Prayer Update! - Bethpage Assembly of God

Bethpage Assembly of God Church
P. O. Box 429; 362 Stewart Ave.
Bethpage, NY 11714
US POSTAGE
PAID
NONPROFIT
PERMIT No. 429
Bethpage, NY
Fall 2014
A Place where
God is Able!
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Lead Pastor:
Rev. Sal Bennardo
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Spanish Pastor:
Rev. Carmen Garcia
Elders:
Dan Buttafuoco
Dan Collins
Kiddie Kollege Director:
Darlene Bennardo
Student Ministries &
Worship Directors:
Rob & Kristen Taormina
Church Secretary:
Annmarie Faggione
Newsletter
Prayer Update!
Church Administrator:
Carol Eppolito
Bethpage Assembly of
God Church
P. O. Box 429;
362 Stewart Ave.
Bethpage, NY 11714
(516) 931-2378
www.godisable.org
We are pleased to report that prayers are being answered. A frequent
visitor to our church, Mr. John Chen, who was being treated for
stage 4 lung cancer is now reporting that his cancer is currently in
regression. Keep our brother in prayer as he will be undergoing testing
in September to evaluate his condition.
Other prayer requests such as for a young man named Aundrey, who
after experiencing seizures was rushed to the hospital and then
became comatose, was recently released from the hospital and is now
on the path to recovery.
These are just some of the many testimonies of how our awesome
God is still performing miracles.
We urge you to “pray without ceasing” as the Apostle Paul tells us in
1 Thessalonians 5:17.
In addition to prayer, we strongly urge those who are able, to
incorporate fasting along with prayer, as the needs and the challenges
we and our loved ones face in the community faith at times require
even greater intensified prayers.
If you are interested in joining our team of prayer warriors please feel
free to reach out to us at 516-731-923 [email protected]
“Guarding The Vineyard
of Our Heart”Pastor Sal Bennardo
I have a friend who lives behind a vineyard on
the North Fork of Long Island. In his back- yard
are numerous chickens & roosters. Recently, he
discovered several of his chicks had been ripped
out of the large pen never to be seen again. When I
asked him what or who he thought was the culprit,
he said it could very well be a fox. I got to thinking
about what Solomon said in the Bible.
What are some little foxes that undermine what
God is growing? Pride, selfishness, discouragement,
resentment, lust, gossip, doubt, fear, complaining to
name a few. Did you ever think of it in terms of selfpity in a time of trial, self-seeking in a relationship or
self-indulgence in one’s spare time? Sometimes we
can be at odds even within the community of faith. It
can be an unkind word, a critical attitude, a lack of
appreciation or just posting the wrong thing on face
book or social media.
Song of Solomon 2:15 reads,
“Catch the foxes for us, the little
foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our
vineyards are in blossom.”
It’s easy to see why we must guard our vineyards.
The time we spend in personal prayer, corporate
praise & worship on the Lord’s Day & fellowship with
God is a kind of insurance policy against the damage
done by little foxes. Our hearts need to be cultivated
by the Spirit of God. That means we allow the Holy
Spirit free reign in our life do whatever is necessary
to guarantee an abundant harvest of righteousness.
Solomon describes a beautiful vineyard, perhaps
during the fall time of the year. It’s the little foxes
that come to eat the tender grapes right before
they are harvested. Solomon warns us that when
something is alive & growing there can be spoilers to
that growth. Our lives & community of faith are like
these vineyards. God has planted His choice seeds of
grace & mercy, but the devil sends his little foxes into
the vineyard to spoil the growth, sometimes to devour
what God has given.
I have spent the last nine months teaching &
preaching about Gods grace. I encourage you to
grow in that grace & live in that grace. Why not ask
the Lord to guard your life from those little foxes
that would seek to steal your joy and undermine the
blessing of God. Remember what the blessing of God
means? You & I have excessive kindness & goodness
coming to us. Don’t allow anything to stop the flow
of God’s grace being poured out in your life or the
life of our community of faith.
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
Join us for Sunday Services:
9:00am & 10:30am including Children’s Services
Spanish Services: 1:30pm
As editor I may have to edit,
shorten and/or change
articles submitted for
publication. Also all articles
should relate to church
business or church events.
Also if you do not wish to
receive any future
publications, please call the
church office or email me at
[email protected]
Keep Growing
in Grace
Carol Eppolito, Editor
God bless you, Art & Daisy Jimenez
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKS AND GRACE
Girls Ministries My dear family & friends,
by Elder Dan Buttafuoco
I constantly hear
more vacuous
teaching on the
subject of God’s
grace. It seems
the likes of Joel
Osteen and
Joseph Prince
have infiltrated
even country
preachers with
the idea that WHAT WE DO, THE THOUGHTS
WE THINK AND THE IDEAS THAT DRIVE US
have no bearing on how and what we receive
from the Lord’s hand. This is utter nonsense.
This is not only bad theology, it is actually
quite dangerous because it removes from the
equation our own responsibility for how we
act and what results we receive in life. You
would never, for example, train your kids this
way and be considered a good parent. This is
completely irresponsible teaching. It sounds
attractive, though, because we can blame
everyone but ourselves (even God) for our
failures. It is very much in line with modern
thinking which seeks to blame any problems
we may have, including our addictions on
others. In this case, in the case of blessings, it
is all up to God.
Recently I heard a preacher say that
everything, every blessing and every gift we
receive from God is wholly the product of
God’s desire to bless us unconditionally and
he strongly implied that nothing we do or
can do will change that fact. We just need
to believe this and we receive it. God is, it
seems, bent on giving us our every desire
and meeting our every need regardless of our
response to Him, our level of obedience or
our level of understanding of His Word or the
ideas which drive our behavior. Again, this is
wrong. Clearly, if nothing we did or thought
mattered, why bother to think correctly, use
wisdom or even behave well? Furthermore
TRUE faith or belief in God manifests itself in
HOW WE ACT: “Faith without works is dead,”
the Bible says. In fact, this is the point of the
entire Book of James. Works matter! Works
by faith are evidence of that faith. True faith
produces good works which, in turn, produce
blessings. This has always been the traditional
and correct teaching. Faith is what drove
Christians to build hospitals, orphanages and
great ministries. Those who worked towards
that end will reap the rewards for that. Though
God’s grace is needed for any undertaking,
good results are not automatic. We are
partners with God’s grace. We work with God.
What these modern day heretical preachers of
grace fail to grasp is that God fills in the blanks
by doing what we cannot do for ourselves.
That is where grace (and prayer) comes in!
What we CAN do for ourselves, God rightly
expects us to do. It is bit like the old saw, not a
direct biblical quote but accurate nonetheless,
“God helps those who help themselves.” How
true.
Think about it. If grace was automatic and
blessings flowed to us in the form of job offers,
money, good health and sound relationships,
regardless of whether we used the gifts,
talents and brains God gave us to obtain these
things then would not everyone be similarly
blessed? Does God randomly bless some
more than others? Is God arbitrary or is God
purposeful and perfect in his dealings with us?
Does not our faith in God require that we act
upon it, use it, trusting him enough to take his
word by relying on it? Do we just sit back and
wait for grace to happen? Imagine if David had
felt that way about challenging Goliath. Did
not David’s faith in God’s deliverance force him
into the battle arena with just a slingshot and
a few stones. That action, motivated by his
faith in God, won the day! THAT is how faith
often works.
The way grace works is typified by The
Parable of the Talents, taught by Christ himself
in Matthew Chapter 25. Three different
“servants” of the Master were each given
a different measure of grace as measured
by the number of “talents” doled out at the
beginning. First, we should note that all were
servants of the Master who here clearly
represents God. Grace is NOT equal even at
the first because each were given a different
number of talents. All, however, were required
to put those talents to work to achieve the
Master’s aims and serve his interests. The
first two faithful servants were commended in
proportion to what they accomplished based
on the amount with which they started. That
is, the one with ten talents earned ten more
and the one with five earned five more. Both
were commended by the Master as having
done well. The one with only one talent,
however, was scolded, punished and called
“worthless” for not using what he was given.
