Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church

Climb to the Summit.

May 3, 2024May 3, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

Fear is real. Fear keeps many of us from achieving our dreams. ‘What if’ questions are like a concrete wall which shatters our hopes and the joy of life. What if I fail? What if people will laugh at me? What if I am not good enough?… There is no limit to all the “ifs”. Those that achieve their dreams fail many times but reach their desired heights on the hundredth attempt. Your God is BIG. He will equip you and will support you on your climbing to the very summit of your life’s goal purpose. “I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

The “Dinner With the Doctor” event, planned by our Health Ministry team, was absolutely outstanding. The participation from the community and from our own church was great. I believe there were at least a hundred and fifty participants. Everyone loved the food and appreciated the presentation. My weekly Ministry Award goes to Ann Weeden. She worked super hard in planning this event. A heartfelt Thank You to all volunteers who spent many hours before and after the program. We are blessed to have many volunteers who are willing to serve.

The “God is Love” series began this week with an introduction, looking into who John, the youngest of disciples, was. John enjoyed a more special friendship with Jesus than the other disciples and desired to always be close by His side. He wrote this letter “with a pen dipped in love.” Here is a picture of Javier, the youngest disciple who attended this week. – Greg Leavitt

This Sabbath Pastor Keith will preach Part II of his mini series on the true church. I hope you’ll not miss it.

Church Potluck is scheduled for May 11, that is next Sabbath. Please make a note that May 11 will be dedicated to the Cornerstone progress celebration. Let us also re-commit ourselves to a successful completion of the project in a few months. On May 11 we’ll have two walk-through tours of the new addition, Vespers at 6 PM and a social following the Vespers.

Some of you might have missed an announcement from last week about the house that needs to be moved from the church property for the new church entrance construction. Here it is again:

House Only For Sale and Must be Moved. No real estate. Located at 6235 Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd. Ooltewah, TN

House must be moved at the purchaser’s expense and the brick and block be removed by July 15, 2024. The best sealed bid gets the house. The cost to move the house and dispose of all brick and block is the sole responsibility of the purchaser. The house is in decent condition, has 1,269’, 3 BR, 1 BA with a 2-car carport. Original hardwood floors everywhere but the bathroom, and crown moldings in most of the house as well. HVAC only 1 year-old. The house is currently tenant-occupied, but will be vacant by May 15. There will be an open house on Sunday, May 19 from 2:00 – 4:00 so that all prospective buyers can see it. Sealed bids are to be mailed to: Ooltewah SDA Church Attention: Mike Doucoumes 9209 Amos Rd. Ooltewah, TN 37363 All sealed bids must be received by Friday, May 31, 2024

Here is an additional note from Mike Doucoumes: “The open house is on Sunday, May 19 from 2:00 – 4:00. If anyone is interested, they can call me at 423-903-1360”

Have a blessed Sabbath day.

Pastor Peter

God’s Light Is Still Shining.

April 26, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

Don’t allow the darkness of this world to block the light that is still shining every day. When I was only six or seven years old my dad showed me a printer page with one small black dot on it. He asked me what I saw. “A black dot of ink” – I answered readily. He looked at me with his wise eyes and said, “Peter, that small black dot is just a tiny spot in comparison with the whole white page in front of your eyes.” I never forgot those words of wisdom. Yes, there are block dots around us, but look around and you’ll see lots of precious souls shining bright with their love and grace. God has not given up on this world. Cheer up, His light is still shining.

Last week a hundred and fifty volunteers from our church joined hands with two other area churches in packing food for starving children around the world. In three shifts we packed 100,000 meals! This is so awesome! Thank you, volunteers. I wanted to take a few photos, but our station got so competitive (typical Galena 🙂 ) that I forgot about my phone. It was a super rewarding experience. I was happy to have our daughter Barby and her husband Jared at our station. We definitely had fun. Sorry, no pictures, but y’all did a great job! Lucas Patterson, my weekly Ministry Award goes to you for putting so much passion and hard work in planning this exciting project! Thank you, Lucas and all the volunteers.

