A New Year of Possibilities...at Your Regional Church!

January 2012 News & Events

Dear Friends and Church Family:

I'm addressing you from the road today, taking just a few days between
Christmas

Senior Pastor D. Mitchell Bias

and New Year's to rest with my family. I trust that all of you have had an enjoyable, worshipful Christmas season. Weren't the Christmas programs throughout December just wonderful?

Reflecting on our many blessings this past year, I'm so grateful to those of you who have volunteered in various aspects of ministry, giving of yourselves to make a difference in the lives of children, teens, the sick and shut-in, and the disadvantaged. The Lord has assigned us many people to reach at Regional Church, and we just couldn't do it without willing hands and hearts like yours! When missionaries came, you took time to hear their stories, then gave offerings to ensure their continued work in the field. When House of Hope needed folks to stock shelves and carry boxes, you said, "Yes." When a drama presented an opportunity to win many souls, you responded with, "How can I get involved?" And when we asked who might sign on to pledge support for programs for the upcoming year, you filled out commitment cards. Friends, I don't take any of this for granted! Thank you for all you've allowed God to do through you.

2011 has been a strange year, and a difficult year for some. For my family, of course, it was a year of sadness as we dealt with my dad's illness and death. Many of you went through equally hard situations, and are still walking rough paths. Though I don't place a huge amount of emphasis on numbers, I'm encouraged that the number "12" is a significant one in the Bible. By faith, I grasp the possibilities in what that number represents. It is a number representing government, perfection, completion, and right order. May we go into this new year prepared to fulfill those things God has ordained for us.

In the month of January, as we have done in seasons past, we'll be having a season of prayer and fasting. A copy of our fasting schedule is available, but you may adapt your own format for how you feel compelled to conduct this time of self-discipline and consecration. The important thing is that we not fail to begin this very important year with our spirit man prepared for God's purposes. I believe we'll see some incredible events unfold in 2012...some may be glorious, and others may be unsettling signs of the times. We will navigate through them all by remaining in the Word and in prayer. I don't want to miss one single word the Lord is saying in these last days, and I'm sure you don't either!

I truly desire to see this church operating in every gift and office of the Spirit in this upcoming year. I challenge you today, to begin seeking the Lord, even in the altar and with the laying on of hands, for His works to begin in you in this upcoming year. If you're not hungry for a move of God, ask Him to make you hungry! And as we empty ourselves of our fleshly desires, I believe that some personal and corporate revivals will take place. Even so, Lord, let it be in all of us--Your kingdom, Your will on earth as it is in Heaven! Amen and amen!

Pastor Mitch

HOUSE OF HOPE
DECEMBER REPORT

June Jude, HOH Director

We have had an awesome month. We have moved into our new facility, and it is so much better. We have so much more room to store food and to have our clients all in one area. It is much more convenient for everyone. God has really blessed us this month. Joey Elia was able to get us 88 donated turkeys for Christmas and then we got in a surplus of meat from the USDA. We will be able to give out the hams we purchased next month. We were able to get some grant money this month, and then all of you came through to help us with the money to purchase the turkeys for Thanksgiving and the hams for Christmas.

This month we were able to serve 235 families--a total of 600 individuals--331 adults, 187 children, and 82 elderly.
To God always be the glory.

Our volunteers were great as usual. They work so hard to see that everything is done. We also had some new volunteers this month. Some from the community have signed on to help, and our own James Thompson came to be with us. I so appreciate them and all their hard work. I know God will bless them not only in this life but they will have many rewards in heaven. One of our new volunteers told me today, after helping on Friday, that she felt so good inside knowing that she had helped people who were in need.

My thoughts this Christmas were on the broken and the hurting. This holiday, which is the most blessed of the whole year, for many can be very lonely and depressing...especially if they don't know the One who gives us hope. It's kind of ironic that He was born at this time to bring to us hope, peace, and joy; yet it is the time when so many who are away from Him can't experience that hope. I pray that through this New Year, we will all be more diligent to make sure that those we know also know Him and can share in the HOPE we have in Him.

Love Ya!

