It has been a couple of weeks since my last post and update.  In that time, Ronoyce and I have appreciated your support, cards, emails, and FB messages, as well as felt your prayers in our behalf in the loss of my mother.  We are living in the hope of heaven, sustained by the abundant grace of our kind Heavenly Father.

David Jones Memorial Service.  It seems many of our families have been touched by grief in recent months.  So much so, that I have decided to change my planned sermon for this Sunday to address this common felt need in our congregation.  Please pray that God will guide the message and provide the needed encouragement for all of us.

The details for the David Jones Memorial Service are as follows.  Both visitation and the memorial service will be this Sunday afternoon, January 29th.

• Visitation will be from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. in the MMC at Springs First Church.

• The Memorial Service will begin at 3:00 p.m. in the MMC at Springs First Church.  A receiving line will follow the service for guests to speak with the family.

• A graveside ceremony will take place next week at their Nebraska home town.

• The DRIVE Leadership event planned for this Sunday evening has been postponed to a future date to be announced, to allow everyone the opportunity to attend this memorial service.

Please join us in lifting this family in prayer, along with the many others in our congregation, who have recently walked through the deep valley of grief.  I can say with great certainty, "God is with us, and His grace is sufficient for our needs."

January Budget.  The first month of each new year almost always presents a financial challenge.  Our need for this Sunday is approximately $19,000 for all giving.  If you have traveled this month, been absent due to sickness, or whatever, Sunday would be a great time to catch up with tithes and offerings.

The Great Recovery - The Million Dollar Challenge.  This Sunday, January 29th, is the last Sunday to enroll and pay the $100 registration to be able to participate in the initial Financial Peace University classes that will begin on Sunday evening, February 12th, and Wednesday evening, February 15th. REMEMBER, THE $100 REGISTRATION FEE IS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY, HUSBAND, WIFE, AND CHILDREN.  In addition, it makes you a LIFETIME MEMBER, enabling you to re-take the classes as often as you want, anywhere they are offered.  Please don't miss out on this great opportunity to change your life!

We are creating links on our Website that will support this life-changing study.  Links will go live very, very soon!

Year-end Contribution Statements.  If you have not received your Year-end contribution statement via email, or could not open it, printed statements are available at Grand Central for those who need them for the 2011 tax filing.  If you have questions, please call the church office and speak with Susan.

Thanks for paying attention to these details.  God willing, I'll see you on Sunday!

Pastor Grate

2012 is here and will present new opportunities for all us ... opportunities for fellowship, service, discipleship, and more.  As you prayerfully consider God's plan for your life this year, let your heart be an open book upon which He can write.  His plans for us far exceed anything we can ask or imagine!

Here is some information about two memorial services at our church tomorrow (Saturday, January 7).

Memorial Service for Sharon Kerkoski.  Sharon was welcomed into heaven on Monday, January 2nd.  Church members and friends are welcome to attend her memorial service at our church tomorrow (Saturday, January 7th) at 10:00 a.m. in the Cave.  Sharon and her husband, Scott, are members of our congregation, along with Ricky and Sandy Anunson (their daughter, son-in-law and family).  Let's support our church family with our prayers and encouragement.

Memorial Service for Nadine Cogil.  Craig Marquardt's mother, Nadine Cogil received her heavenly reward on Wednesday, December 14th.  Church members and friends are welcome to attend her memorial service at our church tomorrow (Saturday, January 7th) at 1:00 p.m. in the Cave.  Craig and his wife Darlene are members of our church.  Let's also support these members of our church family with our prayers and encouragement.

The Great Recovery - The Million Dollar Challenge.  This Sunday, January 8th, begins our information, inspiration,  and registration time for church members and friends to become involved in Financial Peace University, a 13 week course provided by the Dave Ramsey organization.  The goal is for church members, friends, and community attendees to pay off at least one million dollars of personal debt in 2012!  Look for the handout of frequently asked questions, along with your bulletin this Sunday! 

