The Hillsboro Christian

The Hillsboro Christian Volume 62 - June 2022

Photo by: Kiana Bosman on Unsplash

In This Issue of The Hillsboro Christian

By Brad Clouse "My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old – things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands." (Psalm 78:1-7) The psalmist stresses the responsibility that each generation has in teaching the next generation who God is and what He has done for them. One of the core values of our church is the NEXT GENERATION. As a church family, we must take seriously the responsibility that God has given us to tell the next generation about Him. In order to carry out this responsibility, we must be committed to investing in the lives of our young people. There are three ways to make this investment: 1.) PREPARATION = The next generation needs solid Biblical teaching. We must teach our young people the foundational truths of God's Word: "You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1).

2.) PRACTICE = The next generation needs to see the current generation living out their faith daily. What does the next generation see in us? What kind of example are we setting for our young people to follow? "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching with faith and love in Christ Jesus" (II Timothy 1:13).

3.) PRAYER = The next generation needs our prayers. We must always be praying for their safety, their protection from temptations and troubles, and their families. We must definitely pray for their salvation. In the last couple of months, we have seen several of our young people make the decision to be immersed into Christ. That should remind us that God hears and responds to the prayers of His people: "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (James 5:16).

"One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4). God is calling us to invest in the lives of our young people. As a church family, we must be committed to passing the baton of faith on to the next generation. In the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the American women's 4 x 100 relay race was favored to win the gold medal. The team featured Marion Jones, a sprinter who had won four gold medals at the previous games in Sydney. The American team was already off to a strong start when Jones took the baton for the second leg of the race. She gained ground as she ran her 100 meters and approached Lauryn Williams, a young speedster who would run the third leg. Williams began running as Jones drew near, but when Williams reached back to receive the baton, they couldn't complete the handoff. Once, twice, three times, Jones thrust the baton forward, but each time it missed William's hand—she couldn't seem to wrap her fingers around it. Finally, on the fourth try, they made the connection. But by that time, they had crossed out of the 20-yard exchange zone and were disqualified. Everyone knew they were the fastest team on the track. The night before, they'd had the fastest qualifying time. But when they couldn't complete the handoff, their race was over. May we complete the handoff… Let us tell the next generation.

In this edition of The Hillsboro Christian, Adam analyzes how we as individual Christians and as a church can help the next generation maintain their faith.

Also, Micah reminds us of the responsibility we have to train up the next generation – making disciples.

Our guest contributor is Megan Apgar, our Children’s Minister. She shares with us what God has been doing through Backpack Club.

In Christian love, Brad

Preparation Practice

Prayer

Brad Clouse, a Louisville, Kentucky native, graduated from Louisville Bible College in 2010 with a Master's Degree in Sacred Literature after earning his former degrees at the same university. Brad served at smaller churches in Adair County Kentucky while in college before being called to Ohio in 2009. Brad ministered to the New Vienna Church of Christ congregation for 12 years before being called to the Hillsboro Church of Christ as the Senior Minister.

Prayer requests

06-01-22

Health and Other: Sue Bryan Denver Conley Gabriel Conrad Jim Cook Ohio Mission Bible Training Center Janet Pence Shalom Orphanage Patty Roades Keith Sowell Mary Jane Stephens Crue Swayne Wayne Wiedenbein

Shut Ins: Barbara Boris Jewel Calmes John Porter Carol Setty Ruby Wallingford

Family Loss:

Missions: The Brittons, The Millers, The Newmans

HCC Leadership: Steve Allen Brad Clouse Roger Epley Dan Fauber Micah Herrick Mike Labig Adam Steele Richard VanZant

Military: Tyler Amos Ryan Burns Mark Conover Thadeus Conover Corey Hughes Phillip Mycroft

Cancer: Jeffery Aurigema Vicki Butler Bev Carroll Kari Crafton Judy Roush Mark Sears

Praise: Bob Fisher (Jan Aurigema’s brother) has been declared cancer free!

Cancer is non-detectable in him!

Average attendance for the month of May was: 302 Average weekly giving for the month of May was: $11,454.50 Our weekly need is: 11,229.13

THE NEXT GENERATION Why do we value the next generation at Hillsboro Church of Christ? I believe we take the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 16-20) seriously. What better way to spread Jesus' love than to reach the youth and families of our own community?

