On Tuesday this week, I met with the Church Multiplication Team from our Classis (local body of churches). This team is responsible for helping our Classis churches raise up future church planters, care for current church planters, and motivate and assist churches in planting new churches. Yes, it is a big job.

Our denomination is anticipating some big changes in the next 12-18 months and it is easy when people get together to focus on the anxiety and unknowns that face us as the Reformed Church in America. But yesterday, I was reminded of all the good God is doing in our denomination. In that little conference room, there were people involved in church planting in:
1. Nepal (Tom Elenbaas from Harbor Churches and myself)
2. India (Dave Jansen and Centerpoint Church in Columbus)
3. Russia (Greg Stamm the Classis Executive who also works with a church planting organization in Russia)
4. Brazil (Randy Weener from our denomination)

In addition to those global efforts, in our Classis, we have an African Church plant meeting in Grand Rapids, a church plant from the Allegan County Jail, plans for a new plant in East Lansing, another likely in Cleveland, and are beginning discussions of a new plant in Grand Rapids and/or Allendale focused on creating a welcoming place for people of all abilities and their families.

Our God continues to draw people to him and change lives. May God be glorified in all we do as a denomination and right here at Zion.

Connect to God
This week, we are taking a break from our study of Matthew to join Joshua and the Israelites as they prepare to enter the promised land. As God sends Joshua to lead the people and conquer the promised land of Canaan, there are some things Joshua knows and others he does not know, but there is always a next step to take. As we look ahead to remodeling our building as we continue living into a vision of developing leaders to flood our community with gospel conversations, we to know some things and don’t know a whole lot else. But we also know our next step is to remodel our building to support the vision and ministry to which God has called us. This Sunday we take a first step in building on the faithful past of Zion and stepping into the future God is laying out before us.

This Sunday, we are formally kicking off our capital campaign: Building Up, Reaching Out. We will share time lines for various events of the campaign, introduce the leaders of the campaign, share some of our values shaping the campaign, and let you know how you can be involved.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
Please be in prayer for our Middle School students who are on a retreat this weekend at Spring Hill Camps. Pray for great connections with each other and their leaders, lots of fun together, but most of all that students might take another step in their walk with Jesus.

Serve the World
Our church plant, City Chapel, recently celebrated the profession of faith of a young man. After the service, a visitor asked a beautiful question: How does this church live up to the promises we just made? Every time someone is baptized or makes profession of faith, we promise to help them grow in their faith and learn how to better follow Jesus, to disciple them. City Chapel is now pairing a spiritual mentor with this young man to help him learn even more how to follow Jesus. God continues to work at City Chapel, bringing new people into the community, and changing lives with the power of his Spirit.

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be Sunday, March 1 from 5-7 pm. We will enjoy a meal together, meeting in ministry teams, and have some other training. Child care will be provided for kids from birth through 5th grade. You can sign-up through the Connection Cards on Sunday.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $399,305.52
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $394,259.46

On Sunday morning, former basketball player, Kobe Bryant and 8 other people died in a helicopter accident. He and his daughter Gianna were on their way to a youth basketball game after attending Mass earlier in the morning. According to his Bishop, Kobe was a faithful attender at Mass, but sat way in the back because he did not want to distract people from Christ by the presence of a celebrity in Mass.

I came across another story of his life on Twitter told by a doctor in Phoenix who met Kobe when a child, also named Kobe, dying from heart failure asked for a basketball signed by Bryant. Rather then signing the ball, he snuck into the hospital (apparently he often made these types of visits, but wouldn’t let any public relations or media people come along) and spent an hour hanging out with this boy, shooting hoops, signing lots of different things, and simply talking with the boy. As he left, he asked if money was holding back the kids treatment and if so he could pay for it. But it wasn’t a money issue and there was nothing anyone could do. The young boy died a week later and his mom said that hour was the happiest moments of his life and were some of her few pictures of him smiling.

As a huge fan of the NBA, I find myself grieving someone I did not know this week. I am not the only one. Working out on Tuesday, I avoided all political news on the TVs by simply changing the channel to whatever station was discussing Kobe. There was always at least one channel discussing his passing.

As many sing his praises this week, I am also reminded of a darker side of his life. Of a resort in Eagle, CO. A young woman. And charges of rape. And I grieve for the many people whose wounds are reopened this week as someone credibly charged with sexual assault is lauded as a hero. They must wonder if these crimes will ever be taken seriously. If their pain will ever matter to others.

Kobe’s life is a complicated one. Charged with assault, but later in life a strong advocate for women. A ruthless competitor, but also compassionate to the suffering of others. He was a ball hog and a shooter without conscience on the court and seemed selfish, but he also mentored many younger players and helped them develop their skills.

In the end, he is just a person like you and me. Filled with contradictions. Both good and bad. Holding high ideals and often falling short. A blessing in the lives of some, but wounding others along the way. We all need a lot of grace in our lives.

I have two primary thoughts throughout this week. First, I have hope because Kobe was apparently a believer and follower of Jesus, however imperfectly he may have followed, and we know as followers of Jesus that death does not get the last word and God will speak and the dead will be raised with imperishable bodies like Jesus was on Easter Sunday.

Second, I am reminded we do not know how long we have in this life. Some get 80 or 90 or even 100 years, but others only get 41 or 25 or 13 or even less. Use your days well. And invest these days preparing for and inviting others into the eternity with God that will endure for all time.

