The Lord is working in exciting ways through Children's Ministry! Each week we are blessed to be working with children  on  Sunday  and  Wednesday  to get the scriptures into their heads, hands, and hearts.

Our AWANA program has three weeks left (5/16, 5/23, and 5/30). Our annual verse-a-thon is this week, and we are excited to hear the children recite all the Bible verses they know! AWANA will take a break for the summer, but the children will still meet  on Wednesday  nights. Our summer program will be "Bible Heroes and Bad Guys." We will learn more about the people in the scriptures, and find out how their lives point us to Jesus.

Speaking of summer, we need a summer teacher for our K/1st grade Girls  Sunday Morning Bible Life class who will commit to teaching from June-August every other week. The teacher would be responsible to lead class discussion using curriculum from the Gospel Project for Kids. The class meets during the  9:30 Bible Life hour. We are also looking for adults to help during our  Sunday morning Children's Worship. Helpers during Children's Worship aide me in creating a faithful, safe, and fun environment for children to learn more about Jesus. Anyone who would like to serve in this way would be on a rotation, and come with me to Children's Worship (during the  10:45 service) once a month.  If you are interested in serving with HHCM or know someone who might be please  email me. 

Great job to Breakaway Theater Ministry on their performance Sunday morning, rehearsal photo included at right!

A busy summer awaits student ministry!

June 18-22 Heroes Camp kicks off. We are quickly running out of spots for kids to be signed up. If you know anyone hoping to have their children attend encouy them to sign up soon!

July 9-13 is the HHSM service project - VBS in Whispering Hollow Park! Our students will run a VBS for K-5th grade during the evenings that week. We will need lots of adults for support if you are available please contact me!

July 22-29 our students will head to Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters for a week of missions camp!

August 24-25th is the 2nd annual Buda Ninja Warrior!

And somewhere in all of that we will welcome the little girl to our family! Thanks for all your prayers as we anticipate her arrival!

Our school year is slowly coming to a close at the Christian Learning Center!  We only have 3 school days remaining!  However, we still have much fun left to close out the year, and this week I would like to introduce you to the teachers of our Butterflies class, Mrs. Karla Barlow and Mrs. Kari Dodson!  This is their 8th year teaching together and the children in their classroom always learn so much and have so much fun!  Last week the children were learning all about the beach and the ocean!  They had fun digging for hidden treasures in the sandboxes throughout the room, learning about different kinds of shells, and sea creatures.   

There are certain tensions in church life.  No, I don't mean between people--I mean between values.  These tensions are biblical.  Let me give you some examples:

1)  The tension between form and freedom.  Lifting hands in prayer and singing joyfully and other free expressions were known in the early church, but the Apostle Paul also said that order was also a value.  

We need both: form and freedom.

2)  The tension between organization and flexibility.  Paul administered a giant offering for the suffering Judean Christians and he did it methodically, yet he also responded spontaneously to opportunities for the gospel.  And the early church decided to organize the feeding of the widows with deacons as overseers of that ministry.  Yet a couple of deacons went beyond the scope of deacon ministry, exercising gifts of prophecy and evangelism.  (Acts 6-8)  

We need both: organization and flexibility.

3)  The tension between trust and accountability.  Church life is built on mutual trust.  (Koinea means sharing all things in common, which you can't do without trust.)  But while we can't function without trust, there is also the need for accountability because none of us is completely trustworthy in every way--like the Lord.  So Paul took steps to be accountable to others in the receiving of the massive offering, and went out of his way to be accountable for his own support among churches he visited.

We need both: trust and accountability. 

What's the point of pointing these tensions out?  Church life is not child's play; it takes serious effort and maturity to find the right balance for the good of the church and for the sake of the gospel.  Your concern and prayers and leadership and servanthood for and toward the church today, will help build church-life in the future.  Small things now for big payoff later.   

We need more mentors for new believers so that, at any given moment, we have mentors available for new believers.  Write this down: October 20 at Hays Hills, Mentor inspiration and training for current and potential mentors.  Write this down too:  Scott Hill's homemade BBQ. 

Women and Romans!  We have a women's Bible Study through Romans that meets on Wednesday nights at 6:45 PM in Bldg. E.  This is taught by Sethie Whittaker.  Women are welcome to join in any Wednesday!  As they study this book they are finding rich wealth of application for their lives.

Thanks Kay Hammack and family for donating an estate sale amount of household goods for a future Haiti garage sale.