Midweek Check-in (May 14, 2025)

Good afternoon, church family!

I really enjoy a celebration. Even if it’s not my celebration – I love seeing when others are happy and joining in on the excitement!

We did that the last two Sundays as we witnessed many profess their love for Jesus and experience the sacrament of baptism!

Well, we have another opportunity to celebrate. Here’s the story:

A new ministry at our church was recently launched to help single, pregnant ladies navigate the challenges of pregnancy, childbirth and beyond. An unplanned pregnancy can be an isolating, helpless experience. And we grieve when some of these pregnancies end in abortion. What if there was a better way?

There is! Our Embrace Grace ministry, led by Sherilyn Elder, provides weekly classes for these ladies right here at our church. We offer helpful resources, information, prayer and more to guide these ladies through their pregnancy journey and into motherhood.

I’m excited to announce that two ladies are nearing the completion of this course, and we want to celebrate with them by throwing them a church-wide baby shower on Saturday, June 7 at 2 p.m. in our church lobby!

Both moms have due dates quickly approaching, and we don’t want them to be lacking in anything they’ll need. So we’re asking you to help by not only attending the baby shower, but also by lavishing these two ladies with gifts and cards. If you’re not sure what to bring – you can’t go wrong with diapers, baby wipes or gift cards!

I’m not going to share their names here, but one mother, who is a teenager with plans to graduate from high school soon, is having a girl, and the other mother is having a boy. So let’s celebrate these precious gifts from the Lord and be a blessing for these moms-to-be!

We love because God first loved us.

-1 John 4:19

You are loved!

Your pastor,

Billy Byler

TRUE NORTH KIDS: This summer we’re inviting all kids to Trust Jesus in a Wild World with TRUE NORTH – our Vacation Bible School that will run each evening June 18-20. You can register your child through our website.

VBS HELP NEEDED: It takes a big team to make VBS happen, and we need you on our team! Check out the various roles at our booth in the lobby, and sign up this Sunday! We’ll have a volunteers’ meeting this Sunday (May 18) after the morning worship service.

CHURCH CAMPS: The summer is quickly approaching and that means church camps!

·      High school teens need to register by May 23 to join teens from all over Kansas at Camp Table Rock in Missouri June 6-9.

·      Kids Camp for boys and girls who just completed 1st-6th grade is July 14-16 at Wheat State Camp in Augusta, KS. Register by June 20.

·      Middle school camp is for students who just completed 6th-8th grade and will take place July 17-20 at Wheat State Camp. Register by July 1.

HELP OUR YOUNG PEOPLE GET TO CAMP: Church camps can be life-changing events for our kids and teens, and we don’t want anyone to miss out because of finances. If you can make a donation to help our young people get to camp, you can choose “camp donations” from our convenient, secure online giving platform. Or write “camp donation” on your check or offering envelope and drop it in one of our donation boxes on Sundays in the back of the church sanctuary or during the week in the church offices.

JUST FOR FUN

Hey, you read Pastor Billy's midweek check-in all the way to the end! As a reward, check out these crazy stories I came across recently:

·      A man is so passionate about developing medicine to treat snake bites, that he has willingly allowed himself to be bitten by venomous snakes at least 200 times.

·      Two women discovered through DNA testing that they are long-lost sisters. So when they planned to meet each other in person for the first time ever, they inadvertently showed up wearing the exact same dress.

·      A truck tipped over on a Texas highway and spilled its entire cargo: eight million dimes.