june 2014- august 2014issue no: 7

affinity

Blast Off Vacation Bible School is coming July 31st-­‐August1st, 9:00 AM-­‐12:00 PM. The children will learn the powerfulBible point: God loves us, so…love each other! The keyBible Verse is I John 4:7, “Let us continue to love oneanother, for love comes from God.”

The “Mission Crews” will begin VBS at Music and Morewhere we will sing classic worship songs and brand newpraise songs. Then the Preschool Crew will blast off to theirPreschool Space Place.

The Elementary Crew will soar to Out-­‐of-­‐This-­‐World BibleAdventures where the children will experience the Bible infar out ways and circle up for a time of discussion.

The crews will head outside to Have-­‐a-­‐Blast Games wherethe kids will run, jump, and even splash through games thatconnect with the key Bible verse.

The Mission Crews move back inside to create a Project-­‐With-­‐a-­‐Purpose that gives kids theopportunity to practice God’s love and create a special giftfor the homeless in our community.

Finally, the Preschool and Elementary Crews come backtogether as we close our time with the Mission Sendoff,which has dramatic crowd-­‐involving activities that helpeveryone remember and apply the Bible point and verse.

VBS is not over at 12:00 PM on Friday, however. Yourentire family can return to the church that evening at 6:00PM for the 2nd Annual VBS Family Campout!!! We will havedinner, water play, campfire, games, movie, and sleeping.We will wake up the next morning for breakfast and thenhead out to the beach!

I’m looking forward to a wonderful time at VBS with yourchildren and family at the campout. The cost for the entireweekend is $20/child. Children 2 years old-­‐5th grade arewelcome.

Blast Off Vacation BibleSchool by Cheryl Farino

Weare looking forward to another fun and packedsummer with the Refuge! We are kicking off oursummer right away with our Youth Missions Tripto Big Bear! Our students will spend a week (June7-14th) serving the community of Big Bear. Whenour team returns home we will be having amissions trip re-cap on Wednesday, June 18th.We will be ending the month of June with a poolparty! July brings beach days, family dinners, andmore pool parties! At the end of July we leave forour annual trip to Forest Home Summer Camp!Camp will be from July 28th - August 2nd. Thisyear's theme for Forest Home is THRIVE - basedon the passage from John 15 - "I am the Vine andyou are the branches". THRIVE is more than justsurviving - it is living life to the fullest and makingyour days count. We are excited to participate inthis new theme and learn more about thriving inlife! We hope you can join us for any or all of ourfun events and trips this summer. It's going to bea blast!

Summer Timewith the Refuge!

Dear Church Family,I would like to thank you again for

the absolutely incredible gift you gavemy husband and I with our first trip toHawaii. We returned late last Thursdaynight after spending 8 1/2 amazing dayson Oahu and Kauai. We had alwayswanted to visit Hawaii at least once, butseveral circumstances had led us tocross it off our "bucket list" severalyears ago - so this surprise gift wastruly overwhelming! Our hotel room onOahu overlooked beautiful WaikikiBeach and we ate most of our mealsthere, sitting on the balcony relishingthe view. Our tour of Oahu and PearlHarbor was quite fascinating....and theluau was something we will neverforget! Our condo on Kauai was a veryshort walk from the beach, so we weredown there every day. The weather wasperfect the whole time we were thereand we spent 2 days on our "self-guided" tours of the whole island.

We will forever appreciate youramazing generosity in providing this"once-in-a-lifetime" trip for us.Thank you ever so much!Anne Marie & Bob Preece

!

Which of the letters in the New Testament is considered“royalty”? Which seems to capture the finest, refined collection ofultimate thoughts about what it means to be “in Christ”? For manyyears, it’s been called the “Queen of the Epistles”… it’s the Letterof Paul to the Ephesians; that’s the small section of Scripture thatDr. Ken Litwak and I will be unpacking this Summer in theWednesday Evening Bible Study Series.

