Whew! We made it through the Christmas Season and are heading into the New Year with full force! Not the “Force” but the real of meaning of Christmas in our minds as we serve and celebrate the glory of Jesus Christ. A New Year, new beginnings, resolutions and all that go with the only holiday that is celebrated in the entire world (as we wish Christianity was) – the New Year? But what does it matter? Did you know that only 12 percent of us ever keep the New Year’s resolutions that we make? We celebrate the ball drop in New York City – a tradition that has happened since 1904 – say nice things we are going to do and then work on it for a few weeks. Sadly enough, many do not make any resolutions, and then there are no expectations for us to meet. After all, God loves us just the way we are –TRUE, but we could all still use a little improvement in one area or another. Why is it so hard for us to change, even when we want to? There’s a saying that “God loves me too much to leave me the way I am.” What do you think God would want you to work on this year? Continue reading
December Youth Update
Merry Christmas! It’s a wonderful season for the church as we celebrate the most important moment in human history. It’s a time to be with family and friends to celebrate the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is moment where a miracle became a reality and we learned that nothing is impossible with God. It’s a story of the eternal promises of life, Jesus becoming a man with the ultimate sacrifice of death to pay for our sins through His resurrection, the fulfillment of prophecy and becoming our Messiah, our Savior, our hope in a hopeless world. The reason we celebrate Christmas, the miracle that changed the world. It’s for me, for you, for us, and the world. May your Christmas season be joyful! Continue reading
November Youth Update
We enter November with Olive’s yard raking project completed and two events in our history. We had a successful swimming party at Four Seasons Health Club on October 11th and enjoyed the corn maze, hayride and other activities at Grandma’s Pumpkin Patch last Sunday. Our youth meetings are reaching about 8 kids a week and our GRAD meetings are hosting 5-6 young adults. We are continuing to reach out to those families to join us regularly with Sunday morning Worship participation & attendance then urging parents to help in having their youth to grow spiritually through the ministries of Mt. Haley. Continue reading
October Youth Update
Where did the summer go? With the warm weather we have experienced in September and the late start of the youth year due to the late Labor Day, it seems like Fall came up quick. We have already had the school Homecomings of Bullock Creek, Dow, Midland this week, plus Connie and I are heading to Anderson University this weekend and its only the first week of October! Continue reading
Let’s Go to Guatemala!
Guatemala! —A mission, a week with God’s people, lives being changed, a community far away but yet very close, friends, homes, God’s love, a calling!
God’s servants are being called to Guatemala for our annual mission to worship with the people, help meet their needs with items for daily living, help in providing a home for a family, to encourage and bless them, to reach out to our community of believers and to honor God and give Him glory. Every year we spend approximately a week in Guatemala at the “Tracks” in Guatemala City. Registration for the Mt. Haley Guatemala Mission trip to Guatemala will be due by Sunday, September 27th, 2015. The registration is $100 with a $250 balance + (plane fare, passport & insurance) due by February 1, 2016. The trip is tentatively scheduled for approximately March 5-12, 2016.
The $350 for the mission covers the cost of our food, lodging, transportation, gas and other miscellaneous needs the trip may entail. Every person must have a U.S. passport (you would need to apply for it SOON); we have a small fee for insurance (unknown presently) and money to cover airfare to Guatemala & back. Airfare has been somewhere between $350 and $750 per person as we strive to obtain the best possible rates to meet our needs. (Flight, luggage, carry-ons, times, etc). A safe estimate would be to plan for a thousand dollars for the mission. People from other churches are welcomed and encouraged to participate. The group needs to raise $5000 to cover the costs of helping a family build a home at the Tracks and is helped by the churches involved with the project.
After registration, each participant is asked to attend and participate in four monthly meetings prior to the trip to help the group grow in unity, purpose, spiritually and be prepared for their experience. Attendance is expected.
Guatemala is an incredible life-changing experience, blessing David Beam, the community and friends we work and visit, the family we help with having a house, plus blessings we receive, that probably outweigh the blessings we hope to give. It’s a chance to live out our Christian walk and strengthen our walk with Christ as we serve in our own community and church. Guatemala – a calling in life to serve Christ and others!
Feel free to contact Pastor Jerry Graham with any questions, concerns or thoughts as we begin to plan for this year’s mission.
Our Mt. Haley Youth Ministry
Welcome to a new school year and the beginning of a new year in the Youth Ministry at Mt. Haley. There’s always excitement and anticipation with the arrival of a new grade level for our students, whether they’re making the transition from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, becoming a “Senior,” or just moving up one more grade. The Mt. Haley Youth Ministry is for students in 6th grade through one year out of high school. It’s always a fresh start with new resolutions, goals and dreams. There’s always an expectation of doing better, making a team, or becoming involved with a new interest. With this same new determination in your student’s educational growth we all share as parents, we encourage you to have this same excitement in their spiritual & church life. Continue reading
August Youth Update
The TIME is NOW! This has been an unusual summer for my wife and me, as we have been to the mountaintop and we have wandered through the valley with our experiences and our life’s journey. We were blessed and motivated as we listened to David Beam as he shared about one of our passions, the people of Guatemala and their beautiful love for the Lord. Then, Connie’s mom, a 90-year old sweet lady, began to decline in her health as she struggled with pain each and every day. Leaving her in prayer, we traveled to Oklahoma City to the North American Convention of the Church of God where we were inspired with the boldness of the message “Jesus is the Subject,” and heard that in our culture, we must be bold in our walk with Christ and be consumed by his fire and message, despite what is happening in our world. Christ is alive, doing well, and no matter what comes, His Kingdom is in great shape and He reigns in our world.
