Celebrations and Thanks @ Impact Ministries

Hello Five Oaks,

Last night I met with our Impact Coordinators, and as part of our meeting, we went over all the Impact projects and events that Five Oaks Church has been involved with recently. The list was impressive! I am so thankful that God chose to use me in the position of Missions Pastor for Five Oaks Church. Just thinking about how blessed we have been to bring Christ to so many and to have the privilege to make a differences in people's lives from our quiet little corner of the world.

This is a short list of the events we celebrated:

• Summer Mission to Camp des Cimes in France - My wife, Patti, led her first service team of 8 short-term missionaries to work the Youth English Camp from July 2 - 21.

• Haiti Mission Trip - The Schlegel's led a team of 12 to the All God' Children Orphanage outside of Mirebalais, Haiti. From August 8 -15, they taught Spiritual Gifts, delivered food to local villages and helped grow the church in Central Haiti.  

• Karen Backpack Drive and VBS - This past August, Five Oakers packed 100 + backpacks with school supplies and toys for the children of newly arrived Karen refugees from Burma and Thailand.  The Bryant Small Group also hosted a VBS for the Karen children at the Brittany Apartments in St. Paul.  127 children attended the VBS and 23 made first time decisions.

• Hearts & Hammers - On September 19, a large group of Journeymen, their family and friends got together and rehabbed a home for a couple in need.
  

• Team World Vision - Twin Cities Marathon -This past October 4, Five Oaks once again partnered with TWV to run the TC Marathon and raise money for water projects in Africa. The Metro area TWV teams together raised over $500,000 for clean water. Many of the runners were first time marathoners including our very own Dan Lukas. 

• Feed My Starving Children - Woodbury 4 Million Meals Mega MobilePack - On October 10, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm, over 500 Five Oakers came together to pack meals for FMSC. Together with other volunteers, we packed just over 385,000 meals in a two hour period. That is still a FMSC record for number of meals packed in a single shift. Those meals are now on their way to Haiti and Nicaragua. By Sunday night, Woodbury had come together to pack 4,066,200 meals. That is over 11,000 children who will fed every day for a year!   

- Jerry Meras

Prison Fellowship Opportunity

Prison Fellowship leads classes at the correctional facility in Stillwater on Tuesday and Thursday nights designed to equip men with skills necessary for successful reentry upon release.

Materials such as Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey;  Chip Ingram; Love, Sex & Dating by Andy Stanley; Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny; Celebrate Recovery; Authentic Manhood; Multiply by Francis Chan and others are used to equip the men.

If this speaks to you, you are welcome to accompany Kevin Gjertsen for a visit to see this ministry in action.  Kevin can be contacted directly at gjertsen127@gmail.com or cell phone (651)600-1880.

Here's what Prison Fellowship says about their in-prison ministry..

"There are fewer places darker than a prison cell. There, separated from all that they ever knew or loved, men and women struggle with feelings of despair and hopelessness. As they search for some sense of meaning and purpose for their lives, they wonder if anyone outside the walls of the prison knows or cares about their struggles.

But even in the darkest places, there is Light.

For nearly 40 years, Prison Fellowship has been going into correctional facilities, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those behind bars, and offering the hope of true transformation. Through the use of Bible-based programming, and with the help of thousands of committed volunteers, lives are being changed, hope is being restored, and darkness is being replaced with the promise of a future."

Want to Know What is Going On with IMPACT?

Impact Ministries at Five Oaks Church is very active in helping spread the Gospel locally and throughout the globe, helping grow Christ's church, caring for the needs of the poor, the aliens among us and the disenfranchised. 

A secondary mission of Impact is to grow Five Oakers spiritually by exposing them to the multitude of blessings available in service to others. To accomplish these things, it is extremely important to get information to those that can make a difference. That is YOU.       

Have you ever wanted to know WHAT opportunities exist through our Impact Ministries? WHEN those opportunities take place? And HOW you can serve? 

Also, WHICH missionaries do we support? Or WHY we support certain missionaries, serve in certain countries or partner with certain local organizations.  

Director of Outreach, Jerry Meras, is available to come to your Small Group and answer your questions. Talk about this opportunity with your Small Group leader. When your Small Group is ready, all you need to do is email Jerry at jmeras@fiveoakschurch.org and invite him to one of your upcoming meetings.”

2015 Haiti Short-Term Misison Trip

This past August, Five Oaks Church sent 12 short-term missionaries to Haiti to work with our partner Global Vision Citadelle Ministries at the All God's Children Orphanage outside of Mirebalais. We have partnered with GVCM since 2005 and continue to support their efforts to spread the Gospel, care for orphans and grow the church throughout Haiti. 

About Haiti:   

From a historical, cultural, and political standpoint, Haitian people have struggled for survival amidst controversy and opposition. The Lord is making a difference through His Word and His people. There is much more that needs to be done.

• Haiti – the poorest nation in the western hemisphere
• Land size – about the size of the state of Maryland
• Population – 7.6 million
• Most Haitian people live on the margin of social life in inhumane conditions

Below is an update from Haiti Team Leader, Ron Schlegel:   

Haiti Trip Update

A Five Oaks team just returned from another successful trip to All God’s Children Orphanage in Haiti.  Time was spent mentoring the children on Godly traits and helping them learn their spiritual gifts.  The team also worked on small projects at the orphanage and handed out rice and beans while preaching the Gospel to remote areas of the country.  A videographer followed the team to capture all the activities.  If you wish to learn more about this trip, or come on a future one, please write to Haiti@FiveOaksChurch.org.

Kids Hope USA 2015 - 16 School Year

A new school year has started and we are looking for Five Oakers to serve as Mentors to children at Woodbury Elementary. You will spend one hour a week with your child developing a truly meaningful relationship. There is no better investment of your time then the hour you give a child. If you are interested please email KHUSA@fiveoakschurch.org.
 
Please join me in welcoming our new KHUSA Leadership Team:
Judy Visness - Mentor / Child Coordinator
Nichole Zacharias - Asst. Mentor Coordinator
Wendy Kremrey - Communications Coordinator
Carol Haglund - Prayer Partner Coordinator

We will be launching the new KHUSA year on October 5, 2015. Be a part of it!!

 

Feed My Starving Children - 4 Million Meal - Woodbury Mega-Pack

FMSC MobilePack

Make a real difference this October! Five Oaks Church is partnering with FMSC, other Woodbury churches and organizations to pack 4 MILLION MEALS. Woodbury will feed the starving children of Haiti and Nicaragua along with the hungry locally. 10% of the money raised will be donated to our local Christian Cupboard Emergency Food Shelf.

You can help in two different ways: The event goes from Thursday, October 8 through Sunday, October 11, but Five Oakers will come together to pack meals on Saturday, October 10 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. We have reserved 1,000 spots! Join our team at http://www.woodburyfeeds.org/. Click on the “Join a Group” and search for “Five Oaks Church” or enter our Group # 733128.

The second way you can help is to donate towards the costs of the meals. Each meal is 22 cents, but 4 million is a large number. Our MobilePack event needs to raise $880,000 to cover the costs of ingredients. Five Oaks has pledged $50,000 toward the event. To meet our commitment, we will have a Special Giving on the weekend of September 13. Per UNICEF, in 1990, 12 million children under the age of 5 died of starvation. Today, the number is closer to 6.3 million annually. It is still a huge problem, but together with FMSC we are saving lives, we are making a difference!

For more information contact Jerry Meras, jmeras@fiveoakschurch.org.