I want to share how God uses us to reach the next generation. In the summer of 2018, I prayed a big prayer. I started praying that God would set my heart on fire for the children in our community, and he would use me to serve Him in a mighty way. With prayer, I knew if God opened the door, I would know what to do. I began hearing about a ministry at Mowrystown Church of Christ called Backpack Club from a parent at church. After discussing the vision with some leaders and essential volunteers, we moved forward, and Backpack Club started in Oct. 2018 with ten students. You won't believe what happened next. The students began inviting their friends, and by the end of the school year, we ended with over 60 students.

The same thing happened the next school year when we started with 60 students and had over one hundred students come through the ministry when we shut down due to the pandemic. After not being able to have Backpack Club in the 2020-2021 school year, we started this school year with 75-80 students, and that number grew quickly. It was such a blessing to partner with the school this year and offer tutoring during the homework session.

The next generation is a big deal to me and so many others who have given up so much of their time volunteering and making this ministry a possibility. Whether you are actively planting a seed in the young people around you or spiritually leading your own children/grandchildren, God is using you too! So, are you reaching the Next Generation?

Megan Apgar HCC Children's Director

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

June 6-10, 2022 We can use your help!

Sunday, June 5th, right after the worship service, we will be transforming the worship center into a marketplace for Vacation Bible School.

We need to move all the chairs out of the worship center and into the chapel.

If you can help, please stay after the 2nd worship service.

This shouldn’t take

too long with many hands to help.

Also, we are asking for donations to help with Vacation Bible School this year.

We need any of the following that you would be able to help with: Mini water bottles Sheets - flat sheets, any color, preferably no print Capri Sun - juice drinks that are dye-free (please, no Kool-Aid Jammers)

by Adam Steele

Let's go on a trip down memory lane for a moment. Think back to the year 2015; for me, that feels like a lifetime ago. In 2015 my family and I were still living in Tennessee, and I was near the end of a very difficult few years. We only had one child and were excitedly awaiting the arrival of our second.

Think about how much has happened between then and now. The Supreme Court ruled on same-sex marriage, making it legal. Reality TV star Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Black Lives Matter protests continued to escalate.

The #MeToo movement started, leading to people from every sector of society being called to give an account for their secret actions. In 2017 alone, three major hurricanes made landfall in the United States (Harvey, Irma, and Maria). We experienced two of the angriest, ugly, and divisive elections in our history. We experienced a worldwide pandemic, unlike anything we had seen in more than a century. The riots over the killing of George Floyd in

almost every major city in America. We have seen the LGBTQ movement continue to make advancements in our society. To top it all off, we are about to head into a time of severe division when/if Roe vs. Wade is overturned.

And all of that was within the last seven years.

We are living in crazy times. Culture, technology, and society are changing at an alarming speed. However, one thing I recognize is that for my children, this is their entire experience. This is the world that they are growing up in. My daughter was born at the end of 2015; she has never known anything different. It scares me when I take the time to consider it, to think about the fact that my kids are going to have to grow up in this type of environment. This is not the same environment that you or I grew up in. I also think that they can and probably will get much worse before they get better. Our children will have to navigate life issues and cultural problems that we would have never imagined; for instance, in the 1970s,

about 6% of the population identified as LGBTQ. For the Millennial generation, the percentage is about 30%. For Gen Z, the number is almost 40%. Our children will have to know how to handle this issue with grace and truth.

I am reminded of a passage that comes from the book of Philippians chapter two, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." If there was ever an apt description of our current culture, I think "crooked and twisted" is it. Our children are facing a world that is very different from the one we grew up in.

In many ways, they have a much more difficult situation before them when it comes to following Jesus. It is becoming more and more difficult to maintain a Christian worldview as our culture

continues to move in the opposite direction.

The question for us as individuals and as a church is, “What can we do?”

How can we come alongside the next generation to help them face all that is ahead of them? How can we help them "shine like stars in the world"? First, by helping them "hold fast to the word of life ." Read the Bible with your children, talk about how to apply it and the implications of what it teaches. Give them opportunities for others to speak

truth into their lives.

Our Youth programs are full of staff and volunteers who are willing and excited to share God's word with your kids. Second, you can volunteer with one of the Youth programs at our church. There you will have a chance to have a direct impact on the lives of the students in our community. Third, pray for the next generation.

They desperately need your prayer and encouragement.

If you see a young person striving to grow in their relationship with God, give them a kind word, take them to

lunch, and spend some time getting to know them. We all need people in our lives who are championing us and cheering us on. The next generation has a difficult path before them, but if we can come alongside them and invest in them, they can be a generation that makes a huge impact for the Kingdom of God. We value the Next Generation because God does too.

