Issue No.

29, January 2012

Praise and Glory to God:

God continues to provide faithfully for Renewal in every way, encouraging us weekly with His grace and goodness to our church. God consistently provides opportunities for us to engage in His mission throughout our city. God continues to grow our youth, students, and our College and Student Ministries. God continues to bring new families and individuals to Renewal weekly. God has entrusted Renewal with a

growing group of young leaders and volunteers who are eager to serve our church and city for His glory.

Renewal Church Prayer Needs:

Continue to pray for our elders, that He would guard and protect them as they shepherd well. Pray that local churches would continue to partner for the sake of His glory in our city. Pray that we would eagerly submit ourselves in humble obedience to live on mission for God. Pray that the Holy Spirit would work in the lives of students during the upcoming Meltdown Student Conference in Pigeon Forge, TN. Pray for missions partnerships and opportunities, both locally and abroad, as we seek to multiply disciples for His glory. Pray that God would raise up missionaries among us.

Renewed Love for God

During the month of December we began a new series, Home for the Holidays, focusing on seven Psalms that reveal the nature and character 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of of God and the implications of His character on God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and the Christmas season and our homes. Psalm 145 acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the provoked us to remember Gods greatness in the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what incarnation. He is a Great God, and His greatness is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. demands to be spoken. The home is the primary (Romans 12:1-2) means by which the greatness of God can be put on display, and we were challenged to think on how our families could better display the greatness of God this holiday season.

longsuffering, patient, merciful, gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness to us, and we are called to be like Him. Renewal celebrated the incarnation of Jesus on Christmas Eve with hymns and reminders of why Jesus came, through Scripture and the taking of the Lords Supper. In His birth, we also remember His death and resurrection and give Him glory and praise for His wonderful plan to reconcile the world to Himself!

We pray for each of you that your Christmas season was filled with worship of our great, delivering, Psalm 116 gave us hope and encouragement, longsuffering God and that your worship of Him will reminding us that God is our deliverer. After thousands of years of longing and over 400 years continue throughout this new year! of silence from God, the birth of Jesus reveals that God has not forgotten His people. In fact, it proves that He has been listening all along and is a deliverer for His people. In times of suffering, For many, the Christmas season prompts thoughts of loss, pain, and dysfunction brought to light during happy families joined around meals and joyful gift the Christmas season, we can have hope knowing giving as they celebrate the birth of Jesus. For that God is our deliverer. others, thoughts of Christmas and get-togethers with family are peppered with sadness and suffering as Longsuffering is a word that has largely been they deal with the loss of loved ones, dissolved lost in our vocabulary, but Psalm 103 clearly marriages, and dysfunction in their families. instructs us that this is a characteristic of God. As a church, we believe that the incarnation of Jesus, celebrated in the Christmas season, provides the basis by which we can rightly understand the issues of marriage and family that collide during the Christmas season. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger (longsuffering) and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Everyone has family members who are difficult to love at times, but the truth of Psalm 103 is that all of us are sinful, stiff-necked, and difficult to love to God. But He is We are grateful for the support of our friends at Rocky Creek Baptist Church for graciously allowing us to meet in their Fellowship Hall for the past few weeks as Greenville Tech was closed for the holidays. Thank you for your hospitality and ongoing, gospel-centered partnership in our city.

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Renewed in Relationships

Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. (Acts 2:46)

Renewal Student Ministry

in our Small Group ministry, and we look forward to an even bigger year in 2012 as we have plans to add 6-10 new groups around the city.

Christmas Around the City

By Gods grace we had numerous opportunities throughout the month of December to celebrate the birth of Christ, worship our Lord and Savior, and share the story of Christmas with those throughout our city. Many of us spent an evening together at our office wrapping 600 gifts for the students at Mitchell Road Elementary School here in Greenville. We were able to provide each student in the school with a stocking cap and a pair of gloves, and a group of Renewal members and staff went to the school to pass them out to the kids before school ended for the holiday.

Not to be left out, our students had their very own Christmas party, participating in a progressive dinner hosted by several Renewal families. Our students invited friends to join them for the evening and we had a great time celebrating together and getting to know some new faces. Toby, Julieann, and their children traveled to Branson, MO to put on Meltdown Student Conference Branson, December 28-30, with a partner church there. More than 130 students from Oklahoma and Missouri attended, and we saw God move in a mighty way. Our annual Meltdown Student Conference in Pigeon Forge, TN is coming up January 20-22, and wed like to ask you to join us in prayer for the students, speakers, and youth pastors who will be in attendance. We are trusting God for big things there as well, and were excited to be taking our first Renewal student group to the conference.

Our group leaders serve a vital role in the church as they are on the "front lines" of ministry within the church body. Our group leaders are often the first people to know about ministry needs in the body, and the hope of our night together was simply to say Thank You for their hard work and efforts in ministering to our body at Renewal.

*NEW MAILING ADDRESS*

As weve moved to our new office space we now have a new address. Our mailing address is now:

4 Davis Keats Drive, Greenville, SC 29607

Each of our small groups gathered individually for Christmas parties in various homes throughout the city. We were able to spend some sweet time in fellowship with one another and with friends and neighbors we invited to join us.

Small Group Ministry

We were blessed to begin the month with the addition of 14 new Renewal Church partners. This group is yet another evidence of God's grace to us in building His church.

How You Can Give to Support What God's Doing at Renewal

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. (Acts 2:45)

Thank you again for your commitment to give to Renewal Church! Your faithfulness has been a blessing to our church and our efforts in the city. See the following information on how to give: By check Place a check in the pre-labeled envelope along with a stamp, and mail to Renewal Church 4 Davis Keats Drive, Greenville, SC 29607 Online Go to www.renewalchurch.cc and click on Online Giving at the bottom of the home page. Click Register to give a one time gift. Automatic Draft Go to www.renewalchurch.cc and click on Online Giving at the bottom of the home page. Click Register to complete your automatic draft. A few reminders: All gifts are tax deductible Please make us aware of any address changes or changes to your giving so we can make the necessary adjustments. Send an email to church@renewalchurch.cc to update your information!

Partner presentations are always encouraging times for us. It's another opportunity to hold up the value of meaningful church membership and to remind the congregation to be the church to one another. We are all alike in our frailty and forgetfulness. We need one another. Steve and Olga Whaley were very gracious to host an evening gathering at their home with lots of food and fellowship for our Small Group leaders as well. We continue to praise God for all He is doing

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