October 11, 2024

In This Week's Update

• Sunday's Song List
• Small Group Opportunities
• Hy-Vee Gift Cards
• Sunday Morning Prayer Time
• Our NEW Church App is Available
• Fall Schedule
• Saturday Morning Studies
• Yankton Area Women's Connection
• Church Membership Class
• Fall Festival
• Membership Revision Meeting
• Discovery Church Elder Statement on Amendment G  
• NAB Annual Gathering Information

This Sunday's Sermon & Song List

Last week we read the story of God calling Moses from the burning bush in Exodus 3. But this is only part of the story of Moses' calling to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt. In truth, the story of Moses' calling runs from 3:1 all the way to 4:17. In chapter 3 we the LORD beautifully reveal Himself and His plans to Moses. He is the Holy One and the great I AM - the beginning and the end - the faithful God of His chosen people. In chapter 4 it's Moses who is revealed. And he's not quite as impressive. He's slow to obey. Doubtful. Hesitant. Not the man you would expect God to choose to lead His people out of Pharaoh's clutches. But that's the point. God always does things the surprising way. Just when you'd expect God to send a king or an army he sends a shepherd with a stick. In this way, God is known for His might, His saving power and His patient, loving choices. 

To get yourself ready to sing on Sunday you can start listening to the songs we'll be singing together:

• Who You Say I Am
• Cornerstone
• Living Hope
• Always
• Not To Us

We created a playlist on Youtube in case you want to start listening today. You can find that by clicking HERE.

Did You Know About These Different Small Group Opportunities?

Here are all the study/fellowship opportunities currently available through our church:



• Monday Evening Men's Group - 7:00PM at Dave Hofer's Home
• Wednesday Night Discovery Zone, Youth Group and Systematic Theology for adults began SEPTEMBER 11th at 6:30PM
• Every other Saturday Morning Women's Study starts September 14th 
• Every other Saturday Morning Men's Study starts September 21st

Questions? Contact the church office at (605) 689-2211.

Did You Know You Can Give To The Church By Purchasing Hy-vee Gift Cards?

Discovery Church receives 5% back on all gift cards purchased from the church. You can purchase your $50 or $100 gift cards on Sundays from Jeff and Dawn Herron (Fellowship Hall) or weekdays from the office. There is no limit on how many you can purchase. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the church office. 

Sunday Morning Prayer Time

I just wanted to remind everyone that all are welcome to join me (Pastor Cory) every Sunday morning at 8:15 as I pray through the church directory by name. Simple, short and earnest prayers for each name in the directory are prayed as we lead up to Sunday school and worship. I find this is vital in getting my heart right before the Lord on Sunday, keeps me invested in knowing our congregation, and truly wages war against the schemes that Satan may have for our people. I've seen many answers to prayer over the last three years because of this routine and I can promise that it will encourage you too. Feel free to join me in my office every Sunday morning at 8:15!

Our New Church App is Available!

Our new app went live and is available for download. If you have a smart device we encourage you to download the app as a means of staying up to date about church events. Feel free to reach out to the office any time during the week if you need guidance in getting the app downloaded and using it. 

Everyone is having a great time on Wednesday night! A big thank you to Brenden Christensen, Julie Williams and Erin Wanken for ministering to our youth group! Between all of them they provided a bon-fire, s'mores, and treats for the students while they studied Romans together. I can tell how much our volunteers value and enjoy the word of God and serving our students. So, it's a great joy to see them serve!

Erin Pedersen, Tristan Kitch and Kim Schroeder also do a great job with the catechism class downstairs! I was told that last night was the best night so far and the kids really seem to be settling into our routine and paying attention to the material. 

I also want to thank our worship volunteers - everyone on the worship team has graciously switched practice night from Thursday to Wednesday so that many of our out-of-town participants don't have to drive into town for yet another night of the week. I am so grateful for their service and sacrifices. 

Finally, a big THANK YOU to those who volunteer in Nursery! Lydia Christensen, Carrie Decker, Dawn Herron, Erin Pedersen, Melanie Messner, and Katie Jones have helped out so far and we'd love to make sure it's not the same people over and over again. So let us know if you can help out during one of these weeks! 

Saturday Morning Bible Studies

Women are invited to gather for a study on Eve In Exile every other Saturday. They will meet at 9am in the annex on Saturday October 12th.

Men are invited to gather for a bible study every other Saturday. They will meet on October 19th at 8am in the fellowship hall.

Yankton Area Women's Connection Event

On October 15th women of Discovery are invited to attend this event. It is located at the River Rock Event Center and the $15 fee includes a meal and the program. Please RSVP by calling 402-254-2102 or 605-660-0378.

Church Membership Class

Are you interested in becoming a member of Discovery Church? We invite you to join our next membership class on Sunday October 13th. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to the office so we can be sure to have enough food. If you have any questions, please contact the office or Pastor Cory.

Fall Festival

On October 26th the Meridian District will host their Harvest Halloween event. We like to take this opportunity to strategically connect with downtown visitors. While we are not partnered with the Meridian District event, we love to play host to the many downtown visitors that day and show them hospitality and Christian love. We will play a few games, hear a story, and serve hot chocolate to our guests. We will need volunteers to help run games, serve hot chocolate, and read stories. If you are interested please sign up at the welcome desk or contact the office. 

Constitution Revision Meeting

You might remember that for the past few years the elders and BOD have been studying, discussing and praying about a constitution revision that will formally recognize the biblical office of deacon in our church. 

We've been intentionally slow about actually changing anything formally so that we would not fail to study, pray and discuss the potential change. 

