Town & Country e-mail newsletter   

Welcome to the e-newsletter from the Northwest Conference Town & Country Commission aimed at resourcing and encouraging our Town & Country churches.

This month we want to highlight the importance of community outreach. Vista Covenant Church, New Richland, MN, has seen the importance of connecting with the community around them. Read about their experiences, and find other resources below. 

I still remember seeing the joy on that child's face as he received a hamburger on that fall night at our community park and all the people who were lined up for the food and waiting patiently talking with each other as Vista Covenant Church provided an opportunity for our community to come together.

Why were we having this "Party in the Park?" Because our community has limited connection with our church and we want them to know that we are a part of this community. Our church putting on a party and interacting with our community was a win, win situation. We enjoy food, enjoy talking with people and we want to provide community and be a part of the community!

Ezekiel 18:5-9 (MSG) says:"Imagine a person who lives well, treating others fairly, keeping good relationships .... doesn't refuse food to the hungry, doesn't refuse clothing to the ill-clad ... but lives by my statutes and faithfully honors and obeys my laws. This person who lives upright and well ...."

The verses above show us how to live well which means living within a community, not living as a community unto ourselves. I see "Party in the Park" giving people food and an opportunity to establish or connect with one another in positive ways. If we as a church are going to live well from a Godly prospective, we need to have good relationships within our community and connecting to those in need. Vista Covenant Church has made this a reality, as we are going on our 4th year of having "Party in the Park." Any money we receive goes to the local food shelf in our community.

Here are some ideas for you who are reading this. We are still learning on this "Party in the Park" idea. The first three years we got people from our church to cook up the food, which we bought from our local meat market and grocery store. This year we are bringing in a somewhat local "chef" to do the cooking. After the first year we realized that the children came in abundance and we needed more activities for them. We now have games and award prizes for the games. We even do face painting using the artists of our church. One year we rented a bounce house (inflatable equipment). The last two years we have been doing drawings, where we have given away gift baskets, with things that we have bought from our local businesses in our community.

"Party in the Park" Components

A. Opportunity to collect food items and cash for Food shelf. As people register, we have a pick-up available to place a food item in the back of the truck or donate moneys to the food self.

B. A registration form is a ticket for a meal. We have grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, fixings, carrot sticks, chips, cookies, coffee, water and lemonade

C. Fun activities for the children. Face painting, puppet ministry, bean bag toss, football game and two years ago we rented inflatable games for the kids to bounce in. There are other games that I am unable to describe to you because there is no record of what they were.

D. Drawing for gifts to be given away. A donation of money set aside to purchase items that were given away. MP3 player, baskets of toiletries, half a pig and other items. Registration slips were drawn throughout the time frame of the event.

E. Music was in the air for background of events. Speakers were set up with Christian artist recordings playing.

F. The setting for this event is important for people who are not a part of a church. It is intimidating for individuals who are unfamiliar with worship to feel comfortable here.

G. Created a display board to share activities and events that are available at the Vista Covenant church throughout the year.

H. Advertising the event! We used the local newspaper, local radio stations, flyers posted in the stores of the community, post cards mailed and handed out to people, door to door distribution

of flyers 5 to 6 days ahead of event.

In an effort to support and resource our conference's Town & Country churches, the NWC Town & Country Commission has decided to offer two grants each year. If your church is working on an outreach project and you need a little help to make it happen, check out our guidelines to see if you qualify for a little help from us! Then check in with Nancy King for an application, rudynancy.king@gmail.com.  

If you have questions, you can call Nancy at 651-271-3360 or talk to one of our other commission members, Kyle Kachlemeier, Brian Schanil, Tim Shekleton or Steve Thompson.

Guidelines for grant applications

• Only Northwest Conference Town & Country churches can apply.
• The church cannot receive funds from any other conference related initiative for the same project.
• The grant will not match more than 50% of the money needed for the project.
• The grant will amount to no more than $500.
• This will be a one-time award.
• The ministry needs to be outreach related or a ministry to the community that is being done by an individual NWC Town & Country church.
• This will be seed money for a new project or the expansion of a present ministry.
• The church will give the Town & Country Commission a testimonial article for the e-newsletter. This should include a couple pictures and could include a little video of the project.

Each year at Prairieview Covenant, New Richmond, WI, in late May we celebrate the end of the school year with an all church BBQ and Cov-Anapolis 500 race at one of our young couple's houses. They have a big field on their property that works well for a race track. We invite everyone in the church family to make a race car out of cardboard that they can race in. We offer an opportunity and supplies for those who want to make their cars at church ahead of time. At the end of the race we hand out certificates/prizes for the Biggest, Smallest, Fastest, Most Unique, Most Colorful cars. Here's our handout to families with a description of our race. Then we enjoy a BBQ!

The Cov-Anapolis 500

Come for BBQ and family fun!

The Cov-Anapolis is a fun activity that allows families to get together and build a cardboard race car together. The cardboard cars can be decorated any way your family sees fit. Just have fun!

On race day, each family team will need a driver and a "pit crew" (two or three family members or friends.) Each driver must wear either glasses or goggles and a pair of lace-up shoes with socks. The driver will run three laps around a track and will be required to make three pit stops. During the pit stops, the pit crew must:

First Pit Stop

Clean the windshield (glasses or goggles) with a spray bottle of water and a paper towel.  

Second Pit Stop

Change and rotate the tires (remove shoes, turn socks inside out, then replace and re-tie shoes.)

Third Pit Stop

Refuel (driver must drink 4 ounces of water out of a Dixie cup), then race to the finish line.)

No need to pre-qualify, just show up and have fun! See rules on building your race car below.

How to build and wear a Cov-Anapolis 500 car for the race:

1. Choose the right size card board box. 12-18" across, 12" high, 24-36" long works good.
2. Cut a 9"-10" hole in the closed side of the box for your head to go through.
3. Cut 4" holes on the two sides to put your arms through.
4. Make a windshield to put close to the hole for your head.
5. Make 4 wheels to put on the sides on either side of your arm holes. 4-5" radius works good.
6. Assemble with glue.
7. Decorate as desired ... colors, lights, stripes, numbers, license plates, etc.

We enjoyed talking with many of you at the Ministerium Annual Meeting and Northwest Conference Annual Meeting. Thank you for stopping by our table!

Do you have a great idea for a children's or youth fall kickoff? We want to highlight children and youth in our July e-newsletter. Email your kickoff ideas or questions to Nancy King at rudynancy.king@gmail.com

If you have an idea to share on any subject, email Nancy King.