01/07/2012
The Above & Beyond Christmas offering totals increased after this announcement was made on 1/1 as year-end offerings made online and by mail were received in the days that followed. The actual totals can be seen in the graphs below.
Way to come together Village Bible Church to give a great gift to our Savior and to do some great things for His Kingdom!
12/11/2011
The Kingdom is a powerful description of the Great Battle between the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light. It reminds us of who the KING really is and what our response should be in the light of His victory. (Music by: Sons of Korah - yep, the same Sons of Korah who were at Village 4 years ago.)
12/11/2011
This video celebrates the work that the Lord is doing in our midst and highlights the areas we plan to invest our Above & Beyond contributions.
God is doing amazing work!
If you would like to give a special Above & Beyond Christmas Offering, click here: www.villagebible.org/give
10/07/2011
To view a full-screen version of this slideshow, click here.
We wanted to do something special to show our local teachers and school staff that we appreciate them and are praying for them. We figured that food is a great way to say, “thanks” so we decided to provide and serve lunch for our teachers and staff at Kaneland High School (Thursday) and Kaneland Harter Middle School (Friday). All in all, 20 people from Village were able to serve almost 300 educators during these two days!
One of the administrators said that many teachers were asking, "Why are they doing this for us?" What a great testimony for Jesus. All of the staff were so appreciative and excited to receive their free lunch.
I asked one of my friends who is a teacher at Kaneland if he heard anything from the teachers. He said one of the teachers made the comment, "What are they trying to do, sell us Jesus with a lunch?" Then he looked at the flyer we handed out with the lunch and concluded by saying, "Nope. They were just kind and gave us a free lunch." It's great that we can give a free lunch to the teachers with "no strings attached" in the hope of them seeing Jesus in and through us.
On Friday evening, I attended the Kaneland High school football game against Yorkville and heard the middle school principal sharing with a teacher from Yorkville what a great lunch Village Bible Church served at his middle school. I also ran into several other Kaneland teachers and staff at the football game and they continued to thank me for the lunch.
The lunch was a great act of love to Kaneland schools to help make our presence known and ultimately lift up Jesus.
Thank you to all who gave financially and volunteered to serve the lunches. You were a blessing to the Kaneland staff and community.
Thank you cards received from the teachers and staff: (click to enlarge)
10/02/2011
We had a great Barn Bash today. Over 700 people from all three VBC campuses took part in the festivities that included hay rides, great food, square dancing, football, bounce houses, a petting zoo, pumpkin painting, face painting, pie baking and eating contests and even a dunk tank where everyone got their shot at dunking the pastor of their choice... The Barn Bash is designed to be a fun event that helps build relationships and provides an something easy to invite neighbors and friends to - something that many of you did. A HUGE special thanks to...
Click here to view a full screen version of this slideshow.
And a special thanks to:
Did you enjoy the Barn Bash?
... send a THANK YOU note to Marvel Davis for allowing us to use her farm for our bash!
Marvel Davis, 47W066 Jericho Road, Big Rock, IL 60511
Baking Contest Winners
Cookies:
Pies:
If you won but did not pick up your prize, you can find it at the Welcome Center at church this Sunday.
09/18/2011
The Journey ABF hosted an outing to the Honey Hill Orchard by Waterman. The families enjoyed picking apples and raspberries. They also participated in a tractor ride and playing in a hay maze. It was a beautiful day. We finished the day with delicious apple cider donuts.
10/24/2010
Click here for a full screen version of this slideshow.
Nestled in the midst of days of bad weather, the rain stopped, sun peeked through the clouds, the temperature sprung above 70 degrees and the winds died down. We had a perfect day for the bash! And amazingly enough the rain even held off until the tents were down and everything was packed away - and then 30 seconds after we got into our vans to take everything back to church the clouds let loose and it began to pour! Wow - we thank God for the break in the storms and for the opportunity to spend a great afternoon together.
