Newsletter for September 30, 2026

Join us as we explore what God’s Word teaches
 us about living faithfully, putting God first,
and making our lives count for His glory.

Supper begins at 6:00 PM, followed by our Family Night study. Come enjoy a meal, fellowship, and discover the stories behind the songs we sing!

Chicken and Dumplings, Peach Salad, and Dessert 

Join us for a relaxing fall train ride between Nashville and Willacoochee, Georgia!
Come enjoy the beautiful fall scenery and foliage on a 2-hour round-trip train ride. It will be a great day to relax, enjoy time together, and take in the sights of fall!

Saturday, October 24
Tickets: $34 per person

Our plan is to purchase tickets for the 10:00 AM train ride. We will leave the church at 8:15 AM and stop for lunch together after the train ride.

If the 10:00 AM ride is sold out, we will try to purchase tickets for the 1:00 PM ride instead. If we take the 1:00 train, we will eat lunch together before the ride.

Important!
We will be purchasing our tickets on October 5, so please sign up and turn in your $34 before then to make sure we can purchase your ticket.

Sign up in your Sunday School class.
Please see Sue Mastrario or Jonathan to turn in your money or if you have any questions.
Come enjoy a beautiful fall day of Fellowship & Fun!

Last year, our church family distributed goodie bags during the Ashburn Halloween Open House—and this year, we’re planning to reach even more families!

Each bag will include candy, information about our church, and the plan of salvation, making this an incredible opportunity to share the love of Christ with our community.

If you or your Sunday School class would like to help, you can donate candy or money for supplies. Please drop donations off outside Jonathan’s office by Sunday, October 25.

Together, let’s shine the light of Jesus on a night when so many families are out and about in our community!

The Finance Committee will begin working on the budget for the upcoming year on October 18. All committee chairs, please submit your budget requests to Allen Whitehead or Nikki no later than October 14.

Thank you for helping us prepare for the upcoming budget year!

Don’t miss Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotions.
New messages are posted every Wednesday on our media page—take a midweek moment to be encouraged and refreshed in God’s Word.

Budget for 2026 . . . . . . . .  $363,528.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . $276,846.18
Received to Date . . . . . . .   $216,690.74 
Needed for weekly budget . . . $6,990.92
Tithes Received this week . . .  $5,260.94
State Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . $535.00

If you have read many of my articles, I’m sure you have read about my eccentric golden retriever. One of his unique abilities is how hyper-aware he is of everything around him. One story you may have heard is how he refused to go into the bathroom for three days because we changed the color of the shower curtain. Another time, he wouldn’t eat his food because Saskia got a treadmill and we put it next to where he eats. Nothing was wrong with his food. The treadmill wasn’t running. It was simply something different, and he noticed it immediately.

The funny thing is, while he seems to notice everything around him, we can sometimes go through life hardly noticing our surroundings, especially the people around us.

We get busy. We have places to go, things to get done, messages to answer, and appointments to keep. We can walk past the same people, sit beside them at church, work with them, or even live in the same house with them and never stop long enough to notice that something has changed.

One thing that stands out to me about Jesus is that He noticed people. He was surrounded by crowds. People constantly wanted something from Him, and He certainly had important things to do. Yet Jesus never became so focused on where He was going that He failed to see the people along the way.

In Mark 10, Jesus was leaving Jericho with a large crowd when a blind man named Bartimaeus began crying out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The people around him told him to be quiet, but Bartimaeus cried out even louder. Then Mark gives us three simple words that we should pay close attention to: “And Jesus stopped” (Mark 10:49).
Jesus could have easily had the excuse that He had somewhere else to go, or that other people around Him needed Him. He had plenty of reasons to keep moving. But Jesus noticed someone who needed Him, and He stopped.

How many opportunities do we miss simply because we don’t stop? How many people around us need encouragement, a conversation, a prayer, or simply someone to notice that they are struggling?

We don’t have to notice every little change as my golden retriever does. I’m perfectly fine walking into the bathroom without first examining the shower curtain. But as we reflect Jesus, we must become a little more aware of the people God has placed around us.

This week, slow down. Look around. Put the phone down for a minute. Pay attention to the people you encounter. Ask someone how they are doing, and take the time to actually listen to the answer. You never know when simply noticing someone may give you an opportunity to show them the love of Christ.