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Ventures In Youth Ministry Symposium Report

Posted August 28, 2019 By admin

“For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters, only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.” – Galatians 5:13

 The most profound thing I learned at the Youth  Symposium last week in Indianapolis was that it is not about youth ministry at all, it’s about youth doing ministry. I had the honor of attending Lutheran Week-where the first two days are set apart for NALC directors, pastors, and church staff who have a vision of raising up the youth of their congregations not only to know who Jesus is, but to have a mission for others to know Him too. The meetings were led by Gary and Laurie Pecuch, who have dedicated their lives to the youth of not only their congregation but to train others to lead the youth of every NALC congregation. During our time together, we shared resources, ideas, goals, and a vision for the future of the Church that will be placed in the hands of our youth. We covered topics such as biblical-self-esteem, outreach to our communities, spiritual disciplines such as scripture study and prayer, and building strong cross-generational relationships within our church family. I enjoyed learning from others and making connections with many who have been on the front lines of youth ministry for much longer than I have, sharing the wisdom that they have gained over the years. It really is a family of people who are all on the same team to lead the youth to put their faith in action and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Thank you for the opportunity to attend the Convocation and trusting me to faithfully report back to the congregation what I have learned. 

 Rachel

Filed in Fellowship, LCY, Lutheran Church Youth, Outreach

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted August 28, 2019 By admin

16 So say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

As a continuation of my last newsletter   article; the importance of implementing daily time in  prayer and in scripture study during the slow season that will carry us into the next with joyful hearts. It’s no secret that there is a lot going on in our world today and sometimes it seems that our only option is for our face to meet the ground time and time again and pray. This is where we are to press in, instead of letting the flesh lead us, we must rediscover the preeminence of the Word of God and value truth over feeling and emotion; let us hold on even  tighter to the anchor of the living Word of God and to our church family also.  

We need to pray in boldness, faith, and declaration in order to raise up our youth amongst the craziness of the world around us. This is done by impressing the importance of discipleship, church attendance, and Godly living as no optional- but commandments we are to obey as Christians. It is essential that as we continue to grow our youth program at St. Jacob’s, we do so as a team. One body, made of different parts, with different gifts; all committed to seeing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth be a reality for our young people. I look forward to growing in these spiritual disciplines alongside each of you for in the months to come. 

All for His glory,  Rachel

Filed in Bible Study, Fellowship, LCY, Lutheran Church Youth, Outreach

From the Pastor’s Heart

Posted August 1, 2019 By admin

Congo Mission 2019

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:13-15

Through my mission work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I have learned first-hand the meaning of the above text. The apostle Paul explains to Christians that God extends his grace throughout the world. Everyone who comes to faith in Christ Jesus is saved from their sin and gains the promise of eternal life. But how will people come to faith unless God’s people share the gospel?

For five years, Pastor Stéphane Kalonji and I have traveled to the Congo in obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20. Christ calls all Christians to go into the world making disciples and teaching the Word of God. This is precisely our mission as we go; to preach and teach God’s Word, and to provide training for others that they may be messengers of God’s grace. Upon this, my third trip to Congo, I have again seen how God continues to build up his Church and bring people to faith through the hearing of the gospel.

Pastor Kalonji and I visited three Lutheran parishes while we were in Congo. We first went to the city of Boma where two years ago I was commissioned by Bishop Keya (Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Congo) to be his missionary to the Lutheran Church in America. I have made friends in Boma, friends that I pray for each day. Upon our arrival, we received a welcome much like that of a family member coming home after an extended period. One by one, people would come to the church and visit with us, telling us of how they have been getting along since our last trip.

In Boma, Pastor Kalonji and I led two seminars for pastors and lay people; we sang with the choirs of men and women; and we preached together, me in English with Pastor Stéphane translating into Lingala. During the hymn following the sermon, a young man ran up to me and dusted off my shoes. This is a common reaction to the preached Word of God in Boma. “How beautiful the feet of those who preach the good news.”