The weather didn't seem to scare anyone away - over 600 people came out for the festivities. The "through the river and through the woods" hit hay ride was back along with square dancing, a petting zoo, live music by the Wooden Rockers, outstanding food, excellent pie, bounce houses, games for the family, pumpking decorating, face painting, pie eating contests, great fellowship... it was a really fun afternoon.
In case you weren't there for the contest winners, or if you want to know who to turn to when you need a really good pie (or someone who's really good at eating pie, if that need ever comes up...), here's the low down:
Pie eating contests:
Pumpkin Decorating: Mondo Torres
Baking Contests:
09/09/2010
If you knew you had one month to live, your life would be radically transformed. But why do we wait until we’re diagnosed with cancer or we lose a loved one to accept this knowledge and allow it to free us? Don’t we want all that life has to offer? Don’t we want to fulfill the purpose for which we were created? Wouldn’t life be a lot more satisfying if we lived this way?
During this sermon and small group series, we will spend thirty days consideirng what it takes to live a "No-Regrets Life" - facing our own mortality and living life for the glory of God.
04/09/2010
The Awana Grand Prix was a blast this year! We had a great turn out and the kids worked so hard on their cars. We really enjoyed a wonderful time of friendly competition between the kids and fellowship with the families. We hope to have more people join us next year for the Awana Grand Prix 2011!
02/24/2010
As we are setting aside a couple of days to seek the Lord's face together through prayer specifically for the issues that are at hand, I came across this in a book of Puritan prayers this morning... I thought it was a great representation of hearts that are seeking after Him...
The Divine Will
O Lord,
I hang on thee, I see, believe, live,
When thy will, not mine, is done;
I can plead of nothing in myself
in regard of any worthiness and grace,
in regard of thy providence and promises,
but only thy good pleasure.
If thy mercy makes me poor and vile, blessed be thou!
It is the meek and humble who are shown thy covenant,
know thy will, are pardoned and healed
who by faith depend and rest upon grace,
who are sanctified and quickened,
who evidence thy love.
Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will,
by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy,
by believing thou wilt give what thou has promised;
Strengthen me to pray with the conviction
that whatever I receive is thy gift,
so that I may pray until prayer be granted.
Lord, help me to cry out in prayer
as parched ground opens wider and wider until rain comes.
So shall I wait thy will, pray for it to be done,
and by thy grace become fully obedient.
Taken from "The Valley of Vision"
01/28/2010
The devistation in Haiti is emense. As a church we're praying for opportunities to help.
On Feb 20 (4:30 - 6:30) we're planning to prepare 50,000 meals to send down to a ministry partner in Haiti. That's a great start, but we want to do more.
The bigger issue that is on our hearts as a VBC church family is the large number of orphans (some estimate there are now one million Haitian orphans).
Our church is praying about the possibility of adopting 20 Haitian orphans into families within our church - thinking that not only would we be rescuing 20 children but bringing them to a community where they would grow up with a group of other kids with the same background.
We know there's a need. We know that the willingness of families to sacrifice to meet that need is an worthy thing before God. We know there is a ton of red tape (understandably so) to cut through in order to to help with this need. We have no idea how to do that - but we know that if God wants us to help in this way, He'll provide a way. We're praying that if this is His desire that he would do that.
01/17/2010
Missions Conference 2010 was a huge hit! We had at least twice as many people attend the Friday night missions fair this year as we have had in any of the past years. The total number of attenders was over 250! It was a family friendly event and there was something for the whole family. The missionaries did a great job of having hands on booths and crafts for the kids. And the parents enjoyed them too.
Saturday morning went very well. We were able to serve 20 Burmese refugee families in Aurora and inveite them to Grace Bible Curch for lunch. We were able to share the gospel with them through a translator that did a double translation (into two different dialects). It was a fantastic time of fellowship and we had 50 refugees join us for lunch and close to 85 volunteers come out to serve!
