Worthington Christian Church

Volume 17, Issue 14 | March 27, 2024

Check out this week's video update!

REACH Phase 2: Worship in the Youth Center

As you already know, we’re getting ready to dive into the next phase of our REACH initiative. Following Easter, we will move out of our Worship Center from April 1 – August 9. This means we must worship in our Youth Center for four months. We’re keeping the same worship times —8:30, 9:45, and 11:11 AM—but it will be a tight fit, so we’ll need your help!

Currently, our 9:45 services are averaging about 550 per week, with some Sundays seeing over 600. Our Youth Center will seat 350. This is a problem, so what are we all going to do?

Youth Ministry currently meets for classes at 9:45 AM, but they will temporarily shift to the 11:11 hour. That will definitely help. For those of you who don’t have children or youth, please consider worshiping at 8:30 AM. That will really help a lot, too.

However, since more families with small children may worship with us at 11:11, we need more volunteers to help with the Kids Ministry at 11:11. Please consider volunteering. Just fill out our volunteer form to get started.

Finally, we offer several overflow spaces to worship outside of the Youth Center as it fills up. We encourage all our volunteers and members to please consider the overflow spaces first so our guests, who may not understand everything that is happening during the remodel, will have a seat in the main worship area.

We’ve prayerfully considered how we can continue our in-person worship during this temporary inconvenience, and this is how we believe it will work best. We know it’s not perfect, but we feel like we know our church. We believe that as we "Follow Jesus Together," this church will find new ways to connect and find opportunities for fellowship.

We look forward to the next few months as we get a little closer and enjoy a new adventure as we Follow Jesus Together!

Complete a volunteer form today!

Easter Changes Everything

We invite you, your family, and friends to join us for services as we celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Our service times are 8:30, 9:45 and 11:11 AM. That leaves you and your family plenty of time to worship with us and spend with your loved ones in the afternoon! All three services will be available for in-person or online worship.

NOTE: Adult & Youth classes will not be offered on Easter Sunday. However, classes for Nursery-5s will be available during the 9:45 and 11:11 services. Kids Worship (K-5th grade) will be offered at the 9:45 AM service only.

EXTRA PARKING AVAILABLE

Easter is a busy time, and we know it can be a bit frustrating to start your morning by driving around in circles and looking for a place to park. With that in mind, please consider using the parking lot next door on Easter Sunday!

Located off of Northwoods Blvd. just south of WCC, this lot is linked to our church building via a set of stairs and a sidewalk.

Announcement: The Library

Thanks to your many book donations, our Library has served us very well over the last five decades. However, as technology has advanced and books have moved to electronic formats, our need for a library has diminished. Therefore, we are making these books available to you for free.

Beginning April 1, we will make all of the library's books available to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis. The books will be available for pickup until Friday, April 12. Any books not claimed during that time will be available again in the summer once Phase 2 is complete.

Also, our Contractor is currently using the Library while we prepare for Phase 2. If you would like access to the Library, please get in touch with Terri Gallahue to make arrangements. You may also contact her with any questions you may have.

Thank you!

Kids Ministry Volunteers

Our Kids Ministry team has a lot of fun using their gifts, talents, and abilities as they show the love of Jesus to our kids and their families. Do you want to have fun? Do you love Jesus? Do you love kids? Do you want to get connected at Worthington? We'd love for you to join our team!

We need help staffing our new Take 5 - Sensory Room.
We need more volunteers at 11:11 as our rooms continue to grow.
Please be in prayer for Kids Ministry, our families, and our volunteers!

We are having a short training session on Sunday, April 14, at 9:00 AM for all those interested in joining the Kids Ministry Team. You can meet at the Check Point Desk. Before being added to the rotation, you will need a background check. Please contact Cindy Baker or Amy Carter with any questions.

Baby Dedication Orientation

To best prepare you for our Baby Dedication Ceremony in May, new parents are invited to attend our Orientation Meeting on Sunday, April 7 at 4:00 PM in room 192.

At this meeting, you will receive all the details you need to ensure the celebration day runs smoothly for you and your family – as smoothly as it can when there are kids involved! We ask parents to invite another person (or couple) who will be a faith influencer in their child’s life. We’ll talk about how the home and faith community will partner in being the light of Jesus along your child’s faith journey. We will discuss what it means to pledge to raise your child in faith.

NOTE: This registration is for the Baby Dedication Orientation only. Information for the Baby Dedication in May will be announced soon, including details about how to register. If you have any questions, please contact Cindy Baker.

Our Baby Dedication is for children who are two years old & younger and have never been dedicated before.

Men's Event: Press On

Men, join us on Sunday, April 14 as we PRESS ON together!

’Press On’ is our theme for 2024, and we will have our first gathering on Sunday, April 14, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the Youth Center.

If you haven’t been to a Men’s Event before, now is a great time to join us as we kick off a new season of getting together for discussion, encouragement, and (of course!) food. Our scripture focus for 2024 is Philippians 3:14: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

So that we have enough food for everyone, please RSVP by Wednesday, April 10. Our main entree for the evening will be lasagna.

Slate Hill Elementary School

Shoe Drive

Our friends at Slate Hill Elementary, our nearest elementary school and a long-standing partner, have reached out with a heartfelt request. They shared that some of their students, our community's children, attend school in ill-fitting or worn-out shoes.

This is where we can make a difference. By donating 'new' or' 'like new' items, we can help these children feel comfortable and confident, ready to focus on their education.

Some donations have already come in (thank you!), so we have updated our list of needed items and sizes below.

Girls shoes (sizes 3 & 4)
Boys shoes (sizes 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6)
Boys underwear/boxers (sizes 14 and 16)

Please drop off your donation by April 10 in any of the blue bins (the same bins we use for collecting donations for the Worthington Resource Pantry). We sort through donations every week and deliver them as needed.

Questions? Don't hesitate to get in touch with Alison Morrow.

START HERE: Kids Baptism Class

Kids have questions about many things, including about Jesus and faith. How can we equip parents to have significant faith conversations at home? What if parents and kids need a place to start?

The START HERE class will help equip parents to lead their children to Christ and help provide kids with four things they can do today (and every day) to know God. The key ingredients they need are: HEAR. PRAY. TALK. LIVE.

Join us on Sunday, April 14, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM as we "START HERE!" We recommend this class for all families with children aged 8-12 who have started thinking about following Jesus and have questions about baptism.

NOTE: This class is for parents and children. If you’d like to join us, please register so we know how many to expect.

We'll take your empty print cartridges!

Did you know that we collect empty brand-name print cartridges? We do! We donate all empty print cartridges from HP, Brother, Canon, Epson, etc. for a discount on office supplies.

If you have any empty print cartridges, please consider dropping them off at the church office!

Worthington Resource Pantry

We want to follow Jesus together, and part of that is being a good neighbor. How do we do that? By doing what we can to meet the needs of a neighbor in crisis! Therefore, we will continue to support the Worthington Resource Pantry for the foreseeable future.

CURRENT NEEDS:

Cereal

Tuna

Canned Ravioli

Healthy Snacks

Personal Hygiene Items/Toiletries (specifically, feminine hygiene items)

You can drop off your donations at any time! A blue donation bin is available at each of the entrances to the church, and we regularly empty the bins to make room for additional items. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Alison Morrow.