grace guide winter 2011-2012

8/3/2019 Grace Guide Winter 2011-2012

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grace -community.org | 978. 256. 2626 | 1

Winter 2011 -2012



2 | grace -community.org | 978. 256. 2626

If you are new to this faithcommunity there are a fewthings I hope you will no-

ce: we are a group of real people, coming together, seeking God,suppor ng and loving each other, grow-ing together and a emp ng to discover

God’s movement in our lives… and learn-ing to move with Him. We don’t claim tohave all the answers, and we don’t claimto be ‘ nished products,’ rather we be-lieve God is at constant work in us.

When I joined Grace Community as theLead Pastor in August of 2007, wesensed that God had a new vision for our

church, “To restore people to God,through Christ, both as His crea on,and in His crea on.” This has served asthe basis for what we do, from how ourKid’s Grace and Student Ministries oper-ate, to our Community Groups, to ourOutreach e orts with ONE Love and in

Naivasha, Kenya. We see God’s plan un-folding in our midst, and we welcomeyou to be a part of that unfolding!

Some rst steps at Grace include ourNewcomers Desserts, which are heldquarterly; ge ng plugged into a Com-munity Group; and ge ng involved with

the Men of Grace, Every Woman , Mar-riage Builders, or any of the other greatministries we have here! Visit theStar ng Point desk to nd out more andto speak with some warm and welcom-ing people that would love to answerany other ques ons you have aboutGrace!

I look forward to ge ng to know you,and welcome to Grace!

In Christ,

Lead Pastor Rob Strong

Welcome to Grace. “Restoring people to God, through Christ.”




Join the journey: Connect into the life of Grace Community.

If this is your rst me connec ng with us at Grace Community, welcome!

We are a community that seeks to ‘restore people to God, through Christ.’ Believingthat the local church is the primary tool God uses to reach into the world, we are pas-sionate about engaging you with this community of Christ -followers.

The Journey:

1st stop: Pick a service to a end.

Sundays at 9AM Worship/ Youth/ Kid’s Grace

Sundays at 10:30AM Worship/Kid’s Grace/Adult Classes

2nd stop: Begin seeking LIFECHANGE.

Deepen your faith Join a Community Group. (list on Page 6)

A end a Discovery Class. (Sundays at 10:30AM)

Connect with the Men’s, Women’s or Prayer ministry.

Express your faith Find a ONE Love opportunity coming up, and join in.

Begin thing regularly.

Get Bap zed.

Share your faith Pray for your neighbors.

Seek genuine ways to share Jesus with people.

Begin wri ng down your faith story.

3rd stop: Serve. Find out where help is needed… O en in the Sunday Program there are needed posi ons listedsee if any of them seem like a good t… and give it a shot!

4th stop: Become a member. Membership classes happen quarterly, sign -up to a end. Visit Star ng Point to sign– up, or email: mikeadams@grace -community.org




Winter 2011 -12 Event Schedule

Christmas Eve Services:

December 24th, at 4PM & 5:30PM

Christmas Day Service:

December 25th, at 11AM

Winterfest 2011:

January 28th… Grace Kids: youdon’t want to miss it!

LIFECHANGE Opportuni es

Deepen Old Testament Overview ClassDoctoral Student Jamie Bryson willwalk you through this adventure.No, it won’t be too much for you. Infact, for many of you, it is me toface -your -fears and learn about the

rst part of your bible. Starts inJanuary 2012.

Share

Mission Lowell: Living WatersEvery day you have the opportunityto join Grace Community volunteersto serve the homeless at Living Wa-ters Center of Hope in Lowell. Weserve breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.There are games nights and biblestudies, in short, there are opportu-ni es for everyone.

Want to share a LIFECHANGE experience? We

would love to hear from you!Please tell us about how God

has worked in your life….

Email: mikeadams@grace -

community.org




At Grace Community Church, kids are important to us!

Our children’s program, Grace Kids is designed to help each andevery child know, love, and follow Christ . Through our SundaySchool Program, Vaca on Bible School, Winter Fes val andmany other ac vi es, we are commi ed to helping all kids grow

in their faith. Our vision is for all children to:

* Give their hearts to Christ.

* Relate to and develop friendships with others.

* Apply God’s truths directly to their lives.

* Care for others in the community.

* Equip themselves to share their faith with family and friends.

Grace Kids Director: Priscilla Sellers

Email: priscillas@grace -community.org

Each year we have hundreds of kids showup to two of our biggest events, Winter-

fest (an indoor winter carnival for ages12 and under ) and Vaca on Bible School(VBS). These are only a part of the great-er whole of Grace Kids, but they’re agreat chance to reach out to friendsand get them in the doors of GraceCommunity!

Nursery– Toddlers

We have great, clean and organizedenvironments for your li le ones tospend me in… they’ll be taken care of by loving volunteers.

Pre -K and Kindergarten

Learning Bible stories, spending mewith other kids, and loving volunteers,these kids have a blast on Sunday!

