NLC Connect June 2 2023

You may have noticed the name of this blog has changed!
I'm calling it "NLC Connect".

Why the change? The new name is part of this blog's new purpose:
To help connect us to God and each other at New Life Community.
I started this blog during the pandemic in response to requests for more information at NLC.  
Church bulletins used to provide some of that information, as well as our monthly newsletter, but we weren't producing bulletins any more and the newsletter is "static". Paper doesn't provide links to more information or the opportunity to pull it up on your phone, and some of it's obsolete by the time it arrives in your mailbox!
So the blog became an important way to provide information and to do it in new ways.
It also served as a better platform for inspiring us toward our church vision, much of which we've begun to see in reality at New Life Community.

I've been feeling the importance of making a shift for some time already, moving from information and inspiration toward connection. Think about it: information about an event is really an invitation to come and participate. Inspiration is  meaningless if it doesn't produce action. And the action God desires is relationship. God wants to connect with us personally and to have us connect with each other as a new family of faith through Jesus.
I believe that's the very thing that God is doing among us, forming a new body by connecting us to himself and to each other through Jesus. The Bible says that God will keep doing this work until the day he brings it completion when Jesus returns and takes us all home.

So welcome! This is the first NLC Connect! Let me know what you think about it, and if there are ways to make it more helpful as you consider and pursue connections at NLC.
Look for CONNECT TIPS throughout the blog!

THURSDAY, JUNE 1 - CELEBRATE RECOVERY
5:30 p.m. Dinner; 6:30 p.m. Worship/Testimony - Kim (from Northpointe CR, Fresno)
7:30 p.m. Small Groups / Rock Solid Cafe

CONNECT TIP: This is a great opportunity to come and enjoy a meal and conversation with some of NLC's newest members and attenders! Learn a name. Listen to a story.  Stay for worship and to hear Kim's testimony. 2 hours very well spent! 

SUNDAY, JUNE 4 - BAPTISM and COMMUNION
8:30 a.m. ADULT GROWTH CLASSES - NLC KIDS ministry for parents in growth classes ONLY

• Life's Healing Choices - Rooms 114/115 - Taught by Brian Willems and Veronica Stalis

9:30 a.m. CONNECTING POINT (Dining Room)
10:00 a.m.  WORSHIP - NLC KIDS/CREW - NURSERY

• Pastor Mark preaching - Luke 22; Eph 2 - A Diverse Family of Faith: A Place at the Table!
• Baptisms (Pray that everyone is healthy and able to participate!)
• Communion Service

11:15 a.m. GROWTH CLASS

• The Bible Out Loud for Adults - Room 111; kids activities for participants in Room 101

CONNECT TIP: Be praying about making a connection with one of those who are being baptized. Be a prayer partner, a discipleship mentor, or simply invite them to lunch after church soon to learn to know them and hear more of their story.

TUESDAY, JUNE 6
6:00 a.m. FINAL Men's Bible Study: Book of Job - Dining Room
6:00 p.m. CELEBRATE RECOVERY Women's Step Study - Room 114/115 (the group is full)
6:30 p.m. Healing Rooms of Dinuba offers healing prayers - Church patio/library

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7
ALL DAY - Carl's Jr Fundraiser - Remember to say "New Life Community" when you order
6:30 p.m. - Worship Team - Gym
6:30 p.m. - Prayer Gathering - Room 113

THURSDAY, JUNE 8 - CELEBRATE RECOVERY
ALL DAY - Carl's Jr Fundraiser - Remember to say "New Life Community" when you order
5:30 p.m. Dinner; 6:30 p.m. Worship/Testimony - Kim (from Northpointe CR, Fresno)
7:30 p.m. Small Groups / Rock Solid Cafe

SUNDAY,  JUNE 11 - JUNIOR CAMP FUNDRAISER
8:30 a.m. ADULT GROWTH CLASSES - NLC KIDS ministry for parents in growth classes ONLY

• Life's Healing Choices - Rooms 114/115 - Taught by Brian Willems and Veronica Stalis

9:30 a.m. CONNECTING POINT (Dining Room)
10:00 a.m.  WORSHIP - NLC KIDS/CREW - NURSERY

• Pastor Mark preaching - Acts 11 - A Diverse Family of Faith: They were first called Christians

11:15 a.m.

• The Bible Out Loud for Adults - Room 111; kids activities for participants in Room 101
• Junior Camp Fundraiser - FUNNEL CAKES!!

SATURDAY, JUNE 24 - NLC CELEBRATE RECOVERY CELEBRATION DINNER

I'd like to introduce you to someone at NLC each week through this column, so pray I can make those connections, get the photos, and be able to share a bit about their lives! Want to help? Great!  Send me your photo and a brief bio, including what you love most about your NLC family. This week, here's a picture of your church staff!

Clockwise from Top Left: Josh & Jessica Aquino (Children's Ministries Leader), Lafeyette & Joanna Brooks (Nursery Coordinator), Steve & Anatalia Sandoval (Youth Ministries Leader), Mark & Laurie Isaac (Lead Pastor/Elder), Elaine Isaak (Business Administrator), Kelly Friesen (On-call Business Administrator Assistant), Rosie Ann and Stephanie & Diego Morales
(Worship Ministries Leader), Joe Ehoff (Facilities Manager/Custodian)

In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Greece, the Apostle Paul tried to connect them to their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in Jerusalem. The Christians in Jerusalem were suffering and in great need. Paul encouraged the Corinthian Christians to generously give to their fellow Christians. And while some in the church were wealthy, most were not. They may have wondered why it mattered that they gave since they probably didn't think they could give much.
So Paul told them about their other brothers and sisters in Macedonia, who in the midst of their own severe trials gave with joy. He said their joy was overflowed so much that in spite of their extreme poverty it welled up into rich generosity. They pleaded to give more! Here's the key:
Why were the Macedonians so generous? (1 Corinthians 8:5) "They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us".
And how did they manage to give so much? (1 Corinthians 8:9)  "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich". 

CONNECT TIP: Ask God to connect your heart with the needs of others, and with his mission to the world. May God give you overflowing joy in the gift of his grace in Jesus so that you, too, might have a generous heart to give, even in the middle of the situation you're in today.

Giving at NLC
Received Last Week (5/28):  ……. $2,763
Received this year: …….………. $255,078
 Budget to Date: …………..……... $316,165
Budget Goal: ………………….......$421,553
Needed Weekly: ………………...…$12,806

The Elders and Trustees have been talking about church safety since returning to worship after the pandemic. We want to make sure that each person who comes onto our church campus feels safe. It's time we developed a safety team and received some training.

If you have an interest in making NLC a safe place for gathering, are already serving on the Welcome Team or on the "Open/Close" list for Sunday mornings, have experience or certification in any area of public safety, security, or law enforcement, or just want to help, please let me, Bruce Smith, Otto Ekk, or Ron Brown know that you'd like to be part of a new safety team being organized and trained. We'll be hosting a training event in June.

CONNECT TIP: Just send me an email and I'll add you to the list!