**UPDATE 6-10-20**
Thank you to everyone who participated in Caring Hands! We are suspending further activity with the fund as all needs have been met and the need has greatly decreased. Continue reading Caring Hands Exchange
Category Archives: Transform the Corridor
Family Adventure Potluck & Game Night
Do you love food? Do you love to laugh and play some games? Well, we think you can enjoy the best of both worlds at the Family Adventure Potluck and Game Night.
Come out and join us on November 20th, from 5:30pm-7:30pm for food and fun! All we ask is if you can bring a dish or dessert to share, we’ll prepare plenty of ham and beverages for everyone! We wouldn’t want anyone to miss out, so PLEASE, PLEASE invite someone who you know might be feeling a little down during the holiday season so they can share in all the fun!
National Volunteer Month
Did you know April is National Volunteer Month? At Cedar Hills, we are blessed with many volunteers who find great joy in serving the Lord with the varied gifts, talents and passions and we believe everyone is called and wired to find their specific role in serving the church.
We compiled the lists and starting Sunday, April 7, you can stop by the volunteering table and write a “Thank You” to a volunteer who is currently serving Cedar Hills. All the supplies are provided! Won’t you take a few moments to bless the heart of another in our church family and thank them for their time?
Haven’t found a place to serve yet? We’ll also have a list of current needs and openings in our volunteer base. Who knows? Maybe God will lead you into your area of passion and ministry with just the right fit.
Jesus answered, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)
Volunteering is one way to follow both commandments at the same time! Through serving others you are showing your love to God by sharing His love with those in need. Love God – Love Others. BUT did you know that volunteering also shows your love for yourself which is part of God’s commandment as well? He wants us to live full lives that honor Him, and volunteering is one of the ways we can do that.
Benefits of volunteering: 15 ways to feel healthier and happier
Community, loneliness, and bonding
- Volunteering builds community
- Volunteering ends loneliness
- Volunteering increases socializing
- Volunteering build bonds, creates friends
Mental health and happiness in volunteers
- Volunteering develops emotional stability
- Volunteering improves self-esteem
- Volunteering helps those most affected by mental illness
Overall Health Improvements
- Volunteering promotes longevity
- Volunteering reduces risk of Alzheimer’s
- Volunteering leads to graceful aging
- Volunteering burns that suborn belly fat
Future goals and career opportunities
- Volunteering improves school and college experience
- Volunteering provides better job prospects
- Volunteering develops corporate communities
- Volunteering adds fun to your years
How can I get involved:
In the church?
- Take the Spiritual Gifts survey to identify the gifts God has given you
- Fill out your profile in the Cedar Hill’s CCB to identify your gifts AND your passions
- Stop by the table in the Gathering Space to see the opportunities available and sign up to serve.
In the community?
- Contact an agency that matches your passions and ask about the opportunities to serve.
- Sign up on a volunteer app or website. There are several available, but to show how easy it is to learn about volunteering opportunities in the community, we will focus on the United Way’s website called “Volunteer Now”.
- Got to the Website https://unitedwayofeastcentraliowa.galaxydigital.com/
- Create an account
- Once you are logged in you can:
- Browse agencies and tag them as favorites – you will receive notification when a new volunteer opportunity is posted for your favorite agencies
- Respond (sign up to volunteer) to a need
Year End Giving
Year-end gifts fund our mission of transformation. Every dollar given brings transformation in the corridor and beyond. Pray for large, generous hearts to help us finish 2018 with a surplus of resources to be used for more transformation.
For gifts to be counted in the 2018 tax season, they must arrive in the office by 12/31/18.
Financial Peace University coming in 2019
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University is coming! Our church wants financial peace for you. Join us for a free class preview on Sunday, January 6 at 9:45am or 11am.
Ready to jump in? Register today. Classes will be held on Sundays at 9:45 beginning Jan. 13. Kits can be purchased at time of registering or from your FPU teachers.
Salvation Army Bell Ringers
Cedar Hills and Salvation Army are transforming the corridor – help us support our outreach partner by signing up for an hour of bell ringing on Cedar Hills day.
We’ll ring from 10a-8p on Saturday, December 8 at the Johnson Avenue HyVee.
**Update – we filled all our time slots for that day! If you’d like to ring on another day, use this bell-ringer signup on the Salvation Army website.
To view your scheduled time slot, our Dec. 8 schedule is available here.
