P.J.'s August 2012 Blog

Dear Friends, Greetings to you in the powerful name of Jesus Christ! I love a good story – don’t you? There is something about a good story that draws you into the drama of people, places, and things that it become hard to put it down. Well – there is a story that we are going to explore this fall and winter that you will not want to miss. It is simply called – “THE STORY”! We will explore stories like stubborn Jonah and his improbable fish tale or a family patriarch named Abraham whose filled with surprises and hope, or Ruth who showed such courage when life seemed impossible or Peter who was willing to except an invitation to step out of a boat or Job who struggled to understand the reason for suffering and how God was present in it. Yes these are the stories of faith that shape who we are as children of God. But among all these remarkable stories we will come face to face with God’s Son. We will look long into the eyes of Jesus Christ and hear his claim that he is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. It will be in The Story that we will come to discover together how our stories of life are found in God’s Story. Our journey will begin on August 12th as we begin a 40 day period of prayer. We will pray that the Holy Spirit will open our hearts to this journey! Each day an email will go out to the members of Atonement and will be posted on my face book inviting you to be in prayer for a few moments. There will be a short devotional and some suggested things to be in prayer about during the day! The 40 Days of Prayer is followed by a kick off Sunday that will take place on Sunday – September 16th. The sermon that Sunday will be an invitation to join thousands of others on a journey that will be life changing. We will open THE STORY together to discover what God is doing and how we are part of God’s Story. Each Sunday The Story for the week will be preached on and a number of small groups will gather during the week to explore further The Story. There will be small groups at a number of times and places: *Sunday morning during Sunday School *Sunday late afternoon in a member's home *Thursday morning at 6:30AM in Herbie’s Café *Thursday evening at 6:30PM in Herbie’s Café *Others (Maybe you would like to host a small group in your home). Your help is needed as we hope that every member of the Atonement Church Family will participate. I need helpers to work with me in preparation for this remarkable adventure in the following areas: *Prayer Ministry Organizer *Small Group Organizer * Publicity Coordinator *Sunday Morning Worship Planning *Food Organizer *Face Book Coordinator *Other Please give me a call if you would like to help me prepare for this churchwide campaign as we walk together through THE STORY!! You can reach me at 920-468-0713 or james.gerth@yahoo.com In Christ, Pastor Jim Gerth (P.J.)

P.J's July 2012 Blog

Dear Friends, Greetings to you in the powerful name of Jesus Christ! I chronicled my walks with emails. Here is a recap of that spiritual 50 mile journey: Greetings from the 50 mile walkers, Thankful that the heat is gone and we have cool temps for our first day of walking. Yes we are all Walking Together. We are taking with us part of the prayer cards from Sunday as we walk along we will be praying. Our day began as my days have begun preparing for this walk - devotional time and prayer. The title for the May 29th devotion in the Christ In Our Home is "Walking Together". WOW! I find that so encouraging. We are WALKING TOGETHER! That is the gift and the joy that God has given us at Atonement. The devotion is based on Isaiah 2:1-5. Isaiah invites us to walk in God's path, to be shaped by the Lord's ways, and to learn of God's vision that all creation live in harmony and peace. Yes we are WALKING TOGETHER - people of God from many different backgrounds. But we WALK TOGETHER all to the Glory of God! Join us on the walk through the rest of the week. We would love to see you along the way. We can only do this with your prayers and God's help! You can call me at one of the following #'s 920-660-1516 or 920-370-5031. Let us by the grace of God continue to WALK TOGETHER!! Peace of the Lord be with You! P.J. & Walkers Day 2 began with a devotional reading entitled "Called and Sent". It was based on Isaiah 6:8 "Here I am send me". Wow! It just so happens that this was the bible verse placed on a walking stick by a very dear friend that I still use when I walk. May we also respond like Isaiah did with faith saying, "Here am I; send me!" We have now covered a total of 21 miles. Praise God! Thursday will be a short walk - only 7 miles to the Frosty Tip. We should arrive at the Frosty Tip by about 10:30 - 11:00AM. Thank you to all who walked with me on Wednesday - there was a total of 8 walkers and three people helping with water! Thanks! We have now in cash & pledges about $2,600. You can still support this 50 mile walk with your prayer and financial gifts. Let us continue to Walk Together With Jesus all to the glory of God! P.J. Dear Friends, Wow! It is hard to believe that we are now at the 43 mile marker! 43 Miles! With God all things are possible - this is so true. Thank you to all the walkers and those who helped with water and prayed for us on Friday. Thank you to all who have given gifts to support the paying of our mortgage and support our Multi Cultural Ministry. Last time I looked we are close to $3,000 in gifts and pledges. Thank You! We do this to the Glory of God in thanksgiving for God's gift of peace! God is Great! P.J. With God all things are possible! Really? Yes - with God all things are possible! When I started this journey I was not at all sure that I would make it all the way. 50 miles is a long way. But God sent many to pray, to walk, to run to bring water and with all that holding me up we made it. Thank you to all who participated! It has been a blessing to me and I trust it has been a blessing to you. It is amazing how God walks with us on this journey of life. I know that the Holy Spirit is guiding Atonement and each of us into the next 50 years! Praise God! P.J.