July 28, 2017
Celebrating 2nd Saturday…
Senior Adult Banquet: Saturday, August 19
- Catered meal at 5:30pm, Gathering Area.
- Entertainment by Cyndi Steinberger from Lewisburg, performing a piano concert and a sing-a-long.
- If you are 70 or over, contact the office, 456-5507, with your reservations by Noon on Friday, Aug 4.
- If you did not receive an invitation, please let the office know.
Brethren Disaster Ministries Ice Cream Social Fund Raiser
- Saturday, August 5
- 4-7pm at Happy Corner Church of the Brethren, 7037 Union Road, Clayton
Enjoy a full menu of food and some great ice cream while supporting this vital ministry.
Mark your calendar…
- August 13 – One Combined Service at 10am
- August 20 – Conversation with Elders at 6pm
July 21, 2017
Family Camp 2017: August 11-13
Sunday, July 23 is the last day to register. Sunday, July 30 is the payment deadline.
Family Camp is…
- 2 Nights in a Cabin: Join us for a 2-night, 3-day retreat at Camp Campbell Gard in Hamilton, OH
- Adventures for All Ages: Activities include swimming, canoeing, archery, zip lining, inflatable pillow and more!
- Fun with a Purpose: Bond together as a family unit and connect with other families from E.C.O.B.
- Register now
- For more info contact Betsy Crumbaker, ecrumba@gmail.com or 937-902-4195.
- Cost: Adults (Ages 18+) – $50; Children (Ages 7-17) – $28; Children (Ages 0-6) – Free
Impact Eaton 2017
Pastor Dan and Pastor Jonathan were invited to attend the City Council Meeting on Monday, July 17 where they were presented with the following certificate:
Child Protection Policy Training:
- Sunday, July 23 at 9 am or Wednesday, July 26 at 7 pm in the Conference Room
- Adults or Youth who work with children and/or youth at ECOB must attend a CPP session every 2 years
- Questions: Lois Simmons, 456-6068, lois.simmons8890@ gmail.com or Diana Oburn, 456-9512, mothermedic@hotmail.com.
Birthright Needs Volunteers:
Many volunteers are needed to meet with women, provide for the babies in our community and keep our Birthright house in great shape.
- One on one volunteers to assist our mothers and their babies – training provided
- Mow grass
- Trim shrubs
- Wash windows
Contact Sonja Brown, 937-416-1663 or sonjab1942@gmail.com.
Kansas City Update: Flexibility, Hands, Feet, and Voice
I was hoping to write a blog post yesterday evening, but our group got caught up in a rousing game of dodgeball. There’s not much better than seeing an elder of our church and his wife pegging students left and right, making them drop like flies! It’s was quite entertaining, and the students loved it! I just simply couldn’t pull myself away.
So thus, I’m writing this to you now. Our trip is winding down, and I wish I had more opportunities to have written you all through the week. It seems our trip has been non-stop since the moment we left the church early Saturday morning.
Flexibility
When we arrived on Saturday evening and had our first gathering to share our goals for the week, what we’d be doing, and how to be preparing for it, the first subject addressed was: “Be Flexible”. I’ve been on many youth trips in my life, and I have to admit this one takes the “most flexible award.”
We’ve been practicing dependency on the Holy Spirit much this week. We leaned on Him in giving us direction in how to speak to those who need prayer. We leaned on the Him to guide us in our daily schedule (which changed often!). There were even moments where it came down to the Holy Spirit telling us when to turn left or right. It’s been a major stretch for many of us, but a stretch that has produced much fruit!
We have seen many of our students who began this trip in a state of timidity, turn in to followers of Christ who are bold and courageous. in their efforts to have conversations with anyone willing to have one.
Hands, Feet, and Voice of God
One of our trip leaders (Mattias Gutendorf — and if you’re wondering; yes, he’s from Germany), talked on Sunday night about our theme for the week: Everyone Deserves a Conversations. He shared he would add a tagline to that phrase, though: Everyone Deserves a Conversations, & Everyone Desires a Conversation.
We have been met with so many people open to hearing about Jesus. So many we’ve interacted with have asked for prayer or at least willing accepted prayer when we asked if they wanted it. We’ve had 12 year-old praying for 72 year-olds. We’ve had different races holding hands and lifting up the name of Christ. We’ve had student leaders rise up to teach younger ones how to be the hands, feet, and voice of Christ to a world that so desperately needs Him.
