I trust you had an incredible Thanksgiving and some special time with your family and friends. I am so thankful for all God has done among us here at First Assembly this past year.
As we approach the Christmas Season and the end of 2012, I wanted to thank you for your faithful giving to First Assembly. During the year, we were able to see about 20% growth in giving over 2011. We are so thankful!
As I hope you know, we are looking to bring together a special year-end Christmas Offering on December 16 to touch children in India, children in our church, beef up our Christmas Benevolence Fund for 2013 and have money on hand for opportunities and obstacles as we enter the New Year. You can give right now by clicking here – just designate it as “Christmas Offering”.
I also wanted to encourage you to invite someone to our Christmas family outreach called “Jingle Jam” on December 8 at 6:30PM. You can learn more about it here.
Also, the choir will be presenting a Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 15 at 6:30PM. These are marvelous opportunities to bring someone to First Assembly for the first time!
I want to personally invite you and your family to join us for one of our special Christmas Eve services in our sanctuary at 5PM and 6:30PM. These 60 minute services will feature carols, special music, candle lighting, special Christmas moments, and a brief message focused on the real reason for celebrating the season. Those children who are not yet in Kindergarten will have a special Happy Birthday Jesus Party where they will celebrate and hear the story as well!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 at 6:30 will feature a churchwide prayer meeting in order to start the New Year with the true sense that All is God’s.
Sunday, January 6, 2013, is Vision Sunday. I’m going to be telling powerful stories of God’s faithfulness throughout 2012, and some of what I believe he has for us in 2013. I will also be sharing exciting news about some initiatives in the coming year!
We each have so much to look forward to! Each Sunday and on Christmas Eve, we’ll be focusing on the theme based on Isaiah 1:18 called “White As Snow” where we will see that Christmas is all about grace! You can learn more about it here.
Finally, I sent all the above information in a mass email to the church distribution list, so if you would like to be on that list, but aren’t, please send an email here; the subject line should read “Please Add Me”.