Life @ Montrose, May 1, 2008
WORSHIP THIS SABBATH WITH DAVID SWINYAR
David Swinyar is going to share God's Word with us this Sabbath. I'm especially looking forward to listening to our principal as our school year at Spring Creek Adventist School comes to a close. I would also like to ask you to please pray for Ray Wing who is not feeling well.
JONAH
We're going through the book of Jonah--God's reluctant prophet. This last week we studied about how Jonah ran in the opposite direction once God called Him. God continued to pursue Jonah. What amazes me is that God doesn't give up on us--even when we give up on ourselves. This coming week for prayer meeting we're going to continue studying the life of Jonah as we go through chapter 2.
PLAY GROUP FOR TODDLERS
Heidi Campbell is getting a play group for toddlers started. The group meets on Wednesday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. at the Campbell home. Contact Heidi at 240-3412 for more information.
HEALTH SEMINAR WITH DR. JOHN CLARK
Dr. John Clark, a Loma Linda University trained physician, will be giving a health emphasis seminar at our church beginning on Friday evening, May 9, at 7:00 pm. He will continue by talking about the health message and the sanctuary Sabbath morning for the worship hour. Then in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (there will be no singing groups this month) he will continue the series by looking at a number of health problems: diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. I want to encourage you to attend this special weekend with Dr. Clark so that we can learn how to live lives of wholeness and health.
CHURCH CAMPING TRIP
Sign-up sheets are now available in the church for the beginning of an annual church camping trip. A limited number of whitewater rafting spaces are available. Camp sites are $12 per night (for a family); white water rafting is $70 for the Sunday trip. The theme for our camping trip is origins. Dr. Timothy Standish from the Geoscience Research Institute is going to be our speaker.
PASTOR'S BLOG
What a surprise it was for me to wake up this morning and see snow! I'm thankful that our tomatoes are nice and snugly warm inside their wall-o-waters and their plastic covered raised bed. I learned last night how local farmers have large fans to keep the frost away from their orchards. I'm thankful for the warmth of our home, our church, and how God gives us opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those around us.
I was excited yesterday to receive the results of the church survey I passed out several weeks ago. The Natural Church Development (NCD) survey is sponsoed by the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI) that is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. It is a way to measure church health. I was happy to see that our church scored 42 out of 65 possible points (the higher the better); a significant mark of growth from when the survey was last taken seven years ago when our church scored 21. From a pastoral perspective that shows that our church is growing. I praise the Lord for the difference our church members are making the lives of those who attend our congregation, and I furthermore believe that this indicates that our church is prepared to grow even more. I plan to talk about more specific details about the survey at our next church board meeting on May 22.
At the beginning of this year I made a commitment to our young people that I would help our Pathfinder club for the first six months of this year. Now as we reach the conclusion of our first semester together as a club we are going to the Pathfinder Fair in Loveland. Please pray as 25 pathfinders, leaders, and chaperons travel together on Friday through Sunday as we participate with other clubs from across the conference. I believe we are in for a real treat.
Last but not least, I want to alert our church family about our falling checking account balance. At the beginning of the year we had about $31,000 in our account, and now we are down to $14,700. This is a trend that cannot continue, but neither is it a surprise. The largest portion (over $7,000) is a shortfall in our school subsidy that we voted when we accepted the deficit budget for this past school year in September. Fortunately we have voted a more sustainable level of subsidy for next school year based upon current trends, and I expect that our church will be able to reverse this trend since this current school year is almost over. I want to thank our church family for your generosity by supporting our church through your faithful giving. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to let me know.
David Swinyar is going to share God's Word with us this Sabbath. I'm especially looking forward to listening to our principal as our school year at Spring Creek Adventist School comes to a close. I would also like to ask you to please pray for Ray Wing who is not feeling well.
JONAH
We're going through the book of Jonah--God's reluctant prophet. This last week we studied about how Jonah ran in the opposite direction once God called Him. God continued to pursue Jonah. What amazes me is that God doesn't give up on us--even when we give up on ourselves. This coming week for prayer meeting we're going to continue studying the life of Jonah as we go through chapter 2.
PLAY GROUP FOR TODDLERS
Heidi Campbell is getting a play group for toddlers started. The group meets on Wednesday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. at the Campbell home. Contact Heidi at 240-3412 for more information.
HEALTH SEMINAR WITH DR. JOHN CLARK
Dr. John Clark, a Loma Linda University trained physician, will be giving a health emphasis seminar at our church beginning on Friday evening, May 9, at 7:00 pm. He will continue by talking about the health message and the sanctuary Sabbath morning for the worship hour. Then in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (there will be no singing groups this month) he will continue the series by looking at a number of health problems: diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. I want to encourage you to attend this special weekend with Dr. Clark so that we can learn how to live lives of wholeness and health.
CHURCH CAMPING TRIP
Sign-up sheets are now available in the church for the beginning of an annual church camping trip. A limited number of whitewater rafting spaces are available. Camp sites are $12 per night (for a family); white water rafting is $70 for the Sunday trip. The theme for our camping trip is origins. Dr. Timothy Standish from the Geoscience Research Institute is going to be our speaker.
PASTOR'S BLOG
What a surprise it was for me to wake up this morning and see snow! I'm thankful that our tomatoes are nice and snugly warm inside their wall-o-waters and their plastic covered raised bed. I learned last night how local farmers have large fans to keep the frost away from their orchards. I'm thankful for the warmth of our home, our church, and how God gives us opportunities to share the love of Jesus with those around us.
I was excited yesterday to receive the results of the church survey I passed out several weeks ago. The Natural Church Development (NCD) survey is sponsoed by the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI) that is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. It is a way to measure church health. I was happy to see that our church scored 42 out of 65 possible points (the higher the better); a significant mark of growth from when the survey was last taken seven years ago when our church scored 21. From a pastoral perspective that shows that our church is growing. I praise the Lord for the difference our church members are making the lives of those who attend our congregation, and I furthermore believe that this indicates that our church is prepared to grow even more. I plan to talk about more specific details about the survey at our next church board meeting on May 22.
At the beginning of this year I made a commitment to our young people that I would help our Pathfinder club for the first six months of this year. Now as we reach the conclusion of our first semester together as a club we are going to the Pathfinder Fair in Loveland. Please pray as 25 pathfinders, leaders, and chaperons travel together on Friday through Sunday as we participate with other clubs from across the conference. I believe we are in for a real treat.
Last but not least, I want to alert our church family about our falling checking account balance. At the beginning of the year we had about $31,000 in our account, and now we are down to $14,700. This is a trend that cannot continue, but neither is it a surprise. The largest portion (over $7,000) is a shortfall in our school subsidy that we voted when we accepted the deficit budget for this past school year in September. Fortunately we have voted a more sustainable level of subsidy for next school year based upon current trends, and I expect that our church will be able to reverse this trend since this current school year is almost over. I want to thank our church family for your generosity by supporting our church through your faithful giving. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to let me know.
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