Dear Church Family,
“I like Jesus – it’s his followers I can’t stand.”
Have you heard that before?
As a follower of Jesus, that one stings a bit. But in truth, I’ve added plenty of my own bad behavior and harsh, hasty judgments into the mix. That’s why I’m so grateful that Jesus came not just to be our example to follow, but our perfect Savior who not only followed all of God’s will in our place but who also then willingly gave up his perfect life as the atoning sacrifice for all our sins.
So now, while no one’s perfect, we do want to follow Jesus by actually putting into practice what He teaches us in the Bible. We want to encourage each other towards continued spiritual growth so that our faith doesn’t get stagnant. With God’s help we want to become disciples of Jesus who are continuously growing to become disciple makers for Jesus.
In short, we want to become more and more like Jesus in every aspect of life. That’s the core value that we are taking a look at this Sunday. Come learn with me what it looks like to imitate the life of Him who loved us first and best.
ICYMI – Watch my message from last Sunday: We want everyone taking ownership.
Baptism Class – Find out what the Bible teaches about Baptism! Come to my information class THIS Sunday, Nov. 11th following our worship service. The class is free and childcare will be provided as needed. It’s an opportunity to ask questions and get answers about baptism, with no obligation. Register for the class online here.
Baptism Sunday – Have you seen and shared our video yet? We will have a bilingual service on Sunday, Nov. 18th at 10:30am in the high school gymnasium. Immediately after, we will celebrate our thanks to God with a lunch and time to connect with one another as a family. We want to welcome any new visitors and celebrate with any who are newly baptized. Our Fellowship Team has some fun activities planned as well! Please click here for more details and to bring food so we can have a “Thanksgiving” Meal to share.
Mommy and Me – next activity Monday, Nov 12 at 8:45am. Registration required only once for all dates.
DSYouth – Friday, Nov 16th 6-8:30pm. All middle and high school age students invited. Meet in high school commons. Questions? Contact Dr. Erik Landwehr.
Lead Academy Pastor – Please keep Pastor Caleb Schmiege in your prayers as he deliberates our call to serve on our Divine Savior campus here in Doral as a link between the academy students and families and our church. He would be a tremendous blessing to our ministry team here! Pastor Schmiege currently serves as the recruitment director for Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, MI.
Offerings / Worship Arts Center Update – In September during our last congregational update, we communicated that our target was $9,200 / week in offerings in order to begin to qualify for a loan to build the Worship Arts Center (W/AC). Unfortunately, our October offerings dropped to about $7,200 / week—a surprising, uncharacteristic drop. Our monthly offerings year to date stand at about $7,800 / week. God willing, we can end the calendar year strong and get back on track with future goals in mind so that we can not only expand the gospel ministry that we are doing but also further our plans to build the W/AC.
Currently, Josefina is preparing a list of the changes that were made to the building design of the W/AC. When these lists are done, the list of changes and the revised CAD drawings will be sent to Somerville Architects in Green Bay so that they can review them and give us a written report on the feasibility of incorporating them into the final plan. In order to arrive at an accurate cost for the building, a 3-D Revit model will be made (pending approval of the expense by the Church Council). The project is mostly on hold until this happens and offering levels increase. At this time therefore it is unlikely that construction on the W/AC could begin in 2019.
Advent by Candlelight – Monday, December 3rd 7pm in the middle school gym. Meditate on the true meaning of the upcoming Christmas season as you gather together with other women and enjoy this uplifting and renewing event. More information on how you can be personally involved to support this part of our ministry will be coming via email soon!
Online Giving – If you haven’t already set up electronic giving via ACH, we now have another way to give online through BluePay whether via credit card or checking. One-time or recurring gifts can be set up. Simply visit our website and then click on “Give” in the upper right hand corner. Thanks for giving regularly to help us as we plan and carry out our mission of changing lives with Jesus!
Saturday Evening Church Set-Up Team. Thank you to everyone who volunteered! If you’d still enjoy serving in this way please let me know.
Coming Up:
Bethlehem Revisited – DSC outing to Coral Springs. Sun., Dec. 9th at 6pm More details to come.
Jingle & Mingle – DSC family Christmas Party 6pm Sat., Dec. 15
Christmas for Kids – DSYouth hosts a special Christmas activity for all children 3years – 5th grade as part of our DSKids program. Sat., Dec. 22nd.
Refreshment Schedule – Thank you for serving! If you have any questions or would like to help where needed, please contact Pam.
November 11. Sullivan. Kirchoff. M. Fernandez
November 18. Baptism Sunday
November 25. Landwehr. Calil
December 2. Birkenstock. HELP NEEDED
December 9. Biesterfeld. HELP NEEDED
December 16. Herrera. Befeler
December 23. Kaufmann. Sievert
December 30. Meihak. HELP NEEDED
Next All Pro Dad’s Day—November 15th. Register online. It’s for all dads and kids ages K-6th Grade. Free breakfast in the high school common from 7:00-8:00am.
Sunday Playlist. Gathering song: Same Power. Forgiveness song: By Faith. Sermon song: May the Mind of Christ. Sending song: To Live Is Christ.
Changing Lives with Jesus,
Pastor Ben
