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2015 Year-end Pastoral Letter

Dear Church Family,

     As another year has reached its finale, let us rejoice in God’s delight in doing us good, and let us trust in Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, and today, and forever! (Heb. 13:8). Thank you for your faithful support of the ministry of New Covenant Bible Church throughout this year. We have seen dear ones move away and new friends join us; we have known joys and sorrows; we have launched a new church plant, supported missionaries near and far, and grown in our efforts to form disciples who make disciples of others. We have tasted of God’s grace in every season, and known his peace in every circumstance. I have high hopes for the future of our church as we continue to pursue our common mission—

To bring glory to God
through Spirit-transformed lives
by the beauty and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ

     We owe a debt of thanks to Rick DeMott, who has faithfully served for many years as a deacon in our church. Rick represents so well the selfless dedication and behind-the-scenes practical care that characterizes all our deacons. Rick will be taking a break from his service as a deacon as he & Ginny prepare for a new season of life full of opportunities (otherwise known as “retirement”). A further debt of gratitude is owed to Ross Stern, who has been lionhearted in his devotion to Christ’s flock as he has generously given of his time and energies to serve us as an elder for over a decade. Ross has requested a one-year leave of absence from the elder council this year so he can travel to visit his children and grandchildren more often, and continue to deal with the health issues that he has bravely endured these past four years. Though we will miss Ross’s wise presence greatly, we affirm and support his desire to take a much-needed break. To both Rick and Ross, men of proven worth—thank you for seeking not your own interests, but those of Jesus Christ, as you have labored so faithfully in the gospel on behalf of Christ’s church. May he renew your strength and fill you with joy and peace as you continue to hope in him.

     Looking ahead to 2016, the elders are pleased to announce that our elder Frank Chihowski will be assuming a part-time staff position as Director of the Center for Gospel Care. Frank has agreed to devote at least twenty hours a week to service in the church. He will manage and direct our growing counseling ministry, and provide organizational support in our church office and shepherding care to our flock. Frank has given a one-year commitment to this calling, and we will assess in a year’s time the best path forward. Attached you will find a personal word from Frank.

     We are also delighted to present Joe Kulesza as a nominee for the ministry of elder. Joe has been serving our church as a CareGroup leader and a ministry leader in the junior high youth group. The elders have interviewed him and observed his life and character, and we are persuaded that God has equipped Joe with the necessary gifts and godliness to effectively serve as a shepherd-leader in this church. We will ask the congregation to affirm him in our Winter Membership Meeting which will be held at the conclusion of our 5:00 p.m. Sunday night service on Jan. 24. Attached you will find a testimony from Joe. He will also give a verbal testimony in the morning worship services on Sunday, Jan. 10. If you have any questions or concerns about Joe’s candidacy for the eldership, please feel free to address these either with Joe directly or with any of our present elders.

     In this coming year, we are going to focus on two things: the personal pursuit of gospel-motivated holiness, and the corporate pursuit of gospel-advancement. We want to show through our preaching, teaching, and fellowship, that the holiness of God’s people is essential fuel to our mission and outreach into the world—and that one cannot pursue holiness without actively engaging in Christ’s mission. To that end, we will be focusing much of our attention (beginning in February) on the glorious central section of Paul’s missionary letter to the Romans, Romans 5-8. I can hardly wait!

Chihowski FrankA Word from Frank Chihowski, Elder & Director of the Center for Gospel Care

Our mission statement for the Gospel Care Center (GCC) ministry states “Our purpose is to functionally serve as a spiritual hospital and gospel lighthouse in order to establish, strengthen, and equip Christ-centered disciples using biblically based, counseling resources”. Hopefully, you see how our statement purpose meaningfully connects with our overall NCBC church community core values of “Bringing glory to God through Spirit-transformed lives by the beauty and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by forming disciples who make disciples”. Or, in other words, our GCC ministry intends to functionally reflect our NCBC “gospel centrality/disciple making” biblical values by the leading and power of God’s Spirit.

