"6 Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
As we read this passage, we are reminded that Timothy was facing significant challenges. He was away from many of his friends and his mentor, the Apostle Paul, was now locked in a Roman cell. It could have been easy to grow in discouragement and fear. Paul, the author of 2 Timothy, writes to Timothy this word of encouragement: “remember what God has done in you in the past. He was faithful before, and he will always be faithful. You can move forward in faith today, because God has not given you a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgement.” And this promise isn’t just for Timothy, but for all who are in Christ.
God is doing some incredible things at Hyland Heights. Below are a few celebrations from the past few weeks, as well as our most recent financials.
New Life:
In the past week, 2 children responded to faith in Christ during the Winter Bible Conference and 1 student responded to faith in Christ during Life Group. Praise God for His saving grace!
More Baptisms:
This coming Sunday we have another opportunity to celebrate with those who have trusted Christ as they are baptized! Quite frankly, this just doesn’t get old. God is moving in incredible ways. If you or someone you know desires to be baptized, our next baptism service is February 28th. For more information, go to hhbc.net/nextsteps and click on the baptism link.
New to Hyland Heights:
As the month of February gets rolling, we already have 11 people registered for our Connect Class, which is an important step in becoming a member at Hyland Heights. How amazing is that?! I also heard that, in the month of January, we had at least 25 new students come on a Sunday or Wednesday to our student ministry. We are praising God for how he continues to bring new people to HHBC and hope you will be encouraged to keep inviting, too!
Ordination Sunday:
We are looking forward to ordaining several deacons during the 11:00am service on Sunday, February 21st. In addition, Jackson Richardson, our interim student pastor, went through an ordination council comprised of pastors and professors and we will have the opportunity to celebrate what God is doing in his life through an ordination worship service that same Sunday evening at 6:00pm.
Ready to Advance:
We had an amazing week of worship throughout our Advance Winter Bible Conference. God stirred in my heart and I trust he did the same for you. If you missed any of the sessions, you can still view them at facebook.com/hylandheights and we plan to get those uploaded to our website soon as well.
Ready for Missions:
At Hyland Heights, we are ready to live out the mission of Jesus to impact our community and world with the Gospel. You can learn more about how you can be a part of a 1-day mission trip (Saturday March 13th), working with one of our partner churches - Hill Church - in Roanoke. Join us for lunch in the gym (registration required) on February 21st. To register, follow this link: https://hylandheights.churchcenter.com/people/forms/214188.
Children’s Camp Theme Reveal & Registration Party:
Due to the snow last Sunday, the Children’s Camp Reveal and Signup Meeting has been moved to Sunday, February 28th at 5:00pm in the Worship Center.
Refinance and HHBC Bylaws Business Meeting:
We have received an amazing offer from Farmer’s Bank to refinance our mortgage at 3.25% (this rate beats the rate already approved at December’s business meeting). To complete the refinance, our constitution and bylaws need to be modified to change the wording “trustee” to “document-signer” because of current incorporation practices. Our Constitution and Bylaw Committee has updated this section of our documents. Copies can be found at entrance 1, 2, 9, and the upper lobby and will be voted on by paper ballot at the end of the worship service on February 14th. Questions regarding wording may be addressed to Pastor Brian Freerksen who has worked with the Constitution and Bylaws team through this process. His email address is brianf@hhbc.net.
HHBC Weekly Financials:
January 24 Offering: $ 33,972.52
January 31 Offering: $ 21,229.47 (snow day Sunday)
Weekly Budget: $33,228.00
Thank you for your generosity as we start the New Year. We can’t wait to see what God is going to do as His people faithfully give to connect, grow, and impact lives for Him!
Sunday Reminders:
Please remember that giving in worship will continue to look different as long as Covid-19 persists. We will not pass the plates for your safety, but will have offering boxes at each entrance to the worship center where you can give as you enter or exit. If you cannot be here in person or prefer to mail a check, the address to the church office is: 11452 Wards Rd. Rustburg, VA. 24588. For many, we know that you have started to give online, and this continues to be an excellent choice to make giving easier/safer for you and to make sure that the ministry and mission of HHBC continues to impact more lives in the weeks to come. If you would like to give to Hyland Heights online, simply go to hhbc.net/give.
HHBC continues to strive to keep our church family safe during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. We continue to encourage everyone to take the precautions you would take when entering into any other building. If doing things like social distancing, washing hands well, and wearing masks can help us love our neighbors better and avoid potential spread in our church family so we can continue worshiping together in person, we should strive to do these things as much as we are able. We also want to remind everyone that the 9:30 service still has plenty of room for you and your family to join us while best maintaining social distancing. Thank you for your help and understanding as we strive to keep the people we love as safe as possible. For additional information on HHBC’s response to Covid-19 go to hhbc.net/coronavirus.
“Reflective praise inspires future perseverance.” Dr. Rob Wilton (Advance Conference quote)
Praising God for His faithfulness,
Dr. Josh Carter
Senior Pastor