Zion E-News (4-8-2020)

There is no better time to invite a non-believing friend or family member to church than this week. The barriers to coming are very low. They can literally come in their PJ’s and have no commute time. In addition, according to a recent article by Ed Stetzer the times when people are most likely to reconsider faith and come to church are: Christmas, Easter, during a national crisis, or a natural disaster. We have hit at least two and arguably three of those times this week. (Check it out here.)

One of the interesting side benefits of streaming church online is that we can see where people were when they watched our services. Last week, we had people attend Zion online from Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, Texas, and Florida. Some of these people are members of our church whoa re out of town, others were invited by members of our church and now are having conversations about Jesus and God with some of you.

I heard a story from a Facebook group I joined recently for support in live-streaming. The story went something like this: a woman came to their church years ago, but then drifted away when she started dating a man who wouldn’t go to church. She came back a year or two later to get married, but then drifted again because he wouldn’t go to church. Six months later, the marriage was on the rocks and she came back to church. But he stayed home. But for the last 3 weeks, he had started coming to their church online, which required driving 20 minutes to find a place with free wifi because they had no internet in their home. This Sunday he decided to give his life to God and follow Jesus. As this person described it, they never would have been online if not for being forced out of their building and this man never would have come to their church building, but God is on the move and now he is learning how to follow Jesus.

I know life is in flux for many of us and we can have our own anxieties and worries right now, but let us not allow our discomfort keep us from going out into the mission field and joining our God in the harvest. Invite a friend or child. Offer to meet up via Face Time or Google Hangouts to answer their questions. Let’s grab hold of this opportunity to reach people who are more curious and open to the gospel than they would have been only a few weeks ago. God has opened some doors, go through them boldly.

Connect to God
Joins us this Sunday as we celebrate Easter. You can join us online at zionreformed.online.church or from the first banner on our website at www.zionreformed.org. Worship will begin at 9:30 am. There will be an opportunity in the service to chat with people who have gathered, help choose our closing song, and also make prayer requests. We look forward to being together online on Sunday. Our scripture will come from Matthew 28:1-10 and the sermon will focus on the hope we have in a time our world is focused on death and disease.

You can also join us for our Maundy Thursday service tonight at 6:30 at either of the links above. The service will start right at 6:30, but there will be a countdown clock starting at 6:25 so you know the video stream is working.

Grow in Community
Please be in prayer for the many people working on the front lines of caring for our community right now. Certainly we want to pray for doctors, nurses, aides and EMTs, and we also want to remember all the people still working in service industries to make sure we get fed like grocery store stockers and clerks, as well as garbage truck drivers, and all the truck drivers delivering our food. We also pray for those worried about losing their job or their business during this time. And, of course, for all those who are sick. May God make his mercy and love known at this time.

Rachel Brower is sending information out to parents and Children’s Ministry volunteers each week for at-home Sunday school. She is also holding a weekly Bible story reading time with younger kids and a on-line game time fro older students. If you would like to receive this information as well, please email Rachel and she will add you to her list. (This week, in Rachel’s introductory video, to be sent Sunday morning, Ethan is hidden somewhere in the video. I will give the first person to find him a candy bar of their choice. I will drop it off at or mail it to your home. So, if you have kids, watch close and see if you can find Ethan hidden in the video.)

If you have a Middle or High School student who has not attended any of the youth meetings this week via Zoom, please contact Pastor Jeremy and he can send you the appropriate links and information.

If you have never read the Bible on your own or established a prat ice of daily Bible reading and prayer, now is a great time to start. I would suggest starting with the book of Philippians as Paul wrote it while under house arrest (maybe you can relate a little more this week than you could a month ago). There is also a couple of great video study of this book on RightNow Media you can access here and here. If you do not already have access to RightNow media you can sign-up here.

Serve the World
We will the accepting donations of Personal Care items and food on Wednesdays from 1-3 pm at church. These donations will one used to assist both H2H and the Personal Care Pantry as well as being available to our members who may need some extra help during this time and for you to share with your neighbors and friends who may need help. Any excess donations will be brought to Love, INC or Sunrise Ministries to support their work in Eastern Ottawa county.

Purchasing food for Hand2Hand has been a challenge as some of the stores are limiting the quantity you can purchase of some items,. If you are able to purchase items for Hand2Hand to donate it would be great;y appreciated. The specific items needed are listed below:

Cans of chicken
Pudding cups
Fruit cups
Individual sized non-refrigerated milk (Yoo-hoo chocolate drink)
100% juice boxes or pouches
Sleeves of crackers (saltines, ritz, etc)

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Shanda VandePol our chair of deacons and she can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. Her e-mail is shandavandepol@yahoo.com and her phone number is 616-308-0700.

Administration
We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures. We are especially grateful this week for all those who have adjusted their means of giving to give online, through the mail, and via text. Zion’s members continue to strongly support the ministries of Zion during this time of uncertainty.

Fiscal Year to date budget:  $499,131.90
Fiscal Year to date contributions: $463,926.45
Giving Last Week: $ 6,618.28
Cash on Hand: $104,689.28