News & Views Sept 9

SEPTEMBER MEMORY VERSE
"Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long."
Psalm 25:5


SEPTEMBER 12th WORSHIP
NEW Adult Class on Andy Stanley's "What Makes You Happy?" - 8:30 A.M. - Room 110
Adult "Voyagers" Class (Philippians) - 8:45 A.M. - Room 113
Adult "Welcome" Class (Colossians) - 8:45 A.M. - Rooms 114-115
Connecting Point - 9:30 A.M. - Dining Room
Worship  - 10:00 A.M. -  Family Center Gym and Online

Pastor Mark preaching on "An Acts Attitude: Willing to Be Transformed"
Read ahead - Acts 9:1-31

NLC Kids  - 10:00 A.M. - Rooms 101,103

Following the service in the gym:
Tulare-Kings Counties YOUTH FOR CHRIST Annual Report Banquet
The meal is provided at no cost. There will be an opportunity to give in support of YFC. 

The Week Ahead

Tuesday, 14th
6-7 a.m.   Men's Bible Study group - Louie Giglio's "Acts of the Apostles" - Dining Room. From John Regier: "Men, meet with us as we study 'Strike the Match' from the book of Acts series this week. Discussion will center on 'What should the church be today?'"
Wednesday, 15th
6:30 p.m. NLC Prayer Gathering - all are welcome - Dining Room
6:30 p.m. GriefShare -all are welcome - Youth Room in Gym
7:00 p.m. Faith & Finances - Rooms 114-115
Thursday, 16th
4:30 p.m. Dinuba Community Task Force - all are welcome - Dining Room
Friday-Sunday, 17th-19th 
Women's Retreat - Hartland Camp
Sunday, 19th
11:30 a.m. Member Meeting ('21-'22 Budget) - Gym, following worship
New adult Life Lesson class using Andy Stanley's
"What Makes You Happy? It's Not What You'd Expect" video series.
Ron Brown will be leading the discussion.

The Book of Acts is Happening Now!

When Luke wrote the Book of Acts, inspired by God, he was demonstrating that Jesus was alive and well and working by his Holy Spirit through his followers. People had seen Jesus crucified and many had seen him after he was resurrected, but he could also be seen through the actions of his disciples. And though Luke ended the Book of Acts as a record of God's Word, God is still working through Jesus' followers today!

A New Deaconess
In Acts 6 there were servant leaders (deacons) selected to ensure all of Jesus' followers--from both Hebrew and Greek-speaking cultures--were being treated fairly in the distribution of food. This past Sunday we selected and affirmed Manuela "Nelly" Lopez as a servant leader (deaconess) in our church. Nelly's servant heart has been obvious to many of us, as well as her devotion to Jesus and to sharing Jesus with others. She also helps us understand and connect more closely with our Hispanic-majority community. Welcome, Nelly!

Meeting Needs
On Wednesday, Claire Hall from CarePortal, walked me and Carolyn Ehoff and Phyllis Enns through an amazing tool that creates connections between churches like ours and local children and families in crisis. Cece Olea found this resource and set up the meeting so that New Life Community could join 12 other churches in Tulare County to be first-responders to families with children in crisis. Our daughter church, Neighborhood Church, in Visalia, is one of the dozen churches already using CarePortal.
Using the platform we created for our Home Resource Center we can now respond to requests coming from Tulare County's Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) through CarePortal to meet physical and relational needs in Dinuba and the surrounding area.  Once the connection is made with the children and families in crisis we will have the opportunity not only to meet their needs, but also to pray with them and offer ourselves as friends to walk with them in the love of Jesus Christ. It is an amazing opportunity that reminds me of the way the church in Acts functioned in Jerusalem--all the Christians sharing what they had so that no one had any needs.

A Worker in the Harvest
The last Sunday we hosted Grab & Go Meals, a woman from the community who has been picking up meals from our church to deliver them to senior adults on the south side of Dinuba came back through the line a second time. She said she's been grateful for the meals, for the prayers we've prayed for her, and for the opportunity to join us in delivering meals to people in need. But now she also wanted to help!
Bruce and Laurel met with her and so later this month when we serve Grab & Go Meals again, this caring woman from the community, Nora, will be leading the kitchen team in making chicken enchiladas to serve. Let Laurel know you can help, and get in on the overflowing joy!

