I pray you are all doing well in this new week. This past Sunday was a wonderful day at least for me. On Sunday a.m. I believe that the Spirit of God moved and we were able to worship in a marvelous manner. Dale, our worship pastor, was at a wedding in Pennsyvania and the youth choir and worship team led and it was really good. God spoke through them and then it just seemed to me, maybe I am prejudiced, that the sermon was well received, we had some at the altar, and hearts were moved. Then as part of the p.m. service we had a baptism with 13 people being baptized. They invited friends and family and we had 327 in the p.m. worship. Once again I believe God spoke to people and what will happen with that will only be known in eternity.
It seems to me that God has been moving in my heart and I am waiting to see what He will do in that. As I sat in worship Sunday my heart was moved and I just knew that He wanted to do something special in our congregation not just in that service but in our ministry here. I ask you to pray that I will be open and be able to hear His voice as He would direct. This coming Saturday I meet with the pastoral staff to work on some direction on how to reach people for Christ, how to help them learn, and how to help them become involved in ministry. We must get folks who come to become part of what takes place for God here. I ask you to pray with me about this.
May He bless you all.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Hello Folks,
This past week has been very busy as usual. Ruth and I took our 2 granddaughters to meet their father in Florence, Ky on Monday . They had stayed with us for about 3 weeks and we had a great time with them. I am thankful that they got to be with us. The oldest, Bailey, went to Wednesday night youth two times and enjoyed it greatly. She told us that she wished that she had a "church" like this to attend where she lived. Breanne enjoyed the children's church, Sunday p.m. and Wednesday night ministries for her age. I asked her and in her brief way she said that she liked it. I want to thank the congregation here for giving so much of themselves to make people like Bailey and Breanne to feel at home. It is that kind of atmosphere that attracts folks here.
Most of you probably know by now that we have had to make major changes in Noah's Ark. Due to the state of Tennessee providing pre-k at tax payer expenses and the ecomony our census had gone from about 75 this time last year to 46. We had to implement cost cutting measures to keep it alive. The congregation could not supplement their needs without endangering the rest of our ministries. As a cost cutting measure we released our Director, Sandy Gammon and 3 teachers. We also had to increase cost to parents by $5 a week per child and a couple other painful steps where employees are concerned. I regret that this took place but if we were to keep Noah's Ark we had to do those very things. We had no other options that we thought would be successful for us. I ask you to pray for the teachers and interim director, Barbara Ziliox, as we work to make Noah's Ark a ministry that is sustainable in our community.
Tonight we will be having our Annual Business meeting and attempting to give all the information I can about the state of the congregation. If you would like to read some of the reports they will be on our website and I hope they will be helpful to you. If you have any questions just let me know and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
This past week has been very busy as usual. Ruth and I took our 2 granddaughters to meet their father in Florence, Ky on Monday . They had stayed with us for about 3 weeks and we had a great time with them. I am thankful that they got to be with us. The oldest, Bailey, went to Wednesday night youth two times and enjoyed it greatly. She told us that she wished that she had a "church" like this to attend where she lived. Breanne enjoyed the children's church, Sunday p.m. and Wednesday night ministries for her age. I asked her and in her brief way she said that she liked it. I want to thank the congregation here for giving so much of themselves to make people like Bailey and Breanne to feel at home. It is that kind of atmosphere that attracts folks here.
Most of you probably know by now that we have had to make major changes in Noah's Ark. Due to the state of Tennessee providing pre-k at tax payer expenses and the ecomony our census had gone from about 75 this time last year to 46. We had to implement cost cutting measures to keep it alive. The congregation could not supplement their needs without endangering the rest of our ministries. As a cost cutting measure we released our Director, Sandy Gammon and 3 teachers. We also had to increase cost to parents by $5 a week per child and a couple other painful steps where employees are concerned. I regret that this took place but if we were to keep Noah's Ark we had to do those very things. We had no other options that we thought would be successful for us. I ask you to pray for the teachers and interim director, Barbara Ziliox, as we work to make Noah's Ark a ministry that is sustainable in our community.
Tonight we will be having our Annual Business meeting and attempting to give all the information I can about the state of the congregation. If you would like to read some of the reports they will be on our website and I hope they will be helpful to you. If you have any questions just let me know and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Friday, August 13, 2010
Hello Folks,
This has been a very busy week for me. I had a niece and her family, 6 of them, have a vehicle break down and they came to stay with us during the repair time. They were with us for three nights and it was a pleasure having them there. But we also have had 2 of our grand daughters with us so that made for a full house. Fortunately, the girls are around the same ages and they did really good together. I then took them to get their vehicle on Tuesday and now they are safely back in Lousiana.
This week I received an e-mail from someone who has attended this congregation but had to move our of the area due to work. I want to share the e-mail with you so you can hear her words and know the importance of what she is talking about.
"I never knew that moving would be this hard. I am not homesick for Greeneville, I am not homesick for my house. I do miss my parents but I am HOMESICK for my Church. It took us years to find a Church we loved and when I got this job, I prayed and I feel God led me. I have cried so many times because I am homesick for my church. I have not went out and found a new one. I have two "excuses" for that, one is things have been so crazy since moving and two is the dread of not finding the right one and starting the "process" all over again.
I did not write this for a pity party, I am writing this to let you know how each of you and your congregation touch others' lives. When my neighbor came over to tell me about their daughter I immediately starting calling people with the First Church of God in Greeneville TN.
I knew they would stop what they were doing and start praying for this family. I got an email from Carolyn Hartman telling me about how the church came to their knees for a family they had never met. You all are so amazing and I love each of you more than you will ever know. I have made friendships within this church that will stay with me wherever I go. Please let the congregation know to keep up the good work, as new visitors come in it is imperative to go make them feel welcome and be there when they need them. So many times I have walked in a church and no one has come up and made us feel welcome. First Church is wonderful at this and I hope everyone realizes what an impact they can make in lives by doing this.
Please continue to keep the Beckett family in your prayers. They are an awesome family and even during the loss of their daughter stopped to invite me and the spouse to a study group at their house starting in September so we are going to try this Church. So please continue to remember my family as we would love to find another Church that accepts, loves and leads us in the right direction."
It is vital that we love people and help to make them part of this congregation if they are going to say with us. A lot of their decision about making this their church home will depend on our decisions on how we are going to open up to them.
Well, have a great day--May our Savior bless you.
Yours In Christ,
HGRudd
This has been a very busy week for me. I had a niece and her family, 6 of them, have a vehicle break down and they came to stay with us during the repair time. They were with us for three nights and it was a pleasure having them there. But we also have had 2 of our grand daughters with us so that made for a full house. Fortunately, the girls are around the same ages and they did really good together. I then took them to get their vehicle on Tuesday and now they are safely back in Lousiana.
This week I received an e-mail from someone who has attended this congregation but had to move our of the area due to work. I want to share the e-mail with you so you can hear her words and know the importance of what she is talking about.
"I never knew that moving would be this hard. I am not homesick for Greeneville, I am not homesick for my house. I do miss my parents but I am HOMESICK for my Church. It took us years to find a Church we loved and when I got this job, I prayed and I feel God led me. I have cried so many times because I am homesick for my church. I have not went out and found a new one. I have two "excuses" for that, one is things have been so crazy since moving and two is the dread of not finding the right one and starting the "process" all over again.
I did not write this for a pity party, I am writing this to let you know how each of you and your congregation touch others' lives. When my neighbor came over to tell me about their daughter I immediately starting calling people with the First Church of God in Greeneville TN.
I knew they would stop what they were doing and start praying for this family. I got an email from Carolyn Hartman telling me about how the church came to their knees for a family they had never met. You all are so amazing and I love each of you more than you will ever know. I have made friendships within this church that will stay with me wherever I go. Please let the congregation know to keep up the good work, as new visitors come in it is imperative to go make them feel welcome and be there when they need them. So many times I have walked in a church and no one has come up and made us feel welcome. First Church is wonderful at this and I hope everyone realizes what an impact they can make in lives by doing this.
Please continue to keep the Beckett family in your prayers. They are an awesome family and even during the loss of their daughter stopped to invite me and the spouse to a study group at their house starting in September so we are going to try this Church. So please continue to remember my family as we would love to find another Church that accepts, loves and leads us in the right direction."
It is vital that we love people and help to make them part of this congregation if they are going to say with us. A lot of their decision about making this their church home will depend on our decisions on how we are going to open up to them.
Well, have a great day--May our Savior bless you.
Yours In Christ,
HGRudd
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Well this pastor week has been very exciting. We been in the East Tennessee Camp meeting here in Greeneville but many of you were in attendance. Let me simply say that our choir was very much in attendance and provided help in the worship services. Pastor Dale help by playing keyboard and leading the choir two nights. Our Youth were a very ample presence in the Youth Choir on Wednesday night which Thomas Erwin led. What a wonderful group of people we have at this congregation! God has blessed us immensely.
Then this past Sunday we had one man saved that we have been praying for for some time. Chris Gosnell made a commitment to Christ and now we need to pray for him that he will start the growth process in Jesus. One of the great responsibilities that we have is to help men and women to grow up in Jesus.
On a personal note my son, Bob, visited with us for 6 nights and then left his two daughters, Bailey and Breanne with us until Aug. 16. What a joy it was to have time with my son and to have him leave his wonderful daughters with us. They always bring us great joy. Then this past Saturday my sister and her crew of 20 came in to stay at Locust Springs until Thursday monring. Clis and Gary will then come and stay with Ruth and I for two more nights but their children and grandchildren will go back to Ohio and Indiana. We had a great time with them and I enjoyed the talk and fun times with my family. I am also thankful for Locust Springs and Connie and Tad McBride for providing such a marvelous location and facitilies for them to stay in---there is no way they could have all stayed with me.
Well, I pray that you all will have a great time in the Lord over this week. It is just a matter of days before many of our young people will be back in school. Young people I pray that God bless you and enable you to adjust to a new school year.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Then this past Sunday we had one man saved that we have been praying for for some time. Chris Gosnell made a commitment to Christ and now we need to pray for him that he will start the growth process in Jesus. One of the great responsibilities that we have is to help men and women to grow up in Jesus.
On a personal note my son, Bob, visited with us for 6 nights and then left his two daughters, Bailey and Breanne with us until Aug. 16. What a joy it was to have time with my son and to have him leave his wonderful daughters with us. They always bring us great joy. Then this past Saturday my sister and her crew of 20 came in to stay at Locust Springs until Thursday monring. Clis and Gary will then come and stay with Ruth and I for two more nights but their children and grandchildren will go back to Ohio and Indiana. We had a great time with them and I enjoyed the talk and fun times with my family. I am also thankful for Locust Springs and Connie and Tad McBride for providing such a marvelous location and facitilies for them to stay in---there is no way they could have all stayed with me.
Well, I pray that you all will have a great time in the Lord over this week. It is just a matter of days before many of our young people will be back in school. Young people I pray that God bless you and enable you to adjust to a new school year.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
It was my privilege this July 19-25 to preach the Camargo, Ky camp meeting. It was extremely hot but that did not dampen the spirit of those who were there. As a young man I attended Camargo a couple of time in the 1970’s but had been unable to give the time to it since then. It was a real pleasure for me as I preached 8 times and led 4 conferences as well as attending 5 other worship services. While I was there I preached on the truths that God has blessed our Movement with and found the people to be very receptive. I want to thank you for enabling me to do this.
The life of our congregation is filled with all kinds of events and investments of time and money. On July 19 our youth returned from a trip to Florida where they went to our International Youth Convention. Anita Miller, our youth pastor, took a total of 53 youth and counselors with her and they were able to have a marvelous time in the Lord. Thank you Anita along with all your counselors and the parents who made this happen.
Our Faith Promise Campaign will be on August 15 with Dr. and Carolyn Sirker being our guest speakers. For those of you who do not know the Sirkers they work at our Missions Compound in Nicaragua. I have had the privilege of meeting them and seeing their work first hand and you will not regret getting to hear about the lives that are being helped and changed through the efforts of this congregation there as well as their leadership. I ask you to pray about the part you play in missions and ask God to guide you on what you would promise. Remember Faith Promise is not taking money from anything you currently do or receive! But it is believing that God will give you money from an unexpected place and you will be the conduit through whom He sends it to missions work. Our missions steward, Kim Trantham, and her team have been working hard to make sure we are ready for this time will you pray that we see the will of God done in it all?
The life of our congregation is filled with all kinds of events and investments of time and money. On July 19 our youth returned from a trip to Florida where they went to our International Youth Convention. Anita Miller, our youth pastor, took a total of 53 youth and counselors with her and they were able to have a marvelous time in the Lord. Thank you Anita along with all your counselors and the parents who made this happen.
Our Faith Promise Campaign will be on August 15 with Dr. and Carolyn Sirker being our guest speakers. For those of you who do not know the Sirkers they work at our Missions Compound in Nicaragua. I have had the privilege of meeting them and seeing their work first hand and you will not regret getting to hear about the lives that are being helped and changed through the efforts of this congregation there as well as their leadership. I ask you to pray about the part you play in missions and ask God to guide you on what you would promise. Remember Faith Promise is not taking money from anything you currently do or receive! But it is believing that God will give you money from an unexpected place and you will be the conduit through whom He sends it to missions work. Our missions steward, Kim Trantham, and her team have been working hard to make sure we are ready for this time will you pray that we see the will of God done in it all?
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Well this past week has gone fast and it has been filled with all kinds of things that are common in the life of the church. We see people who are in the hospitals, visit people in the nursing homes and in their own homes. Death, birth and everything in between are the common things that take place here.
One of the difficult pieces that come to play in the life of our congregation is the attempt to figure out what should be done to enable us to move forward as a local body of believers. I have been reading a book, "Taking Your Church to the Next Level" and the subtitle is What got you here won't get you there" by Gary L. McIntosh. Therein lies the problem--I find that I know how to get to where we are at but it is a struggle learnign what must take place for us to move foward. I ask you to pray with me on this issue because I believe that God wants us to win souls, grow disciples and honor Him in all that we do. I cannot reconcile not moving forward with the mission of the church or the Person of our God. Pray that the local congregation, the pastoral staff, the administrative staff, and other leadership will be able to see what our God desires.
I will be in Camargo, Ky preaching the campmeeting there next week. Pray that God will be present and that we will hear from Him. Have a great week.
HGRudd
One of the difficult pieces that come to play in the life of our congregation is the attempt to figure out what should be done to enable us to move forward as a local body of believers. I have been reading a book, "Taking Your Church to the Next Level" and the subtitle is What got you here won't get you there" by Gary L. McIntosh. Therein lies the problem--I find that I know how to get to where we are at but it is a struggle learnign what must take place for us to move foward. I ask you to pray with me on this issue because I believe that God wants us to win souls, grow disciples and honor Him in all that we do. I cannot reconcile not moving forward with the mission of the church or the Person of our God. Pray that the local congregation, the pastoral staff, the administrative staff, and other leadership will be able to see what our God desires.
I will be in Camargo, Ky preaching the campmeeting there next week. Pray that God will be present and that we will hear from Him. Have a great week.
HGRudd
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
This past Sunday was July 4 as you all know. But we really had a marvelous Sunday here at Greeneville First Church of God. Our worship was filled with the presence of God and I was thankful to be back from Haiti and with the church family here. Then we went out to Locust Springs Retreat Center for the evening worship. We started with just some play time for families and their kids then we had dinner at 5 p.m. The folks who put it together did a great job. There was fried chicken and you know that any preacher loves that. Thank you David Dotson and your team with special thanks to Gordon and Betty Aldridge. At 6 p.m. we had a worship service with the youth worship team leading. Once again they did an excellent job and I think that God was pleased with what they did. At 7 p.m. we had a dedication service for the new Chapel and it was packed full. Those individuals who made it a possiblity should be given thanks but there are too many to mention here. I would just say to the Locust Springs governing board that you are doing a wonderful job and to those who did the physical labor and gave financially I want to thank you for providing such a wonderful additon to Locust Springs. At dark the youth provided fireworks, thanks Anita, and many stayed out to see them--of course, some of us older ones left before that took place. What a wonderful Independence Day we had. We should obvious give thanks for those who have paid such high prices to make that day possible and we should also give thanks to God who is the ultimate Provider for all of us.
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