The Scoop at The Place
The weekly newsletter of The Place Adventist Fellowship in Newbury Park, California. We seek to become mature disciples of Jesus, intimately in love with God, who express His love in creative service and fellowship.
Friday, December 23, 2005
December 23rd, 2005-Merry Christmas!!
This Week At The PlaceThis Sabbath we will have a very special musical Christmas program. We will have our children singing as a choir; other wonderful musical items; and the children will lead us in the story of Christmas. Pastor Simon will be also be sharing his message, called "A Narnia Christmas."
And, a reminder that you always have access to the sermons on-line (we even podcast!!). Check out all the new stuff at www.theplacechurch.com.
Elder Rob Randall will be leading out in the adult Sabbath School that meets at 10:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary. They are exploring the book of Acts. Come and join the fun!
The Discipleship training class will NOT meet this Sabbath, but will resume after the holidays.
There are also Sabbath School classes available for all ages. Sabbath school starts at 10:30 a.m. at "The Little Place"...stop by and be blessed!
And-a reminder that your tithes and offerings are always a blessing. You may return your tithes and offerings to The Place or on-line by clicking on the link provided.
Merry Christmas!
We at The Place would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. We invite you to come and spend Christmas time with us this Sabbath. And, we would like to thank all of you who so generously brought gifts for the children in our community. We are happy to say that we received an abundance of gifts for children who would otherwise not receive any gifts this Christmas holiday. We also want to thank God for all of the gifts He gives us daily. The gifts of love, life, health, family, friends. We are immensely blessed and rejoice during this special holiday season and the chance we have to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Place Finances
Once again, we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your faithful giving. During November, we received tithe in the amount of $11,876, bringing us to a total of $135,116 for the year. We also received $5,218 towards our church budget, bringing that total to $79,958 for the year. Although we are still behind in our church budget for this year, we trust that God will continue to bless you as you support The Place and our ministry.
We would like to remind you that our Christmas tree would be happy to receive any Christmas gifts in envelopes with checks inside!
Thanks for remembering us during your year end giving. And, just a reminder from our treasurers that any donations to The Place must be received by December 31st to be credited as tax-deductible donations for 2005. God bless you.
The Place Small Groups
Yes, we know we talk about our small groups a lot...but, there is a great reason for doing so...they are awesome! For the many of you who are blessed each week in our small groups, you know what we mean. But, sadly, there are still some who are missing out on that blessing!
In 2006, we are going to be doing some special things with our small groups. As we begin the year, we will be focusing on the topic of prayer during the first few months...and our small groups will be a part of that journey together as we learn about how God prays for us...and how understanding that can strengthen our own prayer lives.
And, we are believing that we are going to be starting several new small groups - one in Ventura; one in Thousand Oaks; another one focused on families with young children and hopefully more.
If you are interested in making a commitment to a small group, would like to start a new one, or just have questions, please contact Pastor Simon at simonliversidge@hotmail.com.
The Place Website & Holiday Shopping
We are very proud of our church website...www.theplacechurch.com. And, we invite you to check it out if you have not done so. You can find everything you need to know about The Place - from our church calendar to photos of our church events.
And, even though you are running out of time for Christmas, we would like to remind you that whether it is for Christmas, or any time during the year, you may shop on-line and contribute to The Place at the same time! Shop online at www.theplacechurch.com for all your holiday gifts--and help the church by doing it! All the merchants in our online store give back 4% to 8% of your purchase spending, all of which goes directly to our local church budget. With over 20 top name stores and counting, you should be able to shop for anyone with ease! Amazon, KB Toys, Brookstone, iTunes, Sony, and more!
Just start your shopping trip from the store links below to ensure the Place receives credit.
http://www.theplacechurch.com/bookstore/bookstore.htm
It's that easy! And-if there are any other suggestions for shopping websites for us to try and add, please contact Jeremy Bachmann at 818-438-5316 or click on the link below. Happy shopping!
Contact Jeremy
Prayer
In 2006, we want to make prayer a focal point of our spiritual journey at The Place. For many of you, that is nothing new. For others, it will be brand new. But, regardless of which category you fit into, we want to grow together in 2006. Pastor Simon will begin the new year with a sermon series focused on prayer, and many of our small groups will be focusing on prayer as well! We invite you to join the journey, individually and corporately.
Also, many of us have prayer requests and praises to God...and our prayer team loves to pray and praise along with you. If you have prayer requests you may email them to our prayer team coordinator, Joelle Vessels at processgirl@hotmail.com. And, we are always looking for more pray-ers. Let us know if you would be interested in being part of our prayer team. This is a vital ministry and the heart of our mission as a church.
Dreaming of 2006
Yes, we know we just wished you Merry Christmas, but we are already dreaming of a happy new year. Just as we as a church had dreams that God blessed us with this past year, we are dreaming of new dreams and new blessings for this coming year.
Some of our dreams for 2006 include continuing to grow our Children's Ministries. We have been so blessed as many young families continue to join our fellowship... and, we look forward to continuing to develop this vital ministry. We are also dreaming of expanded small groups and prayer ministries as outlined above. And, we are dreaming of developing and beginning a discipleship program for all our members, to help each one of us find and use those gifts that God has given us, both within our church and in our community. We are also dreaming of continuing to learn how to share our faith with our friends and neighbors as part of our daily lives.
Those are some of our corporate dreams - but those dreams are only as big and as good as the dreams that God has put on your heart. We invite you to dream along with us! Starting in January, we as a church will take some time to dream together, but if you have dreams that can't wait, please contact Pastor Simon!
...and a happy NEW year.
Yes, we have some new things in store for 2006. One of those is a new bulletin, which you will see very shortly. Another is a new communications ministry, in which one of our members is going to be the central coordinator for us for news - both good and bad, and for expediting ways we can minister to one another when we need it!
We are also going to be having some more family time - we have already scheduled the NPAA gym for 2 saturday nights - 1/14 and 2/18 - for volleyball and playing together! But, we can handle more, if you or your family would like to take the lead.
And, most importantly, we continue to seek new ways that we as a church family can fall in love with our God and share that good news with our kids, our families, our friends and our community.
We wish you a happy new year at The Place!!
posted by The Place @
6:19 PM
