Page 4 Chestnut Street Baptist Church The Nutshell, January 2017

In the Coming Month: January 2017

Sundays at 9 a.m. Bible Study Hour, and 10:15 a.m. Worship

Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. LIFE Group at Johnsons, 808 E. Capitol

Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. LIFE Group at Bivens, 2761 Reecer Creek Rd

Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. Prayer Group at the church’s facilities, room 202

Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. Cornerstone (kids grades 1-5)

Wednesdays 7 p.m. Ignition (youth group, grades 6-12)

Thursdays 7 p.m. Cross Walk (university students and young adults)

Thursdays 6:30 p.m. LIFE Group at Bisonnettes, 2406 N. Ellington

Thursdays 7 p.m. LIFE Group at Hyde’s, 1806 N Bluegrass Lane

Fridays 4 p.m. Ladies’ Coffee at Jenikka’s Coffee House

Fridays 4:30 p.m. LIFE Group at Briarwood Commons

Sunday, January 1, 9:30 a.m. Potluck Donut and Coffee Fellowship

Sunday, January 1 , 10:15 a.m. Lord’s Supper and Deacons’ Fund Offering

Sunday, January 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR! Worship at 10:15 a.m. There will be no Bible study hour at 9 a.m.

Saturday, January 14, 8 a.m. Men’s Breakfast

Sunday, January 15 FISH Sunday

Saturday, January 21, 9 a.m. Ladies’ Breakfast

Sunday, January 22, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID Ellensburg, WA 98926

Permit #3

Senior Pastor, Frank R. Johnson Associate Pastor, Jeremy Johnson Youth Director, Stacia Harmsen Ellen Hyde, Ministry Assistant

CHESTNUT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH 609 N Chestnut Street Ellensburg WA 98926

(509) 925-2424 office@csbcfamily.com

The Nutshell, January 2017

See the calendar online at csbcfamily.com for upcoming scheduled events.

Prayer requests? Contact PrayerNet at prayer@csbcfamily.com, or call the church office, 509-925-2424.

As I See It … by Pastor Frank Johnson

A New Song for a New Year, even if in a Minor Key

609 N Chestnut Street Ellensburg, WA 98926 (509) 925-2424 office@csbcfamily.com www.csbcfamily.com

King David of ancient Israel came up with some good lines, didn’t he? Try this, for example: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:2 NIV

84).

That is a pretty graphic image of the deliverance of the Lord. David feels like God has pulled him up from the suction of a stinking and slimy mud pit. He has given him “a firm place to stand” and “on a rock” no less. I haven’t actually had the experience of being stuck in the “mud and mire,” have you? Perhaps not literally.

We can feel like that, though, can’t we? Important relationships seem hopelessly stuck in a habit of behavior that is depressing, utterly boring, or even downright threatening and scary. When we fight this destructive pattern, we feel like things get worse rather than better. All of our struggling just seems to suck us down more deeply.

Our work can seem to us as hopeless drudgery that has little meaning outside of paying for the roof over our heads. We can feel mired down in the valueless repetition of grinding it out day by day looking repeatedly at the clock to see if we are soon to be liberated, until we have to repeat it all again tomorrow. It is little wonder, really, when such meaning in our work is lost, that we might be tempted to turn to thrill-seeking or an alcohol or drug-induced fog—better than having to face the reality of the “slimy pit” in which we seem trapped.

David appears to understand these feelings. He begins Psalm 40 with these hopeful words: “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1 NIV

84). Then, he affirms that the Lord “lifted [him] out of the

slimy pit” and all the rest. As a result, David says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:3 NIV

84).

As I see it, such experiences are not that rare for the followers of Jesus. We get “stuck” in seemingly hopeless circumstances, meaningless work, difficult relationships. Where do we turn? We cry out to the Lord, Who never fails to hear the cry of His people. We “wait patiently” for His loving and purposeful action. We learn to trust Him. We allow Him to adjust our perspective. We learn that He is able to bring good even out of the worst situations, eventually. We discover that even suffering has ultimate value, as it teaches us perseverance, shapes our character, moves us toward hope and ultimately puts us in a position to understand God’s great love like never before (cf. Romans 5:3-5). Even though our new song right now might seem to be in a minor key, He is able to turn it into a song of joy as we cry out to Him. This will have an positive impact on others, too. So let’s do it!

