Children’s Ministry Co-directors

Shelley Batdorf: shelley@faithchurchaustin.org

Kristy Rooney: kristy@faithchurchaustin.org

Nursery Coordinator

Julie Shoars: nursery@faithchurchaustin.org

Administrator

Shellie Wuertz: swuertz@faithchurchaustin.org

Director of Communications

Diane Asprey: diane@faithchurchaustin.org

Secretary

Brenda Ide: faithchurch@faithchurchaustin.org

Custodian

Glen Kurth: glen@faithchurchaustin.org

Family News and Prayer We want to express our sympathy to the Ron & Pat Hoag and

family. Ron’s mother Esther Hoag passed away on December 22.

Missions Highlights This past year we said farewell to our missionaries, the Kieffers

(who returned to Minnesota) and look forward to getting to know

the new missionary families we will be supporting. The Brogans

will return to England soon. Please pray for each of our

missionaries. Watch for an updated list at the Information Desk.

New Orleans Mission Trip Deadline Approaches Wednesday, January 9 is the deadline to sign up and deposit for the

February 16-23 mission and work trip to Urban Impact Ministries in

New Orleans! Please notify Terry Taylor at 433-4566 before that date

if you are planning to go. There are 13 on the team so far, and a

possibility of 2 more individuals.

Individuals who purchased a poinsettia are

asked to take one home. Thank you!

Senior Pastor

Mike Sager: mike@faithchurchaustin.org

Adult Ministries Pastor

Tim Batdorf: tim@faithchurchaustin.org

Student Ministries Pastor Greg Atkins: greg@faithchurchaustin.org

Relational Ministries Pastor

Hilmore Williams:

hilmore@faithchurchaustin.org

Emergency: 438-8880

Faith Church 437-1000

1800 12th St. SW Austin, MN

For Faith Kids 2012 was the beginning of much prayerful evaluation with our programming. Some things changed, others remained the same. Perhaps the piece God impressed on us most was the need to bring families together, with parents deeply involved in the spiritual formation of their children, with the church as an empowering agent and excellent resource.

Here are some highlights:

Family Events: Movie Nights, Skating, Y Nights

Parent-involved programming:

Mystery: Jerusalem

Family VBS

Sunday curriculum change to enhance parental involvement.

The Gospel Project offers the same weekly Bible passage for all

ages. This, along with the take-home pieces, allows parents to

have one conversation with multiple children on what they are

learning on Sunday. And each Sunday lesson ties to Christ.

Wednesday Kids Club & AWANA remain the same and are

under great leadership

The introduction of KidVenture

The preschool room’s major renovation

The Faith Kids staff attended KidMin 2012 in Chicago. It was a

great time to process, dream and continue praying through our

current and future programming.

We look forward to what God has in store for 2013 and beyond! The school district’s addition of the 5/6 school has prompted a change in our programming as well. A new ministry targeting this age is in the works, and will be launched soon.

8:30 am & 11 am Worship

9:45 am - 10:45 am DIG classes

Room 107 is reserved for nursing mothers. Bibles are available

at the Information Center. Thank you for visiting!

Prayer Retreats As a church we desire to grow as a people of prayer. Setting time aside to grow in prayer can help to deepen one’s relationship with God, which is essential to a rich prayer life. In February we will begin offering 24 hour prayer retreats, to provide time, space, silence & solitude with spiritual listeners to foster growth in your personal prayer life. Watch for details.

DIG Classes seek to educate and edify one another about becoming rooted in

Christ, growing in Faith and Branching Out. In recognition that spiritual maturity is primarily an issue of a person’s depth of relationship with God, we target classes at three levels ~ Foundations, Equipping and Multiplying.

Foundation focused classes | growing in understanding of faith Equipping classes | putting faith into action Multiplying classes | deepening a personal relationship with God Last fall we changed the Sunday schedule, lengthening DIG class time to foster growth and give people a better opportunity to connect. This change has proven to be effective; DIG class attendance tripled. Current classes include:

Political Animal (engaging faith in politics), It Starts at Home (passing on a

legacy of faith), The Faith (basic tenants of the Christian Faith), Reason for God

(sharing your faith), Bridges (understanding how to reach out to Muslims),

Discover Faith (distinctives and beliefs of Faith Church). Current classes continue

to meet until January 13. New classes begin January 27.

