Heritage United Methodist Church 1604 East Pointer Trail

Van Buren, AR 72956-2326

Periodical

Postage Paid

at Van Buren,

Arkansas 72956

Permit 24448

Mission Statement:

To Love and to Lead

The Mission of Heritage United Methodist Church

is to Love God and people passionately and to Lead

people into a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ.

In Hospital:

Bill Thomas (Crawford H&R)

Mary Dempsey (HealthSouth)

At Home:

Deanna Bradley, Marilyn Lewis, James

Minor, Judy Spencer, Debbie Stewart,

Dorinda Stewart, Shirley Touchstone,

Connie Warren, Saylor Wilkinson

Assisted Living:

Shirley Bromley (Methodist)

Steve Burns (Fianna Hills NH)

Mary Coble (Crawford H&R)

Gerlinde Dibble (Methodist)

Lavita Middleton (Sebastian County Retirement Center)

Doris Ricks (Brownwood Manor)

Warren Taylor (Methodist)

Therese Zolk (Valley Springs H&R)

In Sympathy:

Jessica Hendrickson and Family in the

death of her husband, Dave Hendrickson.

Jamie Hartley and Family in the death of

her husband, Charley Hartley.

DECEMBER VOLUNTEERS

Ushers

8:05 am Mike Kneeland Benton Cone

Mike McSpadden John Poole

9:30 am John Symonds

Merle Katz Tom Konert Carol Ray

11:00 am Daniel Chisolm Justin Sangster Nathan Elliot Grant Elliot

Acolytes 12/3 - Jenna Tursky

Rebekah Ray

12/10 - Rhyan Yancey Abby Shepherd

12/17 - Annabelle Good Danielle Symonds

12/24 - Jaylin Woodard Aspen Cone

12/31 - Matthew Carter Judah Martin

December 7-9

THE GREAT TRAIN EXPERIENCE

December 24

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

January 6

COLLEGE OF PRAYER

Heritage Happenings is published weekly Office Hours: Mon - Thurs: 8 am - 5 pm; Fri: 8 am - 12 pm

Phone: 479-474-6424

FAX & E-mail Address: 474-8549; office@heritage.church

Church Web Page: www.heritage.church

Arkansas Area Bishop: Rev. Gary Mueller

District Superintendent: Rev. Steve Coburn

Lead Pastor: J. Wesley Hilliard, whilliard@heritage.church

Pastor Emeritus Bill Kelton, bekelton@sbcglobal.net

Director of Ministries: Roger Goins, rgoins@heritage.church

Worship Arts Minister Caleb Lester, clester@heritage.church

Welcome Minister: Becki Kneeland, bkneeland@heritage.church

Congregational Care Pastor: Max Goins, mgoins@heritage.church

Outreach Pastor LaToya Shepherd, lshepherd@heritage.church

Ministry Development Pastor: Ron Lewis, rlewis@heritage.church

Accompanist: Rick Endel, rendel@heritage.church

Youth and Family Pastor: Brian Seewald, bseewald@heritage.church

Associate Youth Minister: Brad Martin, bmartin@heritage.church

Middle School Pastor: Brad Sneed, bsneed@heritage.church

Children’s Minister: Shea Marsh, smarsh@heritage.church

Business Administrator Bobby Boyakin, bboyakin@heritage.church

Publications Secretary: Kathy Goins, kgoins@heritage.church

Staff Secretary: Pam James, pjames@heritage.church

Facility Manager: Steve Kelton, skelton@heritage.church

Newsletter/Bulletin Announcements: office@heritage.church

Heritage Happenings (USPS Periodical Permit 24448) is published weekly (except Christmas) by Heritage United Methodist Church, 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren AR 72956-2326. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Heritage United Methodist Church, 1604 Pointer Trail, Van Buren, AR 72956-2326 PH 479-474-6424

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART ... REGISTER TODAY!

Christmas and New Years are upon us! Please take a moment as soon as you can and go to www.heritage.church and register for the College of Prayer, Module 1! It is ONLY $20 for adults and $10 for students! If you can’t pay that, we’ll cover the cost for you, just contact Bobby Boyakin, Business Administrator. It is time to hit the RESET/REFRESH button on your life and REIGNITE your prayer life!

The prayer Jesus loves to answer is, “LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY!” And this is exactly what we will be doing on Saturday, January 6th from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Rev. Fred Hartley, III, the founder of the College of Prayer International will be our leader for

the day. Rev. Hartley carries the mantel of an apostolic and prophetic anointing. I want you to get up close to him and let this “rub off” on the Heritage Church family. God’s hand is all over the ministry of the College of Prayer, WORLDWIDE, and the LORD has sovereignly linked together Heritage and the College of Prayer, International for such a time as this.

