LifeGroup eNews, February 2012

We hope you are enjoying the Eight Greats sermon series and accompanying LifeGroup curriculum. 

Visit the Downloads page on the Forest Hill website to locate the Participant Guide for curriculum for the next three weeks:

Week 5 – The Great Want To
Week 6 – The Great Perseverance
Week 7 – The Great Love

This weekend, February 4th and 5th, is our "half-time" break for Advance Student weekend.  The Eight Greats sermon series begins again with Week 5 during the weekend of February 11th and 12th.

Heads up!  Week 8 – The Great Go – will be coming in the next few weeks.  We will also be distributing a short 3-week curriculum for your group to use alongside the March sermon series focused around sharing Christ with others by Interceding, Investing and Inviting.

Also, here are some Upcoming Outreach Opportunities for individuals and LifeGroups at Forest Hill Church:

Falcon Fun Night at QHMS – February 9th and February 23rd
 
Falcon Fun Night is a family event at Quail Hollow Middle School where Forest Hill volunteers greet, serve a meal, work with kids clubs, provide childcare for elementary children and babies, while parents attend programming designed to help them empower their children. Volunteering at Falcon Fun Night is a great way be the hands and feet of Jesus in our local community so that we can grow stronger together. All Forest Hill LifeGroups and attendees are invited to serve on the 2nd or 4th Thursday’s of each month.
 
Contact Elyse Whitlock (elyse.whitlock@foresthill.org) if you would like more information on how to connect.

LOVE Week

We are just days away from the launch of LOVE Week 2012 and we are SO excited about the HUNDREDS of ways you can serve and show appreciation to people throughout the city of Charlotte.  The LOVE Week website will go LIVE Saturday February 4, with all new opportunities to sign up and serve ONLINE during LOVE Week – February 11-19.  Check it out the various opportunities at LoveWeekCharlotte.com.

Working together with organizations such as Charlotte Family Housing, A Child’s Place, Charlotte Rescue Mission, Urban Ministry Center, and many more, we hope to make the name of Jesus famous through service.  Please join forces with over 20 Charlotte churches as the body of Christ spreads His love throughout Charlotte.

Upcoming Events at Forest Hill Church

We would like to remind you and your group of some upcoming events at Forest Hill Church:

Help Your Kids be Great in the Eyes of God

All parents of kids ages 0-18 are invited to join David Chadwick as he unpacks how to help your kids be great in the eyes of God. Based on David's lesson to his own children and grandchildren - and the new sermon series - this parenting class will give parents valuable insight into how they can leave a legacy of greatness to their kids.  All campuses are invited!

Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 5:00 pm at Forest Hill's South Park Campus

Childcare will be provided for children 0 through 5th grade but registration is not necessary.

Global Outreach Dessert Night

All participants of Forest Hill are invited to a dessert event to learn about global missions at Forest Hill.  Meet people who have gone on trips around the world and have been forever changed. This is a great evening to learn what's coming up, meet other people with the same interest to serve, and take the first step in serving globally.

Friday, January 27
7:00 pm - 8:30pm
South Park campus, Charis Room

To register, click here.

David Crowder Band Concert, Hosted by CharlotteONE

CharlotteONE will be hosting a concert featuring the David Crowder Band on Tuesday, January 31st.  CharlotteONE is a city-wide worship gathering for 20-30somethings.  The concert will be held at Forest Hill Church from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm.  For more information, go to www.CharlotteONE.org.  

Bridges Out of Poverty Training
 
If you are interested in learning more about building relationships with people in poverty to join us on 2/6 and 2/13 in the Charis Room from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. (RSVP’s required)  This two-part class will help you gain an understanding of the “hidden rules” of poverty, middle class, and wealth. You will discover how grief and trauma keep many people locked in poverty cycle.  On the final night, FHC’s local outreach teams will provide participants with information on how to connect with community partners and give you practical yet compassionate strategies for engagement.  Members of all three campuses are invited to participate.

2/6 & 2/13 from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Charis Room at FHC Southpark

RSVP to Callie Richey at callierichey29732@gmail.com

LifeGroup E-News, January 2012

Happy New Year!  We are excited about all that God has in store for Forest Hill LifeGroups in 2012!
 
Just a reminder – we are launching the new "Eight Greats" sermon series this weekend, which includes a LifeGroup component for group study and discussion.  CLICK HERE to download the Participant Version of the LifeGroup Guide for Part 1 of this series. 
 
We also have several Outreach opportunities coming up in the next few weeks:
 
Falcon Fun Night at QHMS – January 12th and 26th
 
Falcon Fun Night is a family event at Quail Hollow Middle School where Forest Hill volunteers greet, serve a meal, work with kids clubs, provide childcare for elementary children and babies,while parents attend programming designed to help them empower their children. Volunteering at Falcon Fun Night is a great way be the hands and feet of Jesus in our local community so that we can grow stronger together. All Forest Hill LifeGroups and attendees are invited to serve on the 2nd or 4th Thursday’s of each month.
 
