My men’s small group has been working through a very good book entitled “Freedom”. Last week was about being set free from performance and this week was about freedom from feeling valuable in our usefulness. I submit some highlights so that you can get a feel for our journey: “God is not interested in using us. God is interested in us.”

“Christ does not insist that we do anything in particular for Him; all He asks is for us to trust Him, to have faith in Him. God’s high estimation of us does not involve our ‘use’ to Him. No, God finds us inherently valuable.”

“We are not built to perform for Him; we are built to rely on Him.”

This journey was topped off by a week in my life (and several others) that was very frustrating. Everything I wanted to do I did not get to. People I wanted to see were not home. Days slipped away and I got little ‘I desired to accomplish’ done. Thus I would deem the week a failure and me with it! But God was very loud throughout the week saying that His love was not conditioned on my accomplishments, productivity or showing off. He just loves me and was pleased to walk with me thru the week in its circumstantial diversity. So it was a growing week at some core cultural structural levels for me. Thus, I can use the word good.

I did get out to Hot Rod’s restaurant for a very nice retirement party they threw for local deputies, Tom included. Tom was also included with our COGS lunch on Tuesday at Maggiano’s. We had 18 people for lunch and enjoyed great fellowship and Italian food. Their buy one get one to take home deal was very popular! Kathy Dailey had candy hearts for everyone for dessert. It was a spectacular day. Wednesday night the building was full of activity and the adults even got an hour’s worth of discussion out of Hebrews 5. We start ‘Not A Fan’ this Wed. I did get to see Doris Souther, Hugh Flowers and Mike Sarver this week. Everywhere else I knocked no one came to the door.  :^(   Speaking of doors, I did get the baptismal door from the men’s room fixed, so now you can have a conversation in there without sharing it with the whole congregation!

I arrived simultaneous to Trevor Sunday morning. Vaughn was already way ahead of us and Trev was soon putting books together. I couldn’t get my door open warning to go out on the car so I was slamming all the doors to my car for 15 min. The neighbors must think I lost it :^) The light’s still on. I moved to the church leaving the threat to my sanctification behind. The sanctuary was anointed and Pastor Diana and Johnny made sure I was anointed. Pastor Karen prayed for the worship team and wrote a wonderful meditation about holding our position and watching God win the battle. A little quiet, a little prayer, a little fellowship, a little music, a little piece of the Word, a stop at the Lord’s table – at the most a half hour. God can do so much with that in your soul. God so blesses that time for me every week. The fruit is in abundance in my soul.

There was a decent crowd Sunday for worship. Justacia was back. Lola’s brother was back. Sharon Kost’s sister Joyce has become a regular. Andy was back. The numbers grew with time. We said hello and started with worship both old, new and hymns. We failed to communicate the worship schedule to Maddie, so the band did the offertory. It was wise to resing a new worship song to help us learn it. We were going to move the children’s sermon to a new section, so I sat in the middle but there were people in every section (terrible problem!) so Pastor Karen put them with me. She showed the children all of her photo ID badges and shared how important they are to gain access to many places in our lives. We do not need a badge to get access to God, but we do need Jesus. We shared some announcements: The opening of our connecting table or connecting lounge. A very nice thank you letter from Bangladesh. An exciting picture of the progress on the school in Haiti. I tackled the fifth chapter of Hebrews and the High Priesthood of Jesus Christ. It was definitely not sermon light but it was solid with foundational beliefs. Just another place of struggle with performance. We closed with some meaningful prayer time and worship which wrapped up a memorable celebration time together.

After service Linda Cox had lunch ready for the Stephen volunteers in the kitchen and a homeless visitor as well. Ron, Linda, Sandy, Curt, Larry, JoAnn, Clinton and Kathy caravanned out to Springhill to Christ Snowden’s father’s home to collect furniture for Redlands or any other need that may arise. The home was found (the hardest part) furniture loaded and then stored away before 4:00pm. Good job, fun fellowship, excellent adventure, thank you Linda!

