Welcome to Northminster

We are a biblically-based Presbyterian church seeking to experience and share God’s love to transform our homes, community and the world. We hope you will join us.
 

Join us this Sunday!

We have Sunday school for all ages at 9:00, and the worship service is at 10:30am. We look forward to seeing you! 
 
 
 

Upcoming Events

The Latest from our blogs…

October 7 Update from Susan May and the Burundi Hope Project

Much has been happening since I wrote last.  I did not go to Gitega with a bus and pick up all of my children but we are working on some alternative solutions! I was able to meet with the Sewing Center  on Wednesday and was blessed by their fellowship. They were able to update me not only on their progress with the sewing center projects but also what was happening in their personal lives. One of the women’s home was broken into in the middle of the night and anything she had was stolen including her personal sewing machine.  She has 6 children and her husband has no regular job sew the income from the Sewing Center and her personal customers is how they support the family. Please pray for Consolatte. These women have become a special part of my life in Burundi. They are being creative in how to expand the sewing center business and will be working on some samples for others to see. I will keep you informed.

I traveled to the Rumonge region for a Women of Hope Seminar. It is a drive down the lake road. I always enjoy going along the lake but not the bad roads. The women represented 5 churches. 3 of them are going through a healing process due to some church challenges and were encouraged by the teachings and the fellowship of believers.
 
Thanks for prayers!
IMANA NI NZIZA!
” God is so Good!”
 
Susan May
Burundi, Africa
 
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way” Psalm 139:14 ICB 
 

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School Supply Collection

We’re close to two months into the school year, but there are many children that still don’t have basic and essential school supplies.  Over the next few weeks we are collecting supplies for our local elementary schools to give to their students who otherwise would go without.  Here are a few items students need daily:
  • Backpacks (currently 50% off at Target)
  • Pens
  • Pencils
  • Crayons
  • Paper
  • Folders
  • Markers
The next time you head to Walmart or Target, pick up some of these supplies.  You may leave your donations in the church foyer where you will see the Mission/Outreach/Evangelism display.  Thank you in advance!

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Crumrine Update – October 2018

Keith and Deana Crumrine and their family are missionaries in Papua New Guinea that we support.  Keith is John and Lorraine Ledden’s grandson. You can find this update (and past updates) on the web here, where you can also subscribe to their e-newsletter if you’d like.
 
October 1, 2018
Dear Friends,
Greeting from PNG! We are excited to share with you how God has been at work this past month! Thank you to all of you who have been praying. I will try and update you thoroughly.
 
~MINISTRY:
YOUTH CAMP: On September 15th we had the chance to take our youth to another missionaries place for a week long youth camp. Around twenty teens had the opportunity to go and hear the gospel presented. Teens came from literally all over PNG to hear from Christ! Some kids walked over FIVE days to come to camp! It was amazing to see what they would go through to hear from God! There were roughly 1,500 campers plus leaders! It was so awesome to see God work in hearts! The missionaries said in all the years they have done this camp they have never seen anything like this! The missionaries specifically asked the counselors not to just pray with the kids but make sure they fully understood repentance and knew that they were making a decision to follow Christ…NOT just say a prayer! On the last night we fed 2,000 people. The teens were singing till 11pm and being counseled till 2am! Thanks to the prayers of many of you six teen girls from our church excepted Christ as Savior and one teen guy. It was so awesome to see God work in the youths lives and see how this changed their lives! The Sunday after we asked them to give their testimonies or come tell us personally about how God worked on their lives. These seven stood up in church to give their testimonies and some told how God showed them areas of their lives they needed to get right. Thank you all for your prayers for our teens this past month! God has definitely been at work and we believe his name is being glorified! Please continue to pray for these youth that God would grow them in their Christian lives and strengthen them as many have unsaved parents. These new Christian youth have come faithfully to church services, church work days, and are the first ones willing to help with anything! We are so thankful we had this opportunity. It was clearly the Spirit of God who met with us! It was such a blessing and encouragement!
 
SHARING CHRIST’S LOVE: The first Sunday of this month we had the chance to go to Taveo, one of the former fighting houselines. We took about eight church members and food to give to these people. Since it had been so rainy it was impossible to reach this village by road…..so we all hiked by foot through the bush to share Christ’s love with these people!! We sang/played music with the violin and guitar, dad preached, and I took care of quite a few medical needs, then we left the food for them to distribute. Although we had a long treacherous hike to get to this village it was worth every single minute! Please pray for Taveo….God has to be the one to do the work in their lives! It was a neat opportunity and a blessing to help these people!
 
COMMUNITY DINNER: This past Sunday we had another community/outreach dinner. Through the last one we have seen much fruit and are praying God will use this one mightily also! For the morning service we were encouraged to see roughly five new faces! The gospel was clearly presented and a few men told dad that it was a really convicting and strong message. For the dinner we served close to 200 people and we had around TWENTY-FIVE visitors for this! For the second service all 25 didn’t stay but it was a encouragement and a huge blessing that they even came!! The second service took place inside our house with roughly 12 visitors present. The gospel was again presented. Thank you for all you who have prayed for this! God is working in the hearts of many! It was SO exciting to see people who we have been praying for many YEARS come!! Please pray that God will touch the hearts of these people and that they would realize their need of Christ!
 
