February 2012 Newsletter

From the Pastor
This is a letter of thankfulness that we received in December. In 25 years of ministry, this may be the only note that we have received after helping someone.

"Words of gratitude cannot even begin to express my thanks to the church. I had been trapped in my marriage and confined to staying at home (he was very controlling) for so long. I was terrified I wouldn't survive and be able to support m daughter. You have touched my heart and given me strength and hope to keep going, not just helping to pay my electric but the fact that there are people out there who care and are willing to reach out. You and others have truthfully pulled me back from wanting to put an end to myself."

In Luke 17, Jesus met ten lepers who cried out to Him for mercy. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest. As they went, they were healed. One leper returned to Jesus and gave God the glory. We see that it is not often that people say thank you and give God the glory. We are probably more inclined to get our need met and go on our way. May we never take God’s grace and mercy for granted. May we always recognize His love and care for us and give him the glory for what He has done in our lives. We are spending four months recognizing and thanking God for what He has done in this church for 25 years. To God be the glory for what He has done!

Looking for a Few Good Men!
There are several opportunities on the horizon for men to be involved at Church of the Good Shepherd in a variety of ways—special opportunities in ministry by men and for men. You're invited! Upcoming men's ministry events include:

February 4: Community Service Project

Hanging drywall at the Church of God in Risingsun
Not restricted to men, but any able-bodied person who can help lift, carry, and nail drywall
Meet at CGS at 8:30 a.m. and we'll go over together; lunch is provided

February 11: Men's Breakfast and Devotional Discussion

8:00 a.m. at CGS
Join other guys for a good breakfast, great fellowship, and teaching from God’s Word that is relevant to a man’s world and life challenges

March 2-3: GAMEDAY Men's Conference in Columbus

We'll join with hundreds (700+) of other men to worship, be challenged to grow spiritually, and play hard—including corn hole, dodge ball, and more.
Great event for fathers and sons, husbands (wives, send your husband!) or any man who desires to grow in the Lord and have fun!
Registration is only $35 adults, $25 students. Grab a brochure at the CGS Welcome Center in the church foyer for more details. For the best rates and to reserve your hotel room, be sure to sign up by the early registration deadline: Sunday, February 5
Contact Pastor Steve or Terry Robinson for more details.

Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) Participants Shine
With over a dozen kids participating, plus 8 teens/adults serving as coaches and officials, the three teams from Church of the Good Shepherd made their first appearance at a NW Ohio JBQ League Meet by traveling to Toledo on Saturday, January 7 to quiz with fourteen other JBQ teams from six churches in the region. Our kids did a great job competing for the buzzer—demonstrating what they have learned from the Bible and displaying an exemplary Christ-like attitude as they encouraged one another and other JBQ participants.

NEEDED for our next League Meet on Saturday, February 4 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: We need an additional 3-4 adults or teens to accompany the JBQ team to Dayspring in Bowling Green to serve as officials (we'll train you!). See Pastor Steve or Trina Wolph for more details and to volunteer.

South Toledo Outreach: Time to Re-Stock Supplies!
On the 3rd Saturday of each month, we organize 5-8 people to go and serve about 60+ servings of a complete spaghetti dinner at an outreach center as a joint venture with Cherry Street Mission in South Toledo. However, it takes many more people (than just the 5-8 who serve the meal) to make this outreach a success! Each month volunteers bake cookies, brown ground beef, boil noodles, and donate LOTS of food items and serving supplies that we need to make it come together. We need your help to re-stock our food and serving supplies—enough to meet the needs for the next 3–4 months. If everyone will select several items from the list below to help provide, we will re-stock our needed supplies very quickly! The list includes:

30 lbs of spaghetti noodles (ideally in 1–2 lb. boxes)
12–15 large containers of pasta sauce (ideally a size that contains at least 15+ servings)
8–10 larger plastic jars of parmesan cheese
6–8 large cans of green beans
3–4 large cans of mixed vegetables
6–8 large cans of sliced peaches
2–3 larger bottles of each salad dressings: Ranch, Italian, French
6–8 cases of bottled water
12–15 boxes of CapriSun type of juice boxes
Sturdy divided dinner plates (up to 100 each month)
Styrofoam bowls (up to 100 each month) to serve salad
Napkins (up to 100 each month)
Plastic cutlery (forks, spoons, and knives—up to 100 each month)
Sturdy divided take-home containers (up to 50 each month)

(Each month we will still ask for FRESH donations of cookies, tossed salad, shredded cheese, ground beef)

Thank you! The next South Toledo Outreach is scheduled for Saturday, February 18th from 4–7 p.m.

Xtreme Teens
Jason Stewart
Xtreme Teens started at Church of the Good Shepherd in Fostoria on Thursday, January 12. We will continue to meet every Thursday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. We had an awesome turnout of 17 kids the first week and 19 kids the second week! Xtreme Teens was put in place to reach out to teens in the local community and to teach them how to lead by example. My vision is to have mission trips right here in the local area. I look forward to watching God's plan nourish the local community.

Pointman Monthly Update
Lovesick
Each February, we like to set aside the month to talk about love and relationships. These two topics are at the heart of most teenagers (especially during Valentines Day). This year we are doing a series titled "Lovesick". In this series we will be looking at where are priorities are in relationships. Many times in relationships we through all our eggs into one basket and when it doesn’t work out, teens are left brokenhearted and feeling alone. My challenge to our teens is to make sure that they keep Christ as number one in their life, so that they are guided by Him though all their dating relationships. Whether your son or daughter is dating currently or not ready to date yet, this is going to be a great series for them. I also welcome any parents of the teens to join us for this series, so that you can hear the messages we are sharing with your teen. If you have any questions about the topics we will be going over, please contact me at anytime.

Impact
Even though it is only February, it is not too early to start thinking about Summer Camp. Each year I am amazed what God does in the lives of our teenagers and in the lives of teenagers from several other churches. Once again we will be going to IMPACT Summer Camp, and I am praying that God will work again in the lives of our teens, so that they can come back and follow the direction God has set out for them. The dates for camp this year are July 9th-13th. I am still waiting for the cost of camp, but you can help your teen by having them start saving their money now. A few ideas for saving money would be to set aside a portion of their allowance (if you give them one) so that they are investing into their own camp experience. It also does not hurt them to have a few extra jobs around the house to help earn their way. I believe a teen will get more out of their camp experience if they had to work for the money as apposed to them just getting it. Once again we are looking for support for teens whose families do not have the money to send a teen. If you have work or would like to support a teen please contact me anytime. Students that receive money to help go to camp will work at the church to earn what has been given to them. In the past we have never turned down a student that was willing to work to earn money to go to camp. I want to thank the church for seeing the value of investing into the lives of our teens.

Send questions to info@goodshepherdwayne.org