VBS Highlights

The Directors of our Children and FUSION ministries shared highlights of how we went Above & Beyond this year with Vacation Bible School:

• A student leader bought Bibles for kids in her group who don’t have them
• 441 kids and 209 leaders
• 289 families registered
• 38 families with no church home
• 74 families from other churches
• The number of fusion kiddos here for VBS!! Danielle – can you give exact numbers?
• Over $2600 for Hesed House raised in 4 days!
• Student leaders sharing how VBS is their favorite week of the whole year!
• Shared our décor set (which took months to create) with another church who has their VBS in July and will then share it with another church – so 3 churches get to use it!!
• Some kids who have never heard before that Jesus died on the cross or who Jesus even is!
• Leaders who thought they were ‘helping’ out realizing that God desired this for them personally as much as for the kids in their groups
• 13 FUSION kiddos with one on one buddies
• 1 FUSION kiddo that only stayed three days because he needed a more self-contained/sensory room that will benefit from our new space!! 
• 17 FUSION kiddos that had special needs and we worked with their small group leaders to give them the support they needed. 
• One FUSION kiddo told his mom he wants to come to church at Good Shepherd because he loves it here and made a lot of friends. 
• Two FUSION kiddos who are best friends didn’t even know they went to the same church—until they ran into each other at VBS
• Another group had a kiddo in a wheelchair with a tray—instead of doing group work on the ground, they brought the work up to his level and used his tray so he could see what was going on (no prompting from me—totally the leaders/kids idea!) 
• MANY FUSION parents left with tears in their eyes bc they saw their kids with special needs having an amazing time, being included with their peers, and learning about God’s purpose for their lives.

Over 1,000,000 Meals

Good Shepherd played a major role in contributing dollars and people towards this years Feed the Need event. More than 800 Good Shepherd members participated in helping to pack over a MILLION MEALS so that 2748 starving children will have food to eat every day for the next year.  Way to go Above & Beyond!

Impact Story: Community Development Center

Be inspired and share your ideas. It is amazing to see how God is touching and transforming lives through the generosity of Good Shepherd. Below is a story about the impact our giving has had with the kids in Bethlehem Church's Community Development Center. The Above and Beyond Missions Team wants to know about your ideas that could lead to visions ABOVE and BEYOND where we have been! Where can we make an impact? What can we do to make a sustainable difference? Or how can your generosity help transform lives? Tell us where your heart is!

 

Opportunity

Giving is an opportunity, not an obligation.  John Felton shares his journey of going beyond and his encouragement for others to start the journey.

Making Commitments

Matt shares why he wants to go beyond financially and how he sees our generosity making a difference locally and around the world.

Breaking through Barriers

The greatest gift Good Shepherd gave to this family was a challenge to grow in generosity. Now they are seeing generosity transform lives around the world and a few blocks from the church building. That's why we love challenging people to go beyond.

Transformed by Jesus

Here's a powerful story of the incredible things God can do when his people go beyond! The FUSION special needs ministry brought this family to Good Shepherd. See how that first step into our church transformed their lives.

Show Stopper

The ministry we do inside our church building goes way beyond our church building. Here is one example from the FUSION ministry...

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Just wanted to thank you for giving my son the opportunity to work with the Fusion kids when his schedule allows. I wanted to share with you a bit of how those seeds grow outside of Good Shepherd.

My son, Reed, is in the choir at Metea Valley High School. Metea hosted a “Guy’s Sing Night” last night inviting the feeder grade schools and middle schools to sing with the men’s choirs. This is intended to build goodwill, male-bonding and help build interest in the program. All the guys came pouring out after rehearsal for pizza and as usual, my Reed was nowhere to be found. Instead he comes straggling behind chatting with someone who looked like a teacher from a different school. 

As they got closer I realized she is someone I recently met at Church and is the Music teacher at Owen Elementary…Sue Boozel. When I go up to say “hi” she proceeds to “introduce” me to this young man who she says took the initiative to pair up with her little student with special needs and what an unbelievable job he is doing. I, of course, helped her draw the connection that he in fact is my son.