I returned to church for our evening service. There was a room full of women praying for the service a half hour before. We used to have an assigned person praying during each worship service and the practice died. We should rethink that effort. I am very inspired by our Spanish prayer warriors. Jessica Pan led in a chorus to bring us in and Pastor Jorge preached. He shared about the joy of God’s presence from Exodus 33. It was very passionate and powerful. We took the offering and gave announcements before Pastor Karen did a meditative introduction to worship. I thought to myself, “Oh my goodness! Now I don’t understand her!” Her leadership in our Spanish family is pretty incredible. The band played and sang songs that I could sing real loud. I got lost in the worship and the time. I intended to leave early but I was there for the benediction. I love Oak Grove.

After evening service Pastor Karen was invited to a member’s home to pray for their son. They speak Spanish, the boy speaks English. They wanted a pastor to pray for him in his language. THAT my friends is both who we are and why. On my way out, I got stopped at the bonfire at our next door neighbors. They have been moving our fallen limbs and using them for their fire pit. I stopped by to thank them and got into a wonderful conversation. I met a guy who introduced himself as ‘Fast Freddy’. He told me he was first on the scene when the trusses fell on the man during construction of out building. He said he held him in his arms as he died. He also told me he has been a Baptist for 30 years, so he wouldn’t make a very good Christian! Sometimes, Sundays are just too much  :^)

Notes I can remember:

1.     LENTEN PRAYER CALENDAR starts this week!!.

2.     Stacey Blethen had surgery today.

3.     Margaret Brookover fell and went to the hospital today.

4.     Brenda Woodard’s surgery is Wednesday.

5.     Massive tragedy in Destiny’s family please keep them in prayer.

6.     Next Church Council is next TUES Feb 28th.

5.    Remember your cookies for Kairos HCI !!

That’s all for today, except to say thank you to you again for all you do – continue to connect with God, each other and the world.

Know that I love you – Denny

This week was a bit of a ‘tortoise week’ for me – slow, solid steady race winning week. I made a run to Salvation Army with things from my house and the church to help their efforts and this week I’m glad because I was given lots of sweaters and coats that I trust are being put to use in our winter weather. We saw Hugh Flowers in and out of the hospital this week. My trip up to see him did not find him in his room. My trip to see Earl Blevins did not find him at home. That’s the way it goes sometimes. I did spend the day Tuesday with Helping Hands. I serve on their board and so Richard and Debi and John and Judy Boedecker were at Oak Grove for the day. A huge thanks goes out to Emily Rivera who served as our secretary for the day. We spent some time Wed with my son Jon working on ways to get the new church plant in Dunedin involved in our missionary ventures. I had breakfast with Tom Scott this week as he is considering running for office once again. And we had a marvelous night Wednesday night with small groups, medium groups and lots of new youth!!

As you may know, the Canzion Institute uses our building most Saturdays. A part of their regular programming is to take a hour mid-day to worship together. I was asked to bring the devotion with the worship band from Oak Grove as my back-up. As you might guess I served as back-up to Carlito, Luis, Tato and Carlos. They did a really fine job and then Tato Caballero translated for me as I shared from Exodus 30 about the fragrance of worship. It was an incredible honor and opportunity. As Canzion cleared out the Youth Group moved into to transform the sanctuary into a banquet hall. They did a marvelous job with the Valentine banquet. Danny and Michele Pass deserve massive accolades for the effort in pulling the whole thing together. Michelle McCaffery and Brenda Woodard did a spectacular job with the food. Emily and Darleen brought leadership to the kitchen and the floor. The youth brought their talents to the audience in song, poetry and instrumental numbers. They waited tables and got to know the church family better. The biggest complaint last year was the quality of child care, so Sharon and I took charge of the children’s room. We just sat in the dark and let the boys kill each other with glow swords. Probably won’t get that job next year  :^)  All in all it was a spectacular event that we should be very proud of. Please give the key players the thanks and appreciation they deserve.

It was cold as junk Sunday morning when I arrived but Vaughn had it toasty inside and was already preparing. Trevor and the worship team soon arrived and Pastor Karen got them prayed up and ready to go. She wrote a message from Romans 8 about humanness and perfection that we all should read for the chapel. Pastor Diana was not well so Johnny Crippen served in the chapel and anointed me for preaching. Thanks Johnny. It was a solid morning where I felt like a team was working together for God’s best.