Celebrate Recovery begins tonight (Friday night).  For information or to register, stop by the CR display at the ministry counter nearest the Heritage and Hospitality Center this Sunday.  This is a great opportunity to put the past in the past and move on to healing.  Don't miss it.

See you on Sunday!

Pastor Grate

Many Lights of Christmas 2011 Report.  I promised to post a report from The Many Lights of Christmas after Monday.  Here it is!  We finished strong.  I was truly amazed at the number of volunteers who responded to the need and made things happen on our final night!  I was soooo proud of everyone!  A special "shout out" to everyone who jumped in on a "cold winter's night."

• A total 18,805 people drove through our 2011 edition of The Many Lights of Christmas!  That is a record total for a seven night event! Way to go, Church!  It was historic!

• A total of 5,517 cars came through our 2011 edition of The Many Lights of Christmas!  Another record for seven nights!

Working together, we all made a difference!  We can continue to make a difference by looking for drive-through families who will visit our future worship services.  PLEASE be watching for new families and take the initiative to meet and greet them, and make them feel at home!  

Christmas Service Schedule.  We are praying all of you will have a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends.  Here is our weekend schedule once more.

• Saturday, 5:30 p.m., Christmas Eve Service, including Communion.

• Sunday, 10:45 a.m., Christmas Morning Service, including Baptism.

The services are identical.  (Childcare will be provided for birth - 3 years olds in both services.)  Please choose the one that is best for you and yours to attend.  I will look for you there!

Thanks for listening.  Love you all!

Emmanuel,

Pastor Grate

As you may now know, Bill Moon received the gift of eternal life early Tuesday morning of this week.  He has transitioned from earth to heaven and is safely on the other side.  We will remember his life and celebrate his faith in a memorial service at our church next week.  Here are the details.

Public viewing on Tuesday evening, December 27th, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Memorial Gardens, SE corner of Airport and Academy.

Public viewing on Wednesday morning, December 28th, 9:00-9:45 a.m. at Springs First Church of the Nazarene.

Memorial Service on Wednesday morning, December 28th, 10:00 a.m., in the original sanctuary at Springs First Church.

You may greet the family at either public viewing and after the memorial service on Wednesday morning.

A private/family interrment will follow the service.

The family has set up a memorial fund, The Williams/Moon Scholarship Fund, through the church of the Nazarene to help students in Mozambique, Africa, where the Moons served as missionaries for more than thirty years.  Anyone wanting to contribute to this fund should make out checks to Springs First Church of the Nazarene, and send to Springs First Church, 4120 E. Fountain Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80916.  The church will then send all gifts to our Global Ministry Center in Lenexa, KS., designated to this worthy fund.

Let's lift this family to the Lord in our prayers.

Emmanuel,

Pastor Grate

MLOC Sunday Night Report.  Last night was another great night at The Many Lights of Christmas!  Here are the number of people we touched with the message and hope of Christmas!

• A total 3965 people drove through, bringing our six night total to date to 17,377 !!!  That is a record total for a seven night event, and we still have one more night to present our display to our community!  Way to go, Church!  It is historic!

• A total of 1196 cars drove through, bringing our six night total to date to 5,105 !!!  Another record for just six nights, with one more night to go!

The response for volunteers was amazing!  We doubled our number of volunteers, at least, and had mulitple characters in most positions!  That was simply overwhelming!  A special "thank you" to everyone who volunteered on Sunday night - you made a difference!

MLOC Monday Night Needs.  The weather is a-changin'!!  Being low on volunteers for tonight, perhaps more than any other night, we need more than enough so that each volunteer can be rotated out of the cold every 20 or 30 minutes!!  

I hope many who are available will jump in and help us on this final night!  We serve an evening meal from 4:45 - 5:45 p.m.  Just come on in, share a meal, and help us greet our community for these three hours.

Many hands make light work for everyone!  Hope to see you there!

I will send a final report later this week, along with our weekend service schedule!

