WE EXISTTO LOVE AND SERVE PEOPLE AS WE SHARE JESUS CHRIST

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Church of the Servant | 14343 N MacArthur Blvd | Oklahoma City, OK 73142-9725www.ChurchoftheServant.com | 405-721-4141 0ffice | 405-728-4774 Fax

The great writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that some gifts real-ly are not gifts at all. Rather, they are apologies for gifts. Emerson meant that we sometimes give out of duty or to feel good about ourselves, but we don’t give ourselves with the gift. In other words, we don’t give sacrificially from the deepest part of our hearts. He called holding back our hearts like that an apology - not a gift at all.

Fortunately, we have many people at Church of the Servant that give themselves away with their offering. Last year on the Sunday when we turned our pledges in, a little six-year-old girl was waiting for me after church. Standing there with her parents, she presented her savings in a Zip-Lock bag. The pennies, nickles and quarters were her gift to the church, given to do the work of Christ in the world.

I thought about how her parents first came to our church. Struggling with their marriage and on the brink of divorce, they had turned to the church as a last resort. With many prayers, pastoral counseling and a lot of support from their Sunday school class, they had turned

Struggling with their

marriage and on the

brink of divorce, they

had turned to the

church as a last resort.

Gifts and Apologies for Gifts!

their marriage around. They learned how to give themselves completely to one another and to Christ.

Their generous love now has spilled over to their daughter. Already at six, she knows how to really give.

We do this giving thing together, as a church. Be generous, even as Christ so generously gave His all for each of us. Bring your gift to Him. If you give the way a six-year-old would give, you’ll have nothing to apologize about.

Robert GorrellDr. Robert Gorrell

Senior Minister

October 4World Communion

HUMANITYJohn 3:16 October 11

COMPASSIONPsalm 82:3-4

October 18

STEWARDSHIPPsalm 24:1-2

October 25Pledge Sunday

ETERNITYJohn 14:1-2

Dr. Robert Gorrell

CONTENT...........................5 ..... DISCOVERING MINISTRY CAN NOT ONLY CHANGE OUR LIVES; IT CAN HELP TO TRANSFORM OTHERS’ LIVES AS WELL! Dr. Robyn Goggs

6 ..... DISCOVERING IT’S MORE THAN JUST CARING FOR FACILITIES Eric Nance

8 ..... DISCOVERING HEADED IN A NEW DIRECTION Jenny Kincaid

9 ..... I, TOO, AM LOVED BY GOD Dylan & Brandy Goodwin

10 ..... FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST Rev. Tim Travers

12 ..... MUSIC MINISTRIES IS SO MUCH MORE! Chuck Weatherford

14 ..... RADICAL HOSPITALITY Rev. David Wheeler

16 ..... SHARING THE LOVE OF CHRIST Jeremy Patman

17 ..... GROWING IN FAITH Missy Loftis Amy Johnson

18 ..... HOSPITALITY Dr. Scott Bartlow

20-21 . YOU GET MORE THAN YOU GIVE Lynda Barnes Colby & Martha Stone

22 ..... FINANCIAL REPORT Rev. Randy Shrauner

CONTENT.............................

I heard a beautiful quote recently, “The church is a factory to produce Christians for the world, not a warehouse to store them.” I am reminded when I

walk down the Concourse day in and day out that this church is growing people who are going into the world and changing lives. And yet, sometimes they stay within these walls changing lives. Our stewardship al-lows us be fully resourced for the ministry that helps us grow to go out into the world. I am blessed to share the stories of two of our staff people, who faithfully serve in ministry in this church and whose presence in this building has made such a difference in me. One is a longtime staff member - Eric Nance - and one is new - Jenny Kincaid, but both have discovered a ministry here that has changed not only their lives, but made them a part of helping to transform others’ lives as well.

Dr. Robyn GoggsAssociate Minister of

Missions and Women’s Ministries

The church is a

factory to produce

Christians for the world,

not a warehouse

to store them.

DISCOVERINGMINISTRY CAN NOT ONLY CHANGE OUR LIVES; IT CAN HELP TO TRANSFORM OTHERS’ LIVES AS WELL!

