Just a reminder that the time change is coming up on November 4th, one week from this Sunday. Don't forget to "fall back" one hour before you go to bed Saturday night, and catch up on a little rest.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Time Change Reminder
Just a reminder that the time change is coming up on November 4th, one week from this Sunday. Don't forget to "fall back" one hour before you go to bed Saturday night, and catch up on a little rest.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Final Reminder
October is wrapping up quickly. Thank you to all of you who have helped shower your love on our Pastors! Let's keep doing so! October 31st marks the end of "Pastor Appreciation Month," but let's be a church body who continues,year-long to uplift and embrace the Klotz's, Crumps, and Mercers in our prayers and show them our signs of appreciation.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Hoover Family Thank you and Update
As many of you know, Jeannine was in auto accident last week. After a long day in the ER we went home sore with minor injuries and are confident she will be fine in time. Betsy (car) was not so lucky. Post crash we seemed to be getting along fine, in our own little way, but as soon as word got out about the accident people from the church started lining up to bring us food. GOOD FOOD! LOTS OF FOOD! FOOD AND CHOCOLATE! Somewhere in between quick visits, interwoven with pastas, salads and Ribs (almost good enough to pull out in front of someone for) we got your message of love…of Jesus.
Things have settled a bit in our household, we are all on the south beach diet, and unfortunately now our children think dessert is an essential part of the meal. Their innocence now spoiled by the taste of forbidden fruit, knowledge of good and evil from the Dairy freezer…The Klondike Bar.
We are good. God is good. We are loved. And you are loved right back! Come to think of it God is Love. We are thankful to have a church family like the one we have with you. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. God has truly blessed us in being a part of New Life Community Church .
The Hoovers
Things have settled a bit in our household, we are all on the south beach diet, and unfortunately now our children think dessert is an essential part of the meal. Their innocence now spoiled by the taste of forbidden fruit, knowledge of good and evil from the Dairy freezer…The Klondike Bar.
We are good. God is good. We are loved. And you are loved right back! Come to think of it God is Love. We are thankful to have a church family like the one we have with you. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. God has truly blessed us in being a part of New Life Community Church .
The Hoovers
Thursday, October 11, 2007
New Life Ministry Transitions
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog to catch up on what is happening at New Life, especially with how things are transitioning after Pastor Fred's departure. I think the easiest way to do this is to break it down in categories: Worship, Children's Ministry, and Special Events.
Worship:
I have put together a Worship Planning Team to help with the planning and leading of our worship services. At this time we are not going to "hire" a person to be our worship pastor but it will be a group effort in which I will provide specific oversight. Including myself, the planning team currently consists of Janelle Daniels and Mimi Klotz. Andy Denniston was initially on the team but stepped down due to time commitments. We are also considering other individuals with an evident heart for worship to be involved in the near future, especially someone with the skills and heart for leading the choir.
My guess is there are some of you wondering just how this change will affect the style or tenor of the worship services. Our goal is to continue to plan and lead God-honoring worship so people can experience His presence. I won't mislead you, there will be a "younger" spirit to our worship times. By that I mean, we do plan to use guitars, electric bass, piano and even drums (should someone have the skill to play) in our worship services. The organ will have its place in our worship times too. You can't sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" with out the unique swell of the organ! Also, I think the "spirit" or feel of our worship times will have a younger character to it. Meaning worship times will be celebratory and participatory. Joy ought to characterize our worship and people should feel a sense of contribution and involvement to our services, not merely be observers watching others leading worship.
As a team we are committed to using any song-style or music form that will aid us in genuinely worshiping God. That means we will use hymns, choruses, and praise & worship songs to accomplish this. I think last Sunday's service is an indication of what our future services will be like. We sang a traditional hymn, a couple of praise & worship songs, and a well known older chorus. We can debate about how many hymns or praises songs ought be included but that would detract from the goal which is to honor God with what we offer in each worship service. I encourage you to prayerfully support our Worship Planning Team. Pray for God's Spirit to guide and inspire each worship leader as they plan and lead our times of worship. Pray that we will be a united congregation as we worship God together each week.