That Monday, we traveled to the city of Tshela, a place neither of us had been before. In Tshela, we were greeted by an excited congregation of God’s people who lined the street leading to their place of worship. The welcome we received was extraordinary to say the least. This was an unexpected addition to our trip, but the joy we found and the response to God’s Word as we taught women and men, and then preached can only be described as unbridled enthusiasm. Children sat in the doorways and windows of the building, not to mention those who occupied the front four benches directly in front of me.

As Pastor Kalonji preached to the crowded church in their native language, I connected with the many children using a common language we all understood. We exchanged funny faces, smiles and even a bit of laughter. It didn’t matter that we couldn’t understand one another as we spoke. We understood one another as we shared a relationship established by God through his Son Jesus Christ. Once more, at the completion of our presentation and my telling the  congregation of the joy I have witnessed through their faith, a young man came up to me and dusted off my shoes in a gesture of thankfulness to God for sending his missionaries to preach the good news.

From the Pastor’s Heart

by Pastor David Nuottila

Filed in Bible Study, Missions, Other Happenings, Outreach, Pastor

Creating A Vision For Ministry

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

What is St. Jacob’s vision for ministry within our community and world? To be honest, we can’t say we have a clear vision. As a congregation of God’s people, we are all called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, follow him in faith and participate in the mission of God by doing the work of the gospel. In order to follow Christ, we must first understand God’s mission. We then must pray and discern which ministries to which God is calling us. And finally, we must create a vision, a clear understanding and strategy as to how we will engage in such ministries. For as Scripture teaches us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs, 29:18 KJV

 On June 30th, a small group of church family members met to begin this conversation. We introduced the process by which our church might discern those ministries God would have us do and then created a vision as to how we will do them. Yet this task is not simply for a small group. If we are to be serious about our faith and ministry, we will all need to take part.

Creating a vision for ministry does not happen quickly. In the coming months, there will be several seminars scheduled for St. Jacob’s church family members to come listen, learn and discuss the work God has set before us. Plan to attend these seminars as they are scheduled and be a part of St. Jacob’s participation in God’s mission.

Filed in Bible Study, Fellowship, LCY, Lutheran Men, Lutheran Women, Missions, Other Happenings, Outreach, Pastor, Sunday School, Worship and Music, Worship Service

Lutheran Men News

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

The Lutheran Men plan to meet on August 18th at 6 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Robert has the devotions. The cooks for the meeting will be Lynn, Danny, and Robert.

Filed in Fellowship, Lutheran Men, Other Happenings, Outreach

Lutheran Women News

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Our next meeting will be held on August 11th at 4:30 PM. The meeting location hasn’t been determined but will be announced soon.

Filed in Fellowship, Lutheran Women, Other Happenings, Outreach

Homecoming

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Our annual Homecoming celebration is just weeks away. On August 26th we will welcome Pastor Brad Hales, NALC Director for Domestic Mission as our guest preacher. Pastor Hales serves as the Pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church in Culpepper, VA., where he leads a vibrant Senior’s Ministry within his church and community. As Director of Domestic Mission, Pastor Brad works with the Assistant to the Bishop for Mission and with NALC mission teams to develop a vision and strategy for domestic mission work. As chair of the Carolinas Mission team, Pastor David Nuottila works with Pastor Hales in several of these instances.  

For Pastor Brad, it’s all about Jesus. He is known for his passion, excitement and joy in sharing the good news of God’s grace through Christ Jesus. He and his wife Lisa have been married for twenty-five years and have two daughters, Lydia and Abigail. Please welcome Pastor Brad to St. Jacob’s on August 26th and enjoy our Homecoming celebration.

Continue to watch your worship folders for updates and plans for the festivities.

Filed in Other Happenings, Outreach, Worship Service

Come Watch The Fireflies!

