Over the past few days I have been reading Francis Chan’s Letters to the Church. Per usual, Chan offers some challenging critiques of the American church including how we can reduce membership in the church to coming to a weekly worship service (and I would add other programmed events). At one point, he presents a fictional conversation between Peter and Paul about their favorite church and the programs it offers. One is interested in checking out the other’s church, but not that week because he is already too busy on Sunday with kids activities. It’s a pretty harsh critique of our willingness to settle for minimal to weak relationships and commitments to one another.

And then, earlier this week, I came across an article suggesting a simple and easy way to improve your experience of church. You can read the article here. The quick summary is to come 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes longer after church. Basically, spend more time getting to know people in your church and give yourself time for relationships rather than rushing to church a few minutes late and then rushing home or to the next event of the day.

The challenging reality is that church is not about programmed events or weekly worship services or cool comfortable buildings, church is all about people and our commitment to them. The early church was known for their love for one another, for their care for each other and even strangers in the midst of plagues, and their welcoming embrace of old and young, rich and poor, men and women, slave and free, Jews and Greeks. These kinds of relationships take time. Not just commitment over weeks, months, and years, but also time every week and also during the week sharing our joy and concerns with one another. Sharing life together.

They early church shared life so well together that even non-believers were drawn to know more about Jesus, which is exactly what Jesus promised in John 17:20-23.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

Did you catch that? People will come to know Jesus because of the unity they see evident in the church, because of the quality of our relationships, because of our love for one another.

Now we can’t know everyone in the church equally, but we can be intentional to develop some close friends through small groups, discipleship triads, serving teams, and simply reaching out to make a friend and be a friend and in the process we can help form a community that gives people a glimpse of the love of God and point them to Jesus. What can you do this week to develop these types of relationships?

Connect to God
An angry prophet. A fearsome and hated enemy. An overwhelming storm. And a surprising message of a merciful God to his people. The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are not religious, are familiar with Jonah: a rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there’s much more to Jonah’s story than most of us realize. As we continue our study of Jonah, we find our prophet in the midst of a ferocious storm, but even in the storms of life, God is still there with him and with us.

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
Tom Verbrugge, Jr. was hospitalized earlier this week due to a significant infection in his leg. Tom and the family ask for prayers for healing and peace during this time.

We hold Loren and Myra Renkema in our prayers as Loren continues under hospice care. Prayers for peace and comfort during this difficult time are appreciated.

Hayley Moore continues receiving both chemotherapy following a recent cancer diagnosis and surgery. Chemotherapy is expected to last about 6 months. This weekend, she will receive a different chemo drug and the family asks for both effectiveness and minimal side effects. Due to a peanut allergy, the family cannot accept food from homes, but you can donate a gift card through grub hub if you would like. You can follow this linkto learn more.

During the summer, we take a break from our regular children’s programming to allow our teachers have a break from prepping lessons each week. Instead, we show age appropriate Christian videos for kids ages 3 years old through 3rd grade. We are still looking for a few volunteers. Please consider volunteering to help over the summer! It’s a great way to get to know some of the awesome children in our church! You can sign up via the link below, or there’s a sign-up sheet outside of Room 205. There are still a couple of weeks that need some people to care for and support our children. Rachel Brower will meet with volunteers each Sunday before church so they know how to run the video. You must have gone through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check in order to volunteer. If not, Rachel can meet with you to go over our policy. You can sign-up through the link below:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044cafad2ca2ff2-summer1

Serve the World

If you are interested in learning about other cultures or exposing your children to other cultures and want to support global mission work, come out to Johnson Park on July 20 from 2-8 pm for a Taste of Bangladesh. All proceeds will go to support Bangla Ministries Worldwide. You will be able to sample Bangla food, see Bangla clothing and play Bangla games as well as enjoy a petting zoo, bluegrass music and a chili cook-off. More information can be found outside the church office or here.

Also, we will once again be collecting donations for School Supply Santa. You can learn more about what is needed in the announcement at the end of this e-mail.

Administrative Details
A couple of weeks ago, I shared a little abut the Vision 2020 team and potential changes for our denomination. At General Synod, our national gathering, they shared three broad options for how we could move forward as a denomination given the ongoing tensions around issues of human sexuality. Each of their three options contained several variations of the options. The first option was to do nothing and stay the same. While the Vision 2020 team did not think this was a realistic option, it is a possibility. Alternatively, we could simply rearrange the furniture, so to speak, and focus on key theological beliefs we share in common and allow for permissible differences on a variety of social issues. You can read more about the first option here.

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: $66,550.92
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $62,739.04