What's New At Grace
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Ah, who doesn't love a good promotion? It's like winning the lottery, but with less money and more validation. Whether it's a pat on the back or a big leap forward in your career, promotions make you feel like you've conquered Everest in your pajamas.
Our little munchkins at Grace are no strangers to this feeling. From being cradled in the nursery to braving the wilds of the trash cans (seriously, toddlers have no fear), every step is a triumph worth celebrating. If your tiny human has upgraded from crawling to walking, it's time to break out the confetti because they've earned a spot in the Toddler room! Remember the days of diaper duty? Well, rejoice because those days are numbered. Thanks to some divine intervention (and maybe a few bribes), our potty-training-champions in the toddler room are leveling up to the Preschool room. Hallelujah! And let's not forget our little artists and theologians in preschool. They've graduated from coloring books and watching Bible stories on YouTube to giving heartfelt prayer requests (thanks, Mom and Dad, for the intel). It's time to pack up the crayons and head upstairs to the K-2nd grade rooms, where the real adventures begin! But wait, there's more! Third graders, get ready to swap classrooms and make some new friends in the 3rd—5th-grade room. And for our sixth graders, it's time to strut your stuff because you've officially made it to the cool kids' club: Welcome to the Refuge room, where the couches are comfy, and the youth pastor is cooler than a youth group lock-in with unlimited pizza and no curfew! So, wherever your child falls, it's time to give them a promotion! (Children's Ministry Director Melissa Chapman has approved this message) LOL...since she wrote it... Baptisms-So far we have 6 people planning to be baptized. Come and let's cheer them on and hear their stories.
Testimony-Come and hear a powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness and blessings. Church Business Meeting-Well…this is not typically that exciting, but we have gotten some claps for our reading of the minutes. Come celebrate voting on 3 Elders-Don Davidson (Second Term). Ryan Dowdey and Jack Elizares (First Term) Church Vision Update-How has God been working since we learned that He is not finished working in and through us? It's Pentecost Sunday-A couple thousand years ago Pentecost was an incredible way that God launched the gospel into the world and established the church. We celebrate that on Sunday. Worship-Join us to worship together and lift up a song of praise! Mother’s Day is this Sunday! I know that Mother’s Day can come with a variety of emotions and doesn’t look the same from person to person. Our goal is to bless all types of moms on Sunday. Are you a biological mom? We want to celebrate you! Are you a spiritual mom? We want to celebrate you too! Do you foster or have you adopted? We want to take a moment to celebrate you as well. Do you want to be a mom but aren’t yet? Come and be celebrated! Have you tried to be a mom and it hasn’t happened for you? Come and be blessed by fellowshipping with us. Speaker and Author Bob Goff spoke at a conference I attended a few years back and mentioned that potentially the most impactful thing you do for the Lord is raise up children who Loves the Lord.
Join us Sunday and be blessed. For each Mom that attends we will have a special gift. I’m not going to spoil the surprise, you will have to come and find out what it is in person. Do you know a mom who doesn’t have family close by? Adopt them this weekend and bring them to one of our services. We would love to worship with them. About 90 men from came together to spend the day at this year’s 20th annual Man Day. This year there were many new faces! Men did a great job inviting friends, family, and neighbors. Men chose to spend the day skeet shooting, axe throwing, playing pickleball, tossing cornhole, and shooting targets. One of the highlights each year is the belly flop contest where laughter fills the air as brave souls showcase their skills. The day ended with full stomachs after a large tri-tip feast. Pastor Dany Benitez from Casa De Luz gifted us with a short devotional about the men that brough the paralyzed man through a roof to lay him before Jesus. He challenged us to fervently bring our friends before the feet of Jesus and to do whatever it takes so they can meet Him. Thank you to all who helped to make this great event happen! If you did not make it this year, plan to come next year for another great Man Day. If you want to see new activities next year, let’s talk! -Pastor Brent. See you next year!The 2024 Chip in for Youth Golf Tournament is fast approaching. The Tournament will be held on June 8th with a 9am start! As our biggest fundraiser for students to go to summer camp, we rely on this golf tournament to bring the price of summer camp from around $400 a student to $100. We believe this is important because we live in a county where price plays a big factor as to whether or not a student can go to summer camp. As our #1 outreach event of the year, we want summer camp to be affordable for all so we can get the students who might not be able to go to a summer camp to a place away from their day-to-day life and tell them the good news of Jesus Christ.
