March 1        9:00a      Missions Sunday & Luncheon

March 2        6:30p      Mug ‘n’ Muffin Night

March 7      11:30a      Mommy-To-Be Shower for Jennifer Joneleit

March 8        2:30p      Choir & Worship Workshop  

March 8        6:00p      Night of Singing

March 15      4:30p      Leadership Community Meeting

March 15      6:00p      Grudem Study

March 28      9:00a      Scrapbook Day 

Mug ‘n’ Muffin Night
Women’s Ministries presents another Mug ‘n’ Muffin Night on Monday, March 2nd, at 6:30pm in the Fireside Room.  Our guest speaker will be Patsy Claremont from Women of Faith via DVD.

Choir Workshop & Night of Singing
John Andrew Schreiner will be our guest on Sunday, March 8th, for a choir & worship workshop and Night of Singing.  The workshop will run from 2:30 - 5pm.  The Night of Singing will follow from 6 - 7pm.  Both events are free and open to everyone.  Contact Ed Nilsen at ed.nilsen@taftavenue.org for more information.

Calling All Men
All men are invited to our men’s weekly waffle and prayer times.  We meet every Tuesday at 7am to pray for our families and every Wednesday at 6am to pray for our church.  We start off both prayer mornings with waffles.  Join us!

Grudem Study
On Sunday, March 15th, at 6pm, Pastor Bob will be teaching and leading a discussion on the, "Creation of Mankind as Male and Female".  To prepare, please read chapters 21-22 in Grudem's Systematic Theology.

Mommy-To-Be Shower
We’ll be having a mommy-to-be shower for Jennifer Joneleit at Rockwell’s in Villa Park on Saturday, March 7th, at 11:30am.  This will be a pay-your-own-way event.  We’ll also be going in on a group gift.  Contact Vickie Burris or Mary Beth Ramlo to RSVP and to contribute towards the gift. 

Scrip
Going to lunch after Sunday School?  Don’t go without first checking the many scrip-enrolled restaurants.  Here’s a sampling of area scrip restaurants: Baja Fresh, Carl’s Jr., Chili’s, Chipotle, Islands, Marie Callenders, Mimi’s, Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Quizno’s & Red Robin.

Church Directory Photos
Next Sunday, March 8th, is your last chance to take pictures for our new church directory, so come ready to gather your families directly after the worship service.  Meet Gail Arneson in front of the Worship Center double doors.

Four truths to ponder as a church and as individuals:

1. Jesus had a clear mission:  saving the lost from every tribe, nation, language, and people group.
Luke 19:10 – He came to seek and save the lost.
1 Tim 1:15 – Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Mark 10:45 – Son of Man came to serve and give his life a ransom for many.
Romans 15:8-9 – in order that the Gentiles might glorify Him for His mercy.
Isaiah 11:10 – the root of Jesse shall rule the nations, in Him shall all the nations hope.

2. He didn’t finish.  There are literally hundreds of unreached people groups and hundreds of millions of people who have not heard the gospel.  There are millions upon millions who have not responded to the gospel.

3. He has called us to carry on in His absence.  We must be willing to cross language, cultural and geographical boundaries in order to reach the unreached.  We must be willing to take the initiative to give this message to our people group in Orange County.

John 20:21, “as Father sent Me even so send I you.”

John 17:18, “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

Luke 24:46-49, “and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 

Matthew 9:38, “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”  NAS

1 Peter 2:9, 12, “ you are a chosen race... holy nation... that you may proclaim the excellencies... keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles... they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them glorify God in the day of visitation [because they have been saved].”

4. We must place a high priority on strategies to reach the lost.  Our strategies must include unreached people groups, least reached people groups, and reached people groups including those in and around Orange.  Our strategies must be corporate and individual.  Each of us must have a plan for reaching our neighbors, co-workers, family members and those God has placed in our personal spheres of influence.