Care Ministries In this past year we’ve had a number of new ministries begin and take form that will be coming under the heading of Care Ministry. Their purpose is to demonstrate the love of Christ “with action and truth” (1 John 3:18) in times of special and specific needs. Towards that end we seek together as the Faith family in order to minister to one another for the purpose of leading individuals into the freedom and spiritual health Christ provides. Three significant new ministries are in various stages of development; GriefShare, Counseling Ministry and Spiritual Listeners. GriefShare is a support group providing those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, a place to be cared for as they grieve. The counseling ministry exists for the purpose of providing Christ centered counsel. Spiritual Listeners, while still in training, is a ministry being developed to help individuals learn how to pay attention to the Holy Spirits leading

Life Groups God not only loves community, He embodies it. As Holy Trinity – Father, Son

and Holy Spirit, it is part of His very essence. Jesus lived in community with his disciples, ministering to and with them as they lived life together. He did this not just because it is an effective way to minister to people but because it is fundamentally the very life He has created us to participate in.

Life Groups at Faith Church are about living out life in commitment to God and one another, resulting in transformation and glory to God. They are a place where we can “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10), become who God created us to be and fulfill God’s calling on our lives. They focus on process, rather than content, as we seek to go beyond study for knowledge sake to practice. They are characterized by authenticity, respect, listening and speaking the truth in love. They both ask and answer the question, “So what? We’ve heard it now. How do we live it?”

This past year has been encouraging to hear about Life Groups supporting one another in the midst of life difficulties, actively looking for ways to reach out to the community. One Life Group coordinated the Haitian Hustle, raising funds for Haitian youth to attend school. Other groups have participated in Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program, reaching out to children who have an incarcerated parent.

Currently we have 15 Life Groups of various demographics, meeting throughout the week. As we look to the future, we’ll continue to challenge individuals to grow in God’s call to live in committed relationship. For this reason we are seeking Life Group coaches, along with the Elder team, to help oversee and encourage God honoring community.

Grow in faith by connecting with

believers, and practicing the one another

commands of the New Testament.

Branch out by connecting with

non-Christians through love,

word, and deed.

To be rooted in Christ is to have a

personal connect with Jesus through

the Word, prayer and obedience.

STUDENT

MINISTRY

Weekly connections

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Looking back and ahead! As I think back at last year’s ministry highlights, a few memories come to mind…

Joining our Middle and High School students in giving up food for 30 hours while raising about $2,700 for World Visions efforts to feed impoverished children around the world. And, yes, shaving my head bald for their hard work!

Serving alongside of 26 High School students and adult leaders in New Orleans for two weeks, working with Urban Impact Ministries, and attending the National E Free Student Challenge Conference. I loved getting to know our students better and work-ing alongside of them as they cared for and served kids from some of the harder neighborhoods in the country. Witnessing our Middle School students put their faith in action as they spent 9 summer

days in inner-city Minneapolis running a free sports camp and sharing their hope in Christ through soccer, basketball, cheerleading, acting, and singing! Watching deep relationships form between our students and adult “Alongsiders” on Wednesday Nights. I’ve been spending a lot of time thanking God for such a dedicated group of volunteers this year. They have really owned the “Alongsider” vision! Experiencing the impact students have on their peers as they take their faith seriously and serve God through the gifts he has given them at Wednesday Night Live! Be it through leading music and games, sharing in our discussion times, or helping a visitor feel welcomed, I am more and more compelled to celebrate the

work Jesus is doing in our student’s lives!

Welcoming in a handful of students on Monday nights at our house to dig into the Word, prayer and each other’s lives. I am encouraged by the insights my guys have on life and scripture…after a little bit of video game time!

I can confidently say that 2012 was a year of God’s blessing in our youth ministry! Overall, I am celebrating the depths of relationships within our group: Relationships between

our God and our students, our leaders and our students, and our students with their peers! Please pray with me that God would continue to grow these relationships, and that we would further partner with Him to be a Gospel catalyst for our Austin student body!

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Weekly Connections:

Wednesday Night Live: Weekly gathering for any and all Middle School and High

School students at the Youth Ministry Building.

