Zion E-News (4-11-2019)

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The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! ~ 3 John 1-2 (MSG)

A friend of mine posted the verse above on their facebook wall this morning. They had some sort of reason for posting it that I do not remember. But, when I read the verse I immediately thought of our Consistory.

They are great people. They work very hard for our church. They think deeply and carefully about issues. They bring vision and wisdom to our discussions. They come from lots of different backgrounds and perspectives and do the hardworking to listen and understand each other and then follow God together. They disagree and discuss issues with grace and humility. They have a genuine love and care not only for the institution of our church, but even more so for all of you, the people. I love working with them. They bring great support, encouragement, and joy to the life of our church and staff at Zion. If you see a Consistory member on Sunday, take a moment and thank them for their commitment to and leadership of our church.

In not quite a month, several of them will be ending their terms on Consistory and we will be adding 4 new members. As part of our most recent meeting, the Consistory chose the slate of Elder and Deacon nominees from whom our new Consistory members will be elected on May 5 at our annual congregational meeting. The nominees for Elder are: Steve Boersma, Brian Davis, Brandon Dieter,and  Brandon Ondersma. The nominees for Deacon are: Robbi Boeve, Jerrod Holzgen, Mark Radcliff, and Dan Sundberg.

Connect to God
From the opening verses of the gospel of John, it is clear that Jesus is God. John stresses Jesus’ unique relationship with God so people would believe Jesus was who he said he was. In the gospel, Jesus claims his divinity by using the phrase I Am seven times, joining the phrase to tremendous metaphors, expressing His saving relationship toward the world and showing that He is everything we need. During this Lenten season we will look at each of these 7 I Am statements. We began on Ash Wednesday considering how Jesus is the bread of life and we conclude today on Palm Sunday as Jesus’ proclaims himself to be the true vine in whom we must remain.

Kids ages 3 through 3rd grade are invited to wave Palm Branches during one of the opening worship songs this coming Sunday, April 14. It’s a fun way to get the kids involved at the beginning of Holy Week. If you see any children in the sanctuary before church, please let them know about the palm branches. I don’t want anyone to feel left out!  And, visitors are absolutely welcome to join us!

If interested, lease have your child come to church by 9:20. Kids ages 3 through Young 5’s will meet in Room 207. (the 3 yr. olds room)  Kids in Kindergarten-3rd grade will meet in the chapel. We’ll bring them into the sanctuary during the song “Hosanna,” and they’ll walk throughout the sanctuary. After the song, they’ll stay up on the steps for prayer & dismissal, and then head right to children & worship.

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
On Sunday, we will also celebrate with four of our Middle School students and their families as Emily Verbrugge, Taylor DeVries, Samantha Eriks, Noah Brower make profession of faith.

Serve the World
This Sunday Sarah McAnally will be sharing a simple way during the Easter Season to create connections with our neighbors and create an opportunity to present the gospel message to children as well. As you listen to her speak, I urge you to think about the ways you may be able to deepen your connections with non-believers and share the hope we have found in Christ.

Administrative Details

Our next Leaders Meeting, on April 28 from 5-7 pm, will be a great opportunity to reconnect with your ministry teams, review the past year, and look forward to how God will be working among us in the year to come. Everyone who serves in any capacity is welcome to attend the meeting. We hoper to provide child care  for children 3rd grade and under. We are still looking for people to serve in childcare that evening. You can sign-up for both the Leaders Meeting and to provide childcare through the connection cards on Sunday. As usual, we will also provide a meal. Mark your calendar and plan on joining us on April 28 at 5 pm. Please sign up this Sunday on the back of the Connection Card.

As we continue working with Elevate Architecture to develop a plan for remodeling our building to create a larger gathering area and children’s spaces, the Consistory has formed a building remodel team. The team includes: Pastor Rick, Andy Boeskool, Brian Davis, Sandie Dunn, Kyle VandePol, Roxie VanderHeide, and Arlyn Zoet.

Our Children’s Ministry redesign team is wrapping up their work and will be presenting a proposal to Consistory at the April 9 meeting. Their goal is to reshape our Children’s programming to align more closely with a fiasco of raising up leaders in our church and reaching our community with the gospel through church planting. The team includes Rachel Brower, Sean McAnally, Heidi Ondersma, Jackie Deiter, and Megan Taylor. They presented their recommendations to Consistory and will be meeting with Consistory again in May to continue their productive conversation.

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:  $489,384.00
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $488,497.27

This Week

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4-14-19 Bulletin

Registration is now open for Camp Zion 2019!!!

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Registration is now open for Camp Zion 2019.