God’s Plan

5

It’s more than just caring for facilities

I have worked at Church of the Servant 18 years. This coming March will be my 19th anniversary! My uncle Steve pointed me to

the job during a young and difficult time in my life. I had previously been employed at a real estate management company, working in maintenance and landscaping. I had va-cation scheduled; when I returned to work, I was informed I no longer had a job. They were very sorry, and offered to help me find another job if at all possible. At the time I was living in a rent house owned by Steve, so my first priority was to inform him of my job loss. He is the one who told me about the custodial position open at the church. He had told me about the job several times. I thought there was no way I wanted to be a custodian - I had bigger and better plans. But I needed a job, I had to have something, so I came and applied. The first person I met as I came in the door was Don Cole. He and I talked, and he told me they were going to make a decision that night. This was a Tues-day. Wednesday, I waited all day for a phone call. Thursday, I resigned myself to believing

I didn’t get the job and needed to contin-ue searching. As I was heading out

the door around 10am, Don Cole

called me and asked if I could be at work by 3pm!

I believed from a young age that God had a plan for me to use my life for Him, but never did I think it would be in building mainte-nance. I thought I would just work here for a year and move on; but here I am, still working in my ministry. I look at my job, not as a job, but a ministry. I try to lead by participating in ministry, not just work.

It was maybe 15 or 16 years ago that an as-sociate minister, Rev. Jeremy Basset, was launching a new mission to South Africa. The room that was scheduled for their first meet-ing had not been set up or cleaned. Jeremy called me and I went to get it ready. I wasn’t in the best of moods; however, I cleaned the room and set it up. The next day I asked Jer-emy how it went, and he responded, “Fantas-tic!” He thanked me for the work and then told me how important it was to his meeting. He told me that many people make judg-ments based on how well a meeting is organ-ized and, “if the room can’t even be set up right, then why would they invest their time in a mission to South Africa?” A light bulb went off in my head; it was the first time I had 6

realized my job was really a ministry. It is in the small details that the big picture is made. In other words, the big picture is made up of lots of little pictures. Custodial work was vital to the success of the bigger-picture works of the church.

About ten years ago, I found myself strug-gling with who I was. I kept having this nag-ging feeling that I was to be more involved in the life of the church. It was a night when I felt out of sorts. I came to the church, walked into the Chapel of Peace, and prayed, “Lord, I am tired of fighting you. Just use me where you want me. Get me there and I will serve, no matter what it is.” Soon after, the opportu-nity to start a new Sunday school class came up. This class was started by Heather DeS-hazo and me, with the help of Sandy Jensen and Rev. Tim Travers. I initially thought, “I will help support this as the cheerleader and Heather can lead.” I felt very unworthy to be a teacher or a leader. Soon after, Heather was busy on Sunday mornings with the TV ministry and sound board duties, and was no longer able to be a part of the new Sunday school class. This left me scrambling to find people to teach. It was in April that I ran into real problems. The teacher I had scheduled for the month was not able to do so, he had been transferred. My saving grace was Sun-day School University, a concept designed by

Rev. Randy Shrauner to help provide a lesson in which the whole church could participate. I jumped on the opportunity! God will use you when you ask Him to use you! I never thought I would be a good teacher or a spir-itual leader, but God has molded me through my experiences. God has led me to be the person I am today. I have now been teach-ing for about a decade, and I have grown and developed as a teacher and a spiritual leader.

Being at Church of the Servant (COS) has made a huge impact on my life. I came to work here at the age of 25; I have grown and matured by the very experiences I have had here in this church. I have met the most incredible mentors here. They have helped shape my faith, encouraged me through life’s challenges, and encouraged me to grow. I hate to think where I might have been had I not been presented with the job here at COS. COS continues to help me through many of life’s challenges today. I still look forward to every Sunday experience and I still enjoy coming to work after 18 years on the job!

Eric NanceAssistant Director

of Facilities

7

Eric Nance

HEADED IN A NEW DIRECTION

I was six years old when I first walked these halls at Earthglow Market with my mom and said to her, “This church is beautiful; I

want to get married here!” Little did I know that 25 years later Church of the Servant would be my home.

In March 2013, God gave me the courage to leave an abusive relationship. I had felt so oppressed and devalued that I hadn’t had the energy to leave, but for the sake of my one and a half year old child, Tyler, I had to leave. Going back to a parent’s home as an adult is not one’s idea of mov-ing forward, but I had no other options but to come back to Oklahoma City and live with my mom to raise my child. Our neighbor, Charlotte Hough told my mom about a job at her church where she also worked in the nursery. Ten days after my return, I had a job in the nursery at Church of the Servant. The role expanded that summer to also work in the Starbright children’s day out program. I felt like this was the first of many answered prayers, as I could be a working mom who was able to take my child to work with me.

