Mid-Week Memo

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Hi Five Oakers,

I have EIGHT things I want to share with you (one day late):

#1- I absolutely loved the choir this last weekend. They sounded great!  It was so high energy and fun backstage with everyone in the "green room." Thank you to all of you sang.

#2- Justin introduced a new song that's not easy to sing the first time around but I think it will be a favorite before long. And Tim did a great job teaching on influence from Daniel 2 in our EVERYTHING series. Even our influence belongs to God.

#3- Looks like some of us will start mentoring our Kids Hope students next week. Some of us went to a monthly convocation at Woodbury Elementary yesterday, met the principle and checked out the mentoring room. Looks like I'm being matched to a kindergartner. I can't wait to meet him.

#4- I'm starting a new three-week series on prayer based on Luke 11 in a couple of weeks. We're going to be selling copies of "A Praying Life" by Paul Miller at a reduced price during the series. It's the best book I've read on prayer. I can't recommend it enough. We also have ESV Study Bibles available at the Resources & Registrations table.

#5- Dale Peterson is one of the pastors at Eagle Brook Church. Dale is passionate about the church, reaching lost people and leadership. For a couple of years I was part of a pastor cohort he led through the Eagle Brook Association. Dale keeps in touch with all the pastors that have participated. Here's some really great news he passed on to us about recorded first-time decision in the last six months among the 30 churches that have been in a cohort (including us and Eagle Brook): 3,545! That's not a typo!

#6- Another small group doing Impact story: The Gerbigs are adopting a child from Uganda. AnaLisa (she was one of the choir leaders on the weekend) and her mom are there right now working in the orphanage for a week before bringing home their child, and their small group sent them oof with a care package and a financial gift for the orphanage. Impact+project_0111

#7- I think we're up to about 21 people (including Lois and me) in our Story of God group. If you haven't experienced this yet, we'll offer it again this spring, some time after Easter. Learn the framework of the Story and you'll understand the Bible better for the rest of your life.

#8- This weekend is week five of the EVERYTHING series. We're looking at the "Salvation" scene and a passage where Jesus tells several parables that drive home the entire theme of this series in a powerful and very encouraging way. Jesus says that if we orient EVERYTHING toward him, he will do two absolutely amazing things for us. Come and see what they are.

Hope to see you on the weekend.

Blessings to you,

Pastor Henry