We will honor and celebrate our family ministry volunteers during the month of January. I ask you to thank the special family ministry servants in your child and/or student’s life. We have created a calendar for the month of January to celebrate each family ministry volunteer. If you did not receive a copy of the calendar in the mail, email me at heidi@rockspringschurch.com for a copy.

On each day of the month of January, we ask you to pray for the volunteers listed. Then, if your individual children are impacted by these special people, please take time to write them a note, send them an email or give them a small gift of appreciation on the day you are remembering them in prayer. You could even leave a comment on this blog for them.

Also, if you are a family ministry volunteer, be sure to plan to attend the appreciation breakfast on Sunday, January 25th. More information will be announced.

Thank you for being faithful to God and the Rock Springs Church kids & students. Without you, we could not do the ministry that happens each week.

One of Santa's helpers visited the children's ministry areas on Sunday to remind the kids of the "true" meaning of Christmas - the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Santa's helper read the nativity story to the kids, watched them enjoy milk & cookies and then took time to pose for a photo with each child. The kids (and parents too) enjoyed it much! Special thanks for Chris & Angela Elkins for providing everything needed to make this special event happen.

Today's focus is on the virtue of friendship. Our pastor often says that "people aren't looking for a friendly church, they are looking for friends." Isn't that the truth? Many times in our life, we seek others to share with. We want to feel accepted by someone other than our family. Ultimately, Jesus is our forever friend. He provides friends for us for accountability, godly counsel, prayer and friendship. People will always let us down but Jesus NEVER will. Grab hold of Him today and thank Him for the friends He's provided for you here on earth. Here are some ideas for practicing "friendship" today:





-- Write down prayer concerns of your close friends in your new prayer journal and commit to praying for them daily.





-- Offer to do an unexpected favor for a close friend.





-- Think of one or two people who you would like to grow closer to and commit to nurturing those friendships this year.





-- Ask Jesus to be your forever friend today and let Him take control of your life!

Today's virtue is worship. When you hear the worship, everyone automatically thinks that it must involve praise music. Of course, that is one of the many ways to worship God in your daily life. Explore some of those other ways today and start making them an active part of your relationship with Christ.

Here are some ideas:

-- Get on your knees today. I mean, really get down on your knees and bow before God. We often don't do this enough.

-- Start a prayer journal and document all of your prayer requests this year. As prayers are answered, highlight them. Then, next year at this time you'll be able to look back and see how God has been so very active in your life.

-- Write God a love letter telling Him how much He means to you.

-- Attend a church service and listen intently to every word.

-- Share Christ with the waiter or waitress who serves you at lunch today.

Today, we're playing catch-up with Day 7 - KINDNESS. There is definitely not enough of this in this world so here's your chance to pass it on!

Here are some ideas for promoting kindness:

-- pay for the person's order behind you as you drive through at a restaurant today

-- hold the door for someone as you walk in to a public place and say "Merry Christmas"

-- Call an elderly neighbor or friend and make sure they are ok today (especially since its so c0ld) and offer to run errands for them

-- Come up with your own way of promoting kindness and let us know about it!