News

Churches often recognize a sermon that is preached, a meal that is served, a baptism that is performed, a Bible study that is led and other visible ministries. What often goes overlooked, though, is the ministry that so many faithful servants have with children, particularly preschool children. Children that age obviously don’t think to thank their teachers and leaders. Most of the church never knows what goes on in the nursery and preschool room – how thankless the ministry can be, how exhausting it is, how few people volunteer to help, and how much time leaders spend preparing while knowing that most of the kids will pay little attention to the teacher’s efforts.

Volunteers who work with our children and youth, though, really are the unsung heroes of the church. They are in the basement (both literally in our church building and figuratively), but their ministry is of a critically high calling. Praise God for them!

Marsha and Katie, for example, are with preschoolers every single Sunday morning during our Family Groups, at least one Sunday morning each month during worship, every Wednesday evening during adult prayer meeting and Bible study, and even many Sunday evenings during Life on Mission. In fact, not only do they do this as a ministry for the church, but they are also mothers to preschoolers.

Thank you, Marsha and Katie! You are true superheroes. Thank you to all the other superheroes in our church who dedicate time, energy and resources to minister to youth and children – Billy, Terri, James, Tammy, Cheryl, Doris, Jerry, Beverly, Devin, Tami, Robin and Jenika.

Next time you drop your kids off in the nursery, in a Sunday School room, or in the youth area, be sure to thank the leader(s). Then, when you go to pick up your children, be sure to thank the leader(s) again. Write them notes of encouragement. Make sure they realize how much you appreciate their sacrifice.

Of course, there are many thankless ministries in our church and in every church. We as a church family need to do a better job of showing our appreciation and encouraging those who serve the Lord by serving His church. “God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:24b-25).

Below are a few pictures from last Wednesday evening’s TeamKID Preschool. While they might not express it now, these kids and others like them will one day look back with gratefulness for the amazing servants who invested in their spiritual development.

NOTE: This is a slightly shorter section from Pastor Nick’s original post on DrakeCity.com.

Yes, this special seminar and lunch are the same day as the Super Bowl, but fear not! We will be done before 2:00, giving you more than three hours to get home and prepare for the big game. Seriously, though, this is not an event you’ll want to miss.
 

Carry-in Lunch and Christian Stewardship Seminar
Led by James Morrow with the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home
 
Discover answers to questions like:

• What does Christian Stewardship look like?
• How does Christian Stewardship apply to my estate?
• What are the basics of estate planning through joint ownership, wills and trusts?
• How do I take care of minor children and/or provide for adult children best?

 
Learn how you can:

• Save thousands of dollars in probate expenses!
• Reduce or eliminate estate taxes!
• Increase your current income with good planning!

 
Participants are eligible to receive:

• Free personal consultation
• Free “Tax Impact Statement”
• Free “simple will” forms

 
If you don’t have a legally established plan:

• You won’t decide who will raise your minor children, the courts will decide.
• You won’t decide who receives your estate, state intestate law will dictate.
• You won’t be able to reduce the cost of probate, the full amount will come out of your estate.
• You won’t be able to reduce any taxes owed, the full amount will come out of your estate.
• You can’t leave anything for the Lord’s work, the Lord’s work isn’t included in the state’s plan.

 
 The Seminar and Follow-up consultation will enable to you to:

1. Clarify your desires (goals).
2. Evaluate the options to achieve those goals.
3. Establish a legally binding plan.

 
For More Information Call:  1-800-264-6224
 

Sunday, January 31st, we will be having a carry-in supper (5:00) and movie (5:45), a compelling drama with humor and heart that explores the power that prayer can have on marriages, parenting, careers, friendships, and every other area of our lives. You won’t regret taking the time to watch this film. Please be sure to invite others for this exciting time of faith and fellowship.

There will be no services this evening. Stay safe and stay warm. We hope to see you Sunday morning!

Last night was our first annual New Life Celebration, and it was a great time of worship and testimonies. We asked a few boys and one young man who came to faith in the past couple years, as well as a mature believer, to share their testimonies of how Jesus has changed their lives since He saved them from their sins. Below you can listen to their stories.

For Colin Humphreys, Tucker Elliott and Noah Drake, click HERE.

For Billy Hovey, click HERE.

For Kale Stewart, click HERE.

Praise the Lord for how He changes lives for His name’s sake!

This morning, Judy Borman shared a powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness in her life, and how He has used others to build her up in the faith. If you missed our time of worship together, you missed a powerful witness by Judy. Thankfully, we captured her testimony in audio form, and you can listen to it HERE.

We’re starting a new annual tradition to celebrate those who gave their lives to Christ and were baptized this past year. We will celebrate new life with worship, testimonies and prayer for more new life in the coming year. “We were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life” (Romans 6:4).

The time of celebration will be followed by a cupcake-and-ice-cream reception. Please join us, and invite your family, friends, neighbors and others!

This coming Sunday we will be starting a new sermon series through the Gospel of John – “Jesus is…” Continuing where we left off last Sunday in John 1, we will be going through this gospel to learn what it teaches us about Jesus and how we are to respond to Him. We hope you’ll join us for worship on Sunday mornings (10:40).

Throughout 2016 we’ll take breaks from John on for some shorter sermon series, including “What Is a Church Member?”, “Church Discipline”, “Markers for Measuring Discipleship”, and “Thanksgiving.” These series will reinforce some of the Christian principles we will be learning in John and guide us in how we respond to the gospel. Also, they will give us some new and important things to think about and respond to in our relationship to our church family, how to grow in discipleship and how to be faithful to the Word of God.

On Sunday evenings (6:00), we will continue our journey through the Old Testament as we look at “The Big Picture” – how the Bible is one big story that all points to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Focusing on different passages and major themes in the Old Testament, we use these stories to challenge us to live “Life on Mission” together. How can we take what we learn together as a church family to better be the church outside walls of the church building? This series will help you not only better understand the story-line of Scripture but also learn how to apply the Word in your daily life.

This study on Sunday evenings fits well with what we do before worship on Sunday mornings. Our Family Groups (groups for all ages Sunday mornings at 9:30) will continue going through the Gospel Project, a chronological, Christ-centered Bible study for kids, students, and adults that examines how all Scripture gives testimony to Christ. While each age group has a different study, we are all studying the same Scripture and topics, making family discipleship and church-wide discipleship more intentional, focused and practical.

Finally, Wednesday evenings provide a time of ministry for all ages, too. TeamKID (pre-K and elementary) and M.A.G. (youth group) meet from 6:15-7:30, while our adult prayer and Bible study meets from 6:30-7:30. Currently, our adult Bible study is going through “Life’s Hard Questions” – seeking Biblical answers for the difficult questions we face in our daily lives. We tackle a different question each week, and this study is very practical both for growing in your faith and for learning how to answer the questions others have for you.

If you have questions about any of our sermon series, Bible studies, programs or other church issues, please contact us. We hope to see you Sunday morning!

Credit: Thank you to Micah Fries for creating the title slides for the three new Sunday morning sermon series.

“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). It happened just as God predicted through His prophets. Jesus Christ was born! Merry Christmas!

Because of the Christmas holiday, we will have no services this evening or next Wednesday (December 30). We hope you’ll join us Sunday morning for Family Groups (9:30) and worship (10:40), though.

Our regular weekly schedule resumes after the New Year. Please contact us with any questions or prayer requests. God bless you and yours this Advent season!