Someone believed in me, and my confidence began to grow. I had a role and people who were positive influences in my life, and who were showing me how Christ reveals His

love. When I was with the children, I felt this overwhelming sense of God’s love

for me in their innocence and in

the way they trusted me to care for them. I found a new passion for teaching children and creatively introducing them to Jesus. I was so excited about finding new activities and crafts that would give me the opportunity to make something with them and talk about Jesus’ love with them.

I was able to get involved in the single moth-er’s ministry and build real friendships with other women who are walking the same path as me. My desire and hunger to know God better grew. I began reading every book I could get my hands on about how having a real relationship with Jesus could change my life. I wanted to know Him more and believe in Him more. This group encouraged me to grow as I connected with a group outside my job circle.

This spring, I was hired as the Nursery Direc-tor at Servant and now have a bigger role that I am equipping myself for, as I lead a staff of vibrant, gifted nursery workers. I had started college with the intention of going into psychology. But over these last years, my calling into education has been made so clear by working with the children at Church of the Servant. My hopes, dreams and be-liefs have been restored here, after years of abuse. That life was not God’s plan for me. I know my future has been shaped by being here at Church of the Servant. I believe that trusting God and knowing His timing is right and perfect is what continues to lead me. And who knows, maybe someday I will get married right here in this church.

Jenny KincaidNursery Director

8

I, TOO, AM LOVED BY GOD

Disoriented. That’s the word that comes to mind when I think back to how my relationship was with God be-

fore I truly found Him. I knew He was there, and I could feel Him tugging at me – but I didn’t know where to begin to find Him. It was like searching for Him in the fog. It was disorienting.

I was struggling with my faith and struggling to commit to Him. I had never belonged to a church - not one. In the past 10 years, my husband and I visited several – proba-bly 20 - in the OKC metro area. While there were some that we liked a lot, it was never enough to keep us drawn in.

But then we visited Church of the Servant and it felt different. The sermons were about love and forgiving others. I wanted to know more so I researched the UMC and what it meant to be a Methodist. John Wesley stated, “The Methodists alone do not insist on your holding this or that opinion; but they think and let think.” This hit home with my own ideology.

Shortly after our first few visits to Church of the Servant, my father lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. It devastated me and the fog became thicker. I lost a few months after my dad passed away as my memories are sparse during that time. He had been my rock and my best-friend.

That’s when God’s tugging increased, as if he was begging me to lean on Him during my time of grief. I knew He was my life preserver and I knew I needed to immerse myself in Him, so I joined a Bible study at Church of the Servant.

I was scared to death those first few weeks. I felt unworthy of God. And I was scared

people in the church and in the Bible study would soon discover just how unworthy I really was. But the opposite happened. I found others who were just like me and openly admitted it… broken and unworthy, as we all are. Yet, they loved God with all their hearts and it was apparent God loved them back unconditionally. Through this Bi-ble study I learned for the first time in my life just how much I, too, am loved by God. His grace is humbling.

I’m far from perfect and I struggle daily with what God wants and expects out of me, constantly letting Him down, I know. But I also now know that He loves me, completely and unconditionally. This knowledge, which I gained from Church of the Servant’s Bible study, has been life-changing for me and my family as we have all been drawn closer to God. In fact, we were recently baptized to-gether as a family by Church of the Servant and together, with Church of the Servant, we will continue our faith walk.

Dylan & Brandy Goodwinwith Alex and Miles

9

JESUS CHRIST

Janice Moore, Church of the Servant member since 2006, would often sit in a pew with Ken Koerner, but Ken is now

under hospice care. Janice and Ken met in 2001, when Janice happened to move next door to Ken. Janice smiles now, recalling peo-ple saying she’d probably never see her next door neighbor, who was reclusive. One day, she noticed there was a landscape stepping stone placed right where she needed one. Also, the morning newspaper was moved up closer to her house, making it easier to re-trieve. Sometimes the newspaper even had a Hershey candy bar with it. She began to rec-ognize that her supposedly reclusive neigh-bor was responsible for the kind and sweet gestures.

