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Family Ministry Moments - October 2024

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What is so rewarding about being a Kids’ Life Group leader?  Teachers are the cornerstone of our kids' ministry.  There is only so much large group teaching we can do, the most effective kind of teaching is in small groups. We intentionally break down our kids into smaller groups. At the 9:30 worship hour, each grade/age has a class.  At 11 am some of the grades are grouped together but the classes are still small.  This is important so the kids can learn the Bible and grow in their faith. 

Our Kids' Life Group leaders are amazing teachers who pour their life into the children every Sunday. They are crucial in helping these children to grow in their faith but not because they teach the Bible every week.  Teaching the Bible is vitally important but their steady influence in the kids’ lives is just as important.  The presence of a godly leader every week is a huge part of what makes kids' ministry work.

Let’s do a little exercise.  How many sermons or Bible lessons can you remember, ones that have impacted your life so much you can remember them easily?  A handful, 10, 20?  How many have you heard in your life? 1,000’s?  The percentage of how many have impacted your life is very low to the amount you have heard. The reason is that the Bible lessons accumulate in our lives to build up our faith.  We don’t have to remember every lesson to be discipled in the Word.  It is like working out.  You will not see the effect of one workout on your health, but after a year of working out consistently, you will see it clearly.  Being discipled in the Word is like this, we don’t have to remember every lesson we have been taught but when we are consistently learning we see spiritual growth in our lives.

Now how many Bible study leaders, teachers, and pastors can you name? You can probably recall almost every teacher you have had or at least a high percentage of them. I can recall the influence my 11th grade Sunday school teacher, David, had in my life (I only started attending church regularly in my 11th grade year).  I only remember a couple of things that David said in class, however, what I remember most was his godly presence and commitment to teaching a bunch of rowdy 11th grade boys.  He was consistently there every Sunday pouring into us.  David is not the only one that I can recall there are many that have been an encouraging godly presence in my life pouring into me.

This is why I say the influence of the teacher is just as important as the lessons being taught.  We need godly individuals who will commit to leading kids' life groups.  Right now we have an opening in our 1st-2nd grade class and our 3rd-5th grade class both during the 11 am worship hour.  What these children need is a consistent leader who will seek to love them and be committed to sharing the Word of God with them.  Teaching is not always easy, I have been filling in the 1st-2nd grade class for a few weeks. They can try your patience and don’t always listen but the reward I get from teaching is amazing. I know I am making a difference in these children’s lives. I know they are learning God’s Word every week and growing in grace.  There is no greater joy than being able to pour into these children.

Would you pray about stepping up and filling one of the positions? God can use you in a mighty way.  You can be that person who helps to shape and influence these kids for the glory of the Lord. The commitment is just for a year (August to August). We have subs available for when you are on vacation or sick.  Kids’ ministry volunteers must have attended Oakhill for 6 months and pass a background check.  Let me know if you are interested and we can talk more about the open positions. Reach out to me at or call the Church Office at 812-476-3450.

Posted by Bryan Gotcher with

Student Life - October 2024

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Already, at the time of this writing, we are a couple of weeks into the new school year. Even though the summer was loads of fun and we had our fair share of events, I’m grateful to be back in the normal routine of things. It truly is a joy of mine to be with our church three times a week. And with that being said, it’s been great to see the chairs in the student room fill up again! With the increase from the incoming 6th grade class and students bringing their friends, we see an average of around 45 students at each
gathering. Praise God! 

With the new school year in mind, my heart sought after a sermon series that would be simple and applicable for the students. I wanted to point the students to hope that we can find in Jesus when He says “Follow Me”. With this theme in mind, we can look at passages of Scripture where Christ offers help, guidance, and hope in a world that can be so lost or in very trying times in our own lives. Look with me at John 8 verse 12: 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

Look at everything Christ promises here. He states that He is the light of the world, meaning He is the only true hope that can save us from our sinful lives and this sinful world. Next, He says “whoever follows me”. This section is where we come in. But what is our responsibility? Following Him. Now I do admit that this is easier said than done, but this provides hope and security for when we mess up or need help. This is a section of Scripture to look at for help. If you are in Christ, you already know that you are secure in Christ. But our hearts are still led astray at times. When this happens, we need to run back to Christ and cling to Him. And when we do that, what does He tell us to do? Follow Him. We let Him guide our paths, we let Him strengthen us, and we let Him give us life. How do we know this? We consider the end of verse 12. With Christ as our Leader, we will not walk in darkness and will gain the light of life. 

This was where my heart remained when considering the theme for the next school semester. I want to provide all of the students (believers and non-believers) the hope and guidance of Christ. I also wanted to challenge them with Christ’s leadership. If they are believers but do not follow Christ at school or on the team, is Christ at the center of what they pursue? Likewise, if there is a student that isn’t a believer yet, I seek to challenge them and ask what do they pursue? What do they place at the center of their lives? Because the problem with the verse above is Christ says Follow HIM, nothing else. 

So, please be in prayer with me as Pastor Bryan and I preach and work through sermons this semester challenging students to Follow Christ. It is my prayer that the students will have open hearts and ears to the messages and that the Lord would do mighty works in them!

Posted by Alex Kilgore with

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