He failed to act. This is how grace works.
We work with what we are given BY GRACE
and we produce results (even the economy is
a form of grace which allows increase). But
the faith of the two faithful servants is aptly
demonstrated by the works which they did
with the grace they were given. Obedience
follows faith. They multiplied what they had,
they took the raw material and turned it into
something useful for the Master. Modern
“grace teaching” heresy would hold that they
need not have put forth any effort at all; “just
believe” or just “claim it.” Note that the works
here does not detract from the grace of God
but it puts it into proper context. It is no less
grace because they used wisdom (wisdom is
grace from God) to make their investments, nor
is it less grace because they worked at their
various projects (the energy and diligence they
used was also grace from God).
Thus is grace present the entire time. It is also
God’s grace that gave them the talents in the
first place. It is God’s grace that instructed
them (implied) to make use of those talents
and it is God’s grace that supplies the market
forces and the economy to render an increase.
All of that is screaming grace. But grace is
not found in the servants sitting back and not
trying. That is considered wicked slothfulness
and is a serious sin.
To be continued in Winter issue of
Newsletter………..
Daniel P. Buttafuoco, Esq
Founding Partner
WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR NEW WEB SITE! PLEASE VISIT US AT
WWW.GODISABLE.ORG AND SEE WHAT’S NEW!
Girls Ministries is a club for girls of all school ages. There are different clubs
in Girls Ministries: Rainbows for girls and boys ages 3 and 4; Daisies for
Kindergarten girls; Prims for 1st and 2nd grade; Stars for 3rd through 5th grade;
and Friends for 6th through 8th grade.
Girls Ministries reinforces each girl’s personal relationship with Christ. The girls
learn about the bible, earn badges and form friendships, all while having fun!
The Friends group for middle school girls is a discussion based class. The girls
and their Sponsor talk about challenges they face in school and in everyday life.
They encourage each other to continue to follow God’s path for their lives.
All girls are welcome to join!! To register your girl, simply join us on Wednesday
evening; we meet every Wednesday night from 7:30-8:45 p.m. during the school
year. If you know of a girl who would like to join Girls Ministries, please call the
church office or come downstairs on a Wednesday night. The Sponsors and I are
excited to start a new year!!!
In His Service, Jill Ferriso, Girls Ministries Coordinator
MEN’S MINISTRY / NEWS
Greetings to all the men here at our local
fellowship. I am reading a book entitled
“Nearing Home” by Billy Graham. In the book,
Billy reflects on the different seasons of his
life. He looks back on his life and talks about
building a life on a strong foundation in Christ
Jesus and how that foundation continues to
help him as he adapts to growing older and can
no longer do the things he once did with ease
and confidence as this body grows weaker.
Although his physical body is getting weaker, Billy’s desire is to finish this
journey spiritually well and strong. Billy speaks about communicating with
the Lord Jesus through prayer and meditating on his word and as we do so
our spirits will identify with His voice. Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27. Billy then explains that
the Lord would not expect us to hear his voice if he did not make it possible.
He sends out his mighty voice (Psalm 68:33) and says we can hear it.
(Psalm 95:7)
When was the last time you heard from the Lord? Do we not recognize his
voice, or perhaps we’re too busy to listen.
The Lord speaks to us in many ways. I will never forget the time the Lord
spoke loud and clear to me as a new born-again believer on my first men’s
retreat from Bethpage Assembly of God Church. He spoke of the plans that
he had for my life if I was obedient to His word and direction in my walk with
Him. My life made a 180 degree turn and has never been the same.
I invite you to join us on this year’s men’s retreat and see what Jesus will do
in your journey with Him.
