Christmas Eve Volunteers

Your efforts have been invaluable during this Christmas season! We greatly appreciate every single one of you who volunteered to set up and tear down Christmas decorations, helped with our stage changes, prayed over our services, and gave of your time to serve on Guest Care and Hospitality Teams on Christmas Eve. Thank you so much for pouring yourself out in the busy Christmas season! We love our volunteers at Lakeside!

Christmas Eve Recap

The Christmas season flew by so quickly this year! Thank you to everyone who took seriously the call of inviting people in to the story of God this Christmas season. Your invite truly made a difference, providing the opportunity for more people than ever before to be on our campus for Christmas Eve services. We had over 530 people on our campus for Christmas Eve this year, many of whom have never been to Lakeside before! Thank you for everyone who prayed for the guests that we were able to receive with hospitality and warmth on Christmas Eve. We are still praying over those visitors and asking that God do big work in their heart through their time with us at Lakeside! 

Christmas Eve Staff Thank You

The staff at Lakeside wants to extend a big THANK YOU to every one who gave generously in this Christmas Season. We were blown away through your specific blessing of the staff through your monetary contributions. We feel so blessed to serve you all day in and day out. Thank you for your generosity! 

- Lakeside Staff

Lakeside Kids Groups Spring Semester Begins

Lakeside Kids Group will resume January 15, 5:45-7:45 and meet every Wednesday night through April .  Kids Group is for kids ages 3y.o. through 5th Grade.  It is a great time for kids to connect with friends, learn more about Jesus and participate in some great activities.  It is also a great opportunity for parents to plug into a Wednesday night group for themselves while the kids are enjoying Kids Group.

Student Ministry Update

What does 2020 have in store for the Student Ministry of Lakeside? Our goal is the same as always, to help students find Jesus, become like Jesus through the Holy Spirit working in their lives, and share Jesus with those around them. To accomplish our goal we offer students a Sunday morning class during our 9am service where students are guided through the Word to deepen their faith and knowledge. We also offer youth group on Sunday nights. Youth group is a time for building community through games and small groups. During youth group students will also have the opportunity to be challenged by the Word, serve others, and spend time in worship. Youth group is intended to be a place where our students can bring their friends to introduce them to the community of believers and to begin understanding who Jesus is as they experience His love for them.

As we work to cultivate opportunities for deepened faith and for new students to become engaged with the ministry and with Jesus, I (Brad) will be reengaging with the student ministry role to see that we are maximizing every opportunity to help our students grow.

Our youth group schedule will look slightly different this semester. This change will enable us to offer separate teaching times for the junior high and high school students as well as hold leadership meetings to better prepare for our student ministry programming and events. Our new Sunday night schedule will be as follows:

Junior High students will now meet from 5-6:30pm

High School students will now meet from 5:30-7pm

We will be working different elements into our youth group nights to offer better onramps for friends, to foster a posture of service within our students, and to give ownership of the ministry to our youth. If you have any questions about the student ministry at Lakeside please contact me. I’d love to discuss those with you. brad@lakesidechristian.com 217.529.2513.

Below are a few upcoming events that you should add to your calendar.

Superbowl party- @ Lakeside February 2nd 5pm-games end

CIY Believe in Bloomington IL (Junior High Students) -March 6-7 (Online registration is now open for this event) 

Vine Conference at LCU( High School Students)- April 3-4 (Online Registration is now open for this event)

Mission Trip to Honduras (for High School age and older) – July 7-14 (More info coming soon)

Other Summer trips/camps schedule to be set soon…

January Ministry Spotlight: Lakeside Kids

Lakeside Kids is a safe, fun, and interactive experience designed with your child in mind. Every weekend Lakeside Kids experience top-notch services that are engaging and encouraging. Currently, Kids are learning chronologically through the Bible with the Gospel Project Curriculum. Kids 2 years old through 5th Grade are all learning about the same Bible text in ways that are fun and exciting for their age. Kids of all ages are also invited to Kid’s Group every Wednesday from 5:45-7:45PM. With games, lessons, activities, and snacks, this is a perfect mid-week opportunity for growth and connection. There are so many ways to support and volunteer with Lakeside Kids! Contact Shelley@lakesidechristian.com for more information. 

Lee Elementary Teacher Party

This past Wednesday Lakeside hosted a Christmas party for Lee Elementary Teachers, Staff, and Aides. Lee School had around 60 people in attendance, all of whom were being loved on by staff and volunteers as they closed out a stressful semester. We played video games, Christmas Jeopardy, and, of course, 9 Square in the Air! The Lee staff were so blessed by the intentional love and care that was poured on them at Lakeside's campus. A BIG thank you to all our baking volunteers who made some delicious treats for our friends at Lee to enjoy: Beth Unsworth, Donna Walters, Kim Waymack, Lola Garrison, Melani Brooks, Sue Pickett, Angie Wollesen, and Susan Ryherd! 

TCMI Scholarship

Lakeside recently concluded support for a student from the Czech Republic who was able to complete his Masters Degree at Taking Christ to the Millions International in Austria. Our student scholarship for 2020 is going to a student from Albania. This student and his wife have planted a church in a migrant community that is a home to many Muslims and agnostics. Please pray for our scholarship student and for the continued ministry of TCMI to more than 40 countries. Visit tcmi.org for more information. Be sure to check out the TCMI prayer channel.

Honduras Medical Mission Trip

Nathan and Kacie Jones are formulating plans for a return trip to Honduras in July 7th -14th, 2020. The trip would involve a medical clinic and home construction in the Honduran mountains. The cost of the trip will be under $2000 per team member. If you are interested in learning more contact Lakeside at lakesidechristian.com/ContactUs