I must add this week that my small group was wonderful this week. There are words that are important to my ministerial philosophy. Words like: real, honest, relevant, impact, transformation, Bible-based and confrontive. All that took place in our group on Sunday. I am so glad to be involved and ecstatic that such moments are happening throughout our ministry.

We had a wonderful crowd Sunday morning due in part to the shower but we also had visitors. The twin’s, Kevin and Keith, Dad was with us (Jeff). We had a pair of young ladies from the apartments join us. It was nice to have Paul Pass and Mary there along with Mary Owen and Pastor Karen’s sister, Gayle. We started with a video I received from Compassion. I hoped to stir some interest in student sponsorship particularly where we are working in India and Bangladesh. We worshipped together to a new song, a familiar song and a hymn with piano accompaniment. Nyssa Solano and Judy Demers did the offertory on flute and penny whistle. And Judy and Don Demers did the children’s sermon with puppets! It was marvelously diverse and fresh. I spoke from Hebrews 4 about the rest of God. Not my best effort but I felt obedient in what God desired for us to confront in that chapter. We closed the service in prayer, which afforded me the most important ministry moment of the week. A morning well done by all and thus my thanks to you all.

After service I took the girls to the Performing Arts Center for ‘Les Miserables’ as a Valentine treat but many stayed for the wedding shower for Nikki and Justin. I saw lots of people, nice decorations, good food and plenty of gifts. My thanks to those who organized that and made it happen. I know that young couple felt very loved by your efforts.

I returned to church for our evening service. There was pretty fair turn out for a cold night. It was good to see Elaine Dalton back working with the children along with Renee and Emily. Good to see the place Pastor Karen worked herself to in the Spanish body. Tato led worship to start by himself and led us in a new chorus. Pastor Jorge preached on the ‘Law of Reciprocity in the Kingdom of God’ mostly from the story of David, Nabal and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25. After prayer time Pastor Karen transitioned us to a place of praise and we sang lots of praise music to close the night. I drove home with a big smile on my face singing words I had no idea of their meaning. I love Oak Grove.

Notes I can remember:

1.     If you haven’t gotten a Lenten Prayer calendar please pick one up and pray with us.

2.     Tuesday is the COGS lunch leaving for Maggiano’s at 11:00am.

3.     Get in a small group for “Not A Fan”.

4.     Next Church Council is TUES Feb 28th.

5.    Remember your cookies for Kairos HCI !!

That’s all for today, except to say thank you to you again for all you do – continue to connect with God, each other and the world.

Know that I love you – Denny

I hope he month of January was a great month for you!  Just wanted to report how the use of the church by NA went last month, and the upcoming events for the month of February.  Last month at an event we had parents bring a teenager to an event who was recently relased from a hospital. The following Wednesday night his parents returned for Adult Bible Study and the youth attended youth services. Seeds were planted. Pastor Denny  recieved two invites from NA memebers to facilitate funerals for their loved ones, he was unavailable, but in both situations NA members turned to Oak Grove Church of God for spiritual directions in their time of need.

For the month of February NA has secured the church for a Boys2Men fashion show to raise money for future NA functions. Starting this month Bay2Bay ( a comittee of women from Tampa and surounding area) began to meet on the first Sunday of every month to hold meetings to organize a Womens Conferenc in 2013.

As a member of Oak Grove and NA it brings me joy to see God use us to connect both worlds. I am greatful for your prayers and your willingness to open our doors to a world that needs to meet Jesus.

His Servant,

Ira M.

It was a pretty fun and exciting week in the mission of Oak Grove. The week included a honeymoon shower for Nathan Cress, a birthday party for Nico Solano, several fruitful conversations about Bangladesh and Sikkim, a great visit with Margaret Brookover, time with Clo Collier in the hospital, meetings with Harvey and Brittany about Haiti and pool pumps, and a wonderful dinner with Carlos Agudelo and Trevor Baker to plan music for our Spanglish services! Friday was a pretty frustrating day. We filled the baptistery and turned on the new heater and it did not work. So the plumber came and said it was an electrical problem and the electrician said the problem was with the unit. So Pastor Jorge said the cool water was no problem. Saturday was a huge teaching and fellowship day at the church. The adults were being taught in the ministry house. Renee and Elaine were teaching children. Sharon and Nyssa were teaching dance. There were soccer lessons for the young people. Canzion was in the church but mid-day the two events joined for worship. Pastor Jorge brought in a singer from Colombia who led a packed house with word and song. During this I realized that the baptism tank was leaking and there was water in carpet and the door from the men’s room was stuck. So we removed the door so the baptism could happen. A husband and wife from the evening service were baptized in a very moving service. Then we started the draining process pronto. Special thanks to Pastor Jorge, Scott and Pastor Karen for working hard late to get the water out of the tank and out of the carpet before Sunday morning. It was a great day and the frustrations did not hinder any of the powerful ministry that took place on the grounds.

