Propel Youth Homeless Outreach

When: Saturday, March 6, 2010

Time: 2:00 – 7:00PM

Location: Greenbrier Church

Address: 1101 Volvo Parkway

Come be the hands of Christ and serve the homeless a meal. This is a great opportunity to imitate Christ to people who desperately need Him. We will meet at the church to prepare and box the meal. Then we’ll head to Portsmouth to deliver the goodies to some folks who are not as fortunate as us, some folks that don’t have a home. This will be a GREAT way to show the ♥ of Jesus to others. Contact Joe Healey @ 573-5100 or Pastor Matt @ 214-5599 for more details. You can also sign up this week after church on Sunday or @ Propel on Wednesday.

Greenbrier Church 2010 Global Mission Trips

Here’s a sneak peak at the Mission Trips we will be taking in 2010. Please prayerfully consider where the Lord may be calling you to go. For more information contact one of the team leaders or Pastor Curtis.

Nepal

June 20-30

Led by Matt Ruckel

Focus: Evangelism and Trekking

Cost: $1800

Team Size: 10 plus leader(s)

Being physically fit is a pre-requisite. This team will trek from village to village over 7 days presenting skits, music, the Jesus film and conversations with indigenous people of Nepal. Applications approved by Global Missions Committee.

USA – Williamsburg, KY

July 12-16

Led by Jeff and Debbie Carlucci

Focus: Acts of Service

Cost: $450

Team Size: OPEN

Students get to invest your time and energy into s variety of mission projects (choose between Children’s Ministry, Games and Recreation, Social Ministry, Creative Ministry or Painting, construction, and yard work). During the day your students are challenged and stretched as individuals; in the evenings, you’ll have the opportunity to build group unity over dinner, worship, fellowship and devotions.

Armenia

September 10-19

Led by Terry Brew

Focus: Construction, Training

Cost: $1500

Team Size: 10 plus leader(s)

Finish construction of the Armenian Training Center for Pastors/Missionaries. Provide prayer covering, personal encouragement and support to Iranian leaders attending Pastor Eric’s training workshop. Applications approved by Global Missions Committee.

CrosStone Upcoming Events

The weekend of January 30th and 31st will be a busy one for CrosStone youth.  On Saturday, we will serve lunch to the homeless at the Oasis Soup Kitchen in Portsmouth.  Please meet us at the church at 10:00 and we will drive to the soup kitchen together and prepare to be the hands and feet of Christ as we serve others.  If you haven’t already turned in your permission form, please call Debbie Carlucci @ 546-1067 and leave a message letting us know you will be attending.   After we prepare, serve and clean up from the lunch at Oasis, we will stop at a local fast food restaurant and have lunch together.   Be sure to bring your lunch money!

On Sunday, January 31st, we will meet at the church at 3:00 to head out to the Winter Jam 2010 concert at Norfolk Scope.   The cost is $10 (cash) at the door.   We will return to the church between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m.  Invite your parents, siblings and friends–all are welcome!

This is always an amazing concert, so plan to be there!  To find out more details about the concert, go to www.hearitfirst.com/WinterJam/default.aspx.  

ThanksGIVING Outreach @ Geneva

ThanksGIVING Outreach @ Geneva
Tuesday, November 24th

See you there!

Here are directions to Geneva Community Center:

1) Travel I-64 East towards Suffolk.
2) Take the 296A exit and merge onto George Washington Highway
3) Turn left at Camelot Boulevard
4) Turn right onto Deep Creek Blvd
5) At the fork continue right to stay on Deep Creek Blvd
6) Turn right into the Geneva Mobile Home Park. The community center is located towards the back of Geneva Mobile Home Park.

Schedule @ Geneva:

6:00 pm Assemble Turkey Baskets
6:45 pm Pray for Families
7:00 pm Deliver Turkey Baskets to Families

Come out and be a part of this awesome outreach!

Nor’easter didn’t put a damper on CrosStone Outreach!

Our church family should be very proud of our CrosStone students.   In the midst of a dreary, rainy afternoon, fifteen smiling, cheerful CrosStoners arrived at Chesapeake Commons ready to serve the elderly residents.   They assisted residents in filling out “What I am thankful for” leaves to decorate a Tree of Thanksgiving, which we made as a reminder to these seniors that they do indeed have much for which to be thankful.  Many acted as waiters, serving food to those who attended the dinner, as well as delivering meals directly to the apartments of residents who were physically unable to attend.  Others prepared and served beverages, and at the end of the event, the kids helped with the cleanup.

I was priviledged to stand back at times, just watching the interaction of our youth with these seniors.  They were polite, respectful and in general brought great joy to these residents, many of whom do not have much occasion to spend time with young people.  I watched as our youth talked and laughed with residents, helped them with walkers and wheelchairs and took care of anything else that they saw was needed.  Over and over, I was called aside by residents expressing their gratitude and pleasure at having our young people come out to assist them with their Veteran’s Day/Thanksgiving dinner.   This morning, I was called by the manager of Chesapeake Commons requesting copies of pictures that I took so that they could be published in their monthly newsletter.

What can I say, other than, “Well done, CrosStone students, well done!”

CrosStone Outreach Reminder

Just a reminder to all CrosStone youth of our Wednesday, November 11th, outreach to the seniors’ community of Chesapeake Commons.  We will meet at the complex (located at 116 Gainsborough Square, just off Battlefield Boulevard, two blocks south of Chesapeake General Hospital) at 3:30.  We will help set up, serve and clean up for an early Thanksgiving dinner for the residents.  We may also have the opportunity to deliver meals to residents who are unable to attend the dinner.  In hopes of leaving them with a visual reminder of all their many blessings, we will help them decorate a “Tree of Thanksgiving” for which many of you helped make the decorations last week in our CrosStone meeting. 