My love in Christ, Pastor Frank

The Nutshell

News and Information from Chestnut Street Baptist Church

January 2017

Volume 25, Number 1

Frank R. Johnson, Managing Editor

Ellen Hyde, Ministry Assistant, Editor

609 N Chestnut Street Ellensburg, WA 98926 (509) 925-2424 office@csbcfamily.com www.csbcfamily.com

Opportunities for the Church to Show Hospitality

We have two stories in this edition of The Nutshell that demonstrate our commitment as a church to cooperation and shared ministry. Both can be found on page three. The first is regarding the property we have received back from what was Ronald Community Baptist Church. We have been pondering what to do with that property since the church closed and deeded the property back to CSBC about a year and a half ago. We have recently been contacted by COAL Ministries to see if they can begin their work in upper Kittitas County from that facility. The second is about hosting the Ellensburg Foursquare Church Preschool Daycare and after school service. Since their facility had a fire that drove them out of it for awhile, they have been seeking space to hold worship and to maintain their daycare ministry. We have agreed to host the daycare program here in our facilities. Both of these give us a golden opportunity to demonstrate Christian unity before the watching world. Let’s keep praying for these acts of hospitality and shared ministry. After all, these properties belong to God, not to us.

In This Issue:

Cooperation and Shared Ministry 1

As I See It … by Pastor Frank 1

Pastor Jeremy’s Ministry Update 2

Youth Update from Stacia 2

Women’s Ministry Events 3

Men’s Breakfast in December 3

Women’s Retreat Coming in Feb. 3

Cold-weather Shelter on Fridays 3

Ronald Property Update 3

Hosting Foursquare Daycare 3

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday 3

Monthly Schedule 4

Page 2 The Nutshell, January 2017

Stacia’s Notes: Youth Ministry Update Pastor Jeremy’s Updates

Christmas Choir

Thank you all for coming to join us for Christmas Choir December 11. It was a joy to share music with you, and the choir did so well! If you missed the opportunity to sing with us and would like to join in for our Easter Choir, rehearsals will start February 12, 4:30 p.m, in preparation for Easter time. All singers are welcome, no previous experience required!

Collegiate Ministry

We are blessed to have a team from Tarleton State

University scheduled to be with us January 9-14. Pray

for us as we do some campus outreach and welcome the team of five to our community. Sadly, they won't be here on a Sunday for all to meet them, but we will be feeding them a meal each day. This is where you come in! If you are able to prepare a meal (either for lunch or dinner, depending on the day) for us to enjoy with the team, give me a call! (509-829-1817) We would love to have different individuals/families prepare a meal for Tuesday-Thursday.

Did I already ask you to pray for us? That is the most

important component. Pray that God would lead us to the right students for conversation, for safety traveling to and from the airport, and for growth as disciples through the week of service.

One other thing, look forward to our Annual NCM

Variety Show the in early February. It will be a fun time

listening to and watching our talented young adults, with an opportunity to support our spring break mission trip to Vancouver, BC! More next time on the trip! Yours,

Jeremy

Merry Christmas! I hope and pray to our generous

Father that you will experience all the joy and peace that this season promises! God is so good! What a gift He has given us! It is a gift of Himself! I have been reminding myself and encouraging the youth- so I will remind you of the same- to give of themselves, following Christ’s example, during this season. If we are intentionally “spending less”, willing to “love all”, and incorporating “full worship” in all of it then I think our “giving more” will be meaningful, and memorable. These are ideas that we have been covering together at Ignition. They have led us to make an advent paper chain with each day and link instructing us to do something like decorate the tree, take cookies to a neighbor, make a real snow snow cone, or read Luke 2:1-20. I hope that the youth that took this challenge have shared the blessing with their families! One of the other activities we did was to make gift certificates where we give of ourselves. We answered the question, “What is something that someone you love loves to do?” and then “Can you do it with them?” The challenge was to then give that person (a parent, sibling, or best friend) the certificate to do that activity. Hopefully some of you are getting to see this in play in your families. I think we can all set this example of selflessness in love for others. May it be so among our whole CSBC family!

Last night we had a small youth group Christmas

party. Even though only a couple could come due to

travels and other obstacles we still had a good time together. A couple who came and I went to play in the snow and ended up clearing off the memorial near the pool at Memorial Park. I thought it was a very thoughtful idea for one of our young men to come up with! As the three of us started I thought how big of a space it was and wondered if we really wanted to do the whole thing but we got to see the bricks quite quickly appear as we worked side by side. It was a good reminder of what working together can do and how when we think of others and less of ourselves that beautiful things can happen.

Thank you for your support, prayers,

and encouragement. They are a gift that I thank God

for. He uses you to encourage me to keep on in His will. May you be blessed!