The Adventurers ended their year with a splash! Last Sunday we held our annual Investiture service. We looked back on a year of fun memories, reflected on the many Bible promises we’ve learned about heaven, and each child received all of the awards they’ve earned this year in our pinning ceremony. After that, we shared a final fellowship meal before celebrating at the pool! We are so very proud of these kids and their families! Please continue to pray over them as they continue to learn and grow in Jesus. – Staci Rivera

A couple of weeks ago our volunteers once again showed great Christian love by getting up super early on Sabbath morning and preparing breakfast for 150 homeless individuals in downtown Chattanooga. This is a great testimony to the caring spirit of our church. Thank you, Richard Johnson, for dedicating many hours, if not days, to spearhead this ministry. You have a great team there, including the singers and musicians.

Here is what Greg Leavitt shared with me this morning. “Series 3 of our Christian Growth prayer meetings begins this next Wednesday, May 1, 2024, and is called “God is Love.” We will be studying the book of 1st John. We want to encourage anyone who is looking for opportunities to grow their faith through encountering God’s love to take advantage of this special new series. This is a great time to start attending! We anticipate God’s special blessing and the outpouring of His Holy Spirit! There will be singing, testimonies, sharing, engaging, prayer, and study. We hope to see many more members come out for this time of worship and fellowship.”

Thank you, Greg, for your leadership in this important aspect of our church life!

Last year our church purchased property on Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd for the new driveway to our church/school campus. It is time to start the work on that new driveway and new entrance to our church. To start the work, the house needs to be moved from the property. Basically, there are two options: one, the house will be demolished; two, someone buys the house structure and moves it to their own land. Below is the official announcement which you may share with your friends or family:

House Only For Sale and Must be Moved. No real estate. Located at 6235 Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd. Ooltewah, TN

Click here to see the floor plan.

Please remember in your prayers Don Cantrell, Hope Stricker and David Love.

Have a wonderful Sabbath day. See you tomorrow.

Pastor Peter

Live to Serve.

April 19, 2024by pastor peter2 Comments

Jesus came to serve. There is joy in serving other people. Think about someone in your neighborhood or in your apartment complex. You may serve by sending them a card or bringing them a fresh loaf of bread. Think about a woman you know going through a divorce; you can serve her by giving her a few minutes of your attention. Think about a man who lost his income; you can serve by offering his family a meal. Living for our own needs and joys deprives us of the lasting joy of living for others.

The Adventurers have had a very busy couple of months! In March we joined 46 other clubs from across GCC for the annual ADV Family Fun Weekend event! A little rain Friday evening couldn’t dampen our spirits! We had a wonderful time and were richly blessed by our time there. We’ve held our last meetings of the year and this Sunday we will celebrate the accomplishments of all our kiddos with our Investiture Service at 4pm in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome to come and show support for our Adventurers and their families. Even as our year comes to a close, please continue to hold these precious children and their families close in your prayers. – Staci Rivera

Thank you, Staci, for the strong and creative leadership you and your team provide to our Adventurers.

The ladies had a wonderful time together at the Women’s Retreat at Cohutta Springs this past weekend. The theme this year was Daniel 3:17-18 “Even if” and we are grateful that God is with us through our trials. A couple ladies created a beautiful interactive centerpiece which represented the theme. It will be displayed in the lobby for a couple weeks. Feel free to drop by! – Summer Bradford

For the last several months we’ve been preparing for a big Feed My Starving Children event. Here it comes. Tomorrow, April 20, is the day! A hundred and fifty volunteers from our church and three hundred more from the other two churches (Methodist and Silverdale Baptist) will be preparing food for thousands of starving children around the world. You’ve were probably contacted by Lucas Patterson this week, but just in case you weren’t, here is the message:

Thank you so much for signing up to volunteer with the Feed My Starving Children mobile pack event this Saturday, April 20.

Specifically, you signed up to help with the 12-2 pm shift.

The Ooltewah Seventh-day Adventist Church is thrilled to partner with Silverdale Baptist Church and Ooltewah United Methodist Church on this service/missions project. If you’ve never participated in a mobile pack, this video will help you visualize it before you even begin volunteering that day.

