July 1, 2020

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen.”
Philippians 4:19-20 NLT

Restoration, my heart is full! Last Sunday we held our Vision Meeting virtually, and included parts of that Vision Meeting with our livestream worship service. I’m not sure if I could have imagined the situations our world has faced in 2020 back in December, but I am grateful and thankful to be on this journey with you church, and to see the ways God has worked and to look forward with hope, peace, and power.

First, I’m grateful for the technology to even hold our meeting. I’m thankful for the new members we welcomed. I have an overwhelming gratitude to the leadership team for the prayer, discernment, and decisions especially in this season, and to you all, the members and friends of Restoration who faithfully serve, give, and contribute to this bring restoration and hope through Jesus. We ended our fiscal year June 30 and we want to start our new fiscal year strong, so thank you for your partnership in that.

While we presented a modest budget considering the circumstances, the included facilities move makes our ministry action plans anything but modest. The COVID-19 pandemic, the racial pandemic, and the move are all opportunities for each of us to see, show, and share the overwhelming love and good news of Jesus, especially in this next season.

As I mentioned Sunday, I believe this involves compassion, contact, and cost, just as it did for the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37:

Compassion—God wants us to see what He sees and care about what He cares about. We do this by putting ourselves in situations where we are near people or near a need, and then crossing the street to care and act.

Contact—We have to move towards people, by meeting them where they are at, and inviting them to the places we are at, with intention and initiative. Who can you reach out to—in our church and in your neighborhood?

Cost—The Samaritan invested in his neighbor’s healing. He told one of his enemies (a Jewish innkeeper), “I’ll pay whatever it takes.” When you move toward someone else, there’s always risk. And I believe God is calling us to step into that vulnerability.

God is calling us to more vulnerability, more generosity and more faith risks. Will you join with me in this journey?

Full of hope,
Rob

*THIS SUNDAY*
Communion Sunday
This Sunday we’ll be celebrating communion during our online worship service. Communion is a sacred practice in the Christian church instituted by Jesus Christ. The bread and cup represent and remind us of Jesus’ body and blood freely being offered to restore us with God. We’d like to invite you to participate from your home by gathering the communion elements before Sunday morning so you are not scrambling to find something in that moment. You may not have the traditional elements of bread and juice/wine on hand to use, so feel free to use what is meaningful and available to you. Our desire is to experience Christ with us as we break the bread and drink the cup, whatever those actual elements may be. We look forward to participating with you online Sunday morning! The recipe for our typical Communion bread can be found HERE if you want to make it yourself.

*NEW*
It’s official!
We are moving and we need your help. Click HERE to see our current needs and sign up to give us a hand. To keep the number of people present at one time low, we are keeping the group sizes small and limiting helpers to adults only. If you have any questions, please contact Chrystine at Chrystine@restorationcov.org. More information about our move decision, including a video tour, can be found on our website HERE.

Current Message Series – Love thy Neighbor
Has the global coronavirus pandemic or the national racial pandemic caused you to think differently about your neighbors? Who are your neighbors? Do you know them well? If you’re honest, do you think that lady across the street is a bit weird? Is it too tempting to keep your distance and mind your own business when it comes to your neighborhood?

What if Christians were the best neighbors? Would your street change? Would heaven be fuller?

As followers of Jesus, we’ve been called to love both God and our neighbors. What if we push past the barriers of fear, time, prejudice, and pride that often keep us from engaging with others? What would our communities look like if we took Jesus’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves seriously?

We don’t have to travel far to get close to people who are far from God. We can build deep connections with the people in our neighborhood and, most importantly, please God.

*THIS SUNDAY*
Food on the First
In lieu of our usual Food on the First food collections for the summer, we’ll be collecting gift cards to provide to families in need. Please send grocery gift cards from Target, Cub, Aldi, or Walmart to Michele Jacobson. Please message us at info@restorationcov.org

*NEW*
AmazonSmile App
AmazonSmile customers can now support Restoration Covenant Church in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.

Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into ‘Settings’
Tap ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app. Click HERE for instructions.

Small Groups Meeting Online via Zoom
In these unprecedented times, it’s more important than ever to have face time with friends and family – even if it’s virtual. We recognize the huge value in this opportunity to stay connected and some of our small groups have formed online zoom chats to stay connected:

Women’s Group – Every other Monday at 7pm – led by Erin Garcia
Men’s Group – Every Saturday morning at 7am – led by Chad White
Prayer Group – Every Tuesday 7-9pm – led by Mary Beshara and Michael Nybakken
Adultish? Group – Friday evenings – led by Daniel Morgenstern

These groups are all easy to join. Please reach out to DanielMorgenstern@restorationcov.org to get connected to these zoom chats or to find the group that fits best.

You are invited to Family Game Night! – July 6
We want to stay connected and have fun through these times, so every other Monday from 7:30pm-8:30pm we will be gathering through Zoom to play some fun party games together! No installation or purchase required. Anyone age 12+ can join the game via computer, phone, or any other device that can browse the internet. If you’re interested and would like to know more, please contact Matthew at: matthewgoerdt@restorationcov.org

Sunday Coffee Time
Are you missing after service chats by the coffee cart? Join us after the message Sunday on a zoom call for our virtual coffee meeting; we’ll bring the company you bring the coffee. We will break up into groups of 3-4 callers to give you a chance to chat and check in on folks you might not have connected with otherwise. Use this link to join. A link will also be posted in the Facebook chat at the end of the service on Sunday.

