Newsletter

April 15, 2010

Hello and Happy Spring!

I say that of course knowing that it just snowed all day and the sky is cloudy, grey and unpromising. I put my faith in the weather guy who says it will be 70 degrees this weekend. I believe!

“Forgotten…” Series

We started our newest series on Easter morning – with a talk about “Forgotten Hope”. I shared the news that Jesus Christ rose from the dead… really, he did! It is an historic reality and one that brings with it the hope of relationship with the Heavenly Father – forever! Great News! Jason Harris continued with a stirring tale of Manasseh and how the Grace of Jesus Christ – “Forgotten Grace” – can reach deep into the most horrid circumstances and bring salvation! A salvation that costs you nothing except the loss of your pride and shame! The following Sunday, Tyler Redden talked about “Forgotten Transformation”. I recently saw an alarming book title at Borders Books – The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist (by Craig Groeschel). I say “alarming” because I was surprised to see someone talking so directly about a problem that stretches across the Church landscape in the Western-world. Yes, I said the Church landscape. We are in danger of being a generation of Christ followers with strong opinions but anemic testimonies. If you missed it, you will want to hear Tyler’s entertaining and provocative encouragement to live Transformed Lives!

Baptism Sunday

We are ringing in the Spring with a Baptism Celebration on Sunday, May 2nd! I will be concluding our “Forgotten…” Series with a brief discussion of “Forgotten Joy!” followed by a Baptism Celebration. We will be celebrating the stories of many who have become Christ-followers. I love it! This is always such a wonderful time to invite someone who may be searching for meaning, or community or relationship with God.

If you are interested in being baptized or have a question about baptism please contact the office and leave a message for Jason Harris, send him an email (jasonharris@mounthelena.cc) or fill out a “Let’s Get Acquainted” Card on Sunday morning.

Dr. Clem Ferris

Clem Ferris will be with us again from May 14th to 16th! One of our favorite guest speakers and among MHCC’s best friends, Clem is an amazing teacher and proven prophetic voice to the Church here in Helena and around the world. Clem ministers extensively in the U.S., Eastern and Western Europe, Asia and parts of the troubled Middle East. He will be meeting with leaders and various ministry teams, ministering to Graduating Seniors (see below) and speaking on Sunday, May 16th.

High School Seniors Day!

At 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, May 15th at the Gateway Center, Dr. Clem Ferris will be ministering to all students who are graduating from High School or completing their studies in 2010. This is a unique opportunity for our graduating students to receive focused prayer and ministry from a leader with such a strong, accurate and edifying prophetic ministry.

As Clem said recently, “It always amazes me to hear how God speaks over His children to impart love, grace and faith for the future.” Students from years past often consider the time Clem prayed for them as a significant, encouraging and guiding moment in their lives! If you are a student member of MHCC or you are their parent, please contact the office to give us your name and contact information so that we can put you in the program for Saturday morning. If you have questions or want to know how you can help with the event, please call Jackie Furlong at the MHCC office, send her an email (jackiefurlong@mounthelena.cc) or fill out a “Let’s Get Acquainted” Card on Sunday.

Online Giving coming to MHCC

By the beginning of next month you will be able to do your giving online! Many of you have asked, “Why doesn’t the church offer online giving?” Our answer has changed from, “We are working on that” to “You can now go to our website and do all your giving online!” This is one of the goals that our amazing Finance Team had set for itself for 2010 and now the program is close to up-and-running. You will be notified when the service is ready for use.

Celebrate Progress!

On Monday, February 8th we had our first annual Vision Night. We talked about our plan to Turnaround in 2010. We detailed a blueprint for Turnaround in ’10, including a new operational structure and a detailed plan for team ministry – more hands and minds contributing to the success of MHCC – Lifting Others Up! We even talked about what we would consider “success” and how we would celebrate it when we saw it! You also met all our new Department Leaders and Team Leaders for the coming year. Recently our Department Leaders and Team Leaders got together to talk about the success their teams had already seen in just a few short months! You have probably noticed some improvements here and there. We still have some bugs to work out and I still ask you for your patience, but we definitely have reason to celebrate! Every Department and every Team reported progress and points of celebration. We have seen a 20% increase in attendance on Sunday mornings, Community Groups have tremendous participation, the Hospitality Team is taking hospitality to new levels on Sunday mornings, the Worship Team is creating such a sweet atmosphere of praise, the Gateway Center is energetically serving the community, Ladies Night Out has created a great connecting point for women, PreFriday has launched and has become a lively Thursday night gathering for youth… I could go on. This is just a sampling of the progress in recent months! Thank you to all Leaders and volunteers for all your efforts! Go Team!

Blogging Bryan

As you can see, there is plenty to talk about. With that in mind, Tyler Redden has provoked me to start a blog – a place for communication of ideas, questions and information. You can reach my blog by going to www.bryanasay.com. In the blog we will discuss upcoming MHCC and Helena events, books, teaching, trends running through the Church around the world and current events. You’ll also be able to post comments in response to the current topic of discussion. Big Brothers Big Sisters Event The Gateway Center is honored to be hosting one of the largest fundraisers for Big Brothers Big Sisters – Wine Crush 2010. We really want to champion this event and make the BBBS people look really good! To do that, we need your help! Would you be a volunteer for this event? It is held on Saturday, May 1st and will go from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., with volunteers scheduled in shifts. We are putting together the volunteer schedule this coming week.

If you would like to volunteer, please send an email to Tyler Redden – tylerredden@gatewaycenter.cc and he will make sure you are part of the event!

Hoorah!

With the Spring season comes new life, new energy, fresh rain, sunny skies… I am ready for all of that! Bring it on! As one of our elders commented recently, “I like the progress we are making at MHCC. I like what I am seeing!” Our energy has been directed to Lifting Others Up! by Serving where we are, Sharing transformed life and Proclaiming Christ! In order to direct our energy, we have implemented some definition and some processes to assure that we are getting the job done. In some cases it is easy work. In some situations we are challenged a bit to think differently. I appreciate your continued patience and commitment to the goal of Turnaround in ’10! We want the Helena community to know that we are here, that we care and that we will be a steady partner for many years to come. Thank you for being on Team MHCC!

Lift someone up today!

Bryan
Senior Pastor