Click on following link for a copy of our registration form.  CZ Registration Form

Camp Zion is open to children from Grandville & Jenison school districts entering 1st-6th grade in the fall of 2019.  Spaces are limited and filled on a first come first serve basis. Completed registration forms can be dropped off to our church office M-Th 9am-2pm or emailed to our camp director at campzion@zionreformed.org

This Week’s Bulletin

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4-7-19 Bulletin

This Week’s Bulletin

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3-31-19 Bulletin

Zion E-News (3-27-2019)

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In my Discipleship Triad, we are still reading the book of Acts this week. This second time through the book, I have been struck by both the ongoing movement of the gospel to cross cultural barriers (Jews to Samaritan to Gentile) and the struggle of the church to keep up with the gospel.

First, the disciples are told to preach in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, but only leave Jerusalem when the persecution gets too hot.

Second, they go to a Samaritan village, but need to send for Peter and John to come pray one the people when many Samaritans come to believe.

Third, the church finally starts reaching out to gentiles only after God sends Peter a vision and literally sends gentiles to knock on Peter’s door and ask him to tell them about Jesus. (These are the worst internally driven evangelists ever.)

Fourth, when the church in Antioch sends out Paul and Barnabas to preach to both Jews and gentiles and many gentiles come to believe, the church doesn’t know what to do. They are Jewish. They don’t follow Jewish customs. They hold a special meeting to decide if these people can even follow Jesus without first becoming Jewish. Thankfully, cooler heads noticed these gentile believers had received the Holy Spirit and if God accepted them the church should, too.

For many of us, it is hard to befriend and welcome people are are new or different from us. Conversations are harder to start. We may stumble into some awkward social situations. We may not know what to say. But God continually calls his people out into the world to engage people who are different from them with them gospel of Jesus. It happens over and over again in Acts and it still happens. Well, it happens when God’s people are willing to go and take risks and make new friends and talk about Jesus and invite others to follow the God they love.

The disciples only went at first when they were forced to by persecution, but by the end, they had caught the vision and were scattered all over the world, from India to Rome telling people about Jesus. Where has God already sent you? Where might he be calling today?

Connect to God
From the opening verses of the gospel of John, it is clear that Jesus is God. John stresses Jesus’ unique relationship with God so people would believe Jesus was who he said he was. In the gospel, Jesus claims his divinity by using the phrase I Am seven times, joining the phrase to tremendous metaphors, expressing His saving relationship toward the world and showing that He is everything we need. During this Lenten season we will look at each of these 7 I Am statements. We began on Ash Wednesday considering how Jesus is the bread of life and today we see how Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

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
Conrad Burton, Tom & Marcia Verbrugge’s grandson, is having a bone marrow transplant tomorrow, March 27, for his leukemia. The donor is a woman from Germany.  Pray that his body won’t reject the bone marrow and he will have minimal discomfort.  The doctors say Conrad will feel really sick after the transplant. Please also pray for the donor as he will be feeling really tired for a week or so.

Serve the World
If you are or know a teenager, consider applying to be staff at Camp Zion this summer! Job descriptions and applications will be available this Sunday on the Camp Zion bulletin board near the church office.

Administrative Details
As we continue working with Elevate Architecture to develop a plan for remodeling our building to create a larger gathering area and children’s spaces, the Consistory has formed a building remodel team. The team includes: Pastor Rick, Andy Boeskool, Brian Davis, Sandie Dunn, Kyle VandePol, Roxie VanderHeide, and Arlyn Zoet.

Our Children’s Ministry redesign team is wrapping up their work and will be presenting a proposal to Consistory at the April 9 meeting. Their goal is to reshape our Children’s programming to align more closely with a fiasco of raising up leaders in our church and reaching our community with the gospel through church planting. The team includes Rachel Brower, Sean McAnally, Heidi Ondersma, Jackie Deiter, and Megan Taylor. They have one more meeting scheduled before April 9 and appreciate your prayers.

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:  $467,633.60
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $461,228.23

This Week’s Bulletin

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3-24-19 Bulletin

Zion E-News (3-21-2019)

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Over the past few weeks, the Discipleship Triad I am in has been reading Philippians and Acts. On Wednesday, I read about Paul’s mission in Philippi and it reminded me of something JD Greear wrote once. He said that in Philippi, Acts gives us a picture of the three types of people our churches will reach.

There are people like Lydia, who is already seeking God when Paul meets her at a Jewish worship service. Some people we know are already seeking after God. They may be curious about Christianity or they may have left the church years before, but due to some life changes are starting to think more about God and their spiritual life. These people may be the easiest to reach because they are already looking to be found.