After writing all this I feel like words don't do justice to what I am trying to communicate to you. Jesus used to tell inquisitive people to, "Come and see." if they wanted to know more about Him and what He was up to. I invite you who are wondering what possible good can come from Fred's departure to "Come and See" for yourselves. I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised and delighted with what God will do through the persons He's gifted in our church to lead our worship times.
Children's Ministries:
An area Fred had given recent oversight to was the children's ministry. He and a team of dedicated church members restructured and refocused our Sunday morning children's program. The result is a program that is well tailored to spiritually build up and train our children. Sunday's children's worship center is fun, engaging and biblically based. There are no major changes planned, only the desire to continue the course it's on and modify when necessary.
The current Children's Ministries Team consists of: Jenni Sprague, Landi Moore, Joy Bauer, Leslie Galema and Pastor John Crump provides pastoral guidance and input. They also plan to include some more individuals on the team in the future. Jenni has done a stellar job of providing leadership and focus for our children's ministry since Fred's departure. We can be thankful for how God has provided capable leaders for our church. Again, please pray for the Children's Ministry Team members to be led by God's Spirit as they plan and staff our children's programs.
Special Events:
Of the three main areas of ministry Fred gave direction to this one is just in the beginning stages of being accounted for. My plan is to create a team of gifted and motivated persons to take charge of this unique area of ministry. As for now Patty Nicholas has been providing guidance to this area and has indicated she would like to continue to do so on a Special Events Planning Team. This would be a wonderful opportunity for anyone who enjoys planning and providing dinners, hospitality, and special touches to serve our church.
If you have questions or concerns please talk with me, pastor John Crump or the Steering Committee members (Joe Davis, Andy Denniston, Kelli Brooks, Belva Nylander, Gary Murray, Paul Daniels). We will gladly make time to discuss the life, ministry and future of our church with you.
I want to conclude by quoting the words God gave to Moses in which Israel's priests were to bless the people as they ventured into their new life in the Promised Land. May these words be true of New Life Community Church.
May--
"The Lord bless us
and keep us;
May
He make His face shine
upon us
and be gracious to us;
May
the Lord turn His face toward us
and give us peace."
(Numbers 6:24-26)
It's my pleasure to serve you,
John Klotz
Senior Pastor
Worship:
I have put together a Worship Planning Team to help with the planning and leading of our worship services. At this time we are not going to "hire" a person to be our worship pastor but it will be a group effort in which I will provide specific oversight. Including myself, the planning team currently consists of Janelle Daniels and Mimi Klotz. Andy Denniston was initially on the team but stepped down due to time commitments. We are also considering other individuals with an evident heart for worship to be involved in the near future, especially someone with the skills and heart for leading the choir.
My guess is there are some of you wondering just how this change will affect the style or tenor of the worship services. Our goal is to continue to plan and lead God-honoring worship so people can experience His presence. I won't mislead you, there will be a "younger" spirit to our worship times. By that I mean, we do plan to use guitars, electric bass, piano and even drums (should someone have the skill to play) in our worship services. The organ will have its place in our worship times too. You can't sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" with out the unique swell of the organ! Also, I think the "spirit" or feel of our worship times will have a younger character to it. Meaning worship times will be celebratory and participatory. Joy ought to characterize our worship and people should feel a sense of contribution and involvement to our services, not merely be observers watching others leading worship.
As a team we are committed to using any song-style or music form that will aid us in genuinely worshiping God. That means we will use hymns, choruses, and praise & worship songs to accomplish this. I think last Sunday's service is an indication of what our future services will be like. We sang a traditional hymn, a couple of praise & worship songs, and a well known older chorus. We can debate about how many hymns or praises songs ought be included but that would detract from the goal which is to honor God with what we offer in each worship service. I encourage you to prayerfully support our Worship Planning Team. Pray for God's Spirit to guide and inspire each worship leader as they plan and lead our times of worship. Pray that we will be a united congregation as we worship God together each week.
After writing all this I feel like words don't do justice to what I am trying to communicate to you. Jesus used to tell inquisitive people to, "Come and see." if they wanted to know more about Him and what He was up to. I invite you who are wondering what possible good can come from Fred's departure to "Come and See" for yourselves. I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised and delighted with what God will do through the persons He's gifted in our church to lead our worship times.