In 2016, we plan to appropriately build on our current “continuum of care” focus in partnership with our Care Group ministry. One upcoming ministry challenge will be to develop systems and structures that strategically strengthen our current internal infrastructure within our Center, primarily in the operations and equipping/training areas. We are doing this so we have a strong collaborative base that will support our internal NCBC partners including our church staff, elders, and ministry leaders. This stronger collaborative base will enable us to “proactively” minister gospel care to those in our congregation struggling in areas such as personal loss, bereavement, and life-threatening illness. Even further down the road, we hope to strategically establish supportive GCC ministry partnerships. These partnership opportunities might include our Missions GO Team (transitional care support to our missionaries), our sister churches including New City, and even local community outreach such as un-churched individuals who hear about our counseling services from interaction with our church community. I trust you are as excited as I am about the vision potential of our GCC ministry!

Kulesza JoeA Word from Joe Kulesza, Nominee for the Office of Elder

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,

I am privileged to be asked by the elders of New Covenant Bible Church to joyfully labor alongside them, in a ministry of love and service to you all, for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the building up of His church.

I received Jesus as Lord and Savior in the summer of 1987, just before my senior year of high school. Prior to that time, my understanding of God was shaped by my family's involvement in the Catholic Church. After my conversion, I truly tasted the joys of Jesus and a new-found hope in Christ through my involvement in the youth ministry at the Des Plaines Bible Church. God used the ministry there to introduce me to the wonders of His Word. I was so excited to learn about the second coming of Jesus, as some new friends and I dove into the book of Revelation together!

In college at Illinois State University, God was gracious to me by introducing me to students who were part of a campus ministry called The Navigators. I quickly made friends there, began hiding God's Word in my heart, came to know the necessity of abiding in Christ for daily nourishment and direction, and began to share in God's heart for the world. In my senior year at ISU, God surprised me with the most precious gift ever: Laura! In June of 1994, I married my closest friend and companion on this journey.

Over the next 5-10 years, God did some "open heart" surgery on me, seeking to remove from me a boat-load of pride and a critical spirit. I had a growing zeal for the Lord, but absent were true understandings of the depths of my sin and the grace I so desperately needed from Him. My attitudes and actions wounded many friends, and most certainly Laura, who cried out to God for guidance on how to follow me and my insensitive leadership. By God's grace, there came a day that He brought a friend into my physics classroom at work, a friend who came to have a one-on-one lunch meeting with me, a true Nathan the prophet in my life! God gave me ears to hear the truth about my sin, courageously spoken by this brother, and from that day forward God has been so kind to humble me, to lead me into oneness with Laura, and to grow in me a deep love for His people.

In the meantime, God has given me great, great joy living life alongside Laura and our children: Lucas, Caleb, Alayna, and Katelyn. Truly, my desires are (1) to abide in Christ through the Word and prayer, (2) to love Laura as Christ loved the church, (3) to bring up my children in the training and instruction of the Lord, and (4) to make disciples in all nations and through all generations. Some of the foundational and guiding verses for my life are John 15:5, Ephesians 5:25, Ephesians 6:4, and Isaiah 43:4-7.

After growing deeper in our faith and serving alongside the saints at Harvest Bible Chapel for 8 years, Laura and I sought for a fellowship closer to home, and we were blessed to find you all here at NCBC. For the past 5 years or so, God has enriched our faith in new ways through the various ministries here. Two ministries that we hold dear to our hearts are the care group and youth ministries, and we currently serve the church in those ways. More than anything, though, we are blessed by the warm fellowship extended to us by all of you in so many ways, and we truly desire our family to be a blessing to all nations, beginning here, with all of you at New Covenant Bible Church. For these reasons and more, I am eager to serve you as an elder.

For the glory of Jesus Christ,
Joe Kulesza