As you might have heard already, Awana is coming soon to our church, and I couldn’t be

more excited about this wonderful ministry starting up again at Village Green. I heard

from many of you that this ministry had already taken place at

our church many years ago, and I was pleased that most

everyone was looking forward to this change. A few Saturday’s

ago, your future Awana teachers and I spent a good portion of

our day training for this upcoming startup. I was moved to see

the impact that the Gospel can have in our children’s lives. J.P.

Morgan, (not the banker as he stated himself), who is our

Awana missionary, led the training that day. He taught us the

earnest prayer of Awana, read it carefully: That all children

and youth throughout the world will come to know, love, and

serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but that

prayer gets me very excited about the potential Village Green can have in our children’s

lives and in those of our surrounding community.

That day I learned that Awana is centered on the Gospel.

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God that brings salvation to

everyone who believes. Romans 1:16

At the heart of this program is the strong conviction of reaching children with this

message.

Another very important principle for Awana is Scripture memory. This is key to the success

of it, and it is something I am personally very happy to be able to bring to our children.

Most of the Bible verses I know come from when I was a little girl. I am glad that this

program can help our kids learn many Bible verses, understand them, and, above all,

keep them in their hearts forever.

I can’t wait to have fun with your kids as we learn God’s Word and

explore deeper into it. I am so thankful for the teachers and

helpers who will make this possible. Please be in prayer for us, for

those kids God wants us to reach, for the resources we will need

to get this done, and for the volunteers still needed to make all

this happen.

Volume 7, Issue 9

September 1, 2015

The News let ter o f V i l lage Green Bapt i s t Church

Life on the Green

PAGE 1 LIFE ON THE GREEN VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 9

~Cindy Rojas

~Village Green Baptist Church~

PAGE 2 LIFE ON THE GREEN VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 9

Office Hours Pastor Mike’s Office Hours

Monday & Tuesday — 9:00am- Noon

Wednesday & Thursday — 1:30pm-5:00pm Administrative Assistant Office Hours

Monday - Friday from 8:30am-12:30pm.

Outside those hours, please leave a voicemail

and we will get back to you on the next

business day.

PRAY FOR OUR MINISTRIES

Staff —Amanda Bowling, Administrative Assistant

Leadership — Christy Watkins, Worship Team

VGBC People — Carol Loth; Michal, Caitlin &

Maya Luszczek; Dave & Bobbie Maas; Caroline,

Leesha, Leshawn, Levontie, Leandre & LeDarrion

Matthews; Andy, Felicia, Hunter, Dean &

Gabrielle Maxa; Joyce McCullough; Ron, Dana,

Maria, Truman & Keely Meecham; Kim

Morjoseph; Paul & Jan Morris.

Outreach — Dr. Jim & Kris Renke,

Regional Minister Upper Mississippi River

rev.jimrenke@gmail.com

In Prayer this Month VGBC News & Events—

God is good! He has blessed us with 100+

resumes for the Senior Pastor position. The team

has been able to prayerfully read through them

and narrow the field down to a more manageable

number. These candidates were asked to answer

a series of question and provide audio sermons

for us to listen to in order to get a better

understanding of their strengths and style of

preaching. Currently we are processing through

these and will hopefully be able to narrow down

the number to a manageable number for phone

interviews. Please continue to pray that God will

show us who He would like to be our new Pastor.

The Children’s Harvest You may have noticed the children’s posters over

the donation table in the narthex. Those posters

were created by our children who participated in

the Children’s Harvest in August. The

children learned about issues related

to local and international hunger and

ways they can help. Besides making

posters, the children also harvested

cucumbers, zucchini, beans, and

tomatoes from the garden.

The Food Pantry Thanks You Thank you to everyone for contributed to the

August donation for the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry.

We delivered everyone’s donations each week,

and delivered produce from the Deacon Garden

as well as Mike and Caitlin Luszczek’s home

garden. Thanks to everyone for

participating and thanks to Tom

Codak for delivering the donations

to the Food Pantry each week! Save the Date!

Village Green has passed the half-way point in

our Capital Funds Campaign! Let's celebrate this

milestone and take some time to thank God for

His graciousness and blessings.

Date:

September 27

Time:

12:00pm

(right after the service)

Check the bulletin and sign ups for

details to come.

~Actively Sharing Life in Christ~

PAGE 3 LIFE ON THE GREEN VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 9

Enrich Your Relationship With Jesus!

There are plenty of opportunities for Adults to get connected with each other and God this Fall. You are welcome to join any of the groups listed. Please contact the church office or the Group Leader if you would like to sign up for a group, or if you need more information.

Sunday School Opportunities: Groups meet on Sunday mornings before the worship service at 9:00am Jean Rosio will be teaching a Woman’s Group – Room 20 David Rojas will be heading up a Spanish Group – Room 27 Living Social lead by Mark & Laura Reeves – Room 22

Life Group Opportunities: Wed. Night – Life Group with Blaine & Nancy Welman at VGBC

Bible Studies: The Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies are still in the process of being planned. Dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Men’s Breakfast The next Men’s Breakfast will be on Saturday,

September 19 at 8:30am. Pastor

Mike Weber will be speaking with

the men. Please call the church

office if you would like to attend

at 630-469-4400, or sign up online here.

~Village Green Baptist Church~

PAGE 4 LIFE ON THE GREEN VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 9

VG’s Connection Corner

Outreach Team Update The Outreach team has been discussing

potential new missionaries to fill the opening

we have had this year. We are feeling that God

is leading us to expand to a Hispanic

missionary. Geoff Hartt the Executive Director

from Hispanics for Christ has just sent some

materials for us to look at. Please pray that

God will lead us to the missionary He has

chosen us to come

along side of with our

financial and prayer

support.

