GEMS Kick-off the Fall Season!

Our year is off to a great start! There are some big changes to the GEMS program this year, but, so far so good. This is the first year we do not have a combined program with Bethany CRC. Therefore, we are now meeting at Maranatha in the Children's Worship room and in the gym/kitchen area. We meet as a large group every other Wednesday with girls from our church and a few from the community. We have approximately 12 girls participating this year. Charrie Hemmeke is the Club Coordinator and co-leads with Jen Brinks. Lauren Hemmeke is our teen helper.

Our theme this year is LOVED and our theme verse is 1 John 3:1. We have been busy during our first few meetings learning about our theme through weekly lessons, prayer time, decorating our bulletin board (check it out in the Children's Worship room!), doing crafts and singing. Our theme song this year is Live Like You’re Loved by Hawk Nelson.

We have lots more fun in store for the girls in the coming weeks including baking cookies to share (snack time is always a favorite activity!), shopping for items and packing Care Boxes for the Holland Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving Banquet, and caroling at Resthaven Maple Woods as part of our Christmas party.

We covet your prayers as we teach the girls that they are Loved Period. Thank you for your support of the GEMS program!

The July Cooking Club

Did you know that Maranatha hosted a cooking club with ESCAPE students? Read more about it below!

On four Wednesday afternoons in July, some of our Maranatha members had the pleasure of cooking with six students from Escape Ministries. We met in our own church kitchen and had a lot of fun making edible floral bouquets, lasagna, apple pies, cookies, bars and muffins. Most of the students came with some cooking skills and seemed to enjoy each project. While items were baking in the ovens we played games. It was a great way to get to know each other!

Maranatha Media - October 2019

Come check out the new OUTER SPACE theme in our church library! And while you’re there, check out a new book or two.

2.42 Groups: An Introductory Guide

Below is the guide that was made available last Sunday evening. Feel free to reference it at any time here on the blog, and if any questions arise, please let us know!

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An Introductory Guide

The purpose of this document is to provide a few notes to help us all find our bearings for this experiment with 2.42 Groups. If you have questions that are not addressed below, please feel free to contact Pastor Matt (matt@maranatha-crc.com). As you consider what follows, please feel free to add your own nuances to your group as you see fit. Each group will have its own unique make-up and “culture,” and you should to tend to that for the well-being of your group. That said, here are a few notes to help your 2.42 Group get started.

For Hosts

First, thank you! Your generosity in opening up your home is much appreciated and is not taken for granted. As host, you need not do anything more than open your home and ensure an ade-quate number of seats for the members of your group. Of course, you may take more of a lead coordinating and facilitating your group if you wish, but you are free to allow the other mem-bers of your group take on these responsibilities. On a related note, when it comes to food, you may choose to do as much or as little with this as you would like—but please do not feel as though it is your responsibility to provide/make everything. For more on that, see below.

Food & Fellowship

One of the goals of 2.42 Groups is to get to know each other better. Because of this, you might choose to begin each evening casually with food and conversation. Having food is not a require-ment for 2.42 Groups, but there is something about sharing food and drink together that en-courages conversation and community. With that in mind, if your group chooses to incorporate food, please decide with the other members of your group—and with the consent of your host! —if you would like to eat a simple meal together or to simply enjoy a few snacks…and then share the food prep load as much as possible.

As for fellowship and conversation, you need not structure this time if you find that conversation among your group members carries on quite naturally. However, if you sense a need for a con-versation starter, you might invite each person to share a high and a low from the past week so as to gain a better understanding of each other’s day-to-day lives.

Singing

Once again, singing is not a requirement, but many people enjoy singing—and it’s a great way for us to join together to celebrate and affirm what God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ. Plus, singing has a way of causing what we believe to stick with us. So singing together isn’t a requirement, but you might appreciate trying to incorporate a song or two during each 2.42 Group Session.

If you do choose to incorporate singing, do so in a way that works best for your group. If your group has a pianist or a guitarist—and access to instruments—singing might be relatively easy to do. If you don’t have a musician or the necessary instruments in your group, you might sing along with a CD—or utilize a techie’s digital library and a bluetooth speaker. It’s up to you!

If you’re looking for a list of suggested songs—or would like help with obtaining printed copies of lyrics—Amber would be happy to assist you. Otherwise, decide as a group how you will deter-mine which songs to sing—and how you’ll see to it that you’ll be able to sing them.

Scripture

This component of 2.42 Groups is NOT optional J Since as a community we are committed to “Walking after Jesus” and “Doing all he Teaches,” the main purpose of our time together is to engage Scripture so as to be encouraged in our walk of faith and shaped for faithful witness to our Lord. How much time is devoted to this element each session will vary by group, but do your best to give this enough space to allow the Holy Spirit to guide your conversations.

Each group is free to select the Scripture passages they will engage together. That said, if you are looking for direction on this, you might consider reading and discussing one of the following passages each week: Acts 2:29-47, Luke 4:14-30, Luke 5:17-26, Luke 8:22-25, Luke 12:22-34, Luke 24:36-48, Acts 17:16-34.

Finally, regardless of the passage your group reads each session, you are encouraged to engage it together by considering the following questions:

·         What are you learning about God and about God’s love for us?

·         How is God drawing you to Jesus?

·         What is God revealing to you about yourself?

·         How is God prompting you to respond in faith and obedience?

Prayer

Lastly, you are encouraged to incorporate prayer into your 2.42 Group sessions. Each group will incorporate this differently, but take time to pray for each other, to give thanks to God for what you are discovering together, and to ask God to guide your group as you continue to meet.

