Teen Rally 2011: INTERVENTION
AT Arneson and his wife Marci graciously came in from Illinois and powerfully preached the incredible need for God's intervention in our lives. But that wasn't all, the rally was filled with amazing music by our boys trio Soul'd Out, the Cincinnati teen choir Voice of Truth, and my own band from school LayLo. About 200 teens from the Ohio Valley churches came to fellowship and worship our indescribable God along with about 40 friends of the teens from highschool. God truly blessed the 2011 youth rally, spurring on the hearts of hundreds of young people toward accepting and acting on God's intervention! Listen to AT's message here: Intervention (Teen Rally) - AT Arneson.
Marshall Hopkins – Appointed as an Elder in the Cincinnati Church of Christ
November 7th, 2010
Sunday morning was an exciting time as Marshall Hopkins was appointed as our newest Elder in the Church. Our current Elders - Joe Dilts, Jim Fulcher and Tom Meade all took a moment to share about Marshall and his family and to present the traditional ‘Shepherd’s Staff’. With his family (wife Marina and daughters Sjaya and Taylor) and the Elders' wives sharing the moment, the Elders placed hands on Marshall, prayed, and he was appointed as an Elder.
Marshall and his family are a great inspiration to all of us here in Cincinnati as they have shown time after time, through good times and bad, that their hearts are with us all. Marshall and Marina have been faithful Christians for over 25 years. They are courageous disciples who are known for their deep love for God's word and for their personal example. Marshall has served in many leadership roles in the church over the years and was appointed as one of our Deacons in the Cincinnati Church several years ago.
Paul wrote to Timothy special instructions regarding the appointment of overseers of the church. He wrote, "Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task." (1 Tim. 3:1) Certainly Marshall has set his heart on '…becoming whatever God calls him to be.' In that sense Marshall has set his heart on being an overseer of God's people. This is truly a noble and godly ambition. Yet, in spite of this great calling and the honor that comes with it, Marshall has often shared that he is aware that this is a calling that will require great sacrifice and servitude. He is prepared to make this sacrifice and he serves as an example to all of us.
SINGLES WOMENS RETREAT - 2010
Pure joy, through the laughter and singing from the single sisters, could be heard all throughout the campground this past weekend as 25 sisters from the Greater Ohio Valley Region came together to celebrate the wonder of God’s creation; US!! We spent our time together examining who we are through God’s eyes and not the World’s.
We invited each and every woman to Step through the Looking Glass and to enter a world where we are cherished and treasured for who we are and not what we do, or what we look like or even what we can offer. We explored the world of God’s love and we reminded each other of the beauty and creativity that resides in each of us, as a result of our creator and his vision for his little princesses.
We started the weekend out enjoying a Skit titled, “The Wonderful World of Anne”. From the very beginning you could see the battle that single women face each morning as we choose to look into either the ‘worldly’ mirror or the ‘Spirit’ mirror and how that 1 choice can affect the rest of our day.
There were many wonderful lessons that included reality checks, deep sharing and vulnerable life stories, life lessons including these reminders: God has brought us to a spacious place…He rescued us because he delights in us. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. We can’t hold on to the hem of Christ if we’re holding on to the past and one of my favorites from Lashelle’s communion was simply a reminder that we are all too capable of talking ourselves right out of God’s plan and vision for our lives. We are our own dream busters.
In addition to a great time of spiritual reflection we enjoyed hiking, a campfire devotional, and an Archery session that would make even the strongest man quiver in fear. All in all our weekend of stepping out of the world and into The Looking Glass of God's reflection was a huge success for our 2nd annual Singles Women Retreat and we are already looking forward to planning next year's event.
**If you weren’t able to make the retreat, I really hope you can find the time to spend with a sister who did attend and let her share the lessons from the weekend, and the joy of knowing what it is to reside in the cradle of our loving and fantastic Father.
GOSPEL FEST - 2010 Food for the Soul
Do you know what happens when you put a great cause, good music and fantastic performers in the same room? Drum roll please……..
The 2010 Gospel Fest!
On Sunday October 19th The Cincinnati Church of Christ hosted several choirs and individual performers who came together to worship God in song and praise. The good feelings began the minute you dropped off your admission price of canned goods for the Food Pantry. As you climbed the stairs and passed familiar and new faces on the stairs you began to get a sense of what was in store. There was a buzz…an energy…an excitement that only comes from knowing that something great is right around the corner.. and we were not disappointed; from the opening act to the closing performance God was honored and praised in ways that the young to the ‘seasoned’ could participate in and enjoy. As Gospel Fest 2010 came to a close there was one resounding testimonial from the crowd: WE WANT MORE!
