A Note From Chris - April 22, 2022

CHURCH!

What an incredible week we’ve had in the past 7 days. Good Friday service was powerful and meaningful. As we remembered the cross of Jesus, we were also reminded of our own sin and our need for Him. How grateful we are for His sacrifice. We wrapped up our “Famous Last Words” series that night as we talked about the words of Jesus, “It Is Finished.”

Then, Easter. I keep hearing from people how refreshing it was to feel more “normal” this holiday weekend than anytime in the past 2 years. I agree. And it was fantastic to celebrate with you. In total, we saw a greater weekend attendance than we have seen in 2 years. We saw 5 baptisms. We met new families. We welcomed Ones. We served faithfully. I am so grateful for all that Easter meant this year.

Since Sunday, our Shiloh Campus Student Ministry had an event called, “Next Steps Night.” Among other fantastic decisions for Christ, 11 students were baptized into Christ Wednesday night. Another student is planning to be baptized Sunday. Yet another person loosely familiar with our church attended Sunday, went home, and was baptized at another church this week. Recently, a custodian at the YMCA, where our O’Fallon campus meets, heard the gospel, experienced the church of Jesus, and was baptized into Christ in the pool at the Y.

We have been saying for months that 100 Days of Prayer is truly our BEST effort to align ourselves with the mission of God and the plans of God. While He does not make all things clear all at the same time, we are certainly seeing him move as we come to the conclusion of this focused time of prayer. Our mission, Connecting People to Jesus For Transformed Lives, is happening. 17 baptisms in 7 days is a great indicator of God’s movement among us.

This Tuesday, we will conclude the 100 Days of Prayer with a prayer and worship event at the Shiloh campus. It is a way for us together to say, “thank you” to Jesus for walking with us and drawing us closer these 100 Days. You can find out more info here.

We start a new series this weekend on some of the hard questions people ask about faith called, “Help Me Understand….” This weekend, we will cover the reasons we can have confidence in the resurrection. Other weeks include the following questions:

Why Should I Listen to the Bible?
Why Doesn’t God Just Love Everybody For Who They Are?
Why Is There So Much Suffering?
How Can A Loving God Send People to Hell?
How Can I Believe In God When Christians Are Such Hypocrites?

I hope you will join us and invite your Ones to come along with you. These sort of series often open up great dialogue in faith conversations. Together, we can all grow together and take Next Steps toward Jesus. See you Sunday!

Yours and His,
Chris VandeLinde