Merry Christmas Harvest!
We have a great service planned for this Sunday and for Christmas Eve (5pm). Who will you bring? I will be sharing the Gospel, so be sure to invite anyone who needs to hear the Good News!
Many of you were unable to attend church last week due to the weather. I didn't want you to miss the items I covered during our "family chat." I inserted my notes below:
1. Our Benevolence Team is formed, many phone calls are being made, and a system is now in place so we can meet needs for people within 3 weeks from when we are contacted. Single moms, seniors with health problems and those out of work will all be receiving assistance thanks to your offerings. In this room, people have been holding off on getting heart scans, surgeries, their refrigerators are virtually empty. We are taking action!
2. Giving Update. I want to commend us. In January, I challenged all of us to be intentional and sacrificial with our weekly giving. We don’t want to show up each week guessing what to give. I have good news to report. From April 1-Dec 1, our average weekly offering has been consistly 10% over budget! Because of this, we hired Mark Boys full-time in June, we were able to afford the move to Stagg, we upgraded our office space, and were able to further support evangelism and missions. Let me encourage you to finish the year strong. If you need to catch up, be sure to accelerate through the year end, and once we see where we close the year, I will come back in January and present a DARING VISION for what we can aim to accomplish together for the Lord in 2011.
3. Debbie Henley. Most of you know Debbie. She was on the launch team, she serves in women's ministry and children's ministry. She had a double lung transplant several years ago. Recently, she developed a fever that simply won’t stay away. This is dangerous because of the major surgery she had. Please join me in praying and fasting for her in December. Pray that she would reach the 1 month fever-free milestone, and then let's pray her on to a full year.
4. Church Planting. We will have a church planter with us throughout January. His name is Matt Townsend, and his wife is Miranda. They are going to plant a Harvest in Philadelphia, and they were assigned as residents at Harvest Palos so we can help get them ready for the adventure ahead. Make sure you introduce yourself, encourage them, and take time to bless them in some way. Share stories that you remember from our launch. Pray for them. God will use us in a special way in their lives before they step out by faith in February.
See you Sunday at Stagg!
Pastor Ryan