Online Giving
There’s no time like the present to set up online giving. Because our regularly scheduled worship service will be online for the next few weeks, online tithing is a way to remain faithful in your giving even in the most uncertain of times. Decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. We encourage you to consider giving online so that your giving is regular and easy to manage – it’s easy to sign up HERE.

*NEW*
Pray or Receive Prayer
Now more than ever, people are turning toward prayer or are in desperate need of prayer. We have an amazingly gifted prayer team you can depend on for prayer. They’re always looking for other prayer warriors if you want to join or if you need prayer for any situation, you can contact them. We believe in the power of prayer and know that God is listening. We would love to pray for you. If you’re interested in joining the prayer team or have any prayer requests, send them to our prayer team at prayer@restorationcov.org

RESTORATION KIDS

Contact: ChrystineVilhauer@restorationcov.org

Hello families,

I am sure most of you have heard me say before (probably many times) that at Restoration we believe strongly in empowering parents to be the spiritual leaders of their child’s faith. You have so much more time and influence in your child’s life than we ever could. That is especially true now. As parents, you are now not only the most important influence but likely one of the only daily influences our kids have to hear about God’s word and see what that means for our lives. It is also still true that Restoration Kids is here to support you. We are working to make sure you have access to the Bible lesson content your kids would have gotten on Sunday mornings as well as discussion prompts and activities to help engage your child around these topics. You can find that on our website HERE.

As always, if you have any questions or need anything at all, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at ChrystineVilhauer@restorationcov.org. I am praying for your families and want to know how you are doing over the next few weeks!

Play & Pray
Looking to get out of the house and connect with other parents and kids this summer? We are bringing back Play and Pray! Bring a chair or blanket so we can sit at a safe distance while we talk about the things going on in our lives and share prayer requests. For July, we will be meeting at Apple Grove Park (by the fire station at CR42 and Hayes) on Wednesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 22 at 9am.

What We’re Learning in July

Preschoolers

June and July are all about what we can spy with our little eyes. Get ready for I Spy! It’s a great theme that helps us see the things that help us believe in Jesus. I Spy. It is all about the eyes. We are helping preschoolers see so they can believe in Jesus. We will have one key question and bottom line for June and July. We don’t think we can say these too much. They are that good. Get ready to ask, “who can believe in Jesus” and respond with, “I can believe in Jesus,” over and over again. Our hope is that your preschoolers will have the truth that they can believe in Jesus with them forever.

“These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God.” John 20:31

Elementary

This summer, our focus is going to be on faith. God has always been involved in the world He created. We see His handiwork on display in creation. We see God’s love on display through Jesus, who came to rescue us. We respond to God in faith, believing in what we can’t see because of what we can see. When we focus on what we know to be true about God and the world God created, we can have faith in what we can’t see or fully understand.

“God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift.” Ephesian 2:8 NIrV

RESTORATION STUDENTS

Contact: DanielMorgenstern@restorationcov.org

*NEW*
Students Hiking Event – July 15
Did you know that Lebanon Hills has over 20 miles of hiking trails? We aren’t going to hike all of them (your feet would fall off) but we have a great part picked out to explore. Students and incoming 6th graders join us for a gorgeous walk and nature spotting at 6pm on Wednesday, July 15 at Jensen Lake, 1398 Carriage Hills Dr, Eagan. Wear comfortable clothes, a mask, comfy walking/hiking shoes, and maybe a backpack. Bring a water bottle, bug spray, and sunscreen if you burn easily. There is plenty of room for company out on the trail, so definitely bring a friend.

Students Giant Soccer Event – July 8
Calling all students and incoming 6th graders! Itching to get out and move in this great weather? We have a great opportunity for you. We will be playing soccer at 3pm on Wednesday, July 8th at Moeller Park in Apple Valley. But it isn’t your everyday soccer ball we will be using; try a 6ft monster soccer ball instead! Let’s see who’s got what it takes to push around that giant. Wear athletic clothes, a mask, good running shoes, and bring sunscreen and a water bottle. Hand sanitizer and a water refill station will be available. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Restoration Students Update
Restoration Student Ministry is now officially in Summer! What does this mean? Well first off, Student Gathering on Wednesdays, online or otherwise, is done until the beginning of the next school year. Don’t worry though, Student Ministry isn’t done. Three small groups are available to our students during the summer, a High School Girls Group meeting on Tuesdays, led by Janice Svaren, a Middle School Girls Group meeting on Fridays, led by Lliane Blons, and a Student Boys Group meeting on Sundays, led by Mike Sorenson. Student Ministry is also excited to start putting the wonderful weather to use with outdoor events open to all current students and incoming 6th graders. For further details on the groups or outdoor events please contact Daniel Morgenstern at danielmorgenstern@restorationcov.org.