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 Proclaim
Your Praise
Pastor Larry Bennett
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We rejoice in a great year at The Chapel.
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We rejoice in Sunday attendance equal to or greater than a year ago.
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We rejoice that our offerings are greater than our expenses.
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We rejoice in the positive, Spirit-filled attitude that exists at The Chapel.
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We rejoice in lives that were changed this year.
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We rejoice in those who made decisions to trust in Christ as Savior.
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We rejoice in a gracious, faithful God who has accomplished all of this.
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We rejoice in a great year at The Chapel.
Ward Snyder:
Praise God for my “best half”, Kathy. She began as a “super stepmother” (in the words of my mother) and she is a second Mom to hundreds of Hoover High School students. She wears no less than five separate hats at the high school. She also works at Chili’s Grill — she is sharp enough to run the place. She is a shining example of compassion and common sense. She is devouring the Word of God and is committed to obeying the Messiah. I know of no kinder-hearted woman. Several years ago she daily stayed with and finally watched her first-born son die. We know in a small way how God felt at Calvary.
Pam
Bil’le:
I have prayed that God would show me a church that my children would enjoy and one we would feel at home in. I attended a baby shower at The Chapel in January, 2003 and the moment I walked through the doors, I felt at home. My children love it here. Thank you for making us feel like family. God Bless!
Lu Baker
Deitz:
When morning gilds the sky, my heart in rapture sings, “May Jesus Christ be Praised!” Each day we are blessed with a new present, not only a gift from Him, but another day to honor and praise our Savior. How can I say “Thanks” for all the things that He has done for me — things so undeserved and yet they are mine?
I praise Him for life, health, breath and strength and the blessings of living in the best place in the world — America. I’m sure most of us are lax in our praises for His many blessings to us.
I thank God daily for bringing new friends across my path. (You know who you are, dear Jane, Pat, Charlie, Chuck, Bonnie, Glen and Jan. You have enriched my life so much this year.) I praise God for my family and keeping us all in the measure of health we have. Moment by moment we’re kept by His love.
I praise Him for being a part of The Chapel, it has meant much to me. “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. The dead cannot praise you as I do this day!, Oh Lord, Thou art my praise!” Isn’t it astonishing that the Creator of the universe came to be our companion and friend! Halleluiah, what a Savior!
“Gratitude is the Memory of the
Heart”
Diane Feller:
This has been another year of blessings because my God is so gracious. He has allowed many ups and downs, but I thank Him for my family having jobs and health. I praise him for one of my children living God’s Word, and am encouraging one to do the same. My job is great — I work with wonderful gals. The Lord gave me a love for animals and my dog, Jake, saved us from a fire. I praise God for my pastors, music, small group leaders, “building maintenance specialists” and church family. I am soooooo blessed and look forward with anticipation how I will be used in 2004.
Susan and Mark Michael:
Prior to our marriage, Mark and I were looking for a church that could meet the spiritual needs of our soon-to-be blended family (2 adults, 2 teenagers, 1 pre-teen). The enthusiasm from our kids after attending just one service with the Jr. High and Sr. High groups was like we had never seen before. As for Mark and I, the spiritual nurturing we have received from Larry’s sermons and the ABF class we attend has helped contribute to strengthening our marriage and family. Thank you, Chapel Family, for meeting all our spiritual needs.
Betty Kleyn:
My life is blessed by God in so many ways. This praise is for our Chapel choir. The Wednesday nights we spend in practice is true koinonia under the leadership of Brian. We are growing closer to being the people God wants us to be as we sing praises to His name.
Mike Rhoads:
Praise God for:
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Debts have been forgiven from college tuition and God seems to be opening doors for the mission field!
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4 youths received Christ one Friday night
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God has been multiplying His mercy, peace and love in my family
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God has been opening doors for me to preach in an inner city nursing home
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I have a job with benefits
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I am born again!
Anonymous:
In the year 2003, I lost two jobs. I was laid off from one and fired from the other. Being a widow makes it imperative for me to earn an income. I must trust my Lord to guide me to where He wants me. He will because He loves me.
 JOIN A CHAPEL HOME GROUP TODAY
New Groups Starting Soon!
The Purpose Driven Church Study continues with a 6-week study on discipleship entitled, Growing to be Like Christ. Sign-up is open to everyone. If you’ve never been in a Home Group but would like to learn more on what they’re about, please visit the Display Table in the Lobby or contact Pastor Mike McCartney at (330) 494-3419, ext. 306.
