Christmas Eve Services Boom

Wooster Grace welcomed 2145 people to our four Christmas Eve Services.  Each was packed.  The six o'clock hour numbered over 1000. 

I loved the different musical formats.  The Traditional services (6pm & 8pm) lead the audience in several Christmas carols. My favorite was 'O Holy Night."  The Contemporary services (6pm & 11pm) directed attendees to sing variations on a few carols. 

Nevertheless, the message remained the same in each service.  How does Jesus intersect with your life?  Using intersections as the analogy, you were challenged to consider how your life intersects with Jesus at Christmas time. 

I personally loved how the worship team responded to comments from last year.  They worked extra hard to create two types of servcies.  One point of feedback came from those who would have liked a candlelight service option for the traditional at 11pm.  Otherwise, I discovered many who loved how things worked out.

Christmas Concerts Packed

We praise God for this year's attendance at our Christmas concerts = 1650! Wow!  What a great job by a huge team of people in our church who gave up hours of time to create a wonderful challenge to make the First Christmas the prominent part of a Christmas celebration.  Way to go Randy Moomaw, Teri Myers, & Brad Frederici and their teams! I am looking forward to tonight's Christmas Eve services.

Impact Cambodia & Portugal for Christmas

From GBIM website, please pray for Kane's and Hawkins as they reach out during this Christmas season.  Check out two other places where GBIM missionaries are using this holiday to share about Jesus (link).

Pictures from give-a-christmas 2009

Christmas Concerts for the Community

First Christmas, portrayed vingettes from a variety of stories.  Whether a mom hiding in a bathroom from family and new additions to the family Christmas or a mourning spouse dealing with the loss of a loved one for the first time at Christmas, the segments would appeal to many in our community.

One other story so poignant is the first Christmas while a family deals with a divorce.  The storyteller shared how Christmas was not about a small tree or no tree.  It was about being together as a family and working through the challenges of a split home.  Our program tried to speak into the lives of those who are facing a Christmas in a first-time kind of way.

Interspersed throughout were timely songs emphasizing the message of the birth of Christ.  You can glorify God even when your Christmas is not what you expected it to be.  When everything changes for the worse, what next?  Trust Jesus. 

I wonder if you invited someone to the Christmas program.  Please let me know. I'd love to hear your story and pray for your friend who came. 

Give-A-Christmas 2009

This morning Wooster Grace mobilized 151 people to reach out to 59 families: delivering 29 decorated Christmas trees, 238 gifts, and dozens of Christmas cookies to families in our community who would have nothing for Christmas this year.

Times are hard.  It's difficult for a lot of people.  But praise God we were able to help families in our network of relationships here in Wayne County.

My family delivered gifts to two families. Both families were so appreciative.  They listened to our presentation of the Christmas story from Luke 1 and heard the Gospel message as well.  We asked for prayer requests and they gave the following:

• Pray for good health
• Pray for a job for anyone in the family
• Pray for disability insurance paperwork to be approved
• Thank God for your church for helping us out
  

Here's a flyer to help you invite others

Thanks to Janet Beaver, our ministry specialist--publications, provided this for me. I am posting it here so you can invite others to any one or all of our events this holiday season. 

You can email me at dbutler@woostergrace.org so i can send you the pdf file for printing on your own.