Sunday morning was cool and clear and I arrived at church to a Chamber of Commerce morning. The worship team was a bit slow gathering but we got communion set up, the sanctuary anointed and the worship team prayed for. Thanks to Michele Pass for a month of fine devotions including yesterday’s thoughts on the importance of pain. Thanks for Pastor Diana’s commitment in being there after a rough week with her health and making sure that I was anointed. Thanks to Tom Ski for bringing both bagels and doughnuts to small group. Preservice was both inspiring and comforting. I felt both prepared and excited about our monthly Spanglish service to come.

I put out extra chairs for the service yesterday and a stack of reserve in the kitchen. I don’t think we needed the reserve, but I was glad I added the extra rows. What was amazing about the crowd yesterday is that they were all sitting up front! It was like full except the back three rows! There were not as much distinct sections yesterday. It wasn’t like there was a Spanish section and an English section. Ya’ll are mixing it up pretty well and I’m am thankful for that. I did a welcome and prayer and Pastor Karen brought us into a time of worship. We learned some new songs and new words and Carlos did a great job with his English. Judy Demers played the piano and sang a wonderful couple familiar hymns. She told me after that she would never have tried to sing at another church. That made me so proud of who you are as a church family! Pastor Karen and Emily did a children’s sermon about having an impact on the world. She shot two syringes into a bowl of water. One made no difference in the water, the other changed the color of the water to red (along with her hands). The children understood that we need to be different from the world such that in our introduction to the world it is changed by the Christ in us. Pretty deep for a children’s sermon but concrete enough for them to grasp it! The children went off with Sharon to Children’s Church. Thanks to Louisa and Myra for being her helpers for the great number of children that we had. As the children departed, Tato and Carlito shared a song that they have been working on. Those kids have more talent than I’ve dreamed of in their pinky! Marvelous stuff and solid worship. It was great to have Chuck Bradley with us from Kairos to illicit volunteers for Hardee C.I. and have our women collecting cookies and signatures for Hernando C.I. To report on what has been happening in Bangladesh and Sikiim. Youth raising money at Valentines to do a mission trip to the Church on the Street in Atlanta. Lots of ‘real’ activity. Banchi Moll joined me to translate my sermon. I tried to combine the themes of Sunday night and morning with a sermon from Ezekiel 22 about standing in the gap and having an impact on our community. We closed the service with some pretty serious prayer time about our mission and for those we know we are called to stand in the gap for. It was a very powerful worship for me.

We had Church Council after the service. Our spending in December was much higher than our giving but we still finished the year in the black. We have a number of facilities / property challenges in front of us that we need to prioritize and tackle. We are planning to do some significant small group things in the months ahead, we are working on the counseling ministry, and we are inviting the Bible Olympics to our place. There are lots of exciting and positive things at hand. I am thankful for all of our committed leaders.

Notes I can remember:

1. Get your tickets for the Valentines Day Dinner and Entertainment.
2. Funeral for John Foster’s mother is Tues morning.
3. Get in a small group for “Not A Fan”.
4. Please keep Elaine Dalton and Brenda Woodard in prayer.
5. Pastor Karen is back from vacation.

That’s all for today, except to say thank you to you again for all you do – continue to connect with God, each other and the world.

Know that I love you – Denny

I feel much better about this week’s ministry than I did about last week. Lots of good personal connections this week, some solid spiritual direction and some visits made. I spent a little extra time with Mike Sarver this week and took an afternoon with Pat and Tammi Cullera. I had breakfast with Sidney Johnson this week to talk about the Church of God in Asia. Sidney is soon to turn 85 and was a vision for me of what retirement might look like! I also got to see Hugh Flowers and Doris Souther this week. I did a movie night with the men’s small group as well. Adam has had a steady stream of workers needing community service hours pulling weeds and washing windows. That has been a huge help and a blessing as well.

