COVID-19 Update: 2020-03-17

We are adjusting to what is being ordered to protect the public against COVID-19.

While there is still uncertainty, our mission remains strong and clear. We will continue loving Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and sharing Jesus with those around us.

As of today, the Kansas Government has banned gatherings over 50 people for the next 8 weeks. We will not be able to gather for Sunday services at our facilities, but we will continue to provide online services for us to gather and to invite our friends and neighbors. We are planning this will remain in effect through Easter and wewill keep you updated on a week by week basis

Moving Forward

We are still together, even though we need to keep a physical distance.

Now is our opportunity to rally as we continue to BE the Church and own our individual role in the church family.

We want Westsiders to own the responsibility to connect with and care for each other and those closest to them.

Here is how you can do this:

First, Lean into your LifeGroup or, if not in a LifeGroup, identify three to five other Westsiders, you can connect with daily. As you connect with each other, encourage and pray for one another.

Second, take the 5 Home Challenge. Build a relationship with your five closest neighbors each week. Let them know you care for them and that you are praying for them.

Third, consider being a Neighborhood Champion. This is someone who will be on mission by connecting with those on your Street, block, or apartment building. As you connect, you will be positioned to coordinate care for your neighbors.

We will regularly be posting videos and resources to equip you for this unchanging mission in this changing world.

Tools to Keep You Connected

KiDS Watch Party for Your Home

KiDS church is now in your hands! Below are resources for you and your kiddos to do at home. We have provided bible story videos, music, and activities for you to do with your children. 

We love you all and are praying that you stay safe and healthy. We hope that you enjoy these resources and that your family is blessed by them. 

If you have any questions or concerns please contact:

2020-03-15

Early Childhood

Grade School

COVID-19 Update (2020-03-13) | Online Only Services this Week

Church Family, 

In light of your best interest and the interest of others, we are adapting to what is needed to help protect our community.

  • We will not host services at our church building this Sunday. 

  • We will have services online this Sunday at 9:30am & 11:00am.

While we won't gather in person, technology allows us to connect in other ways. We encourage you to worship together with your friends, neighbors, and family in your homes on Sunday. This is a great opportunity to invite someone over to your home.

Two ways we can worship together and make a difference with this opportunity:

  1. Watch at online.westsideleavenworth.com and invite someone over to join you.

  2. Watch on facebook.com/westsideleavenworth and share it.

Other ways to watch at westsideleavenworth.com/livestream.

PARENTS + KiDS

Those of you with KiDS, our KiDS Director is gathering resources to email parents so you can lead your child this Sunday.

STUDENT MINISTRY

WSM will not meet on Wed, March 18. Our Student Ministry team will be in communication with teens throughout the week.

OPPORTUNITY TO BLESS AND GIVE

Use this opportunity to BLESS someone. Be in prayer for those around you. Listen to them. Engage/Eat with them. Serve them. Let the Story of Jesus be shared in your love.

You are positioned to love those with whom you live, work, study, or play. I encourage you to check on those close to you. Call and text other Westsiders to check in on one another.  Continue to pray together and for one another.

We still have the opportunity to give and support Jesus' kingdom work through our local church. We thank you for continuing to give securely online. It is fast to set up and you can even schedule a regular gift.

LIFEGROUPS AND SMALL GATHERINGS

We encourage LifeGroups to continue to gather as you are feeling well. Use wisdom when deciding. We also will continue to host groups at our church building. Please contact us with any questions.

MY PERSONAL ENCOURAGEMENT

This is not a time for the Church of Jesus to operate in fear. The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy with words that we need to embrace "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7).

We have the Holy Spirit alive in us. The same Spirit that has power over death. We don't have to fear. We have God's resurrection power and that enables us to love in this time. We also have self-control. Another translation says "sound mind." I pray for you to operate in this Holy Spirit operating system with a power to love and of a sound mind.

RESPONDING TO PEOPLE WHO ASK "WHY CANCEL?"

If someone is concerned that we are canceling, here are some talking points for you:

  • We are putting the interest of others ahead of our own and loving one another by protecting one another.

  • We are not operating in fear. We are being responsible. (2 Timothy 1:7)

  • We are doing what love requires right now.

CHECK-IN FOR UPDATES

We will communicate with you on facebook, our app, and our website at westsideleavenworth.com/news.

I love that being on this mission of loving Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and sharing Jesus is not inhibited by not being able to have a large gathering.

