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Cullen Hartley
Minister of Administration


The book of Nehemiah teaches believers how to stand firm in the face of opposition. In Nehemiah Chapter four, a Hornite named Sanballat and an Ammonite named Tobiah ridicule the Israellites for the ongoing efforts to rebuild their city wall. Sanballat calls the Jews “feeble,” their work “rubbish” and asks a series of obnoxious questions (4:2). Tobiah taunts them by joking that their wall is not strong enough to stop a fox. In chapter six, Sanballat and Tobiah are joined by a fellow named Geshem the Arabian who accuses the Jews of being a part of an illegal conspiracy. The harsh reality is that when critics don’t like our efforts, they will say anything to spread their negativity.

In the world, Christian “builders” will always face an especially harsh reality. The cheap and the lazy will often be against the world’s efforts to build, but Christians face a spiritual battle with Satanic opposition. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul tells the church that our struggle is not over “flesh and blood” but against “the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.” Unfortunately, our efforts to build God’s kingdom will be hindered by elements we can’t detect with our senses. People swayed by the world’s philosophies, individuals catering to the culture’s  preferences and those who subtly respond to the devil’s temptations may be a greater stumbling block to church work than outright rudeness and opposition.

Furthermore, the duty of the Christian is to keep the battle on spiritual terms. Nehemiah rarely engaged the false accusations of his critics. The lame taunts weren’t worth his time and the conspiracy allegation was a blatant lie. Instead, Nehemiah asked God to dispense justice to his enemies (Neh. 4:4), remembered the poor (Neh. 5), and worked with his people to confess sin (Neh. 9).

Each Christian is charged with some measure of spiritual leadership. Some have a great amount of responsibility as they guide businesses, families, and institutions, and others may only be responsible for their own choices. Yet each of us is to use these strategies of prayer, confession, and service to overcome the schemes of the devil and help our actions and attitudes mirror Christ as we build what God directs in our lives.

 

 

Invite your friends, bring some snacks and drinks to share, and join in the fun, Sunday, Feb. 2 at the YMCA.

The fun begins at 5pm and ends after half time of the big game.

The pool will be open from 5-7pm. The gym and racquetball courts are open all evening. The big game will be shown on TV's in the facility. 

We will have a short devotion in the gym during the half time of the game and go home after devotions
.

 




Congratulations to Allison Schrapf baptized
January 8!

 



Online giving is an option for those who prefer to do their financials digitally. Tithes and offerings will still be taken as usual each Sunday during service.

How to:

On a desktop computer:

https://churchonhiltonroad.churchcenter.com/giving
Using this secure address above follow the steps to enter your bank account information.

On a phone or device:
Download the Church Center App  
Search for New Testament Christian Church
Choose: This is my church
Follow the directions as prompted on the screen.
Have your bank account information available for sending your online donation.

A few things to know:

The church will be charged a fee for each online donation. Fees are 25 cents for direct bank transfer or 3% of total donation for credit & debit card payments.

The church benefits most from direct transfer from your bank account to retain the most of each donation.
Schedule of Events for NTCC
 
February


Sunday, February 2: Family Fun Night at Hoerner YMCA @ 5pm

Friday, February 7:
High School Winter Retreat at LaMoine Camp

Thursday, February 13: KCA Open House @ 6pm

Friday, February 21: Kindergarten Round Up @ 830am

Sunday, February 23: Student Volunteers Gathering @ 12pm

Tuesday, February 25: Mobile Food Pantry @ 4pm 

 
For more information on any of these events, please call the NTCC office at
319-524-8727.


San Francisco, Dominican Republic
Pablo Paredes,


Take a look at what is happening at our missionary church in San Francisco, Dominican Republic:

 

Thanks to You

"We are very happy and grateful to God and to you our collaborators, who have allowed us to remodel the front area of our church building."


 



 




 








"Our congregation is very grateful for all the support we have recived from you during all these years, you are constantly in our prayers. Thanks to you NTCC, Keokuk Iowa."

 

 

 





Commission Coffee Corner
Every Sunday, coffee is ready at the Commission Coffee Corner before worship and ABF Classes. Coffee is free, but as you fill your cup, you may notice a jar for donations on the counter. Your donations support a different mission organization each month that is working to bring the good news to all corners of the world.

Derek Olsen
Lead Pastor
 

Have you ever made something more difficult than it really is?  Maybe you overthink it? Maybe you really want to do something but it seems very daunting and you begin to think, “what if I screw this up? What if I start it and I cannot finish?”.  I imagine that we also think this way when to comes to prayer. 

I believe many of us feel that prayer is very difficult.  "I don’t have the words to say, or know what to say. What if I don’t use the right words or say the wrong thing, or God forbid, I curse while praying."  I have had many of these thoughts, but we all need to remember that praying is simple. It really is.  

1.  It is immediately available to us. We see Jesus in the book of Luke praying frequently and later He finds quiet places to pray.  There is no specific place we must go to. Praying does not require a financial burden from us . There is not even any physical or spiritual ladders you have to climb.  Prayer is there for us, when we need it and even when we don’t. 

2.  God wants communication with us. Prayer helps us build trust in the relationship God desires and we need.  He wants to listen to us. From the high points to the low points, He is a loving and understanding Father. He’d rather embrace you while you rambled about every frustration you’ve encountered that day than faking any emotions to Him. 

3.  God also wants to respond to our prayers…but don’t expect it to happen always how we want.  His ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His will will be done in the end and not ours.  

Don’t hesitate next time you want to pray.  Don’t think about the words or length or having the right vocabulary.  Your heavenly Father wants you to ask and seek Him so He can show you His power in all situations.


If you are looking for a distraction free, quiet place to connect with God please join us each week for a time of prayer on Sunday nights from 6pm to 7pm.

 

 

  


We encourage volunteers to join us from 2:30pm until about 6pm on Tuesday, February 25.  (If you can not stay for the whole time, we would love any help you can give!) Volunteers have a variety of tasks, from un-boxing food from the truck, setting out food on tables, handing out food, helping to carry items to cars and breaking up boxes.

If you are interested in helping with the Mobile Food Pantry hosted at NTCC please make a note on your connection card or call the office for more details: 319-524-8727
 
            Find and Follow Jesus Forever

 
One of HiSKidZ favorite events is back!!

                                      



           



Be sure to pick up your February FOAM calendar now!

NTCC families is offering Families on a Mission calendars at the church as a fun way to grow together as a family. We know it can be challenging to come up with ideas to build family unity, so FOAM calendars are packed with ideas for you and your family to connect, serve, and have FUN together.

Each month focuses on a different character quality and is packed with great ideas and activities. Do them all or just a few. Find what works for your family and start the year as a Family on a Mission for Christ!

February's theme is Friendliness!

                         


                               

In February, HiSKidZ will begin a new Wednesday night series at KidZRocK. This month, we will learn that not only did God create the world, but He created us for specific purposes like:
We were created to be a light in the darkness.
We were created to reflect God's glory to the world.
We were created to follow Jesus.
We were created to walk in the light of Jesus.
We were created to listen to the Holy Spirit.
We were created to worship God.
We were created for Sabbath rest.

KidZRocK is another great opportunity for HiSKidZ to BELIEVE
BELONG and BECOME who God intended for them to be
through small group accountability, age specific teaching, high energy games and relevant worship songs. Don't let your child miss out on what God is doing through HiSKidZ at KidZRocK!


February 23, 2020 Noon-1:30pm

Students grades 6th-12th currently serving in Early Childhood or interested in serving with our preschool and toddlers should attend this gathering. Lunch is provided. If you know a student who would be a great part of our team, please let them know about this event!!


HiSKidZ Conquered the Cheese Ball Challenge!!!

For the past couple of months HiSKidZ in KidZChurch have been trying to meet what we called the Cheese Ball Challenge.

The goal: Fill every chair in KidZChurch.

The challenge: We added 20% more chairs to our room.

The reward: Your own canister of cheese balls to take home!

Sunday, January 26, we met the challenge!! What's super exciting, though, is that we had approximately 15 of our regular attenders who were not here! (OK, maybe it's not exciting that they weren't here, but read on for the good thing in that.)

Folks, we are growing! It's an exciting time for HiSKidZ and their families at NTCC. We hope you will commit to being in church regularly and invite those you know to join what God is doing at the church on Hilton Road.

