Notes of Thanks, Welcome and Repairs

From Laura Woody comes this note to the Family:  “Your loving kindness during the sickness & death of my Daddy was truly overwhelming.  I felt the presence of the Lord many times during these past few weeks.  Thanks for your prayers (to) a gracious heavenly Father.  So many of you brought food to the house, came to visitation and did many acts of kindness for us.  We estimated that over 350 people came to visitation on Wednesday night to comfort us and honor our Daddy.  Thank you for coming to the funeral on Thursday and what a beautiful day it was!  We miss him very much.  However, we are forever grateful that Daddy is healed and in Heaven with his Lord and Savior.  Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers as we adjust to our new life.  Thank you, Church, Puppet Team, and our Sunday School class for the beautiful flowers.  We love you…..Laura, George & Jackson Woody, on behalf of the family of Harry Lee Davis”

A couple Sundays back a precious family decided to move into the Hill fellowship.  Meet Mike & Sherrie Moore, and their son Ryan!   Mike & Sherrie have already publically declared that Jesus is their Savior, and they have “advertised” that thru public baptism.  They’re ready to put their shoulders to ours & work for the Lord Jesus in the assignment He’s given our church.  When you see their smiling faces, give ‘em a BethelHillHugg

From Cal Berryhill, comes this recommendation of the Building & Grounds Committee about needed repairs.  After our meeting on Sunday, we’ll decide which of these to move forward on.

• tile repair of the roof over the sanctuary; currently we having to climb up & repair every time there is strong wind or storm.  Estimated cost: $5,500 for 25-year shingles.  Alternative is to do a tin roof at a much higher cost.
• replace the front columns with fiberglass; these columns are currently rotting.  Estimated cost: $4,767
• re-tile the front porch.  Estimated cost: $3,000-3,500
• clean the Lexan which covers the stained glass windows.  Estimated cost: $300
• provide two storm doors for the parsonage.  Cost: $400

Additionally, coming up in the future, we will need to discuss finishing the upstairs room on the parsonage.  As you know, Baby Evans #4 is arriving this year.  We do not yet have an estimate on this project.

The new parking lot that was asphalted recently still needs the seal to be done.  This cost, however, has already been covered in accordance with the last decision of the congregation.  No additional funds are owed on this project.

If you have any questions to ask Cal before Sunday, please call him at  336.598.1046.   We’ll have a discussion time before each item, but if you have detailed questions, it would be good to call him before Sunday morning.

Let’s all be in prayer, to know the mind of the Lord Jesus in these matters.  The Kingdom is not buildings…or stained glass finery…or nice-looking pillars.  None of these things will help people to know Jesus as Savior & Lord.  For hundreds of years, there were absolutely no church buildings at all.  In the first 300+ years after Christ’s assension, his followers gathered in homes to encourage each other, sing praises and study the Scriptures.  When Emperor Constantine took over the Roman Empire, he changed everything.  He said he conquored Rome under the sign of the Cross, so he made Christianity the “formal” religion of the Empire.  He structured Christian things to parrellel the pagan religions…this made it easier for the pagans to accept the new religion that the Emperor was requiring.  So “churches” were built next to pagan temples, “holidays” were established alongside the pagan days of worship, “denominational hierarchies” were established with “patriarchs” in several key cities in the Empire.  For the first time Christ’s Kingdom was organized along the world’s system.

The Reformation changed some of this, and the Anabaptists changed more.  In the Anabaptist history, we see a return to the early church times…without buildings, without formal pastors & hierarchies, etc.

So, why do we bother with all these things?  Because it is good stewardship.  We must care for that which is given to us, or it will reflect poorly on our Savior.  We must do this maintenance without undue expense…so that the money gathered by the Lord’s people is spent on the Lord’s agenda…that of reaching people with His salvation.  Our building must be safe, and it must be kept so that it does not deteriorate faster than normal.

Pray about these matters.  Search your heart.  Get the information you need.  And ask the Spirit to show you how you should move on these items on Sunday.