Now Playing at HVCC: Game On! Leading at a Higher Level

Who has had the greatest influence in your life? Parents? Teacher? Pastor? Boss? Child? Friend? We all can look back on our lives and see people who influenced us for either good or bad.

Whether you realize it or not, you will influence people all your life! That’s leadership. Leadership is influence. Your life leaves a mark on the lives of people all around.

In this message series, we’re talking about how to have a positive impact on the people in our lives. Visit hiddenv.com for dates for messages on FOCUS, MOMENTUM, SKILLS and POWER. As we start the new year, this may be the perfect time for you to learn how to lead at a higher level. We hope you’ll join us, and invite friends or family members interested in this topic to come along!

Get Involved! Get In the Game!

Our current message series Game On talks about leading at a higher level. The first step is getting in the game. The thrill of cheering your team on to victory isn’t nearly as exciting as getting out of the bleachers and taking your place on the field.

At HVCC, the goal we’re pursuing is more thrilling and has eternal impacts like no NFL playoff game ever will. We’re here to join God in His work of truly changing lives. Get in this game. Here are a few ideas that might be the right next step for you:

• Invite a friend, neighbor or family member to join you at church this Sunday. There are invitation cards in the lobby, or send an e-vite invitation from hiddenv.com.
• Discover Life in the Valley at Class 101 coming up this month. This is also our new membership class. To sign up, call the church office at 930-4822 (HVCC)
• Discover new friendships and a deeper relationship with God through life-changing Small Groups.
• Join our Greeter Team and be part of making our guests feel welcome one Sunday service each month. You’ll be a key “message before the message” in this way.
• Join our TLC (Tender Loving Cooking) team and volunteer to make a meal for someone in need
• Look for upcoming FUN movie nights and other fellowship opportunities to get to know others at HVCC
• Join our CSI (Community Service Ignited) and make an impact on the local community
• Explore a new serving opportunity by checking out the How Can I Serve section of hiddenv.com, or by contacting our church office at 930-HVCC to let us know where you’d like to get plugged in.

You have unique God-given gifts and a purpose that can make a tremendous impact on those around you. When you get in the game, you move from spectator to team player, with an ownership stake in the game. For more information about upcoming opportunities to get involved, call us or email us at hvcc@hiddenv.com.

New Staff Position to Be Added

HVCC has begun a search for candidates for the new staff position of Connections Director. The person in this role will help us to get people who attend HVCC connected in a meaningful way to God and to other Christians for the purpose of ministry, spiritual growth, and fellowship/friendship.

The connections director will develop and maintain a fully functioning small groups program with the goal of having enough groups for every single attender. This person will also develop a ministry involvement system to guide volunteers into the core ministries of HVCC with the goal of 100% of all members involved in ministry

Other areas of oversight for this position will be coordinating fun fellowship events; supervising the greeter ministry; supervising ministry coaches; and coordinating visitation efforts.

Jacobus Family Following God’s Call to Texas

The first family to sign on with Brian and Cherie at Hidden Valley is now following God’s call to a new ministry. Adam and Adrienne Jacobus, who were the first new members of Hidden Valley’s launch team back in 1997, will be moving soon in response to a call for Adam to become the Youth Director of Student Impact Ministries at Cibolo Creek Community Church in Boerne, Texas, near San Antonio.

For the past 11 years, Adam has served as full-time area director for the Youth for Christ ministry in Spring Green and the River Valley area. During that time, Adam and Adrienne have opened their home and shared God’s love with hundreds of teens from the area, including many from Dodgeville.

At Hidden Valley, they have served in many ways – according to Adam, “from nursery to the pulpit, and everything in between!” Adam was our long-time Announcement Guru and oversaw the weekly offering count; Adrienne served as church treasurer from the beginning until just last year. Both have served our youth programs in various ways and through their many contributions have touched the lives, directly or indirectly, of everyone who has attended HVCC.

Adam will begin his new duties Jan. 14. The move reunites him with Cibolo’s senior pastor Paul Wilson, a former colleague of Adam’s on the pastoral staff at High Point Church in Madison. Cibolo Creek, or C4 for short, is very similar in mission and style to Hidden Valley. The Jacobus family’s relocation plans are still pending.

Take an Important Step Toward Securing Your Financial Future!

Start the new year right! Beginning in March, HVCC will be offering multiple Groups that will be using a curriculum called Financial Peace University (FPU). FPU is a 13-week, life-changing program that teaches you how to make the right money decisions to achieve your financial goals. FPU is for everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed. On average, families that have participated in FPU have paid off more than $5300 in debt and saved $2700 during this program. Throughout 2007, many HVCC families were involved in the initial FPU Groups. Every family has experienced life change in the way they relate to finances, their spouse and ultimately to God.

How do you get started? Let us know you are interested in participating by writing “FPU” on your welcome card or calling the church office at 930-4822(HVCC) or emailing hvcc@hiddenv.com. For more information about this Group visit the FPU website at www.daveramsey.com.

