Christus Victor Lutheran Church

Summer time is coming to Minnesota, with vacations, trips, summer camp, and all of the other activities we love.  Make worship a regular part of your summer activities, to continue to stay connected and growing in faith!

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP at 9:30am!

3 WEDNESAY NIGHT SUMMER RECHARGE Services– 7:00pm

JUNE 20

JULY 18

AUGUST 22

***WE NEED YOUR HELP!***

We’d like to have some special fellowship events on Wednesday nights with Recharge, but we need your help!  If you are interested and willing to help, we’re looking for:  COOKS/GRILL MASTERS, ICE CREAM SUNDAE MAKERS, FIRE MAKERS/S’MORE experts, and HELPERS IN GENERAL.

If you are interested and willing to put in some time and energy to make this summer a time for a spiritual Recharge and fun for our community, please contact Pastor Kent at (952) 454-6927!

Come join us in worship and hear the finale of

Senior Choir, Upward Call, Rock Band, and JIFY!

We’ve got an awesome co-ed softball team who are playing on Friday nights in Apple Valley at the Johnny Cake Ridge fields (off of Johnny Cake and 140^th).  Got some questions about what this is all about?  Well here are some answers… 

Meet Matt Zarras, Coach:

 What is our team’s name?  The CV God Squad

Where are the games played?  All games are played at Johnny Cake Ridge Park in Apple Valley

How many members on our team?  We have 19 members from CV

Limited to members of CV? Or open to others, too?  For now only members of CV

What league will the team play in? We are playing in the City of Apple Valleys softball league

How long does the season run?  Summer season goes from Apr 27 to the beginning of August

How can others not playing on the team get involved?  We would love to have people come to the games and support the team. We are going to be selling fan shirts soon too for people to show their team spirit. We will also be having a BBQ for church members before a few games this season- stay tuned for more info on that

What prompted you to start a team?   I’ve grown up with this church and seen many things come and go and I had a softball team that had a few members of CV on it already and I thought this would be a great way to get people involved and something to help connect people. I know some people prefer to be in choirs or do bible study and others are more active and would like to do something a bit different and I thought softball would be a great option for members to engage in fellowship with others while also being out in the community

Have you done something like this before? I have been managing softball teams for 8 seasons now.

What did you learn from that similar experience that will come in handy here?  It’s has to be about having fun and winning second because people who are willing to go out and try something they may never have done before don’t want to feel like they’ve let you down and you don’t want to make people discouraged. If you are trying and having fun that’s what it is all about.

What do you and others on the team hope to gain from this experience?  That getting together in fellowship with other members of church can be a lot of fun! Plus by openly stating we are a church team I would hope we get some people possibly interested in attending the church with such a “cool” softball team I hope it might make them wonder. What else the church would have to offer for them.

What is the game schedule?  Double headers every Friday night:

Newsletter May 2012

This is a special plea for help in the Nursery.  Approximately 8 families currently use the Nursery on a regular AND irregular basis and all of those families are making a point to “help.”  To share the love, we’d like several more adults to sign up to help.

 It’s as easy as walking in the door and spending an hour with beautiful children.

 However, as we become aware of how we need to protect our children, there are some requirements.

• The “staff” attendants for the CV Nursery are high school youth; therefore, at least one “adult” must be present if there are ANY children to care for.
• Anyone helping with children in the Nursery must complete and pass a background check, as outlined by the Church staff and council.  Blank forms are available from the office, in the Nursery and at the Children & Family and Worship & Music bulletin boards. It takes just a few days to receive background check results.  Simply drop it off, mail or fax (952-454-0300) it to the CV Office.
• Anyone who has passed a background check for other activities (i.e., Faith Trek, VBS, etc.) has completed the requirements.

 Among those children who are often in the Nursery, we are unable to predict when and/or how often there will be children to care for in the Nursery.  If there is “one” or more, an adult must be present; if there is none, the volunteer adult isn’t needed, but we still need to have someone scheduled.

