Church Happenings

Prophetstown Advent Christian Church now has a Web site - visit it at ptownac.org

ILLINOIS CHURCH TO CELEBRATE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY

Mark your calendars and save the date! AC Church of the Highlands in LaGrange, Illinois, will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary with a celebration banquet on Saturday, October 27 and a songfest on Sunday, October 28. We'd love to have you attend this milestone for our church and within our denomination.

Centerburg - Sparta AC Church (Pastor Rob Musick) - In the past three years, this church’s Penny Crusade giving has exploded. In 2002, their goal was $1200; in 2005 it was $5200; for 2006 they have set a goal of $7500! How does a small church achieve these lofty goals? The answer should be obvious – the Lord is blessing their efforts! Those efforts include plans for a mission dinner with different foods and dress; incorporating country flags as decorations; posting missionaries’ pictures and incorporating mission updates into the worship service. According to Pastor Musick, “We are trying to teach people a Biblical theology of missions and the importance of missions to God’s heart since Jesus was God’s missionary son here on earth.” This focus on missions has brought growth to other ministries within the church as well. We invite everyone to rejoice with them in their excitement and joy as they continue to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Submitted by Carol Vandable

In the July 2005 issue of the Witness, in his editorial, the editor talked about a bumper sticker he had found that he might actually put on his car. It is an oval sticker with a blue background with the words "Maybe Today". The size and shape lends itself to being more than a bumper sticker. In Villisca the sticker is being handed out to the teens to put on their notebooks or to "stick" someplace in their rooms to serve as a reminder of who should be the guide for their every decision, their every action. The following is the message that went to each teen who received a Maybe Today sticker.

Maybe today - are you ready?

"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming." ... "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." Matthew 24:42, 44

"I am hoping you will put the enclosed sticker someplace that will remind you daily that you need to guard your faith so you will be ready for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"On 9-11 I remember thinking that all those people went to work that morning thinking they had time to do all kinds of things-including working on their walk with Christ. Many had let the immediate things of the day get in the way of them staying "alert". I am praying that this little sticker will remind you not to let that happen in your life. Toward that end I would encourage you to have daily devotions (Bible study, prayer), to seek God's forgiveness daily, to make Sunday morning worship a habit along with being a part of the youth group. All those will help you be mindful of your commitment to Christ and will help you grow in your Christian life."

and this wasn't all ....Pictured here are some of the toys for parents had to choose from the first day of the Else toy distribution during Christmas 2005.

In 2005 the Else's report: We had 140 parents from 33 different towns receive gifts for 451 children. There were 33 grandparents from 12 different towns receiving gifts for 163 children. They came from 33 towns & 4 different states, with 614 children receiving over 5,300 toys.

The Else's write of the 2005 season: "There is no way to list the many that help make this program a success, but WE want thank each and every one who donated toys, money, those who had collection places, those who help prepare the toys, Nodaway town for the give away location, those who help with putting the toys in place Saturday morning, and specially those who spread the word.

Though not a ministry of the Villisca Advent Christian Church, the sponsors of the Share-A-Toy program, Vince and Judy Else, are members of the Villisca church and the congregation have been supportive. So, here we report on the program:

Every Christmas children of every family look forward to receiving toys under the Christmas tree. That is what Share A Toy is all about - sharing a used toy that is not played with any more with a child that would not otherwise receive toys under their Christmas tree.

Share A Toy program collects used toys of all kind, and makes an effort to have the toys clean and in working order. (Often a toy from one family can be put with a toy from another family to make a complete set.) Share-A-Toy is a program sponsored by Vince and Judy Else of Nodaway. They collect toys all year long and have been doing the Share A Toy program for 30 some years. Then for several days before Christmas, they open the doors of the Nodaway Community Center so parents can come and pick out toys for their children. In recent years the Else's have added times when grandparents can come pick up toys to give to their grandchildren.

"We hope that there will not be any child to wake up on Christmas morning with out toys under the Christmas tree. It may not be the number one reason for Christmas, but every child loves to receive gifts at Christmas." ~~Vince & Judy Else

This program would not work if the people of the area did not donate used toys. The Else's do not ask for new toys or money, but will accept either. The main request is for USED TOYS. We know that in the last couple years a Red Oak women's group dressed dolls for the program. There are families who will take games that have been contributed and spend hours matching pieces from games so that complete games with pieces in good shape can be distributed. If you would like to share toys which are not played with any more, you may take them to 400 4th Ave. in Nodaway or the Villisca Good Samaritan Center. If you would like to help in restoring the toys to like-new condition, contact Vince or Judy at 712-785-3311. They collect them all year long.

The Else's do this because they know that there are times when money is short and it is needed for clothes and food, leaving no money for extras like Christmas gifts. Their Share-A-Toy program is a program which a family can use, to make sure that each child will receive toys under the Christmas tree. All they ask of the parents that need toys for their children, is for them to come and pick out the toys that best suits their children. They do not ask why you need toys. They just want the children to have toys for Christmas. They've expressed that their only worry is that there will be some parents that needs toys, who will not hear about the Share A Toy program.. THE TOYS ARE FREE!!!!

CD from the Aurora Advent Christian Church

After nearly a year of recording, mixing and production, our outreach CD, "The Reason We Sing", is ready for distribution. Designed to share a message of hope with seekers outside our church body, it is also appropriate for your own personal worship times. Featuring The Reason, our blended service worship team, many styles of worship music are offered including tight a cappella harmony, praise band rock, and more traditional lightly orchestratedselections.

The purpose of the CD project is to share a sample of our music with visitors to our church and people in neighborhoods surrounding our church, free of charge. To support this project, CD's as well as cassettes are available for our congregation and friends to purchase at a cost of $9 each (plus shipping costs if applicable). CD's are available from the worship team members following the 10:45 service or by contacting Pastor Latimore at 630.896.1963 or e-mail revken@flash.net (Please make checks payable to "Aurora Advent Christian Church")