Community VBS in Big Sandy

An average of 40 plus students a night experienced the excitement and variety offered by the five churches in Big Sandy hosting the Community Wide Vacation Bible Study, "Trading Places," during the week of June 19-23. The participating churches included Gospel Lighthouse, First United Methodist, Solid Rock Christian Fellowship, First Christian, and New Beginnings Christian Fellowship. Each church hosted one night during the week. According to Jerome and Helen Ellard, co-directors of the VBS, it was a very successful week, with a total of 57 children (Kindergarten through teen) attending at least part of the program. They represented 17 churches, including one student visiting family in the area from Los Angeles! Some students attending had no church affiliation. This successful joint effort by five Big Sandy churches reaching out to such a diverse group of young people was a great testimony to the unity in Christ in our community.

Our congregation has been part of a movement bringing Christians together after we were for so many years isolated "behind the white fence" on the old Ambassador campus. This community-wide VBS was an outgrowth of a series of revival meetings held several years ago in Big Sandy, sponsored by several churches in the area. The main outcome of that effort was a coming together of the local churches for continuing joint outreach and cooperation in our community. It has been an amazing work of the Spirit.

The organization that came together to organize those original meetings and the three VBS programs we have jointly sponsored is called "East Texas Together For Christ," and we still have monthly meetings and potlucks for those interested in how we can work together for the cause of Christ in our area. I feel that this year's VBS was a breakthrough event in that we moved the venue out of being only at the WCG facility. Some in the community had seen this as WCG's VBS, but with five churches hosting one night each week, it was visibly a community of faith effort, not just one congregation's. We are looking forward to what God will do next. Jerome Ellard

	Vacation Bible Camp in Clarksville: The youth of Worldwide Grace Fellowship (Clarksville, TN) shared a fun-filled, Spirit-led, jam-packed Memorial weekend as they enjoyed their second annual Vacation Bible Camp. The youth, ranging in age from 4 to 19 (with the oldest ones serving as counselors), were divided into three groups of varying ages. Each group competed in team-building challenges while forging make-believe rivers, deserts and jungles of their Serengeti Trek. They crafted hemp jewelry, decorated picture frames, played kickball, watched an outdoor movie, slathered whipped cream on their favorite adults—with lessons of God’s love and his commission to the youth being interspersed between the activities. Sondra Peters
Clarksville Bible Camp: First row: Doug Tomes, pastor, Darin Owens, Keribeth Williams, Will Peters, Alex Davis (standing), Shelby Garrett, Mariel Tomes. Row 2:  Josh Porter, James Donovan, Lee Underwood, Sarah Underwood, Ashley Ramey, Jon Porter. Row 3:  Benjamin Owens; Quentin Nash, Mathew Davis, Christopher Davis, Kayla Williams, Valerie. Not shown: Sarah Powell. Below, One of the teams crosses the “desert” while trying to not leave any members behind.		Lee Underwood and Ashley Ramey show Kayla, Keribeth, and Sue Williams the ropes in bracelet making. Below, Ed Peters, Doug Tomes, Mark Powell, Darlene Davis and Tom Davis get a cream pie in the face, much to the delight of the campers.

Building dedicated in Rochester: Sunday May 7 was the dedication service for the new building we moved into in April. Previously we rented from a Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and that worked out for the most part because they worship on Saturday. Now that we have moved, we have the flexibility to come and go as we please, and use the building on any day we choose to do ministry.

The Lord has blessed us with some generous people who were willing to sacrifice time, talent and treasure to make this happen. God opened many doors for us to walk through, and has blessed our efforts. We are now in a better position to serve the community with handicapped accessibility, plenty of parking, and air conditioning. There were a few people in wheelchairs who could not be part of our congregation until now. We thank God for how he is using this little flock. Leonard Banks

	Left: Reading the many acknowledgments, and thanks to the people who helped with the construction. Above, recognition of the three men who put the most hours in during the construction. (The cross in the background was made by our expert craftsman, Dave Hoadley, standing in the middle. Right, prayer of dedication. Below left, communion table, created at a window used as a bank drive-up window by the previous owner. Dave Hoadley will build a wood frame to fit in the window. Below, fellowship after services, and it's always good to have cake!

Church dedication in Washington, PA: The Fountain of Life Church celebrated the purchase of their own church with a dedication service on June 18. Seventy people attended, which included many guests and former members. The service was led by Pastor Todd Crouch, with a presentation of the American Flag, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The presentation of the Christian Flag was preceded by a live performance of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. A special prayer was given to dedicate the church. Refreshments were served downstairs in the Fellowship Hall following the service. Shirley Collins

Events future  

For more details, see www.wcg.org/events

Sept. 16-23: Festival in Portugal.
Sept. 21-24: Celebration in Wisconsin Dells. See the July/August Together, p. 11.
Sept. 30-Oct. 8: Festival in Spain.
Oct. 6-8, Cullman, AL: Fall women’s retreat. Guest speaker, Ginny Rice; guest singer, Ann Hartmann. See the July/August Together, p. 11 or contact Ruth Miller. Email ruth.miller@wcg.org or call (205) 979-7321.
Oct. 6-14: Festival in Paignton, England. See http://www.wcg.org.uk/festivals/paignton/
Oct. 7-14: Festivals in Malta, England, Scotland, Ireland, and British Columbia, Canada. See http://www.wcg.org.uk/festivals/ and http://www.wcg.ca/2006_thanksgiving_festival.htm
Oct. 20-22: Regional conference in Missouri.
Oct. 20-23: Celebration in Seaside, OR. Guest speaker: Bruce Marchiano.
Oct. 28-Nov. 4: Festival in France.
Nov. 10-12: Regional conference in Florida.
Jan. 1-11: SEP camp in Australia.

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