Tuesday Church Update

I recently received a report from Pastor Ed on the success of the Tuesday Church service. We are excited to share in the growth and success of this service and encourage you to continue to pray that it will be a great outreach to the community in order to win others to Christ.

Tuesday Church will celebrate its seventh year in the spring of 2012.

· Tuesday is the sixth worship service featuring hymns and familiar choruses.

· Growth has been steady averaging over 100 for the last few years.

· 2011 average attendance was 117 *2012 so far is averaging 130*

· Tuesday lunch is one of the keys for the growth – provides a time of fellowship for our adult worshipers – 80 -90 lunches are served every Tuesday – they look forward to that.

· Recently there have more and more first time guests worship with us on Tuesday

· Several baptisms and new partners have come as a result

· Opportunities for service include the lunch crew, servers and hosts, tech people in the visual/sound booth and of course several talented musicians.

· Our second annual Tuesday Christmas featured several talented people taking part and a record attendance of 375. 260 meals were served that day. Tuesday Christmas in 2010 was the second highest record of 306 and over 200 meals.

· The recent series of messages on Galatians, Job, Philippians and currently Matthew are available on-line or CD.

· The Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-7 will begin as a series on February 21, 2012

· Featured missions guests at the weekend service often return for Tuesday emphasis.

· Special music is often offered – Tom Shelton from Ohio was our guest for his third concert here last Tuesday.

· Hope Street is a local gospel group that has worshiped with us on Tuesday for the last several years. They are featured once a month for a special and have done two or three concerts for us on Tuesday morning.

· As for the future – Tuesday Church will continue when we move to Hand Avenue. There will be a smaller chapel for us to use.

· God has blessed this ministry and thanks to all those who have not only attended but have stepped up to help serve. We give you thanks.

It has been my pleasure to be your Tuesday Church Pastor for almost seven years.

Pastor Ed

Blessings abound on mission field

Below is an excerpt from the journal of one of our elders, Pat McCarthy, written while he was serving with a TCC team in March at the Red Sands Native American reservation in Winslow, Arizona. The account is from just two days, but it serves as a snapshot of mission work — the sacrifices and the rewards.

Tuesday: The 12 of us flew across the country wearing little wooden crosses around our necks, and also carried a few each to give to others. These crosses, hand made by Ralph Zellers, touched a young lady and her baby, as well as the stewardess on the plane. Tony hung a cross on a beaming security guard. Taking a bus from the airport to the car rentals, a family with their 90-year-old grandfather was having a time getting in, as the elderly man was crippled. We talked to them of our mission to Red Sands and hung crosses on the old man, his granddaughter and great grandson. They each lit up like a sunburst! At the rental place, Ralph, Cliff and Tony hung a cross on a young lady, and by God’s blessing, she gave us an upgrade to a Suburban with no extra charge! On the way to Winslow in that Suburban we laughed so much we ’bout cried! Once again the blessing of giving and the blessing of receiving!

Thursday: Started the morning with the children for chapel services, singing, praying, listening to their soft prayers: “God bless my Momma and Daddy, Grandma and Granddaddy and my sisters and brothers and my friends ….” Off to school and us off to work. It was a big day as we worked on the missionary house — continuing to frame it up, seal and caulk. After school, the ladies set up manicure and pedicure stations for the girls. They washed feet, massaged feet, cut toenails, put polish on toes and nails as well as gave each new flip-flops. It was absolutely amazing to watch these girls sit totally quiet and just smile and giggle for two hours. They were looking at their feet so much I thought they might walk into the walls! The men brought the boys to work on the missionary house. I just wish everyone could see the gleam in their eyes as Tony was letting them use the nail gun to put on boards. Ralph and Carl taught them to nail on stripping boarders. The boys just hammered away, working alongside all of the men throughout the afternoon. They just loved it. Those boys crave the attention from the men as they get very little male support in their lives. Sharen & Vicky prepared another great meal with spaghetti and we thought we were at the Olive Garden! We were so weary at night when we walked down to our Hogans, crawled into our sleeping bags & hoped the air mattresses wouldn't throw us off the bunk bed during the night. One night, Carl Hahn was not so lucky as he ended up on the floor!!