Seven
Mission Goals for 2007
1.
An active youth ministry in place by the end of the year
2.
Hosting a quarterly Friends and Family Sunday (where we
invite non-believing family and friends to church) 3. 100%
parish participation in the Franklin Graham festival (i.e.
everyone gets trained and brings a non-believing friend
to the festival itself) 4. The vestry is seeking100% participation
in Bible Study. 5 At least 30 new believers by this time
next year. 6. An active discipling program by the end of
the year with at least 4 leaders in discipling relationships.
7. gathering at least 100 people for worship every Sunday.
Dear Good Shepherd,
I am technically still on vacation but I thought I would
stick my head up to give you a little news about this coming
week.
Life and Witness Course: the first session
of the Life and Witness Course is right around the
corner, Monday April 23rd. I hope you will drop everything
and be here. It is like mini-retreat for believers that
will help you get re-grounded and refocussed on Christ and
pass on some of the basics of Christian living.
Operation Andrew: I hope and pray that
you have all been taking part in Operation Andrew...identifying
five people you think might need to be introduced to Christ...and
praying for an opportunity to share your faith or invite
them to church or to the Franklin Graham festival in May.
If we want to grow as a church and as a people, if we want
to reach out to the lost and bring them the hope of Christ,
we must become fishers of men. Otherwise we will become
stagnant and insular. Evangelism is the life-blood of the
church. The question for Good Shepherd is: Do you want to
live?
365 Day Challenge: You have all done
so well following the 40 Days through the New Testament
reading schedule during Lent, I want to pass on another
Challenge...the 365 day challenge. Beginning Next Monday,
the same Monday as the Life and Witness Course, I want to
challenge everyone in the parish to read through the whole
bible in one year. This will mean a big commitment, but
the readings will be much shorter than the 40 days through
the New Testament and I will continue to provide reflections
throughout the year. The schedule we will follow is the
one that will be printed in the bulletin every Sunday and
I will put it up on the website as well. The more we study
the bible the more grounded and rooted we become in Jesus
Christ. When we set our foundations on the Rock
of his Word then no flood will move us. I pray that
you will come with me in this venture.
Easter Thank You : thank you to the
acolytes, EM's, ushers, greeters, and altar guild.
Easter Sunday was beautiful. Between both services we had
106 worshippers. Including the Vigil we had 136. This was
bigger than last year. Thank you to everyone who came and
worked so hard.
Acolyte Practice Schedule , Beginning
in May the acolytes will meet for practice every Third Sunday
of the Month after the 10:30am service. You all did incredibly
well this Easter. I want to build on that. There will not
be practices in July and August, but there will be in May
and June and then starting back up in September. Thank you
again for all of your hard work.
Vestry Meeting: There will be a Vestry
Meeting this coming Wednesday at 7:00pm.
Adult Education: Does God Exist?
I have been asked to go back through my Sunday Morning
series on Defending the Faith in which I explore the arguments
for and against the existence of God, his nature, and the
created order. I have decided to interupt my series on the
Heroes of the bible (and come back to it later) in order
to go back though this series. It will start next Sunday.
Bible Studies: All the bible studies
are up and running for this coming week. I hope to see you
there.
I hope I've not forgotten anything...
In Christ,
Matt+
HAVE YOU…. shared your faith with a friend? The vestry has
challenged all of us to share our faith in Jesus Christ
with at least one non-believer each month.
Good News for the Week
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness.” (1 st John 1:9)
Don't
forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!
Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday April 15th, 2007 Easter
II
Monday:
Pastor's day off
Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:00 p.m. First Light Bible Study
Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
7:00 p.m. Vestry Meeting
Thursday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
5:30 p.m. Shepherd's Bowl
6:30 p.m. New Beginners Bible Study
7:30 p.m. Choir Practice
Friday
6:30 a.m. Men's Breakfast/Bible Study
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
Pastor's sermon prep day
Saturday:
10:00 a.m. Women's Bible Study
Sunday
April 22nd, 2007
8:00am Holy Communion II and Sermon
9: 15-10:15 a.m. Christian Education for all Ages
10:30 am Holy Communion II, Music and Sermon
God bless you all
In Christ,
