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Tonight fuzion, our 5th/6th grade ministry at Hesston MB had a service project to collect food for the Hesston Resource Center. Here are a few pictures:

I'm proud of our 5th/6th graders and the great job they did at Schowalter Villa tonight. It was one of our service projects where we delivered Valentines and played BINGO with residents. Here are some pictures:

fuzion is our mid-week ministry to 5th/6th  graders in Hesston. Each year we do 3-4 service projects. Tonight was our first one and we did four projects at the church. Here are some pictures:

Last night, fuzion participated in a service project at Harvey County Homeless Shelter in Newton. Here are a few pictures:

If you know me, you have heard me talk about the difference between obligation and relationship.  Many times our service for others can look the same outwardly, but inwardly can be based either on obligation or a relationship with Jesus.  The difference is huge. Joseph Prince writes the following in his book, The Power of Right Believing : "When you understand God's grace and forgiveness, you will understand the difference between obligation and relationship.  Under the new covenant of grace, the motivation for right living has been changed. Under the law, right living is done out of religious obligation. Under grace, everything we do today is birthed out of an inward motivation that flows directly from a love relationship with Jesus." Do you agree or disagree?

Today, I am participating in Watch D.O.G.S at Molly's school.  It is a great way to serve at your child's school and provide additional security as well. I also wanted to inform my readers that I began a new ministry opportunity.  I have joined the 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting Team.  I will be sharing more about this in the days ahead. But today, I wanted to post a picture from their Facebook page.

On Thursday of last week, I continued reading Creature of the Word: The Jesus Centered Church by Chandler, Patterson and Geiger.  I think I will be recommending this book to many people in the future.  The chapters I read last week focused on service and multiplication.  Here are a few quotes for you today: "Guilt-driven serving is the antithesis of Jesus-driven serving. . ."  "Wise church leaders will preach the gospel and provide opportunities for people to serve in response." "Churches centered on Jesus constantly remind their people how Christ has served and continues to serve them. And this becomes the one, the only, the supreme impetus for serving others." "Our real lives are a daring connection point between God and men for the healing of broken lives and a broken culture." "Regardless of where we, or the people we serve, are in spiritual maturity, we are instruments in the hand of God to see all things reconciled to God ...

We had about 25 fuzion students for our service project tonight. They collected over 400 items to benefit the Hesston Resource Center. Great job serving God and our community.

Here are some pictures from our family service project at MCC. We were able to make about 200 school kits in less than 2 hours and would have done more if we had not run out of supplies. Thanks to everyone who came today!

Today, Hesston MB is hosting a single parent's day out. This gives single parents an opportunity to go Christmas shopping, enjoy some time alone reading a book or sipping coffee, or get some projects done at home. I have some great workers who volunteer their time in service for this event. Thank you to Jennifer, Joanna, Travis, Jared, Sara, Mike, Nancy, Isaac & Morgan! It is a great way to serve your community and be a blessing to single parents during the Christmas season. The picture below is the schedule that I have put together that seems to work well. How will you seek to minister to single parents this Christmas season?

Last night, I had the privilege of taking 30 5th & 6th graders to serve at the Harvey County Homeless Shelter.  fuzion (name for this ministry at our church) participates in several service projects throughout the year.  They have already made MCC Kits and will do a couple more after the first of the year.  Whoever is concerned about the younger generations has not spent much time with these kids.  Not only did they work hard, but they also had some great questions and observations.  See a few pictures below. Praising God for their service and for their futures!

Today, we had fun serving with World Impact at their Thrift Store. All the kids & adults worked hard & even had some fun. Here are a few pictures: Thanks to all who came to serve!

On Thursday, I was reading Sticky Faith again and was reminded about another option for you during the Lenten season.  Powell & Clark share some research about helping develop a heart of service and justice in our kids.  They also talk about the growing number of youth going on mission trips, but not seeing any change long term.  They suggest it is important for service and justice to "hit close to home . . . literally, thematically, personally, and relationally."  In other words, service and justice cannot be occasional events, but instead must become part of our family's lifestyle. As I reflect on Lent and the sacrifices that Jesus has done for me, it seems natural that part of our growth during Lent can be experienced as we as families serve others and/or seek justice on their behalf.  So, what can you do?  There are so many opportunities for service and justice in your community and in our world.  Check out organizations like Compassion Int...