Helping Hands Refugee Ministry We are excited to begin a new season with our

Refugees! We will meet from 9:00am to

11:30am on Wednesdays starting on

September 9, 2015. We encourage you to

consider volunteering, and thanks to all who

have faithfully volunteered in the past.

Special needs include:

Transportation — Van would be needed

Babysitting

Volunteers — help leaders, and as a one on

one helper with Refugees who have limited

language skills.

If you have questions or are interested in

he lp ing , p lease contact

Jean Rosio at 630-469-1767 or

the church at 630-469-4400 or

villagegreenoffice@comcast.net.

Lost and Found The lost and found box in the coat room is full.

A table has been set up under the bulletin

boards with the contents of box.

Please take a look to see if

anything belongs to you. The

remaining items will be donated.

Freed to Share Life in Christ Update

Gifts and Pledges to Date: $405,243

Amount Received to Date: $213,370

Children’s Gifts: $192.80

Updated August 28, 2015

Operation Christmas Child Operation Christmas child is coming! Shoeboxes will

be available at Village Green staring in October. The

boxes can be filled with small toys, hygiene items,

and school supplies. Once the shoeboxes are filled,

write a note of encouragement for the

child receiving your box and pray over it.

This a great way to show a child they

are cared for by God.

Revive Upcoming Events There are many events being planned for Revive Stu-

dents in the coming months. Please take note of the

following events, dates are still to be determined.

September: Revive Fall Kickoff Event!

October: Feed My Starving Children.

November: Care packages new and old college

students.

December: Christmas Party and baking cookies!

Revive will not be meeting on:

Nov. 25 and Dec. 23 & 30, 2015

PAGE 5 LIFE ON THE GREEN VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 9

~Actively Sharing Life in Christ~

POWER CO. TOUR 2015 “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”

In June, the P.O.W.E.R. Company went on tour to Oklahoma and Texas. This year was the team’s 32nd tour. Here are some trip statistics: There were 21 of us on this trip. We had 4 vehicles and a trailer as we drove 2400 miles round trip to Dallas. This year in addition to our regular team members Ric and Debbie Johnson, Christy Watkins and Karen

Liebenow, we brought along Kim Morjoseph and James Torne who were a great addition- along with Don Conrad who has toured with us for several years who we couldn’t do without.

The tour consisted of 4 travel days, one free day at Six Flags, and 7 performances in 10 days.

Our performances included: A VBS Closing Program A Worship service and evening performance in Oklahoma Various Church events A Children’s Home And an inner city after school program in a space about the size of our library which ended up being our

favorite performance.

We asked the team to share a few ways they thought that God blessed them on this tour and here’s what they said...

Amy: “How the whole team worked together so nicely for God.” Karen: “Seeing a beautiful full rainbow after driving through rain. So thankful for God's protection.” Jaime Torne: “God kept us all safe from harm's way throughout the entire tour! El cuidado de Dios! (The Care of God)” Samantha Oakley: “No matter how small the space, God showed how big He is.” Megan Black: “The amazing God loving people I had the privilege of being with!” Debbie Johnson: “A hard working team that gave their all in every situation.” Bahgat Hassan: “Seeing God channeled through our show and into the audience's hearts, no matter the age.” Brandon Johnson: “God's power still amazes me every year.” Christy Watkins: “The privilege of performing for children less fortunate than us and seeing God’s hand in the planning of it all.” Ric Johnson: “Seeing the older kids mentor the younger kids and work so well together.” Phil Arndt: “Even through troubles and worries, God showed his blessing.” McKenna Liebenow: “It was such a blessing to have so many new faces on tour this year! We all bonded so well and I felt blessed to have such amazing friends.” Kayla Johnson: “The generosity and compassion that was shown to us by our hosts.” Kim Morjoseph: “God kept us safe while traveling during all hours of the day and night, during all the heavy rain, late night driving throughout the entire tour.” Don Conrad: “I was blessed and encouraged to see the commitment, faith, and talent of Village Green's students and I am optimistic for Village Green and the Church.” The P.O.W.E.R. Co. is grateful to Village Green, for everyone’s prayers and for helping the team get ready

for tour, for everyone’s support and love.

September 2015 Calendar

Wednesday, September 2

6:30p Revive

7:45p Worship Team

Sunday, September 6

10:00a Fellowship

10:30a Worship

Monday, September 7

Happy Labor Day

Tuesday, September 8

7:00p Administrative

Group Meeting

Governing Team

Meeting

Deacon Group

Meeting

Wednesday, September 9

9:00a Refugee Ministry

6:30p Revive

7:45p Worship Team

Sunday, September 13

9:00a Sunday School for

All Ages

10:00a Fellowship

10:30a Worship

Monday, September 14

7:00p Care Team

Wednesday, September 16

9:00a Refugee Ministry

6:30p Revive

7:45p Worship Team

For a complete list of events at Village Green, or to

check for changes to this calendar visit our website

at www.villagegreenbaptist.org

PAGE 6 LIFE ON THE GREEN VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 9

~Actively Sharing Life in Christ~

Saturday, September 19

8:30a Men’s Breakfast

Sunday, September 20

9:00a Sunday School for

All Ages

10:00a Fellowship

10:30a Worship

Monday, September 21

7:00p Stephen Ministry

Wednesday, September 23

9:00a Refugee Ministry

6:30p Awana Clubs

Life Group

Revive

7:45p Worship Team

Sunday, September 27

9:00a Sunday School for

All Ages

10:00a Fellowship

10:30a Worship

Wednesday, September 30

9:00a Refugee Ministry

6:30p Awana Clubs

Life Group

Revive

7:45p Worship Team