The 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.
NALC Archive
NALC Disaster Response
Posted September 7, 2023 By admin2023 Congo Mission Trip
Posted August 9, 2023 By adminWith Pastor David and Pastor Stephane Kalonji’s return from Africa, the Most recent Congo Mission Trip is now complete. This year’s trip was a successful mission of the Gospel. With God’s help and the support of so many people, we were able to feed well over 400 children, and free nearly two dozen mothers and their babies from detention in hospitals. We distributed will over 200 pairs of eyeglasses, led Christian education seminars in three locations, and worshipped with the people of Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi. Thank you to all who supported our mission with your donations and prayers. Plans are already being made for our 2024 trip. We pray that God will continue to bless the Congo Mission as we take Christ’s great commission seriously and go into the world sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
NALC Lutheran Week 2023 – Mission Dei (The Mission of God)
Posted August 7, 2023 By adminThis year’s NALC Lutheran Week completes a six-year focus on the Holy Trinity, concluding now with “God the Father Creates…in His Image,” as the theme for the Braaten-Benne Theological Lectures. However, it seems appropriate to conclude this cycle with the theme, Mission Dei, as we celebrate the fact that everything we do as a mission-driven Lutheran body comes from God and His mission—that we are to go into all the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit, preaching the good news of salvation in and through Jesus Christ—to the whole creation!
This year’s Mission Convocation will indeed be a mission-oriented and mission-driven gathering! While there will be necessary times dedicated to reports, actions and elections—including the election of a bishop—highlights will be the several “On Fire for Mission” sessions, focusing on domestic mission, international mission and mission related to congregational life. These will begin with brief Bible study and devotional periods, followed by presentations on the theme, with extended time for table talk, reflection, breakouts, and strategies for “taking it home!”
There will also be a Faith Formation Festival (“Everything You Want to Know About Youth & Family Ministry”) and the Gathering of the Women of the NALC (“Using Our Gifts to Serve”) earlier in the week.
The hope and prayer of all involved is that this will light a spark or fan the flame for mission, that we return home inspired and excited about Mission Dei—the work and mission of God in our local congregations, in North America and throughout the whole creation!
Larry Shull will serve as St. Jacob’s lay delegate to the convocation.
Congo Mission 2023
Posted July 7, 2023 By adminIn July, Pastor David Nuottila will be busy on his mission trip in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Traveling with his mission partner, Pastor Stephane Kalonji, Pastor David will be serving alongside pastors of the Community of Confessional Lutheran Churches of Congo.
Their mission work includes, but is not limited to, leading Christian Education seminars for Pastors, lay leaders, women’s groups, men’s groups, and young adults.
They will also minister to congregations by helping them feed the many orphaned children in the church’s care, provide eyeglasses for people with such need, provide Bibles for those who do not have access to them, and free mothers and their newborn babies from detention in hospitals.
The challenges of doing mission work in Congo are many, and difficult to overcome. Transportation is one of the biggest challenges that will be faced. Many of the towns and villages are miles apart from one another, and the roads are nearly impassable.
This year’s mission trip will last about three weeks. Pastor David will return to Chapin on Friday, July 21. Until then, pastoral services will be arranged on an as needed basis. Please call the church if you have such need. After hours you may call Congregation President Billy McTeer to arrange for pastoral care.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Congo Mission to make this trip possible. Thank you also for your many prayers.
Calling All St. Jacob’s Youth
Posted May 5, 2023 By adminYou are invited to participate in the Flood Bucket Mission Event at Advent Lutheran Church in King’s Mountain on May 20th. Several of the Mission Region Youth groups will be participating and it will be a great day of service to our neighbors in need. There is no cost for this event and it is guaranteed that it will be a good time. Join the fun! we will also be planning a few fun events for the summer so stay tuned.
NALC Carolinas Mission Event
Posted May 4, 2023 By adminThe Carolinas Mission region is hosting an event similar to the one last May in which we assembled health kits for the disaster response warehouse in King’s Mountain, NC. At this year’s event, volunteers will assemble flood buckets. As a part of the project, St. Jacob’s is collecting pairs of dishwashing gloves and scrub brushes. Our goal is 100 pairs of gloves and 100 scrub brushes by Sun day, May 14.
We also would like to have volunteers from our church family to participate in the event at Advent Lutheran Church in King’s Mountain. It will be a day filled with plenty of fellowship, music, fun, and of course, good food. You can drop off your donations of gloves and brushes in the designated boxes on the stage in the fellowship hall. Please consider attending the event at Advent Lutheran Church and help us help others.
2023 Ministry-Mission Update #4 – 4/17/23
Posted April 28, 2023 By admin“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’” (John 20:21)
Worship – Attendance is up in our new church building; We had 53 on Easter Sunday and 45 this past Sunday, and we received a new member by Baptism on Easter Sunday! If you are in the area and have a chance to stop by for a visit, please do. God has been so good to bless us with this new space for worship, fellowship, and discipleship. We will have a service of dedication and thanksgiving one Sunday afternoon, most likely in June and will keep you posted.
Fellowship – Our folks enjoy spending time together! We have coffee and fellowship time each Sunday between Sunday school and the worship service and had a wonderful breakfast together on Easter Sunday. We are hoping to have a fish fry in the next couple of months and will be hosting an open house appreciation drop-in for the folks from Thompson Funeral Home as a way of saying “thank you” for their years of generous hospitality.
