It’s been a really busy winter and spring at Westminster. We are so blessed with such vibrant and active ministry areas within our church. Before the summer is upon us, we wanted to take a moment to share brief recaps from some of our different ministry areas. In part one, we are sharing an update from Families & Children, Young Adults, and Women’s Ministry. We hope you will be encouraged to hear how God has been at work in these various ministries.

Families & Children Ministry

Our children’s ministry is finishing up the academic calendar as we begin prepping and planning for the upcoming summer and fall. We had an awesome time this year on Sunday nights at Choir & Catechism Club (C3). Learning wonderful songs, how music works, playing games, and of course learning more about the God who made us and takes care of us. In March, we had the joy of partnering with The Life House Women’s Shelter for a family service day. It was a great opportunity to teach children firsthand the importance of having a servant’s heart. We are looking forward to many more ways to get together and serve in the future.

In April, we partnered with the Discipleship ministries and had Dane Ortlund come and speak to our young families on the wonder of parenting. Dane gave us 12 wonderful reminders to work through as we continue to love and support our children. We’re so excited about Vacation Bible School coming up in the summer! It’s a great picture of the whole church coming together to worship, grow, and serve.

I (JT) can’t believe I’ve already been here for almost a year. I’m looking forward to seeing marriages strengthened, relationships built amongst families, and parents set free in their parenting, all for the glory of God. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Young Adults Ministry

We have had an eventful semester in the Young Adult Ministry, which includes our Young Professional Ministry (or YoPros, as we like to call it) and our College Ministry. In our YoPro Ministry, we have had a steady season of connection and gathering. This Spring, we started hosting “Supper Clubs” twice a month, at different people’s homes every time. We have a different group of people every dinner and we usually end up playing games late into the night. We have loved seeing the conversations and friendships that are formed through these dinners! This semester, we have also gathered a group of core leaders in our group to start a leadership team. It is exciting to anticipate how the group will grow with this team of leaders, who have already shown great initiative and thoughtfulness to people who are on the outskirts of our group. Please join us in praying for our young professional ministry as a whole, for our newly formed leadership team, and for the Lord to provide a couple in our church who are a few years ahead to come and serve with this crew.

In our College Ministry, we had an amazing trip to Athens, Greece with a group from our college ministry for their Spring Break! Fourteen of us traveled to Greece to meet up with our missionary partners, Emmanuel and Bethany, and we spent the week serving their church and learning about Greek culture. Our students, despite major jet lag and exhaustion, showed up with curiosity and humility as we took in all the new sights, teaching, and relationships. It was amazing to hear them marvel about their first time experiencing the global church. We are going into the summer excited to connect with the students from Winthrop who are in town and to welcome the students who are returning home for the summer. Our goal is to make them feel like they belong in their (home) church! Please join us in praying for these students and for God to provide a couple in our church to invest in this group of students year-round, too.

Women’s Ministry

Women’s Discipleship just wrapped up our year-long study in the book of Isaiah. Most definitely, the hardest study we have dug into, but how rich the nutrients we gained. In our recent survey women described their experience in the following ways.

• Despite our sin and rejection of God, He preserved a remnant, and we are the remnant! I have a better understanding of Isaiah’s prophecy and am amazed at God’s intricate plan.
• I found Gospel Neighboring served as both an encouragement and accountability to reach out to several neighbors where we live. My husband and I have gotten to know several neighbors on a slightly deeper level (more than just a quick hello when walking by) and we continue to develop those relationships even now. Gospel neighboring helped me to focus on the importance of slowing down, making time for, and being intentional about reaching out to neighbors.

Studying the content of God’s Word in the context of community is a beautiful blessing. We are gearing up for our summer happenings and invite you to join us for a summer study. A preview of our summer study and book chat curriculum will be available at our Connect Gathering in the Courtyard on Sunday morning, May 21st. Stop by for a sweet treat and to see what all the buzz is about in Women’s Ministry.