God's kingdom will advance as we continue to be on mission together. 

Blessings to you and your family, 

Kasey Robinson
Lead Pastor, Westside Leavenworth. 

Regarding COVID-19 and Church Services

Church Family,

We are closely monitoring the effects of COVID-19 (coronavirus) and are in contact with health-care professionals as safety continues to be a priority for our church community.

At this time, we are planning to have Sunday services as scheduled. We will continue to livestream our 9:30am and 11:00am services online

While the virus has not hit Leavenworth County yet, we want to continue our efforts to keep a clean facility and safe environment. We want to be vigilant in keeping surfaces sanitized and communicate these with you. 

We also want to equip you to make wise decisions about coming to gatherings, regardless if they are in, or away from our facilities.

1. We encourage you to take personal vigilance regarding your safety.

Please take care of yourself and your family. Please educate yourself and your family about the risk, transmission, and symptoms of COVID-19.

Here are resources to help you do this:

Please stay home if you are immune compromised or don't feel well. This is for your best interest and the best interest of others.

Please wash your hands regularly for 20 secs (sing "Happy Birthday" fast 2xs) and avoid touching your face. Medical professionals are emphatic about this.

2. Every effort is being done to maintain a safe environment.

Should you feel like coming to our Sunday services, here are some adjustments we will be making during this season:

  • Hand sanitizer will be available when you check-in your children.

  • Our First Impressions team will encourage you to wave and smile, instead of shaking hands and giving high-fives.

  • We will not pass the offering baskets around. Please give online or use the offering boxes in the back of our Community Room.

  • We will frequently wipe down public surfaces disinfecting solution.

3. Be in communication with each other and with us.

We are a church family who cares for each other. We want to continue to engage in our relationships with each other, even as personal contact may be minimized. Please call/text to check on those in your LifeGroups or with other Westsiders you know. Communicate with us if you are not feeling well or if you know that someone is in need.

Engage with us on social media and use our app.

We want to continue to care for our church family, whether you’re home or abroad. We want to pray for each other and make sure each person has what they need.

4. Use this opportunity to be sacrificial and not selfish.

The church, the people of Jesus, is a light in these times as we show love and serve. We trust that God will meet our daily needs. That also means we will be generous with those in need. Be the good news to others during this season.  Be in prayer for those around you. Listen and engage. Look for your opportunity to serve. The story of Jesus will be known.

For updated information, please follow us on our app, online, facebook, or instagram.

I love being on this mission with you, whether we gather or we are scattered.

Blessings to you,

Kasey Robinson
Lead Pastor, Westside Leavenworth

Creative Kindness with a Loaf of Bread

We are challenging you to use a loaf of bread to show kindness to someone! Here are some ideas of who you can serve and how you can serve them with your loaf of bread. Don’t forget to snap a pic of your creative kindness and share it using #WFCLV on your social media!

People you can serve:

  • a family in need

  • widows or widowers

  • homeless or underserved

  • sports team or class

  • co-workers

  • neighbors

  • friends of your kids

Ways you can serve:

  • make garlic bread

  • make croutons for a salad

  • make bread pudding

  • make sandwiches

  • make french toast

  • make an energy boosting breakfast toast

Exciting change coming for WSM!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtQVl23OU4s&feature=youtu.be

Hey Westside!

        WSM with support from our staff and leaders is rolling out a change in programming for you and your teen! Starting Sept. 16th we will no longer be having our traditional Sunday services and will instead be moving to a Wed and Sun night model.

       theLoft on Wed will be geared towards building relationships and reaching more students where you live, study, and play. It will allow for a greater reach in Leavenworth County as we move toward reaching students who are far from God.
       Sunday night small groups will be focused directly on discipleship in an intentional way as well as developing your teen's character and calling on their life. 

With these changes we believe we can help your teen discover their identity in Jesus as they love Him, become more like Him, and share Him with others. We want to unlock your teen's God-given potential as they take their next steps in following Him.

Thank you Westside!

Caleb Klinger
cklinger@westsideleavenworth.com
9138904044
WFC Leavenworth

Ways to Use Your Loaf of Bread

In today's service we are challenging you to use a loaf of bread to listen to someone, eat with someone, or serve someone. 

Here are some ideas to help you use your loaf of bread or creatively come up with your own way to engage in building a relationship with someone.