A Values Match
Back in 2019, New Life Community accepted a new vision along with a new set of values that we believed would make that vision a reality. Actually, we took the two core values we already had, RELATIONAL and RESPONSIVE, and modified them outwardly. We said:
Our church is a relational church.  Historically this value has been more inwardly-focused than outwardly, characterizing a closely-related Mennonite Brethren identity.  Moving forward our commitment is to extend these relational values into our community.
Our church is a responsive church.  Historically we have been very quick to send out and support our people in short and long-term missions, and in meeting the needs of our church body.  Moving forward our challenge is to be equally quick and supportive of the people in our community.
As Claire from CarePortal walked us through its mechanism for connecting churches like ours with the immediate needs of families with children in our community, it gave us goosebumps to see how well it matched with our values and the vision we have for our church--to authentically love our community and see it transformed by Jesus Christ.

It's Acts all over Again
I had to smile at the thought of what the early followers of Jesus in Jerusalem might have done  if one of them had come up with the technology and a tool like CarePortal to help them connect with those in need around them. Somehow they managed without it, though they ran into problems, too, like favoring one cultural group over the other. They fixed that problem so they could continue to be effective and fruitful in sharing the Gospel with the people of their community.
Eugene Peterson wrote, "The poor are not a problem to be solved, but a people to join." I think that's what happened in Acts, as the Holy Spirit moved the people of God outward into their communities to join themselves with others in need, both physically and spiritually, so they might meet those needs in the name of Jesus. We're trusting God to do that very thing through us today.
Thank you, Jesus, that you are alive and empowering us by your Holy Spirit on mission today!
  • Praise God for the work of Youth for Christ in Dinuba and throughout Tulare and Kings counties! Ask God for continued provision and protection for this work, for the school-site mentors and volunteers, and for those staffing Dinuba's Youth Center.
  • From Glen Zimmerman: "I am experiencing healing every day. Thanks for praying. Yours and the Church body's prayer support have helped get me this far and still have no reactions to my treatments. PTL!!!!" 
  • Johnny and Denise Esposito will be leaving their quarantine hotel in Bangkok this week and heading to Chiang Khong, Thailand, where they'll be living and serving alongside of team of others discipling new believers and training church leaders. Pray they remain healthy.
  • Ruddy and Cristina Ancheta wrote from San Francisco where they lead Bible studies and minister to the homeless in the Tenderloin district. "...the street of Tenderloin turns into church every Sunday. It's like a revival," they write! Pray as they anticipate a sabbatical in 2022.
  • Continue to pray for Leo Olea, whose grandfather was buried this week, and for Joyce & Duane Penner, Saphira and Blake, who buried Joyce's son and the children's father, Frederick, this week in the Bay Area. A memorial service is being planned locally soon.
  • Continue to lift people with ongoing health issues before the Lord: JR Southard and his brother Richard, Mike Naylor, Marilyn Chappell, Bob Heinrichs, Brian Smith, and Galen Wiest and Travis Jost with Multiply. 
  • Pray for people battling COVID-19, especially families with young children. Schools are hard hit, and the Good News Clubs are affected.
  • Pray for the 15+ women attending the Women's Retreat at Hartland Camp, Friday-Sunday.
  • Pray for Henry Serrato on sabbatical, and for his wife, Ruth.
  • The Young Adult Life Group walked the streets for Pray & Go last week, and a woman responded with gratitude and a further prayer request.
  • Thank the Lord for his provision to meet ministry expenses this last fiscal year. Ask God for wisdom and provision for the new ministry year. We meet to approve a budget next Sunday.

Our Giving

LAST FISCAL YEAR (ending 8/31/21): Final Report
Total Offerings/Income Received thru 8/31:..$461,500
Total Year Expenses through 8/31:....………….$460,698
Income greater than expenses: …….....…..…………$802
 
NEW FISCAL YEAR (beginning 9/1/21): First Report
Received Last Week (9/5): ………..…….......…….…$6,534
Received this year to date (new fiscal year): ....$6,534
 
The New Life Community Stewardship Team would like to express gratitude to all those who so faithfully gave throughout the year towards covering our ministry expenses. Additional last minute donations helped push us over the top, allowing us to cover all our expenses.
We thank God and praise Him for you and your financial support!
Chuck Boldwyn, Treasurer
Spread the Gospel, not the virus.
This week the Dinuba fire chief issued a public alert about the limitations on emergency services caused by the rising cases of COVID-19 in our city and region.
There are still no health mandates in effect for NLC related to COVID-19. However, as cases are rising across the United States and in Fresno and Tulare counties it may be prudent to wear a mask when indoors in public settings, to wash hands frequently, and to consult your physician about receiving a vaccination if you haven't already received one.
If you are sick, please avoid church gatherings for the health and safety of others.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19, please avoid church gatherings until you have received a negative COVID-19 test or are completely free of symptoms.

Mark Isaac

1 Comment


Peggy Z - September 9th, 2021 at 5:09pm

Thank you Carolyn and Phyllis for your vision for the NLC Resource Center. You are truly amazing women with big hearts to reach our community for Christ.

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