The Future of Ministry Fri, Mar 5th

No one has a crystal ball to foresee the future. Yet, we look into it every day. Our crystal ball even has a name, "today."

Today at Waterview, a group of members decided to take seriously Paul's instruction to the Romans:

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Rom. 13:7)

That verse propelled the actions of giving recognition to Waterview's ministry staff.

But today does not just recognize men who serve the Waterview family in a full-time capacity. It recognizes the grander concept of devotion to ministry.

For years, churches have wrung their hands over the dwindling supplies of men who will give their lives to ministry. Schools turn out dozens of gleaming graduates who within a year or two fall by the wayside. With each faltering minister comes more bemoaning of our fate.

Yet, Benjamin Franklin observed rightly, "One today is worth two tomorrows." For the church it translates into the church of tomorrow only has the ministers it esteems today. Too many young men have watched the carnage of criticism whittle away the worth of ministry. When it comes to career choices, some would rather be the manager of the complaint department at Wal-Mart than serve the church.

The day is not about the men but the ideal our ministry staff portrays. The esteem and appreciation given is really an investment in the future of ministry.

The ministers of tomorrow come from the church that esteems the worth of ministry today.

Garcias Working Toward Mexico Fri, Mar 5th

March is ramp-up time for Patrick and Brandon'a Garcia. And it will be a time filled with activity to prepare them to go to Mexico as part of a mission team. This month, Patrick is teaching a class on The Mission of God on Wednesday nights. He is working on communication and leadership skills with Robert Oglesby and Robert Taylor. You will meet Patrick through two presentations on March 14th and March 28th where you can give your impressions of the Garcias' plans.

Breakfast Program Contribution Tops $4000 Fri, Mar 5th

Last Sunday was our regular collection of quarters for the Breakfast Program. The basket with the money was both full and heavy.

The grand total of the basket's contents was: $4,165.

The money does more than buy a hot meal for children. It infiltrates the hearts of poverty-ridden families and opens the door to the gospel.

Recently, Jose Garcia of the Rene Polonco church demonstrated this vividly. Two mothers whose children are helped by the breakfast program were baptized into Christ. The open door to their destinies was a canister of quarters put in a basket by a small child at Waterview.

Haitian Funds Making a Difference Fri, Mar 5th

To date Waterview members have contributed $14,757 toward Haitian relief. The elders made a decision soon after the earthquake to coordinate our efforts with Healing Hands of Nashville, TN. Recently, after good work done by the Timothy Teams surfaced, the elders sent $3,000 to help with their work in Haiti. The teams have collected high protein food and packed them for distribution to individuals in Port-au-Prince through the LaMentin Church of Christ.

Response to Nicaraguan Report Sat, Feb 27th

Last week's report on Waterview's work in Nicaragua gripped many in the congregation. In addition to the report of progress, several needs were presented. What happened next?

• We received the money for a new roof over the area that houses the breakfast program. (Monsoon rains in May will overwhelm the area with the current roof.)
• Members have committed to expanding the breakfast program in a new congregation led by Juan Guillermo.
• Help was provided to Jose to pay an assistant who could help him visit the families of the children served by the breakfast program.

The generosity of Waterview members continues to be a tremendous blessing to the Breakfast program. But there's more to come in the coming months as ongoing correspondence with José Garcia continues about ways to help in Nicaragua.

Website Changes Sat, Feb 27th

You may notice that the calendar has recently changed.  Using this new Google calendar has many advantages:

• Can individually filter the 6 Waterview calendars
• Can subscribe to individual calendars and receive popups, integrate with your other Google calendars even on your iPhone.
• Recurring events and multi-day events are now supported
• All staff will have ability to create events in the calendars

Unfortunately, this will not integrate with our weekly update email scripts, so if you'd like to continue to receive Waterview event notifications, you will need to subscribe to the calendar using Google's features. Click on the Google button in the bottom right for more details.

Go to www.waterview.org/calendar to see it in action.

The web ministry is always looking at process improvements and the website will continue to be enhanced with more features that will continue to facilitate the great communication we already have within our church.

Dishes and Bibles Sat, Feb 27th

We have accumulated a large collection of dishes and lost Bibles. They are on a table near the chapel in the south wing. Please stop by and pick yours up. Any items left at the end of the month will be donated.

Faith Builders Sat, Feb 27th

Our Sunday evening children's program, Faith Builders,needs some fresh faces and willing helpers to make Faith Builders an exciting and fun waythe Scriptures. Helping is easy. You are put on a team (or you can bring your own) and then you teach one Sunday evening from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. once every few weeks. Curriculum is provided. Please contact Brittany Jouvenat by email at brittany.jouvenat@risd.org.

Special Tribute to Waterview Ministers Next Sunday Sat, Feb 27th

Waterview is blessed with a staff of servant ministers. Their job is not easy and seldom do we tell them how much they are appreciated. Next Sunday morning during our worship hour, we will highlight the need to honor ministry. The way to have preachers and ministers in the future is to hold ministry in high esteem.

New Adult Classes Sat, Feb 27th

With the change of quarter comes a change of classes for adults. Wednesday Nights

• Ken Sewell begins a class in the chapel on The Bible Speaks for Itself.
• Patrick Garcia, who will soon move to Mexico as a missionary, will present a series of lessons in S101 on The Mission of God

Sunday Nights (starts next Sunday, March 7)

• Ben Cole will show how the context of geography helps our understanding of the Bible. The Roadmap to the Bible will take place in the chapel.
• Myron Bruce will cover the book of Judges in a class called More than Bible Characters S101.