Share your story of how you used your bread.

 

Invite people over for sandwiches or a meal or take a co-worker lunch at work and eat with them.

  • Make grilled cheese sandwiches 
  • Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (consider allergies)
  • “Unleash the power of toast”—B.L.T's can make a great food to share.
  • Make croutons for a salad.
  • Make bread pudding
  • Use a rolling pin to flatten the bread (remove the crust) and use it as a pastry skin with delicious fillings

Use it to listen.

  • Invite a family to feed the birds
  • Take neighborhood kids down to the neighborhood pond to feed the fish.

Serve someone.

  • Make sandwiches for a family who recently had surgery or a new baby.
  • Challenge friends and neighbors to give away a loaf
  • Set up a table to give out sandwiches

Begin With Prayer by Signing up for BLESSEveryhome.com

1. Sign up for an account... Easy as 1,2,3.

  • Visit https://blesseveryhome.com and fill out the form asking for your address.* Click “Continue to Step 2.”
  • Fill in your login information (name, email, account password, and church—”Westside Family Church Leavenworth.” Click “Continue to Step 3.”
  • Choose how many homes you want to adopt by praying for God to BLESS them. Select what days you would like to be emailed to be reminded to pray for them. Choose if you want to let others in our church know you are a light who is praying for your neighbors and if you want to be notified when someone new moves into your neighborhood. Accept the terms and conditions. Finish by clicking “Finish.”

2. Pray for the homes that are emailed to you.

You will receive an email with a small list of the homes in your neighborhood based on public record.  The email will include a suggested prayer you can pray for those homes. You will see two buttons to click to acknowledge you’ve prayed for those homes. 

3. Track how you are BLESSing those homes.

By logging into your dashboard at blesseveryhome.com, you can track your progress as you are Beginning with prayer, Listening, Eating & Engaging, Serving, & Sharing God’s story with them. 

*Your personal information is not shared by BlessEveryHome.com or its parent ministry, Mapping Center for Evangelism & Church Growth, with any other institution. Residential information is strictly used to map neighbors from open public records in order to create neighborhood lists. No data collected on our site is shared or sold. The information provided in prayer lists is all public data and not collected from any private sources.

Easter Food Drive (2 tons in 2018)

Food Drive | During All Easter Services

Last year, Westsiders brought over 1 ton of food. This year, we want to bring 2 tons of food to fill local food banks in Leavenworth & Lansing. 

Bring as many of the following items when you join us on Easter:

  • Boxed Dinners (Mac & Cheese, Pastas, Rice) 
  • Pasta Sauce,
  • Ravioli,
  • Peanut Butter,
  • Canned Tuna,
  • Soups,
  • Cereals,
  • Pancake Mix,
  • Syrup, 
  • Healthy Snacks.

Easter Services

March 31: 5:00 & 6:30pm
April 1: 8:15, 9:30, & 11:00am

KiDS services for ages 6 weeks to 5th grade.

Visiting us on Easter? Register your child for check-in here.

 

2018 Goal Impact Trip - Ukraine

Join us on our FIRST Global Impact Trip at WFCLV! Our mission on this trip will be to serve orphans and at-risk children and partner with Jeremiah's Hope in Kolentsi, Ukraine.


2018Global Impact.png

This trip will cost around 1500 dollars total. Exact prices will be determined once the team is established. A non-refundable $500 deposit is required with this application and will apply to the total trip cost.

Please fill out the form below and submit by March 21st, 2018.  Your $500 deposit, as well as all other payments, can be made online, by cash or by check.  Please make sure that you select one of the payment options at the end of the form.  Once selected you can choose to pay online or later by cash or check.

If you have additional questions before you register contact Caleb Klinger @ cklinger@westsideleavenworth.com or 9135650704



 

Introducing Our new Grade School Director

I am excited to introduce you to our new KiDS Grade School Director, Trina Knight! Trina will be leading our KiDS ministry to your KiDS in 1st through 5th Grades.

First, and foremost, Trina would want you to know that she unashamedly LOVES JESUS! She, and her amazing husband, Nick, have five super cool kiddos: Abram, Jonah, Bo, Zec, and Josephine. As you can see, family is a big deal for her.

She has been leading in children's ministries since 2002. Her passion is to glorify God by teaching KiDS how to discover Jesus through scripture and encouraging them to trust in and follow Him. She has a background in Early Childhood Education with many experiences in administration, coaching girl’s sports, and she has lead a Bible Study Fellowship since 2013.

