Our Blog

Women on Mission September 2017

Abby Roberts*  Kiev, Ukraine

Please remember this missionary and her family in prayer.
(Her name has been changed for security reasons.)

When you’re living overseas, picking a school for your children can be quite a     challenge.  That’s why Abby Roberts* is there to help.

“My primary responsibility is serving as an education consultant for many of our  families living in different countries,” she said.  “I help them make decisions about that kind of schooling to choose for their children, what curriculum to buy if they are   homeschooling, and how to get help if their children are struggling with a learning disability.”

It’s a big job, and it takes up a lot of her time.  But she and her husband, Tom*, also hep out with a church plant called God’s  Design Church in Kiev, Ukraine, the city in which they live.  “The church as definitely been a work of God,” Abby said.  “The hardship, sadness, and chaos of war have been turned into blessing, growth, and joy.”

Many people attend services for the packages of food they distribute, but they hear the gospel and hearts are changed, she said.  The church as grown from one to three services.  “It’s been very exciting to watch God work,” Abby said.

She asked for prayer for the church to find a larger place to meet.  She also asked for prayer for her role as educational consultant.

“Pray for me to have wisdom as I help our families with their educational needs and to be able to find the resources to help them when they have questions.”  Abby said.

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Women on Mission will have their annual potluck at the church on Monday, September 11th @ 6 pm. Jean Hitchcock will show us how to use short-cut ways to prepare food using ready-made dough.  (If it saves time and effort, it works for me.)  All our ladies are invited to join us.  Please bring a covered dish or dessert.

Pastor's Points September 2017

Dear Church Family,

For the last 11 years I have begun my articles to you with “Dear Church Family”.  I have always seen us as the family of God participating together as the body of Christ.  You are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I love you tremendously! Recently we updated our church logo and with it came a new saying that I pray our church will rally around over the course of time.  The saying is simply, “A Family for Life”.  I pray that our church will truly be a family for life for all that are a part of it.  A family for this life that we are making our way through, and a family for all of eternity that is to come!  My prayer is that Oakhill will not simply be “a” church that you attend, but that it will be “your” church family that you are a part of and invested in.

I want to lead us to intentionally invest in each other and the life of our church family.  One way that we are going to do this is to plan and promote family gatherings where we can all be together so we can build community and really invest in one another.  These will be family gatherings where we all can come together; every generation, and every worship hour together united in our bond as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The first family gathering is coming on September 10 as we gather together for a  special family night of worship.  We will be at the associational ball fields where our fireworks celebration takes place.  Food trucks will be present (Pizza Revolution, and Lolly’s Pops) to purchase from or feel free to bring your own picnic style food as well.  Bring your lawn chairs and relax together as we eat, play games, but most importantly worship together as family.  This is going to be an amazing time together.  We will be producing a listing of the different family gatherings that we are planning to offer throughout the rest of 2017 and in to 2018.  Please prioritize these special times together.

Finally, I want to encourage you to clear the dates of November 3^rd and 4^th for a special marriage weekend that we are hosting at our church.  “The Art of Marriage” will be hosted by myself and my wife Paula!  We are very excited to invest in the couples of our church as we facilitate the video teachings of some of the most renowned speakers on the topic of marriage in the church today.  We will also be sharing from our 30 plus years of marriage as well.  This is going to be a fun, encouraging, and challenging time together.  Please make this a priority and please see this as an investment into the health of your marriage.  We are not able to offer childcare for this event so please begin to plan now how you can secure childcare for your children. Consider asking your parents, family members, or friends to help you on this weekend.  This would be one of the very best ways that they could make a powerful investment in your marriage. 

Oakhill truly is a “family for life”!  Let’s invest in one another as the Lord invest in us all! 

I love you and I love being your pastor,