Pesky People Are Focus of Upcoming Message Series

People can be pests! Do you know anyone who is rude, arrogant, opinionated, selfish, angry, or mean? Maybe they live next door, or even in your home! The Bible says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22).

Easier said than done. Do you know how to react the right way when someone bugs you, pesters you, or just plain torments you? That’s what we’ll learn about in an eight-week series that begins Sunday morning, May 18, entitled “You Bug Me!”

Baptism Ceremony Planned for May 18

The Bible says that “Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” Jesus calls us to do the same. We will have a baptism ceremony on Sunday, May 18, immediately following the 11:00 a.m. service.

When you ask Jesus to forgive you and believe in Him, God washes you clean of all your sins, past, present, and future. Baptism is a symbol of what’s taken place in your soul by the grace and power of God. If you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you and you wish to be baptized, call HVCC at 930-4822. If you have questions about baptism, please pick up one of our brochures in the lobby.

Send Us Pictures of Your Graduates

We will have a short graduation tribute video on Sunday, June 1. We would like pictures of kids graduating from kindergarten, eighth grade, high school, or college. Pictures need to be to us by May 25. E-mail photos to Carla Pustina, worship@hiddenv.com or put them into her communication folder at the back of the auditorium.

Help Us to Share Flowers and Smiles on Mother’s Day

CSI (Christian Service Ignited) needs men, women, and children to help deliver flowers, smiles, and conversation to women in our area nursing homes on Saturday, May 10, at 10:00 a.m. We will meet to assemble the flowers at church at 9:00 a.m. that day. Children are welcome to attend and help us hand out the flowers! We should be done around 11:00 a.m. To help out with this small service that will have a big impact, contact Rae Ann Butteris at timnrae@hotmail.com.

In June, CSI plans to host a rummage sale in which everything will be 25 cents. We will be selling our gently used items to needy families of Iowa County. If you are spring cleaning and wish to set aside gently used items, we will have a drop-off location available in June, so be watching for times and the place to donate.

Penny Drive Continues Through the End of May

Have you noticed the big water jug on our HVCC Info Desk filling up with cash and coins? The CSI drive to collect money for the Dodgeville Free Clinic continues through this month. Volunteers at the new clinic are serving our community with free health care, but they often run short on funds for equipment and medicines. That’s where we can help. It will take a lot of coins to fill that five-gallon water jug, and we would like to fill not one container but two. Recently our Promiseland children filled a quarter of the jug in a single day! Bring in your change and be a part of something really big!

Summer Activities Return at HVCC

We are looking for volunteers to help us mix lemonade and gather supplies for Summer Suppers, our weekly potluck get-togethers at Harris Park in Dodgeville. Summer Suppers will begin in June on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in the picnic shelter next to Bennett Road. We always have a relaxing time of food and good conversation, often with a weekly theme to make things more fun. Contact Travis Clark, tclark@hiddenv.com, if you can help.

Would you and your friends like to play in a summer volleyball league at Harris Park? We’re trying to organize a fun league that will start in June and run for six to eight weeks. Contact Travis Clark if you’re interested, and watch for more information soon.

Transform Your Life with First Place

First Place is a Christ-centered health and nutrition program for men and women of all ages. It offers a support system that incorporates Bible study, Scripture memorization, prayer, and balanced eating and exercise plans.

Hidden Valley will offer First Place in June on Wednesday nights at 6:00. Child care will be provided. The group will meet informally starting May 7 to exercise and get to know each other until the upgraded membership kits arrive in June. If you are interested in this life-changing program, contact us by e-mail at hvcc@hiddenv.com or by phone at 930-4822.

Benefit Planned for Blane Greene

The family of Blane Greene is organizing a fund-raising spaghetti supper to help him to pay medical bills. Blane was seriously injured in a car accident last year. The dinner and silent auction will be Friday evening, May 23, from 4:00 to 7:30. If you would like to contribute for supplies or help at the event, contact Jill Faull, 623-2613, jillfaull@hotmail.com.