Trina's favorite things are hearts, pearls, popped collars and grace. She aspires to be the Proverbs 31 woman. She has run two half marathons—and she adds "at a moderate pace." She loves people, Jesus, and laughing! In her free time, she'll clean their house, read, play in the backyard and attend bible studies.

If you would like to join us in building strong families by serving twice a month, or more, in our KiDS ministry, please let us know here.

Introducing our new Early Childhood Director, Rebecca Ruble

rebecca-family-1.jpg

We are excited to introduce you to our new Early Childhood Director, Rebecca Ruble! She will be overseeing our KiDS ministry to KiDS in Kindergarten and under. Her passion for building strong families led her to get her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Park University.  She is also a Registered Behavior Technician. Her educational background and her passion for Jesus will be influential in equipping and inspiring parents to lead in a KiDS classroom.

Rebecca and her husband, Milt, have been members of Westside Family Church since 2011.  Before joining our efforts to launch Westside Leavenworth in January 2016, her family attended the Westside Family Church Speedway Campus.

Rebecca and Milt have two adult children, Emily and Isaac, and in June 2016 they adopted Jacob—who had been in their home since May 2014. 

Rebecca enjoys reading, working out, and eating healthy.

I know you will enjoy getting to know her more and that you will be greatly encouraged and blessed as she leads us in building stronger families.

Please feel free to contact Rebecca at rruble@westsideleavenworth.com.

Advent Devotional

We begin a new series next week called, "Not A Storybook Christmas." We'd like for you and your family to celebrate the coming of Jesus by joining us in a Bible Devotional plan hosted by Youversion, the makers of the Bible App and bible.com.

The reading plan includes questions to engage young children, too.

"The birth of Christ, His advent, marks God's ultimate plan for our redemption. In Christ, we see the fullest picture of God's hope, peace, joy and love. God's Word is the truth by which we know and walk with Him daily. It is our hope that this guide will encourage and facilitate personal time spent in the Word and provide a resource for families with children to do that together." (Plan Description created by 121 Church)

Advent Candles

Another tradition to celebrate the coming of Jesus (advent) is to light a candle on each Sunday, beginning Dec 3. You can do this with your family or by yourself. 

5 Candles are needed.

Week 1 - Hope
Week 2 - Peace
Week 3 - Joy
Week 4 - Love
Christmas Day - Jesus

Each week, the Bible Devotional Plan will look at each aspect Jesus brings when He came to be with us and be one of us.

Thanksgiving Offering

Thanksgiving-Offering-banner.jpg

Thank you for your faithful generosity!

We are grateful for all who model generosity with their time and finances. We believe generosity flows out of our gratitude.

Every Thanksgiving weekend, we want to bring the best gift, above our regular giving, as a response of gratitude for Jesus' gift of salvation and provision for us.

For some, this year has been a season of abundance. We ask you to prayerfully consider what is your gift of gratitude.

For others, this year has been a season of scarcity. We ask you to prayerfully consider what is your gift of gratitude for God continuing to meet your daily needs.

We believe what scripture says:

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:6–8 (NIV)

We believe our generosity will make an impact.

This year we will take everything given, whether online or in the service, on November 26 and give it away to our community.

We can't wait to see how God makes an impact through our obedient and grateful generosity.

New Options to Exit our Church Building 

In order to keep safety a priority, we want to reduce some of the congestion in our main hallway during our service transitions. Please feel free to use two exits after picking up your child.

The first exit is located directly across the bathrooms in the hallway. This will give you access to the East and North parking. 

The second exit is located on the North part of The Landing (where our grade schoolers meet).

Please give your Secure Pick Up tag to your child's leader and you can take your children out the best exit for you.

Thank you for making WFC a fun and safe place for families!

Reaching Families = KiDS Rooms Are Changing

We are grateful God is using our church community to impact more families. This means our in KiDS areas are growing!

We will be changing rooms in our Early Childhood Ministry to accommodate the influx of children. These changes will occur this Sunday, October 29.

  • Babies will move to Room 1 
  • Walkers will move to Room 5 
  • 2's will move to Room 6 
  • 3's will move to Room 3 
  • PreK will move to Room 4 
  • Kindergarten will move to Room 9 (Next to The Landing)

When you check-in your child, the tags will reflect these new changes.