RCC Newsletter February 2021

March 2021

A NOTE FROM THE PREACHER

Dear Church Family,

On behalf of the Elders, Music Minister, Women’s Ministry Leaders, Men’s Ministry Leaders, Youth Directors, and Children’s Director, I want to say how excited we all are about the resumption of our midweek ministries on Wednesday, March 17.

Here is what the evening will look like, with a slightly modified schedule:

· 6:15 - 6:30 pm - Kids Rock recreation on the field (and gathering time for families without children in Kids Rock)

· 6:30 - 6:45 pm - Corporate Time in the sanctuary

· 6:45 - 7:30 pm - Separate study groups. Men will go to their area, women to their room, youth to new trailer (or outside if trailer not installed), and kids will remain in sanctuary.

The “Corporate Time” is a new addition to the Wednesday schedule. Here is our vision for that 15 minutes: It will be a varied time of coming together of the whole body. By “varied time,” we mean that we wouldn’t necessarily do the same thing each week. We will start with 1 or 2 songs, then have any of the following: a very brief devotional led by an elder (or their designee); or a time of personal testimony from a church family member; or a time of corporate prayer; possibly a time for learning a new song; maybe reciting our Life Verse; etc. Basically, we envision it to be a brief time for the church family to be all together in the middle of the week and be encouraged before going to their separate groups - kind of like an opening assembly.

We look forward to once again gathering with our beloved church family on Wednesday nights, Lord willing. May God be glorified and the RCC family edified!

Pressing on with you, with our eyes on Jesus,

Pastor Butch

ELDER MEETING SUMMARY

February 2021

On February 9, the elders met, joined by prospective elder Justin Hornsby and Amos Downs, who is being mentored by the elders. The highlights of that meeting are as follows:

We opened with a time of group prayer, seeking God for wisdom in leading our church family in these challenging times. We also prayed for the various needs in our body.

Donna Lingerfelt joined us to brainstorm together about resuming Wednesday nights and Sunday School. We decided to start meeting again on Wednesdays on March 17. The plan for Sunday School is to resume in August.

Cheryl McDonald gave us an update on her counseling ministry. We are so thankful for the way God is using her.

The “Membership Matters” class that has 10 people attending, representing 5 families. Praise the Lord!

Justin’s elder examination, which will be open to the church family, is set for Sunday night, March 21, at 6:30 pm.

We finalized plans for our annual State of the Church meeting On February 14.

We discussed and approved an upgrade in equipment for the Music Team.

We are praying that people will not become comfortable with the online services, and will return to in-person worship as soon as staying home is not necessary for them. May the Lord give them wisdom as to when that will be.

· We thank God so much for our church family, and we ask God for grace and wisdom to be the shepherds that He desires, as we follow the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

Pressing on with you, with our eyes fixed on Jesus,

The Elders of RCC

Memory Verse for March

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:24

Catechism for March

Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31; Psalm 16:11; 37:4; 73:25-26; Isaiah 43:7

Book of the Month:

Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents

Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn once noted that people often assume that their democratic government would never submit to totalitarianism---but Dreher says it's happening. Sounding the alarm about the insidious effects of identity politics, surveillance technology, psychological manipulation, and more, he equips contemporary Christian dissidents to see, judge, and act as they fight to resist the erosion of our freedoms. 304 pages, hardcover from Sentinel.

Click on the book image for more information and to order your copy today!

Upcoming: Conversations on the Culture

We wanted to go ahead and announce that we are planning the next Conversations on the Culture, "Controlling the Narrative: Language, Censorship, and the Media.” We will focus on Deconstruction's destabilizing impact on language and truth and how language is manipulated to promote secular ideology. This will be facilitated by Shana Latimer. Please pray for Shana- she defends her doctoral dissertation this month. For that reason, we are planning for the next “Conversation” to take place in April (date TBD).

Ministry Opportunities this Year

As we look ahead to the 2021-2022 school year, please let Donna know if you would be interested in serving in the Next Generation Ministry. There will be opportunities available for the Sunday School, Kids Rock and Nursery ministries.