I couldn’t be more proud of our students and how God has used them to minister to so many different kinds of people: poor, wealthy, black, white, hispanic, young, old, homeless or those with a home. For these kids, it didn’t matter… they just saw the need and gave to it, and I can’t wait until they begin sharing stories with you in a few weeks.
How you can pray for us:
- Today is our last day. Pray for us to have an incredible night of music, and sharing as we talk through the week and investigate what God has done in our lives.
- Pray for Grace Point Baptist Church who hosted us this week. They’ve been so wonderful by providing us with food, shelter, and direction in places to go in the week.
- Praise God for Becky Still, who was our amazing trip leader from Adventures in Missions. And praise God for Mattias Gutendorf who was our trip leader from Grace Point.
- Pray for us tomorrow as we leave Kansas City to head home at 8am (9am Eaton Time). It has been a long week, and our leaders/drivers are tired.
KC Mission Update: An Unexpected Journey
When a leader plans a trip (unless they’re new to planning), there’s a common understanding: “Nothing goes according to plan.” What was supposed to be an 8 ½ hour trip from Eaton, OH to Kansas City, MO turned into a 13 hour adventure that many of us will never forget.
Just outside of Brownstown, IL (Haven’t heard of it? Yeah, neither have we…) the vehicle pulling the trailer full of our luggage began to smoke. We pulled over, and discovered that the transmission fluid was leaking. Stranded somewhere between exit 68 to 76, I began to realize why God had pulled together this team of adults and students. Mark began immediately assessing the problem and finding a fix, Joy and Bethany began entertaining the students, and I did what most youth pastors do in moments like this: question why I ever became a youth pastor in the first place. Just kidding! I embraced the “nothing goes according to plan” mantra, and began looking for alternatives for us to fit students and luggage to get us the rest of the way to Kansas City.
We were about a mile away from the next exit, and moved the students there so we wouldn’t be vulnerable on the side of I-70. As we got off the exit, there was nothing in sight but an abandoned building which seemed a bit too sketchy. Off in the distance, though, I saw a truck stop… and thought we’d brave it. At least they’d have bathrooms and a place where we can sit for a few hours while we got our bearings. As we pulled into the truck stop, we discovered the stop was part of A.C.T. (Association of Christian Truckers). As we walked in, we were welcomed and greeted by an incredible host, Doc, who opened up the chapel, the bathrooms and the entire facility for us to simply rest and relax.
What took us 2 weeks to find a 15-passenger vehicle prior to our leaving, only took us 2 hours to find another 15-passenger van. We praise God for Tim, who owned a small rental car business that stayed open hours later for us to arrive because we were stranded in the middle of nowhere and took at least a half hour drive to the nearest big city. Apparently, the van was supposed to be rented the night before for a week, but the person who had rented it never showed and Tim had an opening for the next week. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had any vans.
In all of this experience, I didn’t hear a single complaint from any of our students. They embraced the situation and truly found some ways to enjoy life no matter the circumstances. They had fun together, they played games, they were flexible… which has become quite the moto for this trip.
How to pray…
So far, we have seen God using us and leading us into many different conversations and serving in unique ways. We’ve handed out water at a local park, which led to some great interactions. We’ve gone on prayers walks that have led some to help people move furniture, weed gardens and pray for those who cross our paths. But more on that in a later post…
As you pray:
- Pray for boldness and courage in our students and leaders to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit.
- Pray for our conversations to lead to the gospel. We are happy talking with people, but we desire for them to know Christ.
- Pray for the people we come in contact with to reach out to the local church we’re working with: Grace Point.
- Pray that we are aware of our surroundings and the best ways we can be used to serve Kansas City, and its surrounding communities.
July 14, 2017
GreenHouse Kids Worship…
…is continuing through the summer. Kids should attend their upcoming school grade class.
Family Camp
- Registration deadline is July 24
- If you’ve registered but haven’t paid, payment is due July 24
- For additional information visit our website or contact Betsy Crumbaker.
School Supply Drive
Once Around Shop is collecting school supplies for students in need.
- loose leaf paper – college ruled
- pencils
- 2″ binders
- large backpacks
Supplies are now available in the stores. Please bring purchased items to ECOB no later than Monday, July 17.
