Greetings from the Frozen Chosen!

January 2016 VOL. FOUR, ISSUE ONE

For the last several years I’ve reported every January about record cold temperatures. This winter has seen record days above 40 degrees, and several more above 30. Well, we were not exactly freezing until this past weekend in February; Sunday the 7th. I’m afraid we’ve come to enjoy the lack of snow and ice. It certainly is easier on the budget when we don’t have high heating bills.

January 6th we landed in Austin where the Monroes picked us up. We visited Westside church and WBS, where we were able to establish our WBS Connect program. Kirk carried our proposed building plans to the elders throughout Texas. Dale and Karen Monroe again loaned us their SUV, and we drove to Plano where we stayed with Warren and Diane Boorman. We visited Waterview church and Garland to see Disaster Relief and Disaster Assistance in action. The Boorman’s cooked dinner and even had Travis Sayen and Micheal Bingham, with their loved ones, over. We also met the Gonzales from Princeton, and talked a lot about the need for evangelism across America.

Then we drove to Joe and Nancy Bower’s home. We taught and preached in the Daingerfield church. We met the Miller family from Brazil, and the Wooten family who desire to work in Vermont. Kirk and I enjoyed a lot of fellowship time visiting around with the church family. We loved it very much!

From there we drove to Lubbock on Tuesday, the 18th, for the January Workshop. Monroes drove the ladies up for the workshop, and Boormans met us there too. At the close, on Saturday, we drove to Knott and stayed with the Hargraves. We taught and preached, returning to Georgetown Monday; then flying home on Wednesday. Jan, Luella, Kathryn, Kirk and I returned from our Texas travels the last week in January. We all had a great trip and enjoyed spending time with everyone!

Please continue to keep Steve and Becky in your prayers for health and continuing spiritual growth. Steve anticipates starting his own

business, and has accepted our request to oversee the renovations. Michelle and Scott are continuing in the spiritual growth too. Michelle

and Sharon had their thyroids removed, and are recovering. Michelle developed cancer in several lymph nodes, and the doctor feels

confident he successfully removed all of them. Bernice continues to work through her health concerns, and is grateful for prayers. Please

remember Olivia and Christopher in your prayers. Please remember us in your prayers as we continue our college classes, and move the

congregational worship and studies to our home while the new building is being renovated. Please also pray for our success in raising the

funds for the renovations, and our supporters as they make careful decisions if, and for how much, they are able to fund us. We also

request prayers for Claude, Dale, Melissa, Robert, and Karen’s new students through WBS in Vermont. God is so wonderful!

Please keep us all in your prayers.

Romans_8:39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Green Mountain church of

Christ in Castleton

Telephone 802.683.4970

395 Route 4A West, Castleton, VT 05735 WWW.VermontChurchOfChrist.COM

Vermont Mission Field

Like us on Facebook @ Green Mountain Church of

Christ in Castleton, Vermont

I’ve had struggles, and I want to share what I’ve learned. As many of you already know, I’m a disabled American veteran from my time in the U.S. Army. What most of you don’t know is that I survived a brutal assault that lasted over 10 hours.

When I talk about grief and depression, I talk about hope. I tell my hearers that “hope is the last thing to go as grief invades the heart.”

Depression is a by-product of grief, and especially when grief has run its full course. It is the most difficult, debilitating, and destructive property of the grieving soul. The most frightening thing about this grief is that it can return at any time, and without warning. It returns when the scales are tipping dangerously as our faith in hope is dithering, and grief threatens our security. The only “sure” help is Christ. Placing our hope in Christ anchors our souls again.

If you’re in a battle, reach out to someone who has shared those shoes. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ love and righteousness. . . “

My brief message next month will be on the power of forgiveness.

Karen’s Corner

Church Income & Expense Report - January

BEGINNING BALANCES FOR JANUARY Church Account Balance $46,296.34 Building Fund Balance $16,526.70 Israel Support Fund Balance $16,727.36 Working Fund Balance $1,803.21

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR JANUARY

Total January Giving $1,845.00

CHURCH ACCOUNT EXPENSES FOR JANUARY Rent, Utilities & Insurance 2,441.18 Church Contribution to Israel Support 300.00 Snow Plowing 55.00 Guest Speakers 100.00 Miscellaneous – Simple Supper, Supplies, Benevolence 112.07 $3,008.25

WORKING FUND SUPPORT FOR JANUARY $1,750.00

WORKING FUND EXPENSES FOR JANUARY House to House 1,323.61 Texas Trip in January 906.00 Storage Units for church furniture 140.00 $2369.61

ENDING BALANCES FOR JANUARY Church Account Balance $45,133.09 Building Fund Balance $24, 191.70 Israel Support Fund Balance $13, 227.36 Working Fund Balance $1, 183.60

January 2016 VOL. FOUR, ISSUE ONE

VT Mission Field

Psalm 143:8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! Jude 1:20-23 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

The Scope of Our Mission

Pray and Search for true Seekers.