Middle School: 6-8 pm

High School: 7-9 pm

Combined worship: 7:15-7:45 pm

High School Life Groups: A weekly time to grow in your faith in a small community

of friends. Groups meet at various locations and times. Contact Pastor Greg.

Upcoming Events:

Middle School Summer Mission Trip Information Meeting | January 6 | 2-3 pm

High School Jamaica Mission Trip Application Due | January 6

Middle School Winter Wipeout Retreat | January 25-27 |Cost: $105

High School Snow tubing | Ironwood Springs Feb 2 | 6-8 pm |Cost: $10

Connect with Us!

Find us on the Web: www.faithchurchaustin.org/students

Like us on Facebook: Faith Church Student Ministries

Follow us on Twitter: @FCStudentMin

Email Greg: greg@faithchurchaustin.org

Student Ministry Administrative Volunteer:

Looking for someone to provide administrative support a

couple of hours each week on Monday, Tuesday or

Thursday. Contact Pastor Greg.

Seriously, it’s amazing how some folks get enamored with doomsday-kinds

of prophecy and end times threats. Are we there yet? What do we do if...? Or

better yet, what should we be doing now?

The reality is no one apart from God knows exactly when the Day will come.

Only that it will, and Jesus will be in charge. Until then, we keep doing what

He has called us to be doing – make disciples of all the nations. Introduce

others to the “good news of great joy for all people…a Savior has been

born,” and help them to learn to follow Him.

A good word for us to keep in mind is, “persevere.” Keep moving... forward...

in faith. We can have absolute assurance that God will bring about His work

in His time. He wants us to keep seeking Him, following Him, and to be

available to however He wants to use us. He wants us to persevere.

One of things we want to make sure we persevere in is evangelism. As we

enter 2013, I would draw your attention to two opportunities to share the

gospel with friends and co-workers.

The first is happening Friday, February 1, as we host a drama at the

Paramount Theater called Questioning Aslan. It is put on by Searchlight

Theatre Company from the United Kingdom. It portrays a dialogue between

C.S. Lewis and a disillusioned student. It’s message on issues of life and

eternity make it a unique and effective presentation of

the gospel for our friends and neighbors. (We will also be

hosting an actors’ workshop by the same theatre

company, here at Faith Church, Saturday, February 2).

A second opportunity is something we’re still looking into, but looks very

promising. “My Hope” is part of the Billy Graham ministries. It would give

each of us an open opportunity to pray and build relationships during the

coming year, culminating with a chance in November to creatively share

Christ personally with friends. (If you want a sneak peek as to what is

entailed, check out www.myhopewithbillygraham.org.)

No matter what is in store regarding particular events for the future, let’s

encourage each other to stay the course. Let’s keep leaning into our Lord,

trusting Him, and asking Him to deepen our relationship with Him. Let’s look

for opportunities to share our hope with others. This is all a part of investing

in eternity. It’s a part of what it means to persevere.

If all the hype about the Mayan calendar is right, I shouldn’t need

to write this…but, just in case it’s not, I guess I’ll give it a shot.

Men’s & Women’s Ministry Move Forward Both have begun new ministries and leadership teams are in development to oversee, champion and encourage what it means to be men & women of God along with fostering gender specific relationships and mentoring.

Men’s Events Every Man’s Battle for Purity | Saturday, February 2 | 8 am-noon | $35 This event at Autumn Ridge features energized music, powerful testimonies, riveting video clips, and a “too-close-to-home” drama, with the goal of helping men commit to sexual purity. Please sign up through Faith Church so that we can carpool. Watch for registration forms.

Super Bowl Webcast Breakfast | Saturday, February 2 | 8 am-10 am | $5 Men, fathers & sons, are invited to the Faith Church Youth Building for a webcast as NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Bart Starr presents the Bart Starr Award to a NFL player voted by his peers for outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community. Brent Jones (San Francisco 49ers ‘87-’97 Super Bowl Champion) will emcee the event.

Upcoming Women’s Events Women’s Coffee January 19 | 9 am | Youth Ministry Building

Women’s Tuesday Study resumes January 8, Primal, A Quest for the

Lost Soul of Christianity led by Holly Sager. Pam Hollrah-Asleson will lead a study Tuesday 6:30-8:30 pm, When Godly People do Ungodly Things, beginning January 15.