Please arrive at our event site – Ooltewah United Methodist Church, 6131 Relocation Way, Ooltewah, TN – 15 minutes before the shift starts and we will check your name off our list. As volunteers enter, you will be asked to remove all jewelry except wedding rings and medical tags. In addition, you cannot bring in any food or beverages where the food is being packed. But most importantly (ha ha) … be sure and take a picture of your family/friends in the blue hairnets while you’re there. It’s a fun souvenir!

One final note: We would appreciate your help making this special day of service one that has a local impact, too. Any non-perishable food items you bring to the mobile pack event will be donated to the nearby Apison Food Pantry.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email or a text/call on my mobile.

Thanks,

Lucas

This morning, I went inside of our future sanctuary to pray about this important project. You can do the same from your home or your office. I invite you to make it a regular daily or weekly event, a prayer for the new phase in the ministry of our church. Make it personal. Start praying about your son or daughter, your neighbor or your friend to come to this new sanctuary and to find Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you are interested in joining hands with me in this continuous prayer, please text or email me the day of the week you’ll pause to pray about the people who you’d want to come to the new sanctuary to worship the Lord. I’ll create a weekly calendar for the whole church. We are here to serve our community. Jesus will come soon, but He called us to serve and to work with Him daily. He doesn’t want us to dig a whole and to hide our blessings. Let’s get excited about the time we live in. Let’s give our best and be a light to this community.

Here is a small video clip of the future sanctuary. The drywall is going up.

Have a blessed Sabbath day,

Pastor Peter

Muse Upon The Things Of God

April 12, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

“There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord. . . .”
Charles Spurgeon.

The seminar is starting tonight at 6:30 in the Fellowship Hall. Ty Gibson speaks about issues we deal with at the present time. Those who attend four of Ty’s presentations will get one of his books as a gift from our church. Child care is offered on Friday from 6 to 8 and on Saturday from 2 to 5 PM.

If you signed up as a volunteer for the Feed My Starving Children event it is taking place next Saturday. If you haven’t had a chance to do that yet please contact Lucas Patterson and he’ll be happy to add you to the list. All 150 of us, plus the same number of volunteers from two other churches (Ooltewah Methodist and Silverdale Baptist) will work together to provide food packets for the children in the hunger stricken parts of the world.

Last Sabbath we witnessed the baptism of Nikolas Kremenetsky. Nikolas was super excited. He’s been waiting for this event for the last several months.

On Thursday I walked through the new Sabbath school classes and the new Sanctuary. There were many construction crews actively working on various parts of the building project. Drywall is being hung; electricians are finishing pulling wires; almost all AC duct work is installed… I stopped in the middle of the new sanctuary and prayed about many people from our growing Ooltewah community. I prayed about us, as a church, meeting their needs and leading them to Jesus. On May 11 we’ll have a special Sabbath dedicated to our Cornerstone project. Our May potluck is moved to May 11. That day we’ll ask our Building committee team to lead us all on a tour through the new addition. That same night you are invited to a big social event with Sabbath Vespers. We’ll celebrate the progress of the Cornerstone project and we’ll pray about finishing it in a few months with the minimum borrowed money. Please put May 11 on your calendar.

While walking through the new addition I took a couple of photos and a short video. It is definitely not the same as being there in person, but just a for-taste of what you’ll experience on May 11. New Sabbath school rooms for the children are super spacious and full of light! New sanctuary will allow us to worship together and to accommodate many school programs. Thank you for your faithful support of this Cornerstone project.

See you tonight.

Pastor Peter

Keep Trying

April 5, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

This morning I received a text from our daughter Dasha with a photo of her flower bed where, possibly, a raccoon dug out the roots of the flowers she planted yesterday. Emojis of tears accompanied that photo. One thing I know about Dasha is that she will not surrender to the “precious” animals of the woods. She is determined to make her yard look perfect. What about the yard of our life? The beasts of life are all around us. They usually come at night, when we expect them the least. Illness, loss of faith, broken marriage, etc. They try to dig out the very root of our happiness. Don’t let them win. Get your shovel and keep working on your life. Plant that flower bush again. It will eventually grow into a beautiful tree of God’s creation. “That is why we are not discouraged. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day. ¹⁷Our suffering is light and temporary and is producing for us an eternal glory that is greater than anything we can imagine.” (2 Cor. 4:16-17)

This Sabbath you are invited to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. There is a place card with your name at the Lord’s table. He is waiting for you to join His dinner. During the first service we’ll also witness the baptism of Nikolas Kremenetsky and during the second service a baby dedication for the Fuller family. I hope you’ll not want to miss one of the services tomorrow.