I will be traveling with Rev. Hartley and Jon Mitchell (Church on Fire, 2017 leader) to Ethiopia later in January. We have been invited to teach the materials of the College of Prayer to the Ethiopian Parliament and to the leaders of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church. They remain in the midst of the longest on-going season of revival and spiritual awakening in the world. They see the College of Prayer, International as the key to helping them sustain this mighty move of God. If you would like to partner with me in this mission, you may make any gifts to Heritage Church and designate it for “Ethiopia mission.”

This is an exciting time to be alive! God is on the move! Let us have a powerful encounter with Jesus this Christmas Season and may we stoke and sustain revival fires through REIGNITING our prayer lives. Register today! www.heritage.church!

Sunday, we will celebrate and experience the story and message of the carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful!”

I’ll see “All Ye Faithful” Sunday!

Wes

Vo lume 31 Issue 49

December 7 , 2 017

HONORARIUMS AND

MEMORIALS In memory of JASON LEWIS by:

Marilyn Lewis (FP) In memory of J.L. LEWIS by:

Marilyn Lewis (FP)

In memory of LEE ’DOBY’ JAMES

by: Bill and Debbie Thomas (YM)

In memory of JEAN STRATTON by:

Sue Stranathan (BF)

I n m e m o r y o f D A V I D

HENDRICKSON by:

Bruce and Janet Johnson (BF)

Skip and Monica Steele

In memory of MICHAEL BARRY by:

Skip and Monica Steele

In memory of LARRY JORDAN

(brother of Janet Johnson) by:

Skip and Monica Steele BF - Building Fund YM - Youth Ministries

FP - Food Pantry

ROOTS CLASS Join us Monday, December 11th at

5 pm in room 133 for a Hanukkah

celebration.

WELCOME

Staci Whitley Lance Glenn

Andrew, Rachel, Marylia and

Johnny Scott

HERITAGE ANGELS Angels are still available! Please

choose a child from the Great Hall,

return the gifts to the stage in the

Fellowship Hall by this Sunday,

December 10th! All gifts must

be unwrapped and in a bag

with their angel number

attached to the bag. *If you don’t

have time to shop, please consider

donating money and someone will

shop for you.

CHRISTMAS EVE We have so much to be thankful

for this holiday season and we don’t

want to forget to give back to our

community by serving in some

capacity on Christmas Eve. We will

need lots of volunteers for

Christmas Eve dinner to help serve

our family and guests. If you would

like to volunteer, contact Becki at

bknee l and@her i t a ge . church .

Serving times will be from 3 - 5 pm

and then again from 5 - 7

pm. Everyone will serve a two hour

shift.

ORDER YOUR POINSETTIAS If you would like to place

a poinsettia in honor or in memory

of someone, please complete this

form and return it to the church

office with payment of $10 per

poinsettia by Sunday, December

17th.

Placed in (circle one)

In Memory of In Honor of

________________________

By:______________________

TRAINS! TRAINS! TRAINS! This weekend is your LAST chance

to participate in The Great Train

Experience! Dates, times and

locations, are on our website at

heritage.church or on the poster in

the Great Hall. Don’t miss out!

“LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY”

Join churches from around the River Valley for the next gathering of the

College of Prayer from 9 am - 4 pm on Saturday, January 6! Hear powerful

teaching from Pastor Fred Hartley, III, founder of the College of Prayer.

Experience powerful God-encountering prayer, high worship and spiritual

renewal. Learn to pray like Jesus! The cost is $20 for adults and $10 for

students (lunch included). To register, visit our website at heritage.church.

CREATIVE STEWARDSHIP Do you own stock or other appreciated assets? Do you have an Individual

Retirement Account (IRA)? Do you pay taxes? If you answered yes to any

of these questions, you will want to consider these financial facts as 2017

draws to a close.

Fact #1

By donating appreciated assets prior to selling them, you can give in a

way that is tax-smart-avoiding steep capital gains taxes while increasing

your Kingdom impact. For example, if you have held stocks for a least a

year and a day, you can give them as a charitable gift that is much more

tax-efficient than a gift of cash.

Fact #2

If you are at least 70 1/2 years or older, you can transfer up to $100,000

per calendar year, tax-free, from your IRA to a qualified charity. This will help you meet your required minimum distribution (RMD).

Fact #3

In order to secure your tax deduction for 2017, your gift must be

completed by December 31st.

Armed with these financial facts, you can make the most of the opportunity

that year-end giving presents. Do so today, before it is too late to develop

your plan to pay less to the government and more to the Kingdom.