Willa and The Cinci Choir The Super Choir
Derek The Prodigal Son Chase & Sarah Mackintosh
HOPE Youth Corps -2010
Two of our local teens attended an amazing HOPE Youth Corps event in Philadelphia this summer. In their own words, they tell us about this great experience:
Samantha Imfeld:
Hope Youth Corps was one the most rewarding experiences of my life. The friendships I built there are ones that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It was amazing being around people from so many different places and backgrounds. The thing that united us was the one thing we all had in common: God. We all helped each other by talking through spiritual and emotional challenges, encouraging, and holding one another accountable. The experience really began to uncover who I truly was, and where I was at spiritually. It exposed my weaknesses, and uncovered strengths I never knew I had. It was challenging at times but I learned the immeasurable value perseverance has on my character. I was called to trust God, and not my own experience and knowledge, to lead me to success. I know now that whatever challenge I have to face, God will always be there beside me, holding my hand and guiding me through. I had to have my heart molded and shaped daily to really learn how to love like Jesus, even when I wasn’t loved in return. I would not exchange this experience for anything, and would recommend it to anyone who isn’t afraid to be challenged and has the desire to make a difference for God and for the world.
Julia Dunn:
This year I had the amazing privilege of going on HOPE youth corps in Philadelphia. First let me just say that I wouldn't trade the experience for anything and I would absolutely love to do it again next summer! One of my favorite parts of the experience was building great relationships with other young disciples from all over the country. The theme of our youth corps was "Do Hard Things" and when you do hard things with other people, you get really close! The biggest thing I learned while in Philly was that I have to live like Jesus in EVERYthing I do and EVERY decision I make EVERY moment of my life. While on youth corps we shared our faith on several different campuses for a couple hours then had bible talks. It was super convicting to realize that I should be on the mission to make disciples everywhere I go every day, not just when there's a planned time for it. We also spent a large amount of time hanging out with and mentoring inner city kids from north Philadelphia. This was a new and very hard experience for me. My mentee was Martayah, 12 years old, and through working really hard to gain her trust and friendship I learned about Jesus' unconditional love. Jesus was so gifted at loving all the people around him no matter what the circumstance and I left youth corps with the conviction that I need to really step it up in that area. All the experiences I had during youth corps were major learning opportunities for me! I will never ever forget all the lessons I learned about doing hard things just like Jesus did.
To anyone out there who is thinking about going on a HOPE youth corps, I say you absolutely have to do it! Whatever it takes to get there, it is worth the sacrifice because this was an experience that will truly stick with me for the rest of my life. You will be so glad you went!! I am so incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to go to Philadelphia this summer. In the future I will always keep remembering the experiences I had there, including successes, rough patches, and just really fun fellowship. All these things motivate me spiritually every time I think about them and the lessons I learned while I was there. God is so good to me, all thanks to him for the incredible blessing of being a part of Philly Youth Corps 2010! :)
HOPE worldwide Cincinnati Blood Drive 2010 with more donations this year than last! Totally successful! 88 registered to give, and 79 pints collected. A number of people tried to give, but low iron counts and other reasons prohibited them. They still got to eat the cookies :)
Kathy Baumhardt, Laura Huesman, and Sally Grigg volunteer. Jeff Neuhaus donates a pint.
Joe King watches the process. Bianca Sidotti enjoys a joke.
OHIO VALLEY WOMAN'S RETREAT
Cincinnati women attended the Ohio Valley Woman's Retreat in Columbus on March 20-21. Churches from Ohio and Kentucky were represented. Candice Fathi from the Potomac Valley Church of Christ was the guest speaker. Great fellowship, challenging classes and motivating speeches were in abundance.
Cietta Stone, LaShelle Smith, Perm Truong Joan Bonner, Kim Issac, Marshell Dace, Debbie Dunn
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATED IN WORSHIP SERVICE
Chris Carter Tom Thomas
Dinner Served after Church George Wilson and Jim and Lyn Fulcher
Black History Celebration
If you were looking for good music, good fellowship and good food you found it this past Sunday during our Black History Celebration Service. The morning started with some great congregational singing and a special guest speaker; Mr. George Wilson. As a 6’8 high school basketball state champion, a college basketball national champion and Olympic basketball world champion, Wilson's name could easily be preceded by a string of impressive titles. Instead, he'd prefer people just call him "Big George”.
The choir held the congregation’s attention in a rousing rendition of ‘Shut de Do’ led by Will Underwood and the house was a rockin!! The morning continued with several congregational members speaking including Chris Carter whose knowledge of the rich history of our Cincinnati area was so impactful. His visualization of the Underground Railroad, the effort that it must have taken to make that journey and the symbol of what the Ohio River represented had us all experiencing it as it may have occurred; very moving and emotional.
Maria Neuhaus and Tom Thompson also shared their history, their past, & their experiences and as they each finished speaking you could look around and see the tears in the eyes of each member as they reflected on their own stories and their own history.
To close out the service, Elder Jim Fulcher gave the final closing thoughts and reminded us all that we are ALL a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and most importantly a people belonging to God.