Their companionship grew as they became more acquainted with each other, and they’ve been close ever since. Janice had been wid-owed since 1988, and Ken had never married and had no children. Janice recalls, “Ken filled all those empty places in a widow’s heart.” In 2006, Ken was diagnosed with a form of male breast cancer, which eventually spread to his spine and brain. After surgery, chemo, radiation, and eventually Gamma Knife treat-ments, by 2015 it became apparent the treat-ments were ineffective. Janice called and let the church know about Ken’s health status. Ken had never joined the congregation, even though he had grown to love our church.

Since it was no longer possible for Ken to come to the Church, I knew that

it was time for the Church to 10

FOR THE LOVE OF

Janice Moore withKen Koerner

come to Ken. As the Minister of Congrega-tional Care, I started mailing cards, assuring Ken we were praying for him. I also started visiting him each week at the nursing home. Ken decided he’d like to be baptized (which he had never been) and officially join our con-gregation. On July 13, 2015, I brought some water to bless, along with a baptismal bowl, and led Ken through the baptismal vows and received him into membership. When I asked him if he accepted the offer of Christ’s love, forgiveness, and salvation, Ken answered emphatically, “Yes I do!” It is so powerful to know that there is never a time in life when we are too sick, too old, or too far away for God’s love to transform us. At Church of the Servant, we are on a mission to love and serve peo-ple as we share Jesus Christ. Now, as Janice sits at Ken’s bedside, she not only reminisces with him about all the places they’ve traveled. They also cherish the memory of how Christ’s love has touched their lives through the minis-tries of Church of the Servant.

Rev. Tim TraversMinister of

Congregational Care

As it turned out, Ken passed away during the early morning hours, the

very next day after I wrote this article. It is a profound truth — that even as

we go to be with God forever, the love of Jesus Christ goes with us.

..........................

11

As I thought about the impact of Music Ministry on the life of the participants and the life of our Church, I am struck by a couple of things:

Yes, Music Ministry exists to provide musical leadership in worship, but it also provides a place for fellowship and spiritual growth. I have long believed that the goal of our Music Min-istry is to help build a stronger relationship with God and each other. We take time to pray and laugh almost as much as we sing! I do, of course, want to make some good music along the way, but for me, it is not about performance, but rather praise.

We believe this relationship between the arts and the church has always been important and

MUSIC MINISTRIES IS SO MUCH MORE!

In the words of one of our interns, Carter Humphreys, “Being a part of Music Ministry at Church of the Servant these past two years has changed my life! It is the generosity and kindness that runs throughout Church of the Servant that makes this ministry so great!”

Our Music Ministry covers a wide range of musical abilities and ages. In the orchestra, for example, we have very accomplished musicians and those that have rekindled their love of playing after many years of absence. Chad Cravens is one that has renewed his love of the trombone, not playing since the 8th grade! Chad says, “I truly enjoy playing with the church, and hearing people come up and say, ‘you guys sounded great today,’ it makes you feel good... it is a privilege to play for Church of the Servant. I love this orchestra, and this Music Ministry.”

continues to be. I was reminded of this again when sixty of our folks traveled to Italy in June and sang in glorious settings, includ-ing the Vatican. The music was wonderful, but so were the bonds that were built and strengthened. One couple even got engaged on this tour!

12

Chuck Weatherford

Some of our members have had a lifetime of service to the church. Jo Wheeler is an alto in our choir and the spouse of a retired UMC pastor. “The experience of singing with this special group has helped me to grow as a Christian. I consider the choir my church family. Lifting our voices each Sunday in worship unites us in the spirit of fellowship and of Christian ministry.”

When talking with members of Music Ministry, the word “family” comes up again and again. Relationships!

“The spirit of fellowship in the people who are part of Music Minis-tries is so welcoming and warm, it makes me feel like I am coming home to a family who loves the Lord and wants to share His mes-sage of love, faith, hope and forgiveness to people everywhere.” - Angela Gee – President of the Celebration Choir

“Can you imagine a worship service without music? I cannot and I know in my heart of hearts that our Lord smiles (and maybe even occasionally taps his feet) when he hears the gifts of our wonderful musicians and choirs and singing congregation on Sunday morn-

ings and throughout the week. I love that all ages and talents are included in our music programs that involve our children, youth, adults, dancers, musicians, singers, actors, and artists. Our Music Ministry provides the creative manifestations of our faith!” - Monica Wittrock, percussion

Dr. Nick Zoller is a Math Professor at Southern Nazarene Univer-sity. Nick joined the choir a few years ago. He, too, echoes the same sentiment as our other members.