Our theme of "God's Power for a Global Harvest" is something that we as a church want to continue to think about throughout the year and Missions Conference was a gret jumpstart into 2010!
12/02/2009
(Read the Elburn Herald article on this: Click Here)
Tonight we completed the preparation for our Christmas Bible Outreach. We put together 5,000 gift bags that include a Bible, an invitation to celebrate Christmas with us this month and a tract outlining the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
On Saturday we will be passing these gifts out to 5,000 homes in our surrounding communities, Lord willing.
Please come join us - starting at 9:00 am at the church - also, please pray for the impact of these 5,000 Bibles!
This week we hope to give out early Christmas presents to 5,000 of our neighbors.
Tonight (Wednesday night) a group of about 75 adults and students prepared the gift bags that include a nice Bible, a presentation of the gospel and an invitation to celebrate Christ's birth with our VBC family this month. The Bible is an easy to read translation that includes helps for someone who has not read it before.
We're excited about this outreach as we suspect the Bibles will not quickly disappear - people will be hesitant to throw away a Bible and hopefully it will sit around on an end-table where someone will pick it up and begin reading it - maybe for the very first time!
What if only 1% of these Bibles are actually read by someone who hasn't read God's Word before? That would be 50 new people reading God's Word! 5% would be 250 people!
Please:
05/07/2009
Today was the National Day of Prayer, which provides a great opportunity to increase our emphasis on prayer. Some of you may be part of small groups that added a special emphasis on prayer for our world this week, some participated in the prayer walk across Aurora praying for ministries and city leaders as we passed through, some participated in the prayer service at church this evening, and some set aside special times in their homes to pray.
For several of us, this was the first time participating in the Prayer Walk through Aurora - and the beginning of many more. It was very well done and was very impacting. What a great opportunity to unite with other believers to pray for God's people as we walked through the town. We prayed for politicians and policemen at city hall; for seniors in nursing homes and seniors in high school; for the homeless and the jobless; for the elderly and the not-yet born at PIC.
On top of that all, we had a beautiful day!
I'm posting the Beacon News article about the prayer walk below for further details.
One last note: Now that the National Day of Prayer has come and gone, let's not make this a task that we now cross off the list. Let's use the prayer focus of this week to launch ourselves on a new prayer journey!
If you're looking for a fresh approach to your prayer life, here's an idea: Click Here
May 8, 2009
By MATT HANLEY, Beacon News
Dear God,
Certainly, You were very busy on Thursday during the 58th National Day of Prayer. Your request lines must have been ringing off the hook.
But hopefully, You had a few moments to check in on the group that walked 10 miles across Aurora. They started at 10 a.m. on the far West Side with 12 people and headed straight east on Galena Boulevard.
Along the way, the group added followers. I guess You're familiar with that kind of trend.
For those of us who live in Aurora, we've driven down Galena hundreds of times. But on this walk, the devout group had a chance to really see it. The Rev. Dan Haas said that's why he prefers a walk: you can feel the city's neighborhoods. Are they changing? Are they stressed?
"If you want to understand the needs of Aurora, just walk through Aurora," Haas said.
Some of the walkers felt they were viewing the city for the first time, both its blessings and its trappings. John Ross couldn't help but smile.
"I think you see people, you see God," he said as he ambled past Edgelawn Drive. "You only got to watch out for dogs and cars."
And as the group hiked, they stopped at different spots to offer prayers. They prayed for politicians and policemen; for seniors in nursing homes and seniors in high school; for the homeless and the jobless; for the elderly and the not-yet born.
You might have appreciated their first three stops.
The first was at a retirement home where they prayed for residents who felt alone or helpless.
The second was outside West Aurora High School, where they prayed for students to be strong in their faith.
Third was the Pregnancy Information Clinic, where they prayed more young women would choose life.
Birth, learning and old age. Pretty good coverage, don't You think?
That's what Thursday was about. Even first-time walkers like Ernest Camacho talked about prayer being for all people, from all backgrounds.