Be blessed. Elder Dan Collins
HELPING HANDS MINISTRY
continues to grow and
to be a blessing to all
involved. We started
this ministry with
the hope of meeting
simple needs among
the congregation and
doing it in a very simple
way; we have truly prospered. Over the past few years
we have been able to help people in many different areas
including cooking/meals, home visits/phone calls, driving
to appointments, getting to church and many other ways.
Looking toward the future for this ministry, we would
like to continue our goal of making sure the elderly of our
congregation, who are no longer able to attend church on
a regular basis, are still a part of our congregation. We
would like to set up a home visitation group to make a visit
to the people who fall into this group.
We are also looking forward to our holiday hosting
volunteers this coming season. These are volunteers
who would open their homes to congregants who would
normally be alone for the holidays.
If you know of anyone who falls into either of these two
groups, please let me know and of course if you would
like to volunteer your time and service to this wonderful
ministry, please contact me.
God Bless You,
Connie Luciano [email protected]
(516) 448-1562
God bless you and greetings
from Riker’s Island!
Bethpage Assembly’s Prison Ministry team needs your help to
continue to shine the Light of our Lord Jesus Christ to the lost
and incarcerated in the NYC and NYS correctional systems.
I am sure you have seen the reports of the problems currently
plaguing Riker’s Island and there is no better time than now to
get involved and help advance the Kingdom. Workers are few
and the harvest is huge. You need not fear as God was very
clear in Joshua 1:9 that He will be with us wherever He sends
us. It is very simple; we just need to say yes and show up.
We are in need of volunteers to help mentor men and women
who are nearing release and wish to either establish, renew or
enhance their walk with their God and thereby transform their
lives forever.
All life is precious and none are beyond hope. We have
witnessed serious criminals turn their back on their past lives
to serve The Lord. Are you interested in changing a life?
Come join us and maybe your life will be changed as well.....
Nelson Ramirez and Michael Luciano
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KIDS POWER AND LIGHT
REGULAR
WEEKLY EVENTS
Sundays:
Worship Services at 9am and
10:30am (Nursery provided for
both services)
Spanish Services at 1:30pm
Tuesdays:
10:00am: Intercessory Prayer at the
Ministry Center
1st & 3rd mornings: Bible Study at
Riker’s Island
Wednesdays:
7:30pm: Mid-week Bible Study
& Service
7:30pm: Youth Bible Study
7:30pm: Royal Rangers &
Girls Ministries meet
7:30pm: Mid-week Spanish Service
Fridays:
Mornings at Riker’s Island
7:30pm: 180 Youth Group
Saturdays:
1st Sat. of Each Month:
Operation Blessing
3rd Sat. of Each Month:
Men’s Prayer Breakfast
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
Open Letter from
Children’s Ministry Director
Dear Friends,
We pray multitude of blessings upon you and
your loved ones. I would like to take the time
to thank all the parents for your support to me,
our teachers and assistants. Special thanks to
our dear Miss Lisa Barrick and Miss Angela
Ochoa as they both served as interim directors
of our KPL and Spanish Ministry Children’s
Ministry respectively during my missions time
in Mozambique and Kenya. They and all our
teachers are always a blessing to me, to our
ministry and to our children.
We are very blessed to share what your
children will be learning during the fall time in
their classes and upcoming activities for our
Children’s Ministry. Some of our fall upcoming
events include our Annual Children’s Ministry
Sleepover in the beginning of October and at
the end of October our Fall Festival 2014. In our
Children’s Ministry Fall Program our Preschool
children will learn about how Joseph saved his
family, Rahab risked her life, and Joshua led
Israel into the Promised Land. Stories about
Peter, Matthew, the Samaritan woman, and
Zacchaeus show how Jesus helped people.