At the concert the little boy refused to go on stage. But Reed confidently waited with the boy in the shadows and got him to come out behind the curtain. Reed stood there with such calm confidence and the boy next to him never flinched. When the music started the boy did perfectly, singing all the songs, clapping and even dancing. Reed by his side calm, protective and confident the whole way.

After the concert the boy’s parents were flooded with emotion, thanking Reed for making this such a wonderful experience for them all. As you know this child now has the chance to consider music as a wonderful asset to his life. Reed is still not sure what he really did except for to be himself. 

Thank you, so much for the ministry you lead and your part in helping him see that being the kindhearted Reed he is, is a huge value to this world and will always be more than enough.

Jayne R.

Christmas Canes

Two stories touched my heart this Christmas. Both were connected and both were examples of how people can go beyond to make radical generosity a way of life.

One of the collections we had at Christmastime was a project called "Christmas Canes." We collected aluminum, collapsible walking canes to be given to the people we serve in Honduras, many of whom use brooms or tree branches when they have trouble walking around.

A young girl heard about this project to collect Christmas canes and was inspired to help. So when she went to visit Santa Claus this Christmas, can you guessed what she asked for? You guessed it. She asked Santa for an aluminum cane. The girl did end up getting a cane, which she joyfully donated to our drive.

This story was shared during one of our Christmas Eve services. After the service, a man came up to me. He was using a cane to walk. When he got to me, he paused and held up his cane. "Can you use this?" he asked. Before I could really answer, he handed the cane to me and hobbled off.

I love stories like this, especially at Christmas, because they reflect the radical generosity of our God who has given us so much, including his one and only Son. May we all be inspired this year to go beyond by making radical generosity a way of life. Happy New Year!

Beyond Update November 2015

Read an update of how God has taken our church beyond through the generosity of our congregation: UPDATE.

Teen Leaders

Teens can lead the way in our generosity journey. Below our Director of FUSION (special needs ministry) tells about two teens who went beyond to help a family with special needs.

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I have 2 amazing teen leaders—Matt and Sara. They are not members of Good Shepherd, but heard about our program from Sara’s mom. Sara and Matt have been helping with Buddy Break for the past eight months and are two of my most passionate leaders. They arrive early to connect with other leaders, stay late to help clean up, and keep their energy level high and contagious for the entire 3 hours of Buddy Break as they play with the kiddos.

About two months ago, Matt approached me, saying he was interested in babysitting for kids with special needs. Having no experience with kids with special needs before Buddy Break, Matt had grown to love working with them so much, he wanted to use that passion to possibly make some money and serve families. Matt also recognized that their parents rarely had a break and he wanted to be able to provide them a break. I told him I would keep him in mind as I often hear from families that need babysitters.

About a month later, a FUSION family approached me saying they needed help finding childcare for their 2 kids. They would need extensive help for a week and wanted to know if I knew of anyone. I looked over my list of FUSION leaders, asked a couple people who were able to fill some of the hours, but there were still holes. I prayed that God would show me who I could ask… and immediately Matt and Sara came to mind. I contacted Matt and Sara and they were able to take all the hours that were left! They didn’t know what they would be paid, or if they would be paid… They saw a need and with their generous hearts, decided to fill it! Now, this family has 2 students they can call on to watch their kids if needed, knowing their child with special needs and his sibling are in good hands!

Danielle Schaeffer, Director of FUSION

Mission Impact 10-22-15

In our last Directors meeting, Pastor Gary shared some exciting statistics that reveal how the generosity of Good Shepherd is going beyond to make an impact locally and globally.  Good Shepherd is:

· The #1 contributor to the Malaria Campaign in the whole Metro Chicago Synod (this Campaign recently reached its $15 Million Goal nationwide…and the monies have been utilized to reduce malaria and malaria related deaths in Africa by 60% while proclaiming the Gospel and watching many lives being transformed by God’s love).

