On February 12th “Super Bowl Sunday,” Two teams at St. Jacob’s squared off to raise money to feed orphaned children in the Congo. Pastor David gave them a challenge. Collect at least $200.00 and the kids could give him the traditional victory shower pouring Gatorade over his head. Well, the congregation responded generously, as you usually do. The Youth collected $403.00 and Pastor David got doused with Gatorade. Thank you to all who donated and to God be the Glory!
Outreach Archive
The Souper Bowl of Caring
Posted March 8, 2023 By adminWorship at Generations
Posted March 3, 2023 By adminWorship services at Generations Assisted Care of Chapin have made a great difference in the lives of many folks who are not able to attend worship at their home church. St. Jacob’s members are invited and certainly encouraged to share this experience with our friends just down the road. Our next worship opportunities will be on Sunday, March 5th and March 19th at 1:00PM. Join us in the lobby at Generations.
Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit – March 11th
Posted February 22, 2023 By adminAnd Jesus stopped and called (the two blind men), saying, ‘What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes and immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:32-34
In ongoing reflection, prayer, and conversation, our church council has voted to join with members of the leadership of the North American Lutheran Church in seeking an integrative approach to our congregational assessment, evaluation, and renewal.
Working together, Assistant to the Bishop for Missions, Dr. Gemechis Buba, Assistant for Domestic Missions Pr. Phil Gagnon, Director for Renewal Ministries, Pr. Brad Hales and Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry, Pr. David Wendel have developed such an approach, appropriately titled, the “Fresh Eyes for Mission Summit!”
The goal of the summit is to involve appropriate leadership in the NALC, together with the Congregation’s pastor and leaders, praying first, “Lord, let our eyes be opened!” We then trust that the Lord will give participants fresh eyes to receive new insight and understanding, all aimed at new or renewed direction for mission and ministry as the congregation seeks to follow Jesus firmly and faithfully!
Each summit begins with pre-work by pastor and congregational leaders, which is reviewed by NALC leaders who bring varied experiences and expertise. An on-site visit is scheduled at St. Jacob’s with an NALC facilitator who will then join two or three of our congregational leaders in a tour of the local area and neighborhoods, surrounding the church, neighborhoods bordering the congregational service area, and making visits, where appropriate, to neighboring congregations, community offices and locations. The goal is to look with “fresh eyes” at the congregation, context and community and develop a strategy for renewal of ministries and growth.
The NALC facilitator then meets with the pastor and summit participants, which should include those currently on council and serving on ministry teams, as well as others who have served in the past and may serve in the future, to review pre-work, asking, “What have we learned? What is a surprise? What pre-conceived ideas were supported or dispelled?”
On Saturday, March 11th, a workshop is scheduled that will be led by the NALC facilitator, involving all members of the congregation who desire to participate in learning more about how to renew the mission and ministry of St. Jacob’s.
ALL MEMBERS OF ST. JACOB’S are encouraged and invited to participate in this Saturday Summit Workshop. Many congregations in the Carolinas have hosted Fresh eyes Summits in the last year, and have found them to be very helpful in learning more about how to renew their church’s ministry and create a vision for future growth.
Mercy Bags Ministry for We Care
Posted February 11, 2023 By adminWhat an amazing impact our congregation has made in helping families in need by providing meals to be delivered by We Care. Since we began this ministry less than a year ago, we have donated over 300 meals!! The Discipleship Team has organized volunteers into two groups that will meet only once a month (on the 1st or 3rd Sundays) to pack and distribute the meals to We Care on Monday morning.
There is room for more people to help with this! Do you have time to donate ONE hour of your time once a month to help shop for food, pack the bags with meals or deliver the bags on a Monday morning? Call or talk to Lynn and let him know!
Calling all St. Jacob’s Youth!