RockHouse Mission Trip: Kansas City
On the Kansas-Missouri border in the heart of America, lies Kansas City (approx 2.2 million people in the metro area). Called the “Paris of the Plains”, this beautiful city has become an epicenter for prayer as thousands make the pilgrimage to the Kansas City International House of Prayer every year. But behind the fountains and cheerfully lit boulevards are people who live in a broken and shattered world. -Adventures in Missions
On Saturday, 16 youth and four adults will be leaving at 6am to travel from Eaton, OH to Kansas City, MO; an eight and a half hour journey! Our main purpose: To share the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone who is willing to receive Him.
The Mission
We’ll be serving Kansas City in several ways. We will be working with a local soup kitchen and women’s shelter, helping the elderly and widowed with yard and house work, supporting a local church ministry through prayer walks and VBS promotions. We will also be utilizing our prayer walk times to look for open doors to have conversations with anyone willing to talk with us (with the hopes our conversations lead to discussion about Jesus Christ).
Everyone Deserves a Conversation
In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well, and he asks her for a drink. For many reasons (too many to get into here), this is taboo for Jesus’ time and culture. Jesus shouldn’t be talking with this woman, but still he does! He breaks the social barriers of the time and simply talks with her… which ultimately lead her to discovering there is more to life than the life she’s living, and that LIFE is in front her asking her for a drink!
Our theme for the week is “Everyone Deserves a Conversation”. Much of the opportunities we have to serve this week will put us in positions to minister to those who society has rejected, or maybe they’re forgotten, or maybe some have deemed them unworthy to talk to. We hope to have conversations with them, and just as Jesus began his conversation with something as simple as water… we hope to have simple conversations that lead to salvation and direction to a local church for them to be involved with.
Here’s what you can prayer for:
- God’s will to be done (on earth as it is in heaven)
- Courage to speak
- Leading of the Holy Spirit and obedience on our part to follow
- That God continues his protection in and over us
- The 4 leaders (and leaders in KC) to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit
Here are the students and leaders going by name:
Leaders: Pastor Josh, Mark & Joy Yeazel, Bethany Smith
Students: Aaron Clark, Chloe Clippinger, Gracie Crumbaker, Mallory Deaton, Danielle Denlinger, Jacob Denlinger, Kira Duncan, Trinity Eddy, Jayda McQueen, Jacque Owens, Caleb Sinks, Joshua Sinks, Abigail Towe, Noah Towe, Michael Watkins, Sariah Williams
Following Up on Fasting
I had mentioned in my sermon a couple weeks back that I’d be doing a follow up on the topic of fasting. I’m just now getting to it, but if you haven’t had a chance to listen to the sermon, feel free to listen here. Please understand this post will not answer all your questions, and ultimately may create more in you. I’m willing to share what I know, but I encourage you to look into some literature on the topic of fasting.
Speaking of literature, I want to remind you of a book that I referenced for much help on the topic of Fasting: Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster. This book is written to discuss the many spiritual discplines within the Christian faith and their benefits. It is not a book strictly on fasting, but Foster spends a whole chapter discussing the spiritual discipline of fasting. Each chapter also shares biblical support for each practice, the history of the practice, but then provides an action plan for anyone wanting to adopt the practice. I highly recommend this book.
Is Fasting Just a Food Thing?
When we read about fasting in the Bible, most of the time (if not all of the time) it is in reference to food. We must remember that one of the key aspects of fasting is to remove a normal routine of the day and replace it with God. Food tends to be a common place in our lives and it is very noticeable when it is taken out of our routine.
Fasting doesn’t mean one needs to remove food completely. Some spend a time of fasting from meat, some fast from snacking, while others fast from specific types of food and drink (chocolate and coffee). It is always important to remember this quote from Richard Foster:
“To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion.” – Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline
Given our society, though, there have become many practices that we’ve adopted to be a part of our normal routine (e.g. driving, cell phones, social media, TV). These can be removed for a time from our routine and replaced with prayer, or reading the Bible and that would be considered a fast.
A quick note: Be careful not to confuse an addiction with a routine. An addiction needs to be removed from your life, while a routine you will eventually return to when the fast is over. That is one reason why food is a simple means to fast. Our bodies cannot survive without food so we must eventually return to it. All items listed above, we can live without (though I know some teenagers and adults who would argue they couldn’t live without their cell phone).
