MEN’S MINISTRY BREAKFAST Saturday, September 9 7:00 am, Fellowship Hall Coffee & fellowship begin at 7 am and breakfast at 7:30 am. Campaign to Date: $2,391,869 Balance Owed (through June 2017) : $1,595,861 Other Event Highlights ❖ Back to Choir BBQ, August 9, 6:30 pm, at the Gasper ’ s Ranch ❖ Promotion Sunday, August 13 ❖ Church Council Meeting, Sunday, August 20, 6:00 pm ❖ Business Meeting, Sunday, August 27, 6:00 pm ❖ Missions Service, Sunday, September 17, 6:00 pm ❖ Art of Marriage, Friday - Saturday, September 29 - 30 * non-member Welcome New Members ❖ Summer Childress ❖ Heather Cunningham Stephen* ❖ Bill Henrici ❖ Chelsey Hess ❖ Joshua Knuckles ❖ Elizabeth Knuckles ❖ Bryce & Rachel Mitchell Abigail, Ethan, Josiah, Elijah, Isaac, Amittai, Mildred, Michael*, Charis*, Jubilee*, Anna* ❖ Phillip & Kara Sandow Annalise*, Isabella*, Brayden* ❖ Rod & Sharon Schamaun ❖ Justin & Julie Sorice Darin* e Wrap up your Christmas shopping early! Sunday School’s Origins Sunday school began in England as early as 1751. Better known is Robert Raikes’ work in Gloucester 30 years later. Concerned about poor children who worked in factories six days a week and often turned to crime, he offered classes on the only day kids were free. Soon various organizations offered a loose network of such Sunday schools, which taught basic reading and writing, using the Bible as a text. Ten years later, Samuel Slater started the first U.S. Sunday school in his Rhode Island textile mills. By the mid-1800s, Sunday school at- tendance was an almost-universal childhood experience. As society became more secular and public education was mandated by the 1870s, Sunday schools focused on spiritual practices: prayers, hymns, catechism knowledge and Scripture memorization. Well into the 20 th century, Sunday school served as the church’s main outreach tool. Many adults fondly remember their teachers and lessons, and Sunday school continues to play a significant part in faith development. Hope for Kids Explorers’ Club Children are a vibrant part of the church today and they are key to its future. Once children make professions of faith in Christ, they have a deep hunger to learn more about Jesus. Hope for Kids (H4K) Explorers' Club not only satis- fies their appetites, but gives them discipleship training that will impact their lives and the lives of everyone they come in contact with. H4K Explorers' Club will deepen their faith and give them the opportunity to watch their friends' faith grow. It’s also for children who have heard the Gospel, but are not yet ready to make a commitment. It will clarify Bible truths and prepare them for the biggest deci- sion of their lives: a personal relationship with Jesus. H4K effectively disciplines kids to per- sonally embrace the Gospel and grounds them in their faith. H4K Explorers' Club (for ages 2 nd —5 th grade) will be offered on Sundays at 2:45 pm., begin- ning August 27 and is free. Contact the church office to register or for more info con- tact Joel at [email protected]. Volume 42, Issue 8/9 August/September 2017 2 From the pastor 3 A note from the minister of music 4 Mexico missions rummage sale 5680 Stetson Hills Blvd Colorado Springs, CO 80917 www.vgbc.org T he fear of the Lord, is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, ESV Fall Activities Resume! Wednesday, August 16 Fellowship Dinner - 5:00 pm AWANA - 6:15 pm Youth Bible Study - 6:30 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal - 6:30 pm Adult Bible Study (Aug. 23) - 6:30 pm Sunday, August 20 Youth Choirs - 4:15 pm Children’s Choir: Parent Info Meeting - 4:30 pm Keep watch for Discipleship Training classes and women’s Bible studies.
Transcript
MEN’S MINISTRY BREAKFAST
Saturday, September 9 7:00 am, Fellowship Hall
Coffee & fellowship begin at 7 am and breakfast at 7:30 am.
