Church or China Cabinet?

When Linda and I were getting ready to get married, we went to do one of those engaged couple things - pick out china. If you know me at all, you can imagine how I might approach this event and what my potential opinion might be. But I had determined to stay out of it, wisely acknowledging that this was a hill I had no business climbing. It didn’t matter to me. I knew all families had that obligatory place in their house reserved for the “grandmother-type delicate stuff” that was primarily admired and only used on very special occasions.

You all know what I’m talking about, don’t you? We all have the stuff  - it’s “priceless” and we keep it protected behind glass. We pore over the patterns because we feel they reflect our personalities and artistic beliefs about food, entertainment and fellowship.  These future heirlooms are safely peanut packed and bubble wrapped to perfection every time we move in order to avoid the certain catastrophe that would result from any breakage.  After all, if one piece were to break, what would we do?! Only eleven people could eat together – it would be a crisis unlike any other…. I’m turning red as we speak!

A few weeks went by and I asked Linda how it was going with the china thing. Do you know what happened – the most amazing thing!  God truly did know the perfect woman for me. Linda responded in harmony to my unspoken and uncomprehending position on china with “Are you crazy?  China?!  I don’t want that.  You can’t use it for what I have in mind!  I’d really like to have stoneware.”  I melted into pudding right there and told her if we could elope right then she could have multiple sets of stoneware and just about anything else she wanted.

I think God’s attitude is much the same as mine was.  I don’t think He is looking for delicate plates and pretty cups. He’s looking for rough-and-tumble stoneware - the kind of stuff that can be used everyday. He’s looking for tableware that doesn’t need to be tucked away in a cabinet, but can be sent out into a crash-bang world, carrying within it the life of Christ. The Church was never meant to be a china cabinet, where precious pieces could be safely stowed out of harm’s way.   Unfortunately, in our fear of being contaminated or broken by the world, that is what parts of the Church have become.  The Church was meant to be a working kitchen, where well-worn tableware is filled again and again to dispense its life-giving contents to a hungry and thirsty world.   This is what Vail Christian Church is on track to be.  However, we must continue to be intentional in reaching out beyond ourselves - in telling our story, in extending our resources, in taking new ground.

Ben Pitney
Lead Pastor

Your Time-Starved Marriage: Are you feeling overscheduled and underconnected? This study shows how to identify and maximize your time and offers the tools you need to stay connected as a couple. 6 week class.  For more information, contact Tim Sheaffer at tim@vailchristian.com.

Parenting: The Early Years - by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott. This team took their cameras into the homes of 20 families and captured real-life parenting moments. The study looks at what parenting is like for married, single and blended families. For more information, please contact Tim Sheaffer at tim@vailchristian.com.

Register online at www.vailchristian.com/
classreg.html or contact Tim Sheaffer at tim@vailchristian.com for more information.

Congratulations Graduates!

High School:

Miguel Brace - Canyon Rose
Ashley Coulter - Empire
Kelsey Didier - Home School
Kami Pitney - Desert Christian
Rebekah Ray – Cienega

MBA:

Kati Eyring – University of Phoenix

Community Groups: If you are interested in starting or joining a Community Group, or if you just want some more information, contact Tim Sheaffer at tim@vailchristian.com or Trent Schlecht at tanks@cox.net. You can also visit the Community Group page on our website at
www.vailchristian.com.

Strategic Service Teams: SST’s are volunteers gathered together to serve within and outside the church. Volunteers are vital to Vail Christian and we look to them to facilitate environments and potentially lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Contact tim@vailchristian.com for more information. View our list of service teams and contact information at www.vailchristian.com/
serviceteams.html.

The VCC Women's Book Club meets the last Monday evening of every month. We have a great time eating, getting to know one another, and of course discussing great Christian books (usually novels).  If you are interested in finding out more, contact Cynthia Dusek at cjdusek@cox.net.
 
Upcoming books:
 
May: Secrets by Kristen Heitzmann
June: Ezekiel Option by Joel Rosenberg
July: All the Way Home by Ann Tatlock

Project 168 is a challenge for the VCC community to pray. There are one hundred and sixty-eight hours in every week – Project 168 calls the members of the VCC community to pray during one of those one hundred and sixty-eight hours every week.

