Weekly Update | February 17, 2022
Weekly Newsletter 02/17/2022
Grace to you from God!
Dear church and all friends, we want to briefly share about what happened last weekend. College ministry had a winter camp. Even though there was no snow, it was still a wonderful time for fellowship and various activities. Every morning and evening there were fantastic services where we were studying the book of the prophet Malachi. The theme of the camp was “Integrity” (purity, honesty, fullness). I rarely praise someone openly but this time it is impossible to keep the joy of what we have seen in our hearts. At the camp we were with our entire family and we witnessed how the youth relates to one another, fellowships, participates in services, spends time at the campfire, and on top of that they showed us so much attention. I genuinely want to tell all that by God’s grace we have a wonderful youth in our church! We were greatly encouraged seeing the relationship between the youth that can be described with one word – family. During the question-and-answer time we talked a lot about ministry, the will of God, and relationships. Please pray that the young people would be involved in ministry, would be able to know and fulfill God’s will, and of course would also create strong families.
I want to specially recognize the ministry of home groups. If you are a member of the church but are not in a home group, quite simply, you are missing out on a lot. It is easy to get lost in the crowd due to the size of the church, and of course, it is always possible to find someone else to blame. However, one should not lose the sight of the responsibility of each to maintain fellowship, of which the apostle John spoke about: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7). The Lord Jesus Himself gave us an example of such relationship, withdrawing by Himself for the time of prayer and one-on-one communication with the Father. If we all were part of a specific home group, we will have organic accountability, a specific group of people we know, timely help, a closer relationship with the saints, and, of course, the spiritual care of leaders.
This Sunday at 6:00 PM the leaders of home groups are gathering for a monthly meeting to get equipped. Please pray that this time would be encouraging, equipping, and supportive for them, for their shoulders are carrying a lot of responsibility. Leading a group requires a lot of prep, logistically and in spiritual content. Praise God for the faithful ministry of all the leaders and their helpers.
The Scripture memory text for the next few weeks is – Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Important announcement: Kairos – God, the Church and the World! Exciting interactive study of the plan and purpose of God from the beginning of creation to the end of time and your purpose in that plan!
Kairos consists of many elements such as worship, presentations of least reached people groups and prayer, short devotions, videos, intriguing presentations on course material, textbook reading, homework, videos and material application discussions in spiritual growth groups, special activities for immersion in a cross-cultural context.
Join this course by registering at gfckairos.com and be prepared for a change in your worldview or a serious challenge in understanding of your mission on Earth. We will be glad to see you from March 25th to April 3rd at Grace Family Church. A detailed schedule can be found at the registration link.
Below are the services and meetings for this weekend:
Today, Thursday (6:30 PM) Children’s Bible School (open to all but required for parents), followed by Bible Study (Proverbs) for the whole church at 7:30 PM.
Sunday services:
- – Worship Service in Russian at 9:00 AM
- – Worship Service in English at 11:15 AM
As previously, due to the restrictions and orders from the health department, we remind you:
- – Keep social distancing and wearing masks in public places
- – Wash and sanitize hands more often
- – If you have flu-like symptoms, were in contact with a person with COVID, or are in the “high-risk” group, then we ask you to stay home
Elders of GFC