“It is one thing to speak God’s praises; it is another thing to sing them. Singing with the choir has brought me closer to Christ and to the people of Church of the Servant.” - Nick Zoller, tenor

As you can see, Music Ministry is a diverse group of people. For each of these members you have heard from, Music Ministry pro-vides a need that they cannot get anywhere else. It is important to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

We believe these relationships are built early on. That is why we offer a fully-graded Choir Program for Children through High School. We also enjoy Bell Choirs and vocal ensembles. We offer so many different aspects of our ministry because Church of the Servant is made of all sorts of people with all sorts of needs and talents.

At the center of all we do is Christ. Our relationship and worship compels us to strive to do our best musically and to love each other. Ours is a ministry that moves forward on it’s knees.

Thanks to your support, Music Ministries will continue to provide great music for worship, and will also change lives and build everlasting relationships!

Music Ministries is happy, alive and well!Chuck Weatherford

Director of Music

13

This spirit of fellowship,

welcome, and hospitality has been evident this year in some pretty remarkable

ways!

AAfter having served at Church of the Servant for my first

complete year, I think it is fair to say that I have seen a pattern of radical hospi-tality here! I mean that you folks go out of your way to welcome those that God places in your path. In each of the areas of my ministry here at Church of the Serv-ant, this spirit of fellowship, welcome, and hospitality has been evident this year in some pretty remarkable ways! I’d love to spend the next few moments sharing just a couple of examples with you.

Just recently, at the 8:15 Chapel of the Cross ser-vice where I preach every week, we welcomed Donna Boyd into membership here at Church of the Servant. What makes her story so great is the welcome she experienced from this wonderful community of people who make up the Chapel community. Donna is quick to share how she came to our church not really knowing much of an-yone and yet, on one of her very first vis-its, she was invited by a whole row of folks to come and sit with them (you

know who you are!). Each week, Donna became more and more a part of us in the Chapel. And last week, Don-na stood up front next to me, alongside her whole row of friends, and became a mem-ber. This kind of hospitality is refreshing and inspiring!

Recently, Rev. Dr. Scott Bar-tlow, our Associate Minister

of Evangelism and Hospitality, set up a special table just out-side the Centrum with some gifts on it. The idea was that during the

service, I would make the folks who were pre-sent aware that I would be at the table immediate-ly following worship, look-ing forward to meeting any guests who wished to come

by for a visit and a gift from our church family. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect,

RADICAL

14

Rev. David Wheeler

HOSPITALITY

We make it

possible for

these kind of

miracles to

happen.

“God, what do you want to do through me?”

since this was the first time. So, just as soon as the worship service concluded, I made my way to the table and stood by it. Much to my surprise, several guests DID come by on their own. What was even more amazing was that several more guests were escorted to the table by our own members to meet me! In all, I met seven visiting families that day thanks to the combined leadership of Dr. Bartlow and our own people who went the extra mile to extend welcome and hospitality to those whom God had placed in our paths.

There are so many more examples of this kind of heart-felt display of hospitality among us. But what I hope to illustrate by sharing these brief examples is that when we give of our time, talent, and treasure here at Church of the Servant, we make it possible for these kinds of miracles to happen. Without the financial support of

our membership and friends, none of this would be pos-sible. I hope you’ll join me in praying this simple prayer as we approach that time of the church year where we will de-cide what we can pledge for 2016: “God, what do you want to do through me?” Will you join me in praying that prayer? I cannot wait to see what God WILL do through us together in 2016!

Blessings,

Rev. David WheelerAssociate Minister of

Preaching and Teaching

15

SHARING THE LOVE OF CHRIST

My name is Jeremy. My family and I have been members of Servant since arriving in Oklaho-ma City in 2011. While our church has a variety of ministries - adults, youth, kids, music, local missions - the Children’s Ministry has impacted me the most.

I started volunteering in Children’s Ministry because my wife thought it would be good for us to help. After all, our kids were going to Sunday school and Kids Own Worship. So the first time they went to Welcome on Wednesday (WOW), we were there. In the beginning, it was more about helping, but as time went on it changed, and I changed as well. Kids have an awesome perspective and a tremendous amount of energy. Seeing their excitement when singing the Papaya song at camp or the songs they learned at VBS is infectious.

There are so many ways children demonstrate Christ’s love to each other and the other volun-teers. The kids care little about how old you are, what your name is, or what your occupation is. They do listen, on occasion, and their responses during discussion are honest upfront answers. Jesus tells Peter in the gospel to “feed my sheep.” Through my small act of feeding his sheep, I have been fed by the sheep themselves. Children reflect God’s love in an amazing and authentic way. What started as an act of service for me has become a time when I am blessed by the children I am serving.

Jeremy Patman

16

My name is Missy Lof-tis. Being a volunteer

leader and having a son in the youth program allows me a

unique perspective to see it from both sides. I have volunteered on

Wednesday nights since 2005, starting in the basement and eventually graduat-

ing to the upstairs. The entire High School program truly has awesome students, staff and volunteers. I co-lead a Wednesday night small group of young women. These small groups allow youth to ask questions, grow in faith and learn to walk the Christian life. In group, they challenge me for an-swers to biblical questions, as well as how to handle everyday situations. They are al-ways eager to know more about God and His promises. Their eagerness helps keep me excited and growing in my faith as well. With so many pressures in high school, I feel like these students (my son included) are lucky to have Servant as a safe place full of friends. Seeing these kids each week excited about being together at church and growing in their faith journey could make anyone smile. God works daily through this ministry.

Missy Loftis

GROWING IN

FAITH

I have been blessed to participate in our Middle School Ministry (MSM) this past year. I have enjoyed opening the snack bar on Wednesday nights, being a parent chaperone at Disciple Camp, and being a Confirmation Small Group Leader. All these experiences have added to my relationship with my own children and strengthened my relationship with God.

There is nothing better than being a part of my son’s church life. I enjoy watching him grow in his spiritual life and the way Worship moves him. I can’t thank Jenna enough for giving me the opportunity to be a part of his life in this way.

Getting to spend time with these MSM stu-dents has made me a more deliberate pray-ing individual. Having a group of young people that trust me to pray for various parts of their lives has re-awakened my prayer life. I treasure each of them and love being a part of their weekly lives.

This year, I will help lead a small group on Wednesday nights. I feel a sense of respon-sibility to become better acquainted with the Bible, since we will have many discus-sions with the Bible being our guide. So you could say that the opportunity to work with the youth has rekindled my desire to grow in my faith.

Amy Johnson 17

“For we are God’s

handiwork, created in

Christ Jesus to do good

works, which God

prepared in advance

for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

We desire to become a serving church, answering God’s call to serve by con-necting our unique gifts and passions

to His mission, resulting in Christ-centered growth that is celebrated in community! You can make a difference in the lives of others when you serve.

When you serve, you are revealing the love of God to those who may not yet know Him. This is true in Church of the Servant’s Hospitality Min-istry. Hospitality Ministries exist to create great first impressions so that the Holy Spirit can work in people’s lives.

Our hospitality volunteers are building an envi-ronment to help guests and members find their spiritual next step. Let me take a moment to highlight a few volunteers that are living out our hospitality values every week.

Interview with Shirley Rolston, Welcome Center Volunteer:

What do you like most about serving at the Wel-come Center?

What I like most about serving at the Welcome Center is being part of the energy, friendships, and a special caring for each other that is dis-played in the Concourse on Sunday mornings. I just really enjoy helping people find whatever information or room location they are looking for and answering questions about our wonderful church.

How has your volunteer role played into your spiritual growth?

My volunteer roles (I have several) play into my spiritual growth in many ways. When I am

volunteering, I actually see and feel the

Holy Spirit working through me and fel-low volunteers to make life a little better for others. I always keep Luke 12:48 in my mind and heart when serving.

Can you share a time when you felt like you helped someone take a next step of connection through the Welcome Cen-ter?

Truthfully, I can’t think of one specific time. But, when a new person comes up to us at the Welcome Center and we answer their questions, encourage them to sign the guest book, furnish them with publications that help them make deci-sions on visiting certain classes, or just to visit 13.2, they are so appreciative, you

HOSPITALITY

18

can just tell they feel welcome. Occa-sionally, we will team them up with other members we see in the Concourse that have the same interests.

Interview with Nichelle Zoller, 13.2 Volunteer:

What do you like most about serving at 13.2?

I love seeing the same faces over and over! It is great to see a familiar smile or receive a hug from somebody who truly cares for you and is genuinely happy to see you again. As a person with a more introverted personality, seeing familiar faces helps me to open up, create friend-ships, and get connected to people on a more personal and spiritual level.

How has your volunteer role at Servant played into your spiritual growth?

