Committees at St. John's

JOIN THE EVANGELISM TEAM

Who me? You want me on the evangelism team? Yes we do and we will make it easy for you. We need your help to fulfill the Great Commission. Many people are fearful of making an evangelism call or even speaking to their neighbor. But you can still help.

We have people willing to make visits, but we need and want a broader base of names. If you have a friend, a family member, a neighbor, someone down the street, a co-worker, give us their name and we will make the contacts. It is that simple. Provide us with names of people you know who are not attending church.

Our approach is simple, kind and inviting. We provide folks with a Welcome Box and then seek an opportunity to visit with them about Christ and about St. John’s with the invitation to come and check us out.

See, you too can be a part of the St. John’s Evangelism Team. And then pray – pray that we might be faithful in reaching out to those in our community who do not know the love of the Lord.

The Evangelism Committee

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The name of someone I would like our Evangelism Team to visit.

Name_____________________________________________________

Address___________________________________________________

Phone #___________________________________________________

Are their children in the home______yes ______no

If so, how many and approximate ages (if you know)_________________

Please pray for this person or family and pray for our Evangelism Teams

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 


MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES

There are two wonderful ministries going on within our congregation, but unless you have benefited from their ministry, you might not know they exist.

First, there is our Funeral Dinner Ministry.  There are both women and men involved in this ministry.  They plan, prepare, service and clean up for all funeral meals offered here at the church. In addition, there are folks who will make desserts to bring in.  So there are a couple of ways to be involved. This is a tremendous blessing to families at the time of death. It provides an opportunity and place to come to visit, share a meal and not have to worry about a thing. The days around a funeral are stressful enough for a family. This is one way to minister to them and enable them to be with their loved ones.

If you would like to help out in this capacity (making a dessert or by volunteering time to “work” a dinner), please contact the church office for more information at 492-8047.

A second ministry that also involves food is providing meals to members of the congregation at various times of need.  This is a ministry that grew out of the way you, as a church, cared for my family the weeks following transplant.   Over the years, members of the church have provided meals to families with a loved one in a prolonged illness, or a lengthy journey to death.  We have provided meals to families with newborn children when there was no other family around to help.

What this ministry entails is placing your name on a list.  When an opportunity arises, you will be called and a time will be scheduled for you to take in one meal and you will let know how many people and if there are any special dietary needs.

Now, people are often reluctant to ask for this ministry, so we depend upon the eyes and ears of each other.  If you become aware of a situation where a simple thing such as bringing in a meal would help some folks out, let us know in the church office.  To be involved in this ministry, call the church office at 492-8047.

I have come to see these ministries as ministries of mercy.  What a blessing gifts like this can be to people at various times of life.

Pastor Jon 

Visitation Staff

Over the last couple of months, Larry Oberdorf and myself have been informing you about who he is and his ministry here at St. John’s. Larry has also shared with you his desire to be called as he has been trained as an Associate In Ministry. Larry’s primary focus has been in visitation to our seniors. He spends part of his time developing and implementing a Family Ministry Program. Both of these ministries are needed within this congregation.

In my letter this month I wrote about how much things change. The church is not immune from that. When I first started in the ordained ministry in 1979 I, along with the sr. pastor, did a lot of visiting. And in the evenings we did a fair amount of cold calls – that is unannounced visits to members. That was normal and expected. That does not happen today. With people’s schedules, that would be disrespectful and rude. In addition there are so many other things that pastors are called upon to do.

Larry’s ministry to our seniors, especially those who are homebound or in nursing homes is vital. He brings the presence of Christ and His church to their lives and on a much more regular basis than Pastor Alicia or I can. His work, along with the visits Pastor Alicia and I do make and the visits our Eucharistic Ministers make, we are providing what I hope is good ministry to our elders.

If you have any questions or suggestions on this ministry, do not hesitate to contact either Larry or myself.

Pastor Jon

Summer Worship Schedule

 

According to the worship survey taken after last summer’s schedule most people enjoyed two services on Sunday morning. We are going to do that again this year with a few changes.

SUNDAY JUNE 1 THROUGH SUNDAY AUGUST 17 TRADITIONAL WORSHIP – 8:00 A.M. SUNDAY SCHOOL – ALL AGES – 9:00 A.M. CONTMEPORAY WORSHIP – 10:00 A.M.

 

****ONE EXCEPTION****

SUNDAY, JULY 6TH ST. JOHN’S FOURTH OF JULY SERVICE

9:00 A.M. NO SUNDAY SCHOOL

 

We will have one adult Sunday School Class which will meet in the basement. We are looking at a couple of resources. One is Max Lucado’s book “Facing Your Giants”. The nice thing about a study like this is you can read the book on your own and if you miss a Sunday or two, you can still come to class and not be behind. Watch for more information on this class.


St. John’s Church Council Highlights -- April 2008

Call to Order—Bonnie Sturm

Opening Devotions—Pastor Alicia

Old Business

Council members broke into small groups to discuss ideas for a Strategic Plan for the next 35 years, including:

New Business

Council visibility—As leaders of the congregation we need to let the congregation know what issues we review at meetings to understand challenges we face as a congregation. Ideas proposed: begin a newsletter column (informing congregation of significant projects council is working on and to inform congregation of financial concerns, etc.; initiate periodic Temple Talks; wear nametags so congregation knows who council members are, place picture of council in high traffic areas; focus on a council member each month, have donuts and coffee for meeting the new council members.

Secretary’s Report—Motion to accept was made and seconded. Motion accepted

Treasurer’s Report—Motion to accept was made and seconded. Motion accepted

Staff Reports

Pastor Jon

Pastor Alicia

John

Larry

Information

Newsletter Deadline is April 21.

Next Meeting—May 12, 2008 @ 7 pm  

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