Love you all,

Pastor Grate

I want to provide an update from our first weekend of The Many Lights of Christmas, and talk about the Christmas events for the next two Sundays!  Here we go!

The Many Lights of Christmas.  Here are reminders and instructions:

• We are happy to report that 6916 people drove through our Christmas event last weekend!  That is 989 more than the first weekend last year!  Thanks again to everyone who helped make this happen! We anticipate 10 - 12 thousand for the second weekend, including Monday, December 19th!  Hear our radio commercials @ 102.7 and 106.3 beginning Thursday and throughout the weekend.

• We need volunteers this coming weekend in the Western scene, additional shepherds, and an Innkeeper, Mary and Joseph at the Inn.  If you are available to volunteer for these needs, please call the office, at 596-5119!

• A CHANGE!!!  Since we are expecting even greater crowds this weekend, we will be serving our evening meal to our volunteers from 4:45 - 5:45 p.m.  This will help us get our parking lot attendants in place sooner, and get the incoming cars off the street for everyone's safety.  Remember, we open the gates no later than 6:00 p.m.

• Park on the EAST side of our building and enter through the East entrance.  We will block off the west parking lot to enhance the drive-through experience for our congregation and community.

• We believe we have enough wrapped candy for Friday and Saturday nights, but will need additional candy for Sunday and Monday nights.  If you intend to donate wrapped candy, please bring it on Sunday morning to the MLOC display in the church foyer!

Christmas Program.  You won't want to miss the special program planned for this Sunday, December 18th, in both morning services; a special 35 minute presentation of sight and sound that will precede the message of the morning!  Arrive early ... this dramatic presentation will start early in the service.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Services.  Don't forget that the services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are identical, with the exception of serving Communion on Christmas Eve, and offering Baptism on Christmas Day.  The Christmas sermon and music will be the same.  Please choose the one that is best for you.

Thanks for supporting your church in this great outreach event to bless our community!  Be praying!  I'll see you on Sunday!

Pastor Grate

With The Many Lights of Christmas starting tomorrow night (Friday night), I wanted to remind all of us about how we can help, and a few other things.

The Many Lights of Christmas.  Here are reminders and instructions:

• Remember that we serve the evening meal each night from 5:00 - 5:45 p.m. to those who are participating.  Around 5:20, we will pause for instructions and prayer, finish our meal, and get into costume and outside by 5:50 p.m.  The event begins at 6:00 p.m.  PLEASE don't hold things up by being late.  We are doing this for God and our community!  Let's give him our best!

• Remember to park on the EAST side of our building and enter through the East entrance.  We will block off the west parking lot to enhance the drive-through experience for our congregation and community.

• Remember, this year we are more intentional in reaching out to our Hispanic friends and neighbors!  Let's celebrate this new ministry focus for The Many Lights of Chrismas!

The Great Recovery - The Million Dollar Challenge!  Recently, we announced an exciting plan for SFC for 2012!  Let me review it in this weekly update.

With the precarious economic environment in our world, our country, our city, and our personal lives - the church board and pastoral leadership team believe there is no better time to come alongside our congregation to create a place, provide instruction, and build community where individuals and families can learn the principles of becoming debt free! 

We want to help you or your family to pay off personal debt in 2012!  You will set your own personal goal, but we believe that collectively, we can pay off a million dollars, or more, of personal debt in the coming year!  We are not only challenging you to pay off personal debt, but we will tell you how you can do it!  Although we cannot provide the money for you to do this, we will provide the instruction to learn the tools and strategies for debt retirement!

Most families fail to pay off personal debt for two very basic reasons: (1) They don't know how; (2) They try to do it alone.  Knowing that is true, we promise that you will learn how to pay off debt, and you won't have to do it alone!  I pray that scores and scores of people will become involved in this exciting opportunity to do something significant for you and your family.  Doing it together will make it tons easier than doing it alone!