Grace and Peace Adam

About the Author:

Adam Steele is originally from western Pennsylvania. When he was eleven his parents moved to West Virginia where he lived through his time in high school. Adam attended Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, MO.

While in college he met his lovely wife April. Adam and April have two children Silas and Sadie. Before coming to Hillsboro, OH they served at First Christian Church in Jackson, TN. Adam has a passion for ministry and for

Read the Bible with your children, talk about how to apply it and the implications of what it teaches

In the children’s area we have consistently had 20 children or more for our first service and consistently had 38 children or more in our second service. This is just the Beginners and Junior class. Let’s talk about the nursery! They average 6 kids a Sunday with the highest count at 10! Most of the time we only have two volunteers to help with each class. WE CAN USE YOU!

You can sign up today! Go to our website: hillsborochurch.net/iaminterested and click on “Children and Youth”.

On May 8th, Annaleigh Clouse made the decision to give her life to Jesus Christ. She was immersed into Christ by her father Brad Clouse. We all rejoice with her as she begins her relationship with Jesus. Let us all be in prayer for her as she grows in her faith.

How easy it is to get into a routine in life. We wake up in the morning, go through our morning routine, get the ever important first cup of coffee, jump into the car, head off to the day’s work, check off today’s boxes, head home for some family time and a meal, have a (hopefully) nice long rest and repeat.

One significant morning a week we break with the standard routine and gather together with the people of God to fellowship and worship and grow together. And then we repeat the whole cycle again. It is a story that is similarly repeated by so many. But what if we were called to more—more than a weekly cycle, more than a weekly gathering, more than a weak routine.

What does the Bible Teach?

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently

to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV)).

One of the big things that puts value into a routine is what the routine is established upon and what is most central to it. And if we look at what is modeled for us here in Moses’ teaching to the people of Israel as he was sending them into the promised land, we see something of greatest value that we can build our lives (and the lives of the next generation that we are raising) around.

Know the Teaching.

If we want to be able to live well with God, we need to know what God teaches. There is no better way to do this than to be deep in the word. While it is right and good and necessary to be in

community with others and hearing from a variety of teachers, if your ultimate authority is not the Word of God itself then you run the risk of only seeing the word through the filter of the one who teaches you. While he may be an incredible teacher, he is still human and flawed. The only one that is not flawed is God, so we have got to be ingesting from His word directly.

Do the Teaching.

Next we have to put into practice what we learn. New Testament author James reminds us to be doers of the word and not merely hearers (1:22). If we are not using the energy that is being poured into us we are simply becoming spiritually obese. There are so many through the years that have sat through hundreds (even thousands) of lectures on the content of scripture and never put into practice what they have been taught. Is the kingdom of heaven merely a scholastic enterprise? BY NO MEANS! It is the saving work of Christ Jesus in the lives of humanity. For that

to happen we need to learn to be obedient to all that we have been taught.

All the elements of our regular routine need to be built around the Kingdom of Heaven, not the kingdom we choose to craft for ourselves.

Teach the Teaching As we formulate our lives around the Kingdom that Jesus is building, the next (and arguably most important) thing we need to do is teach those who are following in our footsteps to do the same.

This is at the core of Moses’ teaching in the section above from Deuteronomy.

The Kingdom of Heaven is, by design, a multigenerational endeavor. We are not simply called to “do the work of

ministry” we are called to make disciples. According to Jesus, making disciples by teaching them to obey is the core function of the workers of the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 28:1920). So we can best do this but bringing a child, whether biological or spiritual, along behind us and use whatever opportunities and moments that we see as teaching tools. At home or in the public square, coming or going, sitting or moving, there are opportunities to teach if we know and live the word.

kingdom of heaven. Are we choosing to live as Jesus lived and follow what Jesus requires? You are doing the work laid out for you now, but who is coming next? If the kingdom is going to grow and flourish then we as members of the Kingdom had better be replicating and training up those who can take up the torch and the cause of Christ beyond where we can go. Who is your Timothy, who is your Titus? Let’s do this! Let’s make disciples!

So Lets Do This!

At the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves if we are living actively for the

Know the teaching

Do the teaching Teach the teaching

Micah began ministry in 2012 after being commissioned for ministry by his home church, White Oak Christian Church, in Cincinnati, OH. Micah is currently serving HCC as Worship Minister, as well as leading our Evangelism team and coordinating our online presence. He has served in both Youth Ministry and Worship Ministry in Richmond, IN and Knightstown, IN before coming back to Ohio to serve in Hillsboro.

