COMPASSION SUNDAY – JUNE 2017

In 1952, a Chicago evangelist, Rev Everett Swanson went to South Korea to minister to US soldiers during the war.  His heart was touched by orphaned children abandoned and living on the streets.   It was here that God gave him a vision.  He began a program to support the orphanages through funding of a few dollars a month from individuals in the Western world.  His mission was providing Biblical teaching while assisting with basic needs for these children with the ultimate goal of enabling them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.   Compassion International was born!

In 1968, the program expanded to Indonesia and has continued to grow worldwide as a child development and child advocacy ministry.  Today, Compassion serves in 25 developing nations. It is their three “C’s” that make their ministry strong:

• Commitment to Christ – Jesus is the center of the ministry. This may be the first experience that children have to learn about Jesus.
• Commitment to children – Each individual child receives the holistic care they deserve.
• Commitment to church – Partnerships with local churches.

Compassion International has become a recognized non-profit organization.  They are in the top 26 non-profits with Forbes’ 50 Largest US Charities, Philanthropy 400 List, and The Non-Profit Times Top 100 List.  All contributions are tax-deductible.  As a requirement of the 1993 Revenue Reconciliation Act, they verify that no goods or services of value are given to you for your contribution.

On Sunday, June 11^th, Cedar Hills will sponsor Compassion Sunday 2017 before and after both services.  There are almost 38,000 children looking for sponsorships.  Here is an opportunity for you to sponsor a child looking for a special one on one relationship with someone across the globe.  Your letters bring hope and encouragement.  Your monthly donation of $38/month per child, will bring medical check-ups, nutritious food, health and hygiene training, educational assistance, and foremost hearing about Jesus Christ.

We look forward to talking with you about Compassion International and the many blessings we have received by our sponsorships. Please, prayerfully consider sponsoring a child on June 11^th.   “Releasing Children from Poverty in Jesus’ Name”

Jack & Kate Ulmer

Thursday, May 4 White Ribbon Day and The Elim Arrival will be in concert at Cedar Hills, along with musical groups from local churches, all a part of a fundraising event for Fresh Start Ministries--a service that provides personal, personal, private and confidential counseling for individuals incarcerated in the Linn County Correctional Center (County Jail) and the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center. They also provide support and counseling to the staff of the Linn County Corrections systems.  This ecumenical program is focused on the needs of the individual. Weekly worship services are also provided at the Correctional Center and at the Juvenile Detention Center.

Also part of Fresh Start is the R.I.S.E. program: Reintegration Initiative for Safety and Empowerment.  RISE provides positive social support and influences for participants as they transition from incarceration back into the community.

The event starts at 6:15pm with a social and acoustic music, followed by the concert at 7pm.

White Ribbon Day is a ministry with a simple vision – to use music, the spoken word, and the creative arts to reach as many people as possible with the life-giving message of freedom, forgiveness, and salvation available to everyone through relationship with Jesus Christ. As a band, White Ribbon Day has a strong, vocal-driven, R&B influenced pop sound, and front man Zach Blickens is an experienced evangelist with a passion to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Elim Arrival team believes that God is putting forth a statute and ordinance upon this land just like He did before the Israelites years ago. He is calling all men to rise and up and become the men of valor they were created to be. He is calling all women to stand up and be the courageous women that they were created to be. He is reminding all the lonely souls that He can fulfill their every need. We believe that God is calling us out of our little comfortable lives to proclaim this message to any pair of ears that will hear – and most importantly use the gifts and talents God has given us (music, teaching, preaching, writing) to communicate these truths to this generation.  Listen online.

Donate Online

To donate online to Fresh Start Ministries, visit www.freshstartministriescr.com

One of our visions for ministry is to engage in collaborative partnerships with others in the community who are doing good. For many months the consistory has been discussing entering into an intentional partnership with the ministry of Matthew 25 to use some of our property for refugee gardens, urban gardens, and student gardens. At our February meeting we authorized the deacons to pursue this partnership and draft memorandum of understanding for how this collaboration will work. We anticipate that some gardening will begin this spring. The board is excited to see how this kind of partnership develops and hope that this will be a learning process for future collaboration that will bless our community.