Return the fallen to the kingdom.

Teach the Gospel.

Teach people; that they may be

transformed into the image of Christ.

Serve in whatever capacity and in every

situation God gives us.

Open our homes in love, fellowship and

care to the church and seekers.

Study the Bible with whomever,

whenever, and wherever we can.

Provide for the spiritual needs of all

while pointing the way to God.

Bring H2H/H2H and Christ for Today to

6400 homes in the area in an effort to

reach and teach the lost and fallen.

Encourage and support the churches

throughout Vermont.

Love, as living proof of God’s love.

Celebrate our salvation, encourage

repentance, and love the church.

Church Updates

We closed on the building in December.

Steve was baptized January 1st, shortly before we left for Texas.

We enjoyed safe and encouraging travels and visits.

Vermont Connect with WBS is now operating.

The ladies were greatly encouraged and inspired by their trip.

Kirk resumed his master’s program through Ohio Christian.

Karen resumed her classes at CCV.

Kathryn had her pacemaker wires changed upon her return.

Michelle came through her surgery just fine.

Kirk had a pre-cancerous growth removed from his face.

Karen has developed tennis elbow, and she doesn’t even play!

Sharon came through her surgery just fine.

Sharon desires to be baptized in the near future.

Renovations have begun with the removal of the shelving.

Karen has picked up nine students in VT through WBS.

Another connection has been made through H2H, H2H.

AND the newsletter is finally finished for January!

Here is Steve being added to the church in obedience to Christ. Don’t

worry about his feet; they were under when it counted.

January 2014 VOL. TWO, ISSUE ONE

5555 Street Address,

City, State 55555

WWW.VermontChurchOfChrist.com

VT Mission Field

Check Your Compass, By Kirk Israel

The question posed: “What if the first point in every Christians resume . . . the first requirement for every servant in the

church . . . the unmistakable explanation for what makes us radically different from the meaningless around us? I think the

answer is a simple one to consider: We know the Bible is the word of God given to the writers by revelation, written by

inspiration! We must read it and study it by perspiration. We know that faith comes from hearing the word of God. With this

understanding and a bit of sweat and teaching a man or woman comes to the understanding that the Savior is a real person of

history, and that He came to redeem mankind; this is a fact and we know it! It is this faith, in the faith, that a man chooses to be

saved knowing he can have the hope of eternal life; another item that we know! It is by the faith that upon hearing the Word

that a man can know he has eternal life! We can even know when we received the indwelling Holy Spirit, when our remission

of sin occurred, and when we were added to the Lord’s church. These are all things we know and they are the reasons we are

different.

It is our obedience out of love for God, and placing ourselves by choice into the service of Christ as a bond-servant that

becomes the outward visually observable life that is attractive to the world. Paul, in Romans 12 tells us: “Therefore I urge you,

brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual

service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may

prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If you look at this closely you soon realize that

NOT conforming to the pattern of the world around us intentionally makes us different. We don’t need to make a list of these

things to understand this! You know what is ungodly and sinful; that is the pattern you are NOT to follow.

What makes us so different is, we are living this life out of love for God, by choice. It is this behavior that

demonstrates our love for God in advancing the message of Jesus the apostles and prophets. It is their message we believe; that

Jesus is the Christ, and that our salvation comes through Him. That very message that was handed down to us from the actual witnesses who were there from the “beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us--one of

these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." Acts 1:22 (NASB)

Last, we need to keep in mind what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2a “And working together with Him, we also urge

you not to receive the grace of God in vain-- for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON

THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." It is their witness that we proclaim that make us radically different.

Ephesians 4:11-14 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

This is Jan Kurant. Jan came to us several years ago after a long

search for the church. She had attended several other places, but

continued looking until she found us. Jan was added in baptism in

2014.

This dear Sister brings so much to each of us in the congregation.

She has maintained the plants in front of the building for several

years, and shares her garden harvests with us too. In the summer

months she thrills us with her beautiful zucchini, squashes, cukes,

tomatoes, and green beans. Jan also cans and shares that bounty

with us too. She is famous for her pickles; the garlic dills!

Jan is married to Steve, and we are still prayerful he will return to

the church someday soon. They have a beautiful collie, Sandy.

They’ve hosted bonfires at their lovely home above their fishing

pond. Jan works as an x-ray technician and medical assistant.

We are blessed to have her among us.