Keep Informed with REMIND Text Alerts

HiSKidZ @ NTCC is updating their Remind Text Service numbers.  To stay up to date with occasional text updates concerning weather related cancellations or registration deadlines, simple enter the number 81010 and text the message @hiskidzn to be automatically signed up for occasional messages. For more information, see MsDawn.


It's not too early to be preparing for the 2020 church camp season. Check out the camp's website for the camp schedule and fees. Remember: NTCC will pay 1/2 of a camper's fees for one week of camp and this year the early bird discount is good all camp season long for NTCC families.
www.lamoinecamp.org


Let's welcome to HiSKidZ team
these new team members:

Shelley Coddington--Babies
Mike Shuman--KidZChurch

Thank you for helping HiSKidZ find and follow Jesus forever!

Current Ministry Opportunities include:

HiSKidZ Worship Leader--Lead kids songs and motions as part of our Wednesday night team or on Sunday mornings at 10:30 on the KidZChurch team.


Baby Nursery Volunteer--Serve the 2nd Sunday of each month in with our infant-2 year olds.

Toddler  Nursery Volunteer--Serve the 3rd Sunday of each month during 2nd service with our 2 year olds.

Nursery Cleaning Team Volunteers--Volunteers are needed to come to the church one afternoon a week to clean the baby and toddler nurseries and toys. 

 
HiSKidZ classes on Sunday morning meet at 9am (lessons with Bible skills games) and 10:30 KidZChurch (with songs, lesson, communion time and lesson review games).
 

 

NTCC's Youth Programming, TheLoft, for grades 6-12, exists to  EQUIP ( bible study, acts of service, evangelism), and ENCOURAGE (prayer, fellowship, discipleship) students towards a LIFE CHANGING,CHRIST CENTERED LIFE.
 

Greeting's from The Loft!,

Lots of fun things are coming our way. Right around the corner, February 7th, is the High School Winter Retreat at Lamoine Christian Service Camp. The cost of this overnight event is only $20, a great price for a fun weekend of fellowship for your high school student. Please go to the camp website, www.lamoinecamp.com to register, for this event. Then for our middle school students, we'll be making a trip to Bloomington, Illinois, on March 6th-7th for another CIY Believe conference. Our high schoolers will be attending CIY Move this summer as well. More information on that trip will be released closer to the time.

 

The Loft's goal for the summer is to get every student to attend a session at Lamoine Christian Service Camp. The dates are already released and are available on the camp website. As a church, we receive a substantial discount, so please do not let money keep you from sending your students to camp. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please let me know.

I'd love to split the Junior and Senior High grades up on Sunday morning. We currently meet together but believe separating the two groups would provide a more focused program. To accomplish this goal, we would need two females and a male sponsor to help facilitate the class. If you have a solid grasp of the Good News, a willingness to teach, and a heart for youth, please email me. If teaching is not your thing, I am looking for people to help provide meals/snacks for Wednesday night programming. Many of our students come straight from school/practice and come hungry. It'd be nice to feed them something physically to help them focus as we feed them spiritually. If you're willing to make a somewhat healthy (not sugar-heavy) snack or meal for 30-40 students once a month, please email me.

 Again, I can't thank our church family enough for all the support you've given the students and me. God provides, but I appreciate everything you do alongside Him. Please continue to keep our sponsors, the youth, myself, and the church in your prayers.


Calvin Stevens
forchristcalvin@gmail.com







February 23, 2020 Noon-1:30pm
Students grades 6th-12th currently serving in Early Childhood or interested in serving with our preschool and toddlers should attend this gathering. Lunch is provided. If you know a student who would be a great part of our team, please let them know about this event!!

 

February is an important month for Keokuk Christian Academy. Our annual Open House is Thursday, February 13 at 6:00pm. This is the perfect time to visit the classrooms, see the student work, and meet our wonderful faculty. 

 

We’re also having our Kindergarten Round-Up on Friday, February 21 at 8:30am. All children in the community who will be five next school year should attend. Parents will drop off their students and then return at 10:00 for a meeting about Christian education and school success.

 

We’d also like to invite everyone to our last scheduled home basketball game on Friday, February 28 at 6pm when the lady Cardinals take on Beardstown Christian Academy. Please come cheer on the girls who have worked hard this season!

