The next Quarterly Training and Equipping is January 24 from 9 am to 3 pm at Midtown (4550 N Illinois Street). The following tracks will be offered:

 

Intro to Spiritual Formation

This class will focus on our journey toward spiritual formation. Formation, like the forming of a pot from clay, brings to mind shaping and molding . . . helping something with potential become something actual. From the Christian perspective, formation refers to the process by which the inner-life of a believer becomes more like Christ.

 

House Church Leaders: Teaching Revelation

This class is an overview of how we will approach Revelation 4-22 (some of the more controversial chapters). We will look at how we can navigate the reading and applying of this text for us today and as HC leaders in the church, how we can help people to read and be encouraged by this letter while at the same time making, “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Pre-read Revelation 4-22.

 

Pre-Marriage Mentoring (by invitation only)

This class is designed to equip married couples to mentor engaged and newly married couples. After a review of the content covered at the premarital weekend retreat (Foundations of Marriage retreat), we will focus on walking through the Prepare premarital assessment and provide the participants with some handles to help guide them in the mentoring process.

 

NT Survey

This class is a survey of each New Testament book with particular attention to the author, audience and key themes of each book. The idea of the course is to be used as a study guide, of sorts, for participant’s future study of the New Testament.

 

Peacemakers

This course uses “The Peacemaker” by Ken Sande to guide participants through a conversation about living lives of reconciliation.

 

Good $ense Budgeting

This class will present easily understood and biblically-based concepts regarding money and budgeting, including its place in the lives of Christ-followers. Attendees should come prepared with an accurate count of their income, monthly and expected one-time expenses, and all debts.

 

There is no cost to register for this event. Snacks and a light lunch will be provided for all adults. Childcare is available for children age 0 through 12. The deadline to request childcare as part of your registration is January 11. Training and Equipping Registration closes on January 17. Please register online via Training and Equipping Registration.

Please mark your calendars for the St. Thomas Aquinas/Common Ground Blood Drive on Sunday, March 1. The blood drive is a long-standing event for our Midtown neighbors and we are excited to partner with them for another successful drive.

 

In 2008, the drive was held on the same Sunday as the first worship services at our Midtown location. Nearly 120 pints of blood were raised for our community and we look forward to even greater success this year. Volunteer opportunities will be available, so please watch the e-news for more details.

2009 is shaping up to be an exciting year! We have 10 Vision Trips planned and over half of them are under $1000. We recognize that finances can be challenge for those hoping to travel, and we would like to help remove some of that barrier.

 

In 2008, Common Ground’s budget included $10,000 for our house churches to use for Vision work. In 2009, we have increased the budget to $15,000. This money is earmarked specifically for participation in Vision Trips. An individual house church may apply for a maximum of $750 of those funds until the budget is depleted. This money can be distributed among several people or applied to just one.

 

If you are interested in House Church Vision Trip money please contact your house church shepherd. We are excited for what God has in store in 2009 and hope you’ll join us for a Vision Trip!

We continue to receive complaints from our neighbors regarding blocked driveways at our Midtown location (4550 N. Illinois Street). Please help us be good neighbors by always erring on the side of caution when parking. This may mean parking further away and walking to avoid potential problems, and we appreciate your willingness to put our neighbors first even during inclement weather.

 

Are you ready to Redistribute? Please download our Redistribute catalog. Donation envelopes are available in the Information Center at Midtown or the Information Table at CGCC-West. Donations for our Redistribute partners will be accepted through Sunday, January 18.

 

Children's Ministry Changes

The children’s ministry at CGCC-West will be making changes to the way we minister to children age

1 – Kindergarten in the coming months. If you are interested in finding out more about these changes, please join us at 8:30 am on Sunday, January 11 in the Art room. Questions? Please contact Martina

 

Snow Cancellations

If we experience snow on a weekend, you can check the following for service cancellations: www.cground.org, RTV6, Fox 59, CW4 and the office phone (317.251.1494).

 

Teachers Needed for 2009

We have prepared our teaching schedules for 2009 and are nearly 20 teachers short for the year. Each volunteer is only asked to commit to teaching 2 months – that’s only 8-10 days for the entire year! Ready to help? Just click this link for access to the children’s ministry volunteer application. Please return the completed application to the church office (you can drop it off or fax it to 317.251.1498). If you have any questions about the children’s ministry, please contact Martina.

 

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) is looking for childcare providers for their spring session. We welcome men, women, young and old to join us in the celebration of guiding our children. Meetings are the first & third Friday mornings, January through May. Please contact Carey Siegler to discuss details, schedule and needs.