2019 Volunteer Appreciation

Volunteer Christmas Appreciation Party

Good evening Volunteer Family. Welcome to our Annual Christmas Appreciation Party, which is just a small way for us to take time to say thank you. I recognize - the leadership team recognizes - that all we do at The River Church doesn’t happen without you; nor, is it supposed to happen.

1 Corinthians 12:12 NLT

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.

1 Cor. 12:

God designed the church (Christ’s body) to be a bunch of Jesus followers, all working together, to accomplish the mission of God. It works best this way. And when I look at our Volunteer Teams I see this. In fact, I see what Paul said this to the Ephesians happening. He said...

Ephesians 4:15–16 NLT

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Eph 4:

Tonight is our 4th Volunteer Appreciation Party. And each year I continue to see our church grow and grow in healthy ways like described here in Ephesians.

2019 was a year of transition. A lot happened!

We’ve grown numerically and in ministries.

We made the change from Saturday night to Sunday morning.

And, we’ve changed locations 3 times this year!

All of those changes were made possible by you! It’s your giving, your serving, your faithfulness that allows us to expand God’s Kingdom here in Glastonbury. Thank you!

But, before we pray and eat, I want to take a moment for a few special thank yous. Again, thank you to all of you. I love all of you and value all of you. But I also believe we shouldn’t be afraid to give a special thanks when needed.

First off...

Pearl - She’s going to be mad at me because she hates this, but I want to thank Pearl for her faithfulness. Not many people see that 9 out of 10 Sundays, Pearl is here at 645am and leaves at 1245. She serves with a huge smile and never complains. Thank you!

Howard - Couldn’t be here tonight, but again - a faithful servant. Always ready to go above and beyond. He’s our lead greeter and also has temporarily taken on hospitality with Kay’s sickness. He’s a true blessing to us.

Alwyn and Anpu and kids - Again, blessings. Thank you. They too show up early and leave late. Always joyful. Always encouraging. There is no other sound person than Alywn. He serves faithfully every week. Anpu has her hand in many cookie jars (with permission), including serving on our board. One of the greatest ways she serves is she walks around this place - praying - an hour before service for our church .

Tim - For the last couple of months, Tim has taken over setup/breakdown. Picking up the trailer early and taking it to storage after. He’s been developing a Production team that continues to improve our Sunday morning experience - not because we put on a show, but because we believe environment plays a part in helping people engage in worship. The Production team also gives people an opportunity to serve. Annette - Thank you for your sacrifice! We know it’s a true team effort from your family.

Alyssa - If you guys don’t know, Alyssa is the only other person we have on staff. She’s our Communication Hub. She handles all our internal communications, which includes Planning Center (a key component of our volunteer ministries). Thank you Alyssa and the Zeek family for all you do! I’d like to think we pay you a fair hourly wage, but I still think we are getting a deal when considering your talent, experience, and quality of work.

Jon - Is one of the finest worship leaders in Connecticut. I’m not exaggerating on that. Chris can attest to this. His job is travel around CT and visit other churches. And he’s mentioned (on his own), the gift God has given TRC by having Jon as our worship leader. He’s not only talented and knowledgable, but also has an amazing heart for Jesus and people, which is key for worship. Thank you for all you do.

Jackie - We are blessed to have a talented and experienced children’s director, who’s been with us from day one. We all know how important River Kids is to our church, especially with the amount of children we have. Thank you for your leadership in this ministry.

Janelle - Sometimes the pastor’s wife goes unappreciated. I know that’s not true in our church. I see how you guys love and care for her. So, thank you. But I want to personally acknowledge her. I know you know that Janelle isn’t paid by the church. But she puts in close to 30-40 hours of work every week. From communications, design, hospitality, discipleship, and managing our social media presence. Would you please thank her with me?

Again, many thanks to all of you. You’re all worthy of thanks for your faithfulness - that’s why you were invited! I’d love to say something about all of you, but I’m going to assume you’d rather eat than listen to me talk!

Last thing - How cool is this? We started off with one table at Maggie McFlys. Then, we had a two tables at Gideon’s BBQ. Last year, we packed out Angelos and still didn’t have enough room. This year, no restaurant was will to accommodate us because we’re too big! It’s pretty full in here tonight! Hopefully next year we rent both sides, amen?

Love you guys. Thank you. Let’s pray.