Through the faith of his great-grandmother
Ruth and stories about being a shepherd, being
anointed king, and defeating Goliath, David
will show kids how to love God like he did. Our
Middler kids will discover Jesus still has the
power to heal today. Through Esther, Jeremiah,
and others, kids will discover that following
God, the Source, helps to bring them guidance,
courage, faith, wisdom, and love. Peer pressure
is inevitable for students, our Young teens will
learn how to resist negative peer pressure and
search for positive peer contacts. They will also
take a closer look at what the Bible says about
heaven, hell, and living right now with an eye on
eternity.
We would love to see you and your children.
Our KPL Children’s Ministry is for all kids all
ages. We also would like to remind you that our
ministry teaches Friendship Ministry curriculum
for children with special needs. All our lessons
include prayer and worship time, bible reading,
games which the children enjoy. Come join us
on Sundays at any of our services 9:00am or
10:30am (English) and 1:30pm (Spanish).
Sincerely,
Stephanie Jurado
Children’s Ministry Director
Women of Purpose Women’s Ministries is a wonderful way to begin and grow Godly
friendships. God has created us unique in that fact that we are
relational beings, and as ladies, we love to communicate and
fellowship with each other. What better way to journey through
this wonderful life than to surround yourself with Godly women who
will encourage you and love you as you “do life” together. We meet
together as a whole community of women several times a year and
meet in small groups on a monthly basis. There are many ways to
plug in and meet the wonderful ladies of our church. Some of our
small groups are “season specific” and others are for everyone and
are available on different dates and times.
Our last newsletter highlighted the activities of our Senior Connection
small group. This month I would like to share with you what’s going on in
our Single’s group. The “Singles for His Glory” Women’s Ministry group
is led by Clara LaPort and ministers to single women of all ages. The
group’s primary focus is relationships, first with Jesus our Savior through
bible study and prayer and then through friendships that have developed
as a result of planned activities. The upcoming events include a trip to a
local museum on Sept 20th, their annual thankful night in November and
a bible study somewhere in-between. God has been very faithful to their
group as they continue to grow and now have 12 ladies who attend on a
regular basis. If you are a single women or single mom and are looking for
fellowship, feel free to join them at their next meeting.
Our small groups will begin again this September
as follows:
Please mark your calendars for the following
upcoming events:
Moms in the Younger Years (Church)
Thursdays: October 23rd and November 20th at 7 PM
Women’s Retreat: October 10 – 12 at Tuscarora Inn, Pennsylvania
New Purpose (Bennardo Home, Bethpage)
November date to be announced.
“Crisis and Tragedy: Saturday, November 15, 8:30 AM – 3:45 PM
Circle of Friends (Lisi Home, West Babylon)
Wednesday, September 10th, at 2:30 pm;
Tuesdays: October 7th, and November 4th at 7 PM
Singles for His Glory (Various)
Saturday, September 20th: Museum Trip
(Information to be posted at Welcome Center for future events)
Senior Connection (Hospitality House) Tuesdays: September 18th, October 16th, and
November 20th at 12 noon
Kay Arthur Conference: Hawthorn Gospel Church, Hawthorn, NJ
How Do You Survive?”
$35 registration till September 23rd
$40 registration from September 24 – November 9th
$50 registration from November 10th – at the door (unless sold out)
Registration is ongoing at the Welcome Center.
Christmas Brunch: Saturday, December 13th (With speaker)
More information available shortly
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you!!
Pat Kaminsky, Coordinator for Women’s Ministries
KIDDIE KOLLEGE Pre-School News
After the fun-filled, less structured days of summer, moving back into a routine of the school
year can be challenging. You can help create a happier and less-stressed “first-time-toschool”/”back-to-school” transition by making sure your child is prepared beforehand, being
organized, and talking about what to expect on the first day. A lot depends on how you as a
parent handle this once-a-year event. Something critical to a child’s sense of well-being and
security is prayer. That’s simply talking to God. Prayer can calm a child’s anxious thoughts, help
a child rest better and give a child the confidence needed for each new experience. We can do
all the right things as parents, but there are some things that only God can do. Try making prayer
with your child a priority during these early school years and see the difference it can make!
