Current Newsletter

   On a cool, sunny Sunday in November, I stood up in front of the congregation of Jericho Valley Church to preach a sermon for the first time.   My knees shook, my heart raced, and God granted grace. I made it through the morning without fainting and with a passion to preach again.
   I have always had a passion to share with others the Word of God. However, the prospect of preparing and delivering an entire 30-minute sermon was paralyzing. About one year ago however, I heard a well-known and respected preacher give a testimony of his similar fear. He told of how he was stricken with fear the time he was asked to pray during chapel in college. He also told of how after that experience, he committed to never passing up a speaking opportunity because of fear.   If God put opportunities in front of him, he committed to taking them. I made a similar commitment as I read this story.   So, when Brad and Jason asked if I would preach during the morning service and share my heart for ministry, I was in quite a dilemma!   I wanted to say no. But, I had no choice! I knew I had to say, ”Yes.”
That Sunday I used Deuteronomy 10:12-17 to share my heart for the next generation. God has given me a desire to teach them how to “Fear, Love, Serve, Walk and Obey” (vs. 12-13) because of who God is (v. 14), what He has done for us and because of what He promises in the future (vs. 14-15).
Judges 2:6-11 tells of how a generation of Israelites grew up that “did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which he had done for Israel [and they] did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served other gods, and they forsook the Lord…thus they provoked the Lord to anger…” May the generation that follows after us not fit this mold. It is our passion that Jericho Valley Church is a church that comes alongside families and works with them in developing a generation after us that produces committed Disciples of Christ.

Important News:

² Our Associate Pastor, Jason, will be pursuing his PHD this coming Fall. He will also be finishing up work on a Thesis for his Master of Theology degree this spring. Because of this, he has stepped down as Associate Pastor effective January 1st. However, he will continue to serve as an elder and co-small group leader. Please pray for Jason and his family during this transition.

² Because of Jason stepping down as associate pastor, I will have the opportunity to take over direction of some of his ministry responsibilities. (This includes the Children’s Sunday School Program and some Small Group teaching opportunities.)

² Jason and his wife Becky just welcomed a healthy baby girl, Katilyn Noel, into their family, on December 13th.

² Todd finished classes last week and begins classes again on January 28th. He will be taking three classes this coming semester.

² The church is looking into the possibility of leasing our own building. Please pray with us as we seek Gods direction and wisdom in this matter.

² This month Melanie will begin teaching a children’s Sunday School class. Please pray that she is able to develop good relationships with the children as well as the parents.

² Todd will be co-leading one of our new Community Groups beginning in a few weeks.

Community Event News: (Our Community Events exist to promote family and church family relationships as well as provide opportunities for community evangelism.)

² We had our first official family activity on December 14th.   The JVC Christmas Celebration was a success!   It was a great time of fellowship. Also, a family from our church was able to bring another family and their children from their neighborhood.

² January 14th we are having a Church Family Dinner at a local restaurant specializing in family style dinners.

² February 2nd we travel to Temple University to enjoy a basketball game. Many "non-church" friends will be going down with us to the game.

² We are working on setting up regular ministry to a low-income apartment community in Bristol, PA. This area has a great spiritual and material need. Please pray as we continue to establish relationships and a presence in this community.

² We are continually evaluating our ministry at JVC and looking for new, innovative ministry ideas. Please pray with us as we seek new ways to reach the next generation for Christ.

² Our e-mail address is TMHIESTAND@AOL.COM. We would love to hear from you!