If you prefer to print the newsletter, you may download it here: Printable January 2025 Here is also a printable January calendar: 01 2025 Calendar
pastor’s perspective
“LvCC’s new year’s resolution: to live a balanced discipleship lifestyle”
By Dave Hendrickson, Lead Pastor
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to live in a balanced relationship with God, fellow believers, and the world around us. This balanced approach to discipleship can be seen exemplified by Jesus in Luke 6:12-18. Jesus lives an “Up” dimension as seen with His relationship with the father (Luke 6:12). The “In” dimension is with those who know Him and believe, His disciples (Luke 6:13-16). The final leg on the “tripod” of the Discipleship Lifestyle is the “Out” dimension or the world (Luke 6:17-18). These three dimensions represent key aspects of a balanced life of a disciple.
The first direction, Up, represents our relationship with God. This is the foundation of all other relationships. As Jesus says in Matthew (6:33), “Seek ye FIRST, the kingdom of God…” As disciples, we are called to seek God first, to honor Him with our lives, and to build a deep, personal relationship through worship, prayer, and studying His Word. Jesus often withdrew to quiet places to pray and commune with His Father. If we are to follow His example, we must prioritize our relationship with God, setting aside time for daily reflection, prayer, and listening to His voice.
Start with 5 minutes a day while you’re drinking your coffee, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, etc. Pray, listen for God’s voice, have the Bible app read you scripture. By doing these things we are “empowered by Christ”.
Living an Up relationship also means surrendering our will to God’s, trusting His sovereignty, and seeking His guidance in all aspects of life. This personal relationship fuels our spiritual growth and helps us understand how to relate with the next two relationships.
The second direction, In, emphasizes our relationship with fellow believers. Jesus did not live in isolation—He surrounded Himself with disciples and invested in them deeply. Likewise, as disciples, we are not meant to walk this journey alone. The Christian life is a communal one. It involves building relationships with others who can support, encourage, and challenge us in our faith.
Besides Sunday worship (which is more of the “Up” dimension), where are you “equipping the saints” and where are you being equipped? Maybe this New Year, you can join or start a Community Group!
The In relationship is cultivated through regular fellowship with other Christians—whether in community groups, church gatherings, or serving together. These interactions are essential for spiritual growth, as they provide accountability and the opportunity to learn from one another. As Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us, we should “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together… but encouraging one another.”
The third direction, Out, is our relationship with the world around us. Jesus is clear in His mission to seek and save the lost, and He calls us to do the same. An essential aspect of being a disciple is engaging with those who do not yet know Him, sharing His love, and living as a witness to His grace and truth.
In the New Year, keep your eye open for those who welcome you, listen to you, and serve you, as we have learned with the principle of the Person of Peace (Luke 10:1-9, especially 6).
A balanced disciple lives with a mission-minded heart, looking for ways to “share the presence of God with those around you”. Whether through acts of kindness, listening to a grieving friend, checking in on a co-worker, the Holy Spirit compels us to go beyond ourselves and reflect God’s love to the world.
A balanced disciple lives in harmony with God, fellow believers, and the world. The Up, In, Out relationships are not just a “good idea” for personal growth but a lifestyle that reflects the heart of Jesus. By nurturing these three dimensions—Up in worship, In through fellowship, and Out in mission—we can live out our calling as faithful, effective disciples of Christ. Let’s embrace this balanced approach to discipleship and live a life that brings glory to God, builds up the body of Christ, and reaches the world with His love in 2025!
community corner
“You’re invited: fifth sunday potluck lunches in 2025!”
By Caleb Strom, Discipleship and Community Life Pastor
Longview Community Church is excited to invite you to our Fifth Sunday Potluck Lunches in 2025! On months with five Sundays, we’ll come together after the service for food, fellowship, and fun. These special gatherings are a wonderful opportunity to share a meal, connect with others, and strengthen the bonds of our church family. Mark your calendars for the following Sundays:
March 30 – Chili & Cornbread: Warm up with a hearty bowl of chili, paired with delicious cornbread. A perfect way to enjoy the last bit of winter together!
June 29 – Burger & Hotdog Cookout on the Lawn: Bring your picnic blankets and lawn chairs for a summer cookout. The church will provide burgers, hotdogs, and dessert—we’ll enjoy sunshine, food, and fellowship together outside!
August 31 – Fried Chicken Feast: It’s a Southern favorite! Join us for a fried chicken lunch. Bring your favorite summer side dish to share.
November 30 – Thanksgiving Church Meal: Let’s celebrate gratitude and community with a Thanksgiving-themed potluck. The church will provide the turkey, stuffing, and dessert—bring a favorite Thanksgiving side dish to make it complete!
How It Works: The church will provide the main dish and dessert for each potluck. We ask that you bring a side dish to share with others—salads, vegetables, casseroles, or anything you enjoy making!
These potlucks are a wonderful time to invite friends and neighbors to experience the warmth of Longview Community Church. So, let’s come hungry, share generously, and enjoy these moments of connection in 2025!
We look forward to seeing you there!
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” – Acts 2:46
youth news
By Matt Avalon, Interim Director of Youth and Young Adults
What a wild season of life and ministry it has been!
As some of you know – I got married to the most wonderful woman on the wettest day ever in December, just as ministry and teaching ramped up for the holiday season! (I promise, I’m not crying here, I am singing overly-enthusiastically to music).
From a ministry perspective, we have been staying busy! Both our middle and high school groups have been building deeper relationships and having conversations in and around the Word of God. We also had our annual Christmas party on the 15th, which featured a highly competitive gingerbread house competition, Christmas Music Charades, and *possibly* too much hot cocoa. What a pleasure it is to minister to and pour into this generation of the Church!
