— Updates —

September 2024

1. How is God moving in your ministry/what can we celebrate with you?

*  In June we held Vacation Bible School.  I (Jennifer) was praying for 30 kids but only expected about 20 to actually come to VBS. As I was registering kids the first day they just kept coming! We had 28 kids the first day and a total of 30 for the week! God showed me that when we pray, He shows up. It was a wonderful week. Most of these kids are unchurched, yet they look forward to coming to VBS all year long. It is encouraging to see them coming back year after year and to see their hearts soften towards the Lord.

2. What is a fun fact or unique incident that we probably don’t know about you?

*  Hard question! My (Jennifer) great-great-grandfather is A.O. Damon who homesteaded what is now Ocean Shores. My grandfather, Ralph Minard, took over the ranch in the 1930's and periodically sold land to people, eventually selling a large portion of land to the developers of what is now Ocean Shores, WA. Maybe that's why I love the beach so much! Butch loves the mountains and we like to grab some snacks and go for drives up in the hills towards Mt. Adams for quick getaways from town.

3. What is your greatest need & how can we be praying for you?

* Pray for balance for both of us. Butch has been hired to teach a Metals class at school this year. He is looking forward to it in the sense that he will have these kids for one class period every day and can continue to build relationships with them. Most of the students in his class were part of our youth group but stopped coming once they got to high school.

* I will be teaching 4th grade this year and once again traveling about 50 minutes to school. The commute isn't horrible but does take me away from Glenwood. Pray that we would be intentional in our ministry in Glenwood both with those who come to church and those in the community,

* Pray for us as we continue to see the church in Glenwood grow. Pray that we would be able to get more people involved in ministry and that they would have a desire to grow deeper in their walk with the Lord. Pray for our fall ministries to be fruitful.

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April 2024

Our little church in Glenwood has seen growth over the past several months. We have kids in church again! Each week we have an average of 8-10 kids, mostly 5 and under. It is such a blessing. We are able to offer Children’s Church during the service with the help of several volunteers. Recently we had a Family Game Night. While the adults played board games together, Butch and I set up some games for the kids. It was a fun evening and people are asking to do it again. Kids that kind of knew us before now come up to us on Sunday mornings. It was a great way to begin building a relationship with them.

We are looking forward to Vacation Bible School the last week of June. This is a highlight of our ministry in Glenwood and we often get to work with kids who only come to church for VBS.

Prayer Requests/Praises:

• VBS – pray for volunteers to teach and lead small groups of kids. Pray for me (Jennifer) as I plan out the details. Pray for 30 kids to attend (this is a big goal since our school only has about 20 elementary students!)

• Connections – pray that we would continue to allow God to lead us to those who are in need of a relationship with the Lord.

• Pray that the younger families would have a desire to become involved in serving in the church.

• Pray that God would raise up Godly men to step into leadership.

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november 2023

We continue to do well in Glenwood. Families that have begun attending in the past year are growing and their kids are excited to be a part of Children’s church and other ministries. This past summer we held Vacation Bible School the last week of June. We had a total of 22 kids attend, 9 of them were 4, 5, and Kindergarten age!  

This fall we held a Women’s Retreat for the first time in several years. 14 ladies attended and had a great time. Jennifer was the speaker for the weekend and spoke on God’s Extravagant Grace. A few of the ladies who attended are fairly new to the church. All of the ladies have expressed interest in another retreat next year.

In November the church will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner. This is held at the school and usually sees about 75 people in attendance. There are several new families in the community, and we are hoping this will be an opportunity to meet them and begin to get to know them.

Prayer requests:

• Pray for safety for Jennifer as she continues to commute to Hood River, OR to teach 1st grade. It is about a 50-minute commute.

• Pray for safety for Butch as well as he transports kids to and from school each day, as well as continues to serve on the volunteer fire department.

• Pray that we would continue to make a difference in the community of Glenwood as we seek to follow God’s will in our lives.

• Pray also that more in the church would step up into leadership roles.

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JUNE 2023

We are doing well in Glenwood. We've been here for 14 years and though it hasn't been without its bumps, things are going well. In the last year we have seen several young families begin attending the church. On any given Sunday we could have 10 kids under 5 years old! We were able to start Children's Church again during the service and have set up a video feed to our fellowship room for those who need to step out with crying little ones.

