January 2020 | Volume 393

Letter from the church council

Our next Annual General Meeting is coming up on Sunday, February 9. Plan to come, whether you are a voting member or not! One of the most important things we will do together as a community is to elect a new group of elders to help lead our church. At Arusha Community church, the Elders play a special role. As a lay-led church, with no professional pastor, the Church council of volunteer elders leads the church practically and spiritually.

Over the next weeks, we will all need to be thinking and praying about whom to nominate to stand for election as an elder. It’s a good time to consider this question:

What does it take to be an elder?

“Now the elder is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.” ~ 1Timothy 3:2-7.

In our last council meeting, we remembered these instructions from the Apostle Paul the qualifications for elders of the church. These are challenging standards! Even those of us already serving realize that is it by the grace of God and the transforming work of the Spirit that our hearts are prepared and formed to be people worthy of this calling. As a council we also added a few practical considerations of what it takes to be a good elder:

 A mature Christian who follows the Lord and can be a good example to others
 Someone known and respected by others and already actively involved in the church
 Someone who is a whole-hearted, voting member of Arusha Community Church, and who worships at ACC consistently; it’s important to be present in worship regularly to be in touch with the community.
 Someone who has enough time in his/her life to commit to attending monthly council meetings, perhaps to sit on another committee, and deal with issues that arise.
 Someone who is going to stick to his/her commitments
 Someone who can keep confidential what is discussed in council
 Together, our group of elders should represent the whole community and not just certain segments of our population.
There are many people who have the strong inner character of a good council member, but who are honestly too busy or who travel too much. Such people would be wiser to recognize that it is not the right season to serve as an elder.

Most of all, people who would like to be elders should understand that there is not a lot of glory in this position. No, instead, there can be a lot of work! We need to work together. We must be available to meet the needs of the community. But there can be a great deal of joy in serving and helping to lead God’s people. Even when being an elder is hard, the Apostle Paul gives us this comfort: “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an elder, desires a noble task.” 1Timothy 3:1.

~Rebecca Mosley (Council Chair).

News & Events

  Sunday, January 12: Sunday school resumes
  Confirmation classes will be starting in January.
  Sunday, January 12: Parents’ meeting after church
  Sunday, January 19: Confirmation classes start, 9 am
  Saturday, January 25, 10am to noon: New Voting Members’ Class
  Sunday, February 9: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

ARE YOU A VOTING MEMBER YET?

A class for new voting members will be held on Saturday, January 25, 10 am to noon. If you are new to the congregation, it is also a great way to get to know more about ACC, how it works, its history and approach. Many of you may have been attending for years but have not yet become voting members. Please plan to join this short gathering. You will then be received into the congregation and ready to help vote for a new council and church budget in 2020.

BAPTISM

Worship committee has selected several Sundays in the church year to schedule baptisms during the service. The next upcoming baptism date will be Sunday, February 23, 2020, a Family Service. If you wish to be baptized, or if you wish to have your child be baptized, you need to follow these steps:

1. Fill out a baptism request form at least 6 weeks in advance. Form available from the church office.

2. Adult candidates or parents meet with a pastor for spiritual preparation. If you don’t have a pastor in mind, the council chair will match you with an appropriate minister.

3. The pastor / lay minister recommends the adult / child for baptism to ACC Church Council.

4. If Church council approves, worship committee receives the baptism request to schedule it.

Arusha Community Church (ACC) is church which is led by volunteers. Each church service is organized and led by various people offering their time and abilities for the glory of God and to support the functioning of our worship services.
We are currently really in need of more ushers to help us during the Sunday morning services. If this is something you would be willing to help out with, please contact Sharon Mkisi after the church service or you can fill out a Time and Ability (TAA) application form (found on the bulletin board) and leave it in the church office.
Thanks so much – your help would be so appreciated!
~ Sharon Mkisi, Worship Committee Chair”.

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