"We believe the city needs spiritual support, too," he said. "We believe our prayers make a difference."
And if they needed any motivation, there were reminders. As Randy Schoof, pastor at Warehouse Church, stood outside the high school, he thought about a kid who once stood outside smoking cigarettes.
"I believe people prayed for me," he said.
P.S. Almost forgot. Thanks so much for the great weather Thursday morning. Snow and rain and nasty weather are probably all part of Your grand plan and whatever. But it's so much easier to concentrate on the praying when it's 79 degrees and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Helps everyone see heaven easier.
04/01/2009
God seems to be placing before us an opportunity to strengthen a neighboring church in a unique way. After much prayer and dialog, the elders and members of VBC have agreed to to enter into a trial 'adoption' of Grace Bible Church of Aurora which we believe may be used by God to help both churches impact an increasing number of lives in our communities. Please be in prayer with us as we walk cautiously into this new opportunity and see how God either affirms or redirects our efforts.
For more information, click here.
02/14/2009
We had a fabulous time on Friday evening celebrating love and God's design of marriage. Nearly 230 of us shared a great meal together, laughed with some interesting romance trivia and were challenged with the message of the movie Fireproof. We were reminded that regardless of where our marriages are at - terrible, great or somewhere in between - that there is hope... hope that our marriages could be even better. Marriages don't just grow on their own (quite the opposite) - they take effort and self-sacrifice. Many people left the evening with a copy of the 40 day Love Dare book and a fresh committment to make their marriage all that God designed it to be.
Our prayer as a church will be that all of us who were motivated to make a greater investment into our marriages would be able to carry through on that desire and that we would begin the 40 day love dare - or some other intentional process of showing "I love you" in a more direct and systematic way!
If you haven't watched the movie, Fireproof, you can borrow it from our library or pick it up at your local Red Box or video store. (It's in the top 5 of current movie sales nationwide!) If you would like a copy of the 40 day Love Dare book, you can pick one up here at church or your local bookstore.
Another great step would be to join one of our marriage related Equipping-U courses that begin tomorrow (Sunday) evening. We have three great studies that will help jumpstart your committment to make change - and you can start this weekend! Why put it off one day longer?!!?
11/23/2008
This evening over 300 people from the VBC family along with our guests shared a wonderful Thanksgiving meal together. The crew who prepared the meal is to be commended for an outstanding job well done. The food was delicious and provided for a great time of fellowship.
We followed the dinner with a time of worship and personal giving of thanks as many shared about how God has been working in their lives and growing them this past year. We also took time to share ways that we're thankful to God for His faithfulness and goodness - and were extremely blessed to have a young lady, named Tom, from Thailand share with us about how God rescued her from the streets of prostitution through a ministry called the Well and shared of her gratefulness for God making her pure as snow and beautiful in His eyes. Amen! (Find out more about The Well: www.servantworks.org) Thank you for being with us Tom.
11/22/2008
"We should continue to remember the poor, the very thing [we are] eager to do." (from Galatians 2:10).
We were thrilled to send a team of Village Bible Church members to partner with a ministry called "Here's Life Inner City - Chicago". The plan was to help pack Thanksgiving meals, and then deliver them to families in need who had indicated their desire to receive one.
About half of our group worked particularly with families of prison inmates who were struggling financially in-part due to the incarceration of their loved one. It was very special to be able to reach out with both the meals and the gospel to these families who were left behind in such difficult circumstances.
We were also blown away that God opened the door for the other half of our group to share our faith in a Chicago public school. The families met us in the cafeteria for an hour-long service put on by a local area pastor. Sixty five meals were distributed after we had a chance to give testimonies, and one couple even sang two songs after sharing their stories about how Jesus changed their lives.
In all about 2500 meals were shared throughout the south-side neighborhoods of Chicago surrounding Roseland where the Agape Community center is located.
We will definitely be going back next year. We hope that you will consider joining us then!
