West-Ark Newsletter, 19 February 2004

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Lines Newsletter, February 19, 2004
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I express my personal thanks to all who made our banner possible! To make it required enormous work by a lot of people! Ladies, thank you for all the time and skills you dedicated to it! Personal schedules had to be coordinated for months. Since it is so large, finding a place to work on it was not simple (this is a very used facility!). Hanging it from the rear balcony area was a major task (thanks Mark Hite, Denise Lusby, Martha Walker, Debbie Belote!). In such a large room, it is large enough to be seen, but not an "overpowering" display. It is simply a readable reminder as we leave our worship assemblies.

A few months ago our elders suggested to us as a congregation that our purpose statement be, "Making disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve others." That is a statement reflecting an understanding of our purpose as declared in Titus 2:14.

We exist to make disciples who follow Jesus. We seek to call people to Jesus as Lord and Christ. We want these people to enter Christ because they want to follow Jesus as their teacher. We want them to allow Jesus to guide them in a Christian lifestyle.

We exist to encourage every Christian to make discipleship in Jesus a core purpose in every area of personal life. We want every one of us to follow Jesus in the personal desire and commitment to allow him to remake us. We are to do more than seek to escape the consequences of our evil. We want Jesus to teach us how to live in ways that reflect God, our Creator, in our lives as we serve others to God's glory.

Our commitment to Christ is not a selfish commitment. Just as he lived, died, and was resurrected to serve, we as his followers want to have his eagerness to serve. Just as we benefit from Jesus' commitment to service, we want others to benefit from our commitment to service. Just as he became our Savior through giving and serving, we want to be his followers to God's glory through serving and giving.

Now, each week as we leave after assembling to praise and honor God for His gifts to us through Jesus, we are visually reminded to (1) be disciples of Jesus and (2) eagerly serve others. We want to be a people whom God can use to make differences in the lives of others and each other. We exist as God's people in order for God to use us for His purposes. That is our purpose just as it is Jesus Christ's purpose.

If we are on the journey to live with God as an eternal part of His family, a physical lifestyle can never define us, nor can this physical existence ever be our home. We seek the faith to be like Jesus in the ways we live and the courage to allow Jesus to be Lord.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**LTC Practice Schedule **
February 22
* 4:00 Junior High Bible Bowl
* 5:00 All Puppets
* 6:00 Elementary Drama
* 6:00 Junior High Drama

**LTC Choir**
* Senior High, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. every Sunday until we leave for Tulsa.
* Junior High, 3:00 - 4:00 every Sunday until we leave for Tulsa.

**LTC Bulletin Board**
The Bulletin Board group will meet Saturday, February 21st, 9 a.m. at the church building.

**Coming Events**
Dayton Church of Christ
Men's Prayer Breakfast
Saturday, March 6, 7:30 a.m.
For further information call Larry Bridges (996-2625).

Poteau Church of Christ
Ladies' Day
Saturday, April 3rd
Registration begins at 8:45
Guest Speaker: Billie Buchanan
of Waxahachie, Texas
Brunch will be served.
Dismissal at 12:30 p.m.

No Debt, No Sweat
A Free Financial Management
Seminar with Steve Diggs
Sunday, March 7, 6:00 - 8:45 p.m.
Monday, March 8, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Southside Church of Christ
919 S. Dixieland, Rogers, AR
For more information call 636-1156.

If you are married then this class is for you and your spouse! Dynamic Marriage is an eight-week interactive marriage class for couples who want deeper intimacy and commitment in their marriages.

The class is designed to:
* Fine Tune Good Marriages
* Strengthen Weak Marriages
* Heal Broken Marriages

Since May of 1998, 106 couples have completed the class facilitated at West-Ark by Paul Shirley and Mat Griffin. Paul and Mat are facilitators certified by Family Dynamics, Inc. Nationally, nearly 10,000 couples have attend "His Needs, Her Needs" classes. Ninety (90) percent of troubled couples who complete all the work experienced a turnaround in their marriage.

Getting married is the easy part; staying married, and happily so becomes the real challenge for many couples. Dynamic Marriage interactive course teaches people how to have a healthy marriage. The goal is not merely to educate, but to change behavior and teach couples to apply what they learn to their marriages.

Some of things couples learn in Dynamic Marriage are:
* How your Love Bank affects your relationship.
* What your most important Emotional Needs are.
* How to identify and meet each other's most important needs.
* Why most marriages don't survive perpetual Love Busters.
* How affairs begin, how they can be stopped, and how love can be restored.
* Why people commit to or abandon a relationship.
* How to build compatibility.
* How to maintain a mutually fulfilling relationship.

