January:
January got off to a rough start. Several of our Sunday and Wednesday services and board/committee meetings were canceled because of snow, subzero temperatures, and an ice-covered parking lot. Additionally, many in our congregation fell ill with the flu and other illnesses. Despite all the frustration, we were able to continue our firewood ministry that began in December, and the building committee began meeting and visiting other church fellowship buildings to get ideas for our new fellowship building! At the end of January, Rick, Dave, and Kevin set off on a mission trip to Nicaragua where they were able to assist in building projects and a VBS program.
February:
In February, we hosted missionaries Daryll & Verna Stanton, who served in Kenya for nearly 30 years before returning to the states this year. They were able to share souvenirs, pictures, and stories of the amazing work the Lord is doing in Africa.
March:
March was a time of much rejoicing as we celebrated our risen savior by combining Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunrise services with the other churches in town. We also enjoyed great fellowship during the annual community Easter breakfast. The children wrapped up the Easter services with our congregation’s annual Easter Egg Hunt following morning worship.
Also this month, our teens had the pleasure of hosting guest speaker Josh Cunningham, who shared his personal testimony. Josh challenged our youth to represent Christ well and to share His love with others.
April:
In April, our teens enjoyed a special night out at the movies with balcony seating for a showing of I Can Only Imagine at the Historic Tivoli Theater, and a small group of our ladies were able to attend the SWID Ladies Day event in Seymour.
Perhaps the most exciting part of April was the transfer of eight new members into our congregation. Praise God!
May:
In May, two of our gentlemen traveled to the NiCE (Nicaragua Christian Education) Foundation headquarters in Highland, IL, to volunteer their services by providing a much-needed paint job on the headquarter warehouse. Dave and Kevin completed two coats of paint on a section of the foundation’s two-story warehouse. Great work, gentlemen!
This month we also held our annual yard sale to raise money to help send our youth to church camp.
June:
June was quite an eventful month!
We kicked off the month with a celebration of our high school graduates: Alexis Flick and Terra Tritle. The church presented each girl her own Bible, and then we honored our graduates with a pitch-in dinner and graduation cake!
June was also the month for Vacation Bible School! This year, the children had a week of fun at Tumbleweed Gulch, where God’s love changes everything! Children joined a Sheriff’s Posse, heard a Buckaroo Bible Story, participated in some Gold Rush games, enjoyed a Rattlesnake Snack, and sang some Trailside Tunes—all while learning more about the Lord!
On June 21, a team of six from our congregation (ranging in age from 12 to 70) traveled to the NiCE Foundation headquarters in Highland, IL, to volunteer their services.
Mark, Rick, Paul, and Sarah helped make repairs to the warehouse’s second-story windows, while Anna and Brooklyn worked in the baby room, preparing layettes to be shipped to Nicaraguan hospitals. Sarah also helped in the baby room.
We closed out the month of June with several in our congregation traveling to District Assembly, which was conveniently held in Bloomington this year.
July:
The month of July began with our teen’s second annual Freedom Nazarene NYI Youth Retreat, hosted by Levi, Kevin, and Anna. They kicked off the weekend with an overnighter at Kevin’s and Anna’s house, where they set off fireworks and floating lanterns. Saturday morning, they headed to Turkey Run State Park for some fun canoeing and tubing down Sugar Creek.
Saturday evening, the group traveled to the Locked Up Bloomington – Escape Room Experience, an interactive adventure game where players are locked in a room and must use elements of the room to escape. The group came very close to escaping the San Quentin room!
Afterwards, the teens traveled back to Kevin’s and Anna’s home for another chaperoned overnighter before finishing out the weekend with morning’s worship service.
Saturday, July 28, was our annual clothes giveaway. This event is organized by Mona and is a gift of love to the community from those of us at Freedom Church of the Nazarene.
July 28, was also a time for several of the ladies in the congregation to enjoy a day of revival at WOW (Women of the Word), hosted by Shiloh Wesley Chapel at Owen Valley High School Auditorium.
August:
On August 26, we took a group field trip to see Christian comedian John Crist perform at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington, IN. We had a great time. However, in the midst of all our laughter, not a one of us managed to get a picture of the funny man.
September:
This month was a very special month for Pastor Chris as he experienced his first Walk to Emmaus. Pastor Chris will tell you that this was one of the most important experiences of his spiritual journey. Wednesday night Kids Caravan and NYI Youth Group services also resumed this month.
On Saturday, September 15, we enjoyed our fifth year participating in the Apple Butter Festival Parade. The crowd really seemed to love the music, and we were able to throw candy to children and pass out church flyers to adults! It was a great time of fellowship with each other and the community. We hope to continue this for many years to come.
On September 18, Rick, Mark, Paul, and Anna traveled to The NiCE Foundation headquarters in Highland, IL, to deliver 44 school desks that would be sent to Nicaraguan schools. The desks were donated from Owen Valley High School. The group also took a box of small toys, donated by some of the youth in our congregation. The toys would also be sent to Nicaragua. While there, the group helped make repairs to the foundation’s warehouse windows and sorted toys and clothes.
October:
October was Pastor Appreciation Month. Each Sunday this month we surprised Pastor Chris and Zoe with different-colored polo shirts, each with the church name embroidered in the corner.
Later that month we had a revival with Bryan Solomon and musician Mark Vice, through which we felt a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit!
We ended the month with a Pastor Appreciation pitch-in dinner.
November:
On Friday, November 17, our NYI youth group (chaperoned by youth leaders Levi Clark, and Kevin and Anna Smeltzer) pulled an all-nighter at the Southwest Indiana District SWID NYI Lock-in at Rose-Hulman Rec Sports and Athletic Facilities in Terre Haute.
The evening kicked off at 10:30 P.M. with a huge crowd listening to Pastor Josh Caplinger’s message that you cannot please God and play it safe!
Afterwards, the youth enjoyed a fun-filled night of pizza, snacks, swimming, volleyball, movies, basketball, bounce houses, and more!
December:
This month the gentlemen in the congregation continued their firewood ministry, delivering wood to six different families.
We also continued our annual Christmas Card project by signing, sealing, addressing, stamping, and mailing out 410 Christmas cards to the Freedom Community. These cards are meant to encourage the community, but they are also an invitation to join us in worship. Each card is prayed over specifically by the name on the address label, and we try to include a tiny bit of God’s word in each card.
We wrapped up the month—and the year—by partnering with the Freedom Methodist and Freedom Baptist churches to perform our annual community Christmas Cantata.
Above is just a glance at the many events and projects we were involved in this year. Additionally, we continued our blessing box ministry, our partnership with Owen Valley Backpack Buddies, our involvement with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, and more!
In summary, 2018 was a great year as we explored new endeavors and continued with many of our previous projects. The Lord blessed our efforts as we listened to His call and followed where He led us. We look forward to all the many blessings that 2019 has in store and, as always, we invite you to be a part of it.