June

The House of Hope Food Distribution Center is located in downtown Delbarton, and is open every 4th Monday from 10 AM to 2 PM. For more information, email

June Jude

Next food distribution date: Monday, January 23.

Proof of identification, proof of residence and proof of household income is required.

RCS BETA CLUB WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE BLESSES AREA CHILDREN

RCS Beta members unboxing dozens of winter clothing items for giveaway

Regional Christian School students may be learning discipleship in the classroom, but they're taking their lessons out into the world around them and demonstrating the love of Jesus through servanthood! In a clothing drive spearheaded by Josh Stafford (a senior at RCS), RCS students worked fervently to collect coats, jackets and other cold-weather garments for distribution to those in need.

Last month, on December 19, RCS Beta members got a chance to at last give these items away during a Christmas "Sidewalk Sunday School" program at Magnolia Gardens. Taking the clothing and some holiday goodies with them, they had an opportunity to minister to a wonderful, appreciative group of children from the 25 families living at the Gardens. RCS students who participated include Josh Stafford, Zach Kennedy, Cassidy Starr, Megan Hackney, and Zak Roberts.

Mrs. Hanshaw, who is Principal at Matewan Elementary School, sent an email thanking these RCS students, and remarking about how great it was to see the little ones wearing their items the next day at school.

You can view more photos of this event, courtesy of Angela Hamilton on her Facebook page.

GATES OF WISDOM MINISTRIES

Marshella Curry, Gates of Wisdom Ministries

We recently caught up with Marshella Curry, who was at the Chuck Pierce New Year's Conference, and she had some incredible things to share with us. She writes:

Everywhere I'm going, I hear the universal message that the Church must get back to holiness--from the pastor to the pew. Leaders must deal with sin in the house according to the Word. God is calling for more and more Kingdom living. Change is coming to the Church. It will be a tough year this year. We must fast, pray, know the signs of the times, trust God and obey Him quickly. It is not a year to play church! Chuck Pierce said a revival that would touch the world would start here in San Antonio this month. It's part of why I am here.

Most are expecting a revival this year. They are sensing a change in Church government and Kingdom authority, this year being the Year of the House. We must have church homes, spirit houses, and earthly houses where God can and will dwell.

We must keep Israel in our prayers this year. Good and bad changes coming. The world and the Church continue to shift, with more supernatural activity this year. As the Body of Christ, we must know what is of God and what is not. There will be a shift of resources and alignment this year.

At the round table and this meeting I was just in, the over all message is: "Wake out of sleep. Sound the alarm. Stand strong in faith and the Word. Stay close to Jesus. Know the signs of times. Live holy and obedient. What we've already come through will help us do battle for new year. There are new enemies in the Promised Land. Check your garments and your oil. Prayer and more prayer is so important
this year."

Finally, I dreamed of a barn boy dressed like a prince. He was so shocked because of all the camels were gone out of the barn. Isaiah 60:6 is soon to manifest for me... loaded, fully loaded! Amen!

Thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your love, your many prayers, and the financial support that allows me to be here teaching, ministering in intercessory prayer, and sitting in the righteous words of the prophetic. I welcome you to email me

with prayer requests, as the most important work I'm engaged in is that of intercession. I love you...have a blessed new year. --Marshella

REGIONAL
CHURCH OF GOD
& CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

US Rt. 52, South
PO Box 236
Delbarton, WV 25670
304-475-3468
304-475-5287 fax

EDITORIAL: "MY SOUL CRIES OUT FOR YOU"

By Cody Justice

The beginning of a new year fast is closing in upon us. I just want to take a moment and talk about fasting.

I love the idea of fasting. Giving up earthly pleasures to see a breakthrough! Or drawing nearer to an Almighty God, to be endowed with power from on high, to tear down strongholds, move deeper in the Spirit, to show God how much He means to us, to be fiery and passionate, to see REVIVAL!!!... but the idea and the action are two totally different things.

With my writer's thought processes, I fantasize things all the time, but when it comes time for me to put my hand to the plow, it suddenly seems harder than what I thought.

I'll say that I did well on last year's fast. I messed up with my actions and attitudes, but it's grace that got me through all 21 days! Of course, it's understandable when people have health issues and must adjust the fast, but don't be discouraged! God sees your heart and actions!

