November, December

Chamber Update: September and October were great months for Chamber Ministries. Beginning in September, we had two after game parties at the youth center. It was very exciting, because 75 students came out both times and we were able to share the gospel. It was such a big hit that we plan to have an after game party this winter after a basketball game.

September was also the start of our weekly program called Chamber Spotlight; we have been averaging 15-25 students a week. We are teaching Biblical lessons on creation, the fall, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood. It has been really neat to see the students start to become interested in Spiritual truths; they are beginning to ask questions about the teaching. Our prayer is that they will desire a relationship with Christ.

Crisp air, football, colorful leaves, and the holidays just around the corner, October is a sensational month for all to enjoy. To facilitate the festive season, we began the month with our annual corn maze fundraiser. We had a fantastic turnout both weekends, which enabled us to meet a lot of new people in our community. The Lord’s hand of blessing was on our fundraiser and we were able to raise about $1,000.00!

We are able to have a Bible study, PTO, each week at Deckerville High School, which has been a fantastic opportunity to meet new students. It also gives us the doorway to reach students where they are in life through prayer and scripture memory.

Support: We are so thankful for all the gifts that have been given to Chamber Ministries. Through these gifts God has really blessed, and we have been able to reach students with the message of salvation. While more funds are needed especially for our monthly rent and utilities at the youth center, we are so grateful for what the Lord is doing and how he has moved in many hearts to give.

Ministry Needs: We have been presented with an opportunity to purchase a building in town. While we are not sure if that would be the best move for Chamber Ministries it would be nice to have our own building. Currently, we are renting and we are using the building at about 75% capacity. The building that we may purchase is about 5 times bigger than our current building. Please partner with us in prayer as we seek God’s will and direction about this prospected opportunity.

Family news:
On October 17th Rick ran the Detroit Marathon. Running the half marathon, his sister and brother-in-law (Randee and Johnny Kirkpatrick) partnered with him to raise money for Chamber Ministries. Together they were able to raise about $750.

Isaiah is getting ready to start Hockey and he is really looking forward it. Adriana is taking piano lessons, which she has enjoyed. Julean is really growing out of the toddler stage, and he is asking lots of why questions, and Matthias is starting to talk more and more. Kristi has a full plate with homeschool and the ministry, and is continuing to learn to lean on Christ for strength.

September, October

Chamber Update: Summer is nearly over, which means fall, football, and holidays, but it also means a very busy schedule, especially for Chamber Ministries.

During the months of July and August, we had our cedar point trip, paintball weekends and paintball tournament. As usual, Cedar Point was a blast. Fifteen of us, 12 students and 3 adults, left for Cedar Point before the sun came up and got back in the wee hours of the next morning. The exhaustion was totally worth it!

Paintball was a success this summer. This year during the Deckerville homecoming we held a paintball tournament at Wilson Park. There were 5 teams and everyone that participated got to play an enormous amount of paintball. A father/son team won, they were called “Little Big D.”

We have started a prayer meeting every Sunday for the leaders. We are praying for the direction Chamber Ministries. We are looking at changing some aspects of what we do in order to reach the most people with the message of the Gospel. Please pray for the vision of our leaders and that above all we would seek God’s will.

Support: We are really in need of some more monthly support. Rick is still working separate jobs to make ends meet, and we still aren’t fully funded for the Youth Center and our activities. God has called us to this ministry and he is faithful. We do, however, need your prayers and monthly gifts. Please pray and see if God is calling you to sacrifice for this ministry He has called us to do.

Ministry Needs: It is awesome to see God provide for Chamber Ministries! The air conditioning in our van had quit working and someone donated the money to get it fixed. Thank you so much!

Please pray for these up coming activities:
• September 14th - PTO starts (every Tuesday)
• September 17th and October 8th – after game party
• September 22nd - Chamber Spotlight starts (every Wednesday)
• October 2nd and 9th - Corn maze

Family news:
Kristi has started school with the kids and it is going well. Rick is starting football practice this week and also training for the Detroit marathon. Matthias is starting to walk; he has taken a few steps and he is already getting into everything, he is a very curious little boy.

July, August

Chamber Update: May and June were two very busy months. In May we finished “the chamber” for the school year. Our last meeting was a pool party at my parent’s house, and about 20 students came and had a blast. We also finished PTO, which is our Tuesday morning Bible study at Deckerville High School.

On June 26th Chamber Ministries hosted the second annual 5k run/walk in Sandusky. It is a great fundraiser that is a huge benefit to our general fund expenses. There were about 80 participants including the “Fun Run,” which is just for kids. This is also great exposure for Chamber Ministries to the community. Being a part of Sandusky’s annual Thumb Festival allowed us also to meet many new people.

Support: Recently, we received two awesome blessings. We applied for a grant from the Sanilac County Foundation Committee and the Youth Advisory Council, and we were awarded $1,000 for a new projector and a gaming system for “the chamber” youth center. We also were given a new laptop computer! These gifts will be a great asset for the continual ministry at the Youth Center. Thank you so much to all who have given!

Ministry Needs: Our ministry van is in need of air conditioning repair. We have had an estimate done and it will cost approximately $800.00 to get fixed. We are planning some trips this summer, and a 15 passenger van full of teenagers with no air conditioning makes for a long trip. Please pray that we will get the funds to fix it.