· The #1 contributor to Feed My Starving Children in the greater Naperville area for Feed the Need as well as being the #1 contributor among churches in the whole Chicagoland area.

· The Primary Sponsor for Cheryl’s Children’s Home in Nairobi, Africa.

· Supporting the year of “Quadruple 2’s” (2 Mission Trips to 4 different locations this past summer and early fall…including Guatemala, Honduras, Michigan, and Pine Ridge, South Dakota)

If you give to support the ministry of Good Shepherd, you play a part in making all this happen.  Way to go!

Big Wins

Did you know ... The company who made a video of our children's and student's Beyond commitments won an award for their video. That's pretty neat. But the biggest wins were in the hearts that were touched and in the youth who made generosity a way of life. Watch the video below...

Make Your Mark

Our Student Ministry kicked off the fall semester with big bash and a big challenge.

They had at least 5,931 reasons to praise God!
5 mini pools
75 adult ensuring fun for our students
125 pounds of flour
300 bandannas
345 in attendance
500 pounds of sand
780 servings of mashed potatoes
800 pounds of dirt
1,400 square feet of plastic sheeting
1,600 water balloons
1 AMAZING GOD!

The theme was "Make Your Mark." They reminded our students that God gave us eternal life through Christ and a love that never fails. It is our act of worship to share the LIFE and LOVE of Christ with Naperville and BEYOND!

Our students were given a big challenge: How will you "Make Your Mark" this year in your family, your school, and in the community? That's a great challenge for all of us. How will you make your mark?

Changing Careers

For one family, going beyond started out as giving and it turned into receiving. And what they received was immeasurably more than they could ask or imagine—it was a calling to a new way of life, and a new career... 

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Most of you know Ryan (musician, singer, and Worship Leader) and Bethany (Director of Family Life- Children’s Ministries) from their roles around Good Shepherd. You may not have known that they are parents to two young children and that, until recently, Ryan was also a teacher in the Naperville school district. Just like other young families, the demands on their time and the financial commitments of life in the suburbs could be incredibly stressful.

Yet, as the Hammers listened, prayed, and talked about how they were called to go beyond, they soon realized that for them it wasn’t just about giving more and doing more. Although they started doing and giving more, it became clear that for them, going beyond would in a strange way mean giving less and doing less… so they could be more of who God was calling them to be as individuals, as professionals, as a couple, and as a family. After much discernment, they realized that Ryan was being called to leave his teaching career (and the stable salary, pension benefits, and top-notch health insurance) to go into ministry full-time.

Questions, doubts, and concerns soon crept in. Could they still give generously on a lower income? How would they save for college for kids without his school pay and what would retirement look like without his pension? What about higher daycare costs? All real-world questions that were addressed… and that didn’t necessarily come with easy answers. But there was something else… what about the great beyond? How many more people could be reached and transformed at Good Shepherd through music, worship, and their work? And what did God have in store if they followed the call?

They listened to that call and Ryan accepted a full-time position at Good Shepherd. Now, the story is just beginning—and it involves more than the Hammers. It’s also about you! Without the recent financial commitments from the people at Good Shepherd, there wouldn’t have been funds to hire Ryan full-time. And, without the faithful commitments before these, there wouldn’t have been funds to build the Worship Center that is packed out each week!

The story continues to unfold and if we listen to what God is calling each of us to do, there’s no doubt it will be immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Is God calling you to do more, give more, be more … or maybe even give up something so that God can give you more? These are all incredible ways that our most generous God shows us that generosity is for us, not from us, and the experience is waiting for you!

Zac L.

Flooded with Generosity

Moments of crises can become opportunities for radical generosity. Read how one family went beyond to help another family in crisis...