Just to be sure you understand what this subject is all about here's a quick summary:

• The New Testament gives us two main "offices" or "roles" that seem to be formally appointed in the church: Elders and Deacons (see 1 Timothy 3:1-13 for an example of where both are talked about back to back). 
• Elders are appointed to "lead and feed" the church, that is: elders are responsible to lead, teach, guard, and care for God's flock as well as equip them for ministry according to the word of God. 
• Deacons are appointed to meet tangible needs in the body so that the elders are free to concentrate on their shepherding responsibilities. 

For the past ten years we've had a Board of Directors essentially fulfilling many of the roles that would be appropriate for biblically appointed deacons. We are so thankful for the servants that have so faithfully ministered and cared for lots of "behind the scenes" tasks: financial responsibilities, care of the facility, etc. The church has benefited enormously from their ministry! 

So, in a way, much of our proposed revision really just changes the name of the BOD to the Deacon Board. This might seem like a small change but we believe that it is a very good thing to use the same terminology as the Bible when it comes to this ministry role. In addition, we also see the value of appointing deacons to various ministries that need not have a place on a board or schedule many meetings. Rather, we imagine that it might be useful for this potential Deacon board to have the freedom to appoint "non-board" deacons and set them free for any ministry needs that might require special attention. 

We will have a brief Q&A after the worship service on October 27th. We will not meet for more than 30 minutes - and we may actually not even meet that long. We want to introduce the possible revision in person, take any questions, and receive any feedback. Meeting in October allows us to write more drafts before the annual meeting in January in case they are needed. 

For a copy of the proposed changes, please contact the office. We hope you'll join us but if you have questions before the meeting, feel free to approach/call Pastor Cory or any of the elders. 

Discovery Church Elder Statement on Amendment G 

The elders of Discovery church would like to take this opportunity to formally ask the South Dakota residents in our congregation to pay special attention to this year's ballot. There are several measures and amendments that deserve your attention. Please prayerfully consider each of them. We would particularly call your attention to Amendment G and exhort you to VOTE NO on G. We urge this for at least two reasons. First, because we want to honor the Lord Jesus in the way we steward our South Dakota citizenship. We believe that this means taking our state motto seriously: Under God the people rule. We believe this is a God-honoring motto which tells us that, as citizens, we should work to make sure that all our laws should not fail to honor the God that has granted us life in this great land. 

Second, we also urge you to vote "no" on G because our primary citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). The crucified and risen Lord Jesus is our King and Savior. He has saved us from our sins according to His own mercy and so He rules our hearts. As the resurrected one, He is also the rightful ruler and judge of all heaven and earth. We look to Him and His word to guide all our decisions in matters that pertain to our life here on earth.

For these reasons we stand united against Amendment G which oppresses unborn children, threatening their lives and the physical/emotional health of their mothers. 

• Amendment G will effectively allow abortion through all 9 months of pregnancy
• Amendment G will deny parents the right to know if their underage daughter is undergoing an abortion procedure. 
• Amendment G endangers women by canceling requirements for abortionists to follow basic hospital health and safety standards. Abortions will be conducted without doctors and outside safe facilities. 

You can read all ballot questions at the SD Secretary of State Website HERE. Among the most foundational reasons to oppose Amendment G is the fact that pre-born babies are fully human. God’s word says that they are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image, and each one is “knit together” in the mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13-14, Genesis 1:27). Amendment G has no compassion and practices no justice for pre-born, human life. Amendment G clearly violates God's commands against murder (Exodus 20:13). 

Amendment G also violates an essential Christian belief: all human beings at all stages of development are made in God’s image and deserve the protection of a fair and just society. Amendment G would make South Dakota a place where both mothers and their children are treated unjustly and without compassion.

So, we exhort you to stand for life. James 1:27 tells us, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” This means that, as Christians, we must defend and speak for those who have no one else defending them or speaking for them. Certainly this applies to the pre-born and also their mothers who often believe the lie that there are no other options for them. 

Further, let it be known that our conviction according to the word of God is that any church which supports or endorses abortion as right and lawful has sinned against the Lord Jesus and should turn from their sin and acknowledge the clarity of God’s word. Pray for these churches. It is not too late for revival and reformation and the Savior’s arms are wide open to those who call on him in faith and turn from their error. 



Finally, we encourage you as brothers and sisters in the Lord to speak on this matter with boldness and grace. It has been said that the world ought to know where we stand not because we are attacking what's in front of us but because of how we're defending what's behind us. Pray that we take a stand like this - standing up for what we love. We love our neighbors and don't want them harmed by the violence, trauma and oppression of abortion. We love the Lord and want our lives to accord with His will. We pray that you will stand with us.

In love, in faith, and in obedience, 

The elders of Discovery Church

Mark Your Calendars for This Year's Regional Gathering of NAB Churches!

This year we are hosting our brothers and sisters from our association of NAB churches. Each year the association gathers to fellowship, worship and have an annual business meeting. I don't expect anyone to feel obligated to attend the business part (though you'd be welcome) but I would LOVE to see us show up in a big way for fellowship and worship on Friday, November 8th. The NAB is going to cover the cost of several family oriented activities like a pass to the Archery Center and the pool at the Summit Center. This will be a fun way for us to fellowship together. We'll host a supper at the church on the 8th so we can continue the fellowship and then we'll worship and hear a message. I'm excited for the message because the Pastor who mentored me in Hartford, SD will be preaching. I'd love for you to meet him when he's here! So that we can make meal and activity plans we need you to REGISTER your attendance HERE. Be praying for a gathering that encourages all our hearts to be engaged in the mission of spreading the gospel together!  

Elder Meeting Minutes

To read the minutes from our most recent elder meeting, please click HERE.