"Fear looks; faith jumps. Faith never fails to obtain its object. If I leave you as I found you, I am not God's channel. I am not here to entertain you, but to get you to the place where you can laugh at the impossible."

We have spent some time overhauling our website lately. If you have not checked it out, please do so. We have tried to simplify it. One new feature is the option to click on the Latest News image on the home page and be carried to an archive of all my weekly Pastor's Updates including the most recent. So you will always just be a click away from the latest news at Grace House.

We are grateful for the healings that took place on Wednesday night. 

Friendship with God is a fascinating thought, isn't it? What does it mean? Is it available? What do I need to do to walk in it? How can it impact my other relationships? Is God interested enough in me to want to be my friend? Please come to receive from God's Word this Sunday and let's grow together in our understanding of being friends with God.

We had an awesome service this past Wednesday night. In case you missed the teaching, I am placing a link below. Based on Hebrews 10:23-27. we covered 12 areas of truth to help us understand what it means to live beyond the veil, that is, to live confidently as believers resting on Christ's finished work. Who you are rests in who He is and what He has done for you. We get to live from righteousness instead of living to get to righteousness. Yeah!!

We are grateful for the groups we have that get together to relate, minister, and be equipped. You will be hearing more about connecting through small groups in the days ahead. So be ready for some exciting announcements coming forth in the coming weeks. This is an area we desire to strengthen and expand. Be praying....

Another missions need we have sown into is to help children (mostly orphaned children) in Russia during this Christmas season. We are happy to connect with Bibles for Russia to do this. This is another tangible way of sharing Jesus' love around the world with others. Thank you all!

We are planning to give food to those in need around the middle of December through our food ministry. We are grateful to Larry Bullard who is overseeing this important ministry. If you have names of those in our fellowship (ARK and Grace House) who need help in this way, please get them to us. We will announce a firm date and time soon for this event. What a joy to share with others.

Our service schedule will remain the same on Sundays, but we will not be meeting on the following two Wednesday nights.

During part of our Sunday morning service on December 16th, our children will be sharing a special Christmas presentation with us. This is always such a blessing to see children working together to remind us of the wonders of the Christmas message. Remember to invite your friends to come and be blessed. 

A test run on our new portable baptistry is scheduled for this week. Once it is all in place and confirmed, we will be ready to have a baptismal service. Let us know if you desire to be baptized.

We are very excited about the forthcoming School of Power and Love which will be hosted by The ARK and Grace House. Last year so many of us were deeply impacted by the incredible love, power, and anointing of being at this conference. I hope many of you will register and attend. It is life changing. No pressure, just receiving and being activated to do what Jesus did. Please take a moment and check out the details on The ARK's website. Link is below:

We will be joining with The ARK during the entire month of January for a time of focused worship and prayer. Each day in January from 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. there will be worship and prayer going on in the worship center at Grace House. The ARK has hosted this the last few years for the month of January and it has always been a great time of seeing the body come together seeking God's heart. Everyone is invited to come and go as you please. There will be people scheduled to be present in these times as well. So there will be 12 hours of prayer each day of the entire month.

For over 4 years now, we have been meeting as a group of men to connect more deeply with God and each other. I invite any of you men to join us any Tuesday morning. We meet at Grace House at 6:30 a.m. This is a very informal, interactive, and open time around God's Word. I always enjoy leading this group. Come and join us. Contact me with any of your questions about this group.

Each Wednesday, beginning at 9 a.m., we have a faithful group of people who meet and pray. This is a time of intercession. prophetic decreeing, and engaging God's heart through prayer and worship. You are invited to join with the ladies who lead this time of prayer for our congregations, city, region, nation, and the nations. Contact Charlotte Matthews for more information.

We have an excited married couples class that meets each Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. in the Grace House Children's Center. Bryan and Melissa Gregg lead this group and there is rich fellowship, an interactive style of Bible study, and an atmosphere of love and acceptance. If you are a 20 to early 40 something couple, jump on board and see your marriage enriched! Contact Bryan and Melissa if you have questions.

We are so excited about "Rooted" which is our ministry to preteens led by Allison Fisher. They are currently working on a human video which they will be sharing in one of our services soon. Each Wednesday they meet to study the Bible together and learn how to live a life rooted in Christ during this important transitional time in their lives. Our preteens are awesome.  All preteens are invited to attend this weekly gathering to build relationship with Christ and one another. Contact Allison Fisher with your questions.

Franie Deaton, who directs our children's ministry, does a great job of teaching our children truths that will help them build their lives on Christ and the truths of His Word. Each week's lesson is packed with object lessons, biblical truths, and lots of interactive fun. Our children begin the service with we adults at 9:00 a.m. and then transition to their own children's worship around 9:45 a.m. or so. See Franie if you have questions and to let her know if you would like to be one of her assistants occasionally. We also can use good helpers.

We have some awesome little ones in our nursery. Jesus instructs us to love these little ones and to create an environment where they are coming to him. Anna Laura Lawrence leads our nursery team. Please let her know if you would like to help with this important ministry at Grace House.

Our worship team does an awesome job leading us in worship week by week. If you have gifts and abilities in this area, and have been faithful in attending Grace House for a while, and are willing to meet with someone to help access your skill level, or if just would like to know more about our worship team, contact our Worship Pastor, Andrew Lawrence, and he will be glad to help you.

If you have a heart for missions, whether it is to go on a mission trip or to support those who are willing to go, stayed tuned for announcements about upcoming mission opportunities here at Grace House. Eighteen of us saw God do tremendous things in our lives and the people in Trinidad on our last mission trip. We are planning now for a possible trip to Carriacou this coming Spring. Sam Lerch is our point person for our missions trips, so contact Sam for more information.

Food is a staple for all our lives and some people have needs in this area, especially in these economically challenging times. We desire to help more and more people inside and outside of our congregation in this area. Larry Bullard is our point person in helping with this important ministry. We are building a list now of those who need help as well as those who would like to help in this area.

Jessica Clayton, a member of The Ark, is beginning a Wrapped in Love ministry. She will head up a small group to make easy 2-step blankets. She will teach a class at Grace House/The Ark on how to make these easy projects. Some of the blankets will be given to a new shelter in Sheffield called Heavenly Grace. The Huntsville police have also asked for us to donate for their domestic violence cases and rape victims that they often find unclothed. We will be a part of providing blankets for them to offer these women as cover when they go into these situations. Jessica said that we could help in three ways: monetary gifts, hands on making of the blankets, and actual donations of the fleece material for the blankets. If you'd like to be a part of this ministry, let me know or let Jessica know.