Greetings from one who loves you!

Let me start this newsletter by apologizing for the recent interruption in the regular schedule of our church newsletter. The interruption was orginally caused by some fluke in my browser which won't let me upload graphics to the church file manager. I've learned to overcome that by using a different browser for that purpose. However, it was my duties with the street ministry that kept me busy and away from my duties to this church. Please forgive my lapse in my service to you. I plan to get back on schedule, and have the newsletters back out to you as usual. Again, I apologize, and I pray you'll accept my apology.

Now, let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I pray that this season is a time of great peace and joy for each of you. I know for many of us this is a season the spirit of which is too easily lost in the hustle and bustle of all the activities associated with the season. It is my sincerest prayer that this season will be a time when you will draw even closer to Our Lord, and I pray that those of you with ministries of you own will find many opportunities of service to Our Lord. We should, all of us, step up our evangelical efforts this season, and spread joy to those around us.

Okay, church business. As many of you know, the regularly scheduled chat sessions of our fellowship have been cancelled. I regretfully did this due to the low rate of participation among the members, but I wish to thank those members who did make an effort to join the chat sessions on a regular basis. You have my deepest gratitude. Now, the cancellation of the chat sessions in now way means we cannot continue to enjoy fellowship with one another. It's just that now, the fellowship will take place on the church bulletin board. This is far more convenient for all our members around the world in many different time zones, since the bulletin board is open 24 hours a day, and the threaded discussions there remain in place for a long time. So, do please visit the bulletin board regularly and share fellowship with one another.

Our church continues to grow in membership, and our members continue to start wonderful ministries on the internet. But the biggest news for our church recently was being briefly mentioned on the 700 Club on November 25! If you missed the episode, you can still view it by clicking on the 700 Club graphic and visiting their website. You'll need RealPlayer to view the episode, but you can download it from their site if you don't have it yet. The segment which mentions our church starts 12 minutes into the episode. Overall, it was a positive critique of our church, and I hope many of you will send an e-mail to CBN and thank them for the mention. You may even wish to mention the them what our church means to you.

As a special gift to you this Christmas season, I would like to share with a poem written by a friend of mine, Della Crews-Sykes, who has graciously given permission to use this poem. I hope you enjoy it as much I have.

This Little Baby

This little baby, born long ago,
In a lowly manger, 'neath the starlight's glow.

This little baby, grown into a boy,
Playing on a dusty street, with a homemade toy.

This little baby, turned into a teen,
Did he know who He was and what it all would mean?

This little baby, soon to be a man,
holding on in quiet faith, to His Father's plan.

This little baby, now into His prime,
heard His Father softly say, "Son, now is the time."

This little baby, on into his years,
felt the way you feel today, the laughter and the tears.

This little baby, born for you and me,
died so we might live with Him throughout eternity.

This little baby, this boy, this teen, this man,
loved us with a love so great, we scarce can comprehend.

That this little baby, sent to us from above,
was the only way that God could say, "It's YOU I truly love!"
-Della Crews-Sykes

I pray each of you will be able to spend time this blessed holiday with your family and loved ones. But let us all remember that many of our members will be spending this Christmas alone and away from their families. For this reason, I'll be spending as much time in the church chat room as possible this Christmas, and I urge each of you to drop by for a few minutes, and share some fellowship. There's no reason for any of our members to feel lonely this Christmas, not when we have so many wonderful brothers and sisters available over the internet.

Thank you for reading this newsletter, I hope it has blessed you. Remember, I love you, and pray for each of you continuously.

God bless you.

Yours in Christ,
Brother Dave