New Life Church Weekly Update

December 15, 2023

New This Week

• Successful Cuba Mission Trip
• Beth Moore, Begins January 4
• Harmony Class, New Study Begins January 7
• New Study with Pastor Earl: "What it Means to Be Wesleyan," Begins January 10

Men's Breakfast, December 16

All men are invited to join us Saturday, December 16th at 8:00 am in Lenox Hall. John Davidson, Executive Director of Crossroads Hope Academy, will be our speaker. Crossroads Hope Academy provides a home for foster boys who have had multiple failed placements in the Florida Foster Care System. A Continental Breakfast will be provided. There is no charge for this event, but please make reservations by Thursday, December 14th by responding to an email invitation, or contact Wayne Sharp at sharpww@me.com.

Church Prints Available

We have "ready to frame" 5x7 and 11x14 prints of the church available for someone special on your Christmas List! Suggested donation amounts are $5 for the 5x7 and $20 for the 11x14. The prints are available in the church office Monday - Thursday.

Christmas Eve, Children's Ministry

Volunteers & Christmas Treats Needed!

Craft / Games Leaders

If you are available to help Christmas Eve from 12:30 - 3:00 pm at Gilchrist Park, please sign up using the link below.

Christmas Treats

We are planning a Christmas Treat Bake Sale to benefit our Children's Ministry. Treats would be needed in the Lenox Hall kitchen by Thursday, December 21. Please label all treats and if any nuts are in the recipe let Becca know. (becca@newlifeforall.church)

Salvation Army Bell Ringers Needed

We are ringing the bells for the Salvation Army at the Publix on Airport Road, Punta Gorda.

Please sign up for a time to ring the bell by using the link below, or you can call Gail in the church office 941-639-3842.

December Shower Ministry Needs

-Small men’s underwear (new and in packages)

-Men’s cargo shorts and jeans sizes 28, 30, 32, 34 (smaller sizes very much needed!)

-Men’s small, medium, large, 2X, 3X casual shirts and t-shirts 

-Men’s tennis/boat shoes and sandals sizes 10 and up

-Men’s belts

-Lightweight blankets

*Please make sure all items (with exception of socks and underwear) are lightly worn and free from stains*

End-of-Year Giving

Denise Holcomb, Finance Manager

Just a reminder that all donations need to be in the Church Office by December 28th at noon

to be counted as a 2023 Contribution.

Also, 2023 Contribution Statements will be going out by email, so if the Church Office doesn’t

have your email, please call us to update your information. 941-639-3842

Please note: The church offices will be closed from December 25 through January 1, 2024.

Successful Cuba Mission Trip

All six members of our Cuba Mission Trip Team thought our mission was a big success. We drove 435 miles over terrible roads to visit nine churches in four days. Each of the churches was growing with new members. We provided funding for sanctuary expansion, 36 new benches for new members to sit on, and a sewer dump connection. For Pastor Osmar, the District Superintendent we provided funds for Bibles and a small part of the costs of a car. We participated in a Saturday worship service where twenty new members were baptized.

At our sister church in Taguasco, we went to two worship services and watched the Sunday School time for children, teens, adults, and new members. Sixty children attended mostly under the age of ten. We provided funds to purchase a house to be swapped with the one next door. Funds were also provided to move the rear wall of the sanctuary back another 15 feet, installation of a cement roof and ceiling, platforms and seating in the balcony, children's chairs for Sunday School, a wireless microphone and new cell phone, and a railing for the steps.

God is surely blessing his churches in Cuba and all those who are coming to Jesus.

The picture shows the crowd in the new balcony which we funded on our January trip.  

GriefShare

Melodie Austin

941-661-0842, melharryaustin@yahoo.com

Help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member, or friend.

The care you need. Information you can trust.

After the funeral, when the cards and flowers have stopped coming, most of the people around you return to their normal lives. But your grief continues and you feel alone.

Often, friends and family want to help you but don’t know how. That’s the reason for GriefShare. Our group is led by caring people who have experienced grief and have successfully rebuilt their lives. We understand how you feel because we’ve been in the same place. We will walk with you on the long path through grief toward healing and hope for the future.

Our 2024 GriefShare groups will be starting January 2 at 6:30 pm OR January 3 at 10:00 am in room 13. With video seminars, support group discussions, and personal study and reflection, GriefShare provides help for you along the journey to healing. We meet for 13 weeks.

If you are grieving the death of a loved one or know someone who is, no matter how long it’s been, please share this information about our 13-week GriefShare support group. Reservations are needed to join these groups.

For more information or to make a reservation, please contact:

Melodie Austin, 941-661-0842 or email melharryaustin@yahoo.com

Beth Moore Bible Study, Begins Jan. 4

Women, please join us for the Beth Moore Bible study: "Living Beyond Yourself, Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit." Register HERE or call the church office 941-639-3842. We meet on Thursdays from 9-11:30 am in the Life Center beginning on January 4. The book is $20, payable at the first session. 

Harmony Class, Begins Jan. 7

The Harmony Class will begin a new study on January 7th at 9:15 am in Lenox Hall. This six-week study, “Seeing God as a Perfect Father: and Seeing You as Loved, Pursued, and Secure" is presented by bestselling author and pastor Louie Giglio. In this powerful Bible study, Louie Giglio challenges our perceptions of who God is and points us to know him as a heavenly Father who is not absent or ambivalent but is available and ready to embrace you with his unconditional love and blessing. All are welcome to attend!

Pastor Earl to Lead Study on John and Charles Wesley

and what it means to be Wesleyan, Begins Jan. 10

Beginning on Wednesday, January 10 Pastor Earl will spend the better part of winter and spring leading a study on what it means to be the church of John and Charles Wesley. The United Methodist, Global Methodist, Nazarene, Wesleyan churches, and even the Salvation Army trace their roots back to the founding fathers of the Methodist renewal movement in England and America during the 1700's. We still hold those doctrines and practices to be vital in the modern age of the 21st century. 

Many of us really don't know what all that means, so let's spend some time studying that. Using a myriad of resources such as "The Amazing John Wesley", "Wesley for Armchair Theologians", "Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It" and "Methodist Doctrine - the Essentials", Earl will seek to lead us into a fuller understanding of what New Life Church hopes to continue teaching in the Wesleyan tradition. 

Don't plan on this being a boring study of theology. John and Charles were way from being boring! 

Class time is from 9:30 - 11:00 A.M. each Wednesday. Come as often as you can. Each lesson will be independent of the previous ones. We will also try to set this up as a ZOOM meeting. More on that later.

Operation Christmas Child

Missed packing an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox? It’s not too late! The New Life Church Goal Page for Operation Christmas Child “Build-A-Shoebox” Online will be available until December 31st.  Click on the green button below. Thank you for your participation in this important mission to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with children around the world! 

Hospital Visitation, Prayer Available

We want to know when you are having surgery or are in the hospital! We are available to pray with you before surgery and visit you in the hospital, rehab, etc.

Contact us through email: prayerteam@newlifeforall.church or call/text Pastor Bob, Minister of Pastoral Care (941) 585-9576.

Church Name Tags

When you come to the church campus, please wear your New Life Church name tag. If you do not have a church name tag, you can order one HERE.

Job Opening: Communication Coordinator

Please submit a resume and cover letter to kathy@newlifeforall.church by Friday, December 29, 2023. A complete job description is available HERE.