Living for each other.

The human body is the most complicated mechanism. The way it functions is absolutely fascinating. A strong and healthy body is actually built out of super tiny parts which we know as cells. They keep the body together and make it work like a flawless watch. The body cannot exist without cells and cells lose their meaning and function if separated from the body. This is a perfect illustration of the body of Christ and His church. There is no church without human beings- church members. This is the same way a human being separated from the church loses her/his place and meaning in the body of Christ. This is why the apostle Paul makes a strong emphasis on the importance of individual members and the unity of the spiritual body (1 Corinthians 12, etc). Do we do all it takes to keep our church a healthy and vibrant organism where every individual feels needed and appreciated?

Last Sunday night our church came together for our annual business meeting. It is at that meeting that we voted to embrace the ‘church cells’ concept as a complete makeover for our church. You’ll be hearing more from your pastors and elders about how you can be a part of this new nature of our church. If you are interested in learning and leading please contact one of your pastors and we’ll be helping you along the way. A training seminar will be scheduled in the next 2-3 weeks. Stay tuned. 

The business meeting also approved modified building plans and voted to start a building fundraising campaign called “Cornerstone Building Fund”.  These plans include a 510 seat sanctuary and new Sabbath school classes. I know we all hate to see how building material prices go out of control and we also do not like to pay interest on a construction loan. The more we raise now the less interest we’ll pay, therefore saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The goal is to raise 2.3 million dollars in the next 12 months! Any contributions to this fund need to be marked “Cornerstone Building Fund.” This line will be added to the online Tithe envelope ASAP. God is leading us forward! We do not want our children and youth to look back and say that we did not have the faith or courage to plan for the future ministry of this church. We are grateful to the pioneers of our church who stepped forward 50 years ago and built this church. Let us show that same faith in our vision for this wonderful Ooltewah SDA church.

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The men of our church were blessed with a great program last Sunday. Here is Edymar and Matt Geraghty reporting: For those who were not able to make the men’s breakfast last weekend, you missed out and were missed. Thank you to EVERYONE who showed up early to prepare the feast we enjoyed together. Below is a recap from Matt Geraghty and attached are some pictures.  “The dictionary defines POWER as the: ability to act or produce an effect! read more So very true, isn’t it?  At the latest edition of Haney’s Hungry Hombres, we had a [click here for the full report]