Pastor Paul's Paragraphs

      February is typically a month when we think of love. Two special days on my calendar during this month include Valentines Day, February 14th, and the wedding of our daughter Kristi to Sean Haugan on Saturday, February 18th.

      If you were to study the history of Valentine's Day, you would discover lots of myth, legend and conflicting stories. Some would date the special holiday back to the third century. Others would mention three different individuals named Valentine. There is even a lottery type marriage mentioned that has all available "maidens" place their name in a bowl positioned in the town center and then has all interested men pick a name from the bowl. These lottery type matches were for one year with the story emphasizing that most of these would result in marriage. The History Channel even details a letter sent from an individual named Valentine to his betrothed, the letter signed, "Your Valentine", and thus we get the traditional "Valentine" greeting. It is the second most popular day for sending cards, eclipsed only by Christmas. What ever you may think of Valentines Day, make sure and communicate your love and devotion to that special someone in your life and do it every month all year round.

      I remember the day that Joyce and I brought Kristi home from the hospital after her birth. The first time Kristi was around the folks at the church in Denver, they accused me of carrying her like a football. Ha, they were right, that is just the way she fit on my arm it felt quite natural. Our goal was always to train our children in the ways of the Lord and to be a godly example before them. Oh yes, there were many times where we did ask their forgiveness for coming up short. We were far from perfect parents, yet our focus never altered. It was our desire to see both Kristi and Jill place their faith and trust in Jesus and then learn to live lives that are pleasing to Him. Praise the Lord, we are so very blessed to have the privilege of "populating heaven" with our kids. As we anticipated adulthood for Kristi and Jill, our prayers were that they would find guys who love the Lord and love our daughters. God did answer that prayer. For Kristi, Joyce and I will have the awesome experience of presenting her to her future husband, Sean Haugan. I will then have the honor of joining Sean and Kristi as husband and wife. You will have to wait for the June Grace Notes to hear more about Jill and Andrew.

      In a recent article written by Mark Earley entitled "Fighting the Future", he writes, "What's the most important thing most of us will do? The answer is obviously, raise our kids."

      I would add one more thing to Mark Earley's comments. What is the most important thing you will do? Two things, love your mate and raise your kids.

     Raising our kids in the ways of the Lord is an expression of our love for them and our devotion to the Lord. This February, with Valentines Day and a wedding day on my calendar, two things

     I am determined to do, love my wife, Joyce, and love my kids.

      Pastor Paul

Kids Korner - Pastor Greg

      Faith Promise Missions Conference.... a special time set aside each year to focus our hearts on the work God is doing in our nation and around the world. Missions Conference time is always special for me because it was at a Missions Conference in March 1985 that I surrendered to the call to preach. It was a Tuesday night and our State Director was giving the message for the night. While up until that point in my life I wanted to be a helicopter pilot, God impressed upon me to go into full-time pastoral ministry. I walked the aisle that night and my life has never been the same. To God be the glory....

      What a blessing it was to have a weekend this year focused on children! As Jim and Donna Geurink presented the ministry of Baptist Children's Home, we were reminded of the need and importance of reaching into the lives of children.

      On Saturday, January 21st, we had the privilege of having Jim present a "Parenting Seminar". Over 50 people registered for this event and it truly was an informative time. We gathered for coffee, donuts, muffins, fruit and juice at 8:30, and then dove into our three sessions at 9:00. We covered "Foundations for Parenting", Roles and Responsibilities in the Family", and "Parenting Practice".

      Perhaps the most dynamic insight was the correlation between the strength of the marriage and successful child-rearing. While there are many cases where either mom or dad is "out of the picture" or "not on the same page" spiritually, we learned that the relationship parents have with each other has a direct effect upon the upbringing of children. So not only was the morning a challenge to parents, it was a challenge to husbands and wives as well!

