The Violet Connection 10

NO. 10

A Note From Pastor Eric

Hello Violet Baptist Church Family!

As we reflect on the past couple of weeks of the Rooted experience, it has been a journey of learning and living it out. We dove into the core tenets of Christianity and actively practiced the 7 rhythms of discipleship as outlined in the New Testament. This experience has hopefully challenged all of us to step outside our comfort zones and truly follow Jesus in every aspect of our lives. At the center of this is the understanding of how God has intricately designed and shaped each one of us for a specific purpose. Discovering our unique S.H.A.P.E. is vital in discerning the path that God has laid out for us. One of the keys in this series is realizing that who God made us to be impacts what He intends for us to do. By understanding our spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences, we can truly discover God's calling in our lives. The acronym S.H.A.P.E. stands for: S: Spiritual Gifts - Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another. -1 Corinthians 7:7 H: Heart - For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. -Philippians 2:13 A: Abilities - There are different kinds of working . . . (1 Corinthians 12:6) P: Personality - No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit . . . -1 Corinthians 2:11 E: Experiences - And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. -Romans 8:28 By discerning our S.H.A.P.E., we unlock the door to our primary ministry, the area where our gifts align with God's calling in our lives. I pray that as we close out this sermon series, you have discovered your gifts and that we will continue to live out and trust God's plan for each of us.

Click here to take Violet's S.H.A.P.E. Assessment

Pastor Eric

A Note From Pastor Brian

Mission Report Members of Violet's Disaster Relief Team have been actively engaged in several regions affected by the devastating hurricanes this fall. They took part in the Feeding Unit, Flood Recovery Unit, and Chainsaw Team. The Feeding Unit operated in Georgia, while both the Chainsaw Team and Flood Recovery Unit focused their efforts in Florida.

Some statistics from the Feeding Unit included:

6,000 individuals fed on Saturday 3,000 individuals fed on Sunday 1,000 individuals fed on Monday Approximately 100 volunteers from Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio, whom assisted in the Feeding Unit. There was fantastic camaraderie among all the Disaster Relief workers, and I’m grateful to share some pictures and experiences from their journey. If you’re interested in joining Disaster Relief Teams like these in the future, please feel free to contact me at briann@violetchurch.com.

Events & Volunteers

Hello Violet Family,

I am so thankful for another great turnout at our Trunk or Treat event last month. We had so many volunteers to make this another successful event. Thank you to those who greeted people in the parking lot and at the doors to help our community feel welcome. Have you ever seen our parking lot so busy?! Raina Young and team grilled around 800 hot dogs. Tammy Beard and her team went through 600 boxes of popcorn. Cathy Mast and the team in crafts and games were busy from start to finish, and a shout out to Mark Riekert who announced all our Gift Car winners all evening.

The winner of Best Trunk went to the Venetta Family. The winner of best group costume went to the Godlewski family of bees and a beekeeper.

We had around 40 trunks signed up and went through LOTS and LOTS of Candy!!!!

Thank you to all that served and donated candy, we could not have done it without you. We had 71 volunteers for this event. I love it when the church serves together! This month we have several serving opportunities; Election Day Hospitality Table, Stowe Mission, Serving at New Faith Ministries, and serving on Tuesday and Thursday nights for Pickerington Parks and Rec classes.

If you’re looking to get involved and serve, I would love to connect with you and answer any questions you may have.

Thank you, Jamie McCleese

Event & Volunteer Director jamiem@violetchurch.com

A Note from Pastor Keith

An Experiment in Encouragement

A group of Overflow students and adults went to the 18th mile of the Columbus Marathon in October to encourage the runners. Many of the runners were in obvious physical and mental anguish after running 18 miles at that point, with 6 miles remaining. It was amazing to see them respond to the encouragement that our group offered. Our students formed a high five tunnel and cheered for the runners by name (typically printed on their race bibs). Runners smiled, cheered, thanked our group, and even danced as they ran past! John Maxwell is quoted as saying “Encouragement is like oxygen for the soul.” This was evident at mile 18 of the marathon. The same reality holds true in life beyond the marathon. We have no way of knowing the extent of the pain and anguish that people are experiencing in their lives as we interact with them on a daily basis. The little things we do for others (smiling, extending kindness, sharing encouraging words) can make a huge difference. As Christians, we are called to “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Living a life of intentional encouragement will set us apart from others. It will open doors to share the hope that we experience in Jesus. As Christ-followers, we should be known as people of encouragement. This can make more of a difference than you will ever know. I encourage you to encourage others!

Thanks, Pastor Keith Youth Pastor keithh@violetchurch.com

During the month of October, VioletKids learned all about God’s forgiveness. As we looked at stories in the Bible such as the bronze snake in Numbers, Jacob and Esau in Genesis, and Jesus’ message on forgiveness in Matthew 18, we learned that because God forgives us, we can forgive others! Our memory verse for October was Hebrews 8:12, “I will forgive their wrongdoing.” Our Sunday night Olympians group spent an evening making “welcome blankets” for Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Ronald McDonald House. This was a great way for them to live out 1 Timothy 4:12 that says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” We had an amazing turnout for our church’s annual Trunk or Treat event! There were many VioletKids families that showed up in their best costumes and trunk decorations!

Samaritan’s Purse collects shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 220 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love.

Please join with us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations!

Violet Baptist Church will once again partner with Samaritan’s Purse for Operation Christmas Child! Shoeboxes will be available in the church lobby from October 27-November 10 and will need to be packed and returned to the church by November 24th. You can also build a shoebox online using Violet’s link: Build A Shoebox Online - Violet Baptist Church.

Looking to Serve Together as a Family?

In May of 2012 a group of Overflow High School students attended an event called the “Day of Hunger.” In addition to serving food at a local food pantry, we visited several homeless communities on the east side of Columbus. While visiting some homeless families in the Brice Rd area, we asked them “Where do you get your food?” They mentioned that they went to the food pantry at New Faith Ministries on Brice Road. They told us how kind and genuine the people were at New Faith. I reached out to the pastor of New Faith (near Lowe’s on Brice Road) and we began what has been a 13-year partnership with the wonderful people there. This “Kingdom” partnership has been an incredible encouragement to members from both churches. Although New Faith hosts a food pantry every other Saturday, the largest pantries are just before Thanksgiving and Christmas. We bring a group from Violet to help with these larger food distributions. New Faith anticipates providing holiday food for nearly 300 families during the food pantries on Saturday, November 23rd and Saturday, December 14th. Help is needed from 9 AM to Noon on these days. I love serving at New Faith because families and individuals from our church come to serve together. There is something for everyone to do (loading food bags, stocking tables, loading trunks, greeting, clothing distribution, etc....). Will you consider joining us on either November 23rd or December 14th to tangibly demonstrate the love of God?

Please contact pastor Keith with any questions at keithh@violetchurch.com.

Marketing & Communications

We’d love to hear from you. Has your VioletGroup recently come together to serve the Lord? Tell us about it. What’s happening in the ministry where you serve? We’d love to hear about it. You can email rachels@violetchurch.com with your stories and photos.

Dear Violet Family,

Our current sermon series, "Rooted," has offered many practical insights on how we can grow to be more like Christ in our everyday lives. I found the sermon on Sunday, October 20th particularly beneficial, as Pastor Rick guided us through simple steps to craft our Salvation Story for sharing with others. After all, isn’t that the primary purpose of our church communications? To share the message of Jesus, to express how He has transformed our lives, and to invite others to Violet to learn more about Him.

Rachel Stone Marketing & Communications Director rachels@violetchurch.com

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