January 2017
Dear ReCAST Church family,
2017 will definitely be an exciting year for ReCAST! We have broken ground on our new building and expect to be all moved in by this fall. However, that’s not what I want 2017 to be known for at ReCAST… I would love for this year to be the year we all grow exponentially in faith, community, and service! I want us to grow together as a church family and reach out to our community to share the hope we have in Jesus in better ways than we have before. It is my prayer that we grow in our core values:
Replication – That we will bring others into God’s Kingdom
Community – That Mattawan would be happy that ReCASTChurch is here
Authenticity – That we would be real with each other about things we are celebrating & mourning and about victories &failures
Simplicity – That we would keep growing in faith, community, and service and not just ‘do church’ to be busy and run programs
Truth – That we would continue to keep God’s word at thefoundation of everything we do
Over the next year, we’d like to improve in providing opportunities to grow in community together. For those of you who’ve been at our family meetings, this has been a topic at most of those meetings in the past year. Three years ago we had eight thriving small groups meeting regularly and the majority of our church family was involved in a group. Last fall, we had only had three small groups and the majority of our church family wasn’t a part of one. We have identified that there were not easy “on-ramps and off-ramps” for our small groups.
Therefore, in an effort to increase opportunities to grow in community, we are starting COMMUNITY GROUPS in 2017. You will find a list of these groups below and I urge everyone to sign up for one. You can sign up on Sundays OR email office@recastchurch.com to signup. There are many openings at many different times in different locations. They will meet 8-12 times for discussion around a specific topic. When these groups are done in March, we already have some different leaders with different topics who are ready to lead new groups. And we are sure some of the groups will connect well and a core of the group may want to keep meeting after March and leaders are ready to continue groups as well. We will see what God does and look forward to continuing to offer groups with easier on and off ramps. We are praying that God will work through relationships started and deepened in these groups.
I would also like to set a graceful tone as we are building in 2017! There will be lots of decisions, set-backs, changes, and exciting things happening. It is definitely my prayer that we walk through this project with unity, humility, and a Gospel-focus. It will stretch our church family in many ways and I want to encourage everyone to ask questions, give positive humble input and suggestions, to be flexible, and above all, be gracious with one another through the entire process. It is imperative that we prayerfully and graciously walk through this TOGETHER as one church family. Let’s be open and honest with each other. I believe God can use this to strengthen us as a church family but Satan would love to watch us become bitter, nurse our own hurts, and become divided over this. Please pray with me for our church unity as we build a place for us to meet together and serve our community in 2017 and beyond.
As always, please contact me with ANY questions or concerns. Please attend the family meetings when you can (which occur the 3rd Sunday evening every other month). Those meetings are where we want the rumor mill to start! And my schedule is open for individual meetings as well – contact linda@recastchurch.com and she will get you on my calendar if you have any questions or concerns you’d like to talk about.
I am thankful to be a part of this church family! It is a privilege to serve as your Pastor!
Until the Nets are Full,
Pastor Don
Conversation Peace by Mary Kassian – for women only!
Thursdays 12-1:00 at the ReCAST Meeting Room.
Led by Karrie Frohbieter $13/book
Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey
Monday evenings 7:00 Location TBA
Led by Bruce and Cheryl French $90 for material
“Discipleship in the 21st Century” Navigator’s 2:7 Book 1
Sunday evenings 6-8:00 Location TBA
Led by Marc Downing and Marc Kline $10/book
Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel
Wednesday evening 6:30-8:00 at Jeff & Becky Gilson’s (South Mattawan/East Lawton area)
Led by Don and Linda Filcek $25/book *Childcare provided
Gospel of John
Sunday evenings 6-8:00 hosted at Kerry and Scarlet O’Heran’s (North Paw Paw)
Led by Kerry and Scarlet O’Heran
Character Studies in 1 Samuel
Sunday afternoons 4-5:30 at Dan and Kristie DeVries’(NW Portage)
Led by Dan and Kristie DeVries
**THESE GROUPS ARE ALREADY FULL**
True Friendship by Vaughn Roberts
Sunday evenings 6:30-8:00 at the Konold’s (North Mattawan)
Led by Rob and Cari Konold
Study of Life of David
Sunday afternoon 3-5:00 Led by Greg and Pam Schrock (Portage)
A Note about childcare – If you have children, most of these groups will be accommodating to kids in one way or another. Please contact Linda Filcek (linda@recastchurch.com) or the group leader if you have questions about your children! We don’t want anyone to NOT join a group because of childcare.
Good Morning,
I have recently met and made a new friend who attends your church. I was actually ‘there’ when ReCast began its journey, but never became a part of what seemed then, and now (after reading through the website), a family that might just be what I have been looking for.
I am looking forward to attending your service tomorrow and learning more about connecting with ReCast.
In His Peace,
Paula J Maccarone~
Paula, welcome back! I will not be preaching this week, but Rob Konold will be teaching tomorrow morning and he is gifted at opening the Bible and making sense of the words. I look forward to reconnecting. I hope you can find the connection to God that you are looking for through our church community!