Not only that, it is in keeping with the vision God has given us for our congregation - to become people of worship, relationships, and service.  When we handle money God's way, that is good biblical stewardship and, thus, an act of worship.  A large percentage of divorces are a result of long-term conflict over money.  Fixing this issue in the home will improve family relationships.  When you are on solid ground with your finances, you are in a better position to serve God, the church, and others around you. 

If you, or someone you know, struggles with credit card debt, receives disturbing phone calls from collection agencies, is fearful of losing your home, car, or possessions, feels hopelessly buried in long-term debt, and a hundred other scenarios - this is your time!

If you would like to retire with financial independence, pay off college loans, or send your kids to college on a cash basis; live with no car payments, have cash on hand for Christmas, household repairs, and more - again, this is your time! 

Our campaign will kickoff in January with all the information you need to sign up, jump in, tell others, and get ready for something that will change your life!  Then, on February 12th, we will launch a personal debt retirement campaign, using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace 13-week course on Sunday nights, during which the average person/family will pay off $5,300 of personal debt, while saving $2,700 for the future!  Who wouldn't want to experience such a successful result in their lives?

If you are already debt free, your participation will give you more tools to provide help and guidance for your children, grandchildren, other family members and friends.  You can give your testimony, counsel others, and be a great encouragement for others in 2012!  So, please consider taking the Financial Peace course, also!

Why continue to struggle with personal debt when you can get it under control, and learn how to become debt free?  Wouldn't that make your life better, your marriage better, your future better?  And best of all, you don't have to do it alone!  You will be one of many families experiencing the joy of financial peace!  Stay tuned for information in the coming days!

Final Comments.  Help us pray for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this blessed Christmas event!  Then, come prayed up and ready to worship the Lord of Lords and King of Kings on Sunday morning!  It is a privilege to be your Pastor!  Love you all!

Pastor Grate

Friday is the time to update you on things you may want or need to know about the weekend!  Here are some things to remember.

Festival of Lights Parade is Saturday evening, December 3rd, at 5:50 p.m, in downtown Colorado Springs.  Our church entry number is 12 in the parade, which includes our Cinderella Carriage and our Christmas Train!  Why not show up and cheer on our Christmas volunteers!  It will be fun!

Advent Series.  This Sunday, I will begin my series on Advent that will conclude on Christmas Day!  I believe it will inform, inspire, and bless you in amazing ways!  The sermons are finished, the notes are completed, and the slides are ready to bring you the greatest news about the greatest Person who gave the greatest gift mankind has ever received - salvation from sin!  We will also provide a December schedule with your bulletin.  See you there!

Anointing.  As is our custom, we will offer to pray with anyone during our prayer time who wants to be anointed for healing.  If this is something about which God is speaking to you, be ready to come forward for special prayer when we announce that time.

Special Prayer.  As we finish preparations to welcome the community to our campus for The Many Lights of Christmas, please join in prayer for a great event - no problems, no danger, no bad weather - and plenty of good opportunities to share the good news of Jesus!

Have a great weekend and I will see you on Sunday morning!

Pastor Grate

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day!  Let me be one of the first to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!  It is my prayer that you will reflect upon the many ways in which our great God blesses you!  Even in tough times, there are so many things for which to be thankful. 

Here are a couple of things to remember as we enjoy this special holiday weekend.

Hanging of the Greens.  This Sunday, November 27th, following the morning services, we will be decorating the sanctuary foyer, and helping with set-up and lights for The Many Lights of Christmas.  For those who want or need to work inside, we will be assembling the MLOC brochure and insert. We are planning on about 75 volunteers, based on sign ups.  Lunch will be provided.

Because of the holidays, there will be no work day for The Many Lights of Christmas this Saturday!  Enjoy this holiday weekend with friends and family!

Festival of Lights Parade is Saturday evening, December 3rd, at 5:50 p.m in downtown Colorado Springs.  Our church is entry number 12 in the parade, which includes our Cinderella Carriage and our Christmas Train!  Why not show up and cheer on our Christmas volunteers!  It will be fun!