The cost for everything needed is $130.00. For those "returning couples" who wish to repeat the course, the cost is $60.00. Classes will meet weekly for 2 to 2 ½ hours and will require 3 to 4 hours of homework each week. Thank you Paul and Mat for helping make marriages that produce disciples for Jesus who are eager to serve others!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**In Our Thoughts and Prayers**
* Robin Murphy was in a car wreck Tuesday afternoon and required surgery to remove her spleen. She is in St. Edward 3117 ICU and expects to be there for a couple days.
* Ada Ferguson had amputation surgery Wednesday at Sparks Hospital.
* Doyle Wright's mother, Odessa, has pneumonia and is home with her daughter.
* Bobbye Ferrell's sister, Dorothy Manly, has been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration and is losing her sight rapidly.
* Helen Epton, Rebecca Holloway's mother remains in the hospital.
* Maile McDonald
* Marcia Dye's mother, Florence Hays

**Bereaved**
Our love and sympathy is extended to Flora Johnson in the death of her sister, Dorothy Hart. Funeral services are February 19 in Advance, Missouri.

Our love and sympathy is extended to the friends of Mildred Saxton who died Wednesday morning after a long illness. She was 90 years old. Visitation is Friday, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Edwards Funeral Home. Funeral services are Saturday, 10:00 a.m. at Edwards Chapel with burial at Forest Park Cemetery.

**Note of Thanks**
Dear Church,
During the holidays, you blessed us with money and food. You have no idea how much that helped us. During the holidays, I was out of work (non-paid, I'm a temp.) for several days, and we were looking at some hard days, indeed. God bless all of you and thanks.
A grateful sister & family,
Naomi McLinden

**CURE Work Night**
Men and women are needed Monday, February 23, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Windsor building. We also need men with trailers to haul off trash. See Bob Fisher or Kevin Vaught if you have questions.

**Teachers Needed**
Please call Robin Webber if you can fill any of these positions (783-8728).
* teacher for Wednesday night, age 3;
* helper for Wednesday night, age 2;
* teacher for Wednesday night, 1st grade;
* a teacher for Sunday mornings is also needed.

Carmike Cinemas in Fort Smith has offered special showings of "The Passion of the Christ" to church groups. West-Ark has reserved the theatre for Tuesday, February 24th at 9:30 P.M. The ticket offer ($5.00 each) was made by e-mail on Tuesday, and all tickets have already been reserved (we filled the theatre!)

* If you have reserved a ticket, you ~must complete~ your reservation at one of the tables set up in the foyer Sunday morning or Sunday evening (see Lynn, Myra, or Debbie).

West-Ark is not making a financial profit from the sale of the tickets. The only profit that interests us is the spiritual profit to believers and non-believers.

Please be aware that because this film promises to be a realistic and emotional portrayal of the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus, it will contain disturbing images.

Parents need to decide if their children are mature enough to see this movie. Everyone should determine their own level of sensitivity to the graphic content before seeing the movie. Simply keep in mind that as opposed to most movies, the violence is not intended to excite or entertain, but to emphasize the authenticity of the unspeakable suffering that our Savior endured on our behalf.
~~Chris Benjamin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's definitely that time of year. That's right! It's the time of year when students, especially seniors, begin to realize that procrastination doesn't work in the spring semester.

Students begin to realize that school really will be over before they know it. Projects need to be completed. Scholarship applications are due. Homework has to be finished. And yes, the ACT you have been avoiding since your sophomore year didn't go away...you still need to take it.

"Facing the music" brings about reality in a person's life. As you know, this happens in all avenues of life. It can happen physically, emotionally, educationally, spiritually, etc. And facing the music can be a great thing!

I am pleased to share with you some good news this week regarding some of our teens. This is also a time of year to be recognized for various accomplishments:

1) Daniel Word was recently recognized as a National Merit Finalist. This is a great accomplishment to go along with his score of 33 on the ACT. He has received a full-ride to Harding University as a result. Way to go Daniel!

2) Casey Benincosa and Brooke Cunningham, representing Greenwood High School's Beta Club, recently won the talent competition at the annual state-wide convention. They won with a Christian message. They will represent the State of Arkansas in a national competition to be held in Atlanta, Georgia in June. One of the songs they chose for their competition was "God's Army." Great job Casey and Brooke!

3) John Berger and Rachel Hall from Northside High School were recently recognized for their accomplishments in the Statewide Jazz Band competition. They both did really well and we are proud of them. Eighth grader, Lindsey Smith, was inducted into the National Honor Society at Ramsey Jr. High this past Thursday.

We are proud of all of our young people at West-Ark! As the spring quickly approaches and schedules continue to fill up, go ahead and mark your calendars now: Senior Graduation Services will take place at West-Ark on Sunday, May 23. I look forward to this special day.

**Attendance and Contribution Count**
Sunday AM   691
Bible Classes 467
Sunday P.M.   271
Small Groups 32
Wednesday P.M. 315
Contribution   $17,350
Children's Home   $255
The Way 51
Hispanic Attendance 44
Hispanic Contribution $114
Laotian Attendance   32
Laotian Contribution   $148

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------