I want to begin by thanking Chris Kincade and his extraordinary VBS Team for the wonderful week we had at Hero Hotline. It all culminated with a tremendous presentation of scripture and song by our Heroes last Friday night. Then the Heroes offered us spirited dancing and singing in our service last Sunday. We were blessed! We also want to send a special thank you to Professor Danny and his sidekick, Super Meer the Meercat! 

We not only had a spirited worship service last Sunday because of our VBS Heroes, we started the service with one of our most memorable announcements ever! Beth Tyson kicked off our Raise the Roof Campaign by introducing 12 Pin Up Asburians — one for each month of the year. You had to see it to believe it! If you haven't had a chance to see it, be sure to watch the announcements at the start of the service on YouTube. This important campaign is still going on, so if you have not signed up for a date, please do so. We need everyone's participation. There are still plenty of dates available.

This link will take to the site to sign up for a date.

If you have any questions, please call the church office at 912-233-4351.

We are so very blessed to have members of the church willing to serve as Stephen Ministers. This Sunday, we will be commissioning more persons who have been in training for this important ministry. With a congregation our size, there are always many people with needs and concerns. It's impossible for me (as one person) to give the care that everyone deserves and needs. Our Stephen Ministry has given us the ability to help more people and help them in a more effective way. Please try to be at church to support the new Stephen Ministers on Sunday.

Last Sunday was also a great day because we officially welcomed two people into our church family: Mickie McNamara and her son, Hunter. Mickie is originally from Brooklyn, New York. She and her husband, Ryan, and Hunter have lived in the Savannah area for six years. By the way, Mickie gave a very powerful TED Talk that I encourage you to watch. It can be viewed at the following link: 

Welcome, Mickie and Hunter! We are so blessed to have you as part of the Asbury/Wesley Oak family!

Do you find the apostle Paul appealing or appalling? 

This Sunday, I will be talking about the most important theologian in Christianity. Paul is also one of the most controversial spokesmen of the Christian faith. What did Paul write that makes him controversial...and did he really write it? There are 13 letters assigned to Paul in the New Testament, but most scholars believe that he only wrote 7 of them. I'm looking forward to sharing some of my thoughts about Paul and why I find him a lot more appealing now than I used to when I was younger.

We always have our doors wide open at Asbury and Wesley Oak for anyone looking for a church home and a church family. Our next New Member Classes will be in October. If you are interested in learning more about church membership and the classes, please contact Candace Jenkins at the church office or contact me at bghester3@comcast.net.

Many of you know that this week, I went to New York for an endoscopic procedure at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The procedure was to examine a cyst on my pancreas that we have been keeping an eye on for about nine years. I go to New York annually for an MRI. The cyst had not grown in size in all that time. But when I had my last MRI, the physicians felt it had grown, so they wanted me to have this procedure. The results were good. The doctor who did the exam feels like it has not grown as much as they thought. He believes it is smaller than what they believe the MRI reveals. I still will be going to New York for MRIs more frequently - twice a year instead of once — but we felt really good about last week's trip. 

By the way, Cheri and I got to see and spend time with the world's greatest grandchild. And we got to see the Broadway musical, Some Like It Hot. We both LOVED it! We highly recommend seeing it if you are able to get to New York. 

And one last reason to come on Sunday....we're singing Amazing Grace to the tune of The House of the Rising Sun! (One of our favorites!) 

Love & Blessings to all!
Billy