We still have open golfer and sponsorship spots for this year's tournament. With less than 2 months to go we are working hard to fill these spots. If you are an avid golfer or you don’t know which end of a golf club to hold, this is the tournament for you! We have people who love golfing and have golfed a lot and we have people who have never golfed before. If you want to sign up for the tournament or sponsor one of our holes you can sign up for the tournament by clicking on the golf ball! By Melissa Chapman. So, picture this: I get this text from one of our leaders, sporting these funky post-eye surgery glasses. And what does one of our clubbers say? "Did I forget it was crazy glasses night?" Classic, right? The leader said "No, I had to have work done on my eyes." The sparky then follows it up with, "I'm praying for you, and I love you!" Talk about melting hearts faster than a popsicle on a summer day! Cue the tears of joy! Then there's this other leader, who, let's be real, wasn't exactly jumping for joy about joining Awana. But guess what? He is now itching to dive into a bigger leadership role next year. Who knew hanging out with a bunch of energetic kids could be so addictive? And let's not forget our verse-memorizing adventures. One leader was feeling a bit bummed about a clubber struggling with their verses. But lo and behold, the next morning, she's belting out an Awana song like she's auditioning for "The Voice"! God reminded that leader that there are many ways for clubbers to learn about God, like using catchy tunes! As we gear up to celebrate the end of another wild Awana ride this Tuesday, please be praying. We'll have unchurched families coming in to witness their kids' triumphs, and Pastor Paul will be speaking. Let's believe that his message will be a homerun, and land in the fields of fertile hearts! And before I sign off, let's not forget one of my favorite verses: Mark 10:15 (NIV): "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." So, here's to embracing our inner child, crazy glasses and all! Until next time, keep the faith, keep it fun, and keep those Awana adventures coming! God Bless. ~Melissa Celebration Sunday is Coming!
May 19th will be a Sunday of Celebration! What will we be celebrating? A Good God who does incredible things! We will celebrate with those being Baptized! We will celebrate by voting on new Elders for the Church Elder Board! We will celebrate the many ways God is working in our community and through our missionaries! Do you have something you are celebrating that you want to share with us? We want to hear your testimony of God’s goodness in your life. We want to talk with you about the possibility of being baptized. We want to talk with you about dedicating your kids. We want to help you share your testimony. I am encouraged whenever I experience these things and I know you will be too. If you have questions or want to setup a meeting with one of our pastors, call church office or come and find one of us on a Sunday. This is coming quick, and we don’t want you to miss out. Office Email: frontdesk@gracechurchkesleyville.org Office Phone: (707) 279-8448 Join us for the Twentieth Annual Man Day at Kelseyville Church! It's that time of year again to rise and shine for a day filled with laughter, games, delicious food, and fellowship with other men. Get ready to enjoy hilarious moments, indulge in some friendly competition, and witness brave souls (or perhaps fools) take part in the infamous belly flop contest. Yes, you heard it right! Even Pastor Brent Smith has committed to taking the plunge in the 2024 contest, as captured in the video below by Pastor Josh Bridges. Let's all share a good laugh at his expense, while Pastor Brent contemplates his life choices with a hint of fear! Who's invited to Man Day? Any and every man! It's the perfect opportunity to invite your friends to join in on the fun. What can you expect at Man Day? A feast awaits, along with a variety of yard games including ladder golf, cornhole, pickleball, skeet shooting, soccer, whiffle ball, frisbee golf, and by popular demand, the addition of axe throwing to this year's lineup of activities. Don't miss out on this exciting event! Mark your calendars and spread the word.As Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are here, the Lord keeps reminding me of what He’s done for me; His faithfulness is overwhelming as I look back over my life. Quick overview: I grew up in an amazing Christian home with parents that faithfully used Proverbs 22:6, “train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” as a parenting guideline. I honestly don’t remember a time that I didn’t know Jesus. I remember praying to be saved when I was super little with my mom, followed by multiple times at Sparks, you know, just to make sure it “stuck”. At 11, I was baptized, started digging into the Word more independently while serving in my church. I married my high school crush 16+ years ago and we’re blessed with four amazing children! I’ve been very blessed, but the truth is, I’m a sinner and need God’s mercy and grace! Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”. I know I fall way short! But you know what? He loved me so much that “…He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Did you catch that? God loved me so much that He didn’t leave me on my own to die in my sin! Instead “… He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) He saved me!! Hallelujah! After saving me, He saw fit to allow an array of trials throughout my life to mold me into the woman He wants me to be. By His strength alone He’s faithfully brought me through sexual assaults, depression with attempting suicide, infertility to late term pregnancy loss, chronic pain, and debilitating illnesses. The verse that the Lord always had rolling around in my head when each new trial hit was Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” At first, I didn’t want to believe what that verse says. How could a loving God allow me, a super-sheltered homeschool Christian girl be assaulted? How was I supposed to glorify God when I was so depressed that I’d rather be dead? How could earnestly praying for a baby then losing them days to weeks later be for my good? How could I serve the Lord when it hurt to just get out of bed? Through His faithfulness again, the Lord lovingly gave me His answer in 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God had a purpose for each one of those trials. The Lord intentionally used each trial to teach me how to depend on Him alone to get through each day. No amount of striving on my part was ever going to be enough. His strength alone is what carries me through each day. As we prepare our hearts to remember what Jesus did for His children on the cross, I want to share with you one more verse that constantly reminds me of what the Lord’s death daily accomplishes for His children. Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” May this beautiful promise that nothing can separate us from Him be the lifeline that carries you through the trials and storms of this world. May you walk in His strength and grace! ~Holly “Oh Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” ~ Psalm 34:8 Sweet fellowship, while sipping tea with scones and tea cookies, made for an amazing morning! It felt as if the Lord gave a small glimpse of what heaven will be like! The room was filled with stories of God's faithfulness, grace and love in. Saying it was uplifting and a respite from the negativity of the world, is putting it mildly. Making this day exceptionally perfect took a tremendous amount of effort... Thank you Melissa, and all the other ladies who organized, baked, set-up, cleaned, and shared their china sets to make this a day to remember! |
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LocationOffice Hours: M-Th 8:30am-4pm
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