Kiddie Kollege is excited to announce the opening of school on September 8th. As in the past, we are offering Mommy & Me, Terrific Two’s,
Nursery and Pre-K Programs. This year we have added a second Terrific Two’s class and a 5 day afternoon Pre-K class. We will also be offering
two enrichment programs again: Soccer Shots and Computer Tots . Soccer Shots is a uniquely designed program that not only introduces your
child to soccer skills and techniques but also incorporates values like teamwork, encouragement and cooperation. Computer Tots explores
science, technology, engineering, art and math using hands-on technologies.
We still have a few spaces available for new students. If you’re interested please email or call us as we would love to give you a tour of our
facility and chat about what our programs has to offer.
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Spanish Ministry
of Bethpage
Rev. Carmen Garcia. Pastor.
For more information, please call
(516) 934-0778
Greetings and many blessings from
God for you all.
We are very grateful to God for allowing us to
enjoy these summer months with family, friends
and of course our Christian brothers and sisters.
Although some of our activities scheduled for
the Summer season had to be cancelled because
of the weather, we were still very blessed.
Now little by little we are returning to our
routine activities. We are welcoming the fall
season with a lot of joy and have scheduled for
these months some special activities to continue
to raise funds for missions. We believe what
the Word of God says: “…More blessed to
give than to receive, and by giving so shall you
receive.” We had a garage sale in the parking
lot of our church on Saturday September 6
from 9:00am and we will also have a lunch
on Sunday, Sept. 21 after our regular service
at 1:30pm. For the month of October, we will
have a very special activity on Sunday the 26
“Celebrating our Hispanic heritage”. In the
month of November with a grateful heart to God,
we are planning to have a lunch of thanksgiving
for families in need outside of our church (date
to be announced).
All of the above activities are in addition to
our regular activities for the week: Worship
Services, prayer and Bible study, cell groups in
homes and gatherings of the various ministries
once a month.
For more information about our programs,
please feel free to contact us. It will be a
real pleasure having you here at some of our
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
AND MENTAL ILLNESS
Eugene Simonson, LMHC
NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Most of us are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan
recorded in Luke 10. Jesus tells the story of a man lying by the side of
a road, injured after having fallen into the hands of robbers. Several
persons cross the road to by pass by the injured man, until a Samaritan,
seeing him, takes pity, bandages his wounds and pays to lodge him at
an inn to recover. The Samaritan is then described in 10:37, as “the
one who had mercy on him.”
As Christians, I believe we can easily identify with the works of the
Samaritan. In fact with many churches, prayer, hospital visitation,
and attending to the needs of those who are physically ill or perhaps
suffering from an injury is a familiar ministry well-integrated into
congregant life. A question I ask myself is how does Mental Illness fit
into this picture? Or more to the point, when it comes to dealing with
mental illness, does the church cross the road to by pass the problem
or does it willingly embrace the role of the Good Samaritan?
The National Alliance on Mental Illness defines Mental Illness as,
“medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood,
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meetings and welcoming you at our Sunday
Worship Services.
Have a happy and blessed Fall and may the
grace of God be with you.
Life Groups....GREETINGS
Why is a Life Group important?
Regular Schedule
of
➢ Activities
Sunday 12:00pm / Discipleship
1:15pm / Worship Service
➢
Tuesdays 7:30pm / Prayer and Bible Study
➢
Thursdays & Fridays 7:30pm / Life groups
➢
2nd Saturday of each month
9:00am / Fasting and prayer retreat
➢
3rd Saturday of each month
7:30pm / Men’s Meeting
➢
Bimonthly Vigil
Bimonthly Women’s Meeting
ability to relate to others and daily functioning. This often results in a
diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.” Simply
put, illnesses and disorders attack the physical organ of the brain and
affect thoughts and feelings, sometimes dramatically.
