What's New At Grace
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 If you attended Grace Church on Sunday, May 15th you would have heard me start the service off with, “Hi! My name is Monica, I’m a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, and my area of recovery is trauma I caused when I was a child.” This is my story of what led up to that Sunday and what has happened since.
I grew up in the church, and have attended Grace Church for around half of my life. I gave my life to Jesus when I was 6 years old, was baptized a few years later, and besides the usual Sunday morning services I was often at Sunday night services, Awana, youth group, mid-week Bible Studies, and whatever else the church had to offer. I tried to serve as often and wherever God called. All the while I was walking in shame, desperate to forget various events of my childhood and the massive pain I caused others. Fast forward to this past November– I was attending a small group with Eric when God suddenly told me, “You need to confess your past and start the process of healing.” I argued with God. “I’ve already done that three other times.” “This is the final time,” He said, “where you finish the process and no longer walk in shame.” I was tired of carrying this burden few knew about, so I bawled, ashamed as I confessed to those in the room. (Side note: If you want to go next level with people tell them your deepest pain and then let them pray for you. Wow!) That night I also knew God was calling me to attend Celebrate Recovery. If you’re unfamiliar with Celebrate Recovery here’s what you need to know: it’s for everyone. EVERYone. It’s described as a Christ-centered 12-step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurts, hang-ups, or habits. Often people assume it’s just for addicts. I can testify that it is not. Are you struggling with hurt? It’s for you. Are you struggling with a hang-up? It’s for you. Are you struggling with any kind of habit or addiction (drugs, alcohol, food, porn, codependency, etc)? It’s for you. After attending Celebrate Recovery for several weeks they announced that a new round of Step Study Small Groups would be happening. I knew this was where I’d need to dig in and do the hard work so I could walk in freedom, so I joined other women in one. These small groups are where you delve into your past and the choices you’ve made. These are where real growth happens. It took me 6 months of weekly meetings to work the 12 steps completely. During that time I had an accountability partner who offered support via prayer, listening, checking in, and reassuring me to “trust the program” during times I just wanted to crawl into a ball in the corner of the room and quit. I’m not gonna lie - Step Studies are hard. Not the entire time. Just off and on during the middle. Step 4 and 5 is all about making an inventory of who hurt you, how that affected you, and your part (if any) in all of it, then telling your sponsor or accountability person all about it. Step 9 includes making amends with the people you’ve hurt (when doing so won’t hurt them or others) and forgiving those who hurt you. There were a lot of tears and agony that came with making those lists and talking to those people. I won’t sugarcoat it. In June I finished all 12 steps, sat back and thought “that was the hardest thing I’ve done in my entire life!” And then after a couple of weeks of walking in complete freedom from my past I realized it wasn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Walking in shame for more than 30 years was MUCH, MUCH harder! If you are also carrying a burden I highly recommend not waiting another moment. Your journey to freedom is here. And so I invite you to join the next round of Step Study Small Groups that start in September. They’ll have some for men and some for women. Don’t be afraid to join. The people are amazing, have gone through a lot too, are very compassionate and discreet, and you don’t jump right into heavy stuff. You can trust the program and the people! And then you can walk in FREEDOM as God intended! No more chains, no more shame! For more info or to sign up, talk to Mike Kimsey. Call or text him: 707-530-4814, e-mail: cr@gracechurchkelseyville.org, or hunt him down on Sundays at church or Fridays at CR. Register today to let us know you can make it!
Come on your own or bring the family. You can bring a tent, a fifth-wheel, or even an RV. Camping is a great time to get away from the stresses of daily life and enjoy the outdoors with friends. Eat together, enjoy fellowship, worship, and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.