Summer in the Son is coming!

We invite you to join us!

This is our weekend event held at Restoration Acres August 5-6-7, 2022.

To learn more, go to our website: hillsborochurch.net/sits

Little Lamb Christian Preschool is accepting applications for the 2022-2023 school year. You can pick up an application here at the church or go online to: hillsborochurch.net/littlelamb

Penny-A-Meal is still collecting Community Market receipts. Save your receipts and place them in the box in the main lobby. Also, any member of Penny-A-Meal can place their monthly donation in the box.

Summer in the Son is happening August 5-6-7, 2022. Camping registration is now open on our website: hillsborochurch.net/sits

We also have registration open for Art for the Heart” and “Art for the Heart—Kids edition” Go to: hillsborochurch.net/sits to register

Faith in Action will be meeting Thursday, June 2, 2022, @ 6:00 PM in the Connection Café.

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) will be meeting Thursday evening, June 16th in the Connection Café.

Monday, July 4th, the office will be closed.

NO MINISTRY TEAM LEADERS, DEACONS, AND TRUSTEES MEETING FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE. WE WILL MEET AGAIN SUNDAY, JULY 10TH RIGHT AFTER 2ND WORSHIP SERVICE.

SPECIAL OFFERING Sunday, June 12, 2022 we will have special offering for

Kamp Dovetail Please come prepared to give.

JUNE 23, 2022 We will be making, packing, and delivering about 600 sack lunches

for all the campers and volunteers at Kamp Dovetail.

It takes a lot of hands to make this happen.

If you can help, Thursday, June 23rd, please come!

We start at 8:00 am, meet in the kitchen.

SATH

(Supplementary Assistance to the Handicapped, Inc.)

Dear Friend, S.A.T.H, (Supplementary Assistance to the Handicapped), a non-profit organization would like to invite you to be a part of our wonderful mission of serving children with special needs. In June of 2022 our special children will celebrate the summer by attending S.A.T.H. sponsored “Kamp Dovetail.” S.A.T.H. receives no state or federal funding and relies on donations to operate this summer camp for children with disabilities. We have children from many different areas including: Adams, Brown, Clinton, Fayette, and Highland counties, Kentucky and the Tri-state area. Our camp is made possible through the generous support and donations by individuals, local civic groups, churches, Lions Club, foundations and other volunteer groups.

This summer many children with various handicaps will attend Kamp Dovetail. These handicaps include, but are not limited to: visual and hearing impairments, Spinal Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and some with multiple handicaps. We are not aware of any other camps in this region that serve so many children with such a wide variety of disabilities for such little cost to the families.

Many area teens and adults volunteer their time to this great cause. Kamp Dovetail stives to offer a volunteer ratio of one to one. As a result, we have more than 600 people to feed three times a day.

We are asking you to help us by supporting our 2022 Kamp Dovetail. Due to the COVID pandemic we were unable to hold many of our fundraisers that help make KAMP possible. We are in need of financial support to help with the cost of food, supplies, and additional items needed for camp. To provide this opportunity for children with disabilities, SATH needs to raise $250 per camper. Many of the campers will not be able to afford the $40 registration fee and will need sponsors for the week of camp.

We are hoping that you can help make one of our “wishes” come true by making a monetary donation to help with the cost of our camp. Any assistance that you can give will be greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at 937-366-6657.

Linda Allen S.A.T.H. Executive Director

You may contribute to our Send a Kid to KAMP program on-line @www.kampdovetail.com or by filling out this form and returning it to a KAMP Volunteer or mail this form to:

S.A.T.H. - Kamp Dovetail

KAMP DOVETAIL

c/o Linda Allen 5350 W, New Market Rd. Hillsboro, Ohio 45133

“40 Years of Loving Exceptionally Gifted

Name: _____________________________________________

I would like to sponsor __________ Kamper Regstration(s) at $40.00 each

I would like to adopt ________ Kamper(s) for $250.00 each

Ones” TOTAL: _______________

If you wish to sponsor the registration fee or adopt a Kamper, please feel free to cut out the form to the right and mail to the address above.

If you are writing a check, please make payable to SATH - Kamp Dovetail.

Thank you for your support!

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 Love Offering for Kamp Dovetail

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