NLC News May 19 2022

May 19th, 2022

SUNDAY, MAY 22

8:30 a.m. GROWTH CLASSES:
- Pray and Go with Laurie and Nori - Room 113
- Titus video class with Ron & Judy - Room 111
- Foundations with Leroy - Room 114
9:30 a.m. CONNECTING POINT (Dining Room) and Connecting Point for Kids (Rm 101)
10 a.m. WORSHIP and CHILD DEDICATION; NLC Kids & NLC Crew (Jr/Sr High)
- Pastor Mark preaching on "Transformed by Jesus" - The 7 'I Am' Statements of Jesus
- Child Dedication: Diego & Stephanie Morales and Rosie Ann; Lafayette & Joanna Brooks and Adonis
5:30 p.m. - LIFELINE Young Adult Growth Group
6:30 p.m. - COMMUNITY CLASSES
- GRIEFSHARE - NLC Community Room
- FAITH & FINANCES - Room 114-115

TUESDAY, MAY 24

6:00 a.m. Men's Bible Study - Dining Room

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25

6:00 p.m. - Worship Team rehearsal - Gym
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113

THURSDAY, MAY 26

5:30 p.m. CELEBRATE RECOVERY "SOFT-OPENING" (see below)

FRIDAY, MAY 27

3:00 p.m. Celebration of Life Service for Jean Wohlgemuth - HopeKingsburg Church

SUNDAY, MAY 29 - Grab & Go Meals

Link to Church Calendar

Pray

Pray God's comfort and peace for Ivan Wohlgemuth and his family. His wife Jean, a longtime former member of our church and missionary to Japan, passed away last Sunday.
Megan Barnes’s brother lost a close friend last week, as well as Megan's friend Brandie's sister who passed from cancer the week before.
Glen Zimmerman is doing well. He is taking daily medication and only monthly treatments for his cancer, which is responding well. Continue to pray for Peggy's strength and healing.
Continue praying for people dealing with cancer and other long-term illnesses: Brian Smith, JR Southard, Galen Wiest, Kelly’s sister in law Dana, and Ron’s sister in law Bonnie.
Pray for healing and strength for those recovering from surgery: Marilyn Chappell, Greg Jantzen, and Cooper Kias. Laurie Isaac is doing well after shoulder surgery this week.
Steve Bryan's former pastor, Pat Herring, is recovering from open heart surgery in Alabama.
Others need healing as well: Ruth Serrato, Johnny Esposito, and Mary Fenske. Grieg Hoque is receiving care in San Leandro.
Continue to pray for those receiving nursing or memory care: Olga Brandt, Chris Holmen, Vicky Barkman, Marilyn Chappell, Bob Martin, Rosella Isaak, Luella Unruh and Alice White.
Tom Regier returns from Uganda this coming week. Pray he is able to complete his work and return without incident.
Pray for endurance for Erick Parra at Teen Challenge as he continues growing in Christ..
Pray for peace in Ukraine, and in other places of conflict around the world. Pray for refugees who are separated from their homes and family members.
Pray for Joanna Chapa, Multiply worker in Peru (and family friend of Mark & Laurie). Pray for her full recovery from long-COVID symptoms, church leadership support and discipleship strategies, and training and equipping of young leaders in Peruvian churches. On June 5th NLC will meet Pablo & Maricela Chavez, who will be going to Peru as Multiply workers.
Pray for Norma Froese, Carolyn Ehoff, and Leo Olea who serve as our Personnel Team. They are seeking God’s provision for several key positions at NLC. We have a Member Meeting on June 12th after church.
Pray as NLC Kids looks to hire a Nursery/Childcare Coordinator, and a new director. Praise the Lord for the opportunities we have as a church to minister to infants, children, and teens.
Pray for the opening night of our Celebrate Recovery ministry, this week Thursday. The leadership team has been preparing to meet people and walk with them through steps of recovery from habits, hurts, and hang-ups. It's time to open the doors!