Can’t stay the entire time? No problem, stay as long as you can or even stop in for a day to say hello. Really, really, really not a camping person but don’t want to miss out? Book a hotel in Fortuna and join us at the camp during the day and evening worship around the campfire. Where is Pamplin Grove? Pamplin Grove is located about 3 hours north up the 101 in the heart of the Redwoods. It is right outside the city of Fortuna (15 minutes away). The purpose behind a church camping trip is to provide opportunity to grow relationships within the body. We have a desire to see loving support and relationships developed between families in different stages of life. Camping is a fun way to practice how to live life together, serve one another, and support each other. Come out to Pamplin Grove this year and make new friendships and memories. To register or get more information CLICK HERE. Thank you to all who were able to make it out this last Saturday to the Walmart fundraiser (Children’s Miracle Network). We had 16 Grace Church volunteers show up, 500 invitation cards to church were handed out, and we gave out many invitations to Vacation Bible School. In addition to this, we were able to pray with several people, share the gospel with them, and show Christ’s love to the people shopping at Walmart. All in all, it was an amazing day. The body worked together to perform the task God put before us. Please pray that God will continue to provide these unique opportunities and that His message will be spread to our County.  This week is VBS! Kids from around Lake County will be on our campus to learn:
They will get to sing songs and enjoy skits and fun experiments. Throughout each night they will go on Bible adventures and watch characters from the Bible to learn their stories. In the missions room, they'll learn about missionaries' testimonies, the ABCs of salvation, and the "Growing Shoes," which is the focus of our fundraising. The shoes we're fundraising for will bless kids worldwide by giving them a pair of shoes that grow with the child's feet for several years of use. Our VBS kids will also enjoy the Imagination Station where they will play with gizmos and say memory verses. Their nights will be filled with bounce houses, games, and snacks! VBS is a week where kids can be kids while being filled with the values of the Lord. Many kids will learn traits that will be the building blocks of their faith for years to come. Before VBS even starts it is so necessary to pray for their little souls. Please join us in prayer for all the moving parts of VBS, now and each day next week. And don't forget to register your kids and invite others to come too! Warmly, Melissa Chapman  Summer Camp was insane this year! The Lord was working on not only the student's lives but on the lives of my staff and myself as well. During summer camp our theme was Trial and Error and how we can rely on Christ in everything we do. I leave summer camp and realize that this isn't just important for summer camp to rely on Christ but to rely on Christ in my day-to-day life because I can do nothing apart from him. We had two salvations and 106 staff and students at camp. Thank you church for your prayer and support throughout the week, we had an amazing time where we learned to rely on Christ, and I pray that these student's will rely on Christ in everything as they go throughout the summer.
-Pastor Josh Sack lunch Sunday was a great time! We set up a slip-n-slide for the kids and the tables near the park filled up. Hope you all had a great time. We will do another Sack Lunch Sunday on July 17th. Hope to see you all there! “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” - James 2:26 Often, we think of church as Sunday corporate worship at 9 or 10:45am, but the church is greater than a specific location or time. Every believer of Jesus Christ is part of the body of Christ, which makes up the church. We are the church, and we have the mission to carry out the message of the Gospel in our community. The church cannot stand idle or remain quiet when our culture desperately looks for hope. Together, we can bring hope to our neighbors and make a difference around the lake.  Do you want to put action to your faith? Do you want to be a light in the darkness? Do you want to make a difference in our community?We have an opportunity for you. Come on out to Walmart, in Clearlake, at 10am-2pm Saturday July 9th. We will be handing out hot dogs, drinks, and raising money for Children’s Miracle Network. The money raised goes to help treat kids with cancer, babies in NICU, surgeries, diabetes, and kids with trauma. But more importantly we have a goal to hand out 1000 invitation cards to church. Each card includes a brief Gospel message. We will take all the help we can get to get the good news of the Gospel out to this community. Let us know if you would like to get involved.
Get registered today for this year’s whole church camping trip in Pamplin Grove! Come on your own or bring the family. You can bring a tent, a fifth-wheel, or even an RV. Camping is a great time to get away from the stresses of daily life and enjoy the outdoors with friends. Eat together, enjoy fellowship, worship, and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.
Can’t stay the entire time? No problem, stay as long as you can or even stop in for a day to say hello.
Really, really, really not a camping person but don’t want to miss out? Book a hotel in Fortuna and join us at the camp during the day and evening worship around the campfire. Where is Pamplin Grove? Pamplin Grove is located about 3 hours north up the 101 in the heart of the Redwoods. It is right outside the city of Fortuna (15 minutes away). The purpose behind a church camping trip is to provide opportunity to grow relationships within the body. We have a desire to see loving support and relationships developed between families in different stages of life. Camping is a fun way to practice how to live life together, serve one another, and support each other. Come out to Pamplin Grove this year and make new friendships and memories. To register or get more information CLICK HERE. Are you interested in joining Grace Church on a trip to the Holy Land (Israel) Fall of 2023? First informational Meeting Sunday after church June 26th.
In this meeting we will discuss:
June 26th, 2022 12:30pm Green Room -Pastor Paul |