 We truly need your help and would appreciate it if you could occasionally find one hour to be the “adult” in the Nursery.  Watching our children “grow” is a gift from God, as are the children.  If you know of anyone else who might be interested in helping, they should sign up on the schedule at the Worship & Music bulletin board or contact any of the team leaders.

 Please help!  As always, let us know if there are any questions or suggestions.

 Janice Johnston

Joyful Servants Coordinator

952-432-6452 / jjj2@charter.net

For some, it’s the stories about struggle that resonate most. For others, it’s a tale of abuse, addiction or loss that grabs opens their heart.

Over the course of three days, kids who attend Minnesota Metro Lutheran Teens Encounter Christ weekend walk away with a deeper relationship with God and a better understanding of where to find Him in their everyday lives.

Started 25 years ago, Minnesota Metro Lutheran Teens Encounter Christ is a peer-led retreat aimed at bringing youth (9^th grade through 1 year post high school) together to explore their faith, experience God’s Love and develop a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  “At TEC, kids share their personal stories and show how through different things going on in their lives, Christ has been there for them,” Paula Nierengarten, one of the adult volunteers at Christus Victor who has long been involved with TEC. “When kids come back from TEC weekend, most have a better relationship with God and they learn to look for Him in the little places.”

The weekend begins at 4p.m. on a Friday afternoon, known at camp as “Die Day.” That first day serves as a time of personal reflection. Saturday is Easter, “Rise Day” – a celebration of the newness of life through Christ’s resurrection. Sunday is “Go Forth Day,” where participants prepare to go home and meet the challenges of sharing Christ with those around them.  While some might think of TEC as just another bible camp, Nierengarten has seen firsthand the impact TEC can have on youth.

“All of us come to the table with different opinions and ideas about what our faith is,” Nierengarten says. “To begin to evangelize about your faith and what you believe, you have to do it in a safe environment because otherwise, you could be shut down right way. TEC provides that sort of safe environment.

The kids that walk in reluctant to explore their faith, or perhaps unsure of what they believe, leave with a fresh perspective and an open heart. TEC helps them build up confidence in their faith and figure out how they can share God’s word with others, Nierengarten said. By the time the weekend is over, most of the kids are ready and willing to share that faith with others.  Many walk away with such a high level of confidence, that they return to the church leaders; helping with communion, leading at Sunday School and volunteering more time with the younger kids of the congregation at Vacation Bible School.

“These kids figure out their faith, share their faith, do deeper bible studies and become leaders in the congregation,” Nierengarten said. “Those are the kids that keep our youth programs alive.”

Privileged to help train and coach the Christus Victor Youth Ministry team!

 Kids are too busy to participate? Not true! Busyness creates emptiness. Busy kids are often the most spiritually hungry kids. Kids make time for what is most meaningful, and gives purpose.

 Ministry is built on relationships. God became flesh and dwelt among us. (Jn 1.14)  It is in the caring, welcoming and affirming acts of others gives an understanding of God’s Love. We love because Christ first loved us. (I Jn. 4:9)

 Expand and deepen ministry? How? We train and equip relational faith people. That is why Christus Victor’s youth ministry is growing. The math is simple. If you have one person doing all the relational work, you end up with 4 to 8 kids. That is a person’s relational capacity for keeping up with people on a weekly basis. So, we have trained some dedicated youth and amazing adults in Peer Ministry Leadership who now are leading WED night high school gathering. The numbers are up, and new depth added. As kids are learning and being led by other kids who can pray, lead faith life discussions, and open a Bible to explore. Kids listen to kids! They are real people modeling out an every day, everywhere and every relationship kind of faith.

Applaud! Encourage! Ask about candle times! about Grace Place!  about Faith and Life discussions!  Most of all get to know a young person you have not met yet. Care, welcome and affirm that young person. They are not too busy. Especially if they have not gotten a chance to get to know you!