Hello folks….Pastor Sam here…back from a great trip to Guatemala.  Lots of great impact happened there and the Kingdom of God advanced. Thanks for your prayers! I wanted to let you know about a few things that are very important:

#1 - Thrive Leadership Training Date Change.

Thrive was supposed to happen this coming Sunday, March 17th.  The date of the next Thrive will be on Sunday, March 24th. Remember we start Thrive now at 4pm with the teaching, enjoy dinner together at 5pm and end with prayer together at 6pm.  The training event is done by 7pm.  

Please remember that we now offer Thrive Leadership Training “Junior Edition” for Grade 5-9.  Pastor Janette leads that and would be happy to answer any questions regarding whether your child should attend. (janette@newlifepetrolia.com)

#2 - Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) 

This will take place on Sunday April 14th at 6pm. The Annual Reports will be available on Sunday, April 7th.  Just like last year, I will include a addendum to the Financial Report where I will do my best to answer questions that you may have.  I will also encourage you, after you read the report, to contact me with any questions you might have.  I encourage you to stay and fellowship over refreshments available after the meeting in the Fellowship Hall. 

#3- Summer Student Grants

We have applied to the government for Summer Student Grants and are waiting to hear whether or not we have been approved to hire students who will help us with our summer camps etc.  The NLA board has approved the hiring of an additional two summer students apart from what happens with our application and we are excited about this! The job descriptions will be posted on our website next week under ‘Summer Jobs’ and anyone that is interested will be able to apply online.  

#4 - Text Communication

Over the next few weeks we will be looking to build a list of your cell numbers to effectively keep you updated with important NLA matters.  We will have online forms for you to fill out, or paper forms if you are not comfortable doing it online. I have read that text messages have a 98% open rate while emails have an open rate of 20%.  Please keep an eye open for information about the forms being ready and please give us an opportunity to keep you in the “loop” as much as possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!