 

As always, please keep KCA in your prayers. We have several upcoming plans to upgrade our facilities and offer the safest environment for our students. However, we can’t do this without community support. Please pray that many families would enroll in KCA and that the teachers would be eager to continue their ministry of promoting academic excellence, partnering with families, and spurring youth toward a life of Christian service.

 

Don’t forget, our early enrollment deadline for the 2020-21 school year is March 1!


 

For more information about KCA and how to enroll, visit www.keokukchristianacademy.com

Adult Bible Fellowship: Sunday Mornings are just the beginning!

9:00am: 

This study will dive deeper into these two books of the Old Testament and is meant to coincide with Derek's Sermon series. This study will be led by Jeremy Cohn.

10:30am:

Standard bible lesson is used to study one topic over a three month period. This quarter, the topic is Honoring God. Each week, the lessons will study a passage from the Bible in reference to Honoring God. The benefit of this study is that each lesson is independent of the others. So, if you miss a week or start late you are never behind and always at the same pace as the class. Come and join us!

 

For more information about our ABF ministry, please see Chris Mickelson or contact the NTCC Office 319-524-8727

At 6:00pm: 
Sunday Night Prayer 

 
Join New Testament Christian Church on Sunday nights, from 6pm to 7pm, for a time of prayer. This service focuses on seeking our God together as the Church through singing, scripture reading, and praying in groups, with a friend, or by yourself. For more information, please see an NTCC staff member.



Small Groups are currently meeting at various locations throughout the tri-state area. Spiritual growth continually occurs in small group cultures, and we encourage every member of NTCC to plug into a group or ABF. 

God uses small group studies to help us BELIEVE, BELONG and BECOME all He desires for us as His body.  Small groups are a great way to connect and be a part of what God is doing in lives here at NTCC.

 

 

MIXED STUDIES

Tuesdays: at 7:00pm Keokuk, IA - Led by Gordy & Linda Blankenship.

Thursdays: at 6:30pm Keokuk, IA - Led by Nathan & Kristin Schulte

Thursdays: at 7pm rotating in Carthage, IL & Warsaw, IL - Led by Dave Snowden & Tim Crose

Thursdays: at 7pm in Kahoka, MO - Led by Joe Thomson & Kent Kirchner.





WOMEN'S STUDIES
 
Tuesdays at 9:30am in Keokuk, IA.  Led by Candy Schulte.  

Tuesdays at 6pm - Meeting at Dairy Queen in Hamilton, IL.  Led by Cheryl Underwood. 





MEN'S STUDIES

Mondays @ 7pm at NTCC 

Led by Calvin Stevens. 
 

                                   

 


Barnabas Men: Thursdays @ 11:15am at Hamilton Family Diner in Hamilton. All men are welcome.
 

Area Men's Fellowship Dinner:   Monday, February 24 at Bushnell Christian Church in Bushnell, IL @ 6:30pm

 

 

 
For more information and details regarding these and other studies please contact the office 319-524-8727

 
  

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Any questions please give the office a call 319-524-8727
 
Offering and Attendance
2020 Weekly Need: $5,770.00
       
December  Offering  Attendance   Volunteers
Jan 5 $6792.41 194 54
Jan 12 $3894.02 205 61
Jan 19 $365.00 CANCELLED 5
Jan 26 $10180.02 252 59
       



Monthly Financial Reports are available upon request from the NTCC Office.


 
Click here to catch up on sermons or to listen again
Considering taking your faith to the next level? Contact the office for more options at NTCC
319-524-8727
Click here to contact an NTCC staff member


New Testament Christian Church

Staff
Derek Olsen, Senior Pastor

Cullen Hartley, NTCC Minister of Administration and KCA Administrator
Dawn Farris, Children's and Family Ministry Director
Calvin Stevens, Student Ministries
Bree Hartley, Secretary

Elders
Tim Crose, 309-224-9408
Jeff Doore, 319-524-2376
Ray Miller, 319-795-2500
Bill Schulte, 319-524-7238
Nathan Schulte, 319-520-6037
John Wardwell, 217-847-3628


Deacons
Harold Hough, 319-524-4365
Denny Moore, 217-242-9402
David Snowden, 217-256-3248
Calvin Stevens, 319-670-1430

 

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