There will be no potluck tomorrow as our monthly Fellowship meal is moved to April 13 when Ty Gibson will present a Bible Study seminar. Please note that Pastor Gibson will start the seminar on Friday night, will have two different messages on Sabbath morning (9 AM and 11 AM) and two additional presentations after potluck.

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Have a blessed Sabbath day.

Pastor Peter

The Power of Christ’s Resurrection.

March 29, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

It was the power of God that brought Jesus back to life. (Rom. 10:9) If you feel you are in the grave of your sufferings, that power is still available for you. If you are in the cave of your sins, destructive habits, or uncontrollable anger, that resurrection can still be yours. In a dark place of disappointments, past or present hurts, emotional wounds, depression or confusion? Ask for God’s power of resurrection. It brought Jesus back to life; it can also bring you back to a whole life. Don’t linger in your grave for too long. There is still hope for you. Christ is a powerful proof of that. “So consider yourselves dead to sin’s power but living for God in the power Christ Jesus gives you.” Rom. 6:11

Southern Adventist University will host its annual SonRise event this Sabbath. Our church will be opened for both worship services. I plan on worshipping with you tomorrow.

A few days ago I walked through the new new church addition. I was excited to see the drywall going up. The new Sabbath school rooms are spacious and full of light. The new sanctuary is shaping up as a great place where our whole congregation will be able to worship together, and our school will be hosting its many events. I prayed in the middle of the new building thanking God for the miracle of His provision for this growing community. Your faithful contributions made this possible. To come to this point in the building project we have spent $3 million. April will be the first month when we’ll have to draw from the Conference loan. However, if we all come together and double or triple our giving to the Cornerstone fund we may continue without a loan. Everything is possible with the Lord!

I am so glad that we have many children in our church. Last Sabbath four of our grandchildren enjoyed the worship service. Below is the proof 🙂

Wishing you a blessed Sabbath day! Jesus is our Risen Savior!

Pastor Peter

Living For The Others

March 22, 2024by pastor peter1 Comment

We all have things that we want for ourselves. It may be a quiet time to read a book, a new gadget, attention and compassion from the others. All that is important and needed. How about thinking of the things that other people around us need? Do we act like ‘that’s not my business’? or ‘I have enough on my own plate’? Living for others is actually rewarding. It does require some rewiring in our brain, but it helps us to find true meaning in life. No exquisite vacation or fancy car can be compared to the satisfaction of a life given to the service to others. Have you ever thought about a personal application of the words of Jesus, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”? (John 15:13)

The Adventurers have been very busy with meetings and events this year! We had a lock-in at OAKS in February, which was a fun filled time for all who were able to come. This weekend we will be camping at Cohutta Springs Youth Camp for Adventurers Family Fun Weekend. We have been working hard on preparations for that and are praying for fair weather and many blessings for the families attending this year! Please hold us close in your prayers this weekend, as well! – Staci Rivera

Many of you signed up for the Feed My Starving Children event taking place on April 20. We still need more. I do not want any of you to miss the blessing of providing food for hungry children around the globe. If we call ourselves Christ’s disciples we are to help the needy and to feed the hungry. Please find Lucas Patterson in the lobby this Sabbath morning and talk to him about this ministry opportunity.

It is tonight, March 22 at 7:30 PM, that the Forest Lake Academy choir will perform at our church. Come and have a peaceful Friday night Vespers.

This Sabbath our emphasis is on the global mission of the world-wide Adventist Church. The worship service will be led by the Gospel Outreach team represented by the Melashenko family. You’ll hear beautiful music and singing and an inspiring message by Lonnie Melashenko.

Have a blessed Sabbath day.