Children's Ministries:
An area Fred had given recent oversight to was the children's ministry. He and a team of dedicated church members restructured and refocused our Sunday morning children's program. The result is a program that is well tailored to spiritually build up and train our children. Sunday's children's worship center is fun, engaging and biblically based. There are no major changes planned, only the desire to continue the course it's on and modify when necessary.
The current Children's Ministries Team consists of: Jenni Sprague, Landi Moore, Joy Bauer, Leslie Galema and Pastor John Crump provides pastoral guidance and input. They also plan to include some more individuals on the team in the future. Jenni has done a stellar job of providing leadership and focus for our children's ministry since Fred's departure. We can be thankful for how God has provided capable leaders for our church. Again, please pray for the Children's Ministry Team members to be led by God's Spirit as they plan and staff our children's programs.
Special Events:
Of the three main areas of ministry Fred gave direction to this one is just in the beginning stages of being accounted for. My plan is to create a team of gifted and motivated persons to take charge of this unique area of ministry. As for now Patty Nicholas has been providing guidance to this area and has indicated she would like to continue to do so on a Special Events Planning Team. This would be a wonderful opportunity for anyone who enjoys planning and providing dinners, hospitality, and special touches to serve our church.
If you have questions or concerns please talk with me, pastor John Crump or the Steering Committee members (Joe Davis, Andy Denniston, Kelli Brooks, Belva Nylander, Gary Murray, Paul Daniels). We will gladly make time to discuss the life, ministry and future of our church with you.
I want to conclude by quoting the words God gave to Moses in which Israel's priests were to bless the people as they ventured into their new life in the Promised Land. May these words be true of New Life Community Church.
May--
"The Lord bless us
and keep us;
May
He make His face shine
upon us
and be gracious to us;
May
the Lord turn His face toward us
and give us peace."
(Numbers 6:24-26)
It's my pleasure to serve you,
John Klotz
Senior Pastor
Elevate Youth Group Hits the Street!
Last night Pastor John Crump took the Senior High youth to Clay Terrace so we could try our hand at street evangelism. On the way there I heard breathless comments in the back of the van, "I'm so nervous." "I'm so afraid - I think I might pass out!" We tried to encourage them and remind them to just be themselves and let Jesus be the One to convince people of their need for Him.
It was a chilly evening so there weren't quite as many people out and about, but we each got a chance to walk up to somebody and try to strike up a conversation about our Savior. What a blessing! To be honest, I was petrified, but I had a little group under my care so that propelled me to just jump in and go for it. I nabbed a couple of junior high boys in hoodies. I wanted to be a good example, and in the process God showed me how easy it was to just talk to someone and share what Jesus means to me. John Crump and Bryant Hunt had a nice, long talk with a couple of guys, one of whom claimed to be agnostic but was open to hear what they said about Jesus.
The high point of the night for me was to see Collin, the newest Christian in the bunch, talking to three friends of his from school that happened to walk by. There they stood: lip piercings, pants sagging, and there Collin stood - sharing about Jesus. We all high-fived him and gave him hugs afterward. We told him he did the hardest job of us all by talking to people he knew! He said to me afterward, "I bet they'll throw those little books away. I bet they'll never come to church." I told him He might be surprised. God works in awesome, unexpected ways and what he did that night could have planted a seed that will sprout later to bring them to God. I reminded him about the member of the rock group, Korn, who became a believer - much to the surprise of his fans. I told him how countless people who proclaimed to be atheists, witches, agnostics, or otherwise when given the opportunity to consider Jesus and the Bible, have realized the truth and given their lives to Him. (Lee Stroebel, for example - we've been learning from his book "The Case for Christ" lately)
It was a joy to spend the evening with these beautiful, teenage people. I love them. I'm so proud of them for giving it a try, in spite of the butterflies in their stomachs and people sometimes turning them away. I'm thankful Pastor John took us out there and prodded us to give it a try.
"God, be glorified in our little effort last night. Be glorified in the lives of these wonderful young people you're teaching to be set apart and to stand for you. Be near to Mike, Collin's friend. Speak to his heart and let Him know that You're real and You love him. To YOU be all the praise!"
