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Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod Groups Ablaze program is a process designed to promote outreach to our neighbors through Small Group activities.People Ablaze is the Northern Illinois District movement supporting Groups Ablaze.
 Cross People Ablaze -- Read More:
Cross in the Sparks Newsletter |
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| October 03, 2007 | Sparks and People Ablaze exist to encourage people in northern Illinois to share the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. |
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| Faith in Action |
| by Karen Kogler | | "We don't focus on membership here; we focus on discipleship. It's faith in action. It's getting involved. It's not about us. It's about bringing people to Christ." What many churches describe as volunteering, Mary Pat Bretthauer, Director of Connect Ministries at Cross Lutheran Church, Yorkville, Illinois, describes as "faith in action"-a key part of the church's vision and mission. Chalyce Deterding, a Cross member, describes the result from her own perspective. She's a volunteer worker and board member for Community Bridges, a group that, as she puts it, "bridges people between a rough time in their life and hopefully gets them over the hump to  where it's not so rough." In describing her first experience with the group, a distribution of food and gifts at Christmas, Chalyce was surprised by the impact on the recipients. "The people were brought to tears by something that seems to me so simple. It's an unbelievable blessing to see the look in people's eyes. I've never in my life had to worry about not having Christmas. But these people worry all the time about feeding their kids." |
| News and Notes |
| Karen Kogler | | Join the Fiesta! The members of San Pablo, Aurora, invite us to their second annual Fiesta de San Pablo on Sunday, Nov. 4, 5:00-7:30 p.m. RSVP by Fri. October 26th to Jenny in the San Pablo office (630-820-3451 or jrohr@igliesiasanpablo.net). The church is celebrating its second year of being an independent congregation with their friends who have helped make this possible. The evening will include authentic food from Latin America, testimonies, music, and a visit from Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, President of the LCMS. This is an event not to be missed! San Pablo is at 555 E. Benton Street, at Benton and Jackson, in Aurora, Illinois.Pete has been serving in this ministry two years. He describes the leader, Bob Trusheim, as a teacher who "always boils it down to Christ and the cross." Many others from Cross support the ministry. Sunday School offerings purchase Bibles, some in Spanish, for the inmates. Lutheran Women Missionary League members mark verses in each Bible, highlighting the salvation story. A prayer group prays over specific prayer requests from the inmates. A Personal note from the editor: Karen Kogler With this issue, I'm relinquishing the task of editing Sparks, as the Lord has called me to become Director of Volunteer Equipping at my home congregation, St. Peter, Arlington Heights, Illinois. I am honored to have worked with the People Ablaze team and on this publication since their inception two years ago. I leave it in good hands and pray we may all be encouraged by it to continually seek ways to share God's love with people who don't yet know Him as Lord. |
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| October 18, 2006 | Sparks and People Ablaze exist to encourage people in northern Illinois to share the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. |
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| by Karen Kogler | | Statistics support what is easily noticed in most congregations: women outnumber men in Christian churches. The low percentage of men is often even greater when measuring people involved in ministry. One local congregation is changing the numbers a bit through outreach ministries using skills and activities commonly enjoyed by men. The Oil Change ministry at Cross Lutheran Church, Yorkville, Illinois, is headed by Harry Rothaug. Harry and his volunteers provide free oil changes to people in need. Twice a year, they spend half a day changing the oil, checking fluid levels and tires, and in general giving cars a good looking-over. "They're very grateful," Harry says of the people whose cars are serviced . . . Read the rest of the article, which also describes Cross's Handyman Ministry (headed by Paul Mueller, pictured above) and includes stories of how the recipients, and the volunteers, are impacted by the ministry. |
| They Want to Come! |
| Karen Kogler | | Another ministry (see "Men in Ministry," above) at Cross Lutheran, Yorkville, Illinois, is not necessarily restricted to men, but happens to involve only three men. Their task is not unusual--they lead two Bible studies on Sunday afternoon once a month. But their location is unusual--the Kendall County Jail. "It's easy," Pete Heibel, one of the three volunteers, insists more than once during a conversation. "They want to come." Although some inmates come simply for the diversion or to talk to other people, most really want to be there. "They're longing to hear the Word." As a county jail, inmates are serving generally shorter terms, many related to drugs and child support problems, but other people are in for felonies, including murder. Although some are overflow from Kane and Cook county jails, Pete sees mostly "a whole lot of local people" who did "stupid stuff." Some are "grateful" to be in jail and are now "working to fix their lives." Many who attend the Bible classes are Christians, Pete notes. "Some of these people are very strong believers, stronger than me." Pete has been serving in this ministry two years. He describes the leader, Bob Trusheim, as a teacher who "always boils it down to Christ and the cross." Many others from Cross support the ministry. Sunday School offerings purchase Bibles, some in Spanish, for the inmates. Lutheran Women Missionary League members mark verses in each Bible, highlighting the salvation story. A prayer group prays over specific prayer requests from the inmates. "I'm pretty nervous about it still," Pete confesses. "I'm not an outgoing type." But his voice conveys his compassion for the people who have made "stupid mistakes" and who are now living in jail. When someone brings up the difficulty of the ministry, he not only repeats, "It's easy," he simply and matter-of-factly states, "Jesus told us to do it." | To view more Newsletter issues or to register to receive future Spark Newsletters, click here |
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