Campaign to Date:
$2,391,869
Balance Owed (through June 2017):
$1,595,861
Other Event Highlights ❖ Back to Choir BBQ,
August 9, 6:30 pm, at the
Gasper’s Ranch
❖ Promotion Sunday,
August 13
❖ Church Council Meeting,
Sunday, August 20,
6:00 pm
❖ Business Meeting,
Sunday, August 27,
6:00 pm
❖ Missions Service,
Sunday, September 17,
6:00 pm
❖ Art of Marriage,
Friday - Saturday,
September 29-30
* non-member
Welcome New Members ❖ Summer Childress
❖ Heather Cunningham
Stephen*
❖ Bill Henrici
❖ Chelsey Hess
❖ Joshua Knuckles
❖ Elizabeth Knuckles
❖ Bryce & Rachel Mitchell
Abigail, Ethan, Josiah,
Elijah, Isaac, Amittai,
Mildred, Michael*,
Charis*, Jubilee*, Anna*
❖ Phillip & Kara Sandow
Annalise*, Isabella*,
Brayden*
❖ Rod & Sharon Schamaun
❖ Justin & Julie Sorice
Darin*
e
Wrap up your Christmas shopping early!
Sunday School’s Origins Sunday school began in England as early as 1751. Better known is Robert Raikes’ work in Gloucester 30 years later. Concerned about poor children who worked in factories six days a week and often turned to crime, he offered classes on the only day kids were free. Soon various organizations offered a loose network of such Sunday schools, which taught basic reading and writing, using the Bible as a text.
Ten years later, Samuel Slater started the first U.S. Sunday school in his Rhode Island textile
mills. By the mid-1800s, Sunday school at-tendance was an almost-universal childhood experience. As society became more secular and public education was mandated by the 1870s, Sunday schools focused on spiritual practices: prayers, hymns, catechism knowledge and Scripture memorization.
Well into the 20th century, Sunday school served as the church’s main outreach tool. Many adults fondly remember their teachers and lessons, and Sunday school continues to play a significant part in faith development.
Hope for Kids Explorers’ Club Children are a vibrant part of the church today
It’s hard to believe we are starting a new school year and beginning a new season as many of our minis-tries resume for the fall. This time of
year is marked by excitement and new begin-nings. Some people have been out for the summer and they are eager to return to rou-tine and some normalcy. Other people have recently moved to the area and they are ready to begin a new chapter of life. For these rea-sons, this is a good time for us to remind our-selves why we’re here and where we are head-ing as a church. This is a good time for us to recommit ourselves to our mission.
Our church’s mission is to “make disciples who worship, connect, serve, and impact.” In one sense, we didn’t make up our mission. Jesus gave us the mission to “make disciples” by going, baptizing, and teaching (Matt 28:19). We want to be faithful to this simple mission Jesus has clearly given us and every church. Unfortunately, we often get so busy as a church that we forget this main goal. We can get so involved in ministries and programs that we forget and even ignore the very reason we are here in the first place. We are here to grow as disciples and make disciples. We are here to know Jesus and make Him known.
To help us remember the simple mission and to help us stay focused on the goal, we use four
key words to articulate what making disciples looks like at Vista Grande: worship, connect, serve, and impact. We want everyone at VGBC to be involved in each of these four aspects of church life. We believe if you are engaged in these four areas, you will be grow-ing as a disciple and you will be involved in making disciples. What’s great about this mission statement is that it contains both our church’s vision and strategy. We want to see everyone involved in all four of these aspects of ministry. And we believe that if we accom-plish this, we will be effectively making disci-ples.
Beginning August 13, we will return to this mission statement in a four-week sermon se-ries where we address each of these key com-ponents. You will learn more about what it means to worship at VGBC, what it means to connect in community with others, what it means to serve God’s people, and what it means to impact our world. We will be en-couraged to keep growing in Christ as we con-tinue to get involved in the life of the church. I hope you’re excited about the upcoming new season of ministry at VGBC and the oppor-tunity to grow as a disciple who worships, connects, serves, and impacts!
We have been discovering what we believe as we have
been going through our church’s doctrinal statement. We recently talked about the
Trinity, and we said we can learn important lessons from the perfect and eternal rela-
tionship that exists among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For example, we
learn how to experience healthy relationships when we see how the three Per-
sons of the Trinity relate. If you would like to learn more, I recommend Father, Son, &
Holy Spirit by Bruce Ware. This book will help you better
understand the Trinity and practical lessons we can learn from the Trinity.
- Pastor Chris
2
LITERARY
Feature
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit:
Relationships, Roles, &
Relevance
by Bruce Ware
Build Your Faith - Share It With Others Learn FIVE Key Gospel Points Using the FIVE Fingers of Your Hand
Sharing your faith is like a fork in the road: it’s a point of decision. People who are effectively trained to share their faith will do so regular-ly, with great joy, and with wonderful results. How about you?
• How do you connect with others on a spiritual level? (Week #1)
• How would you respond if someone asked you what saving faith is? (Week #6)
• Do you know the ABCs of commitment? (Week #7)
VGBC has two opportunities for you to learn how to share your faith with friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors.
On Saturday, August 26, a Share Your Faith Workshop (SYFW) will be offered from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. This one-day training will give you the basic tools you need to witness including, Overcoming the Fear of Witnessing, Telling Your Story, Finding People Who Are Open, as well as a tool to assist you in sharing the Gospel. The cost is $15 and includes materials and lunch.
From August 27 - October 29, Everyday Evangelism (EV2) will be offered on Sunday evenings from 4:30 - 5:45 p.m. This eight-week training course will spend more time on each part of the gospel presentation covered at the SYFW and will include opportunities to witness with experienced trainers during Tuesday night visitation. The cost is $15.
This is the only time this fall that these train-ing opportunities will be offered. Childcare is available for both events with two weeks ad-vance notice by August 13. Contact the church office to preregister or for more info, contact [email protected].
3
But What
About Here?
At age 4, Anna was starting to
make sense of prayer. Her
parents had been praying
with her since birth, but now
her developing cognitive and
language skills caused her to
really ponder what prayer
meant for her.
One night, after tucking her
into bed and leaving the
room, Anna’s dad heard her
voice. He paused outside the
door to see if she needed
something. But she was
speaking to her heavenly
Father: “Dear God,” Anna
prayed, “when is the best time
for me to talk to you? I mean,
Mama and Daddy say I can
pray anytime, and I know
you’re always listening. But
when will you be listening
especially hard in Minneap-
olis?”
-Adapted from The Children’s
God, David Heller
As I pause in mid-July to consider this article, I’m really looking ahead to what the future holds for this church and for Music Minis-try specifically.
My thoughts fall back to the church’s state-ment of purpose and the four primary words, worship, connect, serve, and impact. One rea-son those are important is because they reflect the ministry of Jesus. Early in the morning He set aside time to worship, spending time with the Father (Mark 1:35). He connected with people and spent time with them. Consider His relationship with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary (John 11:5). Jesus served even to the point of taking the lowest position in His culture and washing His disciples’ feet (John 13). His im-pact on individuals during His time on earth and throughout the world cannot be measured.
Music Ministry has potential in all of these areas. I invite you to consider two. First, we connect. Our choirs are small groups that con-nect with and take care of each other. Joining a choir or ensemble is a great way to make con-nections within the body. We pray for each other and look out for each other. Second, we serve the whole church. If you are serving in a
choir, instrumental role, dramatic role, or technical area, you are serving the entire body. Worship is listed first in our purpose and if you are involved in music ministry you are involved in worship leadership and that touch-es everyone.
As I look ahead, I see great opportunity and potential. I encourage you to investigate the many areas of service and connection available through various aspects of music ministry. Step in, step up, and see what God will do when you connect and serve through worship; thus you can impact the church and through the church, impact the community and even the world. If music is not your thing and you have no tech type interests, that’s OK. Just don’t sit on the sidelines. A lasting return only comes to those who invest themselves and find their place in the body of Christ. His body is not whole when parts aren’t working. Help Vista Grande be whole! Slip into the role God has for you here.