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes... Romans 1:16 NLT
It was a chilly evening so there weren't quite as many people out and about, but we each got a chance to walk up to somebody and try to strike up a conversation about our Savior. What a blessing! To be honest, I was petrified, but I had a little group under my care so that propelled me to just jump in and go for it. I nabbed a couple of junior high boys in hoodies. I wanted to be a good example, and in the process God showed me how easy it was to just talk to someone and share what Jesus means to me. John Crump and Bryant Hunt had a nice, long talk with a couple of guys, one of whom claimed to be agnostic but was open to hear what they said about Jesus.
The high point of the night for me was to see Collin, the newest Christian in the bunch, talking to three friends of his from school that happened to walk by. There they stood: lip piercings, pants sagging, and there Collin stood - sharing about Jesus. We all high-fived him and gave him hugs afterward. We told him he did the hardest job of us all by talking to people he knew! He said to me afterward, "I bet they'll throw those little books away. I bet they'll never come to church." I told him He might be surprised. God works in awesome, unexpected ways and what he did that night could have planted a seed that will sprout later to bring them to God. I reminded him about the member of the rock group, Korn, who became a believer - much to the surprise of his fans. I told him how countless people who proclaimed to be atheists, witches, agnostics, or otherwise when given the opportunity to consider Jesus and the Bible, have realized the truth and given their lives to Him. (Lee Stroebel, for example - we've been learning from his book "The Case for Christ" lately)
It was a joy to spend the evening with these beautiful, teenage people. I love them. I'm so proud of them for giving it a try, in spite of the butterflies in their stomachs and people sometimes turning them away. I'm thankful Pastor John took us out there and prodded us to give it a try.
"God, be glorified in our little effort last night. Be glorified in the lives of these wonderful young people you're teaching to be set apart and to stand for you. Be near to Mike, Collin's friend. Speak to his heart and let Him know that You're real and You love him. To YOU be all the praise!"
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes... Romans 1:16 NLT
Posted by Mimi K.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Plates for Becky
Join us at the church, Thursday October 11th at 7p.m., to paint and personalize a set of plates for Becky Harting. Feel free to bring a dessert or snack. No cost.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Connect
The framework and foundation is carefully and prayerfully being laid for New Life's brand new women's ministry. Details and opportunities will be released soon, stay tuned! Please pray for clarity and continued guidance for this important ministry.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Pastor Appreciation Month
Stop what you're doing. Pause for just a minute. Grab that Post-it note that's close to you, and write on there, "Pastor Appreciation." Or better yet, grab two larger pieces of paper, and take a minute to write a thank-you to each pastor, stick it in an envelope before you can think twice and mail it to the church. No paper? E-card! No Hallmark account? Make a quick call and let them hear your voice. How about an airplane with a banner or a messenger pigeon? It doesn't take a lot of time, money, or effort to show someone you appreciate them. And Pastor Klotz and Pastor Crump deserve to hear our appreciation as much as anyone. They've dedicated their lives to serving, and this month is our opportunity to help them refuel. Thank you also to Steve Mercer who God has blessed us with as a ministry partner also.
Monday, October 1, 2007
An Amazing Morning
Sunday morning we recognized the ending of one chapter of ministry for Pastor Fred and Becky and rejoiced over the very beginning of another for baby Nathan Daniels. It was an amazing morning, full of emotions of all kinds. There are so many to thank, but first and foremost, all thanks to our Heavenly Father. The Gaither chorus Pastor Fred quoted sums it up perfectly,All the Glory belongs to Jesus
All the Praise belongs to Him
All that I am, or ever hope to be
All the Glory belongs to Him.
Thank you Pastor Fred, for a final service that was filled with music just shy of heaven. You, Becky, Ethan, Kirsten, and Nathaniel are a family we love beyond words. Although our paths are separating, we all continue down a very similar path of faith and the unkown. May God guide us all.
Thank you for the planning, the participanting, and the prayers. A special thank you to Kelli Brooks, Donna Watson, Susan Cook, Alan Lucas, Tami Soetenga, and all of the other behind-the-scenes crews who helped us show our love to the Hartings and Daniels.
Big brother Luke stealing the spotlight. Don't worry baby Nate, we saw you too and thank God for your life and what a gift you are
to all of us!
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