In other words, we must be careful to pray and strategize and answer this question: How can I arrange my schedule and priorities so that I am in the best place to develop relationships with the lost for the purpose of sharing how God in His great mercy and grace has sent a Savior to free us from the bondage to sin for His glory and our joy?

These are fairly straightforward biblical mandates.  My exhortation is to pray and then take action.  Think hard on these things.  The Lord will give you understanding and His Spirit to move you to action.  

Children's Ministries

Women's Ministries

Scrapbook Day: Join us on Saturday, March 28th, in the Fireside Room from 9am to 9pm.

Moscow, Russia.  Good news from our Reach Global Missionary, Eunice Castle.  She tells us that the fall semester just simply whizzed by as she became adjusted to, and proficient in, her many varied duties and responsibilities at the Hinkson Christian Academy (HCA).  She is grateful for a very compatible roommate, who helps with the responsibility of rent and utilities payments, and the advantage of living only a fifteen-minute walk from her ministry.  It has been a continuing joy to become acquainted with the teachers on staff and observe their commitment to, and love for, their students.  Eunice reports that the fall staff retreat was a great time of refreshment, study in the Word and fellowship.  She gives praise for her sister Elizabeth’s good recovery after her stroke and that the prosecutor’s office has not pursued action against the school for operating without a license while they were working on the renewal.  Eunice requests prayer that God will give her strength and wisdom as she continues to learn new skills and that God will provide teachers for HCA that are needed for next semester, as well as a new permanent director.

Mike and Kathy Fisher, with East-West Ministries International, returned from Myanmar the first week of February.  They report that “it was the best trip yet” as they continue to fulfill their passion which is… to train pastors and pastor’s wives in the restricted access countries of the world.  Mike relates the story and requests prayer for a man who attended the Mandalay Pastor’s conference.  “Pastor Kha Baw was part of the first group of the Myanmar Training Center in May 2005.  Kha Baw was planting a small church and trying to bring it to stability in the northwest of Myanmar bordering India.  By 2007, the church of 30 was now 530, with its own building.  Pastor Baw turned over the leadership of the church to one of his associates in October 2008 because he felt God calling him to plant a new church in a nearby town that had no evangelical witness.  The leading Buddhist monk in this town convinced the political headman to place a restriction on Kha Baw, prohibiting him from building a home for his family.  So he travels each week to town alone, He stays with a Christian family, and daily presents the Gospel, building relationships and sowing seeds.  He has joy in his work, though he left relative security and battles with hardship and rejection.  Please pray for permission to move and build a bamboo home in the new town.  The majority of the people in town are illiterate.  He is asking God for $200 for a solar-powered DVD player, to bring the Jesus Film and God’s story to the people, who are very responsive to visual and audio presentations of the Gospel.

How blessed we are to be contributing to God’s great master plan as we provide prayer and financial support to people half-way around the world whom we probably won’t meet until we are introduced in heaven.

Please continue to remember and uphold John and Deanna Hayes as they deal with a very tenuous housing situation as they seek to build those essential relationships with their neighbors for the purpose of radiating Christ in both word and deed.  Be praying for their daughters, Savanna and Alexandra, as they build friendships that will also open doors, and pray for continued success in their education.

The Missions Committee encourages each person in our church family to participate in our month of March focus on the ministry and work of the missionaries we support.  The first Sunday of March, during the worship service in the sanctuary, will include a special report from Rick, Steve and Chuck regarding their trip to India and their interaction with previous contacts.  Following this worship service, lunch will be served in the Fellowship Hall.  We will close out the month on Sunday, March 29th with a similar service, followed by lunch to allow you to have close contact with individual missionaries.

Exciting news from Jeri Little as he is traveling to scheduled conferences here in the U.S.  His book "Merchant to Romania: Business as Missions in Post-Communist Europe” is now published and will be available to our church family when Gloria is with us on Sunday, March 22nd and Sunday, March 29th to help us complete our exciting “Month of Missions” emphasis.  You'll want to be prepared to purchase a copy.  It will be a great read.