This Saturday, we will once again host a mini-golf course at our church. This is a great opportunity to invite friends and neighbors to enjoy a time of fun and simply hanging out. As I was watching Pastor Rick and Tom Boeve set up the course this morning, I was reminded of a great book I read 15 years ago or more called Irresistible Evangelism. 

The book challenges Christians to go beyond random acts of kindness and what we might call Benevolence Evangelism to actively sharing their faith with non-believers. But, they also highlight the importance of first adapting your approach and goal based on the current spiritual interest of the other person. 

Just like you need a driver when teeing off and a putter on the green, we need to take a different approach in sharing our faith with people depending on their current knowledge of and interest in the things of God. Using the golf analogy, they suggest four basic steps and approaches to influencing people to take a step toward Jesus.

1. For people hostile to the faith, simply do kind things for them to give them a more positive impression of Christians. We do this through random acts of kindness and benevolence outreach ministries like Camp Zion, Hand2Hand, and the Personal Care Pantry. They are all worth doing simply to show the kindness of God to others and they are especially important to begin reaching people who are hostile to the faith.
2. For those who are open Christianity, we need to develop genuine friendships. Not friendships to convert, but friendships based on mutual interest and genuine affection. This requires actively listening to them and taking an interest in their life and showing them the unconditional acceptance of God by your acceptance of them.
3. For those who are not only open, but trust you because you have been a true friend, we need to be ready to ask open ended wondering question that help them begin to think more about Jesus. Questions like, where do you find meaning in your life? Who have been some major influences in your life? Why? Take an interest in understanding their view of the world so you can explain your view of the world and God in a way that will make sense to them.
4. For those who show interest in our faith, we need to new ready to share our hope in Christ. 

Drivers. Irons. Wedge. Putter.

Kindness. Friendship. Wondering. Sharing.

And through it all a whole lot of prayer. On the golf course and when loving people far from God whom we know God loves, too.

Join us Saturday on the course with your friends to depend relationships, maybe ask some wondering questions, and be open to sharing your hope in God. See you Saturday!

Connect to God
While Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell many of the same stories of Jesus, John tells many different stories and in the process give a unique theological view of who Jesus is and how he now calls us to live. We begin our study of John this year by studying the 7 signs of John. The second sign occurs once again in Cana after Jesus returns from celebrating the passover in Jerusalem. The crowds gather looking for signs and wonders in order to believe. But one man comes to Jesus begging for his own sons life and he takes Jesus at his word. Before he sees the sign and wonder, he believes and his boy is healed. We can often be tempted to come to Jesus because of what we can get from him, but even greater things can be done with our lives when we take him at his word.

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
We extend our sympathy to Mark & Deb Smith, Paul & Mary Polavin, Matt & Sarah Smith and their families as they mourn the passing of their mom/grandma, Betty Dunnette, who passed away on January 3, 2019. Please remember them in your prayers during this difficult time.

This Saturday, January 12, we will once again host Zion Links. This is a great tradition at Zion as we turn our church into a miniature golf course. This event is free for everyone and is an especially easy way to invite your friends or family to a church event and introduce them to Zion. Mini-golf will be open from 12:30 to 3:30. See you there!

Throughout this fall, many people in our church have participated in a 729 Group. 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 connections beginning on January 6 for our next round of 729 Groups.

We had a great first week for our women’s exercise class on Monday. Women of all ages participated and made connections with each other. But there is still room for you. Class will begin at 7:30 pm. See you then!

Serve the World
Lifeline Community Church continues to experience slow and steady growth and effective ministry in Wyoming. They are currently planning a mission trip to Guatemala with members from the church from June 19-26. The trip will cost an average of $2,000 per person which for many of their members is a huge cost. To help defray these costs, Benefit Twice will be holding a special sale January 23-26 and March 20-23. This will only be at the Wyoming store in Rogers Plaza, so mark your calendars and do a little shopping for a great cause and some good deals!

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be not be on January 27, but on March 3 from 5-7 pm. 

Our Consistory met on Tuesday evening this week and approved moving ahead with hiring Elevate Studios to create our building remodel plans. There will be opportunity for many people to speak into this process and share their perspective and hopes for our building use in the weeks ahead. 

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: $348,006.40
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $343,600.23

In August, 2012, Rachel Brower started working as our Children’s Director after having volunteered in Children’s ministry here for years.  She did not seek out the position. Our search team sought her out, asked her to apply, interviewed and hired her and it has been a beautiful fit since then.  Back when Rachel started, our Children’s Ministry did not have the numbers of kids that it has today.

Fast forward to today.

A few weeks ago, we had 90 children in our children’s ministry programs, birth through 5th grade. Praise God! 90. That is not even counting all the babies and toddlers who were in the sanctuary.  