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

St. Jacob’s Families and Youth are invited to a night of fellowship to watch the Columbia Fireflies baseball team on August 18th at 5:05 PM. Tickets are $9.00 per person and parking is an additional $4.00 cash per car. There is a sign-up sheet on the Youth Bulletin Board in the hallway next to the Fellowship Hall, the deadline to sign up is August 4th so reservations can be made! There will be an email sent out as the date approaches with specific details regarding tickets! Continue to check the Youth Bulletin Board often so you can stay updated on upcoming announcements and events the Youth will have coming!

Filed in LCY, Other Happenings, Outreach

Up and Going

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

Up and Going members and guests boarded the St. Jacob’s Express, with Gerald driving, to spend the day at the SC Farmer’s Market. Helen gave the devotions based on the surprising gifts from the farm.

A short business meeting was held before we left for the Market.

Arrangements were made by Tracy for us to visit the labs at the Consumer Protection Lab and Metrology Lab located at the Market. The laboratories are under the direction of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

At the Consumer Protection Lab, we toured the Petroleum Lab, the Pesticide Residue Lab, The Seed Lab, Planting and Germination Rooms, the Dog, Cat, Horse Feed Lab and the Food Lab. Each individual lab provided a knowledgeable person to explain the workings of the lab and to answer any questions.

The tour continued to another building which houses the Metrology Lab, there we visited the Precision Weights Lab, the Grain Lab, Small Volume Lab, the Large Volume Lab and Small Mass Lab. These are the most fascinating labs. These labs ensure that the food items, animal foods, fuels, seeds and other items are the correct weights, items as listed, germinations of seeds are correct and in general are as labeled on the pack. Gas Station fuel pumps are checked for weight per gallon and contents as marked. The fuel pumps are labeled with a sticker stating the month and year that it was inspected. Each gas station should be checked once per year. We were overwhelmed with information but thankfully assured that someone was checking things that we all consume. We left the Labs with a huge appreciation for the work that these wonderful people perform daily. A special thank you to all who made this trip so enjoyable.

Lunch was enjoyed by all at the Market Restaurant. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. We spent a few minutes in The Tea Room browsing around and checking out all of the items made in SC.

Our tour of the Farmer’s Market concluded with a walk-on bus tour with Brad. We toured the fruit and vegetable sheds, the commercial sheds, the out of state vendors shed and other sheds in that area. Gerald then took us into the fruit/vegetable shed, parked the bus and gave us time to shop. Favorite items purchased were tomatoes, peaches, watermelons and cantaloupes. We stopped at the flower sheds and some purchased flowers. What a wonderful day we enjoyed together!

The August meeting will be the 4 Churches Meeting. It will be held on Thursday, August 22nd at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, New Life Center at 11 AM. We each are asked to bring a side dish or dessert. The meat, drinks, etc. will be provided by Holy Trinity. Please arrive at Holy Trinity by 11am. This is surely to be an enjoyable meeting.

Filed in Fellowship, Outreach, Up and Going

Youth Director & Family Ministries

Posted July 30, 2019 By admin

With summer in full swing, most of us have gone on vacation (or plan to), spent extra time with our families, and hopefully got caught up on our sleep. Summer can be a very busy time of the year, but it can also be a time where we can prioritize rest. What exactly does this word rest mean? How do we do it?  What does the verse in Genesis mean when it says, “On the seventh day, God rested?” 

We don’t know exactly what God did when he rested, but we do know that He took the time to look all around at His great creation and felt joyful about the things that were in it. Have you ever heard the saying “stop and smell the roses?”   

That’s exactly what our rest should look like. In the midst of our busy lives, whether we are looking at a sunset over the ocean, animals on a farm on the side of the road, or our family members across the dinner table; we should sit back, take a moment to breathe, and pray to thank God for all that He has blessed us with. We can pause, reflect, and focus our mind’s on Jesus with all the evidence around us of His goodness. Summer break is the perfect time to begin a routine of spending time daily in prayer and in God’s word that will carry us into the next season with gratitude, peace, and joy.            

In Christ,

Rachel Shelton

Filed in Bible Study, LCY, Other Happenings, Outreach, Worship Service
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