Contact Elyse Whitlock (elyse.whitlock@foresthill.org) if you would like more information on how to connect.
 
Hawthorne Place – Week of January 8th - 14th
 
LifeGroups can serve by providing meals and fellowship:
•   Volunteer groups are needed to provide meals for 6 families on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
•   Dinner should be delivered at 5:45 pm to St. John’s Baptist at 300 Hawthorne Street (near Presbyterian Hospital).   Volunteers are invited to join the families for dinner, stay and fellowship with the families after the meal, tutor the children and play games.
•   Sunday lunch: delivery at 12:30 p.m.
 
Contact: Marilyn Wright at blessedindeed.wright526@gmail.com
 
Poverty Simulation –
 
January 30th from 6:30 – 8:30pm in the Charis Room at the FHC South Park campus
 
The outreach team invites you to equip yourself to better serve the poor in Charlotte!
 
All three Forest Hill campuses are committed to serving people in poverty here in Charlotte and around the world.   If you are already serving the poor or praying about how to getstarted we recommend you participate in the Crisis Assistance Ministry’s Poverty Simulation.  Regardless of where you are in the process, we believe this will be a valuable experience.  At the end of the simulation we will provide you with ways to connect with life transforming outreach initiatives.
 
Contact Callie Richey if you wish to sign up or learn more: callierichey29732@gmail.com
 
Lastly, Men, don't forget to register for the upcoming Men's Retreat!
 
As an extension to the Man-to-Man events in Charlotte, we are hosting a Men's Retreat -  "Man to Man in the Mountains."  The event will be March 9th – 11th, 2012 at the LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ridgecrest, NC.  This retreat will be a place where men of God can feel at ease enjoying God's creation and community and can attempt to find clarity on how to live their lives where God has placed them.
 
Cost is $165 per person.  To learn more and to register, please click here.

LifeGroup Updates

We are quickly approaching 2012 and have some exciting news to share!

Beginning in January David will be preaching a series “The Eight Greats” which will teach us how to be great in God’s sight.  The series will focus on the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, Great Faith and more.  As a part of that series the entire body of Forest Hill Church will have an opportunity to go deeper in the Word through curriculum supporting the weekly sermon topic.  Curriculum will be designed for LifeGroups for children, students and adults and will provide a great opportunity for groups and families to delve further into these topics together.

More details will follow, but we wanted to give you a heads up about this upcoming curriculum for your LifeGroup.  Please plan for your group to participate in "The Eight Greats" curriculum from January to early March.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact your LifeGroup Director.

As a part of this transition, the weekly curriculum provided for the Tuesday Night Bible Study will no longer be provided.  The Tuesday Night Bible Study teaching will continue through the Spring of 2012, but curriculum for LifeGroups will end with the teaching on December 13th, 2011.

Men, don't forget to save the date for the 2012 Men's Retreat!  

There exists a fire within each us reminding us that we are connected to a larger and more complete story than what we can see.  As men of Christ at Forest Hill we belong to this great Story and we are inviting you to journey with us in learning and experiencing our unique stories together as One.

As an extension to the Man-to-Man events in Charlotte, we are hosting a Men's Retreat on March 9 – 11th, 2012 at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, NC and would be honored to have you come.  We are preparing a place where men of God can feel at ease enjoying God's creation and community and can attempt to find clarity on how to live their lives where God has placed them.  As this is the first year of our men’s retreat after a several-year break we are simply looking to be honest in building faith and unity so come expecting to be treated with respect and dignity as men.  

There are more details to come, but if you are interested in coming, first set aside this weekend in March, then tell others who you walk in life with, and finally look for our announcement to register.  Peace to you in Christ, the men of Forest Hill.


Also, please note the following Outreach opportunities for the next few weeks:

Hope for the Holidays Dinner – 11/18/11

How would you like to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with others in your Forest Hill family? "Hope for the Holiday's" started a few years ago when a group of friends got together for a relaxed time of breaking bread and celebrating blessings, and the tradition continues.  This year's theme is "HOPE" and will include a short message from a staff person at Charlotte Family Housing, a front-line organization serving homeless woman and children in Charlotte.  All are invited!  Contact Robin Miller at robin@milleradventure.com for more information.

Christmas Village Volunteer opportunities

Please help create joy and dignity for the shoppers of the Christmas Village toy store this Christmas season. There are more than 400 volunteer positions remaining including Wish List distribution and Toy Collection on all three campuses and various positions at the actual toy store at Warehouse 242. This is a great way for families and LifeGroups to serve. For more information or to sign up, click here. 

Christmas Trees to Support the Homeless

Dec. 3 & 4 @ South Park Mall, by Dick’s Sporting Goods

Buy a Christmas tree and support the homeless men at Hoskins Park Ministries. This non-profit Christian ministry takes homeless men off the street to help them get their lives back in order. All proceeds will help support 50 men and 12 houses in Charlotte. For more information, or to pre-order your tree, contact Paige Vestal at 704-400-9755 or paigev@truevine.net.