10/26/2008
This morning we had the wonderful opportunity to welcome the Moody Gospel Choir as our guests - or as we affectionately refer to them, "The Emily Sterkel Gospel Choir"!
The choir was fabulous. What passion and heart behind their songs - and what joy. We thoroughly enjoyed the music and the opportunity to worship our savior through their music. Morgan Losole is a senior at Moody and conducts the student-led choir with excellence. Some of our boys (maybe girls too) went home with a new found love for the bass guitar after observing it being played with such energy and skill. We all found ourselves dancing to the music just a little bit more than normal!
The heart of this choir is to come humbly before the Lord, leading others into a time of worship through song. Their theme verse for this year is Psalm 63:3-5 "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you." They certainly accomplished that this morning.
To view this slideshow in full screen mode, click here.
10/19/2008
We had wonderful weather and a fabulous day at our Barn Bash 2008. Over 400 people came out for the afternoon - and between 25%-30% of those people were family and friends who are not normally a part of our church. That's great!
If you enjoyed the day, consider sending Marvel Davis a thank you note expressing your appreciation for her allowing us to use her property!
Marvel Davis, 47W066 Jericho Road, Big Rock, IL 60511
To view this slide show in full screen mode, click here.
We had several contests during the day. Some of the winners are listed below:
Pumpkin Decorating Contest:
And the winners were...
Pie Eating Contest:
This was quite a hoot. Thanks to the girls from the Oasis house who hosted this event - and for the contestants who gave us many laughs. Make sure you check out the slideshow below for a glimpse at some of the craziness!
And the winners were...
Pie Baking Contest:
Who knew eating pie could be so much work? (If this is work, sign me up!) Anne Camey had a team of 10 judges selflessly volunteered their services. They tasted, compared and judged 17 pies based on appearance, crust, filling, consistency, overall flavor and creativity.
And the winners were....
Congratulations to all!
09/21/2008
On Sunday, September 21, we were blessed by the ministry of Chinese house church leader Brother Yun. Brother Yun's gripping autobiography, The Heavenly Man, has sold more than a million copies, and his second book, Living Water, was released just a couple of months ago.
Brother Yun, who now lives in exile in Germany, shared some stories of the persecution, multiple imprisonments, and torture he's had to endure as a consequence of his bold testimony for Jesus Christ in Communist China. But rather than complain or fall into despair, Brother Yun has consistently praised the Lord in the midst of all his difficulties, considering it a privilege to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
It was exciting to hear how modern-day miracles are taking place in a land that is officially atheistic - one of those miracles being Brother Yun's dramatic escape from one of the highest-security prisons in China, in full view of guards whose eyes the Lord had blinded.
Probably the biggest takeaway from Brother Yun's visit was his challenge to us to demonstrate the same kind of radical commitment to Christ and his kingdom that characterizes millions of Chinese believers. There's no limit to what God might do here in America, if only we, his people, would consistently put God first and, like our brothers and sisters in China, live as if nothing else really mattered.
Learn more about Brother Yun and listen to his message to Village Bible Church: Click Here
To view this slideshow in full screen mode: Click Here.
09/20/2008
Make Plans to See ‘Fireproof'
The current condition of marriage in America is, at best, shaky. Divorce and dysfunction seem to have replaced commitment and harmony as the new norm. The makers of "Fireproof" are hoping that it will, at the very least, provide hope that many struggling marriages can be strengthened.
"Fireproof" tells the story of a struggling marriage and addresses the issue of modern-day relationships head-on. The messages conveyed are clear: Marriage is anything but easy, relationships require patience, and there is hope for struggling marriages.
"Fireproof" could provide a spark of hope for someone in a struggling marriage that with the Lord all things are indeed possible. Whatever the condition of your marriage, consider making planning a date night and take your spouse to see "Fireproof." Encourage others to see it, too. - And see it soon because it will likely only last at the theater for a week or two.
Read more: Click Here
Showing at: AMC 30 (Warrenville)
06/21/2008
Thanks for your support!
