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,

There's lots of news this week so be sure to read carefully.

 

UPDATE CONTENTS  

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

BAPTISM OF ISAAC NJUKO

LIFE AND WITNESS COURSE UPDATE

THANK YOU NOTE

SIGN UPDATE

OPERATION ANDREW UPDATE

FREE HEBREW CLASSES

SPECIAL FUND TO SUPPORT THE FRANKLIN GRAHAM FESTIVAL

CHURCH WORK DAY THANK YOU

THE WHOLE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR TOGETHER

ADULT EDUCATION: DOES GOD EXIST?

 

NEWS

 

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY: One pretty major thing I forgot to include in the Update last Friday is actually coming up this Sunday morning: "Good Shepherd Sunday"

For those of you who are new to Anglicanism, most churches have a "feast day". A "feast day" is a day that the church, all around the world, sets aside to celebrate certain heroes of the faith like St. Peter or Paul or to contemplate some great doctrine like the doctrine of the Trinity. When the hero or doctrine after which a given parish is named comes up for his/her/its feast day, the given parish celebrates. So on St. Peter's day, every parish named after St. Peter has a big party.

Jesus the Good Shepherd also has a feast day and that is coming up this Sunday. So, we're going to celebrate.

One of the ways Good Shepherd has traditionally celebrated is by having a big breakfast together. The vestry cooks and serves the rest of us, which is very nice and this year we will continue this tradition.

So, be sure to be here this coming Sunday with an empty stomach. Breakfast will be served between services from 9:00am to 10:15am. Bring your friends.

BAPTISM: Next Sunday one of our new members, Isaac Njuko, will be baptized. Isaac has already surrendered his life to Christ, but he has yet to be baptized. Baptism is the public initiation rite of the Church. Through it, Isaac will be incorporated into the visible body of Christ. It is Christ's seal of Isaac's faith. Please do come and celebrate with us. The Baptism will be during the 10:30am service.

 

LIFE AND WITNESS COURSE UPDATE: the first session of the Life and Witness Course went extremely well. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way. The sanctuary was packed out. We did not have to use the overflow area downstairs, but all the same it was wonderful to see the sanctuary so full. Thank you again to everyone who has volunteered their time, talent and/or treasure to this ministry. You are contributing to the

 

Be sure to be here this coming Monday for the second session and if you have not attended yet I hope you will drop everything and be here. It is like mini-retreat for believers that will help you get re-grounded and refocused on Christ and pass on some of the basics of Christian living.

 

If you cannot make the Monday sessions, the same classes are being given throughout the week at other churches. Here is a list:

 

Tuesday:
Binghamton
7:00pm to 8:30
Gravity (student version) First Assembly of God
255 Washington Street
723-7417

Vestal
7:00pm to 8:30
Valleyview Alliance Church
11 Foster Road
754-1358


Wednesday:
Johnson City
10:00am-11:30am
Calvary Community Church
729-7777

Endicott
Union Center Christian Church
7:00pm-8:30pm
950 Boswell Hill Rd.
724-8222

Thursday
Endicott
7:00pm-8:30pm
New Life Ministries
201 Hill Ave
785-8579

Johnson City
7:00pm-8:30pm
Johnson City Primitive Methodist Church
4 Ackley Avenue
729-0014

Saturday:
Vestal
10:00am-11:30am
Twin Orchards Baptist Church
3701 Old Vestal Road
770-6055

The Lord has blessed us so very much with the opportunity to both open our doors to Christians of every denomination from all over the city and to be fed and nourished ourselves through the course material and presentation. It is very important for us to receive this gift from the Lord gratefully and eagerly.

 

THANK YOU NOTE: here is the thank you note I emailed everyone Monday night:

 

Tonight was an incredible success. The organizational and technical support and the warm welcome made the evening flow flawlessly. Thank you one and all for all of your hard work and dedication. The sanctuary was full. It was not the crowd we were told to expect, but it was a very good turnout nonetheless and it was great to see the sanctuary full.

Someday we'll see it like that on a Sunday morning.

In the meantime, it is important to maintain this quality throughout. Owego reached overflow so we can expect some from that crowd to come to Binghamton next Monday. We may get some of them next week.