Let's look at Jesus when He fasted in the wilderness. He had just fasted for 40 days and Satan's first test was to mess with Jesus' hunger. "Turn these stones into bread," he said. But Jesus quoted Scripture, "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words for God's mouth," (Matt. 4:4 MSG).

Satan would then say, "Jump off the Temple!" and he too quoted scripture, Psalm 91. But Jesus quoted, "Don't you dare test the Lord your God," (4:7 MSG).

But this third test is what I want to focus on for a moment. Satan took Him to a peak of a mountain and pointed out to all the kingdoms of the earth and said, "Go down on Your knees and worship me, and they're Yours," and Jesus rebuked him and backed it up with "Worship the Lord your God, and only Him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."

Jesus never said "Satan, you don't have the power to give Me these kingdoms."

There are MANY people in the world--and in the CHURCH--who long to operate in authority and power, but who aren't willing to pay the price through a consecrated life. To operate under the anointing, we have to allow God to capture our heart. Let God capture your heart. Let Him be the air you breathe, and your daily bread. As you push aside the tangible bread that satisfies the stomach, allow Him to fill that part of you that can only be truly satisfied through surrender to Him.

There's a song by worship leader Misty Edwards that stirs my spirit and captivates me. It says, "God is a lover, looking for a lover, so He fashioned me...With just one pulse of Your heart, I'm in love! See the way He holds the stars in His hands,

See the way He holds my heart." She has another song that says, "They may ask,

Why the hunger,

Why the thirsting?

But my soul cries for you!"

I just can't imagine not being totally in love with God. To know that THE GOD of HEAVEN AND EARTH, Who created everybody, Who created everything, Who is ALL KNOWING, cares about my thoughts, my needs, my wants... Who cares about me. WOW! Fasting gives me a chance to commune with God in a deeper way "As deep cries out to deep" (Psalm 42:7) "My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God, when shall I come and behold the face of God. " Psalm 42:2. That's fasting.

Giving yourself to prayer and fasting will set up some things in this new year that wouldn't have been set up had you not fasted. There will be healings that wouldn't have happened; there will be provision where provision wouldn't have been; there will be BREAK THROUGHS where there wouldn't have been.

2011 was a hard, trying year. A lot of people have lost their passion, their fire. Fasting will rekindle that fire. It will revive passion where passion has died.

"Fasting can help you recover your passion, recapture your dream, and restore your joy." -Jentezen Franklin

This 2012, let's start the year out right--let's give it to God. And let's kick start our fire and help spark someone else's. Let's see REVIVAL as a result of our longing for God. A people who long for God will see God.

"As the hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for you, O God." Psalm 42:1 (AMP)

RCS STUDENT RACKS UP MORE HONORS
AT SKILLS USA

Zak Roberts, pictured with his graphics instructor, Doug Martin

Zachary Roberts, son of Jerome and Brenda Roberts, was one of nine WV SkillsUSA

students who traveled to

Herndon Virginia,

September 17-

21, to attend

the Washington Leadership Training Institute. He represented Regional Christian School and the Mingo Career and Technical Center very well.

The conference focused on developing high-level

leadership and citizenship skills for the students and

advisors. This was accomplished by a combination of classes and field experiences. Conference

activities included: touring the Martin Luther King

Memorial; F.D.R. Memorial; Vietnam Memorial; Korean War Memorial; Holocaust Museum; Lincoln Memorial; Tomb of the Unknown Solders; Arlington National Cemetery; Pentagon Memorial and visiting

congressional representatives.

Zak was one of seven West Virginia students to earn the National

Statesman Award. He also won first place for his Powerpoint presentation outlining his CTE program.

I HAVE A BOOK?

By Jamie Carte

Psalm 139:16 (AMP) "Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in YOUR BOOK all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them."

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. (Quote from "Opportunity" By Edith Lovejoy-Pierce)

On January 1 at 12:00 AM, a New Year began. A new book will begin for you and I and what we will do for this new year. What is written in our book is up to us and the Lord.