On Wednesday night, our fuzion group (5th/6th grade ministry) delivered Valentines to our local nursing home.  This is an active group of students, but they always rise up to serve in God honoring ways.  I was so proud of them and the smiles they gave and received.  Enjoy a few pictures from the night below.

Today, Hesston MB Church in conjunction with Lord's Lubers hosted our free oil change. I am thankful for another great day of serving. First of all, God answered prayer about it not raining while we were doing the oil changes. Second, after a non-existent sign up, we were able to change oil on 25 cars. Praise God! Why do we do this? Because of our relationship with Jesus and wanting to share that love with others. Thanks to those who made the community outreach possible! Here is the list: 5 men from Lord's Lubers to supervise & change oil 12 men from Hesston MB to work on cars both under the hood and vacuuming & cleaning windows 8 women who provided goodies and drinks while people waited on their cars 5 women who visited with people during the oil change It is great to see how God uses each of our gifts to accomplish His will here on earth. I am thankful for each and every person we were able to make contact with today.

After the MB Pastor's Get Together concluded, we then began the Southern District Convention. Our speaker for the convention was Steve Macchia from Leadership Transformations. Here is his website: http://leadershiptransformations.org His first message was titled, "The Heart of the Church." He started by asking the following question: What is God's desire for our church? He then looked at Hebrews 11 and asked what was similar in those listed in the hall of faith. His answer: people who were willing to listen to God and obey. This is a list of ordinary people made extraordinary by God. Are you willing to be made extraordinary by God? He shared about 3 concentric circles which are a life of worship, life of love, and life of service. Each of these are important, but the heart of the church is where they overlap. Churches can focus on one of these and neglect the rest. The heart of the church is at the center-a place of spiritual discernment. Look at A...

The Hesston Mennonite Brethren Church is looking for people in need of a change, an oil change, that is. The Hesston Mennonite Brethren Church is once again partnering with Lords Lubers of Valley Center to provide free oil changes for the Hesston community. In partnering with the Lords Lubers, a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Valley Center which provides free oil changes as a non-denominational Christian ministry, the church will be helping cover costs. “When people are in need, the first place they should look is the Church, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case,” said J.L. Martin, Associate Pastor of Family Ministries. The Church has hosted the Lords Lubers in October and received an incredibly positive response from the Hesston community with 21 cars serviced at the last community oil change. “The first time we didn’t now what to expect, but we were very pleased with the results from October. Several people within the church and the community thou...

I have experienced wonderful blessings the last several weeks. They were all related to being the church rather than just going to church. Now, do not misquote me and say that I have given you permission to not got to church. Church is important and is God's plan for saving the world. We have the privilege to hear God's Word taught and preached and to use our gifts in service and to encourage fellow believers. But if all you do is show up on Sunday and go on with the rest of your life the rest of the week, you are missing the blessing of being the church. Remember the activity in Sunday School where you hold your hands together and say, "this is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors and see all of the people." Thanks Aunt Kay Jean! But this simple children's activity reveals that the church is not a building, but the people. We are the church! I cannot tell you how many ways I have seen God use people in the last few weeks.We have the great opportu...

Hesston Elementary Service Project by Hesston MB Church families by Jackie Nelson The Hesston Mennonite Brethren Church’s children and parents came together to serve the Hesston Elementary School Saturday, April 2. A group of 32 parents and children gathered together to host a service day with J.L. Martin, Hesston Mennonite Brethren’s Associate Pastor of Family Ministries. Martin said the day was a positive learning experience for both parents and children. Martin said when most church members hear “service project,” many associate such projects with older youth, young adults and adult church leaders. “It’s important, and my belief, that we need to help kids understand that they can serve now rather than when they are teens or adults,” said Martin. Martin said children and parents working together in service helped reinforce the children’s ability to be active members of the congregation and gave their parents a chance to talk with children about being good stewards. “I...

On Saturday, I had the privilege of taking my 4 kids to do a service project with people from our church at the MCC Processing Center in North Newton. It was great to work alongside 20 people from our church of all different ages. We had children as young as 2 and parents with kids & grandparents with grandkids . If you know me, you know my passion for helping our kids develop an attitude of service at a young age. They do not need to wait until Junior or Senior High to start thinking of others and helping those who are in need. This is why I organize these service projects several times throughout the year. Even though today was a crazy day for many due to soccer games and other commitments, we were able to accomplish much for MCC . We worked on school kits, health kits, & relief kits. I was proud of all of the adults who came but especially proud of our children. They worked hard for 1 1/2 hours. The lady who was supervising us even commented on how well behaved and...