In 2017, we averaged 52 children each week. Since September, we’ve had an average of 72 kids involved in our Children’s Ministry each week. It takes approximately 94 volunteers each month to run our Children’s Ministries programs and nurseries.  That is unbelievable growth. It feels like a Christmas miracle, especially for some of us who remember how few kids we had just a few years ago.

In light of this wonderful growth, in late December, the consistory of Zion voted unanimously to grant Rachel Brower a six-week sabbatical.  Rachel’s sabbatical will start on Jan 2 and end on Feb. 12. This time is for Rachel to catch her breath, rest, and focus on renewal. During this time we will not see Rachel at church or she may be tempted to jump right back into her role and not get the rest she needs.

After Feb. 12, Rachel has a agreed to a six-week Research Period on behalf of Zion Ref.  During this Research Period Rachel will be visiting other churches to see how they run their Children’s Ministry.  She will be meeting with other Children’s directors to research best practices. Basically, Rachel will be doing research on our behalf to see how we can make our Children’s Ministry its absolute best AND make sure it is sustainable for our kids, staff and volunteers. With rapid growth you risk burning out your staff or your volunteers.  The consistory does not want to do either, so Rachel will be working in this Research Period to think and dream how we might best organize our Children’s Ministry for sustainability.

During the Research Period Rachel will be working with a small team of people from Zion to write a proposal how our Children’s Ministry might look into the future. Also, during this Research Period we will likely not regularly see Rachel in church as she’ll be out, visiting other churches, researching, and gathering ideas and best practices.  But we will get regular reports on her progress at consistory, and we will do our best to communicate her work during the Research Period with the congregation.

Some of you may be wondering how we are going to function during the six week sabbatical and the six week Research Period. That is an excellent question. Sarah McAnally, Shanda VandePol and Tricia Leistra have agreed to help organize and facilitate Children’s Ministry during this time, but they are going to need help. They will be making calls, asking people to step up in new ways or help out and pitch in.

We are thankful to Rachel for her leadership, passion, love of the kids, and faithful service. But, most of all though, we give thanks to God for his blessings, his wisdom, the spirit of unity and trust he’s given to our leadership, the resources to make this happen, and the way he is – even now – spreading the news and hope of salvation through Jesus into a new generation here at Zion.

(edited from an announcement made by Elder Tricia Leistra on December 23, 2018)

Connect to God
As we begin a new year, God begins a new thing in Jesus. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell many of the same stories of Jesus, John tells many different stories and in the process give a unique theological view of who Jesus is and how he now calls us to live. We begin our study of John this year by studying the 7 signs of John. The first sign occurs at a wedding in Cana. Partway through, disaster occurs. They run out of wine, but Jesus saves the day by turning ritual water into wine. What does it tell us that Jesus’ first miracle was not healing the sick or raising the dead, but turning water into wine? Perhaps Jesus is inviting us to a party the likes of which we have never seen and letting us know that this time the drinks are on him.

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
Next week Saturday, January 12, we will once again host Zion Links. This is a great tradition at Zion as we turn our church into a miniature golf course. This event is free for everyone and is an especially easy way to invite your friends or family to a church event and introduce them to Zion. Mini-golf will be open from 12:30 to 3:30. See you there!

If you are interested in thinking more about how to be a Christian presence in a culture fueled often by outrage and anger, check out this great learning opportunity on January 14 from 12:30-3:30. Ed Stetzer will be giving a talk on Church Leaders in an Age of Outrage at Corinth Reformed Church. Ed is a leader in church planting and evangelism in the US, the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. All proceeds from this event will go to support Doug McClintic from our Regional Synod and friend of Zion as he transitions to a new role leading the missions efforts of the RCA in Europe. This is such  great opportunity that Zion will cover the costs of the event for you. Simply e-mail Pastor Greg by January 10 and he will buy you a ticket.

Throughout this fall, many people in our church have participated in a 729 Group. 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 connections beginning on January 6 for our next round of 729 Groups.

On January 7 at 8 pm, our new women’s exercise class will meet for the first time. It will be a great time to both get some exercise and connect with other women at Zion.See you then!

Serve the World
One of the great joys of the Christmas and New Year season is hearing updates from the various missionaries whom we support at Zion. Following are just a couple of exciting things happening through your support:

From Good News Nepal a Christmas miracle:

Another miracle has happened in Nepalgunj Nepal!  GNN has received permission from schools there to come in and share the Gospel!  So far our missionaries have gone to 2 schools.  You can see the crowd of students and also teachers. There are 15 schools to minister to, so Pastor Philip has spread the work between the GNN managers stationed in Nepalgunj.

