Just a note to say "THANK YOU."

October is always a humbling month for me. Forgive me for any awkwardness in receiving your thoughtful words of grati­tude and love. They overwhelm me! You always do so much to appreci­ate us, not just in "Pastor Appreciation Month," but all the time.

Thank you for your notes, "leaves," cards, gifts, prayers, words of en­couragement. .. Thank you for the touching videos and slideshow of the joys of ministry. Thank you for inviting J.J. to preach so I could sit with Don on a Sunday morning to worship! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I am BLESSED beyond measure to serve you and serve with you ... that I get the wonderful experience of doing life with this FAMILY. I thank God every day for you and the opportunity He gives us to Connect and Serve and Grow together!
With MUCH love,

Dear Church Family,  

As we enter into this season of thankfulness, I want to say thank you for making Pastor Appreciation Month  truly special. Your moving words of thanks and motivation are thoroughly appreciated as I continue in the work that the Lord has placed in my heart. Thank you for your gifts, kindness, and participation. It warmed my heart to see so many church members come together to make Pastor Appreciation Sunday special. I am fortunate that this is the church family God has chosen for me to serve.    

The youth group is thriving. We have had as many as seven kids in attendance, and the group grows closer in 0 faith and relationship with each other every week. This month, the youth group has a special opportunity for  0 fun and fellowship to bring our church family together. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A CHILI COOK OFF!!!  
There is a sign-up sheet available on the bulletin board in the narthex. There are opportunities to sign up to be a contestant, there is also a sign-up for our panel of judges, and, along with that, we are going to have a "tailgate trivia." Prizes will be given to the winning table of our football trivia game and for our winning cook O
D off contestant. We ask that if you have a favorite football jersey to wear, let's be festive! The cook off will be  Saturday, November 14th at 6 PM. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to come have fun! All donated proceeds will go to the youth conference fund to go towards our mid-winter advance retreats and our next  International Youth Convention in Tampa. We look forward to our opportunity to fellowship together!

 There will be a sign-up on the bulletin board for a new opportunity to grow together as a church. Starting the new year off right, we will be offering a new discipleship program. We want as many people as possible to get involved in participating. No matter what point you feel like you are in your faith or no matter what age or 0
0 season of life you are in, we would love for you to take part in this mission. The program was inspired by the words of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, "Go and make disciples of all the nations." We weren't called to simply bring people to belief, but to be a witness showing the way to a new life in Jesus through His grace, O
□ teaching, and commandments. This will be the first part of our discipleship program. The program will be eight weeks with a devotional and a weekly meeting. Through the teaching of Jesus, we will be able to discuss what commandments Jesus gave us to honor and what following those commandments looks like in everyday life. The focus will be learning to live a God-first life as Jesus did, always in obedience to the will of the Father. We are hoping this will grow our church, bring us closer to one another as the body of Christ and create a deep, lifelong friendship and fellowship as we pursue God's will for our lives together.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." ~ Matthew 28: 19-20

In loving service of our Lord and Savior,
Bill Dilks

We have just been notified that our Highland Park Church of God "App" has been approved by both Apple and Google. You will be able to access this app on your phone, laptop, tablet, smart TV... The App will easily connect you with:

• Livestreaming of our Services,
• Upcoming events
• Our  Website
• Online Giving
• Event Registrations
• Prayer Requests
• Newsletters
• And so much more! 

This will be a great resource for connecting with one another and with the community around us. We are still finalizing a few connections within the app. When we are comfortable with that, the links will be sent out to you. However, if you want to check it out, it is downloadable from both Apple and Google stores.

Praise God! What an exciting opportunity He has made available to us!