Always In Christ, Your Youth Director, Stacia Harmsen

Chestnut Street Baptist Church

Potluck Donut and Coffee Fellowship for All

Sunday, January 1, 2017 9:30 a.m.

Bring the good stuff!

Page 3 Chestnut Street Baptist Church The Nutshell, January 2017

Men’s Breakfast in January

Our monthly Men’s Breakfast will be offered on Saturday, January 14, at 8 a.m. Come on down! Men interested in helping cook breakfast should contact Merle Woody.

Women’s Ministry Events Ahead

R.E.A.L Women’s Ministry: Redeemed. Esteemed. Adopted. Loved! We meet for coffee every Friday at 4 p.m. at Jenikka’s coffee. A breakfast fellowship is held on the third Saturday each month at 9 a.m. Pick up an invite card in the foyer to give to a friend. We have a retreat planned for February 3-5 at Sun Cove just north of Wenatchee. Watch for details and sign up sheet. Other events are listed on the women’s ministry Facebook page. If you would like to be on the call/email list please see Pam Conover, Deborah Boudreau or Ellen Hyde. You can also contact the church office for any questions on upcoming events: 925-2424 or office@csbcfamily.com.

Ronald Property Update

Our Ronald Property Committee is following up on a conversation that began last month with COAL Ministries in the upper county on the use of the Ronald property for some shared ministry. COAL is in the start-up phase of their ministry. COAL stands for Community Outreach And Life-Skills Ministries. It is a Christ-centered, Biblically-founded ministry of Christians from various churches in upper Kittitas county. Roger McCune, former Director of FISH Food Bank and current pastor at Thorp Community Church, is the chair of the COAL Ministries board.

CSBC authorized on ongoing conversation with COAL Ministries in our last business meeting on December 4. Our Ronald Property Committee proposed to COAL that our building could be used by them if they cover the costs of the utilities and purchase their own insurance for their operations in the building. COAL Ministries is looking into the feasibility of both the building and its current location for its ministry in upper county. As long as the church owns the building, we will also reserve the opportunity to use it for our own ministry purposes, as well.

Cold-Weather Shelter Running on Fridays

Our involvement in the Community Cold-weather Shelter Program involves the use of our Fellowship Hall on Friday nights. We have volunteer teams that staff three shifts: 7-10 p.m., 10 p.m.-6 a.m. and 6-1 a.m. Pray for our ministry to those in need through the shelter program. Remember Matthew 25:31-46. “Whatever we have done for the least of these ….”

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

Every year, CSBC celebrates the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday on the Sunday closest to the historic Roe V. Wade decision by the Supreme Court that legalized abortion-on-demand in all 50 states of the Union. In contrast to that decision, we affirm that human life is a sacred gift from God to be welcomed, nurtured and protected from conception to natural death. In 2017, we will hold this on January 22.

Women’s Retreat Coming in February

Ladies, set your calendars and look for further information about the Women’s Retreat coming February 3-5. It will be held at a retreat house in Orondo, Washington, just upriver from Wenatchee at Sun Cove. Registration will begin soon, and we want all of our women who are interested to be able to attend. The cost will be lower than usual, since the location is being offered to us at no expense. The theme for the retreat is Joy! Prepare to be blessed by this time of concentrated Bible study and fellowship.

Foursquare Church Daycare

By now, most of us have heard about the fire that broke out in the Ellensburg Foursquare Church’s building about a month ago. The fire started in the kitchen and burned into their multipurpose worship center before it was put out by local firefighters. It did smoke damage to the entire facility. Since that day, their building has been unavailable for use of any kind. They expect a 6-12-month timeframe for its reconstruction. In the meantime, they are meeting in the Armory building on the Kittitas County Fairgrounds for worship on Sunday mornings.

During the aftermath of this, Pastor Frank contacted the church to see what we could do. Shortly after that, we were contacted by the Preschool Daycare program to see if some of our space could be used for their project. They have about 30 preschool children each day, M-F, that they care for, along with an after-school program. In our last business meeting, we authorized the Daycare to use two of our classrooms for their preschoolers, the fellowship hall for lunches and after school, and a couple of other rooms for office space and afternoon naps for the little ones (maybe for the workers, too!). Requirements include, they will reimburse us for utilities, do daily cleaning of used space and pay for any minor updates for their use.

.Monday Ladies’ Bible Study Suspended

Due to study leader Meriam Tussinger’s medical challenges lately, our Ladies’ Bible Study will not be meeting on Mondays until further notice. Ideas are being considered for how it can resume and when, but for now, it is no longer being offering on Monday mornings.