Bible Studies/Teaching/Preaching:
The core of our time together as a church is teaching and preaching and Bible studies. It’s a huge part of what makes us tick. And lately, there’s been a wide variety. While Pastor Justin was guest-teaching in Menomonie early in January, Pastor Jesse taught on a Wednesday and Sunday about worship and persuasion, asking us to consider: who or what do we worship and are we compelled to share the desperately-needed truth of the gospel with those around us? A few weeks later, Pastor Tim visited from Menomonie and toured through the challenges to Christians found in Colossians 3. Routinely on Sundays, after finishing the ever-intense yet hopeful book of Revelation, Pastor Justin is turning our attention to a series of lectures on the basics of Christianity in the format of “Anatomy of a Christian.” So far, we’ve covered the Head, Mind, Ears, and Eyes and learned of our need for transplants, proper alignment, and barriers to and results of bona fide spiritual seeing and hearing. On Wednesdays, we alternate between the book of Jeremiah, men’s and women’s studies, video discussions around the Horizontal Jesus series, and shorter teachings with small group discussions.
Fellowship:
Bingo night. After so much relative separation, we got pretty desperate and Bingo was the perfect solution! The game itself is actually quite dry, but throw in a crowd full of twenty-to-forty-somethings dressed like elderly folk, add a nice meal of fish sticks, potato wedges and peas, and you’ve got yourself a party! But the real party didn’t start until we decided to live stream the whole thing and invite friends. Having people join from literally around the world was a special treat and it was a night to remember!
Sunday lunches started. After a long break, we brought back Sunday lunches – meals that are fast to make and a snap to eat. This allows us to linger long after the sermon, having communion, discuss with our neighbors what the sermon prompted in us, what’s going on in our lives and what God is doing through it all.
Super Bowl Party. A small group was able to gather the afternoon of the Super Bowl for a sweet time of enjoying one another’s company. It was bring-your-own-snacks and overall a simple event, but it was a great opportunity to be together and catch up on the goings-on in each others lives.
Service:
Kitchen training. After some at-home required reading, Matt led kitchen volunteers through the ins and outs of the “Church Lady Law” in a brief in-person meeting. The training provided very practical help in keeping food and people safe – allowing us to serve one another and guests with the care required to make meals an enjoyable aspect of church life.
Community group and Media Ministry started. Through posters, online presence, neighborhood events, and more, two new Duluth ministries seek to make sure the community knows we exist. Collectively, we’ve already had several meetings, including crossover between the two groups as these are intended to work hand-in-hand with each other, doing whatever we can to give the Twin Ports area the clear option to say “Yes, I’ll come to that church,” or, “No, I won’t,” rather than the recurring, “Never heard of it.”
Street Level. A meeting with some SL Menomonie folks just before the start of the new semester rolled into in-person weekly dinners and Bible Studies at the Garage. The Garage, Street Level’s next-to-campus meeting space, was recently re-insulated. It is reportedly toasty warm now, making the space even more welcoming to guests and regulars alike. In a key aspect of both online and local ministry and advertising, the Word on the Street magazine crew has been continuing the development process and recently submitted ideas for the next issue.
Prayer Requests:
It’s exciting to move forward, but each step certainly comes with challenges. Pray for our spiritual integrity, that we wouldn’t be intimidated by what the world or the devil or our Lord sends our way. That we’d be ready for what’s next, faithful in the not-in-public-sight elements of our lives, open to be helpful and helped by one another, and able to minister to the people around us.
-Karla
