ABS Newsletter

Summer is winding down and the crisp cool breeze and the beautiful colors of Fall are beginning to arrive. (yeah, that is not happening but it sure feels good to type those words as 100+ degree weather with 100% humidity abounds in T-town!) I am so stoked about the Fall and about all of us returning to all things new. The return of school brings with it the promise of new relationships forged and new people and new opportunities to BE Christ to the greater Tuscaloosa. This Fall will be loaded with expectancy around Valley View. We will create new space for ministry to our students… new space for our people to park…. new space for our adult bible study…. new worship space for kids, students, and collegiates… an entirely new look on Hwy 69 Side and, God willing, we will see new people and new hearts and new worship and new zeal and salvation spring forth around us. After all, God makes ALL things new and He is constantly bringing new life. I love that about Him. It gives me so much hope!

As we head toward the Fall, we enter with a two things at heart… - A sense of God-expectancy must abound in our hearts, as ABS leaders - A willingness toward flexibility as we prepare to make many changes to our physical plant. Stay upbeat! Stay united! Stay focused on people! Never lose sight of the reality that the Cross of Jesus Christ is the ONLY supreme desire of your soul and the very heart of this fellowship. Change invites cracks for satanic division. Know that and refuse to allow that to happen!

A few things that you MUST know….

About Curriculum - DISCIPLE Leaders Only – Christos Books are available this Sunday, July 31. I (Mark) will be in the Gathering Area (Mall) throughout the morning and you can stop by my table and grab your 2011-2012 book. I can’t wait to see you and to high five as I hand you a book that is LOADED with promise and possibility. These are for Disciple Leaders only (sorry to my beloved Community and Mission folks!) - On-Line Curriculum study materials will be available by August 20 - Books for all classes will be placed in your rooms on August 21 - The Study of the Life of Christ (Christos) will launch on September 11!! o Now.. stop and consider this reality – our entire church will be united in the study of Christ for a year. Read that sentence again. Again. Now, stop and pray that God will flood our hearts with a passion for Christ-likeness like never before. Pray for a discipline in study that we have NEVER experienced. Pray for God to penetrate hearts as never before.

About Training and Equipping - Disciple, Community, and Mission Leaders –August 28 from 4:15 to 5:45 PM. ALL in training. We will kick off in August and January each year with an ALL training. Every leader MUST make this meeting. It will be so good and so filled with vision and so loaded with potential that you will deeply regret missing. Book this date and cherish it with all your little heart! - Disciple Leader’s Only –October 2 and December 4 from 5 – 6 PM - ALL IN (Disciple/Community/ Mission) Meeting – January 8, 2012

About Room Assignments - Many of you will have NEW rooms beginning September 11 in preparation for our building/ renovation. I will share your room assignments within 10 Days via the transformed e mail. STAY UPBEAT! You are the leaders and your class will follow your lead. We are making space and flex is key.

A few things to know and pray about…. - LOST Weekend is here and launches tomorrow… Our students will be venturing to an island on Lake Tuscaloosa and having much fun. In the midst of the fun is tremendous opportunity for God to grab their hearts for the sake of His name. - 4.32 Tuesdays is an on-line resource to gather our church in reflection and in prayer. Each week (Tuesday), your staff team will post thoughts from the prior weekend and opportunities to unite in prayer. You can find this on the Vv website on the ‘Blog’ (www.valleyviewtuscaloosa.com) and we will soon utilize Facebook and Twitter in order to post the link to these thoughts. - Our last night or Renew 2011 is this Monday. We will share in worship with the our choir and the Brooklyn Tabernacle singers. This promises to be a wonderful night of worship. - No activities on Sunday evening, August 7 and normal schedule resumes August 14. - Sunday, September 4 (Labor Day), we will have a single united service @ 10 AM and no ABS or evening activities

Christos: God’s Transforming Touch is an in-depth study of the life of Christ. Each of the next 48 weeks will include one moment in which Jesus will become clearer to you and to our faith-family. To say that I am expectant is an understatement. Pray with a sense of expectancy and unity and let’s watch as God unfolds His life and a taste of heaven on this earth. Let’s expect that Jesus will be MORE clear to those around us in days to come. Hallelujah!

I thank my God for you and for your partnership in the gospel.

By Grace… For Glory, Mark

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Mission update

Easy Mission!

As a class, we are going to collect aluminum cans and use the money (55¢ lb) to go towards funding our kids in Honduras. As a class, I feel like we can add one more child. So to help with the cost, collect all your aluminium cans and I will come collect them and take what we have collected to the scrap yard and put the money towards our adopted children. Also, if you wish to adopt one as an individual couple, let me know and I can help you find a child to adopt. Its 35 dollars a month. Get all of your friends to collect cans too so we can have more money to support those precious children in Honduras! If you have any questions, call me (2057927332) or email me.

God Blesd and thank you, Wes Chapman
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Mission opportunity

Valley View is partnering with the Tuscaloosa Backpack Coalition to help distribute backpacks to students in need. There are two ministry opportunities to help the students.

First. you can help distribute backpacks to students. Our distribution site is Englewood Elementary School on Saturday, July 30 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Shayla Smith (h: 799-1935; c: 792-4307) from Brad McMichael and Wes Chapman's ABS group is coordinating this at Englewood Elementary. Volunteers are needed to help pass out backpacks. The backpacks from this site will help students who attend schools in our area: Duncanville Middle, Englewood Elementary, Hillcrest Middle, Hillcrest High, Maxwell Elementary, and Taylorville Primary.

Second, you can help sort school supplies any day next week. Supply Sorting will take place Monday through Friday, July 25 - 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Lloyd Wood Middle School in Northport.

If you would like to volunteer please respond to this e-mail (JimandLeesa@aol.com), or you can sign up by clicking either of these links.

Supply Sorting Sign-Up

Engelwood Event Sign-Up This link tells you a variety of things you can do to help, from set-up/clean up, backpack helper, food server, games/entertainment, general helper, prayer ministry, sign-in assistant.

For the children,
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Mission Update

This is an email I recieved from Shayla, if you can volunteer there is an email address in the letter that you can respond to in order to set up what time you can go out. Thanks, Chris

Hi Chris,

This is Shayla again. I just received this message concerning the community backpack drive so she still needs volunteers. If you don’t mind, would you send this out to the class and see if anyone is available to assist with the drive. If they are interested, they can e-mail Melissa, (mdrogers88@gmail.com) and tell her what shift they want to work. It will be at the University Mall and they don’t have to stay the full shift, they can volunteer 2 hours if they can.

Thanks so much!

Hello all,

Just wanted to send out a slightly urgent call for volunteers to help with the Tuscaloosa Backpack Coalition School Supply Drive going on at University Mall. There is a donation center set up near center court in the retail store between Gymboree and Life Uniform. We need volunteers to help receive and sort supplies for the following times:

7/12/11 – 10am-2pm

7/13/11 – 10am-2pm

7/14/11 – 2pm-6pm

7/15/11 – 10am-2pm

7/18/11 – 4-6pm

7/19/11 – 2-6pm

7/20/11 – 10am-2pm

7/21/11 - 10am-2pm & 2pm-6pm

7/22/11 – 2pm-6pm

If you are able to help, please let me know ASAP and plan to show up at University Mall at that time.

Thanks so much!!

Melissa Rogers

Tuscaloosa Backpack Coalition

Volunteer Coordinator