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My wife and I experienced an amazing example of a family from Good Shepherd going Beyond. A few months after moving in to our new home, our basement flooded. We were looking at a HUGE physical and financial undertaking. Unfortunately, our insurance wouldn't cover the complete cost of the rehab and we were stressing over the added strain that would create for our family. One day a week or so after the flooding, our doorbell rang and it was one of the men I met during our CRHP retreat. He said he couldn't stay long as he handed an envelope to me that contained a check for a substantial amount of money to help cover some of the cost of our rehab. Overwhelmed I said there was no way we could accept such a gracious gift. He insisted and said that he and his wife had started budgeting for opportunities like this as part of their commitment to the culture of radical generosity through Beyond at Good Shepherd. My wife and I experienced firsthand the power of church community and generosity. It was something we'll never forget and since then, we've been intentional about budgeting to help others as well.

Ryan H.

Lemonade Stand Serves Up Bibles

Going beyond is something people of all ages can do. Paige (9) and Avery (6) were inspired to go beyond at Vacation Bible School (VBS)...

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A collection was taken at VBS this year to buy Bibles for children in Thailand where less than 1% of the population is Christian. Paige and Avery wanted to give the best gift they could give for this wonderful cause. To help raise more money, they decided to set up a lemonade stand. The two girls were able to raise and bring in $79. Each Bible costs $4. So they were able to purchase 20 bibles!

The entire collection from our VBS kids totaled $1691.55. This will provide children in Thailand with 422 Bibles.  Way to go beyond kids!!!

Watch Paige and Avery in action...

   

Mission Impact 07-07-15

One way that people from Good Shepherd are going beyond is through mission trips.  These trips allow us the opportunity to make an impact nationally and globally.  Below is an exciting update about what our first Guatemala team was able to provide on their recent trip...

• 30 water filters and 30 water collection systems
• 600 dental varnishes for children
• Lots of pillowcase dresses
• A swing set, picnic tables, book shelves and white boards for schools

Other recent or upcoming mission trips include:

• Pine Ridge Team One & Two
• Week of Hope – Junior High Students 
• Workcamp – High School Students 
• Guatemala Team Two 
• Honduras Team One & Two

To learn more about our mission opportunities, click here: MISSIONS

Toys for Tornado Kids

Thanks to the generosity of our congregation, we are able to host a FUSION program for families with special needs. One of our FUSION students (Lilli) was inspired to go beyond after tornados devastated Fairsdale, IL.  Her grandmother tells the story bellow...

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When we were looking at photos of the damage caused by the tornado that hit Fairdale, Lilli saw a picture of a totally destroyed home and cried, “Those children don’t have any toys!” We talked more about it, and we suggested that she could do something about it. She could have a toy drive! We checked into relief efforts and none of the lists included toys, so Lilli knew that it would be very important to get toys to those children.

She went shopping with $42 dollars of her own money, and while that was a nice start, her mom and nana knew she could use help. We spread the word of Lilli’s Toys for Tornado Kids Drive via social media. Friends from all over sent toys, and some sent money suggesting that Lilli go shopping for the toys for the tornado kids. So Lilli went shopping again, carefully considering each purchase. Women from Tuesday morning Growth Groups also wanted to participate, so many of them brought toys as well.

After gathering a small mountain of toys, her mom, nana, and Lilli drove out to Fairdale to deliver them. Lilli was very somber as we drove into the areas where the damage started to show saying, “It’s awful.” A family we met had 3 girls, one of whom had just celebrated a birthday. Their dad said they were at school so we didn’t get to meet the children, but their dad told us how happy they would be to come home to new toys from thoughtful people who cared about them.

We asked a lady who was working hard to help clean up if she had any children or grandchildren, and would she like to choose some toys for them. She pointed to an exposed basement behind her and said, “That’s my house. But thank you anyway. At least we’re alive.” It was an amazing and extremely humbling experience for all of us.

We took the rest of the toys to a nearby fire department, and the people working the phones and recovery were so proud of Lilli. She got to meet a fire fighter who also thanked her for her work and gave her Two-Thumbs-Up.

Lynn G.

Beyond Song

This song was inspired by Ephesians 3:14-21 and became the anthem for our Beyond journey as a church. God is able to take us beyond our generation, beyond our church, and beyond our wildest imagination! Download the song on iTunes.  All money raised will be used to help our church go beyond.