Once we are finished with our outreach, we will go out to eat together (at a local fast food restaurant–no money required–it’s already covered!) before returning to the church by 7:00 for a movie night. 

We’re looking forward to seeing you at Chesapeake Commons!  If you’ve lost your permission form, I’ll have extras at the site and your parents can sign them as they drop you off.

Upcoming CrosStones Events

The CrosStones youth have heartily accepted the challenge to raise enough money to provide FIVE Thanksgiving baskets for the Greenbrier Church Thanksgiving Outreach to Geneva and Chesapeake Mobile Home Park families.  Remember to bring in all of your loose change (folding money accepted too!) each week as we try to “turn on the light” in the lighthouse Mrs. Stacy made for us!  We are also planning to help pack the baskets and deliver them on November 24th.  Let’s see if we can get 100% turnout for this event.

The CrosStones Fall Retreat is just about here!  Make plans to be with us and have a great weekend with your friends out at Triple R Ranch in southern Chesapeake.    There will be plenty of activities and awesome teaching as we enjoy a beautiful fall weekend at Triple R.  The cost is $70, covering all activities and accomodations for the weekend (Friday night, October 23rd through Sunday morning, October 25th).  Sign up soon, and be sure to invite your friends!  Permission forms are available in the CrosStones Room.  Call Jeff and Debbie Carlucci (546-1067)  or email questions to dlcarlucci@msn.com.

Taking Inventory of your Life, Heart, and Obedience

It always a good idea to take an inventory of your life at certain times of the year; to examine your heart; and to make sure your walking obediently to what God has called you to do. Take a look at this article and realistically look at yourself. Let’s take a moment to assess where we’ve been; where we are; and where we are headed.

May you find yourself in the middle of God’s hand!
Pastor Curtis

Here’s the excerpt from Mission Frontiers August 2009 magazine:

Taking Inventory of your Life Heart Obedience by Dorrel Dorr

Ralph Winter’s death has been the occasion for me to reflect more deeply on my life, to take inventory with a series of questions. You may wish to take a similar inventory of your life.

• Am I prepared to die? Am I afraid of death or of suffering before death? Am I eagerly anticipating heaven? Do I have any unfinished business on earth?

• Am I ready to live? Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and may have it in all its fullness” (John 10:10). Where is my life still lacking fullness? Where are my experiences and expectations feeble or attenuated? Where do I need to trust God more fully, to live life more deeply, to take more risks, to open my arms and my heart more widely?

• What has captivated my heart? Do my affections and ambitions need refreshment or realignment? Do I care about what God cares most about? Am I moving out into the broad, deep current of God’s purposes, or am I splashing around in puddles of my own making?

• Whose approval am I seeking? Am I living primarily in the fear of God and before the Audience of One? Where and when do I care too much about the approval of others?

• Am I a good steward of what God has given me? Do I understand what I have and hold in trust? Am I walking confidently in my calling, recognizing more clearly that place where “your deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger” (Frederich Buechner)?

• Am I aging well, and will i finish well? Who am I becoming? Am I a joy to those who know me best? Where have my coping mechanisms become calcified or counter- productive? Am I becoming more mature in my character while remaining childlike in my spirit?

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2 NIV

Global PEACE Trips 2009

Here’s our trips for 2009:

Nepal
Leader: Pastor Eric
Cost: $2400
Dates: Rescheduled for Fall
Ministry Description: Our team will primarily be equipping local pastors to lead their congregations.

Cuba
Leader: Pastor Curtis
Cost: $1600
Dates: July 17 – 25, 2009
Ministry Description: Our team will work on a construction project, evangelize the community, and equip local leadership. Much of the ministry is serving alongside the local church, its pastors, and the local body. You don’t have to go any farther than 90 miles from Miami to find extreme poverty and need.

Panama Propel Youth Trip
Leader: Pastor Matt
Cost: $1200
Dates: July 6-13, 2009
Ministry Description: We will be partnering with YWAM Panama. We will be working with orphan, doing street evangelism (drama, preaching, music), gospel presentation in area schools, and working with kids in a remote village. YWAM Charlotte will provide training for the group.

US – Greenville, SC
Leader: Jeff and Debbie Carlucci
Cost: $266 + transportation
Dates: July 26 – July31, 2009
Ministry Description: At MFUGE you can roll your sleeves up and get ready to jump right into ministry…our highly tranied FUGE staffers will take care of the details and facilitate the planning for each day. You and your students will get to invest your time and energy into a variety of mission projects (choose between Children’s Ministry, Games & Rec, Social Ministry, Creative Ministry or Painting, Construction, Yardwork . During the day your students will be challenged and stretched as individuals; in the evenings, you’ll have an opportunity to build group unity over dinner, worship, fellowships and Church Group Devotions.

Armenia
Leader: Pastor Eric
Cost: $2800
Dates: September 9 – 18, 2009
Ministry Description: Our team will train pastors from the Persian world.

For more information, please contact Pastor Curtis at (757) 819-1070 or via email curtiswilliams@greenbrierchurch.com.

Global PEACE Conference begins today!

This Sunday we kick off our annual Global PEACE conference. Our conference runs from January 11th through 18th. We welcome Tom Adleta from South Africa, Ramesh Sapkota from Nepal, Iris Aryan, and Justin and Heidi Long from Malaysia.

All of our missionaries will be in small groups throughout the week, eating dinner at homes, and meeting with staff to plan 2009 activities in their respective countries. I look forward to hearing from each of them as they share what God is doing around the world.

Let’s continue to pray for God to move and have his way at Greenbrier. May each of us be inspired and receive all these missionaries have to impart!

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