We had wonderful programming again on Wednesday night. I had a very enjoyable Bible study and then got a moment to watch Pastor Diana give Bible drills to the young boys she had in the children’s classroom. They were amazing! You must be proud of the effort given by our children’s leaders and the work of our children in order to grasp our ‘rule of faith’. Linda Cox and the broader scope of the Steven ministry made a big haul of furniture from Lake Shore Villas to Redlands. I’m sure that Linda or JoAnn’s face makes anyone in migrant worker ministry smile these days. Such efforts are often under the radar but the ministry offered to out itinerate worker population is something you all should be proud of.

When I arrived at church Sunday morning both Trevor and Vaughn were hard at work. Communion was set up, the sanctuary anointed and the worship team prayed for. Thanks to Pastor Diana and Johnny for praying for me. They were anointing and praying for someone when I walked into the chapel. I am inspired by the consistent depth and breadth of the ministry of Oak Grove. Michele Pass wrote a very challenging meditation from Philippians 2:1-4. The worship team worked together to develop a diverse and flowing time of praise and worship. Small groups met to encourage, feed and love each other. It was a wonderful early morning.

We had a relatively poor crowd by number but lots of life Sunday morning. I cannot remember any visitors. After a very passionate pre-service prayer by Trevor we launched quickly into worship following a welcome and a prayer. We sung a handful of hymns that the band did a fine job with. The band did the offertory adding a little rap lyric from Jon Long to the chorus “More Love, More Power”. A rap offertory accompanied by a flute, we are a weird church. And I love it! Renee brought the children forward for the children’s sermon and had some of them read the Good News from the newspaper. They got the message about our “great salvation” and had a chance to participate before they went of with Kathy Dailey to Children’s Church. We took some very serious time of prayer together corporately. I am very thankful for the openness and readiness of this church family to pray. I was very moved by the prayers and the burdens for others. Thanks to Pastor Diana for doing our pastoral prayer. My apologies for forgetting announcements. I just launched into Hebrews 2 and a call to pay attention so that we do not drift by neglecting so great a salvation. So far I have enjoyed preaching Hebrews even though it has been difficult and pretty deep. We closed with ‘You are my King’ and left on a very high note.

Sunday night was once again very electric. The worship team is all in front of the curtain, the drums are unshielded, the speakers are turned up and my hearing aids are taken out! They did a great job with praise and varying both the tone and the volume. Pastor Jorge preached as well or better than ever. He preached on the Character of Love from Ephesians 1 and Genesis 22. I understand about half or less but what I did understand was powerful, funny and challenging. They followed up his sermon with an extended time of prayer and a half hour of praise. I walked away very encouraged, excited, inspired and thankful. We really do have a very weird and wonderful family that God is very much a part of. I am so glad that I am a part of it.

Notes I can remember:

1. Get your tickets for the Valentines Day Dinner and Entertainment.
2. 2011 Giving Statements are in your mailbox.
3. Get in a small group for “Not A Fan”.
4. This Sunday is Spanglish Sunday
5. Pastor Karen is on vacation until Friday
6. This Sunday is Church Council Meeting
7. Brenda is having a procedure on Wed and Sandy on Friday. Please be praying for them.
8. Pat Cullera has a kidney stone and removal is complicated by his cancer treatments please lift him in prayer.

That’s all for today, except to say thank you to you again for all you do – continue to connect with God, each other and the world.

Know that I love you – Denny

It was a solid week of study and preparation but I am disappointed at what I got accomplished outside of that. We did have a nice COGS luncheon on Tuesday. Our group of 18 dwindled down to a dozen for various reasons. But we had a very enjoyable time at the Longhorn Steak House. We were joined by Steve Bearle who made the group think of several others that ought to be invited. We had a marvelous study on Wednesday night. We have a couple neighbors who like to sit in the prayer garden in the evening. They sat outside the windows and listened through the whole study! I did get to visit with Tammi Wilds, Mary Camfield, Hal Duke, Sharon Koast and Michael Sarver this week. We did get Michael set up in an efficiency across Egypt Lake and back to work at the Furniture Outlet. If you know of someone that is thinking of buying some furniture make sure to ask them to give Michael a shot. Friday JoAnn was in to clean and straighten. She was headed to meet Linda Cox for a Stephen’s ministry meeting with the administration of Lake Shore Villas. It looks like there will be some furniture to be had for Stephen ministry from them!!

