Audit Committee:

Chris Harmsen
John Morgan

Christian Education Committee:

Nicole Harmsen
Jackie Morgan
Mark Tinnes
Michaela Tinnes
Brian Wilson

Decorating Committee:

Cheryl Bohn
Kay Gates
Kendra Gingerich

Music Committee:

Steve Bohn
Lori Carroll
Bonnie Donnolly
Greg Dunbar
Janine Rosien

Social Committee:

Steve and Cheryl Bohn (JAN-MAR)
Steve and Andi Klein (APR-JUNE)
John and Jackie Morgan (JULY-SEPT)
Mark and Cheryl Tinnes (OCT-DEC)

Miscellaneous Positions:

Special Events/Funeral Coordinator – Nancy Wilson

Food Coordinator (i.e. hospital, newborns, etc.) – Veronica Dunbar

Nursery Coordinator – Carli Robison

Head Usher – Steve Donnolly

Church Librarian – Julie Tinnes

IRBC Messenger – Steve Bohn

Please pray for these individuals as they serve you and our church in 2015!

And now for “the rest of the story”…

I hope I left you wondering…”What was he talking about? What could it possibly be? It probably is not as big of a deal as he is making it out to be.” Well, I promise you…it is! Last week, I ended part one with a picture of Julia and I holding the broken pieces of what used to be a beautiful picture of our lives. We were gasping for air because…here is our slip-up…we had stopped relying on God. You see…we had spent all of last summer depending on Him, seeking Him, and growing in Him. God drove the ball the whole way up the field, but in the end we wanted to run the ball into the end zone for our own glory.

I remember one particularly difficult Sunday, we had hit rock bottom, and we couldn’t take it anymore. “Where was God?”…I asked myself. But sitting in the front row, with my head in my hands, I knew it wasn’t God; it was me who had gone astray. I knew right then and there I needed to rely on Him again. As soon as I realized this truth, the long road to recovery began (that’s right, most of the time it takes more than just one quick prayer for everything to be fixed).

After the message that particular Sunday, Pastor Dave pulled me aside and encouraged me greatly by being open and honest with me about his own struggles in his own life and ministry. After that, Julia and I began discussing ways we were failing in our own relationship with God and the actions we needed to take to make it right again. There were various people I thought I was disappointing, but instead they showed me more grace than I could ever imagine. To top it all off, while visiting my former church, the pastor preached from the book of Hosea and God used that message to show me that He wanted me to repent right where I was and He wanted to forgive me too! A huge burden had been lifted and I began relying on Him again. We are far from perfect, but He is still working in our lives.

Now I know some of you are saying, “That wasn’t a big slip-up…I knew it was going to be something small. Everyone stops relying on God at some point.” This is true, we all lose sight of God, BUT the biggest lie we can tell ourselves is that “it’s no big deal.” Losing sight of God and glorifying ourselves is a big deal and it leads to all kinds of other sins! Romans 3:23 says that sin is falling short of God’s glory (check, I did that) and Romans 14:23 says everything not proceeding from faith is sin (uh…check, did that too). We are nothing without God; and the worst possible place to be is in the realm of self-sufficiency, where we forget or refuse to continually seek Him. Even our good works are not our own (cf. Eph. 2:10). They are God’s works performing through us. Simply put…without Him, our works are nothing and our lives are nothing.

A Quick Word from Pastor Dave:

Prairie Flower, choose to fully rely upon God. We call this faith. And choose to constantly seek His face even in moments of physical strength, mental clarity, and emotional stability…because, believe it or not, it’s in those moments that we need Him the most! We love you Prairie Flower…stay strong!

Whew! The fall semester of my senior year at Faith Baptist Bible College has arrived! It has been a crazy journey from the get-go and I knew it would be. Between 18 credits, being in the Army National Guard, playing basketball, being married, and serving at my new amazing church…it has been a mad house to say the least. However, through it all, God has been so good and so gracious to me and Julia, even despite our “slip-up”.