Let us not stare back at what we did not get done for the Kingdom this past year. Let us get excited that we have a brand new year and opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus to this world. Let us set goals and make plans to do and accomplish the will of the Father this year!

This is your year! This is your time! We will write an amazing book for Jesus and it will be inscribed with our very lives in Jesus' name! Have a blessed, prosperous and whole New Year in Jesus' name!

Keep Getting Ready,
Jesus Is Coming!
Jamie

REGIONAL
CHURCH CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Click here
to see a full list of upcoming events at Regional Church, always current and continually being updated! If you have an event to list, send us an email .

SUNDAY, JAN. 8
12:30 PM
Birthday Dinner for Pastor Mitch

Join us immediately after Morning Worship service this week for a delicious Italian-style buffet, prepared in honor of Pastor Mitch's birthday.

Event coordinator Betty Massey welcomes your help! If you'd like to bring a covered dish, dessert, or beverage, you're more than welcome...but either way, come and enjoy the celebration!

SUNDAY, JAN. 22 11:00 AM
Special Guest
Dr. Kathleen Runyon

We invite you to join us for powerful teaching and preaching this Sunday. We're so blessed to have "Dr. K" as our guest, especially since she's one of our very own!

SUNDAY, JAN. 29
11:00 AM
Special Guest
Eric Reeder

Eric Reeder

As we conclude the 21 days of prayer and fasting, we welcome Eric Reeder for a very special synergistic launching of the merging generations ministries for 2012! This will be a day of apostolic and prophetic coming together as the Church prepares to go forth in the POWER that comes after a season of consecration!

PRISON MINISTRY NEWS

Prison Evangelist Tammy Sheppard

Great things continue to happen as God breaks the bonds of spiritual darkness and frees the captive! Following are just a couple of posts from Prison Evangelist Tammy Sheppard, who ministers to inmates at the Southwestern Regional Jail and also at the Lakin Women's Correctional Facility in Mason County:

Dec. 12 -
30 women came to hear and receive from God! One glorious salvation for a young, drug addicted woman who received the Baptism....two more stepped up after her and they received too! Women are growing in God! On the way home 2 miles from Lakin Prison, I collided with an 8-point buck and had to drive home with one headlight. Lots of damage to my vehicle, but I was still the winner because I was unharmed and the Lord was glorified in a mighty way in this evening's service!

Dec. 13 -
37 women came out to hear the word at Southwestern Regional Jail this evening and there was 6 decisions for Christ! One of them received the Baptism! The women heard about the Great White Throne Judgment. Thank God for the ones who heeded the Word. I pray God's mercy on the ones who did not. Thank you for your prayers, Regional Church!

Dec. 31-
Thank you, Regional Church, for your support of the Jail and Prison Ministry! Your prayers are coveted and changing lives. Services was canceled for the jail this week but I made it home from the women's prison and didnt even scratch my vehicle!! That is a hallelujah! I always end my services asking if they have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, and give them the opportunity to receive. One woman was unlearned about the Baptism but she walked out educated, filled, and with the Glory all over her! She just couldn't quit praising Him after she received! God is SOO good! Happy New Year To you all! May this next year be filled with Blessings Overtaking You, Abundant Peace, and Victory Phil 4:13 style!

When you give to Regional Evangelism Partners (REP), a portion of your monthly contribution goes toward ministry to those in prison!

WORSHIP WITH US!

SUNDAY

Sunday School 10 AM Kids4Christ 11 AM

AM Worship 11 AM
PM Worship 7 PM

WEDNESDAY

Kids Church 6:30 PM Youth Church 6:30 PM (at our new Student Center, next to Cook's Floral)
Adult Bible Study 6:30 PM
Buses run on Wednesdays beginning 5:30 PM in the Delbarton, Elk Creek,
Ragland and Taylorville/Varney.
Choir Practice 7:30

Our Ladies' Ministry meets on the THIRD MONDAY of each month (unless otherwise noted in calendar) at 6:30 PM.

Also, check out our weekly telecast, REGIONAL TRANSFORMATION on SWVCTC Channel 17, (Charter/Suddenlink Cable

Monday 6:30 - 7:00PM

Wednesday 7:00 - 7:30PM

You can also view sermon archives on our website !

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