Pastor Peter

Living Like Jesus

March 15, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

Spring reminds me of our spiritual growth. Galina and I planted a few boxwood shrubs last week. We couldn’t afford the large size plants, so we settled on the tiny ones. The next morning after planting these shrubs I went outside to see if they grew. Galina laughed at me. It takes years for these plants to grow, and that’s how we grow in Christ. It’s not about waking up one morning and being an awesome Christian. It is about a few kind words today, a smile tomorrow, and a helping hand next month. Don’t wait until the fall. Start today.

Once again, our volunteers spent several hours early Sabbath morning at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen feeding the homeless community. Richard Johnson reported that they fed 160 dear individuals who needed help that day. Here is a brief statement from Richard:

And I must say, praise God from whom all blessings flow, the Holy Spirit led the security guard to come and ask for my testimony which led into a spiritual sharing in which I could tell some seeds were planted. Also had some good encounters on the way out giving Steps to Christ out and people really thanking us for the good meal wanting to know where we were from and when we would be back. Praise God!

Last week I was preaching at the Slavic mini-camp meeting in Collegedale while our church had Clifford Goldstein as a guest speaker. During that service Owen McCormick was baptized by Ron Maloch! Congratulations, Owen!

The Church business meeting last Sabbath night was well attended. There were several reports and updates on a number of items. Aaron Brewer, building committee chairman, presented a report on the new building process of the Cornerstone project. The new sanctuary and the Sabbath school classes are shaping up according to schedule. We hope to move into the new sanctuary by the end of the year! The business meeting overwhelmingly voted to add $70,000 to the overall construction budget towards the additional Mothers’ room and an additional Sabbath school room (instead of the big storage room). It was so good to see that our church cares about young families. The church also reviewed the option of chairs vs. pews and the majority voted to go with the chairs. That will definitely help to offset the additional expense for the Mothers’ room and will go better with the modern look of the new sanctuary.

Let us continue to pray about the finances for this major project. So far we have raised close to 3.4 million dollars and have not borrowed any money. Wouldn’t it be great to finish the project with no debt? I hope all of us will continue to support this building project generously and faithfully. To finish the project debt-free we’ll need an additional $2.5 million. That amount includes a new driveway from Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd, repaving existing parking, providing new audio and video equipment, and furniture for the sanctuary and the Sabbath school classes.

Seventy volunteers signed up for the Feed My Starving Children event on April 20. That’s exciting. Eighty more are needed. I suppose some of you are not aware of this service opportunity. Please talk to Lucas Patterson, who coordinates this project. You’ll find Lucas in the church foyer before and after the worship services. Once again, below is a link to a video which will help you learn more about this event.

Next weekend, March 22 and 23, our church will host two big events. On Friday night the Forest Lake Academy choir will sing at 7:30 and the Gospel Outreach ministry will lead both services on Sabbath, March 23. My special friends, the Melashenko family, will sing and preach that morning.

The dates for Ty Gibson’s Bible seminar have been changed due to Easter weekend. The new dates are April 12 and 13. Please make a note of this.

Have a blessed Sabbath.

Pastor Peter

United In Christ

March 8, 2024March 8, 2024by pastor peter1 Comment

It is hard to be around those who are different. We feel awkward around them. We have a certain prejudice against them. Maybe they have a different mindset. Maybe their theology is different, or their political, moral and social views have nothing in common with ours. Their culture is strange. We prefer the company of those who are in our camp. The world is getting more and more divided. Wars and political battles erect giant walls of separation. I was reminded of the blessing of unity when we hosted guests from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and the USA in our home for dinner last night. It seems unimaginable due to the current political landscape, but we had a great time together. This is what being an accepting Christian is all about. Try it. It is awesome. See the photo below.

Greg Leavitt sent me the photo below from the Wednesday night Prayer meeting/Bible study. It is so great to see the blessings many of our members and guests receive from this spiritual program.

Last week you could see Lucas Patterson in the church foyer signing up people for the Feed My Starving Children event. If you participated in this event a few years ago you know that between three churches, we can pack 100,000 meals in one day for starving children around the world. I see that as our mission and as a huge blessing. Please, see Lucas this Sabbath and sign up for this one-time event. Donations for the food items that go into these meal packs can be given to the church Benevolence fund. Thank you, church. This brings to my mind the words of Jesus, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat’ (Matthew 25:35) The video below will help you see this program in action.