This past year we also have had a couple of ladies interested in getting Women's Ministry going again. We had a ladies brunch in January that was well attended. In April these two ladies planned a dinner for our families with young children. They held it at the school and used the gym to provide a place for child care while the parents were served a nice dinner in the multi-purpose room. Six couples came and all said they had a wonderful time. Many of the older people in the church helped out with cooking, serving and child care. We also are planning a Women's Retreat in October.

VBS is June 26th - 30th. We are praying for 30 kids to attend and are including kids as young as 4 years old. We have the Village Missions Summer Ministry team coming to help and are looking forward to a fun week. Pray for VBS to be an effective ministry in sharing the gospel with all who attend, including their families. Most of our kids are not churched. Pray also for the VM summer ministry team, Brittany, Hannah, Ashton and Sofia. They will be doing most of the teaching while I (Jen) do the opening and closing. Our church volunteers will be crew leaders. Pray for them as well, as most of them are over 60.

Our kids are doing well. Spencer and Becca are both searching for jobs again. They have summer jobs at the Girl Scout camp in Spokane. Becca is looking for an elementary classroom position and Spencer is wanting to return to camp ministry. Grady is doing well in his job he started last January, working remotely in software engineering.

Thank you for praying for us. We are looking forward to some downtime once VBS is over. We have a vacation planned for mid-July and then hope to squeeze in some short camping trips the rest of the summer before school begins again!

Serving Him,

Butch & Jen

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JANUARY 2023

We are grateful for all that God has been doing in us and through us as we continue to serve with Village Missions in Glenwood. For many years he has allowed us to invest in the youth of our community and plant the seeds of faith. Over this past year we have been seeing a change in ministry here.

The youth are busy with school and sports and are not making time for God in their lives and youth ministry has been quiet. In its place, God has been grooming some ladies to once again begin women's ministry. It began with a weekly time of prayer and has grown to quarterly women's connection events and possibly monthly opportunities to get together. The first Women's Connection Brunch was held in January and was well attended. The ladies who were there are excited for more opportunities to come.

As we have prayed for God to bring more families to the church, he has answered. This past year we have seen several young families begin attending on a regular basis. This created a need for Children's Church which often has 5 or more little ones every week. We also created a space in our fellowship room with a screen so that mom's with babies can step out and still see and hear the service.

As we look ahead to 2023, please pray for our young people. Several have professed faith in Christ and it saddens us to watch them put God on the backburner of their lives. Pray that they would return to Him and that we would be able to reach them. We continue to offer opportunities for them and look for ways to connect with them in the community.

Pray for Women's Ministry. There are two ladies working together to lead the ministry. Pray that they would continue to be open to God's leading in this area. Pray also that others would be led to help.

Pray for the leadership of the church. Even though we have seen some growth this past year with more young families coming, we are still in need of godly men to lead the church. Pray that God would raise up these men and build a strong leadership team.

For us, please pray that there would be an opportunity for Jennifer to return to teaching in Glenwood, allowing more time for ministry in the community and with our local school age kids. Pray also that in the midst of serving we would find time for ourselves as well. We are thankful for God's provision for us and he has continued to bless us as we faithfully serve him.

Serving Him,

Pastor Butch and Jennifer Hallenbeck

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SEPTEMBER 2022

We have enjoyed a busy summer of ministry to the young people in our community. We held VBS in June. There were more volunteers this year than in years past, which is a big answer to prayer! Even though we don't have many kids coming to church or enrolled in our local school, God brought 28 kids to VBS! We had a mix of local kids, grandkids of people in the church and community, and some from our neighboring community. It was a wonderful week with many seeds planted.  

In August we took ten campers to Junior camp and ten to teen camp. Early in the summer it seemed that we would not be able to have camp for our kids but again, God provided the staffing we needed. Our camp numbers were low this year but more than last year.  

Praises and Requests:

We are beginning youth ministry (6th-12th grade) and Kids Jam (K-5th grade) this month. Pray that the teens in Glenwood would have a desire to meet together to study God's Word and grow together in Christ. Pray for our team to have fresh ideas to reach the youth. Pray for our Kids Jam team to be able to teach in such a way that the kids are engaged in the lessons and have a desire to know God.  

We are praising God for new families coming to church. For several years we have prayed that God would bring young families with children. Please pray that they would feel welcome and that they would have a desire to serve in the church.  

Family Updates:

Praise! Becca was hired as the full-time music teacher in Mary Walker School District, just north of Spokane. It is a K-12 school and she is teaching elementary music, middle school band and general music, and high school band. Pray that she has a fantastic year and is able to build meaningful relationships with her students and the staff, allowing her to share her faith.  

Spencer moved to Spokane this summer and he and Becca are renting a house together. Spencer was able to find a summer job quickly which ended at the end of August. Pray that he is able to find a full-time job. Pray also for direction for him, that he would be open to whatever God calls him to do. He is planning to be a substitute paraeducator until he finds something more permanent.  

Grady has been busy working on his new home and property. He is still working remotely for Adobe. Pray that he would find a church to attend and that he would grow closer to God.  

Butch continues to be busy in the community, driving the school bus and volunteering with our local fire department. Pray that these opportunities would help him to continue to deepen relationships with those in the community, including the youth.  

Jennifer continues to teach 1st grade outside of Glenwood. While this has been a great opportunity to teach freely in a Christian school, Jennifer desires to be in the local school. Pray that with a new superintendent an opportunity would open up for Jennifer to return to teaching in Glenwood.

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APRIL 2022

Winter is hanging on in Glenwood. We had a white Easter this year! Our sunrise service was a cold 27 degrees with snow on the ground, but we had the biggest turnout that we have had for Easter Sunrise in several years. In the past several months some new couples have begun attending. Since we have been here (13 years) we have prayed that God would bring more godly men to the church. He is beginning to answer that prayer! This will allow us to increase our ministry to the community.

Prayer Requests

·         Pray for our ministries to children and youth. We continue to see 6-8 teens at youth group each week. We have a small group but they are growing spiritually and sharing their faith at school. There are 3 girls that do Bible Study together. Our younger group, Kindergarten - 5th grade, is still meeting monthly for Kids Jam. We have 4 that attend consistently and a few others that come occasionally. We are looking forward to VBS this summer. I am unsure of how many kids we will have but we are being faithful in planning.

·         Pray for me (Jennifer) as I continue to teach out of our community in Hood River, just under an hour each way. I know that God has placed me at the school I am in for a reason, but I am praying that He will open the door for me to return to Glenwood to teach so I can be more involved with our families here. 

·         For Butch - pray for balance. He is now the main bus driver for the school and is doing a lot of extra driving for sports. This has been good in that he gets more time with the kids. He has also been able to visit with more people now that Covid restrictions are lifted and has been having some good visits.

·         Please pray for the school where I (Jennifer) teach. Our enrollment has continued to decline and is now under 50 students, pre-K through 12th grade. We are again searching for a new principal/superintendent (1 person). The previous one began this last fall and resigned mid-year. This is taking a toll on the school and the families.

Family Updates/Prayer Requests

·         Becca is currently interviewing for a full-time music teaching position for next year in the Spokane area. Pray that God would lead her to the job He has for her and that it would be a good fit.

·         Spencer is currently working in my classroom with a student that has a physical disability. He is enjoying it but does not plan to continue after this school year. He is planning to move to Spokane with Becca and find employment there, then will consider returning to school.

·         Grady is doing well and just bought a house in Dayton, OR. He is working for Adobe as a Software Engineer.

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DECEMBER 2021

The Hallenbecks are beginning to see attendance numbers return to pre-Covid levels. They even have some new attendees since opening back up. They’ve restarted their kids’ programs that meet every other week. Of the 19 kids in Glenwood’s elementary school, 10 come to their children’s program. Youth group is off to a slow start since covid, but people are beginning to come back.

Please pray for the kids attending Kids Jam and that the leaders would be faithful no matter what and will continue to focus on the gospel going out. The kids who attend are not “church kids” so Butch and Jen want to make sure they hear the gospel clearly and regularly.

Pray for the leaders of youth group to have endurance to continue serving the kids even when they don’t show up regularly. Pray that the leaders would be intentional in building relationships with the teens.

Pray for their congregation, that would have a desire to serve the Lord and meet together for fellowship and Bible Study outside of Sunday morning. They would like to start up some mid-week bible studies. 

Pray for Butch and Jen, as they purpose to seek God’s will in all things and faithfully serve Him. Pray for their safety, especially Jen as she travels for almost an hour every day to teach elementary school. 

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July 2021

Butch and Jennifer Hallenbeck just finished a week of VBS at their church in Glenwood, WA and had 14 kids attend. Only four of them live in Glenwood! Five of them were former students when Jennifer taught in Trout Lake two years ago and two have grandparents who live in Glenwood. They had help from three teens and two ladies from their church. It was truly a community affair! Please pray for continued connections with these families and that the kids will come to hold onto the truths they heard. Please also pray for the upcoming summer camp (first week of August). They are trusting God to fill their staffing needs and wondering if some of their LTCC family would like to serve as counselors.

It’s hard to believe Butch and Jennifer have been in Glenwood for 12 years! As they talked with grandparents at VBS drop off, they were reminded that they are exactly where God wants them to be. Church attendance has been relatively low, averaging between 20 and 25. But the bigger reach is the families who don’t come to church but recognize Butch as their pastor. Pray that they will continue to have an impact on these families and that they would reach a place in their lives where they will desire to know God personally.

Their kids are doing well. Grady is still living in Portland and working for Adobe, Spencer is currently at home and searching for a job in camp ministry and is also considering going back to school and Becca just got hired for a half time elementary music position in Medical Lake, WA. Their prayer for their kids is that they would draw close to God and trust Him in all things.

This fall, Butch will continue to drive the school bus for their local school and Jennifer will continue teaching 1st grade at a private Christian school in Hood River, OR (about 50 minutes away). Pray for balance in ministry and that they would be intentional in their relationships with families and teens who come to youth group.

Pray also that they would continue to trust God to meet their needs financially.

Thank you for praying for Butch and Jennifer.

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February 2021

We are doing well. 2020 was a challenging year for us in ministry. Our main ministry in Glenwood has always been to the kids and teens. When everything shut down last March we had to cancel all of our activities for this group of young people. That was hard! No camps, VBS, or Kids Jam. God gave us many opportunities to do ministry differently. We held youth group and Bible study over Zoom and ventured into the world of Facebook live for our Sunday morning worships services. Just a month before Covid-19 impacted our world, we were able to get internet connected to the church. No small feet for our little community with no cell service and limited internet access! We have had a steady number of people join us online who would not otherwise be able to join us for church in Glenwood. Some have moved away and others have underlying health concerns. Some just don't want to go out. This fall we resumed Kids Jam and youth group in person, and have been holding in person services since June. We have seen much growth in our teens since last winter.

Through quarantine one of our teen girls had a deep desire to grow closer to the Lord. This winter she started holding a Bible study over Zoom with a few of the others. They are seeking out music and books that build up their faith and they are standing up for their faith at school. This group in particular has been coming to kids activities at church since they were 5 years old and could come to VBS.  It brings us great joy to watch these teens growing in their relationship with the Lord.

• Please pray for these 3 girls, that they would be a light to their friends and classmates and that others would be drawn to Him through them. Pray for us as we continue to navigate ministry in a world turned upside down by Covid-19.

• Pray that God would give us opportunities to reach out to people when they want to be left alone.

• Pray for me (Jen) as I balance teaching full time and ministry. God has blessed me with a 1st grade position at a Christian school in Hood River, OR, about 45 minutes away. Pray that I would be even more intentional in my relationships in the community, especially with our teens, now that I am not in our local school.

• Pray for Butch as he continues to balance the many hats he wears, firefighter/EMT, school bus driver, and pastor.

• Pray that we would stay focused on God's purpose for us and His work that we are to do in Glenwood.

Thank you for partnering with us in ministry. We miss our LTCC family and look forward to being able to visit (hopefully) soon!

Serving Him,

Butch and Jen Hallenbeck

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SEPTEMBER, 2020

Jen just started teaching first grade at Horizon Christian School in Hood River, OR, about an hour away. She wasn't expecting to be teaching there, but God closed every other door. They are blessed to be able to meet in person at this point. Their local school is finally meeting in person, as well, and Butch is back to driving one of the two bus routes. Butch uses this as an opportunity to connect with the families in the community.

Prayer requests from Butch and Jen:

• Pray that we would continue to be a light for Jesus in our community.

• We desire to be intentional in ministry and seek to honor God in all that we do. Our ministry to children and youth have always been the main ministries in the church. We aren't sure what that will look like this year for elementary age children. The dynamic in the community has changed quite a bit and very few of the younger ones are in families that have a desire to see their kids come and learn about Jesus. Our youth group has a handful of students that attend every week with others that drop in from time to time. Pray for both of these ministries and how we can be effective in reaching the youth of our community this year.

• Pray also for people to come back to church. When we were closed and went to an online service, we saw that we were reaching people who had moved away and had not found a new church home. This is the main reason we have continued our online services since returning in person. Since we have been able to open our doors, we have noticed that several in our congregation are continuing to stay home and watch online. While we are glad they are at least participating in this way, we are concerned that they are not in fellowship with the body of Christ.