Because of the unique presentation of symptoms with mental illness,
individuals and families may come against a stigma that can result in
rejection, labeling, stereotyping, and misunderstanding. As a result, this
can create a sense of loneliness and isolation that can trigger, further
incubate, or deepen symptoms. In addition to this, when a church has
no effective response (ministry) to the struggle of mental illness, this can
wrongly interpreted by the sufferer as silence or rejection from God.
I believe that God desires to use us as His church to be the Good
Samaritan to those who struggle with mental illness, acknowledging that
these struggles are real and need the grace of God and his healing power.
Individuals and families with mental health issues or crises need the love,
support, connection and care that the church family can provide, to access
the redeeming power of Christ in their lives.
The Counseling Office at Bethpage Assembly of God has the vision to
provide professional, faith-based counseling and support services for a
variety of issues, including supportive counseling for those who struggle
with mental illness and their families in a safe, confidential environment.
Please feel free to contact me by phone (516-780-0444) or email
([email protected]). God bless you.
Greetings to our church family! Life
Groups resumed on September 22nd and
we’re building new friendships, having
more prayers answered and deepening
our faith – reaping all the fruits of the
Life Group experience! The book we are
using to guide this session is “The Glory
Within” by Corey Russell. This book is
about deepening our relationship with the
Holy Spirit and we are finding it to be very
enlightening.
We are looking to add new Life Group
meetings to better serve the community
of faith and are always looking for new
facilitators – please consider this ministry
as we have found it to be a complete
blessing in our lives.
• It could change your life.
• It will help you to learn/improve your social skills.
• It will help you to discover and
develop the ministry God has for you – remember we ALL have a ministry.
• You are important to the body of
Christ. We need your input, experience, and testimony of what God
has done in your life. We lose out when you are not there.
• God wants to encourage you as you go through life’s journey by hearing the testimonies of those who have gone through what you are experiencing now.
• You will meet new friends.
• Most important of all – Jesus is at every meeting!
It’s never too late to join a Life Group
session, even if it has already started, some
still have room available. Don’t forget that
Life Groups are open to all - feel free to
invite friends and neighbors outside of our
church family to share the glory of our Lord.
If you have any questions regarding Life Groups,
not sure what they’re about, etc.,
please contact us at [email protected].
TEN STEPS TO REBUILDING
YOUR FAITH IN GOD!
Pastor Sal is now teaching a series of messages from the
book of Nehemiah. Any follower of Jesus Christ can rebuild
and restore their faith. Like building a wall, stones of faith
are laid one at a time. But when complete, such a renewed
faith can withstand the strongest assault of any enemy.
Join us on Wednesday evenings at 7:30PM.
Operation
Blessing
Fall Season News
The Operation Blessing team works together
to provide food for needy families in the church
and the community. Food is distributed on the
first Saturday of every month. Thank you to the
many faithful volunteers who give of their time
and talents each month to serve in this ministry.
Whether it be donating money to help fill our
pantry, organizing the food for pickup, encouraging
and praying with the recipients of the food or
helping to load cars and make deliveries, we
couldn’t minister to the community without your
willingness to help.
We are currently helping approximately 50
families. People from the community contact the
church on a regular basis and ask to be added
to our list. Please, if there is anyone in the
congregation in need of food, just call the church
office and let us know. We are here to help.
Also, with the fall season fast approaching, we are
looking ahead to other special events organized by
Operation Blessing. In November, we distribute
Thanksgiving turkeys with all the trimmings to
those in need. And at Christmas, we host the
“Angel Tree” project, where gifts of toys and
clothes for children 13 and under are provided
to needy families as well as food. Information
regarding these outreaches will be posted at the
hospitality desk as the events get closer.
Finally, we are in need of additional helpers,
particularly men, to carry food to the cars and help
with a few deliveries. If you are able to help out,
please contact the church office. (Phone: 9312378)“
A generous man will
himself be blessed for
he shares his food with
those in need.” Proverbs 22:9
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