March » 2014 » Ames Church

Trying out the bells

Recently Bev Heitkamp sponsored a training ses-sion on the bells used by our Hand Bell Choir. Several of those who attended were from our youth group.
Pictured here, from right to left, Kahleel, Miah, Jaliah, Katie, and Mickey, one of our former bell choir mem-bers. Kahleel has already performed with the group on a Sunday morning!
If you are overseeing a ministry area at Ames and are interested in extending a formal invitation to youth to get involved, please talk with Jesse Karls!

Drive Stats

February: more than one
computer given away per day
March 20: new record of nine computers given away in a
single day
Totals:
317 since ministry inception
71 for 2014 so far
We’re on pace to give away 312 computers in a single year!

Ames’ Drive Ministry recipients are receiving computers with the com-mitment to pay the gift forward. They hear the Gospel and receive counsel-ing during the interview process. References are checked and relation-ships are formed, sometimes with other churches.
Recent donations have helped empower a single mom, Anna, (pictured above) to go back to college; and the Emmaus House, (pictured left) to help young women get back on their feet, fill out job resumes, and find work. One computer has empowered a member of Old Town Christian Outreach to start a small business (new BBQ restaurant on Gratiot). An-other receiving a new computer made a commitment to start going to Hopevale Church as a result of our counseling session.
We see God doing amazing things at Ames, but there is even more that God is doing that many of us never even see! Be proud and encouraged that Ames really has a kingdom view of Saginaw and the world. It’s not about us, but about obeying God and furthering His kingdom! To God be the glory!

We received a phone call from New Life Baptist Church on Janes St. on Saginaw’s East side thanking us for donating a bike to one of their parishioners. They said it has completely changed his life. He has been able to hold down a job for the first time in a long time, has “paid it forward” by getting extremely involved at their church, and has even seen healing and freedom over a lifestyle sin that our Ride team was able to dis-cuss and pray about during the interview process for the bike. God is great! He is most definitely on His throne!

Pictured here is software engineer, Davey, who has chosen Ames as his new home church for the next five to six months while his job has him temporarily placed in Saginaw. He is origi-nally from St. Louis, MO. He recently took some time to show members of the Drive staff some of the programming that he gets to do professionally and share with them what it takes to be a software engineer. Please say ‘hi’ to Davey when you see him at the second service!

Family care

We want to advertise that the Member Care team is looking for five people from each service to join them to help with behind-the-scenes support of Ames members, but this group is so new, their responsibilities are not yet clearly defined. Yes, they sponsored a movie night and an ice cream social last year and they got people to share their birthday and anniversaries dates with the church. But there is so much more care they might pro-vide for our members…like an extended family would.
So who in the congregation really knows a lot of peo-ple well? Who sits on the same side of the sanctuary as you do and always makes you feel like you are “family” to them? These are the ones we would like to encour-age to step forward and help develop this new team. If you or someone you know fits this description, please contact Lynn Newkirk, our Congregational Care Coordi-nator (928-7910).

It’s a sure thing

Are you always scrambling to fill out a check before the ushers pass the plate down your row? Do you forget your giving envelope every other Sunday? There is a way to give faithfully to Ames Church each week or month without having to prepare the envelope each time.
Electronic giving is an automatic transfer pro-gram which allows you to make contributions without writ-ing checks. It saves time. It helps the church stabilize its budget when you contribute this way.
It’s easy. Pick up an authorization form (located on the usher’s table in the upper lobby), fill it out and mail or bring it to the church office along with a voided/canceled check. I will input your information into a secure web site and your authorized contributions are electroni-cally transferred directly from your checking or savings account to the church’s account. You state directly on the form how much you want to contribute and how often. There is no cost to you and you can cancel or change it at any time by notifying the church office.
If you have further questions regarding electronic giving, please call the office at 754-6373 and I will pro-vide the answers.

Meijer Community Rewards

If you are new at Ames or just haven’t heard, we are a part of the Meijer Community Rewards program. We have earned $117.23 since the last report. If you shop at Meijer, this program doesn’t cost you a thing. (This is not a credit card.) The points we earn when you use your Meijer Rewards card turn into cash for our Local Missions Ministry. We use the money to help anyone in need when emergencies arise such as Consumers En-ergy bills, water bills, rent, etc. It’s as easy as one, two, three.

Pick up an application in the lower lobby by the Wel-come Center
Fill out the application
Mail the application or leave it at the Welcome Cen-ter and we will mail it for you.

Your rewards card will be mailed to you in 3-6 weeks.
When you check out at Meijer, give the cashier your Meijer rewards card and it will be scanned. You will need to pay for your groceries with cash, a debit card with your pin number or with a regular Meijer Credit Card. We’re sorry, but the program does not work with checks or other credit cards. Thank you for being a part of the Local Missions ministry by supporting us through the rewards program. If you have any further questions, see Sharon Hasse.

Stone School Kids Update

Thank you for all of the coats, socks, wipes and winter items donated to the kids at Stone School this winter. They have been very grateful and have put them all to good use.
Currently the biggest needs are: underwear and socks for boys and girls (sizes 5 – 8) and school uni-forms in all kids’ sizes: dress slacks and polo/collared shirts in any solid color. (Donated clothing is acceptable if it is in good condition.) Please put your donations in the box in the upper lobby. Thank you so much for help-ing the kids in our neighborhood!

Welcome Center

Looking for ways to serve at Ames? The Welcome Center is blossoming and the coffee area is becoming a popular place to meet and greet people on Sunday mornings. We are pleased and excited about this, but find that we are in need of more helpers to keep it run-ning smoothly.
If you have the gift of serving, you might like to help make the coffee and clean up on one Sunday each month. Or you may like to greet people as they come in and welcome any newcomers with a warm smile and a gift bag.
Stop by the Welcome Center or call 792-9517 and let Bev Heitkamp know if you are interested in helping in either of these ways.
Special thanks to Mary Tunney for bringing in good-ies to share at the Welcome Center the past few weeks. If you would like to share a treat, please sign up on the sheet provided. If you would like to give a donation to help with the expenses for the coffee and hot chocolate, there are envelopes available at the Welcome Center. Any help is appreciated.

Prayer Breakfast

Ames United Methodist Women are having their second annual Prayer Brunch on Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 a.m. Rev. M. Joyce Redfearn from St. Luke’s CME will speak on “Reflecting God’s Love” The UMW recog-nizes the great importance of prayer in our daily lives and honors the tradition of the former Calvary and Jefferson Ave./Grace churches who had prayer breakfasts for sev-eral years. Please come and be inspired.

Tickets are $10.00 for Adults and $5.00 for children 5 – 12. They may be purchased from members of the M & M circle of the UMW. For more info call (989) 754-6373.

A hot meal for a cold day

In the midst of the longest winter we can remember, let us not forget that most of us have enjoyed hot meals every cold day this year. Imagine what it would be like not to have a hot meal on a cold day. Please consider bringing in a food offering, cans of soup, stew, meat, boxed meals like macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, etc. and pace them by the grocery cart next to the coat rack doors in the upper lobby. Your donations will be give to the Food Pantry for distribution to those who are hungry right here in Saginaw. Thank you for your continued support of this local mission.

First Quarter

January – March 18 Finance report
We are behind in our General fund income vs. expenses by $6,359.00. Quarterly financial statements will be printed and sent out in April. If you know that you are behind in your estimate of giving this quarter, please consider catching up before the end of March. Thank you for supporting Ames with your faithful giving.