April Church Calendar4 Easter Food Baskets all day Fellowship Hall

6 Good Friday Service 7 pm

7 Easter Egg Hunt 9 - 11 am

8 Easter Service - 1st service 9 am Easter Brunch - 10 am Family Center Easter Service - 2nd service 11 am

15 Baptism Sunday28 Fairchild-Krone wedding

Volleyball Monday 6:00 pm See Kris Bridgers for info

Youth GroupsJr. High - Sunday 5:00 - 6:30 pmSr. High - Wednesday at 7:30 pm

Sunday Worship ServicesMorning Worship 9 am - 10 amChildren’s Church 9 am - 10 am 1st & 3rd SundaySunday School 10:30 am - 11:15 am

Firs

t U N

ews

Andy’s Letter • First United News • Spotlight on Bill Allison Milestones • Attendance • First U News • Church Calendar

April 2012Andy Huette, Sr. Pastor Brett Monge, Jr. High Youth Director 407 W Seventh Street, PO Box 280, Gridley, IL 61744 309-747-2299 www.1stu.org

Chili Cook-Off on March 11

Sometimes when we read the Bible, it feels like a chore. It’s a discipline that we know is good for us, but at times it feels much the same as other disciplines in our lives like exercising, flossing, and financial planning. There are other times, though, when reading the Word is fresh and exciting. It’s in these moments when familiar passages of Scripture seem brand new, application of the Word is clear, and we wish we could sit and read all day long.

This morning, I experienced the latter. As I read the book of James, I saw something brand

new, and I want to share what I saw in the Scripture with you. James begins his letter with a verse that is fairly well-known: “2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” I read that passage and began to think about its application to the many in our Church family who are going through significant periods of trial. I thought of my own mini-trials and asked the Lord to help each of us to see that one of His purposes in our trials is spiritual maturity (steadfastness) and to be able to count our trials as gifts in which we can find joy.

What I had never before seen in James, though, is that near the end of his letter, in 5:7-11, James revisits the theme of remaining steadfast in the midst of trial. Often times in the Bible, writers use this “sandwich” literary device as a means of accentuating main points. They write about topic A, and then move on to other topics before returning to topic A in order to wrap up the thought and highlight a key theme.

James 5:7-11 is the bookend that correlates to James 1:2-4 and it reads: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand . . . 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

James ends his letter by reminding the Church of Job’s suffering. In hindsight of Job’s suffering, it is clear that Job was blessed for having suffered because,

at the end of the book, he most certainly has a newfound depth of relationship with God.

Further, James uses the farming analogy to remind his readers that God brings about both physical fruit and spiritual fruit over time. In

other words, our trials are the growing season that must be endured before the harvest comes.

And finally, James points the readers to the future coming of the Lord at which time our trials will end and we will receive the much hoped for inheritance of glory from Him.

While there is indeed mystery as to why we go through particular trials, we can know that the Lord is purposeful in using suffering to bring about spiritual fruit in our lives. May God’s Word strengthen us to endure with steadfastness and joy the trials that we face each day.

Grace & Peace, Andy

We fed 190 people at our Chili Cook-off on March 11. Fourteen chili’s were served including one large roaster. Chris Zeller came away with first place; Trent Kaupp took second; and Ken Hall had the third prize chili. Matt Wenger and Keri Hany received Honorable Mentions for their entries. Thank you to all the good cooks who supplied chili, brownies, and cookies!

Dear Church Family,

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.

James 1:8

Joplin Trip Recap Inside

Our Core Values Open Bibles One Another Beautiful Feet Spiritual Growth Authentic Worship

Spotlight on . . . Bill Allison, Cadre Ministries

2 3

Attendance & Offering3/4 277 $ 9,199 3/11 260 $ 5,166 3/18 277 $ 6,099 3/25 206 $ 3,658

April Milestones Birthdays

1 Anne Wettstein4 Bonnie Sherrill5 Dax Gentes6 Erica Rosenberger9 Jim Mallory9 Juno Zeller11 Alyie Roth14 Jil Stauter15 Connor Glatz16 Gilda Maurer19 Tonya Krone20 Eliza Meiss22 Abby Huette26 Marilee Wenger27 Dusti Palmer30 Sydney Hall Anniversaries20 Steve & Mary Carls12 Denny & Bonnie Sherrill

Sunday School Offering Offering Kids Fed3/4 $ 60.72 202 3/11 $ 42.33 141 3/18 $ 66.58 1463/25 $ 20.91 79

“Who has been the most outrageously loving person in your life?”

