The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, “God’s Indescribable Gift!”  The word “indescribable” there means that there is no language on earth that is adequate to fully appreciate what Jesus did for us!   We had a good month in November with an average attendance of 375 in Bible Study.   Operation Christmas Child did another excellent job this year as we collected 971 shoeboxes as a church, and, as a collection center, we received a total of 4,165 shoeboxes this year.  Thanks to Nancy Cloudt and all who helped make this a record-breaking year!   Other November events were the Community Thanksgiving and Illumination services that we participated in downtown.  We also have been working with our 2019 Proposed Church Budget and expect our church to pass that budget on December 2^nd.   We are in the initial stages of our STUDENT/YOUNG ADULT BUILDING CAMPAIGN. Mark Brooks, our consultant with the company called Generis, is working closely with Kim Wall (Fund-raising Team Captain), Steven Bacon (Building Leadership Team Chairman) and myself. The campaign will really get into full swing beginning early winter, 2019.   We experienced a disappointment this past Sunday as our candidate for our CHILDREN’S MINISTER position decided to decline our offer.  Still, we believe that God is sovereign, and that “all things work together for the good of those who love Him,” so our Personnel Team is committed to seeing this search through and finding the person God has for us!   December has, among other things, some great opportunities:

A sculptor had ruined a huge piece of beautiful Carrara marble. It was left in the courtyard of the cathedral in Florence, Italy, for almost a hundred years. Artisans thought it was beyond repair, but in 1505, a young sculptor by the name of Michelangelo was asked if he thought anything could be done with “The Giant” as it had come to be called. Michelangelo measured the block and carefully noted the imperfections caused by the bungling workman of an earlier day. To his mind came the image of the young shepherd boy David. So he carefully made a sketch of that biblical character as he envisioned him.   For 3 years he worked steadily, his chisel skillfully shaping the marble. Finally, when one of his students was allowed to view the towering figure, 18 feet high and weighing 9 tons, he exclaimed, “Master, it lacks only one thing, and that is speech!” Michelangelo salvaged that gigantic, beautiful piece of Carrara marble. The word “salvation” means “to salvage.” To salvage something is to rescue what was intended for the garbage heap. God salvaged us when He saved us through the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  God rescued us and has made something worthwhile and beautiful out of our lives. We had a good month in October with an average attendance of 336 in Bible Study.   The kick-off for Operation Christmas Child went well on Sunday evening, October 14^th. The Canopy took place on October 25^th.  God is blessing this growing women’s worship event. Thanks to the Children’s Ministry Team members who worked so hard to put together “Trunk or Treat” on October 28^th. On Sunday, September 30^th, our church voted without opposition to build our STUDENT/YOUNG ADULT BUILDING. We have hired Mark Brooks, a consultant from a company called Generis, to help Kim Wall and our Fund-raising Team as we prepare for our campaign beginning early winter, 2019. A special thanks to Chairperson Steven Bacon and our Student Building Leadership Team for all of their hard work throughout this special project. Our Personnel Team has also made good progress in our search for a CHILDREN’S MINISTER.  We have narrowed down our search to two fine candidates and will be bringing one of them before our Children’s Ministry Team, our Deacons and ultimately our entire church family soon. November has, among other things, some great evening opportunities: