July 7, 2014:
Hi, Everybody!
We just love it when our friends and supporters pull up chairs and gather here to catch up on what’s happening with our wonderful new church! We have an online counter on our website, and we always get excited to see how MANY of you are reading this column. Enthusiasm is contagious!
Across America , this July 4th holiday Sunday was predicted to be the lowest attended service of the year, but our attendance held strong in spite of so many of our faithful families being on vacation. To our visitors let us say “WELCOME!” We hope you feel at home and loved when you join us. You have so many options, but you choose to worship with US, and we appreciate that! Remember today was our FINAL SUNDAY at the Founders Center. This place has served us well as our launch site, and the staff has been beyond wonderful to us, and we thank these good people for treating us so kindly.
JULY 13th we kick off Phase Two of this adventure at HICKORY CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL at 22150 S. Owens Rd. Frankfort, IL at the corner of Laraway and 116th. This site was Pastor Billy’s first choice back in the winter, but it was unavailable. It has been said that “good things come to those who wait”, and that is exactly what happened. This school is a GOOD THING for Revolution Church! We will be much more visible on the main highway than we were in the Founders Center’s residential neighborhood, and this should attract many more attendees who need a church home. Service begins at 10 a.m., but since these are new surroundings, come have some coffee and check out the new place a little early. Watch for our signs!
Since today concluded the 4th of July holiday weekend, we recognized our military personnel and their families. The worship team presented a moving medley of “America the Beautiful”, “God Bless the USA”, and “Battle Hymn of the Republic”, and several folks were moved to tears. Thank you to Su Parker and Mike Rowley for taping and posting the medley and other videos from our song set to Facebook and You Tube for you to enjoy. A big thank you to Mike Rowley for wearing many hats and covering the responsibilities for leaders who were out of town. Much love and appreciation is extended to Mark and Chris Leahy for consistent support and encouragement. Thank you, Chris, for pouring into our youth and for your sweet spirit! Thank you to our favorite Alabama girl, Jennifer Rice, for donating the Exersaucer for our church nursery. Our little ones will have fun in that!
We are pleased to report that 12 year old Grace Vander Veen is home and recuperating from extensive back surgery for scoliosis. She is walking and making progress, and we are thankful that is she is doing better. Remember to pray for her and her family as this has been a tough time for them.
Men’s and women’s Bible studies as well as fun stuff for the youth are all in full swing this summer. Visit the home page to see how you can fit into these sessions. If you are free THIS SATURDAY noon to 3pm, why don’t you put on your sun hat, work gloves, and skeeter spray and join us in helping Brenda Hajek get her yard clean. She needs to sell her house ASAP, and since our Ron passed away the huge lawn, raised gardens, and flower beds are overgrown in weeds. There is also a dead tree that needs taken out if one of you has a chain saw. If we all do a little, nobody has to do a lot. Free lunch is provided afterwards, so come out and be a blessing! 153 Wood St. New Lenox.
Chris and Rich Portwood celebrate their anniversary on the 8th of July. Chris heads up our Hospitality Ministry, and Rich plays harmonica when the worship team needs that honkey-tonk country sound. Dean Schuldt, our faithful guitarist and singer, celebrates his 32nd anniversary with his wife, Kim, on the 10th. Kim has been most excellent to serve with Children’s Ministry since we launched. Congratulations to these couples. Makayla Sharpe turns SIX On the 10th, so give her a big hug when you see her this week. If you’d like your birthday or anniversary mentioned in this column, submit it to tammy@the revolutionchurch.org at least a week in advance.
That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed week!
Tammy
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June 29, 2014:
Hey, Folks!
So exciting to see such a large group of people at Revolution Church today! Even with so many of our core group on vacation or stuck at work, we had 60 more people than we had last week! Sixty! Ushers set up extra chairs TWICE as people just kept arriving. That is tremendous, and we thank you for choosing to spend your Sunday morning with us.
The biggest announcement today is that WE ARE MOVING! Next Sunday is our LAST SUNDAY at the Founders Center. July 13th we move into our new home at HICKORY CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL at 22150 S. Owens Rd. Frankfort, IL which is very near Laraway and Wolf Rd. While we have enjoyed this facility and staff, we feel the school will be much easier for visitors to locate, and this should boost our attendance and visibility in the community.
It was great having our children worship in the sanctuary with us on this our first “Family Sunday”. Today was the final message in “The Hunger Games” series, and the sermon emphasis was on spiritual warfare. What better way to illustrate fighting the devil than an actual live battle in front of the stage! Amidst cheers, boos and hisses, we watched good conquer evil and saw the “devil” flee across the Founders Center. Scott Collado (A.K.A. “Satan”), Marson Lagatao, and Vaughn & Vashon Price, thank you for providing us with such drama! Another round of applause is in order for the many other students and good folks from Family Martial Arts in Mokena, IL who brought their demo teams to entertain us with impressive board breaking skills and fancy pants Tae Kwon Do moves after church. Special thanks to Kim Price for facilitating this event. Hiiiiiiiiiiii-YA!
In those vintage TV ads Bill Cosby used to quip, “There’s always room for Jello!” Today we can announce, “There’s always room for CELLO!” A big thank you to Cynthia Petersen for sharing her talents on her new electric cello. She was featured during Communion and played with the worship team again at the conclusion of the service. If any of our readers are in need of a good attorney for family law issues or for preparation of legal documents, perhaps Cynthia is the woman who can help you take care of your “bidness”. She and her family have been so faithful to pour into our church, so we’d love to be able to bless them in return by broadening her clientele base.
Remember there is Bible study for men on Tuesday nights in New Lenox, and for women on Thursday nights beginning July 3rd in Manhattan. Visit our Home Page for more information, and while you are there, click on the Prayer Page and the Wish List to learn the needs of this church body.
Happy Birthday to Matt Kurawski! Special birthday blessings are asked on our beloved friend, Mr. Denny Norman today. This gentleman was instrumental in helping nourish Revolution Church when it was a mere sprout, and we will always love and respect him for that.
Next week Pastor Billy begins his newest series called “Urban Legends – Debunking Christian Myths”. The first message is titled, “All Dead People Go To A Better Place”. We will see you 10 a.m. for our FINAL SERVICE at the Founders Center. The worship team devotes many hours during the week to prepare some pretty decent music, so if you drag in late, you’ll miss out on their offerings, so come a little early, sip some free coffee, and be neighborly. Thanks so much for your dollars of support as well as words of encouragement. To each visitor and every volunteer: THANK YOU for helping our church grow and prosper. See what remarkable feats we can accomplish when we all stick together and the Lord smiles on our efforts? Can’t wait to see what will happen next week!
Tammy
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June 23, 2014:
Welcome back, friends! It was great to see so many of you in God’s house on such a gorgeous summer morning. Thank you for your faithfulness to Revolution Church on these weekends when there are so many options for fun in the sun elsewhere. If Jesus can rise from the dead, we surely can rise from our beds and come to church to worship together once a week.
Today Pastor Billy continued his series, “The Hunger Games”, with Part One of a message about spiritual warfare entitled, “Do Ghosts Exist? Should I Be Afraid?” Ushers passed out handmade ghost lollipops as an extra little treat to enjoy on the ride home. Come join us next Sunday for the conclusion of the message. You know it will be good! We have a lot going on next week as it is our first Family Sunday. Nursery will be provided, but the older children will worship with their families in the sanctuary. Not only is it Communion Sunday, but since we are studying about warfare we will also host an exciting martial arts demonstration immediately after the service compliments of the students from Family Martial Arts in Mokena. We expect children and adults to show us some or all of the following: sparring, breaks, Tae Kwon Do moves and self-defense. Breaking bread, and then breaking boards…..How cool is THAT? Plan to be here a little BEFORE 10 a.m. so you can get the best seats.
Our camera girl got stranded at home with car trouble, so Doug Siegers mustered courage and got a whirlwind inservice in videography just in time for preaching to begin. Thanks, Doug, for stepping to the plate. The folks who enjoy our church from far away thank you for your willingness to help us in a pinch. We invite the rest of you who would like to learn to operate the camera or help set up stage lighting to contact us ASAP. We have a place for you!
Corey Schuldt did a super job on percussion today, and he is now playing two new snare drums. We have been so pleased with the quality from “Beat Boogie Custom Quality Drums” in Schererville, IN. Steve Crabtree, again we invite you to visit us at Revolution and hear your drums played for worship.
Ladies, Penny Knott is hosting two summer Bible studies at her home, and we hope you will sign up within the next few days. “Come to the Table” is Thursdays beginning July 3, 2014 from 7- 8:30 pm. “Unglued” begins August 7, 2014 and is also Thursdays 7-8:30. This is a wonderful way to connect and build strong relationships with women who want to follow God. Email penny@therevolutionchurch.org for information and directions.
While we are talking about Penny, let’s all wish her a very happy birthday on June 23rd! She directs our Children’s Ministry, and one of her responsibilities is to staff the classrooms and nursery with volunteers. A fabulous gift to her would be to offer to cover unfilled openings on the schedule while so many of our regular workers are on summer vacation. If you would like to help set up classrooms, rock babies, assist with crafts, and help teach our youngest members more about Jesus, you are the person we seek. If you just take one turn a month, it would help a lot and put a big smile on Penny’s face.
Thanks for stopping by to read our news. We love it when you visit these pages. Have a blessed week, and get in touch if we can help you between now and next Sunday.
Tammy
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June 15, 2014:
Welcome, Friends!
Happy Father’s Day to dads, stepdads, foster dads, granddads, sweet daddies already in Heaven, and all the single moms pulling double duty! We thank you for joining us on this holiday, and hope you were blessed by our service. Pastor Billy planned far in advance to make this day memorable and particularly welcoming for men.
Thank you, Bruce Smit for exhibiting your 1930 Tudor and your 1930 Model A truck with hay bales and roosters. Several of our attendees had photos taken in these vehicles after service. Did you enjoy Steppenwolf? How about the complimentary bacon cooked on site? I can still smell it in my hair as I type! It was rumored our bass player, Phil Graniczny, camped out by the front door all weekend just so he could be first in line at the sampling table. Special thanks to Tammy Smit for making the chocolate bacon, Mike Rowley for frying up the pans of plain bacon, and Penny Knott for whipping up the bacon wrapped jalapeno treats. Not even one bite remained at time to go home. Special thanks to Lisa Rizzo for manning the food table and ensuring nobody ate 15 slices of bacon before everybody got to eat one. (Sorry, Phil.)
We sure had a lot of fun with Pastor Billy’s message he called “ #hashtag“. Everybody was given a ”Hello My Name Is……” random name tag to wear with labels such as Home Wrecker, Creepy Person, Glutton, Addict, Party Pooper, Trouble, Forgotten, Thief, etc. , and we learned how we are to reject these negative labels people will try to put on us and instead remember that with God’s grace we can wear labels such as Forgiven, Beloved, Valuable, and Beautiful. We sang the Matthew West lyrics, “Hello, my name is child of the one true King…”and labels were peeled off and thrown to the floor. There was a lot of laughter at some of the sillier tags, but some labels hit home and hit hard, so we hope you left Revolution encouraged, your faith a bit stronger, and your head held higher than when you walked in.
The Friday the 13th Women’s Ministry Meet and Greet was so much fun! Thirteen of our ladies met at Allison Bulot’s home in New Lenox for fellowship and a preview of new women’s Bible studies soon to be offered. Penny Knott presented the devotional, and Su Parker led in a fun M&M ice-breaker of questions and answers that gave each woman an opportunity to share special tidbits about herself with the group. Each guest prepared an appetizer or dessert, and then votes were tallied to choose the favorites. The hands down winning recipes were Su’s “White Chocolate Grapes” and Kim Schuldt’s “Texas Caviar”. Both ladies took home a nice prize for making our taste buds so happy. We look forward to meeting many more of you at upcoming events.
Youth group attendance is holding steady and will continue to meet at Tyler Yost’s home in Manhattan over the summer. If you have kids who would enjoy making new friends, playing games, and narfing down yummy snacks while learning more about Jesus, go to our home page and click on IGNITE. Click on Tyler or Kristen’s links for comments or questions.
We encourage you to visit our LEADERS page and click on our newest faces: Mike and Diana Rowley. This couple is now responsible for Communion and also directs “First Impressions”, Revolution’s new welcoming crew. These folks are diamonds, and we are so thankful they stepped up to serve. Click their photos to read their bios.
Congratulations to Ed and Brittany Kirsch who are celebrating their anniversary today! Big hugs to our beloved Judith Christensen as she celebrates a birthday Wednesday. Happy belated birthday wishes are going out to beautiful Rachel DiVittorio who celebrated earlier this month.
Looking forward to seeing everybody back next Sunday at 10 a.m. Pastor Billy continues his message series, “The Hunger Games” and will open the Bible and explore the question: Are Ghosts For Real? You KNOW this will be gooooood! Enjoy your week, and know we are here 24/7 if you need us.
Tammy
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June 8, 2014:
Welcome friends!
Do you realize we have HUNDREDS of people from seven states who read this page every week? Here’s the latest news:
Pastor Billy’s surgery to reattach his kneecap was successful! He is expected to be in a full length leg cast for many more weeks followed by rehab. Continue to pray for adequate pain management and for the knee to heal quickly so he can get out and enjoy this beautiful summer weather like the rest of us. He writes about his epic failed attempt at a two-handed reverse slam dunk in this week’s Frankfort Station newspaper, so be sure and check out his column on Tuesday. Lots of us have already signed his cast, so take your turn after church if you wanna help decorate his leg.
Did you enjoy the music from the worship team today? That fantastic drummer was none other than Lockport’s Kevin Spell from the rock band, “Badd Penny”. We were impressed with his talent and his willingness to hop up and help clear the stage after the service, too. Thank you, Kevin! You ALWAYS have a place with us!
Our beloved Matt Sharpe was our guest speaker today, and he delivered an excellent sermon about unconditional grace. There were lots of tears in the crowd as what he said obviously hit home to several folks. You can see his message by going to our home page and clicking WATCH.
We appreciate how many of you recently volunteered in various church ministries by way of the connection card found in your bulletin. Thank you for helping! If you consider this your home church, it is your responsibility to help out in one way or another. There are so many wildly varying ministry areas that there is surely something for everyone who is willing to share in the work no matter what your gifts or talents.
We want to appreciate three volunteers who stepped up to serve today. Lisa Rizzo, our favorite cowgirl, is used to bucking hay bales at the barn, so hauling off stage equipment was a piece of cake for her. She honestly outworked some of our men today! Doug Arnott has been eager to assist on the stage crew and on the sound team. With bins of tangled cables and tech equipment, he is great at knowing what goes where. Joey Divittorio took his first turn behind the video camera today, and all our people on vacation and our out of town supporters can thank him that they will have an online sermon video to watch this week. Be a good human like these folks, and take a turn so somebody else can take a breather.
Thanks to Penny Knott for hosting the monthly church prayer meeting at her home Tuesday night. Be sure and mark your calendars now for the first Tuesday of each month so you can attend.
Remember there is a men’s video study called “Stepping Up: A Call to Courageous Manhood” Tuesdays at 6:00 pm at Mark Fischer’s home. Last week they had a good-sized group with fun and fellowship, plus a little birdie told us they served some killer Chex mix, too. If you would like to learn more about this study, contact Mark@therevolutionchurch.org for info.
Women’s Ministry “Meet and Greet” kicks off on Friday the 13th at 6:30 pm, so ladies now is the time to show up and match names to faces. Thanks to Allison Bulot for opening her New Lenox home as a gathering place. Bring an appetizer and/or dessert and 30 copies of your recipe to share. This is to be a relaxing night with no obligation, no study or prayer meeting. Email Su Parker at Cyra42@1791.com for more info.
Mark and Jennifer Rhoades brought their new baby, Benjamin, to church today, and he is nothing but a sweet lump of sugar! Congratulations to this wonderful family! Happy 4thBirthday to Greg and Kim Price’s son, Vashon! Shoot me an email if you’d like your birthdays or anniversaries included in this newsletter.
Father’s Day is June 15th, and we will be setting up grills and cooking all kinds of bacon for sampling. If you’ve never tasted chocolate covered bacon, you won’t wanna miss next week. Call us if you need us between now and then. Revolution Church is in business 24/7/365. We love you!
Tammy
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June 1, 2014:
Hey, Everybody!
Welcome back to our webpage! It is good to see you again. Didn’t we have a wonderful service today? Thank you for so many of you coming to join us at the Founders Center this morning. We had even MORE than we did last week, which means we must be doing something right if you judge by all the cars up and down the side streets. We are happy you are here and pray we are meeting your needs. Last week we had THREE people accept Jesus here. How cool is that? Just goes to show that in God’s garden of grace even broken trees can still bear good fruit.
You will also grin big to hear that at 3:37 pm Revolution Church was expanded by two feet! As Mark and Jennifer Rhoades were driving to church last Sunday the baby in her tummy decided he had bigger and better plans that didn’t include us. They turned around and hurried to the hospital where little Benjamin Daniel was soon delivered by C-section. He was 6 lbs 13 oz, and he and mom are home doing just great. Congratulations, Rhoades Family!
Today was Graduation Sunday, and we gave recognition, honor, and gift bags to the following students:
8th grade – Siena Ward, Charlie Henry
High School – Corey Ondras, Noel Knott, Christian Hively, Robert Fosen, Jake Grifford,
College – Holly Schuldt, Tyler Yost, Brad Smit, Andrew Smit, Corey Schuldt, Heather Graniczny, Jessica Walles
One of the grads had commented that he really liked the traditional graduation march music, “Pop and Circus Dance”, which was too hilarious! Yes, Mr. Art Linkletter had it right when he said “Kids say the darndest things!”
Special thanks to Mark Fischer for providing that snazzy motorcycle he rode on stage today. See? We promise if you visit our church, you will most definitely NOT be bored! Remember that this same Mark is leading a men’s video study called “Stepping Up: A Call To Courageous Manhood” Tuesdays at 6:00 pm at his house. Last week they had good food and fellowship, and there is still room for YOU. They’d love to pull up more chairs, so know you are welcome. Contact Mark@therevolutionchurch.org for info.
It has been said that some people are put on this earth simply to make the journey sweeter for the rest of us, and today we want to wish happy birthday to two such people: Chris Cahill and Brittany Batsch. These volunteers always have smiles on their faces, and they have been blessed with the gift of “hustle” when it comes to setting up and tearing down this portable church. THANK YOU for all your efforts, and thank you for always showing up in a good mood. We wish we could clone you two!
Those of you on Face Book have most likely seen the x-ray Pastor Billy posted on his page Friday. Basketball + Cowboy boots=kneecap now residing in his thigh. Two words: OUCH!! and EEWWWWWWW! After toughing out a painful string of days in an immobilizer, he will have surgery early Monday at St. Joe’s in Joliet to reattach his kneecap to his leg. He will spend much of the summer in a cast, and rehab follows that. Pastor comes early, stays late, and usually lifts and carries much of the heavy stage equipment, so we need volunteers to step up and supply muscles until he is permitted to bear more weight on that foot. Trailer loaders and unloaders are in demand now, so who wants to help?
Our Matt Sharpe, A.K.A “The Funny Announcement Guy”, will be guest speaker next Sunday, so invite your friends and come expecting to laugh a lot while building a stronger relationship with the Lord. The following Sunday will be Father’s Day, and Pastor Billy will resume “The Hunger Games” series.
We thank you for your contributions each time those offering baskets are passed. David and Lauren reading this in Kankakee, IL, your sacrificial offering humbled us flat to the ground. We ask a special blessing over your household for your generosity to this church plant. In case we haven’t said it enough, listen again: THANK YOU for joining us in this endeavor to build something from nothing. We refuse to sink!
Blessings,
Tammy
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May 27, 2014:
Hello, Friends!
It was another great service at church Sunday, as we again shared in Communion by Intinction. We’d predicted a smaller attendance with it being a sunny holiday weekend with many of our church family on vacation, but even MORE of you attended than last week! Thank you for coming out and joining us. We hope you felt welcome and enjoyed the coffee and cookies and met some new friends. After surviving “Snowpocalypse ‘14” you deserve to have fun in the sun, but for those of you traveling and reading this page far from home, know that we miss you and hope to see you back next week as Pastor Billy kicks off his new message series, “The Hunger Games”. Next week is also Graduation Sunday, and we will recognize our students finishing junior high, high school, and college.
Brittany Batsch, you have come a long way, baby! From greeting, to stage lighting, to video work, you are always willing to say, “I’ll try that!” We have highest respect for that kind of attitude, and pray so many others will follow your example.
Chris Cahill, you are another sweet spirit who is one extraordinary worker bee at Revolution. We extend hugs and condolences to you on the passing of your father.
It was a joyful time of food, fellowship, and even an impromptu electric cello “concerto” at Blaine and Cynthia Petersens’ 25th Anniversary celebration Sunday. We bless them for their dedication to this church body, and hope they will invite us to their 50th wingding in 2039.
Happy Happy Birthday wishes are going out to Valerie Truitt and Joey Rhoades this week. We love you. Be blessed!
Special recognition to the families and friends of those men and women who gave their lives in service of our country. Remember that Monday was about so much more than hotdogs on the grill and floating in your boat. Happy Memorial Day. See you next Sunday!
Tammy
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May 18, 2014:
Hi, Friends! Week 10 here at Revolution, and this little church plant is still alive and kicking. Even in the face of unbelievable odds, it is remarkable what can happen when people stick together and the Lord lays His hand of blessing over their efforts.
No, that was NOT Heather Locklear on acoustic guitar this morning. That was the wonderful Rhonda Fister sharing her musical fingers, and we sure enjoyed having her aboard for the weekend. She operates “By Grace Boutique” across from the Walt’s shopping plaza here in Frankfort, so make an effort to check out what this business offers. Pastor Billy continued his sermon series, “Chains”, and spoke about sexually-related hindrances that tend to trip so many of us. The message was delivered in good taste and good fun. The next time you pass “Hooters” in Orland Park, let it jog your memory to think of today’s service, and send up a prayer that we will continue to reach this community with the gospel. Next week we wrap up the series by exploring what the Bible says to us when life is unfair and we can’t understand why it appears God’s doling out of blessing and calamity is lopsided. Remember the last Sunday of each month we serve Communion, so make plans to join us for this special service.
Two thumbs up to Mark Fischer for opening his home and hosting our first “meet and greet” for the men of Revolution. “Burgers and dawgs” on the grill, lawn games and fellowship awaited those who ventured out. Let us encourage you to become involved in the men’s ministry study which begins May 27th, 6-8 pm at Mark’s house. The 10-week video series, “Stepping Up: A Call to Courageous Manhood” is free and open to all men. Contact Mark@therevolutionchurch.org for questions or directions.
We honor our graduates June 1st, so if you know students graduating from junior high, high school, or college, contact Tammy@therevolutionchurch.org ASAP to have them recognized. This is last call, so don’t piddle and allow your child to be left out. Seriously, you don't want to feel like a heel, so don't forget to remember.
Birthday greetings are going out to our friend, Mark Hanson. He sure raised a couple of outstandingly helpful children. We wouldn’t be nearly as effective without Britta and Nylls as hard-working team members at Revolution. Thank you, Mark. God bless! On the 24th Anna Signore (also known as “the gorgeous Asian tarantula girl”) celebrates her 21st birthday. Kim & Greg Price celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary on the 20th. Congratulations, guys!
HAPPY SILVER ANNIVERSARY to Blaine & Cynthia Petersen! 25 years together and still going strong! Whatever would we do without this couple to head up our Chair Ministry and to drive, load and unload our trailer? While many of you are still snoring under the sheets, their family is up early hauling our “portable church” to the Founders Center. When many of you are already sitting down to Sunday lunch, this family is STILL hustling to repack and haul it all back to their house again. Every. Single. Weekend. Talk about dedication! Wow!
Folks, all this hard work has its rewards. After the gym is stripped, the doors are locked, and church is technically "over", ministry continues. During the week folks are reaching out to Pastor Billy and the leaders for prayer, counseling, and help through some pretty tough stuff. We are not here to judge you. We are here to help you. Feel safe to let us know how we can best serve you. With a tip of the cowboy hat to Mr. Billy Ray Cyrus, let us remind you that Jesus heals “Achy Breaky Hearts”.
Tammy
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May 11, 2014:
Welcome Back, Friends!
First, let me say Happy Mother’s Day to all mamas, birth mamas, foster mamas, stepmamas, and all the sweet little mamas already in Heaven. Enjoy this beautiful Sunday, and get some rest and spoilin'. Chris Portwood, we thank you for sharing your gorgeous red rose bouquet for the hospitality table. That looked very classy!
We honored every woman at Revolution Church today with a gift of fragrant homemade bath salts compliments of our Ignite youth group. What a thoughtful thing to do! Thank you, Britta, Kristen and Tyler for overseeing this project. Another round of applause for Miss Penny and the Revolution Kids who provided special music for us today. That was just plain
F-U-N! Ladies, when you are soaking in the tub tonight, how about sending up some prayers for these great groups of kids and for all the volunteers who continue to invest in their lives. The invitation is still open to volunteer in this department. Just mark your connection card, and we will take it from there.