Holiday Volunteer Guide
United Way Holiday Volunteer Guide
Are you looking for a family or small group outing this Holiday season? Why not try volunteering? It’s a great way to help Transform The Corridor! Click here to go to the United Way Holiday Volunteer Guide to find a volunteer opportunity.
The website has a ton of great ways to get involved. Some examples of ways you can volunteer this holiday season:
Family Volunteer Day
Adopt a Family
Assemble Food Baskets and Deliver or Serve Meals
Holiday Parties and Events
Other Holiday Needs
Giving Opportunities
Core Discipleship Priority: Disciples Making Disciplies
Annual Report – Special Edition
Core Discipleship Priority: Disciples Making Disciples
A disciple is someone who follows Jesus. “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him” (Matthew 4:18-20).
- “Come, follow me” Disciples follow Jesus.¨
- “and I will make you” Disciples are changed by Jesus.
- “fishers of men.” Disciples take up the mission of Jesus.
Discipleship is based on our identity in Jesus.
- In Jesus we are Family
- In Jesus we are Servants
- In Jesus we are Missionaries
As disciples we live out our identity in the everyday stuff of life, learning to follow Jesus 168 hours a week! Disciples who make disciples submit increasingly all of life to the lordship and empowering presence of Jesus.
- Life on Life: We connect with others one-on-one.
- Life in Community: We need the input, encouragement, and gifting of a whole group of people to grow in Jesus.
- Life on Mission: We reach out with the love of Jesus in Word and deed to friends and neighbors.
Disciples practice six rhythms common to all people – these six activities make up much of the everyday stuff of life.
- Story-Formed: Our stories intersect with God’s Story. Story-formed people grow in understanding our neighbor’s stories and we share God’s Story.
- Listen: We set aside regular times to listen to God by dwelling in the word and prayer. We take time to slow down and listen to others. We ask questions!
- Celebrate: We gather together to celebrate God’s goodness and God’s extravagant blessings. We invite others into this celebration regularly and engage the celebrations of those around us.
- Bless Others: We intentionally bless others through words, gifts, or actions because God desires for all people to be blessed through Jesus.
- Eat Together: We regularly eat meals with others to invite them into the community. We see our dining table as the best tool for reaching out. We invite friends, neighbors, and the poor over for dinner.
- ReCreate: We take time to rest, play, create, and restore beauty in ways that reflect God to others. Part of our recreation includes Sabbath rest and worship.
Children & Family Ministry – 2018 in Review
Annual Report – Special Edition
The past nine months of ministry that I have experienced here at Cedar Hills as the Children and Family Director has been nothing short of a remarkable experience. An experience that I am incredibly grateful for! My family and I, have been received with incredible warmth and immense support. In every portion of the ministry, there are volunteers, who are gifted and passionate about serving the littlest kiddos of the church! It was such a blessing to be able to step into such a strong ministry and to be able to take the time to learn the culture around the church. On top of that, the kids of this church are so eager and excited to be able to learn and fellowship together.
The months of Fall have seen a few changes in the ministry, most specifically around the formal programming of this ministry. We’ve began a twice-a-month programming, affectionately call Family Adventure. The meetings are broken into two specific parts. The first part is an activity for the entire family (Either the 2nd Wed or Sat of each month), designed to allow families to share a fun and memorable experience together. The second part is an up-tempo experience (The last Sunday of the month) that focuses on unpacking the monthly theme and how it ties into enhancing family discipleship. Each theme this year has been centralized around the life and ministry of Jesus, studying Scriptures of how he lived out that particular characteristic. So far, we have covered, how Jesus was…missional and brave. For the month of November, we will be covering thankful and in December the theme will be loving. Our ultimate hope for this particular programming, is to afford families more time and encourage intentionality towards modeling a gospel-centered life.
We can’t wait to see what God has in store for the ministry!
Kyle French
Director of Family and Children’s Ministry
Vocabulary of Transformation
Our dream is that we will be disciples who make disciples in the everyday stuff of life so that every man, woman, and child in our community will have a daily encounter with Jesus in Word and deed. As this happens, God will grow us to be agents of Gospel transformation and we learn the vocabulary of Gospel transformation.
- Sept 30: Gospel Identity
- Oct 7: Gospel Freedom
- Oct 14: Gospel Worship
- Oct 21: Gospel Truth
- Oct 28: Gospel Hospitality
- Nov 4: Gospel Repentance
Sunday Morning Services: 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM