August already!! By the time you are reading this, we will have had a GREAT day at Michigan Adventure. As I am writing, we have 37 people going and I am just getting ready to order tickets. The month will go fast and kids will be back at school and our Sunday nights will be in full gear. We are planning on celebrating “Rally Day” at the church on Sunday, September 8, then the youth year will begin on Sunday night, September 15th @ 6:00 PM. It will be GOOD to see the kids every week.
Also, on the weekend of Saturday, September 7 through Monday, September 9, the youth will have a room full (about 75 plants) of mums for sale to kick-off the fundraisers for the International Youth Convention in Nashville next summer. We haven’t received the costs yet, but Kutchey’s promises the best selection of mums in the area. Hope you can support the youth and make your yards more beautiful. More details coming.
July was a busy month for Connie and I. We enjoyed the Mt. Haley Loons game night and were joined by several of the kids. Connie and I had an extraordinary opportunity in Oklahoma City for a week. We served as youth leaders & counselors at the Church of God Leadership Summit for a gathering of over 160 outstanding young people from more than 20 states. We had outstanding speakers, worked an afternoon of Tornado Disaster Relief in Moore, Oklahoma, and visited the Oklahoma City Bombing Museum & Memorial, plus many group sessions and interaction with some great young leaders in the Church of God. It was an awesome experience and was thrilled to be involved.
The St. Louis Camp Meeting is this week and we encourage everyone to attend. There will be great services every night and an opportunity to gather with Church of God people from all over the state. The Midland County Fair comes quickly after that and involves many of our youth. We invite you to get to the fair and see their pigs, goats, and other animals. On the weekend of August 23-25 we will be having our adventure in Mio at the Adam’s cabin & campsite. Our plans are to go tubing on the AuSable (costs will be coming soon), attending church at the Mio Church of God, eating out traveling there & back, and just generally having a good time together. Sign up will begin after Michigan Adventure. Every Sunday morning and with events we will continue to either have devotions or lessons on the “The Parables of Jesus.”
A major event we would like you to consider and pray about is Baptism on Sunday, August 18th. Baptism is an important step of obedience in a believer’s life, as an acknowledgment of the salvation experience already accomplished and a personal public testimony of your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Savior. Pastor David or I would love to have the privilege and honor of baptizing you in the morning worship service on that Sunday. If you are thinking of being baptized or have definitely decided, please contact me about our service. We will help to answer all questions, concerns and thoughts.
There will be two introductory meetings we will be having soon. The first one is a Guatemala Mission Meeting on Thursday, August 22, 2013 to introduce the 2014 Mission Trip. We will discuss costs, purpose, what we do, etc for those who are interested in possibly attending in February. There is a $100 registration DUE by September 8th for this mission. In September (date to be determined) there will be a parent & student meeting about attending the International Youth Convention in July of next summer in Nashville, TN. A $115 Early Bonus Bird Registration is due by December 12, 2013. We will need to discuss purpose, missions, fundraising and other important details. We hope you will come and hear about this wonderful opportunity for your kids.
Parents and Church, your prayers, support and encouragement are greatly appreciated and we look forward every week to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our students through interaction, study, fellowship and relationship. Thank you for sharing your son or daughter.
We encourage everyone to come and be a part of our weekly Mt. Haley Worship every week at 11:00 AM and hope to see your kids the Sunday morning meetings and the summer activities.
Love God, Love People
Blessings,
Pastor Jerry