Connect to God
Zion is a place where our youth are encouraged to serve regularly in important ways, in leadership roles, throughout our church and in worship services. But today, our youth ministry is getting even more involved in leading worship. Our high school and middle school youth groups created this worship service from the concept of intergenerational ministry. They chose songs to relate to all ages, involved multiple generations and generational concepts in their skits, created and edited videos on their own, built and decorated a sermon response, and created intrigue by posting multigenerational pictures throughout the hallways. Today we look Psalm 78:1-8 together and wonder how we can do our best to pass on the faith to the next generation.

Please note, due to the Youth Service, we will not have Sunday School this week for 4th and 5th graders so they can be participate in the entire service.

Next week Sunday, February 9, we will formally kickoff our capital campaign: Building Up, Reaching Out. We will share time lines for various events of the campaign, introduce the leaders of the campaign, share some of our values shaping the campaign, and let you know how you can be involved.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
For the past two years, we have been holding 729 groups as a way to get to know more people in the congregation. These groups commit to meet together for a meal once a month for three months. It is a great way to get to know some new people in church. I have heard numerous people tell me how much they have enjoyed getting to know people in their group. If you are looking to make some new connections over the winter, new to Zion, or wondering who some of these new people are, sign-up through the Connection Card this Sunday for our next round of 729 Groups.

Serve the World
On Tuesday this week, I met with the principal and several staff of West Elementary. We were meeting to talk about how we could effectively partner with them through Camp Zion over the summer. They were excited to see how they could help us target our support to the kids who most need the help over the summer. As the conversation continued,I shared a little about Hand2Hand and the Personal Care Pantry. The social worker in particular was very grateful for the faithful support our Hand2Hand team has been to so many students in the school. And  they wondered how they could connect some families with our Personal Care Pantry. God is bring praised in our community because of your generous service.

Due to the in-climate weather on the 11th, we postponed the Zion Mini-golf event until February 1 from 12-3. This is both a great opportunity to casually connect with friends from Zion and also invite any unchurched friends to a family friendly event at church. We look forward to seeing you on the this Saturday!

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be Sunday, March 1 from 5-7 pm. We will enjoy a meal together, meeting in ministry teams, and have some other training. Child care will be provided for kids from birth through 5th grade. You can sign-up through the Connection Cards on Sunday.

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $388,213.70
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $380,403.46

Earlier this week, my younger sister Jaclyn posted on social media about her son Dawit. Dawit is a delightful, energetic, funny little boy who has been through a lot. He was adopted as a baby from Ethiopia and deals with the impacts of early childhood trauma, including a struggle to trust other people to truly be there for him. With that context in mind, follow is my sister’s post:

I tell Dawit so often that he can trust me. I got it. He can relax. He can trust me that I will drive the car safely. He can trust me that I will buy food he likes. He can trust me to always come back when I am away from his sight. He can trust me that I will always love him, even when he does things that hurt me or others in our family. He can trust me that I am his Mommy FOREVER and nothing he can do will change that. I’m not going anywhere.

Just like my adopted son can trust me, I can #trust God. God adopted me as HIS daughter. God’s got it. I can trust Him to keep me safe. I can trust Him to provide for my needs. I can trust that God is there loving me, even when I cannot see Him or feel His #Presence. I can trust Him that He will always love me, even when I do things that hurt. I can trust that He is my Heavenly Father #forever and that will never change. He is not going anywhere. 

There is something so unique about #adoption and how it relates/compares to my relationship with my adopted Heavenly Father.

I don’t know what you may be going through this week. You may have sick kids. You may be facing a cancer diagnosis in your life or the life of someone you love. Memories may be fading for you, a spouse, or a parent. Your job may be tenuous or undergoing big changes. I don’t know, but God does. And, you can trust God to be with you in the midst of your struggles. He has got you and he won’t let go.

Connect to God
As we continue our study of the gospel according to Matthew, Jesus begins his public ministry on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He comes proclaiming a simple message of repentance. Like in our own day, many people then were willing to compromise the commands of God or mixed their religion with the politics to some disastrous ends. Jesus calls them and us instead to repent of their old ways of living and begin instead to live in his way.

If you would like a copy of the worship service, you can receive a complete copy by contacting Tom Verbrugge or you can find the weekly messages on our website.

Grow in Community
For the past two years, we have been holding 729 groups as a way to get to know more people in the congregation. These groups commit to meet together for a meal once a month for three months. It is a great way to get to know some new people in church. I have heard numerous people tell me how much they have enjoyed getting to know people in their group. If you are looking to make some new connections over the winter, new to Zion, or wondering who some of these new people are, sign-up through the Connection Card this Sunday for our next round of 729 Groups.

Serve the World
A quick story from City Chapel, our downtown church plant. About a year ago, Ron and Anna Radcliffe met with a former staff member at a large mega-church here in town. he had been burned and abused by the church and had not been back for 10 years. But, he gave City Chapel a try because he liked Ron. A year later, he is in church almost every week. Last week, m his daughter was sick and so they stayed home and she missed the children’s ministries. When she found out the church met without them, she was really sad because she loves going to church. Telling the story, her dad commented that he never thought he could trust a church again, but he has found a spiritual home at City Chapel. Your prayer and financial support of this ministry is making eternal impact in people’s lives.

Due to the in-climate weather on the 11th, we postponed the Zion Mini-golf event until February 1 from 12-3. This is both a great opportunity to casually connect with friends from Zion and also invite any unchurched friends to a family friendly event at church. We look forward to seeing you on the 1st!

Administrative Details
We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year to date budget: $377,121.88
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $363,007.72

1-19-20 Bulletin