January 2016

Volume 12, Issue 1
January 2016
Inside this issue:
Preschool News
3
Church Monthly
Calendar
4
Avalon Connection
2
A Publication of Avalon Missionary Church
ASM & Children
Ministries
A New Beginning
After this Job lived a
hundred and forty years; he
saw his children and their
children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and
full of years
(Job
42:16-17)
The book of Job ends on a note
of contentment and peace. Job
was probably about seventy
when the book opens, so he is
an older man. What a picture
of peace, a contented man. God
had greatly blessed him.
Before us stretches a new year,
a new beginning. The old is
past, put away forever. God
invites us always to
forget
about all the distrust and fears,
all the anxieties of the past, all
the resentments we have been
holding against others, all the
grudges, all the criticisms--to
put them away and begin
again.
The question that hovers over
us as we close this book (and I
feel it deeply in my own heart)
is, On what basis am I going to
live in this new year? Will it be
on the old basis of it-alldepends-on-me, do-it-yourself
goodness before God, trying
my best to be pleasing to God
and meaning it with all my
heart but never realizing the
depths of evil with which I
have to deal? Or will I accept
the gift of God that is waiting
for me every day, fresh from
His hand, a gift of forgiveness,
of
righteousness
already mine, of a relationship
in which He is my dear Father
and I am his cherished, beloved daughter, and in which
I therefore have provided for
me all I need, all day long, so
that I may say no to evil and
yes to truth and right?
Will it be on that basis? If it is,
this will be a year in which my
life will be characterized by
peace, fragrance, and beauty.
And so will yours. Or, if we
insist on living it on the same
old basis, we will find ourselves
like these friends of Job, arousing the anger and the wrath of
God. Though He is patient and
merciful, our only escape will
be to repent of our evil and rest
upon the righteousness of our
perfect substitute and return to
God for the blessing that He is
waiting to give. That is the
choice before us, every one of
us. How are we going to live in
this new year?
Lord, thank You for this new
year that lies before me. I
choose You. I choose to
depend on You, trust You, and
accept from Your hand all that
You would give me.
Before us stretches a new year,
a new beginning. The old is
past, put away forever. On
which one of the two bases are
we going to live in this new
year?
Blessings, Nancy
Special points of interest:
1 Happy New Year
16 Upwards BB /CC games begin
18 MLK day
Save the Date: Souper Bowl
Sundae Feb. 7th, following
2nd Service
“The Search Is On” Update
The Pastoral Search Committee wants to keep you all updated on our search for our next senior pastor. If you
recall from my last update, we had reviewed resumes and listened to on-line sermons for 14 candidates and
had narrowed the candidates to six.
Since then, one of the candidates withdrew since he and his wife had not sensed God releasing them from
their current ministry, and two were eliminated based on the homework and ministry surveys that were
returned to us. Consequently, we are now looking at three strong candidates. We are waiting on the homework
from one candidate and have interviews scheduled for the other two.
As you can see we are making progress and it’s getting exciting! We continue to spend time in prayer at each
meeting seeking God’s direction. We would continue to ask that you pray for the search committee and
especially that God would make it abundantly clear to us who will be the next senior pastor at Avalon.
We had a great Advent season with Pastor Jerry Cramer as our speaker and have speakers scheduled through
February. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please see one of the search committee
members.
This month we started our new curriculum: D6 2nd Gen! Both parents and kids
alike seem to be enjoying the new curriculum, which is focused on Deuteronomy 6
which equips parents to teach their kids about faith alongside the church. D6 is
offered for a variety of age groups, so the youth has decided to jump on board as
well. We’re excited that 2’s-12th grade will be learning the same topics and
passages to create better family discussions on faith at home. If you’d like to learn
more about our new curriculum, go to www.d62gen.com.
Thanks so much to all of our children’s ministry volunteers for attending the
trainings and turning in background paperwork. We are looking forward to
partnering with you in the coming year by ministering to our children!
The Upward Basketball and Cheerleading programs are now underway as well!
We have over 140 players between the two sports currently registered! We are
looking for opportunities to share Christ’s love with each family that walks through our doors. Thanks for partnering with and praying for
this ministry!
It is our goal to partner with Avalon parents to assist the students with setting a firm foundation that will stand the test of time as Jesus
said in Matthew 27:24-25 (NLT) “’Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on
bedrock.’”
To accomplish this we are going to use D6 for our Sunday school curriculum. We will cover the Bible from beginning to end in 6 years.