After taking the COS spiritual gift class, I was able to identify one of my gifts which is HELPS. Jesus was a servant to the men and women who followed Him. I know by following the example set by Je-sus and being humble enough to serve my fellow man, I grow closer to God. My small contribution helps the body of Christ in a BIG way.

How do you see 13.2 Coffee Shop help to create a great first impression for guests and members?

It is a warm and relaxing environment. It is also very intimate. COS is a big church and can be intimidating to new mem-bers/visitors. Seeing there is a small

area where you can get a drink, relax, people watch, and have church members come up to you and show you kindness tells me that 13.2 Coffee Shop is a great first impression minis-try that follows the example set by Jesus to serve our fellow men and show them love and acceptance.

Interview with Jay & Julie Kriegel:

What do you like most about serving in Park-ing Assistance Ministry?

The sincere gratitude we receive every week from those we assist. Some of them have told us, “Without this ministry, we wouldn’t be able to attend Church of the Servant.”

How does your volunteer role play into your spiritual growth?

We’ve been inspired by the faith of those we assist. Many of them, despite physical chal-lenges, attend church every Sunday. We feel honored to be able to help them.

Can you share a time, when you felt like you helped someone with Parking Assistance Min-istry and what it meant to them?

We’ve been blessed with many memories of helping others who are elderly, handicapped, ill, or injured. On several occasions we have even had the opportunity to assist people who previously were volunteers themselves.

Dr. Scott BartlowAssociate Minister of

Evangelism & Hospitality

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My name is Lynda Barnes and I believe God made us to be in relationships. He made us

to be in relationships with each other and most importantly, He made us to be in a deep relationship with Him. I have the great privilege to combine the two each Wednesday night of the school year. Each Wednesday night, Stacey Brim and I get to be leaders of the 8th-grade girl’s small group. You might not know this, but Church of the Servant does a very cool thing with their Wednesday night small groups. Wednesday night small group leaders start in the 6th grade with their group and travel with them until they graduate from High School. This is an amazing experience - sev-en years together - seven years of growing togeth-er - seven years of sharing life - seven years of growing our relation-ship with God!! Since our group will graduate from high school in 2020, we call ourselves “2020 Vision.” We started scrapbooks in the 6th grade (two years ago) and I’m so excited to see their scrapbooks when they grad-uate. The scrapbooks have our Bible memory verses, pictures from retreats, annual goals and pictures from our

events. Each week we meet and discuss our lives and share

our prayer requests and have fun.

When I decided to be a leader, I was very ner-vous. I knew seven years was a long commit-ment and I was nervous about leading these girls. I prayed that God would lead me. And as any volunteer will tell you - You Get Way More Than You Give! As I said before, when I start-ed this, I prayed that I would be a positive and strong influence for the girls in my group. Oh my! God had other plans - these girls have had such a strong and positive influence on me! The beauty of this long-term plan through mid-dle school and high school is that you CAN and WILL share life experiences. Midway through

our first year, my husband be-came very ill and

our dear group sent me cards and brought a wonderful poster

to the hospital for him. And towards the beginning of our second year, my husband David passed away.

It is impossible to ex-press how nice it is to come to church on Wednesday night and

be with these sweet girls. They have endured my tears, and they have shared their day-to-day life experiences and helped me through such a very difficult time. I love seeing these girls mature. And I’m so excited for the next five years. It is a privilege and a blessing to share in their lives.

Lynda Barnes

YOU GET MORE

THAN YOU GIVE

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Colby and I both grew up in the Meth-odist church. Our paths crossed when we met at McMurry University,

a Methodist university in the Northwest Tex-as conference. He moved to OKC after his graduation in 1997.

We found our first connection to Church of the Servant through an invitation to be a part of something we both love - music. A college friend, Amy Henry, and her parents, Jim & Coleen Henry, invited him to Church of the Servant and to the orchestra. He played trombone in the orchestra and jazz band. I moved here after my graduation in 1998 and also joined the orchestra. We didn’t come as regularly in the beginning... only on Sundays when we played in the services.

We got married in 2000 and joined the Two by Two class in 2003. That was a tremen-dous blessing to me, because shortly after joining the class, Colby moved to Seattle for 4 months as part of a work transition. During that time, I was really thankful to have my new friends in Two by Two and our friends in Music Ministry to get me through those difficult months.