 Family Life Seminar - “What Parents Do Right”
Friday-Saturday, February 27-28
here at The Chapel in North Canton
Be watching for details in the bulletin and at the Family Ministries Display in the Lobby
Pastors Mike McCartney and Frank Yost are planning this year’s family life seminar aiming to help and encourage parents in raising kids in today’s culture! It may seem hopeless at times, but there is so much parents are doing right today! Both Pastors Mike and Frank are licensed in counseling and social work, and have years of practical experience with diverse family situations. There is no cost for this seminar -- it is FREE to everyone!
 The Chapel Commissions Brett Hoskins
to the Mission Field
With great joy and anticipation, The Chapel in North Canton commissioned our newest missionary, Brett Hoskins (Lioi) to serve aboard the
MV Doulos with
Operation Mobilization. Brett is 19 years old and a “product” of our 180 Student Ministries. Brett leaves on January 14, 2004 for two weeks of training in Germany and will then fly out to meet the ship at its current location. At latest report, the ship departed is berth in Durres, Albania on January 13, 2004 and is heading for its next port of call in Kotor, Montenegro. For more about this unique ship and its ministry, visit their website at mvdoulos.org. There you will also find a schedule of future ports of call. Join us as we pray for Brett and his family.
 Update on Yaroslavl - How God is Working in Russia
An update from your Missions Board
There have been some changes at the central church in Yaroslavl over the past several months. Alexander Karlov is their senior pastor now -- he works part-time while holding down another job. His associate pastor, Zhenya Kulikov, was one of the top graduates from the Bible school we participated in several years ago. As changes have occurred, the Missions Board likewise needed to review our involvement there. We have watched God bless our investment of money, time and prayer over the years in Yaroslavl, and we now have a well-established church in the center of Yaroslavl.
As our vision and purpose in Russia is to plant churches for the spread of the Gospel, we need to consider the potential for reaching yet another city, town or village in Russia (or a former Russian country) were there is no evangelical witness at all. In the coming months the Missions Board at The Chapel in North Canton will be prayerfully seeking a location to begin a new church plant in either Russia or Estonia. We will certainly keep you informed about our progress and trust you will be excited along with us about a new church beginning.
It’s a privilege to serve here at The Chapel knowing we’re a church who seeks to honor Christ by keeping His Great Commission.
Please note:
The following article was written by a missionary couple that is supported by The Chapel in North Canton. It is for their safety that we choose not to reveal their names.
“Failure”
 We’ve crossed the mid-point of our language study here in Taiwan, and some things become increasingly clear: learning this language is hard; sometimes it feels like beating your head against a wall, the Great Wall of Chinese, in this case. Progress is measured in inches, not yards. At this point, our success or (more often) failure, and much of our identity, is measured by our language ability. It’s our only real job for the present.
As we stumble along, we realize that many of the things that we relied on in the past are no longer within our grasp: the ability to be charming or articulate; the ability to drop by Dad and Mom’s house, or to see a friend; the failure to be pregnant. Even church can be a barren place since we fail to understand so much of the teaching or worship.
Before we left the US, our pastor preached a series on the flesh. God describes the flesh as the numerous things that we depend on — political power, military might, material goods, bank accounts, good health, intelligence, charm, our own ability and effort — all the things the world values most. Even religious activity and effort are easily done in the flesh. Without realizing it, we place our hope in these things and even take pride in them. Pride and the flesh are joined at the hip.
Perhaps we are in a line of work that is especially vulnerable to spiritual pride. In this business, pride and stubbornness can prop you up for quite awhile; the fruits of the spirit aren’t that hard to fake to everyone except your wife and kids. But lately our pride has taken a direct hit. Failure is a little too friendly. It’s hard for us to let go of these things that look so good, and make us look good. It seems we need help in prying our fingers loose, and failure strips the flesh away, right down to the bare bones. Down in the bottom of the mine, scraping around among these bare bones of things, we start to remember what really matters, and what really doesn’t. Visions of glory and grandeur quickly evaporate. “Apart from Him, we have no good thing.”
Lest this sound too depressing, we actually see this as a healthy, if not always pleasant, exercise. And hopefully this doesn’t make it sound like we’ve arrived -- that would be terribly misleading. All this just brings us back to reality -- the reality of how desperately we are in need of His daily grace.
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