The project will teach children and families how to grow, eat, and preserve high quality food right in their own neighborhood. More details coming soon. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask Willis Sneller or Alan & Beth Brockette. For more information about Matthew 25, go to www.hub25.org.

Our quick question in the app for 2/26/17 was “How do you keep your heart passionate for God?” Here are the results!  Check back in the app weekly for another ‘quick question’.

Services for Jean Vandivier will be Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 11am at the church. Visitation is Monday evening, 5-7pm, and again at 10am Tuesday morning before the funeral service.

Please take a moment to visit the funeral home website to read her full obituary and leave a note for family and friends in the guestbook.  Jean’s obituary.

Sunday, January 8 our new Elders and Deacons were installed into consistory (our name for the church board.). Thanks to those who served faithfully on the board in 2016 and welcome to our new Elders and Deacons. This year we will be exploring what it means to make disciples and how we can do this more effectively. Your continued prayers for us are very much appreciated. Pray for us on January 21 as the board and staff retreat together to explore God’s leading. We are excited about a new year of reaching out with the love of God here and around the world.

Deacons

Alan Brockette, Jim Flamming, Jim Humphreys, Nancy Josifek, Karen Schumacher, Willis Sneller (Chair)

Elders

Lois Deerberg, Deb DeHaan, Mike Robinson, Jerrad Swestka, Kate Ulmer, Ken Viggers

Pastors

Alan Crandall, J.R. Henderson, Kent Landhuis (President)

Reset Love Rē-ˈset (verb) – 1. to move back into an original place or position | 2. to put back in the correct position for healing | 3. to restore

Remember the big, red easy button from Staples? Whenever someone is stuck, push the button and start over. “That was easy!” I wish resetting my heart were that easy. Sometimes my heart gets all muddled and disordered. I can feel the tug of fear. Envy. Failure. Pain. Bitterness. Greed. And my heart grows hard. The Bible says I should love God fully and love my neighbor as myself, but my hard heart has trouble loving. I need a reset.

Scripture can sometimes help. I read John 13. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” I read that and think, “Good idea.” But, my heart is not in it. I need to recalibrate my heart. My heart needs a reset button. As the new year starts I am praying that God will do a work in me and the first work I am asking for is on my heart to grow in love. “God reset my heart.” That is my prayer. You can pray for that, too.

Pastor Kent

It’s Giving Tuesday – a day to give back to charities and non-profits that you love to support.  Our unique challenge at Cedar Hills is to total up our spending from Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday and give 10% of your total.  Won’t you consider joining this movement of giving?

If giving to Cedar Hills, try out our new mobile app! Download from the App Store or Google Play by searching for “Cedar Hills”.  Or give directly online.

Not sure if you’re favorite organization is participating? Check out the Giving Tuesday website and do a search.

“On Saturday night (November 12) at the Youth Group Fall Retreat two students accepted Christ for the first time and many others took steps to grow deeper in their faith.” ~ Jeremy Van Genderen

Last weekend the Journey student ministry went on retreat.  We’ve heard great testimonies from the weekend, but the highlight being two decisions for Christ!  Please pray for these new believers as they begin the great journey of faith.  And continue to pray for our youth as they move forward with a new hunger and desire for the gospel after their retreat.

Journey Student ministry is a place for ALL students 6th-12th grade to come walk together on their faith journey.

They meet on Sunday nights from 5:30pm-8pm at Cedar Hills Community Church.  Each night starts with a cafe time where you can purchase items like pizza, candy, chips, hotdogs, soda and Keurig coffee drinks.  Starting at 6:15pm, we rotate between large group teaching, small group discussion and games.

No matter where you are on your faith journey you are invited and welcomed to join us each and every week.