Hello Conejo Family!


A Word from Kirk:

Hi Conejo Family.  I hope you are doing well!
This Sunday, August 7,  I’ll be preaching from I Peter 2:1-3.  This passage contains some of my favorite quotes in the whole Bible, “like newborns, crave pure spiritual milk so you can grow in your salvation” & “…now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”  If you feel like you’ve been stuck in your faith, not growing like you “should”, or have lost your passion for God’s Word, please don’t miss this one!   If you’ve given up on really experiencing God like others do, don’t miss this one!  The Lord wants to restore your desire for HIM and for His Word.

Hope to see you on Sunday!
Kirk

Here is a “DayCamp” report from Natalee Lopez (Conejo Children’s Director)


WOW! I don’t know about you but we are still buzzing about how FUN DayCamp was last week! From the crafts to the songs we learned, the shine hasn’t worn off a bit. Each kid who came, which totaled 60 each day, learned that God loves them — every one. Over the course of the 5 days, the kids learned the creation story and how over the course of the “Big God Story” aka The Bible, God showed us His promise of a Savior to redeem us. Over and over God showed us His faithfulness and even now we can see His promises to us and know He’s with us. Each day, the kids walked away with a new verse written on their hearts, and song on their lips, bellies full of tasty snacks, and glue on their sticky fingers from the creations they made. To say it was a success would truly be an understatement.

While DayCamp was free for attenders, we wanted the kids to see how coming together in fun and learning we could still pull resources and make a global impact. We partnered with Uganda Buyamba in their “Change for Change” project. Each day, we encouraged the kids to bring any change they had. Whether they found it, earned it, or donated it from their piggie banks. Over the course of the week, we collected $130 in CHANGE! To help us make an even greater impact, Conejo Church and Mercy Chapel matched our donations so we were able to donate a total of $390 and send 15 kids in Uganda to their very own VBS. The DayCampers really owned this project and were so excited to give their change each day! They beamed with pride when we held up that HUGE collection jar full of their donated coins.

DayCamp would not have been possible without the 35 amazing volunteers we had from both Conejo Church and Mercy Chapel. Our volunteers took time off work, volunteered as whole families, and poured themselves into whatever task was given to them. Our youth volunteers were especially exuberant and helpful with the wide range of ages of kids! We could not have pulled off such a fun and exciting DayCamp without all those who volunteered. We are so grateful to you and so are the 60 kids you prayed over and loved on.

We may not get to see the fruit that grows from this short time at DayCamp, but I can tell you without a doubt that seeds were planted in the hearts of every kid that attended. The Lord’s words are taking root in their hearts. Lives were changed and impacted for the better. Nothing could be more beautiful or fulfilling than seeing a child’s eyes light up while singing praises to our Father.

Thank you church, for your support and prayers through this past week. The team and I are forever grateful and looking forward to next year!

Natalee


Movie Night was a fun ending to DayCamp!!!

We concluded Daycamp last Friday night with “Family Movie Night Under the Stars”. The weather was perfect and we had an amazing time!  Lots of families that were new to Conejo church joined us as well :-).
If you’ve never seen The Peanuts Movie, check it out sometime. It contains some fabulous life lessons.

Here is a “Youth Camp” report from T.C. & Julie Foster (Conejo Youth Directors)


Hey Church!!
We got back from camp just over a week ago, and let me just say it was incredible!  As they say in the Industry, “location, location, location”.  We had the opportunity to camp at Gaviota State Park where we were nestled in next to a nice bluff with an old school trellised train track bridge going almost over the camp site.  Beautiful was an understatement.



We watched and heard trains go by, listened to the buzz of camp and got to learn and worship God while experiencing His creation!!  It was a week filled with gourmet camp food, wind caves, hot springs, beach vibes,
and the love of Jesus Christ.


We are looking forward to next year, and all the places we will get to see and experience!

TC, Julie & Zeke Foster

Conejo Church Calendar

August:
21st–            Kids are promoted to the next grade
27th-             Family Beach Day at Carpinteria!

September:
4th-              Church in the Park
11th–             Leadership Community Meeting
11-16th–        Mosaic Groups begin
18th–             Church Family Meeting after church service
24-Oct 4th–   Trip to NEPAL
25th–              Children’s Ministry New Volunteer Training