Then, as we returned, Mom was still declining, not coming out of it and requiring more daily care. Leaving her safely in the care of Connie’s brothers, we ventured to the “Leadership Summit” at Warner University in Florida where we spent the week with almost 200 of the most God-loving, fired-up and ready to serve teenagers in our country, ready to love God, love people and live it out not only today, but with their future. We heard great speakers, had wonderful family times with our groups, spent a day in missionary training at Warner’s Heart Ministry, served in the community, laughed, worshiped, prayed, cried, exploded in joy with the blessings of God and even taught a couple of sessions to students exploring the fruits of the Spirit. Wow, we had an experience of a lifetime!
Connie’s mom was not getting better. As we returned, her pain and suffering was increasing, but we saw how God’s love is always redeeming. Provisions were being made to have three people on 8 hour shifts coming into her home (where she wanted to be) to care for her, with hospice making periodic visits to try and help alleviate her pain. It looked like perhaps she would be able to cope, but then hospice advised that she be moved to another place. She knew, she agreed, but on that Saturday there were no beds and she would need to wait until Monday for a place to be. On a beautiful Sunday morning, as we were driving to church, Connie received the call that her mom had passed. She was FREE, she was with her husband, she was without pain, she was refreshed, and she was with Jesus. There was no hurry, we went on to church, I taught our Sunday School class, I chaired the service, Connie played the piano, we served the Lord as we always did, but we knew that a celebration of life was happening in the next week and we would rejoice in knowing that our place in heaven is secured and we would once again join with family members. As Connie continued to tie all the loose ends together, I visited my 81-year old Mother and just her enjoyed our time together in God’s Kingdom.
The TIME is NOW! We live in His Kingdom, which is alive and now. My task in life has been to help Christ in leading youth to a life-long relationship with Jesus and witnessing to people of His love and care. We are family and we should together be serving and bringing glory to God. My challenge to you: come to church, be part of the family, grow in your love and relationship with Jesus, bring others, serve others, be consumed in your daily walk with Christ. As September comes, come to church and be an active participant in the life of Mt. Haley, the youth ministry, the community outreach, the family of God. Love God, Love People, Live It!
As you can see, it has been a pensive, emotional, exhilarating, inspirational, exhausting and a summer of a lifetime in my walk with Christ. Thanks for listening. But remember and dwell on this: God is good, He is real, He is our strength, He is faithful, He is our shield, He is love, and most importantly, He is ALIVE!
What more could we want?
Meanwhile, we are going to Michigan Adventure on August 5th, see Pastor Jerry ASAP if you would like to go, there will be St. Louis Camp Meeting (with ice cream one night) a concert in Ithaca, and perhaps another quick activity. Labor Day is the latest it can be this year, so school doesn’t begin until September 8th and our first youth ministry isn’t until later. New permission slips for the 2015-16 year will be mailed sometime this month. Summer is still in full swing, however, the church is still opened and will always be waiting for you where we want to help you grow in your discipleship of Christ. COME!
July Youth Update
Summer is moving along! Pastor David, Connie and I attended the North American Convention of the Church of God in Oklahoma City last week and were challenged, inspired and moved to be proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness. This event is one of the great events of the Church of God and we would fully endorse your attendance or even following it on the Internet. Topics, along with the many great speakers, music and worship experiences plus the general assembly, included a move to have the NAC every odd numbered year with the International Youth Convention on even years, resolutions to improve racial relationships, a call to community outreach and encouragement to keep “Jesus is the Subject” in our daily lives. A blessed experience for the entire Church of God. Continue reading
June Youth Update
Summer is HERE! The last week of school has come, exams are over, people have graduated and we had our final Sunday of youth meetings until the fall. Time goes so quickly working in the Kingdom of God, but we are now ready for the adventures of summer and anticipate serving Him and bringing glory to God. NO, we will not be having weekly youth meetings and GRADS @ Grahams, however we hope to see you often with our activities and a weekly time of glory called “worship” that we celebrate every Sunday at 11:00 AM. Pastor David is leading us in a discussion of “The Sermon On The Mount” which will enrich our spiritual growth and honor our Lord. Included in that package is our regular Youth Bible Study at 10:00 AM where we are learning the characteristics of “Being a Champion” for God. SO, join us this summer as we bring the Gospel to your heart and ours. Continue reading
May Youth Update
It’s a BIG week in the Mt. Haley Youth Ministry as we prepare for the annual Youth Garage Sale at the Grahams. Thank you to everyone who has donated their “treasures” to ensure we make some money with a great sale. The weather calls for sunny and in the 70’s for the sale on Friday (May 1 & 2), so we should be counting our profits by the time you read this. Olive’s yard was also completed this week as 8 dedicated kids worked their tails off and completed the project in two days. Thank you Olive for supporting the youth so generously and providing us a beneficial fund raiser every spring and fall. The Mother’s Day Hanging Basket Sale orders are due this Sunday (May 3) so they can delivered to Mt. Haley on Friday, May 8th. Pick-up will begin at 1:00 Friday afternoon. We will be having one more Gift Card sale the last two weeks in May to help people prepare for Graduations and Father’s Day. With your blessings and help, everyone going to State Youth Convention should have their money earned to pay for their weekend. Continue reading