In addition to honoring moms, we also want to remind you this is National Nurses Week, so a shout out to all the hard-working caretakers who call this church home. It has been said that behind every good doctor is a great nurse, so we appreciate and thank you for your TLC and long hours on the clock.
We purchased a very nice network laser printer this week, so now we are able to print our own bulletins rather than mooching from friends. This plant is only a couple of months old, so little by little, we are acquiring what we need as finances allow. Remember to check our WISH LIST to see how your contributions can help us buy the items we most need. Don’t forget we still need to purchase an enclosed trailer… like YESTERDAY…. so eyes and ears open, please.
Mike & Diana Rowley, our directors of First Impressions, celebrate their anniversary May 12. Nurse Brittany Kirsch, our forever smiling children’s ministry volunteer, celebrates her birthday on the 14th. Friday, Rich Portwood, our lovable greeter and harmonica player, has a birthday, too, so if you see these people out and about, stop and give them hugs and wish them well.
It’s always a joy to see new faces in the crowd, so a downhome “Howdy” and a “Ya’ll Come Back Now” to our many visitors who ventured out to worship with us this week. We want you to feel welcome and cared for, so if we can help you in any way between now and next Sunday, get in touch. Howard Turner, you, sir, are a Rock Star in our eyes, and we were honored to have you in the crowd today. Thank you for always having an encouraging word for us and for faithfully reading this column. We love you!
Several of our long-distance supporters are having a tough go of it for a variety of reasons, so Lisa, Jeff, and “G.L.”, know that we think of you with love and send up more prayers on your behalf than you ever imagine. Keep the faith! Things will get easier. Cathy Price reading this in FL, we pray the new job is going well and you are making friends. This church loves you!
Hope to see everybody next Sunday at 10 a.m. Good things are happening, so tell your friends to check us out. Love in any language is fluently spoken here!
Tammy
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May 8, 2014:
Happy Thursday! Spring has finally sprung, and we have officially survived that horrendous Chicago winter. Here’s the latest good news to pass on to you:
Happy 32nd Anniversary to Phil and Leslie Graniczny today! In a society where so many couples are calling it quits, THAT is an accomplishment. We love and appreciate you guys. Birthday wishes are going out to Pat Kupres from our Hospitality Team. If more people were as dependable and easy-going as Pat, this world would be a much sweeter place. Our Doug Siegers who is so helpful to set up chairs is celebrating his birthday this week, so if you see him around town, show him some extra love.
Commencement is just around the corner, and on June 1st we will give special recognition to the students from Revolution who are graduating. We need the student’s name, phone number, school and grade graduating from, the school they will be attending, and plans for the future if they are high school or college grads. Send this information with a clear photo of the student by May 28th to tammy@therevolutionchurch.org .
Congratulations to Noah Upchurch for bringing home top honors in his first North American Grappling Association tournament. For winning first place in the No Gi division he was awarded a Samurai sword. He also won first place in the Gi match and took home a medal.
IGNITE youth group had great attendance Wednesday, and the kids prepared surprises for our Mother’s Day service this weekend. Our younger Revolution Kids have prepared a special song and will sing for us as a holiday treat. Be sure and come out and see what excitement has been planned. The creepy crawlers from last week are safe back home in the pet shop, so all you arachnophobes and ophidiophobes have nothing to fear. See you Sunday at 10 a.m. as Pastor Billy continues our CHAINS series with the focus this week being on debt and financial responsibility.
Tammy
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May 5, 2014:
Hello, friends!
I guarantee no other church in Will County had a service as unusual as ours today! Pastor Billy kicked off his May message series, “CHAINS”, by speaking about “chains of fear”. He opened by asking the crowd to call out what they were most afraid of, and then asked volunteers to carry living props on stage to represent common phobias. A handful of wiggling nightcrawlers, a box of giant cockroaches, two ball pythons, and a fuzzy fat tarantula made guest appearances. In an effort to practice what he preaches, Pastor, a lifelong arachnophobe, allowed that enormous spider to walk up his arm to show us that we CAN face our fears. After church the creepy crawlers were made available for admiring and for photos with brave souls who wanted to hold them. So many of you stayed for so long enjoying the exhibit we had to literally shoo you out at time to lock the gym. Facebook was flooded today with folks sharing their fun pictures.