Our family began to grow in 2006 with the birth of Xander, and Avery followed in 2008. Since then, we have been very in-volved in the amazing Children’s Ministries program here at Church of the Servant. Both of our kids were baptized at Church of the Servant. We wanted to be intentional about making the church an important part of our family framework, so we stayed involved. We like that we are able to introduce our kids to mission work and the importance of doing good things for others. Xander is part of the Children’s Ministries Leadership Team, and they will be deciding on the mis-sion goals for WOW and Kids Own Worship this semester. Both Avery and Xander have enjoyed participating in Stop Hunger Now. It’s important for everyone to feel like they can contribute.

Colby was a WOW leader while our kids were in preschool. He has served on sever-al committees in the church and is an active

part of the Stop Hunger Now planning com-mittee. He’s also volunteered as the games leader at Kidz Camp the past three years, and has been involved with the Car Seat Ministry since the beginning as a car seat tech, and goes into the community, fitting seats on Saturdays with the team.

I have been a preschool KOW volunteer. I am still a part of the orchestra and very in-volved in Children’s Ministry as a volunteer for Kidz Camp, kids choir, and as the VBS di-rector. I’m also serving on the Mission Coun-cil for three years now.

Church of the Servant is like my home away from home. While my kids were in Starbright and Warm World, I was at church frequently during the week. I loved bringing my kids to school at church.

Our church family is a very important part of our family. They have been with us through our many highs and lows! I love seeing my friends when I am at church! Many of the most significant relationships beyond our family come from our relationships in the church. They are our family too, because we do life together. Our church is a happy place for me. I love the people inside and the things that we do while we’re there. Our lives have been shaped and transformed by discovering that our faith can be lived out in the life of our church and through the op-portunities that our church gives us to serve in the community.

Colby & Martha Stone

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As a part of our annual Stewardship Cam-paign to support our operating budget for the coming year, I thought it would be good to give a report on the financial status of Church of the Servant. In short, I am pleased to report that we are currently on track with our operating budget, our indebtedness has been reduced significantly, and we have ev-ery expectation that the year will end with us standing on very solid financial ground.

It would be impossible for me to overstate the importance of the Stewardship Cam-paign as it relates to the financial life of Church of the Servant. Over the decades, our congregation has developed a very pre-dictable relationship between the estimates of giving that we receive in October and the actual receipt of tithes and offerings the following year. This speaks to the extreme faithfulness of our membership, their com-mitment to Church of the Servant, and to God’s work in and through us. As a result

of this history, the Finance Committee can make decisions in regard to the budget for the coming year with a high degree of con-fidence and accuracy. I would ask that each of us prayerfully consider our individual fi-nancial situation and how God is asking us to support the work of the Church. Each gift, large or small, makes a difference.

One area that deserves special acknowl-edgement is the continued reduction of Church of the Servant’s debt. In the past twelve months we have paid down over eight hundred seventy-five thousand dollars on the amount owed by the congregation. Our current estimate is that at the close of fiscal 2015 our total outstanding debt will be approximately 1.4 million. That amount represents a reduction of over five million dollars in the years following our “Prepare the Way” campaign. As a congregation, with this amount remaining, we can see the day in the near future when we will be debt free and together we can dream of all that God hopes to accomplish in this place.

Thank you for your faithfulness, for your generosity, and for your willingness to in-vest in the ministries of Church of the Ser-vant. We look forward to the blessings that God has in store for this congregation in the coming year.

Rev. Randy ShraunerExecutive Minister

FINANCIAL

REPORT

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Rev. Randy Shrauner

During the last week of October, you will receive an estimate of giving commitment card in the mail. On a practical level, we ask our members to turn in estimate of giving cards each year so that our Finance Com-mittee is able to set an accurate ministry budget for the coming year.This allows us to make the most of every dollar given to the church. On a personal lev-el, the commitment card is an opportunity for you to spend time in prayer and reflection, considering what offering you would make to God through our church in the coming year. Please be watching for the mailing to come the last week of October. Then fill out the card and bring it with you to worship - Sunday, October 25.

“You will be enriched

in every way for your

great generosity,

which will produce

thanksgiving to God

through us.”

II Corinthians 9:11 (NRSV)

If you would like more information about our annual stewardship pledge campaign, or if you have questions about your giving, contact Rev. Randy Shrauner at 405-721-4141 or email at rshrauner@churchoftheservant.com. 23

STEWARDSHIP 2016 Pledge