1st– 5th Graders

This year we’re working through the‘Orange’ curriculum, lled with appli-cable Bible stories and lessons… weare sharing Jesus with kids each week!

Sunday Mornings at Grace Kids—9am Service

* all volunteers are required to have a CORI check

Please plan to join us at 7 p.m. on Decem-ber 17 th at the church as Grace Communi-

ty’s Children’s Ministry presents, “The Rus-sian Shoemaker,” a touching tale thatdraws from Ma hew 25:40. The play(which 54 children from ages 5 -11 havebeen fervently rehearsing for over twomonths), depicts the story of an old shoe-maker in a Russian village who is wai ng forJesus to come. While Jesus himself doesn’tactually show up, he does send a widow, alamp lighter, carol singers, and a group of orphans, who cause the shoemaker to real-ize that, “...whatever you did for one of theleast of these brothers and sisters of mine,you did for me.”

Following the play there will be an intermis-sion with punch and treats followed by a

carol concert by the children, and a shortmessage from Pastor Rob Strong.

“There has been an amazing team of eightadults working with the children to makethis happen,” said team member Fiona Stu-art. “God is doing something in the heartsof our children that’s very exci ng. The kidshave really grasped what it means to giveand care for others, and they are enthusias-

c about helping raise money for others. Ithas been such a blessing to see them

grow.”

We hope to see you there!

All proceeds bene t Grace

Community’s One27 Academy& orphan children in Kenya.




We know the only thing thatchanges faster than the worldaround us is you, the middleschool student. You are emerg-ing from childhood, and to free-doms, responsibili es, and chal-lenges unlike any you have everexperienced before. The beau -ful thing is you do not have to goit alone. Come and experience

this emergence side by side with peers who know what you aregoing through, and adults who remember what it was like (or atleast they think they do).

Come, have fun, be challenged, and meet new, awesomepeople!

Uprising is a communityof high school students that are wrestling with what it means to be adisciple of Jesus in today’s ever -changing world. Our goal is not neces-sarily cultural relevance, but rather to be the impetus for a counter cul-tural movement. We want not just to t in, but to be change agents inthe world around us. We are the uprising.

We meet Sundays during rst service, or throughout the week at peo-ple’s homes for student led small groups. Beyond that we have all kindsof ac vi es, and service opportuni es throughout the year.

Do not just come... connect and invest.

grace student ministry Student Ministry Director: Jake ScoEmail: jakes@grace -community.org

Wednesday nights at 6:30PM...

E-Groups for kids 6 -8th grade… we havea blast… play games and work through alesson that builds faith! Don’t miss it!

Tuesday nights at 7:00PM…

Group -6 takes place for teens 9th -12thgrade… it’s a me of deepening our faithand being mentored! Join us!

Sundays at 9AM...

The Uprising and Emerge meet for ourSunday Service. Worship, a teaching, and

me to connect… see you there!

Living a God-Breathed Life Winter Retreats 2012

Middle School—January 27 -29th High School—February 6th -8th

Genesis says human life originated from God'svery breath. Timothy writes in his second bookthat the Bible is also brought to life by God'sbreath. This winter we want merge the two. Weare going to focus on not just the why, but thehow of living a life marked by the Bible, byspending the en re weekend giving the stu-dents tool to use while studying the Bible forthemselves.




Community Groups at Grace

Billerica

Brian and Marlies Henderson

Tuesday Nights Couples/Singles/All Ages

Boxboro

Jim Andreson

Sunday Nights Couples/Singles/All Ages

Chelmsford Je and Cricket Lomicka

Wednesday Nights Couples/Singles/All Ages

Li leton

Je and Margie Ro ee/ Bernard and Jackie Farrell

Tuesday Nights Couples/Singles/All Ages

Lowell

Jon and Marj Paige

Tuesday Nights Couples/Singles/20’s & 30’s

Ma and Michelle Bea e

Monday Nights Couples/Singles/20’s & 30’s

Wes ord

John and Fran Carroll Thursday Nights Couples/Singles/Older Ages

Grace Community

Grace Walkers (Tim and Carol Slighter)

Sundays 10:30AM Couples/Singles/All Ages

Chip and Karen Spengler

Tuesday Nights Couples with young children

Discovery Classes– Fall 2011

(Sundays at 10:30 AM)

Prac ce of the Presence of God – A classabout serving God in all things, great andsmall. Based on Brother Lawrence’s teach-ings. This prayer class begins January.

Star ng Point “Star ng At Grace”– Thisclass introduces you to Grace Community,and our beliefs, our history, and why weexist as a church, takes place February 5.

“Community Groups are one of thebest ways to plug into the life of

Grace Community Church.”-Pastor Rob Strong

inreach (adult ministries) Inreach Director: Pastor Mike AdamsEmail: mikeadams@grace -community.org




outreach Outreach/Onelove Director: Tobias Marx

Email: tobiasm@grace -community.org

Re ec on On November 13, Grace Community hosted our 2 nd annual FallClean Up day. Instead of having 2 services, we used the second

service to take our faith into ac on. This year approximately 350people from Grace Community assisted about 35 local familiesby ge ng their yards and proper es ready for the winter.