Appreciation to Judi Kopacz for sharing Tawney, the larger python. All the other creatures were compliments of Dan, Fran and Anna Signore’s “ODD LOT PETSHOP” in Bridgeview. We thank them for making this morning so exciting.
We also want to send out a huge thank you to the Dan Gleason family and the good people at ELFCO for letting us print our bulletins and inserts there each week for FREE! This saves our church ridiculous amounts of money each month. Thanks and a hug around the neck to Ken and Jan Poort for noticing the sound going out the past couple of weeks and donating money to defray the cost of a new wireless headset and a transmitter set that we used today. How generous!
Remember to check out our Wish List on the home page. Our most pressing need in the near future is a 12-16 foot enclosed trailer to haul all of our items necessary to set up church. The one we are now using is only a loaner, so we need to get our own. This is not a WANT. This is a NEED. Some of you reading this could easily write a check and bless Revolution with this trailer. Think hard. Pray hard. Your heart will tell you if you should help us.
Wow! Talk about answered prayers! Our out of work Brittany Batsch landed not one but TWO new jobs this week! AutoZone and Marathon got themselves a real fine employee, and we couldn’t be happier for her.
Tuesday night prayer meetings will be at Pastor Billy’s home at 7 p.m., and everybody is invited. Mark your calendars for the first Tuesday of each month if you wish to attend. For questions or directions email penny@therevolutionchurch.org.
Thanks for the loving words of encouragement, your offerings, and your time invested to help us stay strong and put down roots. We thank you for worshiping with us, and we are glad you are reading this column. Before you close it down, visit our home page and check out our ministries. We can always use dependable volunteers, so get in touch, and we will help you find the most rewarding area of service. Next Sunday is Mother’s Day, and our Revolution Kids will treat us to a special song, so be on time to get a good seat and a SURPRISE!
Tammy
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April 28, 2014:
Hi, everybody! We are delighted you are following our progress. Here’s the latest news:
Wow, we sure had a lot of visitors Sunday! Over and over we hear that our mass mail-out invitations are still drawing many of you to check us out. Several of our Easter visitors returned to worship with us again, and that makes us feel happy to know you felt welcome the first time. There is no guilt or shaming here, and we want you to feel comfortable to reach out for prayer or a listening ear if you are struggling or need direction. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done, and - just for the record - tattoos don’t freak us out, either. Just come. Contact us if we can help you with anything before next Sunday.
We have heard many positive comments about our Communion by Intinction services, and we are glad so many of you are feeling blessed with this method. Mike and Diana Rowley have accepted responsibility for this ministry, and we thank them for shouldering all the duties that are involved to help this run smoothly.
We want to thank our camera guy, Nylls, for his generous donation of a new, professional quality tripod to hold the video camera that records Pastor Billy’s messages. This one will allow us to record with fluidity and forgo the herky-jerky stuff. He also brought us a TV so the operators can easily see the stage action without having to strain and squint with their faces close to the tiny camera images. We are looking for a couple more volunteers to learn to film the service. This is an important job since so many of our friends who live far away or who attend other churches watch the sermons online. This is not complicated, and Nylls is eager to train you if you show up at 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday. He also sets up our stage lighting, and will teach you this, too. 7:30 a.m. arrival is necessary if you want train for this ministry. Contact Nylls at nyllshanson@gmail.com or call him at 708-935-0686.
“What Happens When Women Say Yes to God” Bible study kicked off Thursday in Manhattan with nearly a dozen attendees, and it was fun night of coffee, prayer and fellowship. We thank Penny Knott for leading this group.
Two of our Revolution Kids celebrate birthdays this week, so we are sending out good wishes to little Vaughn Price and to Kenny Rhoades. Have fun, boys! Brad Merkel, our head of security, celebrates his 38th on the 28th. Brad joined our core team when this church was still just a dream, and we love him for being such a support. I’ll be happy to include your birthdays and anniversaries here, too, if you shoot me an email a few days in advance.
Pastor Billy’s column will appear in the Frankfort Station newspaper, so watch your Thursday mail for the second part of his “Noah” movie review. We are already gearing up for next Sunday’s service and have high expectations that God will continue to do great things.
Thank you for your offerings of time and treasures. Thank you for having a heart to reach the Last, the Lost, and the Least in this community. We ARE making a difference!
Tammy
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