And then there are people like the demon possessed slave girl. She is literally enslaved and also tortured by demons. But when she meets Paul, he sets her free from the demons and she finds an entirely new life in Jesus. Similarly there are people who will become open to or interested in Christianity after they experience the love and help of the church. We seek to reach people like this through ministries like Hand2Hand, Camp Zion, and the Personal Care Pantry.

And then, there is the jailer. Jailers in that day were often retired Roman soldiers who were given these positions as a sort of retirement plan. They were usually pretty cynical and jaded after years of war. This jailer was won over by the joy and generosity of Paul and Silas even as they were unjustly imprisoned. Similarly, there are people in our community who are cynical about things of faith. They are not open to faith, but may become so as they see and experience the lives of believers who show the fruit of the Spirit.

While JD doesn’t mention a fourth category, I think there is a fourth category of people who did not yet exist in the 1st century: nominal believers. This may be the hardest group of people to reach with the gospel because they already think they are saved, if they think about matters of faith at all. This may also be the most common group of people lin our community. They may have grown up in church. They may attend a church on Christmas and Easter and maybe Mother’s Day. They may even own a rarely opened Bible. Dean Inserra in a recent article for the Gospel Coalition summarizes the typical beliefs of these nominal Christians as “a generic theism that mingles biblical concepts with a hope that one is a good person—all while maintaining autonomy over personal decisions and lifestyle.”

These people often think they are saved because they were members of a church as children, made confirmation as a young teen, or accepted Jesus into their heart in kindergarten, but they have long since stopped trying to follow Jesus. They need to hear the gospel again: that they are sinners in need of salvation, that Jesus offers forgiveness through his death the on the cross, and by his Spirit they can now follow him.

This is the gospel we all need to hear. There is grace for each of us no matter our past, no matter our mistakes, no matter our struggles and doubts. The grace of Jesus is available for all.

Connect to God
From the opening verses of the gospel of John, it is clear that Jesus is God. John stresses Jesus’ unique relationship with God so people would believe Jesus was who he said he was. In the gospel, Jesus claims his divinity by using the phrase I Am seven times, joining the phrase to tremendous metaphors, expressing His saving relationship toward the world and showing that He is everything we need. During this Lenten season we will look at each of these 7 I Am statements. We began on Ash Wednesday considering how Jesus is the bread of life and today we see how Jesus is the the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

This Sunday we celebrate with Ryan and Rachel Kleinjans the baptism of Colton Robert. As they celebrate his life, we give thanks to God for the gift of new life he has made available to all who believe. We thank God as well for the covenant he has established all the way back with Abraham to include children in his family. We honor this faithful God as we welcome Colton into the covenant community at Zion.

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
This Sunday, we welcome 7 new adult members and their families into our community: Ryan Kleinjans, Rob and Sarah Olger (Autumn, Chase, and Zachary), Joe and Jill Sietsema (Ashley and Austin), and Matt and Sara Smith (Clayton, Gabriel, and Maxwell). We thank God for the gift these people are to our church and look forward to seeing how God will use all of our gifts to impact our community with the good news of the Kingdom of God in Jesus.

Serve the World
If you are or know a teenager, consider applying to be staff at Camp Zion this summer! Job descriptions and applications will be available this Sunday on the Camp Zion bulletin board near the church office.

In the past few weeks, Judy Mekkes has worked hard to redesign and organize our missions board outside of the church office. Every day as I walk into the offices, I stop by the wall and say a prayer for a missionary or two. I feel so blessed to serve in a church that has such a heart for missions both locally and around the world. Through your generous support, mission work occurs in Grandville, Wyoming, Grand Rapids, Peru, Kenya, Nepal, Bahrain, Ecuador, and around the world. When you have a moment take a look at the board and offer a prayer of thanks for those we support and all who came before that we might hear the good news as well.

Administrative Details
As we continue working with Elevate Architecture to develop a plan for remodeling our building to create a larger gathering area and children’s spaces, the Consistory has formed a building remodel team. The team includes: Pastor Rick, Andy Boeskool, Brian Davis, Sandie Dunn, Kyle VandePol, Roxie VanderHeide, and Arlyn Zoet.

Rachel Brower continues the research portion of her sabbatical as she works with a team to imagine new possibilities for our Children’s Ministries. The team includes Rachel Brower, Sean McAnally, Heidi Ondersma, Jackie Deiter, and Megan Taylor. Currently they are doing some benchmarking of best practices of other churches as they consider the best way to position our church for both future growth and planting new churches.

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: $456,758.40
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $448,103.23