As the service dismissed, and the doors began to open as people filed out, you could begin to smell the delicious aroma of some good home cookin’ coming from the Cafeteria. As you walked down the stairs, your mouth began to water and you just knew that the food was going to be awesome!! You were not disappointed. Rows and rows of food, in fact so much food that we had to eat in different rooms! We had greens, jambalaya, and 4 different types of chicken; fried, grilled, baked, and barbecued. The desserts, the breads and the pasta that filled the tables were a glorious site and a true celebration, Cincinnati style, was happening.
As the afternoon progressed and you walked around room to room, you could see young, old, black, white, Asian, Hispanic and such a wide variety of life stories all mixed together that you couldn’t help but think back to the truth of Maria’s statement from the service; “God is so diverse, we cannot possibly experience all of his goodness in just one culture”.
The Celebration Service came to an end around 2:00pm on Sunday, but the love, the fellowship and the sense of family and belonging will long continue to resonate in our hearts and our actions. Many thanks to all of you, who cooked, served, set up/cleaned up and for everyone who participated in the service.
John Cleghorn Appointed Evangelist.
Interview with John Cleghorn:
What does it mean to you to be appointed an evangelist?
I am humbled, honored, and grateful. I have served God and his churches full time in the ministry for over 13 years and from about 3 months old as a Christian I knew God was calling me to be an evangelist. My hearts desire was to be a man of God that could effectively minister and preach the gospel not through mere words but through a life lived in sacrifice and service to God. To be appointed as an evangelist here where I became a Christian surrounded by the men and women who trained me, loved me, and discipled me meant a great deal to me. I, in many respects, am an evangelist today because of the great men and women in my life here in the Cincinnati Church. I was also very grateful to be appointed an evangelist by Jim Fulcher. Jim has been a constant friend, leader, trainer, discipler, and example to me in his short time here. He is an exceptional church builder and to walk alongside him has been one of the greatest gifts God has given me in helping me to become an evangelist.
Does it change your day to day schedule?
Yes and no. In many respects I began leading and living as an evangelist before I was appointed. During the last 2 years I have been given more and more responsibility in training and preparing me to be an evangelist. Those responsibilities were given to me a little at a time to allow me to grow without overwhelming me. So over the last 2 years my schedule has changed dramatically as I continued to do all my youth ministry responsibilities and have added all the evangelist responsibilities entrusted to me by the elders.
What is your charge to the congregation as a new evangelist?
To Love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. And to Love our neighbors as ourselves.
Share some of your personal dreams and goals.
My first two are listed above! I really want to do those two things to the best of my ability. I want to lead my family in a way that pleases God and help each of them to love God. I want to be a good disciple and I believe this is one of the greatest roles for me as an evangelist!!! I want to become more effective at preaching God’s word and ministering to God’s family. I want to continue to learn how to raise up those around me to help them be more effective at using the gifts God has given them. I also really want to help some of my neighbors to become Christians. I want to become an evangelist who raises up other men to be evangelists who then in turn can be sent out to build up God’s kingdom.
Resume': I was converted July 28, 1993 on UC campus. I served as a campus intern here in Cincinnati for 3 summers under Tomm and Laurie Wilson. On March 22, 1997 I was married to Shannon and after returning home for one week we moved to serve in the youth ministry in Chicago with Tomm and Laurie. We served in the West Region of the Chicago Church of Christ for 4 years. During our 4th year in Chicago I contracted cancer and fought a hard battle for several months. After surviving cancer we moved to serve in the North Region youth ministry for 2 years under AT and Marci Arneson. After serving there for 2 years we decided to step out of the ministry and move back home. We were then hired here to serve as the youth ministers in the fall of 2004.
SINGLES PRAYER NIGHT 2010
The Singles kicked off the New Year with a Prayer and Praise Night on Friday! I thought the weather would deter people but God moved people’s hearts and it was AWESOME! Not only did we have a solid turn out but more importantly we just had a great time of singing, praising God and even confession. At one point in the evening we were praying and singing adoration to God in unison and the joyful noise that we made was incredible. We prayed for our families, our ministries, the church, the leaders of the World and that was just one segment. The time flew by and before we knew it, it was 12:30am and IHOP beckoned. We closed the evening down by bundling up in our snow suits and heading over to IHOP in Kenwood for all you could eat pancakes and hot chocolate!! It was a great chance to thank God for everything he’s doing in our lives and our ministry, to lay out our dreams and vision for 2010 and to ask for God’s direction and will to be made clear. We had a great time and we’re looking forward to seeing God continue to move in our ministry in the upcoming year.
Sarah Wiegman
CHRISTMAS PLAY 2009
Play was Shepherds, Sheep & a Savior by Ed Kee. Co-directed by Cyndie Imfeld and Nancy King.