In total more than 8,000 people will hear the Good News clearly taught!  Please pray for Gods Holy Spirit to touch many hearts.  Our managers are all on fire for God, but need constant prayer for inspiration and protection.

Also from Nepal through the work of Jibit Asha we have seen 30 people come to faith from Christmas outreach events alone. God is on the move in Nepal!

Lifeline Community Church continues to experience slow and steady growth and effective ministry in Wyoming. They are currently planning a mission trip to Guatemala with members from the church from June 19-26. The trip will cost an average of $2,000 per person which for many of their members is a huge cost. To help defray these costs, Benefit Twice will be holding a special sale January 23-26 and March 20-23. This will only be at the Wyoming store in Rogers Plaza, so mark your calendars and do a little shopping for a great cause and some good deals!

Administrative Details
Our next Leaders Meeting will be on January 27 from 5-7 pm. We look forward to a great evening of fellowship, worship, and some training. The large group training will focus on discussing and responding to the vision for Zion shared during the morning service on the 27th. Ministries teams will also break up into smaller groups for some ministry specific training as well. Anyone volunteering in any capacity at Zion is encouraged to attend.

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: $337,131.20
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $335,710.22
Building Fund Contributions in 2018: $13,178.00

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— 
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 
the Spirit of counsel and of might, 
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, 
or decide by what he hears with his ears; 
but with righteousness he will judge the needy, 
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. 
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; 
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 
Righteousness will be his belt 
and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 
The wolf will live with the lamb, 
the leopard will lie down with the goat, 
the calf and the lion and the yearling together; 
and a little child will lead them. 
The cow will feed with the bear, 
their young will lie down together, 
and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 
The infant will play near the cobra’s den, 
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 
They will neither harm nor destroy 
on all my holy mountain, 
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord 
as the waters cover the sea. 

Isaiah 11:1-9

Connect to God
Just a few days before Christmas, we come to the end of John’s prologue as the Word takes on flesh and moves into the neighborhood. In a world where the rich and powerful live in gated communities, safely ensconced in their wealthy ghettos, think for a moment what kind of all powerful God chooses to come and live with the likes of you and me. He comes not even in some earthly palace surrounded by guards and courtiers, but to a poor not-quite married yet couple in a small village in the backwaters of the empire. This God who is so great no one can even see his glory and live, condescends to live among us as a baby and somehow in this humble state shows his true glory. Come let us worship our newborn king!

Join us on Christmas Eve at 6 pm for a reflective Candlelight service as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! This is a great way to begin your Christmas celebration as we remember again the hope we have found in Christ and look not only at the manger, but through the manger to the empty tomb and our future life with him. Nursery will be provided, but children of all ages are encouraged to attend 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
Micah Zondervan will be having surgery tomorrow to correct an inverted chest. Please hold Micah in your prayers as he recovers and his family as they care for him following surgery.

Throughout this fall, many people in our church have participated in a 729 Group. 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 connections beginning on January 6 for our next round of 729 Groups.

In early January, we will be starting a new women’s exercise class on Monday nights. It will be a great time to both get some exercise and connect with other women at Zion. If you are interested in learning more, you can sign up on the Connection Card on Sunday.

Serve the World
On Monday, we again held our monthly Personal Care Pantry. Every month more than 50 families are supported, cared for, and blessed with some tangible help. If you are looking for a way to give back, a place to serve others, and get to know some more people at Zion. Please contact Luke Austin or Tom Boeve to learn more. 

Christmas is a key season for churches new and old to reach out and welcome new people into their community. Join me in praying not only for our church to practice gracious hospitality this season, but also for City Chapel during its first Christmas season and for Lifeline Community Church that both our church plants may boldly share our hope in the newborn king this season.

Administrative Details
As many of you may know, in September our Consistory went on a retreat together to discern God’s call for Zion in the next several years. We will be sharing this vision in more detail early next year, but the core of our vision is a desire to raise up Christian leaders in order to plant new churches in the Grandville and Georgetown Township communities. 

As part of this visioning process, we also have been assessing our ongoing needs at Zion in order to continue welcoming new people into our congregation. We are working on everything from assessing our outreach ministries to creating leadership development resources and assessing our building use. Currently, the Consistory is interviewing potential architects to help us better use the footprint of our building to more effectively welcome more people to our church. We are asking specifically for help in rightsizing our children and youth spaces and improving the traffic flow in the building on Sundays with some more welcoming gathering areas.

As you think about your upcoming end-of-year giving, please consider giving to our new Church Remodel Fund. Going forward, we will involve the congregation in both the design and decision process of any remodel, but wanted to share this opportunity to financially support this effort as we begin dreaming of how we can use our facility even better to reach people for God.

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: $315,380.80
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $307,452.52