Posted February 7, 2023 By adminSuper Bowl Sunday is quickly approaching. Will your favorite team be one of the two playing for the title? Well, now you have a chance to cheer them on and be of help to your orphaned Christian brothers and sisters in Congo at the same time. The annual Souper Bowl of Caring involves youth church members all over the country in the mission of God. Here at St. Jacob’s you will collect a love offering in “Souper Bowls” marked with each team’s logo. The team that raises the most money for the Children in Congo will be declared the winner. The goal set for our competition is to raise a combined $200.00 for the Congo Mission.
If our “Souper” Bowl reaches the goal, all youth participating will be invited to provide “Head Coach” Pastor David Nuottila with the traditional Gatorade victory shower. So come on! Let’s have some fun and at the same time show the love of Christ Jesus to our far away friends and children who are in great need.
St. Jacob’s members, be sure to bring your spare change and loose cash to donate to this cause. Remember, the greater the gift, the wetter Pastor will get.
Worship at Generations
Posted February 1, 2023 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, February 5th and February 19th at 1:00PM. Join us in the lobby at Generations.
Community Service
Posted January 20, 2023 By adminAs a service to our neighbors, St. Jacob’s offers the use of our Fellowship Hall, and occasionally the church office building to civic groups in our community. Currently we have two groups devoted to the care of those who struggle against affliction.
The Chapin area AA group meets in the Fellowship Hall every week on Monday and Friday at 7:30PM. They are very grateful for the use of St. Jacob’s facilities and have been a wonderful addition to our outreach into the community.
The Courage Center meets in our Fellowship Hall each week on Thursday evening at 7:00PM. The Courage Center supports families whose lives have been disrupted by substance misuse or addiction.
Please remember to consult the church calendar when scheduling events held in the Fellowship Hall. We want to be accommodating to our neighbors in needs, just as our Lord is compassionate and accommodating in our need.
Filed in Other Happenings, Outreach
From the Pastor’s Heart
Posted January 15, 2023 By adminSo who among our church family has made, or plans to make a New Year’s resolution? Resolutions are great if you keep them. But what happens so often
is that New Year’s resolutions last for about a week before they are broken. By the second week, most resolutions simply amount to wishful thinking. And finally, by the end of the first month, New Year’s resolutions in many cases are all but forgotten. Why is it that so many people have such difficulty keeping their
resolutions?
The reasons we make New Year’s resolutions are varied. There are those who make resolutions in order to live a healthier lifestyle. They resolve to lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking, eat healthier foods, and eat less junk food. You get the idea. Throughout my life I have made and broken more of these resolutions than I could shake a stick at. I have never been any good at keeping this sort of New Year
promise to myself.
Other people look past their physical lifestyle and make New Year’s resolutions that might help them in their spiritual journey. Through the years, I have also joined others in making such resolutions. Many folks resolve to develop better faith habits; attend worship each week, pray every day, read the Bible, or attend Sunday school. All of these are great resolutions but, just like the ones that pertain to physical lifestyle, resolutions regarding faith require discipline if one is truly going to keep them. Heading into the New Year, congregations are much like people in that they recognize that some changes might be needed in order to remain healthy.
Especially following the previous two years that were greatly impacted by the pandemic, it may be a good time for St. Jacob’s to make a congregational
resolution. Certainly, we can all look around and notice that we are not the same church we were heading into the pandemic. But by God’s grace, we have come
through the COVID crisis and have the opportunity to renew our ministry with enthusiasm. So, how can we accomplish this? Well, by following through on a few
commitments (I won’t call them resolutions) to grow in our relationship with Christ, and with one another.
Commitment #1 – I hope that St. Jacob’s would commit to becoming a congregation filled with people who are committed to daily prayer. So many churches have what they call their “Prayer Warriors.” We could do that. We could commit to daily prayer
either together as a group, or as individuals and families. In 2023, let’s be intentional in praying for our church. I will make sure the church is open each Monday from 12:00PM – 5:30PM, beginning on January 9th, for anyone who would like to come
in and pray for St. Jacob’s. Let’s pray in confidence for God’s blessing upon us, that we would become a congregation that invites and welcomes others into our midst. And once they are here, incorporate them into our daily life as beloved people of God.