News from HVCC-Richland Center

by Jamie Johnson

What a year 2007 was for HVCC-Richland Center! First, due to some ups and downs during the pre-launch phase, there was the very real possibility that by the end of the year we wouldn’t even exist. Fortunately, we had a great core team that was committed to making Hidden Valley’s first video venue work. Brian did a tremendous job of just listening and praying, and things began to take off in a great way.

In the spring Mark Ravis decided he could no longer keep up with the demands of serving as part-time pastor along with his full-time job in Madison. Jamie Johnson then left his teaching position to take on the role of full-time site director. One of Jamie’s first jobs was to find a location for an official launch. The old downtown auditorium became the location, and with much hard work and a new sound and light system, HVCC-RC was ready for its October launch.

Pre-launch attendance had averaged 35 to 55, but 176 people came to HVCC-RC’s grand opening, and for weeks after that, Sunday attendance stayed over the 100 mark. Since our launch, 12 people have decided to make Jesus the leader of their lives, and many more have recommitted their lives to him.

We can’t wait to see what God has planned for Richland Center and the whole Hidden Valley community. We have so many great stories already. We ask that you continue to pray for the leadership, that they stay in tune with God, so that his will be done.

Upcoming Richland Center Activities
January 12: Men’s night at the church. There will be card playing and a Packer video playing throughout the night on the big screen in honor of the Packers making the playoffs.
February 1-3: Men’s retreat at Sky Lodge in Montello, Wisconsin, entitled “Men on a Mission.” The weekend will include basketball, volleyball, and broomball tournaments, as well as hanging out by the fireplace and playing cards. Guest speakers include an ex-Harlem Globetrotter, Seth Franco. Seth became the first Caucasian Globetrotter since 1942! He quit playing basketball to go into missions full-time.
Late January-early February: Next round of CLASS sessions. Watch for dates and times to be announced soon.

Richland Center Small Groups
Karla Ravis hosts a women’s group on Wednesday nights, and they are really enjoying the Beth Moore study and time together. Rich and Lisa Wanless lead a marriage series, and the group has really grown closer together. Sonny and Betty Johnson along with Jan Darrell Berglin lead a small group on Wednesday nights that has been going through different books of the Bible. Rob and Linda have been offering a Bible study after the Sunday service based on the message that day. Three other couples are going through the Financial Peace University (FPU) study with the intention of leading new FPU groups in March.

RC Youth Programs Underway
The HVCC-RC high school group meets on Wednesday nights led by Joyce Storms and plans on participating in a night of laser tag with other community youth groups. Our middle school program is off to a great start with Lisa Wanless in charge. The kids in the church have invited many others, and the participation has been great. They started out with a kick-off party at Crossroads, a youth ministry center in Richland Center. Our Promiseland is led by Monica Kershner, with assistance from Jan Berglin and Karla Ravis. Their attendance has been great, and we have even had kids come to Promiseland and church without their parents. They are currently in the middle of an Artic Edge series. They presented a Christmas program for the church on December 16. Nursery has been headed up by Shari Johnson and Catie Brunson, a licensed daycare provider.

Worship Grows at RC
Russ Frame leads the HVCC-RC worship team and has done a tremendous job growing the team. We now have a keyboard player, a drummer, and two bass players, and we have added lead guitars as well. Rich Wanless anchors our media team, and his team has also grown. With assistance from Larry Schalk, Becca Wanless, and Michelle Frame, we now have a great lighting team with awesome announcements, and they are constantly striving to make our visual presentations the best they can.

If you are interested in joining any of these groups as a participant or helper, please contact Jamie Johnson at 383-4872 (HVRC) or by e-mail at jjohnson@hiddenv.com

Christmas Kindness Basket Offering at Dodgeville Sets New Record

Thank you to the people of HVCC for once again making the Christmas basket outreach a success! This year your generosity made it possible for 87 baskets full of household and personal care items to go out to families, infants, and older people in our communities. That’s 21 baskets more than last year’s record offering. The baskets were distributed by Iowa County Social Services just before Christmas. Each basket included a Christmas greeting card to the recipient from Hidden Valley.

Hospitality Team Looking for a Few More Helpers

The Hospitality team is looking for friendly people to help serve refreshments and care for the kitchen once every six weeks after the second service. This is a good opportunity to serve in a first-line ministry to a wide variety of people and to strengthen community at Hidden Valley. Contact Michelle Campbell at 437-6094 or begonia@mhtc.net.

Focus on Ministries: TLC

In Matthew 25, Jesus said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Through the TLC ministry, we meet practical needs by offering meals to those who are in need, to those who are experiencing a family or health emergency, and even to those who are welcoming the arrival of a new baby and who can use some extra meals at this busy time.

Currently led by Karen Pearson, the TLC network mobilizes as the needs arise. Karen obtains such information as the type of need, the size of the family, and specific food restrictions or food allergy information. Meals are either delivered directly to the family or often are brought to church and stored in the freezer for later delivery.

To find out more about TLC or to join the TLC network, contact the church office or call Karen Pearson at 574-1472 (erbpearson@msn.com).