What’s happening at Essential

Christmas Eve Service – An Unexpected Christmas
Our Sunday, December 25 service has been moved to Saturday, December 24.  Service times will be 2, 4 & 6 pm.  Childcare for birth—4 years old will be provided at the 2pm & 4 pm services. Tickets are available today at the Greet Center for all 3 Christmas Eve Services to ensure adequate seating.

Essential Cafe
We have service opportunities in our Cafe.  From 8 – 9:30 we need helpers to brew coffee, heat water, heat cocoa, and cider.   Food needs to be put out, and also need to make sure all cups, sugars, etc are stocked.

At 9:30 a volunteer needs to make sure there is food and drink available for the 2nd service attenders.

At 11 pm the cafe is cleaned up.

We ask that you help in the cafe once a month.

Contact Laura Wayland at laura_wayland@yahoo.com to sign up or for more information.

Children’s Ministry
We always have positions available for volunteers in our classes for birth – 5th grade, 1st or 2nd service.  A background check is performed on all volunteers in our children’s ministry.  We ask that you work once a month in the Children’s Ministry.  If you would like to find out more about working with our children, contact Sherry Brunner at sherry@essentialchurch.tv.

To register for the Men’s Camp Out on October 7-8 fill out the form below.  Also be sure to click the GIVE link at the bottom right of the website to pay the $20 registration fee which covers all meals and skeet shooting.

Sometimes it takes courage to be a man. Sometimes it takes courage to choose to do what’s right:at work . . . at home . . . even at church.

Come and spend a weekend outdoors camping, shooting, and discussing the new movie Courageous which comes out Sept 30th. (view the trailer at bottom)  This means that you need to go see the movie Courageous before you come to the camp out.

Details

Date: Friday, October 7 through Saturday, October 8th.
Location: 797 Manning Bridge Road, Suffolk.  Click here  for a map.
Time: Begins Friday evening  & concludes Saturday at 10 pm
Cost: $20 includes meals & skeet shooting
What to bring: It is a camp out… Bring camping stuff: Comfortable clothing, sleeping bag, pillow, gun (bring your own ammo), tent (if you have one), bug spray, and what ever else you need for a night in the wilderness!
Activities: Yes, bring a gun if you want, there’s a firing range at the campground as well as a place for skeet shooting.
Hunting: The camp out will be during bow hunting season.  There’s enough places on the property where we are camping for 10 guys to go hunting Friday afternoon (First come, First serve, so get your registration in).  You’ll need to show up between 4-5:30pm on that Friday to get set up.  If you are interested hunting, there will be a meeting at 10:30am (in between 1st and 2nd services) on October 2nd with the property owner.

Schedule

FRIDAY
5-7pm: Arrive and Set Up Tents
7-8pm: Dinner: Wild Game Soup & Chili
8pm: Campfire Discussion

SATURDAY
Morning: Breakfast & Campfire Discussion
Afternoon: Lunch, Skeet Shooting, Target Shooting
Evening: Dinner & Campfire Discussion
10pm: Return home a changed man

Back 2 School Bash featuring Bright Light Parade- with special guests Justin Harris and Graesin Rayn.

**FREE**

Friday  September 23 @ 7pm!

Doors open at 6:30

Invite your friends!

Essential Church

4020 Ware Neck Dr. VB

Are You Ready for some Football?
 

Whether you’re an armchair quarterback or a weekend warrior, Essential Church’s Coed Flag Football is for you!  Join dozens of EC football fans for some great  gridiron fun.

The  2011 Coed Flag Football league will be played on Saturday mornings beginning September 24th at 10am.  All games will be played at Essential Church. 4020 Ware Neck Drive.

These are pick up games. No teams! Just show up and play.
Bring some water, a pair of cleats, a light and a dark shirt, a great attitude, and your “A” game.
 

OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

We are partnering with the organizers of the National Nite Out event at Red Mill park on October 4th from 6-8pm. In the past they have had around 500 people show up for the event. We will be providing a bounce house, sno-cones, pop-corn, and hot dogs. You might be wondering, “Where d0 we get all that equipment from?” Well, the missions network that we are a part of has several “block party trailers” in strategic locations around the state.  We have one of these available to us in the Hampton Roads area. All we need now is volunteers to staff the event. It will be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to serve our community.

We need volunteers for: greeters, regestration table, make sno-cones, make popcorn, monitor the bounce house, set-up and clean-up, transport some tables and chairs to-and-from the event. Volunteers need to arrive at the event at 5 pm to set-up.  Leave a comment below or send an email to let us know you can help with the event.

Slideshow of National Night Out 2010

Video from National Night Out 2009

Red Mill Farm National Night Out Event 2009 from Mario Rosales on Vimeo.

Text or call 757-472-4673 to find where a workcrew is that you can help.

We will not be having church service at Essential on Sunday.  While the storm may have passed by us by Sunday morning, I think this is a morning where it would be far better to be out in the community serving rather than inside worshiping.

After the storm is over make plans to put on your essential t-shirt if you have one, take some work gloves and go Be Essential!  There will be debris to clean up and trees to cut up.  This is a great time to meet your neighbors and grow closer as a community.

If you see a house that has a major need, let us know.  Use whatever communication mediums that are available to you after the storm.  We will direct people from Essential Church to that location, or if necessary we can call in our disaster relief agency partners that are standing by to offer assistance.

You can call or text service needs to 757-472-4673 or send an email to info@essentialchurch.tv and PastorSteve@essentialchurch.tv.

Also, if you want to be on the first responder list to help, email your cell phone number to info@essentialchurch.tv.  If cell phones are working after the storm, we will be sending out service opportunities via text as well as to the church’s email list.

Live for the Blessing,

Pastor Steve

Over 20 Navy Seals were killed in a helicopter crash Friday.  Most of these fallen sailors were stationed in Virginia Beach, and leave behind many loved ones.  We are accepting monetary donations and gift cards for these families.  All gifts will be distributed to family members and loved ones of those involved.  Any money donated that does not go directly to the families will go to the Navy Seal Foundation.

To donate money online for these families you can click here and pick the Navy Seal option.  Giving is tax deductible.

Gift cards can be dropped off at the church or mailed to:
Essential Church Ministries
4020 Ware Neck Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Debbie Winesett is leaving on a Medical Mission Trip to El Salvador on
September 3.  We can help out those in need by donating the following items:

Ibuprofen,
Tylenol
Vitamins
antibacterial gels
flip flops
very small toys (happy meal size)
hotel size toiletries

 A complete list is available at church. 
Please bring your donated items to Essential no later than Sunday, August 21.