“Oh, you had a slip-up?”…you might ask. “Why didn’t any of us hear about this?” Well, that’s why I am blogging about it…You see, Julia and I fell into one of the biggest traps of being in the ministry, and I, as the husband, take full responsibility for it. Looking back now, I am so glad the Lord showed us our mistake early on; and we are so grateful that He is still working in our lives to deal with it. I hope you might be thinking, “Wow! This sounds serious!” Well…it is.

During the summer, when we knew there was a possibility of serving at Prairie Flower, we had no idea what to think. Is this really where God wants us? In Iowa? In a growing church? In youth? The list of questions and doubts began pouring out of us like a dam that had burst. We knew what we had to do. We had to put our trust in God and focus on Him. We began preparing, fervently praying every day, digging into God’s Word, and asking Him to give us clarity, insight, and wisdom. We began preparing lessons, filling out paperwork, and meeting with the church leaders. By God’s grace, it went smoother than I could have ever imagined. It was all because of the Lord. Before we knew it, we were voted in and accepted into the church. Things were better than good, they were perfect.

That’s when it happened. It snuck up on me so fast that I felt like I was in the middle of an ambush back in Afghanistan! I couldn’t figure out what was going on. My Sunday School lessons were lacking, we weren’t connecting with people like we had at the beginning, we were exhausted, and I felt sick just getting up in front of the congregation to give announcements. What had happened?! I felt like I was drowning in an ocean…and the only thing I had to keep me from sinking into the deep, dark depths below was a pool noodle. What was I going to do?!…

Check out the blog next week to hear “the rest of the story”…

On Sunday, December 7, 2014, at a special business meeting of the church, Prairie Flower Baptist Church voted on a new set of officers for the 2015 year. Out of a total of 89 ballots cast, your new elected officers are as follows:

For the position of Deacon:

Klint Gingerich
Brian Wilson

Thus, your new PFBC Deacon Team is comprised of the following individuals: Darwin Carroll, Steve Bohn, Will Luers, Klint Gingerich, and Brian Wilson.

For the position of Clerk:

Mike York

For the position of Financial Secretary:

Steve Donnolly

For the position of Treasurer:

Duane Davis

For the position of Sunday School Superintendant:

Mark Tinnes

A Quick Word on the Strategic Planning Meeting:

The Strategic Planning Meeting that will be in session on January 3, 2015 from 9 AM – 5 PM is for the pastor, pastoral intern, and deacons only. This meeting is NOT for the congregation at large. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the way forward and to get your leadership team on the same page. Please pray for us as we convene.

Below you will find the new spring schedule for our pastoral intern, Jon Rocha. These are the dates that he will be available to minister and serve our church by means of ministering and serving our youth:

January 3 and 4
January 16, 17, and 18 – Winter Meltdown at IRBC

January 31 and February 1
February 14 and 15 – Movie/Game Night at Church

March 7 and 8
March 21 and 22
March 27, 28, and 29 – Teen Lock-In

April 16, 17, 18, and 19 – Faith Baptist Bible College Leadership Summit (Sr. High Only)
April 25 and 26

May 3 – Special Business Meeting to vote on Jon Rocha as the first full-time Associate Pastor of PFBC
May 16 and 17 – Preaching
May 23 and 24 – Preaching

*Please Note: In regards to the youth group activities mentioned, please consult my earlier blog entitled, “Prairie Flower Youth Group Activities” for further details on these events.

Also, Jon and Julia have decided to go above and beyond what they are required to do and attend one Wednesday night per month. Below are the Wednesday nights they plan on attending AWANA:

Wednesday, January 21
Wednesday, February 11
Wednesday, March 25
Wednesday, April 8

Dear friends, please carefully look at the above dates and consider if you would be available to host Jon and Julia Rocha in your home. They would need a place to stay on Saturday and lunch on Sunday. This would be an excellent way for you to get to know our new pastoral intern and his wife. A sign-up sheet will be available soon for you to sign up for an exact date. Please sign up if you are interested in hosting.