Treasure Island Kids Series Continues to May 25

Ahoy! Our new Promiseland Kids Church series began April 27. No boy or girl in grades K-5 will want to miss it! It’s called Treasure Island, and it’s designed to give your child a heart for giving. This series is part of the Living Inside Out curriculum by Group Publishing. It emphasizes how Jesus helps us live, changed by Him from the inside out.

The Bible lessons in this fun-filled program help children learn what God says about giving. It also puts Sunday-morning learning into practice all week long. Promiseland Kids Church runs during both services each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Come and bring your sea-faring friends!

Spring is Sprung, Summer’s Coming in Promiseland!

The Promiseland Kids Church summer session begins June 1 and runs through Labor Day weekend, and Promiseland will be offered during BOTH Sunday morning services. We look forward to an action-packed summer of music, games, and fun learning activities with guest leaders Leah Riedmiller, Kelly Riedmiller, and Shaleigh Sugden. These ladies love kids and are experienced children’s ministry leaders. Both Leah and Shaleigh are studying youth ministry at Emmaus College in Dubuque, Iowa.

Parents, you can help make our kids’ program great by serving one week, once a month, or once in a while. If you have talent or time to share on Sunday mornings or during the week, call Hilary Kleese at 574-0535, or email thkleese@mhtc.net to let us know what YOU’d like to do to get involved in Promiseland for the summer. We hope to see you soon!

Teens Energized at Youth Conference

Ten teens and their adult leaders from HVCC’s high school group traveled to Chicago April 11-13 to attend a youth conference hosted by Dare2Share ministries, whose mission is energizing and equipping teenagers to know, live, share, and own their faith in Jesus. Two members of the HVCC group accepted Christ as their savior that weekend, and two more committed to allowing God to use them more. The high school group recently changed its name to Amped Teen Ministry – living louder, stronger, and deeper (1 Tim. 4:12).

To read more about Dare2Share Ministries, check out their website: www.dare2share.org/about/.

Middle School Group Activities Planned

Our HVCC middle school youth group watched Facing the Giants April 13, and on April 27 we created incredible cat toys for the Iowa County Humane Society. In May, we will only meet on May 25 due to Mother's Day.

Friday, June 6 is our Middle School Youth Group Lock-In. We will stay overnight at the church, with pizza, games, and movies provided. Registration for the lock-in will be Friday from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. at church, with pickup Saturday morning by 8:30 a.m. Watch for details via your e-mail. Summer youth group will be meeting monthly; watch your e-mail and e-news for more info on summer activities.

Small Groups Blossoming at Richland Center

Small group participation at HV-Richland Center in April jumped from just over a dozen people to more than 70, due mainly to Financial Peace University and First Place. First Place now has 20 participants and meets at the Symon's Recreational Center. Three Financial Peace groups are making a tremendous impact on many lives. A men's study now meets over lunch hour, utilizing the great cooking skills of Hernam Christian. And our Wednesday night group continues, with participation in the double digits weekly. We held our first 201 and 301 classes during April as well.

Our HV-RC teen group is going through "Generation Change" by Dave Ramsey. One of our April highlights was a single night's attendance of 12 in our high school group and 7 in our middle school group. The middle schoolers will soon begin to raise funds for a missions trip next summer through Youth With a Mission (YWAM). We are in the planning stages of trying to bring a band to our auditorium for a concert at the end of July, with our own worship team playing as the opening act. Proceeds will go toward the mission trip.

Coming in May at HV-Richland Center:

• May 3: Our youth are hosting a brat stand during the city-wide garage sales.
• May 4: Class 101
• May 6: Church league softball begins. Games are every Tuesday night and will run the rest of the summer.
• May 10: Movie time, featuring Alvin and the Chipmunks
  Watch for future announcements. 

How We're Doing

Following are some numbers that we track on a regular basis to help us to gauge our church’s health and progress.

May, 2008
First-time visitors: 13
Second-time visitors: 11
Third-time visitors: 10

Asked Jesus to forgive me: 3
Recommitted my life to Jesus: 3

Monthly Giving
Tithe $19,931 (budgeted $30,276)
2nd Mile (building) $2,286 (budgeted $4,000)
Benevolence $190 (not budgeted)
Other $1,801 (budgeted $500)
Total $24,208 (budgeted $34,776)