This week there were several robberies in the neighborhood and a shooting on Armenia. So for several days we were headquarters for the sheriff’s dept and undercover police. And Saturday was a very exciting day that lives our message and our purpose. Saturday morning was enrollment for another semester of Canzion. We are a part of training musicians and worship leaders for the next generation. I think it is a very unselfish, kingdom-minded endeavor. At noon Pastor Karen helped facilitate a funeral for a family that is associated with us but not really active membership. And Saturday evening Narcotics Anonymous had a big event that included speakers and a spaghetti dinner. I watch a young man arrive who was overdosing on ecstasy. The members of NA knew just what to do and talked with him and gently walked him around the property. They brought me in on the consultation, called the police and dealt with the boy, his grandparents (who didn’t speak English) and the authorities all with great care and integrity. It was a late night for them I am sure but Ira made sure we were ready for Sunday morning.

When I arrived at church Sunday morning the roof was white with frost. I got the fire’s started in the ministry house and moved Adam’s heater down to the chapel. Both Trevor and Vaughn were at work getting the day ready. Vaughn was having serious problems with the computer system that are yet unsolved. He just found a way to make it all work yesterday. Pastor Karen has felt called to work at ‘worship design’ and took the lead yesterday in worship team preparations. She is going to try to add some depth and flow to our worship. It was a good day for it with Judy on the piano and Luis on bass to broaden our instrumental punch. We got them prayed for and Pastor Diana and Johnny got me prayed for. Then I enjoyed communion and a nice meditation on the ongoing learning process of the disciple by Michele Pass from Isaiah 45.

We had a fair crowd for worship Sunday morning. Jessica and Javier Pan brought their neighbor. Michael Sarver was back. Sharon Koast’s sister Joyce is a regular feature. Several of our Spanish families were with us. We went from welcome (without the mic on because I had hit the wrong switch) to prayer to “Majesty” and our praise set. Jon Foster did the offertory, a song he wrote himself – Woop woop!! Get job Jonathan! Pastor Karen gathered the children and showed them her computer. She explained to them that though it is very helpful and does so very many things for her, it still cannot take the place of Jesus. Though there are lots of good things and great people there is still only one Jesus. Sharon and Nyssa took the kids to children’s church and we shared some announcements. Remember to hook up with a small group for “Not A Fan”. Remember to get tickets from our youth for the Valentines Banquet. It was very exciting to me to get a picture of the blankets we bought for our Christ birthday offering! I started our series on Hebrews with chapter 1. We looked at the comparison of Christ to the prophet and to the angels. We talked about who Christ is and that His being should cause both confidence and reverence to be in our lives. We took those attributes with us to a serious time of prayer. As we concluded we walked out thumping the chorus of “What A Mighty God We Serve”!

Sunday night was again filled with change. We sang one song and then the children were dismissed to Renee, Elaine and Emily. Then Pastor Jorge preached. He was again dealing with end times but under the idea of this being a time of faith. He expressed how important it was for us to really know God, to grasp the hope that is ours, and a third point that eludes me at the moment. We had a powerful time of prayer that led into 45 minutes of praise introduced by Pastor Karen. It was very different and very interesting. All in all another good Sunday of worship and service.

Notes I can remember:

1.     Get your tickets for the Valentines Day Dinner and Entertainment.

2.     2011 Giving Statements are in your mailbox.

3.     Get in a small group for “Not A Fan”.

4.     Red Calling Concert on Friday

5.     Pastor Karen is on vacation until January 27th

That’s all for today, except to say thank you to you again for all you do – continue to connect with God, each other and the world.

Know that I love you – Denny

Brief history

The work of the Church of God has been in progress for the last 23 years.  I remember the first believers’ baptism that was held at Norton Bridge.  Since then the Lord has added many more believers who have confessed Him as Lord and Saviour through believers’ baptism.  Adding new members has caused us to plant several churches in many parts of the country.  Many of these fellowships average 20-80 members.  This phenomenal growth has caused us to find and appoint pastors and workers to provide pastoral care for these new believers.