This Sabbath evening you are invited to join our big night starting with Vespers at 6 PM. We’ll sing together, hear a devotional thought from God’s Word, and share testimonies. After Vespers there is an important business meeting followed by the ice-cream social. Who wouldn’t want to come?

Here is a lin k to the Business meeting agenda and supporting documents. It would be very helpful if you download the file and familiarize yourself with the reports and the items presented for your review and your vote. There will be a paper packet available, but the most current version is available only online here.

Clifford Goldstein is preaching tomorrow for both services. This weekend, starting tonight (Friday night) I am preaching at the local Slavic camp meeting. I’ll see you on Sabbath evening for our big night.

march-2024-church-business-meeting-packet Download

Happy Sabbath.

Pastor Peter

Let Jesus In

March 1, 2024by pastor peterLeave a Comment

I am a product of a culture where people did not make appointments to see their friends or neighbors. You would just get to their door and knock. There were no phones to warn them about your arrival. You just showed up and no one complained. That was a time in which you could have a simple and an easy visit with an element of surprise. Jesus tells us that He is standing at our door and knocking. He may be a “surprise visitor” for you, but I hope you’ll be excited to see Him when you finally open the door. Sort of like when you see your loved one coming home earlier from his/her trip and you start jumping and yelling while being filled with joy. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.

In my last blog post I mentioned the Ministry Fair event. Below are a few photos from that night. We have awesome leaders in various departments. Thank you, everyone, for your commitment to God’s work.

Last Sabbath we had a flood of visitors who came to hear Pastor Doug Batchelor preach both services. A special blessing was having the orchestra and the choir beautify our worship services. Our hearts and souls were uplifted by their awesome music and voices. Thank you, Mary Wilcox and Larry Otto. Thank you, musicians and singers.

Later that night Larry Otto sent me a photo from the Vespers concert with the following note:

“These are pics from the Orchestra Vespers Concert on Sabbath evening. There was a good turnout and the musicians and leaders did an inspiring, excellent program. Larry”

Meanwhile the Pathfinders had a great time at their Teen Camp at Cohutta Springs. Here are a few photos shared by David Reynolds.

This Sabbath you are invited to stay for the Fellowship meal (potluck) after the second service. What a great way to make new friends. I hope that many of you will join our Sabbath meal and fellowship.

This Sabbath Pastor Keith is accompanying the church youth and young adults to the REGENERATE festival. We’ll miss them at church, but I am confident that they will have a great time at this event in Cartersville, GA.

Lots of great things are happening at our church in March. First, we are seeing the exciting progress with our new sanctuary and new SS classes. Thank you for keeping this major project in your prayers and for your faithful financial support. So far, we have not taken any loan money for the Cornerstone building project. Let’s keep it that way! You contributed over 3.3 million. Praise God. The total budget needed is at least 5.5 (including all the furnishings, new road and equipment). You’ll get a full update next week at our church business meeting. I am inviting you to come on March 9 at 6 PM for the Sabbath evening vespers followed by the business meeting and ice cream social after that.

Next Sabbath we have a guest speaker to deliver the word of God. My good friend, Clifford Goldstein, will preach about God’s provision for our salvation. Unfortunately, I’ll not be at our church that morning as I am doing a mini camp meeting for the Slavic community in our area. However, I’ll definitely be back for the evening activities at our church that day.

The Health Ministry team is starting the Stop Smoking seminar. It is still not late to register or to invite your friends and family members to participate.

Once gain this year our church will join hands with two other area churches (Silverdale Baptist and Ooltewah United Methodist) for the Feed My Starving Children packing event on April 20. We need all of you as volunteers. For the next few weeks you’ll be seeing Lucas Patterson in the church lobby with the sign-up sheets for this program. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to help hungry people around the world. Actually we are not only packing but also buying food for these packets. Between three churches were need to raise $30,000 for the 100,000 MannaPack® meals. If you want to contribute please mark your donation for the Benevolence fund. Our church needs to raise $10,000 to pay for our portion of the meals. God bless you.

Wishing you a blessed Sabbath day.

Pastor Peter