If you attended the “Ministry is Re-lationships” workshop presented by Bill Allison in 2009, you got to ask and answer questions just like this.

Bill has been a good friend of First United for six years. He has filled our pulpit, trained our Sunday School teachers (“The Teaching Genius of Je-sus”) and led two workshops: “Minis-try is Relationships” and “Evangelism is Relationships.”

Our Missions Team is pleased to have the privilege of providing Cadre

Ministries with monthly financial sup-port since 2007.

Bill says this about Cadre’s mission: “Our obsession is to come alongside churches to encourage and equip them to love God, love people, and make dis-ciplemakers.”

We are excited to have him visit on April 29 so that you can meet him and hear him preach.

If you need a conversation starter when you meet him, try this: “What is one thing you would love to smash with a hammer if you would not get in trouble for it and why?”

Bill Allison will preach at First United on April 29. Bill and his wife, Stacy with their family: Front row Josie, Sadie, Emily Back row: Libby, Stacy, Ivy, Bill, Aubrey,and Billy in the back right corner.

Joplin, MO Service TripMarch 23 - 27, 2012

The Deep and Wide Steering Team—Steve Barnhart, Dave Zeller, Bev Nelson, Jeff Benedict, and John McKey—are continuing to explore ways that First United can effectively adjust to the growth we have been experiencing as a church. The scope

of our investigation includes exploring answers to the following questions:• What changes can be made to our existing facilities to accommodate our continued growth?• Are there ways to increase the seating capacity of our sanctuary without making major building

changes?• If we decide to have two Sunday services, what changes would have to be made and how would

we make the transition?Please continue to lift us up in prayer as we seek God’s direction. We are committed to giving

periodic updates on our progress and seeking your input. Please don’t hesitate to contact our team if you have questions or input.—Steve Barnhart for the Deep and Wide Steering Team

Come meet one of our missionaries on April 29!

Easter PlansApril 4

Easter Food Baskets distributedApril 6

Good Friday Communion Service - 7 pmApril 7

Easter Egg Hunt, Crafts, Prizes & More - 3 pmHot dogs & refreshments served after Hunt

April 8 Two Easter Services 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Brunch served between services at 10 a.m.

Art Work by Julie Blair

Deep and Wide Update

A team of 72 from First United traveled to Joplin along with Grace Fellowship’s team of 20. Our First U team was: Chuck, Marsha Albritton; Brian, Susan, Collin, Mattie, Blake Buchanan; Mark, Kaylene, Nicole, Sydney Butikofer; Dan, Kimberly Dixon; Denny, Dee, Max Foor; Bill, Denise Foor; Jowanda Grace; Penny Grusy; Keri Hany; Rebekah Kaeb; Dee Kitchell; Brian, Katie, Hannah, Tim, Kathy Kurz; John, Tonya, Jordan, Amanda Krone; Guy, Cari, Calee, Gracie Schultz; Bill, Erin, Allen, Dalton Liming; Mark, Stacy, Jacob, Adam Ludy; Ron, Marcia Mool; Todd, Jennifer, Maddie Morrison; Doug Nelson; Dave, Peggy, Sam Poppen; Jeff, Becky, Carlee, Connor Stoller; Greg, LouAnne, Taylor, Levi, Hunter Umland; Bob, Anne Wettstein; Chris Zeller; Alison Kinkade; Chloe Meiss; Vera Rosenberger; Lauren Schrock; Kyle McArdell; Ben Roth; Seth Swartzendruber.

We cleared brush, debris and trees and passed them hand-to-hand to the curb for the city to pick up. Some of the men hung drywall at a Habitat for Humanity home. Others worked on a sewer line at another home. Some of the ladies sorted clothing from a clothing drive.

Delores was our original contact at Americorp. She recently moved from a FEMA trailer back into an apartment. We gave her a $1000 Visa gift card.

Delivering to Amy and her two children

Wilson family delivery

The tornado leveled Joplin High School on May 22, 2011.The letters OP remained on the sign; students added H and E with duct tape to spell HOPE. The high school graduation took place on the day of the tornado and finished minutes before it hit. It was the first year the ceremony was held at a local college rather than the high school—saving countless lives.We saw star-shaped signs posted all around the high school and other parts of Joplin. They were painted by children as therapy to help them work through fears.Our Joplin team brought back “32 Minutes in May,” a book chronicling the devastation. The book is in our church library.