“Ready, Set, Naptime”
Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the one who started this journey of faith. And he is the one who completes the journey of faith.” Hebrews 12.2
It is Friday afternoon and Vacation Bible School has just concluded! I cannot express to you how much energy, excitement, and fun has filled these past 3 days at VBS. We had 60 campers, 16 youth volunteers, and 12 adult volunteers participate this year. 15 of those families were joining us for the first time and received a Bible courtesy of the Gideons. Baby Grace was the organization selected to be our mission focus, and we raised $255 and received 18 packs of diapers, 16 packs of wipes and lots of gently used toys and other items.
Beyond all these numbers, VBS was a great success because of the seeds of faith planted in the hearts and lives of so many. Every person who came through our doors – be it an adult volunteer, a teen helper, a student in one of the classes or even the parents and grandparents picking up and dropping off their kiddos – felt the warm and welcoming love of Jesus Christ and was encouraged to grow in their knowledge and love of God. (If these words sound familiar, it’s because they are part of our vision for how we live out God’s mission in our community.)
THANK YOU to everyone who lead the breakout groups, provided snacks, blew up balloons, decorated, donated, prayed, sang, and did anything else to help us make VBS such a success. I’d be remiss if I didn’t share an extra special thank you to Risa for all the hard work, thought, and prayer she provided as she led this amazing experience. Risa, you never cease to amaze us with how you pull it all together.
It is a pleasure to be your pastor and to be in ministry alongside you as we develop and nurture the faith in children and youth in our community and beyond.
Blessings, Chris
Mission
To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Vision
Nelson Memorial UMC seeks to be a place where all God’s broken, hurting, and imperfect children discover wholeness and community while experiencing the warm and welcoming love of Jesus Christ. We seek to connect with one another to grow in our knowledge and love of God, to encourage each person to live out their unique calling to serve God, and to make a difference in the Boonville community and throughout the world.
Priorities
Developing and Nurturing Faith in Children and Youth
Fostering Growth and Community in Worship and Small Groups
Provide Opportunities to Serve God in Boonville and Beyond
Worship This Week
We continue our message series looking at the life and teachings of Simon-Peter. This Sunday’s message is titled “Earth-Shaking Prayer.” Our Scripture lesson this Sunday will be from the Book of Acts, chapter 4, verses 23-31:
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders said to them. When the heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’
Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.“
Our 8:00 service will begin with the song Same God by Elevation Worship. Our opening hymn at the 8:00 service will be Great Is Thy Faithfulness. The 10:20 service will kickoff with our Praise Band leading us in 10,000 Reasons. Our opening song at the 10:20 service will be Great Are You, Lord. We will also sing Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing and What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
Virtual Worship Information
In addition to in-person worship, our service will be live-streamed. The service can be viewed on our Facebook Page. The service will start at approximately 10:20 am with our Gathering Song. Additionally, we post a recording of our messages to our website by early Sunday afternoon.
Announcements
Ice Cream Freeze Off – What’s better than a nice bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day? How about a whole bunch of flavors of homemade ice cream and fellowship with friends? If this sounds good to you, then make plans to join us July 16 at 4:00 pm for our Annual Ice Cream Freeze Off. As always, this event is open to everyone who would like to enter their favorite home-made ice cream – the more exotic the flavor, the better! All entries (everyone is encouraged to enter) are asked to have their ice cream at the church by 3:45 for judging. Please contact Elvin Farquhar and give him the flavor of your entry. Winners will receive: $25.00 for 1st place, $15.00 for 2nd place and $10.00 for third place. We hope to see you there!
Prayer List – Prayer is one of the foundations upon which a church, and a life of faith, is built. We thank you all for your faithfulness in praying over the names on our prayer list printed in the bulletin each week. We are currently going through that list and looking to make sure it is as up to date as possible. If you know of any names on the prayer list that no longer need to be on there, please let Pastor Chris or Debra know. Our hope is to have a list that reflects the current prayer requests and needs for our congregation and community. Moving forward, we will keep names on the “Health and other issues” prayer list for 4 weeks, unless requested to do otherwise. Thank you for your help in this endeavor and for your prayers.
Wet & Wild Fun – The children and youth ministries are planning a trip to Big Surf on July 30. Mark your calendars now and be on the lookout for more details. Contact Chelsea Jackson or Melissa Baker with any questions. Regular youth meetings will pick back up in August.
Church Library News – We have many authors in our library. Did you know that we have four of our very own great authors? For the month of July, we will feature Sara Snyder. The title of her book is Confessions of the Pastor’s Wife. It is a three-way conversation between the author, the reader, and God. Containing fifty-two devotionals, one for each week of the year. Not only are the devotionals short, sweet, and to the point, they come with a weekly prayer and Scripture Bytes that you can take with you to chew on through the week. Her book will be on display in the library for the month of July. If you are interested in purchasing this book check with Sara.
Upper Room Devotional – Spend time each day in God’s word with thought-provoking devotions to strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ. The July/August “Upper Room” devotional books have arrived, please help yourself to one in the back of the sanctuary.
Giving Through Venmo – We can be found on Venmo at @NelsonMemorialUMC. If you don’t know what Venmo is and would like to learn more, information about giving through Venmo can be found on our webpage at https://nelsonmemorialumc.org/give/venmo/.
Save The Date:
- Thursday, August 10, 2023 – S’mores Night
- Sunday, August 20, 2023 – Church Picnic
- Monday, August 28, 2023 – Red Cross Blood Drive
Events this week:
Monday, July 10: TOPS, 9:30 am, Lounge
Al-Anon, 8:00 pm, Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, July 12: Women’s Bible Study, 10:15 am, Lounge
Al-Anon, Noon, Fellowship Hall
Thursday, July 13: Baby Grace Size & Sort, 1:00 pm, Church Annex
Closing Words of Wisdom:
Our goal in parenting is not ultimately for our kids to get a great education or be great athletes or to find a great husband or get a great career. Our goal is for them to love a great God.” David Platt