Our Young Adults are rounding out the year strong as well – finishing off a months-long series in 1 Samuel, creating their own gingerbread masterpieces, and coming together to finish painting the youth room doors.
Continued prayer is appreciated for:
-More opportunities to speak into the youth’s lives – both in and out of youth group
-More volunteers to come and do life with our students
-Peace and rest as I begin to transition back into the classroom in January
kid’s ministry
By Sarah Fix, Director of Children’s Ministry
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I pray that God will give you wisdom, strength and joy to start off this new year! I wanted to let you know about a couple of opportunities coming up. Bob Koenig is launching a Lego club at 20th and Beech. The first one will be held on Wednesdays at 2:15 pm as an after-school “safe/fun spot” for elementary and middle school students to come after school and work on Lego projects together, have a snack, and develop relationships with Bob and volunteers.
The second opportunity is a Lego league on Wednesdays from 5-7pm through “FIRST” Lego leagues. This is for anyone to join, and there will be a parent meeting coming up to give more information about what kind of team this is, expectations, etc. If you are interested in this for your child, please let Bob or Sarah know and we will get you a date and time for the parent meeting. Bob has been running Lego teams for many years and saw 20th and Beech as a great spot to host these. This supports our goal of being good neighbors to the community and hopefully providing a place where kids can come to have fun, feel safe and loved.
If you are interested in serving in this way, we need volunteers for the Lego drop-in at 2pm starting January 15th. Even if you can’t help every week, but still want to be a part, that’s totally fine. Please contact Bob Koenig at morethanrobots@gmail.com or Sarah Fix for more information.
Finally, I am looking for a few more volunteers to help in our Community Kids classes (Pre-K/Kinders and Elementary) on Sundays. We have been experiencing awesome growth in our kids’ ministry, and I need more volunteers to add to the rotation (you are placed on the schedule however often you want/are able to serve but mostly once every 4-6 weeks). Please consider joining the fun and let me know as soon as you can! The kids are awesome in class, there is little to no prep for volunteers, and everyone enjoys the time they spend together learning and growing.
apartment renovation completed
Thanks to the efforts and contributions of the Properties Team, Missions Team, Staff, Elders and others from the congregation, the apartment in what used to be the Museum space has been renovated and is already being used! We learned in early December that Joseph and Lynn, missionaries to India, were coming back to Longview for an extended stay due to a family emergency, so we quickly pulled together furnishings, kitchen equipment, and stocked the cupboards with food and supplies so they could stay in the apartment for several weeks. We are excited to have this resource available for missionaries, local organizations, and others who need temporary lodging!
monday night meal ministry update
The impact of our Monday Night Meal Ministry continues to grow as we provide dinner every Monday night for those who need a meal. Over the past couple of months, we have consistently served between 45-60 people each week. As ministry leader Dan Durben shared during the testimonies time on Dec 29, he is beginning to see the results of relationships that are being built as team members sit down to share a meal and talk and pray with those who are there. Please continue to pray for opportunities to connect with and share Jesus with our guests in 2025. If you would like more information about how you may be a part of this ministry, contact Dan.
this and that
Dear Church Family…
Thank you to you my church family for all the cards and calls giving their love and support for me with the loss of Dean. A special thank you to Pastor Dave for all the visits and calls; it brought such comfort in a very rough time. ~Mary Ellen Mann
Pat Peabody passed way on Dec 25. There will be a memorial service for Pat on Jan 10 at 1pm at Green Hills Cemetery on Mt Brynion Rd in Kelso.
A new adult Discipleship Time class has begun! It is a video/discussion format using the 10-week series “The Book of Nehemiah” by Eric Mason. From the description on Right Now Media: “Whether we’ve felt spiritually stale or devoured by doubts, we’ve all wanted God to renew us. But what does spiritual restoration even look like? The book of Nehemiah tells the story of God’s power to restore his people. Dr. Eric Mason shows us how God renewed his people both physically and spiritually. Through the story of Israel’s plight and God’s faithfulness, we see how God preserved his people to carry out his mission of redemption.” Join us at 8:45am Sundays in the Fellowship Hall. Childcare is provided for children Grade 5 and younger; older children may attend the class with their parents.
As we begin a new year, the staff would like to remind any ministry leaders or others who use the facility for meetings or events to please clean and reset the space as you found it and to check and lock any exterior doors that were used. We greatly appreciate your assistance with this!
If you would like to be part of the new Women’s Events Team to help plan quarterly events for women and the Women’s Retreat, please contact Patty Howland in the Church Office at 360-423-6380.
The Friday Fellowship adult dinner group will be meeting on Friday, Jan 10 at 6pm in the Fellowship Hall for a potluck dinner and to view the travel pictures of China presented by Dave and Gail Hicks. Please bring an entrée, side dish, salad, bread or dessert from China and join us for a fun evening of food, friends, and fellowship! This season we are viewing slides or digital photos from various attendees, so if you have travel photos you would like to share, please contact the Church Office.
Medical Equipment Available If you or someone you knows needs medical equipment, i.e. walker, wheelchair, commode, etc, please contact Roberta Baird at 360-430-8402.
90+ Birthdays This Month
To honor our most senior members and attenders, we will be listing their birthdays each month using the records in our database. If you or someone you know is 90+ years of age and has an upcoming birthday, please contact the Church Office by the 20th of the prior month so we may be sure to include it!
Jan 1 Odetta Yeager 93
Jan 10 Carolyn Feasey Kirkpatrick 92
Jan 15 Vera Ann White 92
Jan 30 Charlotte Yarbrough 91
NOVEMBER FINANCIALS
YTD CONTRIBUTIONS: $ 461,189
YTD OTHER INCOME $ 57,885
YTD EXPENSE: $ 460,732
YTD NET INCOME: $ 58,342