 am on Saturday, January

20th! More info to come!

NOW IS THE TIME Now is a good time to add your

voice to the Sanctuary Choir!

Rehearsals are Wednesdays from

6:30-7:30 pm in the Worship Arts

room.

MISSING SOMETHING? Please stop by the office if you are

missing your bible, eye glasses or a

multitude of other items.

PRAYER SHIELD TEAM If you'd like to be on the Prayer

Shield Team and pray for Pastor

Wes and his family monthly, please

email Stephanie Watkins at

3stephglenn@gmail.com

ALTAR PRAYER TEAM The team will meet this Sunday,

January 7th at 3 pm in the

Fellowship Hall. If you are not a

member and would like to join,

please come.

NEED A WORD? The Upper Room is a great source

for a daily devotional. The January/

February issue is available in the

Great Hall. Available in large and

small print.

Jumping into January This is our first newsletter and thus, I get to write the first blog of the year. I am always excited about a new year. However, I have reached the age where the passing of a year seems more like three months. As I write this it seems like a very short while ago we were beginning the year of 2017. A very fitting passage of scripture for such a time as this is found in Philippians 3:13 & 14.

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

It is commonly held that the first month of the year, January, takes its name from an ancient Roman myth that Janus was the deity of both beginnings and endings. He was depicted as having two faces, one looking back and one looking forward. I like that idea. It is very fitting that as we begin a new year we also spend some time looking back at the year just completed.

The Lord did some amazing things through Heritage during the year 2017. We had over 30 baptisms; lives were changed every week; we ministered to prisoners, both locally and at the state level; provided food for over 11,000 hungry people; provided clothing to many through our clothes closet; provided Christmas for foster children; added worship services at nursing and assisted living centers—we now lead eight worships services each week; added ministry to our homebound members; and we added to our hospital chaplaincy. All in all, I think we could say it was a very good year.

Now, we need to try and forget all those accomplishments and focus our attention on what we feel God will be leading us to do in 2018. I think He has some great plans. The mission of Heritage Church is to Love God and People Passionately and to Lead People to a Passionate Relationship with Jesus. How will you love people passionately this year? How will you lead people to a passionate relationship with Him (and whom will you lead)? I have some ideas—I always have lots of ideas—but I would love to hear from you! Join us as we press toward the goal of the

upward call in Christ Jesus in 2018.

Max Goins Congregational Care Pastor

NEWCOMERS’ DINNER Join us for the newcomers’ dinner

Thursday, January 11th at 6 pm at

the Kneeland’s. Contact Becki for

your reservation.

ROOTS CLASS Want to better understand the

Hebraic roots of our Christian

faith? Join us Monday, January 8th at

6 pm in room 133. Lucy Barry will

facilitate.

COWBOY CHURCH Join us every Tuesday at 7 pm at

Adonai Tsuri at 4500 Old

Uniontown Road, Van Buren.

Women and men—most of them

laity—share the responsibility of

delivering the message, and music

leans toward bluegrass, country and

hymns. The relaxed, come-as-you-

are atmosphere appeals to all ages!

All are welcome!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The Master’s Storyteller, Wesley

Putnam will present a unique blend

of story and song for all ages every

night February 11-14th.