Financial support

At the moment we have 24 full-time workers who are serving as pastors and Christian workers.  None of these congregations are able to pay a stipend to their pastor and workers; hence we have to depend totally for financial support through the global mission of the CoG.  We are very grateful to the CoG congregations and individuals who are sending their support through the global mission office.  We are mindful that the world economic situation has changed so much, yet God is graciously providing for us year by year.

All of our pastors and workers are full-time in the church work but none receive 100% support for their sustenance.  Most, if not all, continue in their work with a sense of contentment even though many of their needs are unmet.  We are proud of, and certainly very happy for, their commitment to the ongoing work of the CoG in Sri Lanka.

Women Empowering Programme

This programme, initiated by Dr Sidney and Mrs Jean Johnson, has brought much help to about 30 groups or families who have received financial assistance by way of an ‘interest-free loan’ scheme.  Some who have received a loan from this scheme are still struggling to pay it back, but others are able to make regular repayments to clear their loan.  These repayments have enabled us to build up capital that we can use to provide a loan to others in need.

We are very thankful to the brothers and sisters who have contributed to the Women Empowering Programme fund so that we can empower women, both individually and collectively as a community, within the body of the CoG.

General Council Meeting

This meeting is held once a year during our Annual Convention in the month of September or October.  During this meeting the regional leaders share their reports from their respective regions; the treasurer presents the audited statement of accounts on behalf of the Board of Management.

October 5^th-8^th 2011 was our Annual Convention, which was attended by 120 members including lay representatives from local churches.  This convention proved to be a spiritual feast for all parties as we had a delegation of five distinguished pastors and leaders from CoG fellowships in the USA and Canada participating. They were: Pastors. Denny Huebner, John Boedeker, Richard Fields, Michael Blackmer(Canada) , Abby Lanman and Christine. It is needless to say how much we were all blessed and encouraged.  We invite CoG Pastors and Leaders from USA/Canada and other countries around the world to visit us.

Ordination

During our Annual Convention we had the joy of witnessing nine men receive their ordination as full-time pastors.  Each made a pledge to serve the Lord in and through the CoG, and to be faithful to the Lord by upholding the Word of God and also by keeping the main tenets of the CoG.  It was a very colourful sight to see them ordained by the laying-on of hands by our international leaders.  This was followed by the Breaking of Bread in the spirit of unison according to the command of our Lord.

Church building reconstruction and dedication

The church building in Ampara had received much destruction and devastation due to flooding in 2010.  For several months the believers met in a makeshift place for worship and Bible study.  We made an appeal to Rev Don Armstrong, the regional leader of the SE and Pacific Region.  He sent out a special letter on behalf of this fellowship that brought the needed money to make the necessary renovation and refurbishment of the church.

Pastor Sis Susantha Ekanayake single-handedly oversaw the entire repair work.  Pastor Joe was able to assist her through advice and the building plans.  All the work was completed by August 2011 but we had to wait until October for the church to be rededicated.  The believers in Ampara are happy that they have a more or less brand new church sanctuary in which to worship the Lord.  Ampara is situated on the east coast, an area very much affected by the tsunami in 2004.

Theological education

A total of ten pastors are continuing their theological education at South Asia Institute of Theology, Norton Bridge, while they are in full-time service.  Attending a 5-day training programme (Monday-Friday) during the 4^th week of each month is a very convenient way for them to continue their theological education.  These pastors are very grateful for the opportunity they have to follow their studies whilst they are in ministry.  Pas Sis Susantha Ekanayake will be graduating in March 2012 with a BTh degree.  She has been an ardent student who travels 200 miles each way via 3 buses to follow her studies at SAIT.

In closing we express our appreciation and thanks to our regional leader, Don Armstrong, area leader, Rev Bowman Royce, and not forgetting Dr Sidney and Mrs. Jean Johnson for their prayers and encouragement.