Where Do I Begin?
This is a pretty common question for those who’ve never fasted before. Much of what I will say is taken from Celebration of Discipline, so for a more comprehensive understanding check out the book above.
First, figure out why you are wanting to fast in the first place. What are you wanting God to accomplish. Do you want to overcome an addiction? Do you want to pray for healing? Do you want to pray for your child’s future? Do you simply want to know God on a deeper level? Fasting was typically proposed in dire circumstances, but was also used as means to draw nearer to God.
Second, realize your body is used to going without food. For most of us we fast everyday without realizing it. There’s a reason the first meal of the day is called Break-fast. You are breaking the fast from not eating a whole night. Our stomachs are trained to eat at certain periods of the day. Part of fasting is to remind yourself (and your rumbling tummy) that your stomach does not control you, but it is the Holy Spirit who dwells within you that you relinquish your control to.
Thirds, start small. Skip a meal, maybe lunch. Skipping lunch gives your body a time frame that it would already be used to. But remember, your intent is to seek the Lord during this time. So don’t simply skip a meal, but replace it with prayer and study of scripture. After skipping a meal try a day without food (again, replace those times with God).
A normal food fast mentioned in the Bible went anywhere from 3-7 days. If you’re going to do a full food fast, don’t jump into 7 days without having practice. It is good to build up to it. When it comes to fasting from objects or other devices, these will be easier for your body to adjust to the absence.
I am no expert on the topic of fasting, so this LifeShare post is simply scratching the surface. I hope that some of you have been inspired to at least try fasting, because in my experience it truly allows us to overcome battles and draw us nearer to God.
Blessings,
P. Josh
July 7, 2017
Etch Forum Meeting: Sunday, July 9 – Following 2nd service in Rm 101
As we plan for the upcoming school year, we’d like to hear from you. Please come and share with us your thoughts about Etch.
Rockhouse Family Night: Sunday, July 9
- 5:30-8:30pm at the Crumbaker’s
- For students 6th-12th grade and their families
Family Camp 2017: August 11-13
Family Camp is…
- 2 Nights in a Cabin: Join us for a 2-night, 3-day retreat at Camp Campbell Gard in Hamilton, OH
- Adventures for All Ages: Activities include swimming, canoeing, archery, zip lining, inflatable pillow and more!
- Fun with a Purpose: Bond together as a family unit and connect with other families from ECOB
- Register by July 24
- For more info contact Betsy Crumbaker, ecrumba@gmail.com or 937-902-4195.
- Cost: Adults (Ages 18+) – $50; Children (Ages 7-17) – $28; Children (Ages 0-6) – Free
New Prayer Chain Email:
prayerchain813@gmail.com – To submit a request to the prayer chain, please use this new email address.
June 30, 2017
Sunday, July 2 – One Worship Service at 10am
We will celebrate communion in our combined worship service
Office Hours:
- Monday, July 3: 9am -1pm
- Tuesday, July 4: Office Closed
2nd Saturday: July 8, 8:30 – Noon
One of our core values at ECOB is to make an Impact with the love of Christ by serving others. Join us as we do home repair projects for Senior adults in our community.
- Meet in the ECOB parking lot at 8:30 am
- Tools provided
This is a great opportunity for you to make an impact.
Etch Forum Meeting: Sunday, July 9 – Following 2nd service in Rm 101
As we plan for the upcoming school year, we’d like to hear from you. Please come and share with us your thoughts about Etch.
Rockhouse Family Night: Sunday, July 9
- 5:30-8:30pm at the Crumbaker’s
- For students 6th-12th grade and their families
Youth Family Night #1
RockHouse had its first Youth Family Night for the summer (actually the first one ever!), and it was a blast! There was great food, good fellowship and an all-around wonderful time. We began with a meal, had a lesson, then had a friendly family competition. Some got messy, most got wet, and all had fun!
A special thanks to: the Filbruns for hosting; Carla Clark for help with food; and the Rogers’ Small Group for the lesson and activities! Sorry if I missed anyone…
The next Youth Family Night is July 9th at the Crumbakers (5:30-8:30pm). Hope to see you there!
LifeShare 