Bob Steward ~ 95 Birthday Celebration

Bob Steward was recognized for his 95th Birthday on Wednesday evening. We are so grateful for Bob's faithfulness to the Lord and to the Valley Grace ministry. Bob has seen a lot of changes in his day, and yet he continues to serve the Lord. Bob is always willing to help where he is able and continues to exemplify an encouraging attitude in the ministry of Valley Grace. May Bob's tribe increase! Bob reminds me so much of the Energizer Bunny, who just keeps on going, though his battery charge may have dropped to 90% ;-)

We completed studying together 4 starting blocks of the Christian life.

Conversion: choosing to accept God's offer of sins forgiven and a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. This is the first step where we acknowledge that we are going to become a follower of Jesus and live our lives for Him. Listen HERE

Baptism: this is the step of going public with our decision to follow Jesus Christ. It is through the waters of Baptism that we symbolize the cleansing that comes through the finished work of Jesus. It is a chance to tell our story to family and friends. Listen HERE

Communion: the Communion Service (Lord's Supper) is a means of remembering the work of Jesus Christ for us: past, present and future. It is a chance to review our walk with Christ and celebrate our relationship with Him. Listen HERE

Membership: is the step of making the decision to identify with a local church. It is committing to a local church family and taking responsibility for its success for being on mission to make followers of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). Listen HERE

So, what is YOUR next step?

The Blessings of Growing up in a Christian Home

I was privileged to grow up in a Christian home. Tim Challies has a great article which is an important reminder of the benefits as well as a reminder of the responsibilities for parents as they lead their families.

1. The Privilege of Prayer: A Christian home is a praying home. We often prayed about situations and and gave thanks for God's answer to prayer.

2. The Privilege of Scripture: A Christian home is a home under the authority of Scripture. My parents worked hard at having regular times of devotions together.

3. The Privilege of the Gospel: A Christian home is a home that declares the gospel. I was taught about Christ and how to know him at an early age. It was under the ministry of a Filipino Pastor and a Christian dorm parent that a personal decision was made.

4. The Privilege of Community: A Christian home is one that is connected to Christian community -- church, worship, songs, sermons and the ordinances. We were part of a Christian community of faith

5. The Privilege of Godliness: A Christian home is one where we can observe followers of Christ living out their Christian faith. I watched my parents live out the reality of their faith -- at home and in the world.

So, as I reflected on Tim's thoughts, I am grateful for my heritage.

* If you want to read the full article, click HERE.

Celebration of Life ~ Alyson Schletewitz

Thank you to all of you who attended the Celebration of Life service for Alyson. Appreciate also those who helped to provide refreshments afterwards. It was a great ministry opportunity and we had the chance to connect with some folks and interact. Please continue your prayers and encouragement for Craig, Emily and Zachary.

Joe & Kristi (Blair) Rule ~ Wedding Picture

This is a picture from Joe & Kristi's wedding. I'm sure they would appreciate your prayers for them as they set out on this new journey. Note: I am not the one officiating at the front, in case you are trying to figure out the attire.

Great week of VBS!

Thanks so much to all those involved in Vacation Bible School. This includes those who served in the many different capacities, invited children, showed friendship to parents who walked through the doors. A great deal of time and effort went into this event. We ask that you pray that God would use the truths that were taught to encourage boys and girls to follow Jesus. Also, to encourage parents to lead their children in this important step.

Well Done, Church!

2016 Urban Hope Work Weekend

Here are some updates from our 2016 Urban Hope Work Weekend in Philadelphia.

Picture above is from a year ago when the building had been gutted and we began laying out and framing the rooms.

This is a picture of what it looks like now. This is from the first floor where a meeting room and kitchen are located. Bedrooms and bathrooms are upstairs.

Here is a picture of the outside of the Balmer building in which we stayed which is where the construction from last year took place.

This is the beginning of one of our projects this year. Follow This Link for more pictures of this year's projects. Two bathrooms were also tiled, but I don't have pictures of that. Thanks to the men who went and served those who serve.

Date Night

Had a great time at "Date Night" on Friday, February 12. Thanks for those who invested the time to make it happen - planning, decorating, child care, etc. It was a fun time, even with the snow. Thanks to Victor Cebotari for the music - "The One Man Band".

Apologies for no pics of the food and fellowship.

Welcome Chip & Peggy Jones to Membership

This is from the Powerpoint slide shown at church. Click on the picture to expand.

How To Make Your Life Count ~ Sermon Notes from Sunday - 11/29/2015

I have been reflecting on Sunday's message - "How to Make Your Life Count" from Psalm 90. We first looked at the Three Foundational truths which we need to consider, and then Four Specific prayer requests.