ONElove’s ministry highlight! Mission: Lowell is our vision to transform the city of Lowell intoa “kingdom” city—a community inspired and led by the Spirit of God to re ect the Kingdom of God. This ministry is an opportuni-ty to express and share your faith, plus it’s a great way to worktogether with your family and children. There are several waysto be part of Mission: Lowell:

Every 2nd Wednesday of the month, Grace Soup groups pre-pare soup for Living Waters Center of Hope, a homeless drop -in center in downtown Lowell.

Every 3 rd Friday of the month, we prepare and serve a meal atSt. Paul’s Soup Kitchen in Lowell.

Star ng in January 2012, we will partner with Living Waters inLowell to o er a Friday evening co eehouse -style worshipservice for anyone interested in a ending.

We are currently building rela onships with local schools. Wereally want to be able to partner with public schools to meetstudent needs. We have done school supply drives and wehave our own Christmas Surprise, a program that providesChristmas gi s to the most needy families in greater Lowell.

One 27 Update One27Academy.orgOne 27 is our ministry devoted to empower young people tobecome next -genera on leaders. Currently we are building our

rst One 27 Academy in Naivasha, Kenya. This Academy will be aschool and home to about 100 children of di erent ages. Overthe last 8 years we have built rela onships with our partners inKenya, and together we are planning to open the Grace Chil-dren’s Center Naivasha in January 2013.

ONEchild Updateone27academy.org/onechild ONElove o ers everyone the

opportunity to express love.One of the most meaningfulways to do this is to become asponsor for a child in need.ONEchild is ONElove’s OrphanSupport Program. Currently,we have 91 children—all or-phans in our care. Thirty -one of these children are in need of a new sponsor. Monthly sponsor-ships start as low as $25/month. For more informa on, pleasevisit our web site, one27academy.org/onechild.

Financial need ONElove’s nances are separate from the Grace CommunityGeneral Fund. This means we depend on God to lead us and toprovide for us. If you would consider suppor ng ONElove, pleasebe aware that the following ini a ves are our highest priori es:

ONEchild Sponsorships Bibles for the Prison Mission: Lowell One 27 General Outreach Fund

Love God | Connect People | Transform the World

ONElove is Grace Community’s outreach movement. As we go into the world to serve theneedy, we understand that expressing our faith is about moving our resources and our-

selves in response to human need. In par cular, we focus on the issue of poverty and from within that framework, three mainimpact areas have emerged: Child Jus ce | Tra cking | Housing. These are the ini a veswhich unite Grace Community and together we hope to use our skills, experiences, and re-sources to address these ini a ves both locally and globally.

You can express your faith by par cipa ng in any of ONElove’s ini a ves. To nd out more,please visit www.my1love.org.

The ONElove Team Tobi Marx Director of ONElove/Outreach

Karen Horsey Coordinator, Mission: Lowell

Shelly Clark Coordinator, Mission: Lowell

Chris ne Burdick, Sharla Tracy Coordinators, Fall Clean Up

Emily Marx Coordinator, Christmas Surprise

Laura Brown Coordinator, Lowell Schools

Rosalia Barber Grace Soup




Sta Execu ve Leadership

Lead Pastor - Rob Strong: robs@grace -community.org

Inreach

Associate Pastor - Mike Adams: mikeadams@grace -community.org

Worship and Arts

Worship and Communica ons Director - Ma Bea e: ma b@grace -community.org

Outreach

Outreach/ONE Love Director - Tobias Marx: tobiasm@grace -community.org

Emerging Genera ons

Pastor of Student Ministries - Jake Sco : jakes@grace -community.org

Assistant Director of Student Ministries - Kris ne Rego: kris ner@grace -community.org Children’s Ministry Director - Priscilla Sellers: priscillas@grace -community.org

Children’s Ministry Coordinator - Pa Quigley: pa q@grace -community.org

Administra ve Support

Administra ve Assistant - Joyce Goldthwaite joyce@grace -community.org

Finance Administrator - Laurie Bean laurie@grace -community.org

Elders

Chairman - Je Palmer: [email protected]

Vice Chairman - Chip Spengler: [email protected]

Jim Andreson: [email protected]

Fred Budd: [email protected]

Bill Kea ng: kea [email protected]

Brad MacPherson: [email protected]

Ted Ross: [email protected]

Rob Strong: robs@grace -community.org

Ministry Leaders Community Groups - Chip and Karen Spengler: [email protected]

Dish of Grace - Laura Schmidt: [email protected] EveryWoman Ministry - Mike Adams: mikeadams@grace -community.org

Marriage Builders - Leanne Winchester: [email protected]

Men’s Ministry - Bill Kea ng: kea [email protected]

Prayer Ministry -Jim Andreson: [email protected]

Star ng Point - Ma Bea e: ma b@grace -community.org

leadership at grace



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grace guide winter 2011-2012

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