SPECIFIC PRAISE: Their is a man named Jackson who we have asked prayer for before and have been praying for many years. A little bit ago he came a couple weeks in a row to our fellowship nights in a hut on Thursdays. We were surprised but super excited since we have been really praying for God to work on him! Last Wednesday we had the chance to go talk with him and invite him to the Sunday dinner. Well first off he said he would be there….a huge answer to prayer! He said God has been really working on him and he knows he needs to come to church and get saved….he was very honest with us and made it perfectly clear he has NOT excepted Christ into his life yet or asked forgiveness….just knows he needs to! This is a step in the right direction! We are all SO excited! That night for Wednesday night…..prayer meeting he showed up!! Also he attended our Thursday night fellowship and Sunday for both services! It is such a huge encouragement and blessing seeing this man come to church after so many have prayed for him for so long….including the Childs, the church members here, as well as many of you. Please pray that God would continue to work on him and continue to convict him!
 
MARKET OUTREACH: Today dad and I had the opportunity to go to our local market. We played some music on the violin and guitar, dad preached, then we passed out gospel tracts. Please pray that many would come to Christ through this. Several “religious” groups are present for this. Please pray that God would show them that they can’t get to heaven by works only by the blood of Jesus Christ! Please pray for dad as each Monday morning he will be preaching.
 
~SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUESTS: That the spirit of God would continue to work and more would get saved. Taveo and Karafa houselines. That God would work in the hearts of the new believers. Market ministry. Thursday and Saturday fellowships Wisdom about starting a carpentry school or not…another opportunity to share Christ! Continue to pray with us that God would supply the remaining support needed…we praise Him for what has been supplied!
 
~PRAISES: That seven souls came to Christ this past month! That we had so many visitors last Sunday! That so many new people have been coming faithfully to church! The man that took brother Ben to court over the land dispute came to Christ and has apologized for all the trouble he has made!
 
Thank you all so much for praying faithfully and for your support! Hope this is a encouragement to you all as it has been to us. Our God is awesome!
 
In Christ,
The Crumrines
Proverbs 3:5-6

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Andrew Brunson Prayer Update

Andrew Brunson’s trial resumes next Friday, October 12.  In preparation for that, we have gathered the following resources for you.
 
The first is a blog by Rev. Bill Campbell who was in the courtroom with Andrew at his trial last July.  This provides not only first-hand insight into what it’s like in the courtroom, but also how things are for Christians throughout Turkey.
 
This is the first 13 days of a 31 day prayer initiative.  The second half will be published once the outcome of his trial on October 12 is made known.  These are short, daily prayers you can easily add to your daily quiet time routine or at any point throughout your day.  Paper copies were made available last Sunday and are still available to pick up at church.
 
In an effort to stand with and pray for the entire Brunson family, the EPC is issuing a Call to Prayer and Fasting for the week of October 8.  We will make these available as a bulletin insert on Sunday, October 7.
 
Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Andrew.  May his faithfulness in spite of the adversity he’s faced encourage you in your walk with the Lord as well!

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Pastor’s Corner – October 2018

What’s in a logo?

 
Now that our logo is prominently displayed on the front of the church, I’ve found myself thinking about it every day as I arrive. A good logo is simple and evocative, easy to recognize and remember, but bringing to mind multiple layers of images and meanings as you study it. Our logo accomplishes both of these things very well.
 

In the Beginning was the Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. — John 1:1–4
The first thing your eye catches is the open Bible, at the bottom of the image. Visually we are reminded that the Word of God is our beginning and our foundation. All of what we believe and know is grounded in and flows out of the Bible. But a closed book doesn’t do any good. It needs to be opened and read in order for the words within to bring life and light. And of course, as the passage from John implies, the image of the Bible in the logo points to the Word of God, and that Word of God is Jesus Christ. But these aren’t just old, stagnant, dead words, Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that the Word of God is “living and active.” What is it that keeps the Word of God alive today?
 

The Spirit Gives Life

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. — John 6:63
The eye naturally moves upward from the open Bible and sees the dove, with wings spread, rising out of the center. The dove has long been a visual representation of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 3:21-22), and as it prepares to take flight it gives the image of being alive and free. Being centered in the Word, the dove also reminds us that the Spirit is the seal of our salvation and our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). And as the Spirit fills the Word, so also it fills us. The Holy Spirit gives life to believers and empowers us to take the Word of God into the world through our actions and our words.
 
May God bless each of us as we seek to be a community of faith that are “hearers and doers” of the Word (James 1:22) and “strengthened with power through his Spirit” (Ephesians 3:16) to serve others in Christ’s name!
 
Blessings, Rev. David Garrison

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