Each quarter will have a one month study from the Old Testament, a one month study from the New Testament, and a one month study of
a Special Topic. This is also the same curriculum that is being used by the Children’s Ministry at Avalon. To find out more about D6, click
on this link http://www.d62gen.com/ and listen to the short video. There is also a sample lesson.
It is also our goal to partner with you in helping your students realize that Jesus came to give them life, not just in heaven but NOW! John
10:10 (NLT) says, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Students tell
us that they are busy during the week, and many of them do not think about God. He is not a part of their routine.
Our theme for 2016 is DISRUPT YOUR ROUTINE….WITH JESUS
That is more difficult than it sounds. We all have routines that we follow each day without giving a lot of thought to them. Your youth staff
is committed to interrupting your student’s routine with Jesus!
We have created a YouTube Channel for Avalon Student Ministries. This is the link https://www.youtube.com/channel/
UCjRSdbWB1VYj5NqMoQhzTPw. Our channel has been created to help students engage with Scripture. Each week, we will put up a video
of a student reading the passage we study in Sunday school so students can listen to the Bible on their devices. We will also be linking
worship music on a “Worship” playlist, asking discussion questions, and uploading a fun video of the week that is designed to get students
to check us out. We encourage you and your students to subscribe. The channel will go live on January 3, and the first video of the week
will be AWESOME!!!
We will also be using Social Media to reach out to
students 2 or 3 times a week with a key verse from the
week, an application, and opportunity to respond. These
will be posted on FB (ASM page) and twitter and be sent
out via text and/or email.
We know there are students that don’t have FB, twitter, or
phones. In an attempt to reach them, we will be sending
these “interruptions” to parents to pass on to their
students. If we do not have your email or cell phone #, please send it to
me via text (415-2346), email (cindysparling@mcusa.org), or private
message me on FB. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel
and “like” our page on FB.
Happy New Year from the Student Ministry Team!
ASM Christmas Party 2015
Page 2
Avalon Connection
Avalon Christian School
Bits ‘N Pieces
December
Avalon Christian School
By: Tracy Hatfield
December was a short month for the Preschool. With only 2 ½ weeks we managed to still cram in
a lot into our month. We completed our first term semester at the beginning of the month and
pleased with the results of where our students are at this point. Avalon Christian School is full of
thriving students that are eager to grow in God’s Love.
A special visitor dropped by the school. It was Santa and Mrs.
Clause! They came to see what we wanted him to bring us this year.
The students all sat on Santa’s Lap and told him the one special
thing that they wished for. We had a lot of brightly smiling little
faces that week.
Ending the month with a week full of special crafts we made for our
parents and practice for our Christmas Program. All the students
worked so hard to prepare for our Program. They did a phenomenal job
ending our week with sharing with others “True Meaning of
Christmas”. After learning Luke2:8-14 we recited this message from
the bible stating that this was “THE TR UE MEANING OF
CHRISTMAS”. Sharing this story with others through the mouths of our student was truly
amazing to hear. We are so proud of the amazing job they did!
We Hope Everyone had a Great Holiday !
Volume 11, Issue 1
Page 3
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
^Denotes
Anniversary
* Denotes
Missionary
3
4
5
Andrea
Bauman
Sharon Magginnes ^Wally & Phyllis
Bob Wilson
Hull
10
11
*Stephani Clouser
Mike Kirby
Rose Rabbitt
17
6
12
*Jean Coody
18
Lyle
Augsburger
Shelby
Johnson
Chuck Stewart
19
Nathan Smith
24
25
Carolyn Pillar
26
7
Sherry Blake
13
^Phil &
Bonnie Harris
20
^Neil & Delores
Shultz
^Mike &
Frances Brooks
Jonas Hubley
Derek Stewart
21
^Bill & Sharon
Magginnes
*Marla
Bettinger
Heather Lane
27
31
*Valli Yoder
If we missed you, we’re sorry!
Call or email the church office to give updates or
to provide us with new information.
nleming@avalonmissionarychurch.com / 747-1531
1
2
Regina Frederick
Shirley Pitzer
Megan West
Phyllis Brubaker
Cora Peters
8
9
^Don & Alice
Grimme
Sophie Cour
Bob Dove
Dana Kirby
*John Coody
Wayne Hanks
Michael
Lindley
Don Lindley
Bradley Miller
22
Don Nobles
28
Michael
Brooks
Sat
15 ^Mike &
14
Amber
Stephenson
Fri
Drew Miller
29
Kevin Gibson
Randy
Drummond
Micah Hubley
Cody Leming
Jim Oglesbee
Jeff Scantlin
16
Andrew
Armstrong
Wally Hull
23
Dorothy Hart
30
Don Gerber