More importantly, one of the great benefits of having this course at Good Shepherd is being able to involve so many of our own people in this great program. Please do not let your ushering, parking, organizational duties interfere with your ability learn from this program. Having my own people learn is, in fact, one of the reasons I agreed to host it. It is a free gift and a blessing. So please take advantage of it.

SIGN UPDATE (repeated from last week): You may remember that the installation of our new sign has been delayed because, as it turns out, Good Shepherd is listed by New York State as an historical building. That means that we have one more hoop to jump through. I signed an application that will be reviewed by the State historical society board meeting in 2 weeks. Three I Graphics tells me that they will start the installation the day they receive word of approval…which should be the day after the board meeting. So, to sum up, we are looking at about 2 weeks before the sign is up for good.

 

OPERATION ANDREW UPDATE: If you have not yet found 5 people to ask to the Franklin Graham Festival, then please do so. Time is creeping up. Here, once again this week, are the first three steps to Operation Andrew

 

Step 1 is to Look Around where you live, work, or go to school—this is your mission field. List names of individuals you know who need Jesus Christ, whom you will pray for regularly.

Step 2 is to Look Up because God changes people through prayer. Pray each day for those on your list, that God will give you opportunities to share His love with them.

Step 3 is to Look Out for ways to cultivate friendships with each person on your list. Spend time with them. An invitation to dinner or a sporting event will build friendships, which can open the way to talk about Christ.

 

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.

 

FREE HEBREW LESSONS (second notice): Is offering free Hebrew lessons to his congregation and ours. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn the language of the Old Testament; the language spoken by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and all the prophets. It is not only a fascinating language but knowing it will provide you with deep insight into the Old Testament.

 

Classes will start sometime soon (more information will be coming) and they will be held on Saturdays at 4:30pm. Let Anne or me know if you are interested in taking advantage of this generous offer.

 

SPECIAL FUND TO SUPPORT THE FRANKLIN GRAHAM FESTIVAL (second notice): God has used the Franklin Graham Festival to bring thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ across the country. But there are significant overhead costs associated with this ministry and they have asked for all Christians to give their financial support. At Good Shepherd, we are setting aside a special fund for this purpose. If you would like to support the Franklin Graham Festival in Binghamton, please mark your check or cash donation for that purpose and it will be given directly to the Festival from Good Shepherd.

 

CHURCH WORK DAY THANK YOU: Thank you to everyone involved in the Work-Day last Saturday. It was perhaps one of the best turnouts and most productive work-days ever. Please take a look at the new bushes and flowerbed next to the parking lot. That only took about an hour and a half because we had so many people working. Also enjoy the sparkling cleanliness of the building which looks better than it has in a very long while. Even my office is clean…which, as Anne (and Joyce Copolla) will tell you, is a sign of the end of the Age.

 

THE WHOLE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR TOGETHER: STARTS THIS COMING MONDAY. I'll be posting the readings and reflections (when I have time to write them) on the website.

ADULT EDUCATION SERIES: APOLOGETICS: DOES GOD EXIST? We had our first session last Sunday where we came to the necessary conclusion that for anything to exist, there must also be an eternal self-existence source of existence. We have not yet shown that this Source must be God as we understand him. This Sunday there will be no adult education because we are having Good Shepherd Sunday Breakfast, but next Sunday we'll review what we learned in the first session and go on to discuss the nature of the self-existent “Source”.

 

This is a great class to invite non-believers and those searching for or doubting their faith. We'll start again next Sunday.

 

BIBLE STUDIES: Since all the participants in the Tuesday Night Bible Study are also faithfully attending the Life and Witness Courses, we have decided to put the Tuesday night bible study on hold until after the courses are completed. All the other bible studies are up and running this week.

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

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:20-22)

Don't forget to....BRING A FRIEND TO CHURCH!


Daily Schedule for the week of Sunday April 29th 2007 Easter IV

Monday:
7:00 p.m. LIFE AND WITNESS COURSE

Tuesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Tuesday Morning Bible Study
6:00 p.m. First Light Bible Study (not meeting until after the Life and Witness courses are complete)

Wednesday
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer

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 May 6th, 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,

Matt+