First Church Family,
I pray you are in good health and spirits. Important things are happening in our church family.
Over the past weeks, we have sought to recharge our youth ministry. During the past two years of COVID restraints, our Tara Hatton led us well. In the couple of months since she left the program to take better care of her family, we have prayed about moving forward and asked our congregation to assist us in recommitting ourselves to supporting a strong youth program.
Initially, we met with and received feedback from youth and parents and sought recommendations from the director of the Wesley Foundation and ASU. We were led to interview two ASU students. Our own Blake Bumgarner, a sophomore in Boone and a graduate of our youth ministry, agreed to serve in a volunteer capacity as a youth leader and counselor. And Ethan Smith, a 2022 graduating senior at ASU majoring in religious studies, who plans to move toward pastoral ministry as his life’s work, agreed to help direct the program and serve as a youth intern through the spring and perhaps the summer.
Both young men have done a remarkable job over the last month. Please keep our youth, their parents, and our youth ministry leadership team in your prayers as we move forward.
Too, this week we received word that the construction of the first of the wells we sponsored in Guatemala has been completed. More information will be coming our way and will be immediately shared with you. Thank you again for your support of our December 2021 Well Project. God used us to quench the thirst of thousands of his children in Central America.
And finally, we are continuing to promote the giving of special offerings toward funding relief efforts in Ukraine. Our own United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is one of the finest relief organizations in the world. Our individual Ukraine offerings will be combined and a check sent to UMCOR to provide food, clothing, shelter, and the Gospel to recovering and displaced victims of an unjust war.
God is strong among us! Please pray about these most significant updates in the ministry of our church.
Blessings,
Pastor Dave