Discipleship – Sunday school and Wednesday Bible study continue in Egermeier’s Bible Story Book. Mon day Bible study meets twice a month and is currently studying Hebrews. Lutheran Men of Joy meet monthly and have been working hard to get the church property and grounds in order. Prayer ministry and Senior Ministry also continue to meet monthly, though we did not visit with our friends at Lakeside in March. Our April ministry of the month is Medicine Mart of Lexington. We are assisting them in providing prescriptions to our neighbors in need. Our May ministry of the month will be the Carolinas Mission Region NALC Disaster Response flood bucket build at Advent, Kings Mountain on May 20th. We hope to see you there!
Continue to pray for us as we adjust to our new home. It is definitely a process. Please also pray for God to show us opportunities to engage with our community. We appreciate your partnership. Thank you and God bless you!
In Christ’s service and to His glory,
Pastor Paulette D. McHugh
Pastor, Joy Mission Church (803)767-7231 pdmchugh@mac.com, www.joymission.church
OUR NEW ADDRESS: 179 Midway Rd. Lexington, SC 29072
CHURCH PHONE NUMBER: 803-399-8183
Countdown to Congo
Posted April 10, 2023 By adminIt won’t be long before my annual mission trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo will commence. On July 2nd, following worship, I will fly to Houston to meet up with my mission partner, Pastor Stéphane Kalonji and we will depart for Africa the next day. Our itinerary for travel will take us from Houston to Newark, NJ, then to Brussels, Belgium, Luanda, Angola, and then finally to Kinshasa, DRC.
Once on the ground in Kinshasa we will visit with the bishop of the Congolese Lutheran Church before taking another flight to Mbuji Mayi in the central part of Congo. This will be new territory for me as I have never traveled this far into the Congo. It is the province where I would have served last year had I been able to make the trip. Still, God is smiling upon Stéphane and I and allowing us to serve together as we planned one year ago.
Even as this will be a new place, the ministry we will share is along the same lines as before. Our chief endeavor will be to lead worship with the Lutherans in Mbuji Mayi and provide continuing education for the pastors of the region. We will also lead Christian education seminars for the women, men, and young adults.
Other staples of our mission will also take place such as feeding orphaned children, providing pastoral care and Bibles for those in such need, and freeing mothers and their newborn babies from the local hospitals and clinics. Of course, none of this can happen without the blessing from God that comes to us through the support of congregations such as St. Jacob’s.
For five years, you have been faithful supporters of the Congo Mission and we are certainly grateful for the opportunity to share this ministry with you. As we travel to the Congo, your love and prayers go with us. The people of Congo are always joyful and thankful for their Christian brothers and sisters of St. Jacob’s in Chapin and St. Paul’s in Rosenberg, TX in that you share so much with them. You share more than simply your gifts and your prayers. You share your pastors as well, in love for so many children of God, people whom you likely will never meet.
God bless you as you continue to support the Congo Mission. As a congregation of the North Ameri can Lutheran Church, this is a very important part of the ministry that defines us as a mission driven church. I thank God for the opportunity to share this work with you. While I am away, Pastor Gary Blobaum will be our supply Pastor on Sundays and Pastor David Tholstrup will provide any needed pastoral care. Thank you all, especially for your prayers as Pastor Kalonji and I serve in Christ’s name. To God be the glory!
In Christ,
Pastor David
Congo Mission Update
Posted March 11, 2023 By adminMy mission trip to the Congo is scheduled for July 3-21. Pastor Kalonji and I have a very ambitious schedule for these 18 days. The mission work we have planned includes the staples of our ministry; preaching and leading worship, providing seminars for Christian education, providing continuing education for pastors and church leaders; feeding orphaned children, freeing babies, and providing Bibles to those who have no access to them. Ministering together in a new area, I have no idea what to expect as far as amenities. All I know is that transportation within Congo will be difficult, and lodging extremely modest. I still have the many pairs of eyeglasses collected from last year so I will not be collecting these again this time around. Please do not bring used glasses for a donation as I do not have room to take them.
As always, the cost of this mission trip is significant. I am ever thankful for your donations and fund raising efforts to support the mission work we do. Truly, even though you will not be with me in Africa, your efforts are central to the ongoing mission and ministry. The people of Congo are always very grateful for the support from their brothers and sisters in Christ in the United States.
God bless you all as we accomplish this important work together.
Announcing! 2023 South Carolina Mission District Men’s Retreat
Posted March 5, 2023 By adminAll St. Jacob’s men are encouraged to participate in the first annual South Carolina Mission District Men’s Retreat. The retreat will take place at Camp Longridge in ridgeway, SC on the weekend of April 14-16. The cost for the weekend is $125.00 per person and includes meals and lodging.
The theme for the retreat is “Becoming Fishers of Men.” St. Jacob’s and St. Peter’s Lutheran Churches in Chapin are the host congregations for the weekend. Registration brochures are available in the narthex.
Fathers and sons are especially encouraged to attend. More information will follow in the St. Jacob’s Newsletter and South Carolina Mission District Facebook page.
Jesus said “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