• Ask the Lord to empower us to tell our stories
  
  
• Pray for VCC to be aggressive in extending our resources
  
  
• Pray that God would allow us to take new ground
  
  
• Praise God for our graduating seniors and students being promoted
  
  
• Pray for our service teams to follow through and remain strong through the hot summer
  
  
• Lift up our youth and all their leadership as they engage in an aggressive and active summer schedule

Student Summer Camps:

Underground: High School Day Camp
June 5 - 7, all day
9th - 12th grades

CIY: High School
June 15 - 21
Students entering 9th grade in the fall -
graduated seniors

Upper Room: Middle School Day Camp
June 30 - July 3
9 - 3 p.m. 6th - 8th grades

UCYC: Middle School
June 8 - 13
Students entering 6th - 8th grade in the fall

Register online at www.vailchristian.com/
studentevents.html or contact Julie Biagi at julie@vailchristian.com for more information.

SoundWave Performance:  May 4 ­ Join us at 4:30 p.m. as our SoundWave crew performs "I Witness News: Live from Jericho" ­ a story that reminds us of God's provision and faithfulness.  Refreshments will be offered after the show.

Trailhead...Begin the Journey July 27 during the 10:45 service (BBQ August 3). This class will walk you through our core values, our vision, our mission, and perhaps most importantly: opportunities for you to join the journey. Visit the kiosk in the courtyard or email tim@vailchristian.com for more information.

Celebrations

How do we measure success?  This question has plagued churches in America for a long time. Most churches have resolved to measure their worth based on attendance or their budget.  But maybe success isn’t found in a statistic or a dollar amount.  Perhaps instead we should find success in the stories of lives being changed by the grace of God.  If we look back at what has happened in these last few months at Vail Christian Church, there is a lot of success to celebrate. 

Back in March, we had the pleasure of welcoming Maclean Dlodlo to our congregation. Maclean shared with us a bold new vision for the global church, daring us to rise to this challenge and take new ground.  And Vail Christian Church has risen to the challenge.  Currently, individuals and families in our church body are sponsoring over 100 children through WorldVision.  When these sponsorships are added to the additional monies contributed from the church budget, the total comes to nearly $60,000 that the Vail Christian Church community gives to the Limpopo ADP on a yearly basis. That dollar amount translates to the great majority of our church body that has had their hearts stirred to do something about the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

On April 11th, our children’s ministry team led an amazing event called “Kid’s Night Out” where for $5 parents could drop off their kids for a few hours in a safe environment designed just for them.   Over 40 volunteers stepped up to care for these kids, including several people who aren’t currently involved in our children’s ministry.  There were 113 kids at the event, 48 of which were kids from the community whose families do not attend Vail Christian Church!  Through this event, these new families were shown in a tangible way that VCC wants to be a resource for our community.

When our Palm Sunday Picnic was rescheduled for April 13th due to snow flurries in March, we never expected the turnout we had.  Families from our church body invited families from the community to come out and have some great food, meet new friends and just have a great time.  The VCC community rose to the challenge of telling their stories to those around them and through that more people in our community were exposed to the great news God has for us through Jesus Christ.

Maybe success is found in a transformed life, which leads to a transformed community, which leads to a transformed world.  As we continue to tell our stories, be a resource for our community and take new ground, we will see success we won’t be able to imagine.

World Vision: Remember to communicate with your sponsored child through letters! Your sponsorship shows your child that he is loved and cared for by God, and God's love gives all children great worth. Your letters are an important way to reinforce that message of hope. If you would like more information on VCC's partnership with World Vision in Limpopo, or if you would like to sponsor a child, please contact meghan@vailchristian.com.

VCC Community Rewards: Coordinator: Donita Vogt ­ 731-0734 or donitavogt@aol.com.

Many grocery stores offer fundraising programs to churches, schools, and other youth organizations. When using gift cards or "club cards" stores will contribute a percentage of your purchases to your organization.  VCC has registered to participate in these programs. Funds raised will be allocated for use by the children and student ministries.  Please visit the table in the courtyard or contact Donita Vogt for more information.

Summer Children's Events - CIA:

God Squad: Preschool Day Camp
May 28-30, 9 - 12 p.m.
Ages 3 - 6

Code Breakers: Elementary Vacation Bible School
June 1 - 4, 6 - 8:30 p.m.
Kinder - 5th grade

Operation 28:19: Elementary Day Camp
July 7 - 11, 9 - 3 p.m.
Kinder - 5th grade

Children's Sleep-away Camps:

Kids Camp - June 11 - 14
Children entering 3rd or 4th grade in the fall

Junior Camp - June 22 - 27
Children entering 4th or 5th grade in the fall

Register online at www.vailchristian.com/
childrenevent.html or contact Julie Biagi at julie@vailchristian.com for more information.