Pea Ridge News | June 2025
God is moving here at Pea Ridge! Check out this month's newsletter to catch a glimpse!
You can scroll through the newsletter or use the links below to jump to articles:
You can scroll through the newsletter or use the links below to jump to articles:
Setting the Tone for Summer
by Dan Londeree, pastor
Beginnings are important. How you start something will often set the tone for the rest of that time period or activity. It’s true that you can finish well after not starting well, but starting well is going to make it much easier to finish well! As we enter this summer season, my prayer is that you are focusing on setting the spiritual tone for the months ahead.
Take a few minutes and assess your thoughts about summer. What is the subject of your most frequent thought? Is it a project? A vacation? Balancing your work schedule and your recreation plans? These are common thoughts going into a season like this. I’d like to offer a different train of thought for you to adopt as your focus: how can you draw closer to Jesus this summer?
As we draw closer to our Savior, everything else in life seems to fall into place. It’s not that communing with Jesus in prayer, time spent in God’s Word and in community with other believers will lead us to get everything we want. Rather, spending time with him in these ways will produce in us the fruit of the Spirit and move us to continually die to our own selfish desires (Galatians 5:22-26).
If you start your summer this way, you’ll soon discover that Jesus will direct your thoughts and bring you into a healthy relationship with him and the people in your life. I encourage you to follow our new reading plan and sermon series as we spend a summer in the Psalms. Take in these writings that come from the heart of various authors as they come openly to God, and then follow their example. I’ve started my summer this way, and I can attest that it’s the best way to live.
For more details about how our church is growing together in faith this summer, including how things are moving forward during my first ever sabbatical, click or tap the link below!
Take a few minutes and assess your thoughts about summer. What is the subject of your most frequent thought? Is it a project? A vacation? Balancing your work schedule and your recreation plans? These are common thoughts going into a season like this. I’d like to offer a different train of thought for you to adopt as your focus: how can you draw closer to Jesus this summer?
As we draw closer to our Savior, everything else in life seems to fall into place. It’s not that communing with Jesus in prayer, time spent in God’s Word and in community with other believers will lead us to get everything we want. Rather, spending time with him in these ways will produce in us the fruit of the Spirit and move us to continually die to our own selfish desires (Galatians 5:22-26).
If you start your summer this way, you’ll soon discover that Jesus will direct your thoughts and bring you into a healthy relationship with him and the people in your life. I encourage you to follow our new reading plan and sermon series as we spend a summer in the Psalms. Take in these writings that come from the heart of various authors as they come openly to God, and then follow their example. I’ve started my summer this way, and I can attest that it’s the best way to live.
For more details about how our church is growing together in faith this summer, including how things are moving forward during my first ever sabbatical, click or tap the link below!
Renewing relationships through Family Fun Night
Our church had a wonderful time at Camden Park! If you would like to view the pictures from that evening, click the link below!
Youth Ministry Update
The youth group will be welcoming incoming 6th graders this month. New students and their parents are invited to join for a Parents vs Kids Game Night on June 11th at 6:30 in the youth room. They will be studying the “Fruit of the Spirit” this summer.
The C.R.E.W. will also be going to First Baptist Church of Rainelle from June 25-29 to serve at their local food bank. Please pray for our students and volunteers as they prepare for this trip. If you have any questions or would like to make a spiritual or financial contribution to this trip or have questions about the summer schedule for the youth group, please reach out to Zach Stevens at 304-654-5331
The C.R.E.W. will also be going to First Baptist Church of Rainelle from June 25-29 to serve at their local food bank. Please pray for our students and volunteers as they prepare for this trip. If you have any questions or would like to make a spiritual or financial contribution to this trip or have questions about the summer schedule for the youth group, please reach out to Zach Stevens at 304-654-5331
Kids Ministry Update
At Ridge Kids, our goal is to help children build authentic relationships with Jesus. This month, we're starting a new Sunday morning series called "Rooted." Together, we'll explore key stories from Scripture that show what it means to be deeply rooted in Christ, transformed by His love, and filled with His Spirit.
We invite you to join us in prayer for our kids, their families, and our faithful volunteers as we journey through this series!
We invite you to join us in prayer for our kids, their families, and our faithful volunteers as we journey through this series!
Pea Ridge faith stories: Christi New
My sister and I began riding the church bus of a local church when I was only 3 years old, and my sister was 5. After a few months, my parents began attending and came to know the Lord. They have become two of the best examples of faithfulness in my life. We would attend church anytime the doors were opened. Mom, in a sweet twist of how God works, became a bus captain at the church. This bus would pick up nearly 50 kids every Sunday morning for many years.
I came to know and understand the gospel through a “Wordless Walnut” (yes, you heard that correctly). I am not sure if anyone remembers these, but I sure do. It was a plastic walnut with a retractable ribbon that had the colors of the “Wordless Book”. The colors were Black (my sin), Red (God’s blood shed for me), White (Purity or clean heart), yellow (streets of gold/Heaven) and green (growth). This walnut helped it make sense to me. It is the simplest things, isn’t it? I knew that I was a sinner and needed Jesus.
Fifty years later, I am in awe of His goodness, how He could love me, even in the times I have turned my back on Him. He has been faithful to me and my family. He has worked in ways that I can say, ONLY GOD! How can I keep from praising Him?!
My favorite verse is Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God”. It is my reminder to rest in Him.
I came to know and understand the gospel through a “Wordless Walnut” (yes, you heard that correctly). I am not sure if anyone remembers these, but I sure do. It was a plastic walnut with a retractable ribbon that had the colors of the “Wordless Book”. The colors were Black (my sin), Red (God’s blood shed for me), White (Purity or clean heart), yellow (streets of gold/Heaven) and green (growth). This walnut helped it make sense to me. It is the simplest things, isn’t it? I knew that I was a sinner and needed Jesus.
Fifty years later, I am in awe of His goodness, how He could love me, even in the times I have turned my back on Him. He has been faithful to me and my family. He has worked in ways that I can say, ONLY GOD! How can I keep from praising Him?!
My favorite verse is Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God”. It is my reminder to rest in Him.
Christi New