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I am writing to you on the last day of our summer vacation Bible school program. The evenings have been very active around here with singing, laughter, meals around tables, crafts, Bible teaching, and recreation. All of it has been amazing and the result of a lot of hours of preparation by our volunteers. A huge thank you goes out to the 70 adult and youth volunteers who have served under the guidance of Nikki Parsons and Lauren Beckmann. Throughout the week, there have been 81 students in grades K-6 representing the diversity of our community who have participated in our VBS. This has been a beautiful expression of God’s Kingdom among us! I want to again express my gratitude to our staff and congregation for faithfully planting the seeds of the gospel in these students’ lives this week.
What comes next?
During our closing tonight, I will extend my best compelling invitation to our visiting families to pursue a relationship with Jesus and visit our church again. It is my expectation that some of them will answer the invitation. My challenge to you is to join me in warmly welcoming any new family that might show up this Sunday at one of our services. Share with them the hospitality of Christ by saying hello and introducing yourself. Join me in praying that some of these families will respond to the invitation of Christ tonight.
Finally, I will make a presentation this Sunday morning in my sermon of why I believe the local church is the place God has chosen to encounter us, transform us, and extend his blessing of renewal through us to the community. I can’t wait to share the message with all of you and any visiting families!
One more thing! We will commission Charles Pope this Sunday at the 9:00 a.m. service as our new Congregational Care Minister. It will be a sacred moment to bless Charles and pray for the Holy Spirit to empower and consecrate him to a ministry of care among us. I hope you will join us in recognizing and blessing Charles and Linda this Sunday.
Hope to see you Sunday!
Jimmy