Your continued support of the Mercy Bags Ministry is making a difference in our local community. In March, we were able to provide 22 Mercy Bags to We Care for their mobile delivery in Newberry, Whitmire, Prosperity, and Jenkinsville. Please continue to support this ministry through a designated monetary donation, shopping for meal items or helping to pack food for the Mercy Bags after worship on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.
Missions Archive
Mercy Bags Ministry
Posted April 15, 2024 By adminThe Congregational Care and Discipleship Teams are here for you!
Posted April 10, 2024 By adminOur Congregational Care and Discipleship Team are committed to help and assist our members with any needs that they may have. As Jesus shared in Matthew 25:40, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me”. As disciples and members of the Congregational Care and Discipleship Teams, we are here to serve, to assist, and to care for one another. Have you had these thoughts?
I wish I had someone to call to pick up and deliver my medication today.
It would be great to have someone to drive me/us to my/our doctor appointment or to another appointment.
I need an errand run, who can I call?
I wish I had someone to talk to.
I would love to have someone from the church visit me.
You can call the church office at 803-345-2309, Billy, or Lynn! Our church ministry teams are here for you! If you have any special requests/needs, please do not hesitate to ask. We all need help at some time in our lives. We are a phone call or text away. Let us help! Let us serve!
Worship at Generations
Posted April 8, 2024 By adminEvery other Sunday, Pr. David leads worship for the residents of Generations Assisted Care of Chapin. This ministry has made a great difference in the lives of many folks who are not able to attend worship at their home church. The congregation is invited and certainly encouraged to share this experience with our friends just down the road. Our next worship opportunities will be on Sunday, April 14th and April 28th at 1:00 PM. Join us in the lobby at Generations.
NALC Disaster Response Shed
Posted April 5, 2024 By adminOur NALC Disaster Response shed (our former bus shed) is up and running. So far, we have received flood buckets, Health and Hygiene kits, Kitchen kits, and School kits from neighboring congregations. Glenn Shealy has taken on the role of “warehouse manager” and is standing by to schedule drop off times and dates for those church groups who would have materials for us to store. Many thanks to Gerald, Robert, and Billy who constructed the necessary shelving for the response shed.
South Carolina Mission District Youth
Posted April 2, 2024 By adminPastor David Nuottila has been meeting with and working with the pastors of St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Churches to establish a new Youth Ministry initiative among the NALC congregations for South Carolina. Such collaboration has proved beneficial for NALC congregations in North Carolina and we hope to replicate their success here. Gathering our youth members in grades 6-12, we will share the Gospel, grow in discipleship, and have loads of fun together. Our first project is to support We Care of Chapin. Each youth group is challenged to collect jars of peanut butter and jelly to donate to We Care. This is meant as a fun competition among our youth groups, but primarily we want to tend to the needs of our neighbors. The first gathering of our South Carolina Mission District Youth will be on April 28 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Pomaria. All youth members in grades 6-12 are encouraged to attend. More information will be given as the date draws nearer.
Congo Mission Adopt a Bible
Posted March 28, 2024 By adminOne of the joys of my mission work in Congo is sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with so many people who have not had the opportunity to worship or learn of God’s saving grace through reading the Scriptures. Bibles are hard to come by for most people living in the outlying and remote areas surrounding Mbuji-Mayi. For this reason, I am encouraging everyone at St. Jacob’s to participate in this year’s mission in a unique way. I invite you all to “adopt a Bible” that would be provided to church members in Mbuji-Mayi and Merode.
Bibles printed in the tribal languages in Congo are available in Kinshasa (the capitol city), but not in the remote areas in which we serve. Pastor Kalonji hopes to fill a suitcase with Bibles to take to the Lutheran congregation in Mbuji-Mayi and have them distributed to families by local pastors. Each Bible printed in the local languages cost about $25 each. If you would like to provide one for a family in Congo, simply add that amount to your church offering and designate the amount given “Congo Mission Bibles” on your envelope where it says “other.”
Thank you so much for your consideration and generosity as we continue to minister to God’s people in such a far-off place. This year’s mission trip is scheduled for July 8-21
Congo Mission Update
Posted March 28, 2024 By adminJesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Our Lord then used Abraham as an example of faith. Abraham believed God’s promise and longed to see the fulfillment of it. Those who criticized Jesus neither listened to God’s words, nor did they believe in the Son of God standing before them, because in their view, Abraham was dead. The crowd scoffed since they didn’t understand, and they refused to believe what Jesus was saying.
We, however, know it’s true. Those who keep God’s Word and believe Jesus is Lord and Savior, even though they die, will live forever in God’s heavenly kingdom. As a Lenten discipline, strive to remain in God’s Word. Read Scripture daily and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, even in the face of ridicule. Remain in the Word, speak the truth, and give God the glory due His name.