What is behind THIS letter? Jesus had come and faced oppositionand death from both the Romans and the Jews. But, eye-witnessreports that He had risen from the dead were so plentiful,convincing, and were accompanied by miracles – that people fromall over the known Roman world were beginning to read aboutHim, ask questions about Him, become committed followers ofHim. But, every day was a new experience – sometimespersecution, sometimes joy in seeing converts. Some people hatedyou for talking about Him; others cried tears of joy.

Year after year, more and more people were experience God in newways – all because of the Believers in this God-man Jesus.

So, how do you get a letter like the one to the Ephesians? Well, youtake one of the smartest people in the world, give that person awealth of cross-cultural experiences, a passionate heart for God, andthen stick the person in prison where he has a lot of time to think,pray, reflect on what God is really doing in the topsy-turvy world.And, with God’s inspiration – this brilliant man, Paul, writes a letterso beautiful that it captures the hearts of the entire Christian worldfor the next 2,000 years.

That’s Ephesians. We’ll be studying it together on WednesdayNights, in the Potter House, from 6:30 – 7:40 on Summer eveningsin June and July. Come join us!

Summer Bible Study by Pastor Mike Platter

645 N Grand AveGlendora, CA

91741

Contact us:626-963-7637

glendoracommunitychurch.org

Glendora Community Church existsto seek LIFE TRANSFORMATION in Christ for everyone,

growing together through WORSHIP, DISCIPLESHIP and SERVICE

Eikon is looking forward to an exciting summer! There are many fun events onthe docket for the coming summer for returning students and our residentyoung adults including a movie in the park event, multiple BBQ's, a beach day,paintballing, and more! Keep your eyes on the bulletin on Sunday morningsand Eikon's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/eikongcc) for more details asthe events near.Eikon is also going to be doing a weekly book study on Scot McKnight’s TheJesus Creed, winner of the 2005 Christianity Today Book Award. The followingis a description of the book:When an expert in the law asked Jesus for the greatest commandment,Jesus responded with the Shema, the ancient Jewish creed that commandsIsrael to love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength. But the next part ofJesus' answer would change the course of history. Jesus amended the Shema,giving his followers a new creed for life: to love God with heart, soul, mind, andstrength, but also to love others as themselves. Discover how the Jesus Creedof love for God and others can transform your life.We're looking forward to great discussion and thought-provoking dialogue aswe dive into what it means to follow Jesus the way he desires us to. Keep us inyour prayers as GCC's young adults grow in grace and experience God'stransforming power!

Summer Time with Eikon Ministry

The Celebrate Recovery ministry here at GCC is alive and well and at work in our local community. Since starting inJanuary, this Christ centered 12-step recovery program meeting has brought many hurting people into its doors. We are happyand excited for all the individuals needing and hoping for change and finding refuge from their pain right here at GlendoraCommunity Church!

Every Thursday night at 7:00 the CR program consists of alternating weeks of lessons on the 12-steps and their biblicalcomparisons and live testimonies from people who have found hope through recovery and working these steps. Recently wehad the state representative for CR come and give her very own testimony. While there, she officially approved GGC'sCelebrate Recovery meeting and now our church is on the Celebrate Recovery website for those who wish to find thisprogram in this area! CR can be instituted for court mandated AA or NA meetings and we pray people struggling with theiraddictions may have another alternative in this area and may find their true higher power Jesus Christ in the process of gettingsober. Soon we hope to begin a 12-step study of our own to coincide with our open share meetings to bring the fullencompassing healing of this ministry to those dealing with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups.Thank you for your support and prayer, God bless!

The Celebration has begun!

Here at GCC we believe that lifein Christ is best lived withothers. Engaging in a worshipservice is not enough to matureour faith and grow closer toJesus and His people. We beganthis LIFEgroup adventurerecently and have a number ofgroups ready to start. What'smissing? YOU! If you areinterested in joining a group,please see the website atwww.glendoracommunitychurch.org and click on theLIFEgroups tab. You will findinformation about the currentgroups available and be able tojoin or ask the group leader aquestion. Let's get connected toGod and others!

Life Groups at GCC