“I can’t do that!”
Have you ever heard someone talking about serving in the church or going on a mission trip and thought, “I can’t do that!”? Maybe you have even felt the prompting of the Spirit to step out in faith, share the gospel with a friend, or meet the need of a friend and that same phrase of doubt crept up to the front of your mind.
The good news is, if you’ve ever let doubt slip in, you’re not alone. The prophet Jeremiah struggled with doubt about what God was calling him to do from the very beginning.
"The word of the Lord came to me: 5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. 6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak since I am only a youth.” 7 Then the Lord said to me: Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. 8 Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the Lord’s declaration." (Jeremiah 1:5-8)
Jeremiah worried he was too young for the Lord to use. The good news is, that those the Lord calls He also equips. Don’t live in doubt. Step out in faith!
Below you will find some celebrations from the previous week, as well as our weekly financial update.
Greetings from the Mission Field: Each Sunday for the next several weeks we will be highlighting different missions partners from around the world as we lead up to our Fall Missions Offering on Sunday, October 25th. If you would like to give early, you can do so by going to hhbc.net/give, follow the giving link, and select "Missions Month" from the drop down menu. I am incredibly excited to think about how our generosity will make an even greater impact in 2021 because of this offering.
Mission in the Community:
Last week, many of the teachers of Yellow Branch Elementary School, our adopted school for the year, received gifts of school supplies in the mail from our church family. We have already received several thank you notes from these teachers expressing how truly grateful they are to have a local church care about them and their classes. In coming weeks, continue to look for how you can be involved as we love on YBES!
Also, we are partnering with Operation Christmas Child this year as they partner with local churches around the world to distribute filled shoeboxes to children. The shoeboxes provide an open door for the local church to share the gospel in surrounding villages and communities and in many areas, children are invited back to go through a discipleship course to learn to faithfully follow Christ. Operation Christmas Child is strategically targeting unreached people groups, and packing a shoebox and sending it with prayer is a way that we at Hyland Heights can help be a part of the Great Commission without leaving home. You can pick up a shoebox or two to pack at Entrance 1, Entrance 2 or in the Upper Lobby. There is a “How to Pack a Shoebox” brochure inside each box to help with packing ideas. Fill out the Boy/Girl label and the age group you chose to shop for and put it on the outside of the box and remember that a $9 donation helps with the shipping for the box. Shoeboxes should be returned to the church by November 16.
What a Month!
Last Sunday marked 5 weeks in a row that we baptized multiple people, totaling 28 baptisms during this time! In addition, last week we saw 2 more students come to faith in Christ at the Student Ministry Center. With life-transformation like that, it makes me more excited to get out and share the gospel with everyone I can! Who will you share Jesus with this week?
Tech Update:
Did you know we have a HHBC church app that is available on the google play and apple store? This is one of the major ways we communicate at Hyland Heights. In addition, in order to not bombard your inbox, we plan to stop sending each morning’s pastoral devotion to your email. Starting next week, you can simply use our app to keep up with our daily devotions, find them on our social media pages, or simply go to https://www.hhbc.net/updates/categories/devotional to see and share our most recent devotionals every morning. We hope this change will help us not get lost in your inbox as often so we can better communicate important information.
HHBC Weekly Financials:
Sept. 20th Weekly Offering: $36,173.00
Sept. 27th Weekly Offering: 31,376.00
Average Weekly Offering in September: $31,922.00
Weekly Budget: $33,228.00
As of September 28th, we have received 105% of our year-to-date budget.
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 baskets where you can give as you exit the worship center following whichever service you attend. 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 the weeks to come. If you would like to give to Hyland Heights online, simply go to hhbc.net/give.
Sunday Reminders:
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
Have a blessed afternoon!
Dr. Josh Carter
Senior Pastor