Yours sincerely in Christ

Sam Thevabalasingham

Chairman- CoG Ministries Sri Lanka

It was a fun week and back to normal again whatever that may be! I got to go to the Outback Bowl on Monday with my son. I got to spend time with Chris Cox, Michael Sarver and some great prayer and spiritual direction moments this week. Pastor Jorge came by with the new church directories. Tom Ski spent two days painting the Chapel. Thanks to both of those men. I spent a lot of the week squeaking out time to officially move from Lutz to South Tampa. Thus I got good time with Brittany and Harvey who are taking over the Lutz property. I should be all out and they all in by Thursday of this week. The first of many changes to the New directory.

It was a cold night with a warm room on Wednesday as we got mid-week programming started for the New Year. It was a better group than I expected with the weather and a couple weeks off. We finished the Gospel of John and headed into Hebrews. The youth had a healthy group but the children were down in numbers a little. Saturday both Canzion and NA were in the building. There are some very good things happening here both for the Body and the community. Friday night Mary Camfield called me to say Carl Finefrock passed away. There will be no services. Saturday morning was Norma Dalton’s funeral service. Pastor Diana did a masterful job with that. It was packed with people and family took a huge part. There was both music and testimonies. A true tribute to a very special saint.

I rode in Sunday to the sunrise and Vaughn was already preparing. I turned the heat on in the ministry house and the AC on in the sanctuary. It is that time of year! Thanks to Pastor Diana, Pastor Karen and Johnny for anointing me for the day. We got the sanctuary and the worship band prayed up and had the opportunity to be inspired by Michele Pass’ meditation from Isaiah about acting upon that which we know. I was surprised by the arrival of Don and Judy Demers at worship practice. It sure was fantastic to see our snow birds again! Great start to the day and good to be ‘home’.

We had a good crowd Sunday morning for worship. Many of John Archer’s family were there. Kristy VanDam and her Aunt were with us. Friends of Doyle and JoAnn from the Christian Church were with us. Thanks to Patti Bernor and Pastor Diana for handling a salesman at the door. We kicked off with a welcome and prayer and the band led us in some gentle praises. It was nice to work our way to a little louder-faster worship. The band did our offertory and Pastor Karen did the Children’s Sermon. She had a tent with her and told them there were things she liked and did not like about camping. She related to them that there are times of life that are not fun but that with Jesus we get through those times and can look back with joy. Sharon and Nyssa took the children back to church. We did some significant prayer time (like two weeks worth had piled up) and really called on the Lord to some significant works. I finished the Gospel of John with chapter 21 and asked the question of Jesus and gave His challenge: Do you love me? Then feed my sheep. Good service.

After worship we met at the Red Elephant to plan worship services until Easter. The worship schedule is available in hard copy or Excel. If you are a part of our worship leadership please make yourself and active part of our planning center. Thanks to all those that were a part of our work yesterday and those who sent in their ‘homework’.

Sunday afternoon at 4:30 was the Youth Team Meeting. Lots of good things are going on with our young people. We are working on several fund-raisers. There will be a Valentines Day Banquet (so plan to attend). They are still doing the gift card fund raiser but could use someone to administrate that. They are planning to start a small group for young leadership on Sunday mornings before worship. Brittany Bayliss was there to help coordinate a summer missions trip to the Church on the Street in Atlanta. And they are looking to do some outdoor movies or concerts to welcome the neighborhood to the property as well. It was a very productive meeting.

With the New Year Pastor Jorge wanted to bring about some change, so Sunday night the seats were arranged differently, the worship team was front and center and the format was a bit different. We started with song and then Pastor Karen brought a devotional thought and a scripture reading in Spanish (very impressive) and then we sang for a long time as the children were dismissed and Pastor Jorge preached. He is focusing on the predictions that 2012 is the end of time. He shared last night what we must be about if these are the last days under the title of ‘The Time to Believe’. There was great prayer time and an altar call but closing my eyes at that point of the day was too tempting for me. After bouncing me forehead off of the chair in front of me, I decided to take Sharon home. It was a very powerful evening service.

Notes I can remember:

1.     Tomorrow COGS go to Longhorn Steak House.

2.     2011 Giving Statements are in your mailbox.

3.     Saturday is the funeral for Kristy VanDam’s father at the church..

4.     The new church directories are in the sanctuary

That’s all for today, except to say thank you to you again for all you do – continue to connect with God, each other and the world.

Know that I love you – Denny