WORSHIP ARTS GATHERING

The Handbell Choir, Sanctuary

Choir and Praise Team will gather

for a holiday potluck dinner on

Thursday, December 14th in the

Fellowship Hall at 6:15 pm. Sign up

at rehearsal and let us know what

you plan to bring or contact Valicia

Weege at vweege@cox.net. This

will be a great time to fellowship

with the Lesters and others

involved in Worship Arts at

Heritage.

I want to begin with praise to our Lord, Jesus Christ, for the ways I have been able to see Him work in the life of my family and in the life of other Heritage Church families. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Train up a child in the way he should go – but be sure to go that way yourself.” This is so true. We may (and should) want a Christian walk for our family, but it must begin with us individually; it starts with me…it starts with you! So my first question is: What are your personal spiritual goals for this year? Do you have A REGULAR TIME you spend with God in His Word and in prayer? If not, it’s time to start! It is VITAL for you, your family and for the life of the Church. More about this in a moment.

Much has weighed heavy on my heart as it pertains to the families in the church (local and global). It seems that societal demands are greater and we find ourselves having to make real serious choices between the temporal and the eternal. Personally, I am tired of the world winning. I want to see victory for God’s Kingdom first and it making an impact on society. I want to see Wednesdays and Sundays held in reverence once again. I want to see God as priority in the homes once again. I want to see church as the place to worship but the means in which our gifts and talents are ALL pulled together for the sake of the body. I want to see true disciples (ones who make disciples who make disciples that transform the world for Jesus Christ). I want to see how our personal time with the Lord amplifies our church family time together. I want to see young and old called into ministry again. I want to see worshippers arise. I want to see a city that has been evangelized to every corner. In short: I want to see God start winning and revival in the River valley.

One of the most pivotal places this can happen is in the family (the home) and in the family (the Church). God has pressed on my heart four areas of focus in the family for this coming year: Intergenerational Worship (Church Family), Family Time, Parenting and Marriages. These have been on my heart for some time. We will introduce a parenting class this year that focuses on the spiritual foundations for parenting. We will continue to develop and find ways to have Family Nights on several occasions throughout the year. We will also be having a marriage retreat this year as well. More information on these will develop in the weeks to come.

However, one of the greatest ways that I see God working is through the Wednesday Night teaching and Encounter time. We are truly encountering God in some amazing ways as we bridge the gap between multiple generations. If you haven’t been…you are missing out. If you have been I know you have seen the Spirit of God move. So why did we do this to begin with? Honestly, Pastor Wes and I felt God directing us in this way through circumstances and prayer. So we decided to step out in faith as the Lord led us to test the waters of intergenerational worship. I have to say, personally, God was and is still doing something amazing. I have seen more boldness, attentiveness, worship, and faith displayed in our teens through this time. I have seen parents pray over their children, youth pray over adults they don’t even know, walls broken down, and the Church being the Church together. I get excited thinking about this as I write to you this note! God is good…so good…and He is moving! Psalm 145:4 says, “one generation shall commend your works to another, and shall

declare Your mighty acts.” The world is trying to separate us and put each of us in our own personal corner (particularly in the

rise of social media). But God intended family…he made us for one another. The Church is Family! And I am so grateful to be a part of this one at Heritage. My hope is that for those who are reading this and have yet to come…please come (some parents that have youth attending and you have not yet come…I urge you…please

come!). God is at work and wants you to be a part. Thank you for letting me serve you in this area of ministry at Heritage. God has some amazing things in store for our family!

Below is a FAMILY NIGHT that can be done over the holiday break. I hope that you would at least spend some time together setting some personal and family spiritual goals. You can read about this below. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me here at church. My prayer is that you and your family will have a very Merry Christmas; one filled with the joy of the true meaning of the season: Immanuel, God with us!

CELEBRATE & ACTIVATE

December 20 – January 2! 1. Choose ONE Night Over the Break (or more) 2. Celebrate God’s Work in Your Lives This Year 3. Praise God Together/Pray Together 4. Set Goals for the Next Year/Layout the Plan! 5. Play a Game/Laugh/Enjoy One Another

The Key: To spend intentional time together! CELEBRATE what the Lord has done this year and ACTIVATE a game plan for growing spiritually as individuals and as a family!

Suggestions for 2018 Goals: Weekly Family Night (away from distractions like phones, TV, etc.)

Personal Daily Devotional/Prayer Family Devotional/Prayer Time Family Service Projects Who will you invite to church this year?

Suggested scripture to read (Discuss how these can apply to your planning):

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. " Psalm 37:4

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Psalm 33:11

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” Psalm 118:8

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:14

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 Brian Seewald, Youth and Family Pastor

FROM YOUR YOUTH AND FAMILY PASTOR