I. Three Foundational Truths - vv 1-11
* We need to know who God is (His character Person) -- vv 1-2
* We Need to Know the Brevity of Life - vv 3-6
* We Need to Understand the Difficulty of Life - vv 7-11

II. Resulting Prayer to Make Our Days Count - vv 12-17
* Prayer to Gain a Heart for Wisdom - v 12
* Four things for which to Pray Daily - vv 13-17
   - Prayer for Satisfaction in God - vv 13-14
   - Prayer that God would make us Glad in the Morning - v 15
   - Prayer that we would see God work through us - daily - v 16
   - Prayer that we might leave a legacy for God - v 17

I encourage each of us to add those four specific areas to our daily prayer time.

That's the Cliff Notes version. If you want to listen to the message itself, fleshed out, here is the link: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=121151016223

Sunday Evening Christmas Kick-Off

Wanted to thank the Praise Team for putting together a great Christmas Kick-off on Sunday evening. Music was really enjoyable. The children had a great time using the different rhythm instruments to "accompany" the Praise Team. The refreshments and fellowship were enjoyed as well.

2015 Fall Church Picnic

A great time at the Fall Church picnic. Thanks for all who made it happen. Lots of good food & fellowship and then games outside. Final group packed up about 4:30 pm.

Click Here for more pics and some short videos of Hantis and other activities. Sorry for no pictures of the good food!

Brighten the Night 2015

Here’s a summary of the night's events for those who were or weren’t able to be there.

1.       We gave out 350 gift bags, which only went to children

2.       We gave out around 500 hot dogs (we ran out with a line of people still waiting)(you’ll have to ask Brandon & Willie about the battle of the grills)

3.       We gave out I can’t even count how many hundreds of bags of popcorn

4.       The line for the cotton candy was the longest line most of the night

5.       We served gallons of hot chocolate

6.       We had roughly 500-600 people stop by

7.       One group came from as far away as Greencastle

8.       Five ladies kept very busy most of the night doing face painting

9.       We had about 40 of you helping which freed up the teens as well as me to spend the entire evening just being friendly and having conversations with community people

10.   There were several conversations about spiritual things

11.   The bounce house was busy all night with no break in kids wanting to jump around

12.   The Praise Team had at times 50 or more people inside listening to them worship & praise the Lord in song

13.   There were several who indicated an interest in attending a service

14.   We as a church received countless “Thank You” comments from the people, some who said they come every year because we do such a great job

15.   Plenty of you stayed around to clean up, so that went very quickly

(Click Here for a link to more pics)

Art of Attraction ~ Sermon Outline

I know we covered a lot of material on Sunday and there were parts that needed to be cut because of time. Here is a link to a PDF file of the outline if you wish to look it over. Link HERE.

Mitchell & Ashley Delashmutt

Congratulations to Mitchell & Ashley (DeLuca) Delashmutt as they begin their lives together as husband and wife. Praying for them as they build their home on Christ. Click on the picture to enlarge it. 

Jordan & Emily Lowery!

Please pray for Jordan & Emily (Shoemaker) Lowery as they begin their new life together seeking to build it on Christ. Honeymoon and then school starts!

Congratulations to Tyler & Courtney (Crampton) Hebert

We pray God's very best for Tyler & Courtney as they start their journey together as husband and wife!

Celebration of Life Service for Howard Foltz ~ 4/19/2015

Some things that Howard enjoyed

Great "Thank You" to the church family for your support for Cheryl and Kelli Foltz for the Celebration of Life Service for Howard. The time spent remembering his life was truly a great time together as well as singing the hymns of hope: "Amazing Grace" & "It is Well." Thanks for those who provided the special music. A neat time followed of sharing together over food. 

2013 Brighten the Night

Want to thank Patrick & Sheena Angle and Company (that's "ya'll who helped") for a job well done! In spite of the rain, there was a good turn out and interaction with folks in the community. In fact, the date confusion did allow for some more extended conversations with some folks.

Lots of hot dogs, popcorn, and candy served. Bounce house was great attraction. Thanks to the Praise Team for "extending their practice." I heard a few folks say, "Oh, they have a Praise Band" and as a result sat down to listen and observe. I'm am told that there were a number of others who stuck their heads in to listen and observe the Praise Team.

Even though the rain situation was on and off, we were able to make contacts with our community (and some from across town). Please pray for the effectiveness of tracts that were handed out as well as personal invitations to attend Valley Grace if not involved in a current church home.

Well Done, Church!

2013.09.13 ~ Reflections

2013.09.07 Weekend: Had the privilege to officiate the wedding for Spencer Draper and Ashton Conley in Kendallville, Indiana on September 7, 2013. There were approximately 40 Valley Grace folks who made the trip to support Spencer and Ashton as they committed themselves before God as husband and wife. It was really encouraging to hear the "toasts" which were made by the bridal party to both Spencer and Ashton as to the impact that they had made for Christ, even at a young age. Lots of enjoyable memories!

2013.09.11 Mid-week Ministry launch : great night of full Mid-week ministries. Started with another excellent fellowship meal, followed by AWANA, Girls of Grace, JV & Varsity Boys, and Bible Institute. Thanks to all who ministered and helped to make it effective. Had some new folks attending the ministries as well.