Yesterday was Robert Barnes last day as Pastor of the Alabaster Church of God.  Although he is no longer our pastor, we all know that there is no way he is retiring from serving our King.  He is just retiring from his service to us.  We had a great day Sunday with him in both services.  Hearing his last words from God to us and honoring and remembering his 8 1/2 years of shepherding us was something we will all remember.  Thank God for faithful serevants in the Kingdom like Robert and Pat Barnes.  We wish them well, continued success in the service they do, and many years of blessings from Our God.

And we hope you sell that house pretty quickly also.

As of today we have a new pastor.  Evangelist Ken Stroup has been elected to step up and fill the role of shepherd at ACOG.  He has worked many years in service to the Kingdom also and relayed to us that he felt he was being led by the Lord to come and care for us.  He does have some big shoes to fill but we believe he is up to the task.  We all hope and pray that he is guided daily by the Holy Spirit and moves our church forward and outward to further advance the Kingdom of God.

Stop by Sunday and hear his first words to us all as Pastor.

We will see you later Robert and Pat Barnes.  We will see you Sunday Pastor Ken Stroup.

We love you all

No doubt, many of us frequently find it difficult to slow down and take a breath from the whirlwind of life.  Schedules, jobs, paying bills, raising kids, running errands, trying to get a few hours sleep (did I mention “paying bills?”).  If we’re not careful, our busy world can disconnect us from meaningful relationships with others.  And one of the most important parts of life is that it’s meant to be shared with those around us.  Thus, we need a place of connection, a place of conversation, a place of trust.

Alabaster CoG would like to invite everybody 20-40 yrs young to one of the most tremendous, life-impacting hangouts in Alabaster – The Bridge.  The Bridge is a place where we brew some good ole’ java, kick back and talk about the real nitty-gritty issues of life.  God, love, shame, marriage, forgiveness, failure, salvation, and the list is wide open… We want to discuss what’s on your heart and mind.

The Bridge offers a safe atmosphere of love and acceptance, where you can connect with those around you on this journey of life.  Whether single or married*, Christian or non-Christian, ALL are welcome to join us at The Bridge.  (please see calendar for weekly meeting times)

Peace

*Childcare is usually provided during meetings.  If you have any questions please use the comments section.

(Alabaster Ministering to Emergency Needs)

One way the Alabaster Church of God reaches out to our community is through our A.M.E.N. Food Bank program.  Our mission is to show the love of Jesus Christ by assisting families in the Shelby County area with nutritious food in emergency situations.

Each month we assist an average of 160 families in our area.  This is a total of approximately 400 people.  We make sure that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, or handicap be denied assistance under this program.

During the month of February the A.M.E.N. Food Bank assisted the following:
156 Families to include 406 people

The Food Bank distribution schedule is as follows:
3rd Thursday of each month
10:00 AM until 12:00 Noon

It is a pleasure to serve our community for His glory

The children’s department of ACoG will be selling DVDs of the children’s musical performed in our sanctuary. If you know of anyone needing to purchase a copy of this please direct them to Barbara Snyder or Brandy Tiller. We have included all parts of the program including the call of salvation. We believe this could be another tool used to advance the Kingdom. This will help support the children’s ministry as all monies will go directly to the children’s department.

Thanks,
Children Dept. Staff
ACoG

I received notice this week from the Alabaster Beautification Board that our Children’s Department received a 3rd place prize in the recent Alabaster Christmas Parade. The prize was awarded in the category of “Best Use of Theme”. The letter was very complimentary of our entry and came with a $100.00 check for Children’s Ministry.

We are very proud of these young people and want to extend a special thank you to Ms. Laura, Ms. Carrie, and Mr. Patrick for pulling this effort together.

Merry Christmas!

Ms. Barbara

On Saturday Dec 6th The ATIK ministries Students and leaders and parents loaded up and participated in the Alabaster Christmas Parade. It was cold but we were excited about this because the new Drama team, Angels of Mercy, were going to perform for the first time today at the parade. We started out at the Pizza Hut and I think that we walked about 3 miles. We also had a truck with our little ones that were singing and throwing candy. During the trek to the judge’s platform we rotated from singing Christmas Carols and performing the Drama while we walked.

I am proud to say that our students represented the Alabaster Church of God wonderfully. As we approached the Judges I could tell that they were nervous but they did a great job, they received a standing ovation from the judging platform. I feel blessed to be a part of this ministry.
 
This could not have been done without Patrick and Carrie Sullivan, Jamie Fincher and of course Barbara Snyder.

Thank You

Wonder what’s going on in the youth and children’s department?  Well . . . This is an exciting time of the year for us, as we are working on our Christmas play.  We have been practicing every Wednesday evening (and will be practicing this Sunday night in lieu of The Attik).  If you do not have a part in the Christmas play, please come anyway, as there will be a class held for you.

 

We will be performing the play on Sunday morning, December 21.  Please come and see all of our youth and children perform – they have worked very hard.  Today (Saturday, December 6) our kids actually performed their play during the Alabaster Christmas Parade.  While it was a little cold, they had a wonderful time.

 

We are so thankful for all our kids and their enthusiasm.  Thanks also to the parents who are always so willing to help with the kids.

 

Dee

The Blackfeet Indian Reservation is in northwestern Montana along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Its one-and-a-half million acres are bordered on the north by Canada and on the west by Glacier National Park.  There are approximately 7000 native American Blackfeet Indians living on the reservation there. 

 

Life, from what we have been told, is not exactly like what we know, on this reservation.  There are many social problems, low income jobs, unemployment and especially many needy children. 

 

Alabaster Church of God developed a relationship with some of these wonderful people through the work of some of our previous ministers which were involved in missionary work.  Tony Lombard and Doug Click made some connections that we still maintain even though they have moved on to other ministry opportunities. 

 

We learned of the lack in some of the children’s lives and Mary Lombard, our head of Ladies ministries, has spearheaded our program of getting these kids some things for Christmas every year.  This year there was a drive to fill shoeboxes with some small items in an attempt to bless and show the love of Christ to some of these children.   

 

Tim Seals and Neil Wyatt, two volunteers from our church just got back from a very long drive to Browning, Montana to deliver 130 of these Christmas shoeboxes to some of the children.  They did not get to give them out to the kids but did get them there and delivered to Theresa CalfBossRibs, of the Blackfeet Childhood Development Center who is an Education Supervisor.  

 

Theresa has had some correspondence with my wife through email and we hope to get to meet her and her husband Danny someday.  They are both members of a church led by Titus Upham who has also visited our Church. 

 

Tim actually had the opportunity to speak in their church and he and Neil even got to do a little hunting while there.  The opportunities to love and bless others are all around us if we will just take the time to see them. 

 

During this Christmas season, let us all remember the sacrifice our Lord, Jesus Christ made for us all.  And let’s keep our eyes wide open for ways we can bless others.

 

Love you all