The Fall Season is practically upon us; football is starting, county fairs are in full swing, and some people are even claiming that the leaves are starting to change colors already, but I (thankfully) haven’t seen that happen. Because I know once the leaves change colors they will fall to the ground and that means I must get the rake in my hands before the leaves overtake my lawn. The Fall Season also means the kickoff of Highway Groups at VALLEY, which means we all have an exciting time to check out and sign up for the group and the people we are going to be committed to growing with over the course of the next year. This year we are going to offer a wider range of Highway Groups than we have ever had, so please over the next few weeks, before sign ups start, spend some time praying and thinking about where God wants you to go over the next year. It may be in a Men’s or Women’s Highway Group or maybe for you it is time to ramp up your Marriage or Parenting through participation in those Highway Groups. For our singles it may mean a deeper commitment to having solid Christian friends in our Fusion Highway Groups, but no matter what one(s) you pick sink your heart and life into it and watch how God will work and transform you through Him and the relationships formed in these Highway Groups.

At VALLEY we see the biggest life change and transformation through participation in Highway Groups, so if you are looking to go further over the next year these groups are the place for you. If you have a personal story on how these Highway Groups have impacted your life please send us an email as we would love the opportunity to celebrate with you.

~Josh Brossia

During the summer it seems like the pace of things are a little slower and the schedule is a little less cluttered, so why not make the most of it and "gear up" spiritually this summer? This has been a practice at VALLEY Christian Church for the past few years with amazing fruit! The summer not only finds us kicking off our summer study group (for leadership development), but we also have an annual staff retreat, Kid's Extreme week, student mission trip and other special opportunities for the VALLEY family while the days are longer and the temp is hotter.

God created the seasons (Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall), and I believe he has a special purpose for our spiritual growth and the spiritual growth of a church in the midst of each season. It's just too easy to fall into the trap of lowering our expectations of what The Almighty has planned and purposed to do because some in the church family are away on vacation or because the kids are out of school.

What would your spiritual life look like if you set some summer goals for your spiritual growth? What if you read not just one Christian book this summer, but one a month? What if you set aside one day a week to invite someone you don't know so well from the VALLEY family to your house for burgers? What if you began to have family devotions everyday together over dinner? What if you went ahead and invited that unchurched friend you've been thinking of to one of our VALLEY gatherings? What if you took advantage of one of our unique summer opportunities to get involved "behind the scenes" at VALLEY?

I don't think God takes a break for the summer and I don't think he needs a vacation. He wants to work in and through you this summer no matter where you are. We're not waiting on Him. He's waiting on us!

-Greg Williamson

Over the last few weeks, I've heard a lot of great feedback about the Sunday series we are in "Who Is Jesus". Much to my surprise, I think one of the most important messages I've ever preached in my 20 years as a pastor was "Why Did Jesus Come To Earth". I say surprisingly, because I didn't have any clue that it would be until after I finished giving the message twice on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

As I stated at the beginning of that message, "The answer to that questions seems to be a simple one, but it is in fact much deeper than most of us realize". That was almost three weeks ago and I'm still hearing great reports about how challenged people were by asking themselves if Jesus truly is Prophet, Priest and King in their lives. If you haven't had a chance to hear the message yet, I encourage you to take the time to listen online or download the message from iTunes from the VALLEY Christian Church Podcast and listen to it on your iPod. If you don't know Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King in your life today, you're missing out on who Jesus is!

-Greg Williamson

Susie, my daughter Sophia and I returned home on Monday from almost two weeks in Eastern Europe. It is very hard to communicate to all of our friends and church family all that we experienced while we were away. This is not the first time for us in the Ukraine, but it seems like "re-entry" has been harder this time than in the past. The fact is, my sleeping habits have never been the same since first traveling abroad two years ago. But sleep is not the only thing that's been a little more tricky this time.

We were not really prepared for the abject poverty that we were exposed to on this trip. We had a chance to visit some of the villages in the surrounding area around Tarispol, Transnistria, and it impacted all three of us deeply (and I'd like to think permanently). The people in the villages have an incredibly hard life (fact is, everyone there does by American standards), but they also have a grace and a generosity that we found ourselves beginning to envy. It seems like the simple life they life, as hard as it is, develops an inward strength, endurance and persistence that is rarely obvious in a typical American.

As for the believers who we found there; although we may have more knowledge of the Scripture and be more acquainted with 'Who's Who is Christian Media', their genuine faith and spiritual strength also deeply challenged us. We taught for hours, and they were still hungry to hear more, as they feverishly scribbled down page after page of notes. Some gave us simple gifts of appreciation for our time there: nuts, a piece of candy, a meal, a picture or a hand made necklace (for the ladies). Each of these gifts humbled us and made us feel unworthy, knowing we had received just as much as we had given through their love, acceptance and selflessness.

Although we've been home for a few days now, the memories and experiences burn brightly in our minds. These experiences motivate and inspire us to set our focus on the work at hand that God has placed before us here in New York and in America. As we are once again immersed in things so familiar to us, we look forward to our next opportunity to be "out of our comfort zone" again in Eastern Europe and be reunited with our wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ whom we love so much there.

We have begun to pack our luggage and get ready for our flight back to the USA early tomorrow morning. Our time here has been awesome and it seems like it has been much longer than 12 days.

Yesterday, we attended Living Word Church again here in Kiev. It was an honor to be apart of the CLST (Christian Life School of Theology) graduation. It was so inspirational to witness students receiving Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees in Theology and Biblical Studies. Many were students in both of the classes I have taught here in Kiev. We took many pictures and were given beautiful flowers from the students. We also began saying 'Good-bye' to so many wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ that we have come to know and love.

Today, there will be a special picnic in honor of the graduates and visiting Americans. It will be a few more hours that we can share together before our long flight back home tomorrow. Please pray especially for Susie and Sophia. they both had a hard time leaving when we visited in 2008, and I think this time will be as hard, if not more difficult.

The people here in Ukraine and Tarispol have a way of getting into your heart. They are so loving, giving and hungry to grow in God's Word that it makes ministry here so easy and fulfilling. All of these qualities combine to form strong bonds of friendship in a short amount of time. It also makes leaving more difficult than one might imagine.

We are missing our VALLEY family and looking forward to being reunited again. You are all in our thoughts and prayers for Sunday Gatherings later today. "Dasvidanya Comrades" (Goodbye friends).

With Much Love,

Greg Williamson