Give

Received Last Week (5/15)..........$4,475
Received this year to date: .….$280,916
Budget to Date: …………...…......$315,217
Budget Goal: …………..…...........$443,008
Needed Weekly: ……….….........…$10,806

Support Dinuba's
Dawnings Pregnancy Resource Center

Find baby bottles at NLC in the Dining Room and in the Gym.
Simply take a bottle home and fill it with loose change, cash, or a check (payable to Dawnings) and bring it back to church by Father's Day, June 19th.
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Dawnings Pregrancy Resource Center is a local ministry that exists to make sure women and men are provided with the caring support they need as they face crucial decisions
regarding their pregnancy or lifestyle. Its mission is to offer Hope, Help, and Healing:
Hope in unexpected pregnancies, Help for healthier lifestyles, and opportunities for Healing
upon the loss of a child or from the aftermath of an abortion.

Consider attending NLC's national denominational meetings

NLC is part of the national Mennonite Brethren conference of churches. Every two years churches like ours gather to consider our mutual calling in ministry in our nation and the world. Every church sends delegates. If you'd like to know more, please contact the church office.
Now is the time to register for USMB Gathering 2022, the biennial national pastors' conference for pastors and spouses July 26-28, and the national convention for everyone July 28-30, held at the Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Independence, Mo., just minutes from downtown Kansas City. Whether relaxing in the modern rustic hotel, strolling to nearby Crackerneck Creek Falls or exploring one of many area historical attractions, you’ll find the location offers something for everyone. Guests will need to make room reservations by June 25, so book your room early!
For more information or to register, visit www.usmb.org/gathering2022 or call 1-800-257-0515.

What does it mean to
Celebrate Recovery at NLC?

It was one year ago that Brian Willems sent me an email asking to share with me more about Celebrate Recovery. That email was the beginning of our Celebrate Recovery ministry at NLC. Cece and I met Brian in one of the classrooms, watched an introductory video, and agreed to pray and research what it would mean for us to begin such a ministry in Dinuba. You know the rest of the story: NLC's Celebrate Recovery ministry is ready to open to the public this week!
But the story of this ministry at NLC goes back a bit further. Brian Willems began attending NLC in 2019, assisting Bruce & Laurel and Carol Enns in offering ACE Overcomers. I sat in on the class and learned to know Brian. He invited me to hear his recovery story at a Celebrate Recovery testimony night at Redeemer's Church in Reedley, where former NLC member Matt Harder directed the ministry. Matt was Brian's mentor. I joined several from NLC that night back in February 2020. The seed was sown.
Churches don't just start Celebrate Recovery ministries overnight. Once Cece and I and the elders decided to move forward, Brian's leadership began to be clearly seen. He contacted state directors for Celebrate Recovery to gain approval, laid out a plan for developing the people needed to run the ministry, and offered direction to me and the NLC staff to prepare for the ministry. It starts with the pastor preaching "The Road to Recovery", Brian told me. It was how Pastor Rick Warren helped launch the first Celebrate Recovery at Saddleback Church in SoCal years ago. And so I began to prepare those messages for fall 2021.
Cece worked with Brian on a range of decisions about running the ministry to run at NLC, Elaine created an email for the ministry (celebraterecovery@newlifedinuba.org) and provided support from the office, Brian recruited leaders and trainers, Jessica arranged childcare, and Stewardship approved a designated fund to receive contributions for the ministry. Leaders began to receive training and were dedicated to the ministry on Sunday, February 13, 2022.
Our NLC Celebrate Recovery team has been on the road in their training, too. They have visited other "CR" ministries in the valley for training and insights, and have linked with the Broken Chains motorcycle ministry to spread the word and reach out to people in the community who need the love of God, especially through the kind of healing ministry Celebrate Recovery is designed to meet. Most recently they led NLC's prayer booth at Dinuba's Cinco de Mayo Festival and the Blessing of the Bikes.
Throughout all of these months people have been praying. We need to be in prayer now more than ever as people in our community who are hurting, hung up, or caught in the downward spiral of habits begin coming to NLC's Celebrate Recovery ministry Thursday nights and Sunday mornings for worship, fellowship, and growth as disciples. Pray for Brian as he leads this ministry, for the members of the CR leadership team, for participants and their families, and for people who have yet to decide it's time to start a new life in Christ. Maybe that's you.
If I've learned anything about Celebrate Recovery over the last year, it's this: every one of us has hurts, habits or hang-ups that need the light of Christ and his grace to heal. Praise God for his people and gifts to know how to walk with each other in that light and grace!