Commitment #2 – I pray that, as a church family, we will experience a greater commitment to weekly worship. If you are reading this article but have not been regularly active in your worship here at St. Jacob’s, I invite you to begin developing
the healthy habit of worshiping God each week and receiving the life-giving Sacrament of Holy Communion. There truly is no better time than the beginning of a new year to renew or refresh your spiritual life through worship and prayer.
Commitment #3 – And finally, I pray that St. Jacob’s would become known to the community as a congregation that enjoys robust and vibrant fellowship with one another. Especially following the pandemic years, seeing the Fellowship Hall
filled with people is a joyous blessing. We have begun making some strides towards this commitment, and everyone I have spoken with about it agrees, we need to be a church family in fellowship with one another, enjoying our life together.
These are but a few items that I believe will help us to rekindle the flames of a dynamic faith following two difficult years. Yes, they were difficult, but they were not so difficult that we cannot grow more spiritually and faithfully healthy. Please make these commitments with me, and pray that God will bless us with His assurance as we grow together in faith, hope, and love.
Grace to you and peace,
Pastor David Nuottila
The NALC Fresh Eyes For Mission Summit
Posted January 11, 2023 By adminMany congregations struggle with decline in attendance and income, transitioning neighborhood and context, lack of coherent and appropriate vision for mission. Time and time again congregational leaders make efforts to re-tool and re-shape the congregation’s life and ministry, only to find resistance to change, lack of commitment and little positive result. One of the challenges to renewal and reformation is our closeness to our congregation’s history, culture and current practices. As with any family system, we can be so involved that we are blinded to the reality of our situation, unable to see clearly God’s will for new direction and transformation.
In ongoing reflection and conversation, leadership of the North American Lutheran Church have been seeking an integrative approach to congregational assessment, evaluation and renewal. Working together, several members of the NALC Executive staff have developed such an approach, appropriately titled, the “Fresh Eyes
for Mission Summit.
The goal of the summit is to involve appropriate leadership in the NALC, together with congregational pastor and leaders, praying first, “Lord, let our eyes be opened!” We then trust that the Lord will give participants fresh eyes to receive new insight and understanding, all aimed at new or renewed direction for mission and ministry as the congregation seeks to follow Jesus firmly and faithfully.
On Monday evening, November 21st, several members of St. Jacob’s met with Pastor David Wendel, NALC assistant to the bishop for ministry, to explore the prospects of our congregation participating in the “Fresh eyes for Mission Summit.”
One need only look around to see that St. Jacob’s is not the congregation we once were. In these days of declining church attendance and membership, the Fresh Eyes Summit is designed to help congregations such as ours take a critical look at how their ministry is going and what key factors should be addressed.
Congregations engaging in the summit look at the community’s growth and other factors, and weigh their giftedness to determine the capacity each church has for mission and ministry.
Several NALC congregations in the Carolinas (including local congregations such as Holy Trinity in Little Mountain) have participated and come away with renewed energy and excitement about their church’s Ministry.
Please contact Pastor David Nuottila or one of our 2023 Council members for more information.
Filed in Other Happenings, Outreach
Call To Prayer
Posted January 5, 2023 By adminPastor David is calling all members of St. Jacob’s to pray for St. Jacob’s spiritual health, vision, and growth. Everyone who is willing to gather for Prayer, or come at a time when you can be alone, is encouraged to do so each Monday afternoon or evening in January. Beginning on January 9th, the Church sanctuary will be open
from 12:00PM to 5:30PM. You may simply enter the nave, take a seat in the
pews and lift up your prayers to our God who promises to hear you. As the evangelist writes in the book of James, “The prayer of a righteous person has
great power as it is working” (James 5:16).
