HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to our first newsletter for a brand new year. As 2023 came to a close, as a church, we were experiencing the hand of God’s blessing on many of our ministries. That is our continued hope for 2024, that we will see even greater impact for the Kingdom of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As this new year begins, we have lots of updates in this newsletter so thank you for taking time to check it out.
CHRISTMAS EVE – WHAT A HOLY NIGHT!
Our Christmas Eve service was a wonderful celebration of the incarnational hope, peace, joy, and love found in the birth of Christ. The night was filled with classic carols, inspiring Scripture readings, and the traditional candle lighting to bring the evening to a memorable close.
Here are just a couple of pictures from the evening. We were so blessed by the turnout and the voices of everyone lifted up in song throughout the service. Thank you to the many volunteers, from the worship team, greeters, strategic communicators, the AV team, and many more who made the evening such a remarkable blessing for all. We could not have done it without you!
WELCOME TO 2024
I am not one for making resolutions, but I am one to set prayerfully hopeful expectations. This past year proved to be a blessing in many ways. We saw people baptized, others dedicated, an ever-growing youth group, and many new faces at Village Green.
In September we saw the largest influx of new attenders signup for Life Groups in over ten years. There is much more to celebrate but I wanted to turn our focus to the new year. There are many predictions of a potential recession coming to Canada, but we have already been through one – a spiritual recession. No matter what the future brings, people will never be able to endure it if lives are not awakened to the hope found in Jesus Christ.
What we experienced in 2023, was the seeds of a spiritual awakening. Though there is a segment of our culture that harbours deep animosity for the church and the things of God, for others, the last few years was a reminder of the fragility of life. God is opening the hearts of those who are seeking him and as a church, we need to be open and ready for what God is doing in our midst. Please join me in praying for 2024, that it will be a year of greater harvest for the kingdom as we continue to be a church that loves God, loves others, with a heart for changing the world.
JANUARY SCHEDULE
We have an exciting lineup for January. Here are all the details.
January 7 – We are celebrating the first Sunday of the year with Communion. As a reminder, we are now distributing the elements during the service. For those of you watching online, please prepare the Communion elements before hand if you want to participate. The message for this morning is an Introduction to Revelation. The message is an informative one for the 10-week Revelation series that begins the following week on January 14th. No group notes will be available for this introductory message but the PDF of the PowerPoint will be available on our website on Monday.
January 14 – The long-anticipated series on Revelation starts this Sunday. The 10 weeks of the series will run from January 14 to the week of March 17. This is also the beginning of the next session of Life Groups. If you are looking for a group or want to transfer to a different time or group, please contact the church at office@villagegreenchurh.com.
January 21 and 28 – We continue with parts 2 and 3 of our series on Revelation.
As a reminder, you can get the Life Group material on the Friday before the Sunday from our website at http://www.villagegreenchurch.com. Some hard copies are available at the Sunday services. You can also find the PDF of the PowerPoint on the Monday after the service if you want to make sure your notes are up to date. Lastly, you can catch the messages on our website, YouTube channel, or on your favourite podcast platform.
SOUP SUNDAYS ARE BACK!
Save the date of January 14 for the first Soup Sunday of 2024. It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to hold them. It will be held immediately after the morning service. There will be sign-up sheets for those wanting to make soup and to help with the teardown and setup of the auditorium. As a reminder, those who make soup need to have a list of ingredients for the soup you provide.
VILLAGE GREEN ON INSTAGRAM
Recently, we have begun posting short videos of the weekly messages. We are so thankful to Bruno Albuqurque who has been taking the time to edit and produce the videos each week.
They are on the Village Green Instagram page, so if you’re not connected, simply search for the church and when you see the familiar logo you found it. These videos are getting lots of traction so it is a good reminder to take the time to like and to share our content whenever you can.
Attached is an example of what is being posted on Instagram. Take time to follow us.
THEOLOGY JAM
We are entering into a new season for the podcast. We start the new year with a fascinating post on artificial intelligence being released on January 4. The prevalence of AI is affecting the church in surprising ways so this is one you don’t want to miss. We have many more coming and will be announcing them as they are released.
You can catch us on any of your favourite podcast channels, and if you want to leave a comment or suggest a topic, you can reach us at theologyjam@gmail.com.
GIVING THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
We appreciate very much your faithful giving as you partner with us here at Village Green. Here are the ways you can help us to continue making a difference.
1. Drop off your offering in the basket during the service on Sunday mornings.
2. Use the following link to go to the Giving Page on our website, www.villagegreenchurch.com.
3. You can give through e-transfer by going to envelopes@villagegreenchurch.com. please make sure your address is up to date and on file if you use this option.
EXPLORING LIFE AT VILLAGE GREEN!
Earlier this year we introduced our new “catchphrase” of EXPLORING LIFE. This was borne out of a desire to be seen as a church where anyone can come and feel they can learn about a life in Christ in a safe and authentic environment. Here again, is the promotional script, which I hope will inspire you as we begin a new year.
Life is a journey. From first breath to last, life can be full of adventure and excitement one moment, then full of doubt and pain the next. We can easily become disoriented by its complexity and overwhelmed by the challenges before us. Despite all that life can throw at us, we all want to have confidence that we are heading in the right direction: one that will help us to confidently navigate all of life with endurance and hope. At Village Green Community Church, we believe that Jesus points us to a better way, a better life, a better hope. Exploring life at Village Green is about exploring the way of Jesus. Come, and embrace the journey with us.
Blessings to you for a new and spiritually vibrant 2024.
We are so thankful for you.
Jon Korkidakis.