Maranatha Bible Knowledge Project

We’re so excited to roll out our new Maranatha Bible Knowledge Project this school year! A few weeks back our students (3 years old - 12th graders) were all given a folder that contained information on this project, encouraging them to grow in their knowledge of Scripture through reading and memorizing Scripture. Students can be rewarded individually with gift cards to a local Christian book store. We are also keeping track of the collective points. If they reach the 20,000 point mark by the end of the school year, they’ll be rewarded with a celebration of sorts (watch the large chart from week to week on our bulletin board at church for their progress!).

The first mark was made this morning on our progress chart… the first 55 points have been charted, and we can’t wait to see the chart fill up.

May God cause our love for him - and our commitment to Jesus - to grow as we ponder God’s love for us. And if you have any questions about this project, please let Amber know.

Happy reading and memorizing, students!

Living as an Apprentice to the Master

I stumble upon — or am made aware of — several articles to read related to all things “church.” From “How to Build a Good Website” to “Planting Seeds of Faith in the Next Generation”, I could be reading articles from dawn to dusk. There are so many available to us these days! I’m sure you can relate!

However, sometimes you come across a really good one — one that really gets you thinking. This interview with Dallas Willard was dropped on my desk by a church member a few years back. It truly gets to the heart of what we strive to do at Maranatha, following after Jesus and doing all He teaches. Take a few minutes and read Living as an Apprentice to the Master, published by The Navigators in Christian Living on December 4, 2017.

I will also insert a shameless plug here for our Apprentice class that meets Wednesday evenings. A previous Apprentice member’s testimonial: "As Apprentices, we learn more and share the joy of being one in whom Christ dwells. It is a reminder of how special we are, how much God loves us, who we really are and WHOSE we are.” It’s the beginning of a soul-transforming journey to become an apprentice of the Master. If you’re interested or want to learn more, just ask!

Golf Outing!

It’s the time of year when you want to spend every minute outdoors as the seasons change from summer to fall. Here’s your opportunity!

Whether you’re an avid golfer or a beginner, you are welcome to join us at Winding Creek Golf Course on Saturday, September 28 at 4:00pm. Teams will be formed at the course, and will participate in a scramble.

And we can’t have an event without food! Spouses and families are welcome to come to the event building for a meal following the scramble (approximately 6:00pm). If you’re willing, please bring a dish to pass. Feel free to bring an outdoor (or indoor) game or two to share following the meal.

We can’t wait to see you all there and enjoy the Michigan outdoors!

2.42 groups

If you weren’t able to make our discussion last night, here’s what we talked about:

We are eager to launch a 7-week pilot program called “2.42 groups”, based on Acts 2:42 which says “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” 2.42 groups would take the place of our evening service during this trial period, and would take place in peoples’ homes, focusing on the five values of being relational, intergenerational, formational, invitational, and reproducible. This 7-week pilot program will take place on Sunday evenings from October 6 - November 17. After everyone has had the opportunity to sign up, intergenerational small groups will be formed.

We anticipate a typical Sunday evening to be hosted by a person or family of each 2.42 group. A group session may include the following format: food & fellowship, singing, Scripture, discernment and prayer.

If you have questions about this or are interested in learning more, please ask! Give us a call, shoot us an email, stop on by the office, or write a comment below.

Family Promise Sign-up

You’ll find this sign-up on the bulletin board outside the kitchen! Take a few minutes to read through the descriptions of each role, and sign up for any and all that you may be interested in helping with if Maranatha were to commit to partnering with Family Promise.

If you have no idea what Family Promise is, check out the previous blog post :)

Family Promise Opportunity

On Sunday night, September 8, we gathered at church to hear more from Tammy regarding a unique opportunity for Maranatha and several other churches in Holland. Family Promise, a national organization that seeks to find permanent housing for families by partnering with local churches, is looking to start a chapter in Holland. After many months of conversations and research, we’ve determined that our facility has ample size to house up to five families (maximum of 14 people) one week per quarter.

Now it’s your turn. This ministry will take some manpower in the form of bringing in meals each night, providing two overnight volunteers, move-in volunteers, and other volunteer roles. If you would be interested in serving families in this way, please sign up at church to show your interest in a role or two (or more!). If you have questions, please see Tammy.

Family Promise has given Holland churches until October 15 to commit to this ministry. If we don’t receive enough interest, then we will not commit to starting this ministry in our building.

To watch what Family Promise of Grand Rapids is all about, please watch the video below:

Words of Life from the Plains of Moab

This fall, during our morning worship, we’re going to immerse ourselves in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is a highly instructive book and a relevant book for every era, for it’s a book that prompts us to think hard about what it means to live as the people of God in the midst of the nations.

The book in its entirety, after all, is set on the plains of Moab, just across the Jordan River from the Promised Land. The Israelites have made it to the border. It’s almost time to go in. It’s almost time to take possession of the land God had long ago promised to Abraham. But first…the Israelites need to hear these words. These words from God through Moses. These words by which they are reminded who they are because of whose they are. These words which instruct them about how they are to live in the Land. As God’s called-out people. In the midst of the nations. In order that the Kingdom of God might be established and evidenced and esteemed here on earth.

So let’s dwell together in the book of Deuteronomy this fall, listening for how these words were meant to shape the Israelites of old—and how they might shape us as followers of Jesus today.

Welcome to Main Street!

Welcome to Main Street, Marantha’s blog!

The purpose of this blog is to stay connected to this community throughout the week and to keep you informed about what’s going on inside and outside our walls. There are so many awesome things that are happening in and around Maranatha that we don’t want you to miss hearing about.

So, let’s take a walk down Main Street together, and don’t forget to check in a few times a week.