Please pray for these up coming activities:
• July 14th - Cedar Point trip
• July 17th, 31st, August 21st – Paintball weekends
• August 7th - Youth Center open house at Deckerville homecoming
• August 7th - Paintball booth at Deckerville homecoming
• October 2nd, 9th – Corn mazes

Family news:
We recently went on a much needed family vacation to Ocean Grove, NJ. It was a lot of fun swimming in the ocean and walking on the board walk. While there we went to New York City with our two oldest kids and we had a blast! Kristi’s parents vacationed with us, and we enjoyed spending time with them.

March, April

Chamber Update:

The last couple of months have been challenging but also exciting! In January we started our weekly program called “the chamber.” It is going pretty good. We meet on Wednesdays after school until 5pm. They come and hang out, play pool, ping pong, basketball, or x box. We have a short lesson and food which is always good with teenagers. Our prayer and focus is to get kids to grow more in the Lord and have discipleship with them.

Chamber Ministries recently started having Saturday night activities. We have done open gyms and video games at the youth center. This gives kids a safe venue to spend their Saturday nights. There also will be swimming and movie nights in the upcoming weeks.

On January 16th we had our annual dodge ball tournament. It was a lot of fun, but I think I ended up with a sore arm. We had 6 teams and the winners got medals. I was able to share the Gospel message with the kids who attended.

Also at the end of January we had our fundraiser dinner. It was a good success. There were about 50 people who attended and we were able to raise 580 dollars. Thank you to all who helped with the dinner.

Support:

The support for Chamber Ministries has been down lately. The funds for acitivities are getting low, but we believe the Lord will provide. The Lord has always been good to us. We feel we are doing what he has called us to do. Our family is continually seeking God for his direction and we believe that “God’s work done God’s way, will never lack God’s supply” – Hudson Taylor. Please continue to pray for this ministry, thanks so much to those who faithfully give, you are a real blessing to us.

Ministry Needs: (you can check out our needs page on our website!)

A big ministry need that is coming up very soon is that we need helpers for Insomnia.
We need people who will stay up all night and just hang out with kids. If you can help, or know someone who can please contact us.

Pleas pray for these up coming activities:
March 6th Movie Night March 12th Insomnia
March 20th Open Gym April 3rd Open gym
April 10th Swimming April 24th Basketball tournament

Family news:
Isaiah is playing hockey and has had 2 games this year and is doing really well. Adriana is doing very well in school. She is writing and reading at a high level for her age. Julean is still a little behind in his talking. It is very hard to understand him sometimes, but he keeps trying to talk. He is getting clearer and clearer. Matthias is growing so fast. He is now mobile and curious about every thing.

January, February

Chamber Update: November and December have been two great months for Chamber Ministries. While we had no major activities, there were still opportunities to get involved in the community and show others the love of Christ. This year we helped a family who was in need, and we participated in wrapping and handing out presents for other needy families.

Rick started having open gyms in November and had great turnouts. This has been a great opportunity to get to know kids and spend time talking with them while playing basketball. At the last open gym there were about 45-50 teens who attended.

For 2010 we are praying to have more impact to the youth in Deckerville. January is a busy month; “The Chamber” is starting on January 11th and this will be our weekly program at the youth center. Last year it was called spotlight, but it seemed like everyone called it The Chamber anyway. The program will be every Monday after school and we are praying that kids will come out and learn more about Jesus and His love for them.

We are holding our annual Dodge ball tournament on the 16th of January. This is always a lot of fun. We give out prizes for 1st place and everyone gets a lot of playing time. There will also be a time were we give out the gospel message, which is the most important thing we could offer.

January is also the start of our fundraiser dinners. We are going to have a chicken dinner on the 30th. The goal is to raise $400.00 for the Youth Center. That is the amount needed each month.

Support: The Lord truly blessed us in 2009. While all of the financial goals were not met, we used what was given to further his kingdom here in Deckerville. Thank you so much for all the gifts that so many of you have given. It still amazes me that we have been doing this ministry for 3 years with the help of individuals who have generously given of their time and money.

Ministry Needs: (you can check out our needs page on our website!)
Black lights/Strobe lights, Paper folder, Pool table, 4x6 Covered Trailer, Sound Equipment, Salary Support, Projector, Youth Center funds, Inflatable’s (Jump House, Slide, ect.)

Pleas pray for these up coming activities:
January 11th - After School Program (The Chamber)
January 16th – Dodge Ball Tournament
January 30th – Fundraiser Dinner
February 12th - After Game Party
February 26th – After Game Party
February 27th - Fundraiser Dinner

Family news:
We had a great Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.
Isaiah is now involved in hockey. He has practice every
Sunday for 2 hours. He is usually really tired afterwards.
Adriana is also doing well. She loves animals. For
Christmas she got a big horse set and she plays with it for hours at a time. Julean got a lot of toys from the movie “Cars.” He really likes that movie. Matthias is still not crawling yet. He gets up on all fours but he just wiggles and hasn’t figured out how to move yet.

Newsletter update:
We have started emailing our newsletter to save on postage. Please send us your email address to chamberministries@hotmail.com so we can put you into our contacts.