      When we got to the final session "Parenting Practice", we heard some valuable and very practical things. The biggest area was how parents provoke their children! Here were some of them: lack of marital harmony, reversing God-given roles and responsibilities, inconsistency, favoritism, unrealistic expectations, chastening in public, not praising your child, failing to keep promises, and elevating man-made rules to God-given commands. These lessons are sure to impact the families who attended....I know they have mine.

      I must also be quick to give a word of thanks to our awesome volunteers who helped us with childcare that morning: Judy Runge, Doreen Skinner, Carolyn Manies, Lynda Peters, Candy Freeman, Maggie Craig, Amy Craig, Bethany Craig, Hannah Farley and Kimberlee Manies. Your faithfulness allowed many parents to be there who would not have otherwise been able to attend. Thank you so much!

      We praise the Lord for a great day. We will continue our effort to be as much help to the family as possible. Our children are our most precious resources....may we bring them up well!

      Pastor Greg

The Month in Focus with Pastor Ben

      Where do I begin? Well, since this is a newsletter, I'll begin with the news. Three months ago we moved the night for youth ministry from Wednesday to Tuesday on a trial basis. We needed more room and Pastor Greg needed room for Grace Quest. In our minds I don't know that it was ever a temporary move. We've enjoyed the use of the gym for games (especially when it's raining and dark outside) and I'm sure that the younger kids appreciate us not running into them. So, with that being said, we are continuing to have youth group on Tuesday nights. The one concern I had was whether or not our attendance would drop. We have some teens that are not able to make it on Tuesdays, but that is due to prior commitments they had. Our attendance has been the same, and, in fact, we've had two nights of over 30 teens.

      Our numbers bring me to another point. You might hear me talk a lot about how many kids we have and that of course is why I am here: to minister to kids, bring more kids here and bring them to a relationship with Christ and to help them become a devoted disciple of Him. But it's important to not get caught up in ways to simply increase attendance. We have a very young group right now: only five upper classmen and five sophomores. The rest of the kids are all seventh through ninth grade. There's a lot of learning to do at that age in every area of life, not to mention trying to grow spiritually. As we move through the second half of the school year, I hope to continue developing the identity of this group as well as strengthen their commitment not only to Jesus, but to this local body of believers.

      I thank you again for the support you've given Gloria and me as we minister here. I also thank you for the prayers that go up each week for us and this youth ministry. Please continue to pray and if you'd like to help in any way, please let me know.

      Pastor Ben

Jews for Jesus

Christ in the Passover

February 12 - 6:00 PM

Christ in the Passover shows the link between the ancient Festival of Redemption and Christ as the Lamb of God.

March Events

Missions Conference 2006 Continues

Auction 2006

GRACE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
AND PRESCHOOL
SATURDAY, MARCH 4

9:00 AM - Breakfast/Preview/Silent Auction
10:00 AM - Live Auction

Don’t miss this fun and fantastic fundraiser with Principal Russell Rohleder as our auctioneer!!!

Here’s how you can help make the day a success!

DONATE TWO NEW, OR NEARLY NEW, ITEMS OR ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES

You don’t necessarily have to go out and buy something - ask businesses that you patronize for a donation or think of a service you would be willing to provide. However, please don’t “clean out the garage”! All items must be delivered to the school by Friday, February 24 - one week before the Auction. Donation forms are available in the GCA office and the church foyer.

BE A VOLUNTEER

Before the Auction and at the Auction If you can help, please complete the sign-up sheet in the Sunday bulletin and return it to Lori Rohleder by Sunday, February 12, or talk to Lori.

ALL ITEMS MUST BE DELIVERED TO THE SCHOOL BY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 - ONE WEEK BEFORE THE AUCTION. ITEMS RECEIVED AFTER THAT DATE MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED. ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

Radobenko & Haugan Wedding

Wedding of

Kristi Radobenko & Sean Haugan

February 18, 2006
1:00 PM
Grace Baptist Church

Calendar of Events

Click on the highlighted dates - the events are shown on the right.