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Sunday, December 22, 2024

"LOVE"

Micah 5:2-5a

Pastor Bryon LePere will be sharing the message this Sunday. There will be Kids Ministry Programming this Sunday during Worship at 10:00am and during the 11:00am Bible Study hour.

Services will be held at 4:00 and 5:30pm on Christmas Eve. Both services will be in the Worship Center.

The 4:00pm service will be livestreamed.

For all Christmas events and opportunities, go to This Christmas Season.

The Gayton Christmas Post Office will be open until Dec. 24. Send cards to your Gayton friends via the Gayton Post Office and donate the amount you would have paid for postage. All donations received through the post office will benefit one of Gayton's mission partners. Be sure to check the post office each week for cards that have been sent to you!

We will have a family photo opportunity set up in the Great Room on Christmas Eve. Just have your smiles and a phone handy, and a volunteer will snap the picture. A volunteer will be available before both services: 3:30-4pm and 5-5:30pm.

Selections from the Gospel of John:

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

I love the present tense of this statement, the “has not”.  The darkness has not, nor will it ever snuff out this shining light.

As with every generation, we live in the midst of an exceedingly cruel and wicked world.  But no matter how dark the perversions of the human heart may be…

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 

This light changes everything.  This light brings hope for the whole world; it brings our only true help in times of darkness.  This true light is Truth.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

This Word brings grace and truth alive.  The Word that once walked among us, brings us great comfort and exuberant cheer.

Joy to the world, indeed!  The light and life and love of our Lord has come.

Hallelujah!

Wendy Jones

SAVE THE DATE!

Mark your calendars for the Men's Breakfast - Saturday, January 18 at 8:00am. There will be food, fellowship and a guest speaker.

Stay tuned for more details and to sign up.

A group of Gayton members have read our way through The Bible in 2024, using The Bible Recap plan with daily commentary by Tara Leigh Cobble. We would love to have more people join us for 2025! 

If you are interested, contact the church office and we will get back to you to sign you up and help you get started! You can also talk to any of the following people about the plan and how it's made a difference in their lives! 

Karen Bowles

Janet Letteer

Lauren Raikes

Susan Eads

Anita Cox

Diana Rogers

P.S. We are hoping some couples will join us this year!

December 17, 2024

Well that’s a wrap for Care Ministries 2024. It’s been a year of change for our team and families. Most notably changing our opening from twice a month to once. We lost a few families but strengthened those we have. The blessings we are able to share to each of our families is through our church budget allocation and individual gifts so many of you have given. 

Our Christmas opening was a blessing to all of us. We were very busy as expected. Each family received their normal allocation of food in addition to a Christmas dinner bag with either a ham or turkey. The smiles and tears of joy was all we needed to see. A few families who have never really shared their story did yesterday.  We were so busy we forgot to take pictures. Forever memories were created.

Thank you is not enough for the generosity shown by Gayton Baptist Church and friends. Over 100 angels were adopted for our Care Ministries families and Better2gether children. Our ties to Better2gether are continuing to grow. This year we hosted the Better2gether holiday wrapping party filling 4 cars full of gifts. 

Donations are continuing at a fast pace. We have been blessed by St Giles Church, Fox Hall Community Drive, Gayton members and bible study classes, Short Pump Rotary, Barbara Hammond's Dance families, our ASQ families and for the first time the Nuckols Farm Elementary food drive in January. Our shelves are overflowing, allowing us to help our families in other ways. 

To sum up our year – joy and blessings. The feeling of helping others feels good to your soul. 

Merry Christmas to you and your family. We will reopen January 7 (before if an emergency arises).

Crackers and Jelly

Our Food Pantry relies mostly on donations. Pick up a couple extra boxes of crackers and your favorite jelly during the month of December. As always, any and all donations are appreciated.

AGAPE Preschool Registration is open for the 2025-2026 school year. AGAPE serves ages 2 through 5. Contact Paige Teague at 804-360-4354 or paige@gayton.church with any questions. Registration is online at www.agapepreschool.org

The SPACE afterschool program is looking for several great leaders!

This program serves students ages K-5. The hours are 1:45-5:15, Monday - Friday.

Great staff, great kids!

If you are interested or if you know anyone you think might be a good fit, please reach out to the director, Annette at annette@gayton.church.

Young Adults

New Bible Study class at 11:00am for Young Adults (Beyond) begins Feb. 2.

Stay tuned for info about Young Adult LifeNights in 2025.

Contact Jennifer@gayton.church for more information.

Gayton Students

Friday, Dec. 20 - Youth Christmas Party

Check out gayton.church/students for more information and upcoming events.

DNOW 2025: GRAVITATE!

"Are you moving toward God or drifting away from Him? We can easily gravitate toward the things of this world or we can dig deep and strive to gravitate toward Jesus and center our hearts, desires and lives on Him. During this weekend, we are going to look at our own nature, be reminded of God's grace and focus on the importance of moving toward God and following Jesus daily!"

For WHO?  

All students in 6th-12th grade! Students may invite friends and all deadlines and details apply to all!

WHAT is DNOW?

DNOW stands for DISCIPLE NOW.  

It is an in-house retreat for youth with:

- small group Bible studies - who meet and stay in host homes divided by gender/age.

- large group worship gatherings at Gayton Baptist with a guest praise band, special prayer times and biblical messages

- meals and community- building fun activities and games at both the church and host homes

- a "Kindness Scavenger Hunt"

WHEN is DNOW?

Friday, January 24-Sunday, January 26

Everything kicks off at 6:00pm on that Friday with check-in and dinner!

And everything ends on Sunday, when the students return to church by 8:45am to prepare to lead us all in worship for our annual YOUTH SUNDAY at 10:00am followed by a fellowship!

For more information, go to gayton.church/students

Sunday Mornings in Gayton Kids

In-person Nursery Care (birth through age 2.5), Preschool Church (ages 2 - PreK) and Elementary Kids Worship (grades K-5) is scheduled to take place during our December Sundays (*except Dec. 29) during the 10 am Worship Service and during the 11 am Bible Study hour.

Virtual PSC & EKW services are posted in our Facebook group at 8 am each Sunday and are left up for the week. 

**Special note: There will be NO Kids Ministry programming on Sunday, Dec. 29.

Elementary schoolers are invited to celebrate the birthday of Jesus during Elementary Kids Worship on Sunday, December 22nd at 10 am. We will have cake, play games, sing "Happy Birthday," and celebrate the birth of our Savior together. Please let Mrs. Hillary know if your child is coming. 

📊 FINANCIAL HEALTH UPDATE

(Budget = Anticipated Giving; Actual = Actual Giving Received; YTD = Year-to-Date)

Fiscal year 24-25 TOTAL revenue through 12/08/2024 = $405,859

Fiscal year 24-25 TOTAL budget through 12/08/2024 = $417,300

Fiscal year 24-25 YTD difference =  -$11,441

Funds collected to Budget = 97%

Next Update: December 26

The Church Office will be closed beginning December 25. The office will reopen on Monday, January 6. If you need assistance, please contact office@gayton.church.