Pastor Stephane Kalonji and I have met several times in the last few months by way of zoom.com to plan for the ministry we will accomplish on our Mission trip to Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi in July. The struggles in life for the people of Congo are real and harsh. Addressing hunger as best we can continues to be a priority, as does reuniting mothers with newly born babies with their families. Of course, the chief endeavor is always sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people who so dearly want to grow in faith.
Our teaching seminar this year will address a central concern for a Lutheran Church in Mbuji-Mayi. This particular congregation suffered two tragic losses in just the last few months. First, the wife of their pastor passed away. She was a woman who cared much for the congregation and served as a pillar in the community. Soon afterward, the pastor passed away causing even greater grief among the people.
Pastor Kalonji and I will spend time with the congregation in worship and prayer. We will also be offering them a one day theological look into the Resurrection of the Body. It is our hope that grief will be overcome by the joy of experiencing God’s eternal love.
I’m looking forward to this trip as it is filled with opportunities to share the Gospel and God’s love with a community that receives very little in the way of fellowship and compassion among the global Lutheran community. Thank you for your ongoing support and for your prayers. God bless you all as we minister to those who are so far away, yet close in spirit.
Fresh Eyes for Mission Update
Posted September 20, 2023 By adminIn March, 2023, many members of our congregation met with Pastor David Wendell, Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry and Ecumenism, to take a hard look at our congregation and identify areas where we need to focus and grow. As a result, we came up with four main Vision Points and action steps for achieving each of these goals. It is important that we maintain our focus on these Vision Points and to do this Sherrie and Susan were appointed “Trailbosses.”
The four Vision Points are: Spiritual Awareness; Outreach – Visibility; Care Connections; and creating a Dutch Fork NALC Coalition. As a congregation, we have already worked toward growing in all of these areas.
Spiritual Awareness: Pastor led an adult Bible study during VBS that was well attended. We have a Men’s Bible study, a Women’s Bible study and Wednesday morning Bible study offered at our church.
Outreach – Visibility: The church office renovation has been completed! The office building is now a beautiful office space for our staff, but has also been designed for use for groups within our church to meet (Lutheran Women, youth, Sunday school, audit team, Council) and also groups outside of our church (Courage Center, Women’s AA). Coming soon: Parking lot for easier and safer access to our church buildings; updated website.
Care Connections: We have a greeting card ministry! This team has mailed cards to all young adults in our congregation at Easter and continues to stay in touch with these members throughout the year as well as others. Coming soon: Prayer Partners! In the next few weeks everyone will have an opportunity to sign up for and to receive a prayer partner/family so we can lift each other up in prayer.
Dutch Fork NALC Coalition: A recent Up and Going meeting of four NALC churches was a great success! We want to grow these relationships and hold joint activities with these churches.
All of these Vision Points will help St. Jacobs become the congregation that we envision. In order to achieve these goals, we need everyone to participate and work together toward these common goals!
There is a place for YOU at St. Jacobs!
MERCEY BAGS MINISTRY
Posted September 15, 2023 By adminOur congregation continues to make a difference in our community by providing meals for mobile delivery to the Chapin community and also in Jenkinsville, Prosperity, Newberry and Whitmire. The Mercy Bags are delivered specifically to families who do not have transportation to travel to a grocery store or who don’t have a grocery store near their home. Over the summer our congregation has provided over 40 Mercy Bags, each containing 3 meals, to We Care.
How can you help?
1. Shop for meal items and deliver them to the fellowship hall. The list for what is needed is located in the narthex. Meals are packed by teams on the first and third Sunday of each month and delivered to We Care on Monday morning.
2. Make a monetary donation designated for “Mercy Bags” and place it in the offering plate. The teams will use these funds to shop for the meal items to pack the Mercy Bags.
If you are interested in joining one of the Mercy Bags teams, contact Lynn.
NALC Disaster Response
Posted September 7, 2023 By adminThe Carolinas Mission Region will host another opportunity for congregations to engage the mission of Disaster Response. This opportunity will see congregations partnering together to assemble “Kitchen Kits.” In many areas of recovering from floods or hurricanes, families often need to replace simple, basic kitchen supplies. NALC Disaster Response has put together a list of items to be included in disaster response “Kitchen Kits” to assist families in their recovery.
Beginning on Sunday, September 3th, St. Jacob’s will Be collecting kitchen hot pads and dish towels. We will collect these items until Sunday, October 22 and will deliver them to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Troutman, NC, where the kits will be assembled. We would also like as many members of St. Jacob’s as possible to volunteer in this activity. As always, it will be a time of fun, and fellowship as we work together to share the compassion of Christ for those in need. The project is scheduled for Saturday, October 28th.