Regular Weekend Service Schedule.  There is no change to our weekend worship schedule.  We are looking forward to seeing you this weekend in your service of choice!  It is the final sermon in our current recovery series!  See you  there!

Remember, there are no Wednesday night activities at the church tonight!

God bless you one and all!

Pastor Grate

The Great Recovery - The Million Dollar Challenge!  Last Sunday, we gave a teaser announcement about what is coming in January 2012.  Let me talk about it with a little more clarity in this weekly update.

With the precarious economic environment in our world, our country, our city, and our personal lives - the church board and pastoral leadership team believe there is no better time to come alongside our congregation to create a place, provide resources, and build community where individuals and families can learn the principles of becoming debt free!  Speaking with Dr. Bobby Huffaker this week, we both agreed that we have never heard of a church that has approached their congregation in such a helpful and pervasive way! But we are going to go for it!

We want to help you or your family to pay off personal debt in 2012!  You will set your own personal goal, but we believe that collectively, we can pay off a million dollars, or more, of personal debt in the coming year!  We are not only challenging you to pay off personal debt, but we will tell you how you can do it!

Most families fail to pay off personal debt for two very basic reasons: (1) They don't know how; (2) They try to do it alone.  Knowing that is true, we promise that you will learn how to pay off debt, and you won't have to do it alone!  I pray that scores and scores of people will become involved in this exciting opportunity to do something significant for you and your family.  Doing it together will make it tons easier than doing it alone!

Not only that, it is in keeping with the vision God has given us for our congregation - to become people of worship, people of relationships, and people of service.  When we handle money God's way, that is good biblical stewardship and, thus, an act of worship.  A large percentage of divorces are a result of long-term conflict over money.  Fixing this issue in the home will improve family relationships.  When you are on solid ground with your finances, you are in a better position to serve God, the church, and others around you.  

If you, or someone you know, struggles with credit card debt, receives disturbing phone calls from collection agencies, is fearful of losing your home, car, or possessions, feels hopelessly buried in long-term debt, and a hundred other scenarios - this is your time!

If you would like to retire with financial independence, pay off college loans, or send your kids to college on a cash basis; live with no car payments, have cash on hand for Christmas, household repairs, and more - again, this is your time! 

Our campaign will kickoff in January with all the information you need to sign up, jump in, tell others, and get ready for something that will change your life!  Then, on February 12th, we will launch a personal debt retirement campaign, using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace 13-week course on Sunday nights, during which the average person/family will pay off $5,300 of personal debt, while saving $2,700 for the future!  Who wouldn't want to experience such a successful result in their lives?

If you are already debt free, your participation will give you more tools to provide help and guidance for your children, grandchildren, other family members and friends.  You can give your testimony, counsel others, and be a great encouragement for others in 2012!  So, please consider taking the Financial Peace course, also!

Why continue to struggle with personal debt when you can get it under control, and learn how to become debt free?  Wouldn't that make your life better, your marriage better, your future better?  And best of all, you don't have to do it alone!  You will be one of many families experiencing the joy of financial peace!  Stay tuned for information in the coming days!

Thanksgiving Offering for World Evangelism.  Don't forget to bring your love offering for World Evangelism this Sunday!  Churches of the Nazarene around the world will be giving a "Thanksgiving Offering" to fund our world mission work in 156 countries and world areas.  Thank you in advance for your participation!

Hanging of the Greens.  On Sunday, November 27th, following the morning services, we are inviting as many as can, to stay to decorate the MMC foyer, and help with the final arrangement for The Many Lights of Christmas. Please sign up on your tear-off response panel attached to the bulletin, and drop it in the offering bucket.  We are planning a light lunch for everyone who will stay and work, and want to know how many to prepare for.  Thanks!

No Wednesday Activities next week, November 23rd (the night before Thanksgiving Day).  We trust that evening will extend your family time together!  We love you all!

Well, that's about it for now!  God willing, I will see you all on Sunday!

Pastor Grate