Our team has completed the MS Bike Tour de Farms. Everyone completed their goal - which for all but one was a 77 mile trip. And yes, believe it or not, most all of it was in the wind (really - 10-20 mph) and uphill (how, we're not sure)! The ride took us between 7.5 hours and 10.5 hours. Thankfully, no one was injured or had mechanical issues. We will be back next year, bigger and better than before.
We are thankful to have had the opportunity to raise over $4,000 for the MS Society. Thank you for you financial contributions and for your prayers for our ride! If you still want to make a donation, you certainly can, just visit our team page: click here
People living with MS overcome challenges everyday: to walk, to have energy to go to the store, to have the will power not to give up. We have a young mom in our church who has MS... Her name is Jill Medlin. That is one of the reasons we support the mission of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society by fundraising to support research, local programs and give hope to Jill and the other 20,000 families in Illinois touched by MS.
06/15/2008
48 people from our church were part of VBC Family Camp in the Northwoods of Wisconsin (White Lake) this week. The purpose of this week is to get away, slow down and strengthen relationships - with God, with their family and with other VBC families. Thank you for your prayers for us while we were gone - the week was great.
While it's too late for you to join us this summer for family camp, it's not too late to begin thinking about winter family camp (Dec 26 - Dec 29) or about next summer's family camp (tentativley June 6-12).
Why would you wnat to spend a week at family camp? Time!
Family camp offers extended time to build relationships, create shared memories, relax and enjoy fellowship with others in your immediate family and our extended church family. Often times, more happens relationally with other church families during a week of family camp than a whole year back at church - because we leave behind the hecticness of our daily lives. This fellowship continues on once we're back home as we gain a certain "entitlement" to ask deeper questions of each other because a baseline of relationship has been established while at camp. Family camp is time, well spent!
Family camp brings families closer together through intentional programming that helps parents interact with their children through a variety of activities. These experiences bond families together and create the cherished family stories of the future. Family camp is time, well spent!
For more information on winter or summer family camp, Click Here
03/02/2008
Grand Opening Celebration & Dedication
Grand Opening Blessings From VBC Friends
01/20/2008
Our missions conference this year was the first “peak” of what we hope will be several several summits in the missions ministry of Village Bible Church this year. The missions committee decided that this would be a great time to put all of our mission talk into action with our 1st ever Missions Conference cross-cultural project (right in our backyard – Aurora) partnering with World Relief. The refugee’s that we reached out to are much more than a “project” to us... They are new friends whom we hope to be able to build friendships with throughout the year! Thanks to so many who made the Saturday ministry a total success. Sunday was dynamite as well. Dr. Jim Pluddemann gave a resounding affirmation of the vision of our church to spread the glory of God to ends of the earth. What a joy it was to have the Kehn’s, Fornelli’s, Sutherlands, and Jinette Griefenberger with us. Our vibrant worship of our mighty God is something we can NOT keep to ourselves(Psalm 67). We have been blessed mightily by God... To be a blessing to others. Thanks to all & glory to God!
12/30/2007
We had a great time at our winter family camp which took place 12/26-12/29 at Silver Birch Ranch in White Lake, Wisconsin (about 1 hour south of the Upper Peninsula). As you can see from our pictures, there was plenty of snow, tons of fun, endless food and great times together. Family camp provides an opportunity to invest some quality time together as a family along with others from church. This year the VBC Animal Ball team consisted of 5 adults and 14 children - and we took second place in the tournament! (Animal Ball is like hockey - except it's played with hands rather than sticks...) Lindsey Wagner said it was because we had so many kids who were too "little and cute" for the highschoolers and adults on the other teams to steal the ball from them. I think she was right!
Our Christian life is meant to be lived in community – not in isolation. We've been told that we're great at the ... more...
09/01/2011
Think fast – what is our purpose as a church? Why has God placed Village Bible Church in Aurora, Sugar ... more...
05/22/2011
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