The Messiah Messenger

Messiah Lutheran Church 816 Roy St. Houston, TX 77007

Inside this issue

Vets and Dogs ................ 2

Evening with Santa ........ 3

The Keys to Our Vision ... 4

Ministry Excellence ........ 4

By God’s grace Mes-siah is a Bible-based, Christ-centered, fam-ily-focused church embracing its church family, Early Child-hood Center, neigh-borhood and beyond with the uncondition-al love of Jesus Christ.

A Van Full of Hope and Joy “I’m glad we bought a mini-van,” Messiah’s Pastor Tim Engel has said on more than one occasion.

That’s because on more than one occasion Engel and members of Messi-ah have made the 17 mile trek from their church in Midtown to Camp Hope on the northwest side of Houston.

Camp Hope is a faith-based facility that provides interim housing for combat veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other emotional conditions such as depression and suicidal thoughts.

In the past the congregation had sponsored a clothing drive and a supply drive to support the men at Camp Hope.

In December they held a Toy Drive so the children of those veterans could have a merrier Christmas than they might otherwise have had. As

Camp Hope staff member Chuck Lightle said, “These kids have been through a lot.”

Messiah member Carole Griffin has become a strong advocate for Camp Hope. “I have such a heart for these men and what they go through,” she ex-plained.

She and her husband Johnny accompanied Pastor Engel to deliver the toys. While at Camp Hope, they learned about the plans to expand the residential buildings so more veterans can receive the help that they need.

As stated in their 4th Anniversary Newsletter,

Camp Hope has been "home" to more than 300 residents. Camp Hope has housed residents from the Vietnam era

(Continued on page 2)

January 2017 Volume 2, Issue 1

Contact Us messiahhouston@att.net

713-861-3072

Visit Us www.messiahlutheranchurch

houston.org

Worship with Us Sunday Service @ 9am

Sunday School lesson taught during the sermon

Childcare provided

Off-Street parking available

Messiah Houston

Vets and Dogs In March 2016, Messiah hosted a Comfort Dog Weekend. Three dogs, Phoebe & Pax (St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Worth) and Barnabas (Portage, IN), along with their handlers, joined Pastor Tim Engel and members of Messiah in a visit to Camp Hope. The Messiah members saw firsthand the bond that the veterans formed with the Comfort Dogs.

Messiah has applied for a Comfort Dog to enhance its ministry and is eager for the placement of their dog in 2017.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

2

through the current Global War on Terrorism, every branch of service, hailing from several states from coast to coast, and border to border. Nearly a dozen families have also re-sided here.

The Messiah congregation is eager to deepen its ties to Camp Hope. “Our goal is to be there on a monthly basis to help with their Family Night Meals,” Engel commented. “Once we have our Comfort Dog, that will be another resource that we can offer to the veterans and their families.”

For more information about Camp Hope, visit their website at http://ptsdusa.org/camp-hope/

(Continued from page 1)

Hope and Joy

A Camp Hope

combat vet with

Comfort Dog

Barnabas during a

visit in spring 2016

Evening with Santa The Christmas spirit took hold at Messiah when about one hundred folks came to the Sing-Along and Evening with Santa hosted by the congrega-tion on Sunday, Decem-ber 11.

* * *

Thank you for the won-derful event tonight. The kids had a blast! Really appreciated all the work and coordination that went into it. I hope it will become an annual event.

— Emily Ferrell

* * *

Our little Kaisley loved the carriage ride! Great job Everyone!

— Charity Tolbert

* * *

Thanks to all the volun-teers. Our children had a great time. Alex loves her face paint!

— Fred Lindner

* * *

Such a fun event! Really enjoyed it, thank you for everyone's hard work!

— Liz Van Burkleo

3

Outreach and Compassion — The Keys to Our Church’s Vision

Messiah Lutheran Church will by the grace of God –

Equip households and families to be outposts of outreach and

compassion through our Early Childhood Center and Christian Edu-

cation ministries for children and adults.

Embrace those who are in need and those who are apart from

Christ through focused and intentional outreach and compassion

ministries, including our Comfort Dog Ministry.

Enrich lives with the transformative power of God’s Word and

Sacraments through relational outreach and meaningful worship.

Embolden its members to follow Jesus through their involvement

in works of outreach and compassion.

“Why am I here?” is one of the most important questions one can ask.

It’s also a vital question for a congregation to consider.

According to our Mission State-ment, crafted by our leaders this past October, Mes-siah exists to “embrace our church family, Early Childhood Center, neighborhood and beyond with the unconditional love of Jesus.”

This Mission Statement has led to a set of Vision Statements (see below). These Vision Statements paint a picture of our future min-istry at Messiah. They show us how we will make a difference in the lives of the people we serve.

They also show us how to in-vest our church’s time, talent, and treasure so that we are al-ways in pursuit of the vision.

The key to each statement is the word “outreach.” Paired with “outreach” is the word “compassion.”

Messiah has been formed and equipped by Jesus, the Lord of the Church, to engage in minis-

tries of outreach and compassion. My pas-toral training and experience have equipped me to en-gage in these minis-tries as well.

Jesus has given us the passion and the

resources to pursue this vision for our ministry. He has also giv-en us His Spirit to empower us to achieve this vision.

He now asks us to focus on this vision and endeavor to make it a reality. I have every confidence that we can do just that.

In Christ,

Pastor Engel

4

The 4 E’s of Ministry Excellence

Messiah has

been formed and

equipped by

Jesus, the Lord

of the Church, to

engage in

ministries of

outreach and

compassion.

He now asks us

to focus on this

vision and en-

deavor to make

it a reality.