More Good News of Our People Sharing Their Faith

Regina Draut came forward to give her life to Jesus Christ two weeks ago at Cascade Hills. Prior to her baptism, she shared with staff member Bob Hawkins that she was a hairdresser at five assisted-living facilities. She specifically mentioned a 91-year-old lady she had been sharing her faith with that was on her heart. After Pastor Bill Purvis’ message about how to share your faith, Regina shared the Romans Road with that 91-year-old woman. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. She embraced Regina. In the past, Regina would tell her “I love you” and the lady never said “I love you“ back. After receiving Christ, the 91-year-old lady told Regina, “I love you too!” indicating a definite life change. To God be the glory!

Willing to Share His Faith

I remember receiving a phone call from my buddy Joe Craig saying that our good friend, Todd Burroughs just had his first baby girl. We decided to meet at the hospital for a quick 15-minute celebration, while Todd’s wife was recovering.

As I approached the hospital I couldn’t help but think how our God is great. It wasn’t long before this day that we were earnestly praying for Todd’s baby girl, whom we were told had a cyst growing on her brain. I remember how devastated Todd was when he first heard the news and presented the situation to the Men’s Prayer Ministry. He was very courageous, but like any father was deeply concerned about his unborn child. After much prayer and God being who God is, we were than told (after a routine follow up) that there was no trace of any cyst on his unborn baby girl. We all praised the Lord for such a miraculous healing, but it seems the Lord wasn’t going to stop there.

As we arrived, Todd met Joe Craig and I and we started talking about prayer and how God really blessed us, when all of sudden we heard a voice behind us saying “I hear you guys talking about prayer, do you guys mind saying a prayer for me?” The voice was coming from a gentleman who was sitting on a bench next to us. He looked like he was in a lot pain, but not just physically. He began to tell us his story about how he had been shot in the stomach after being robbed at his own home. After sympathizing with him, we told him about how great God was, and why we were there, and about our Church. He seemed very interested, yet I could tell he was looking for more.

At this point everyone had to run and get back to what they were previously doing, but I knew I had to stay with this guy. It was obvious to me the Holy Spirit was really working on him. I shared a bit more about my faith with him and asked him “If that bullet had ended his life, where did he think he would have spent eternity. He responded with “I don’t know.” I asked him at that point if he wanted to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior because he would have no doubts then where he was going to spend eternity. He responded with a “yes,” and with tears spilling down his cheeks he repeated my words as I led him into the sinner’s prayer.

This was the day I saw the rebirth of my brother in Christ, Jonathan Sparks. As I walked him to his hospital room we exchanged numbers and I encouraged him to come to church and surround himself with a body of believers. Upon leaving his room I thanked God, almost to point of tears, that He used me to be a part of His awesome work. I encourage anyone reading this story to just have a willing heart, and God will do the rest.

Amen.

Jason Spaeder

A proud member of Cascade Hills Church

Great Mother’s Day Services!

I always enjoy Mother’s Day at Cascade Hills. The whole service was so sweet and honoring. I especially enjoyed Vivian singing “In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride while holding her baby girl. Pastor’s message was uplifting and encouraging. When he did the prayer for mothers trying to conceive, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. So many women have been blessed with children after praying on Mother’s Day. Thank you for giving all of the mothers a rose on the way out too. Cascade Hills always gives that special touch!

Great Music!

If you’re a music buff, Cascade is the place to be! I love it when you guys do Rascal Flatts, Chris Daughtry, ColdPlay, Switchfoot, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Steve Fee & especially MercyMe. From Country to Rock, you guys hit every end of the spectrum. I even heard “Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot on American Idol last night and I think Chris does it even better! The CHC band is talented and versatile. Thanks for all you do.

Ike Reighard Brings Message of Hope

Dr. Ike Reighard brought a message of hope entitled, “How Do You Perform in the Storm,” on the final weekend in April at Cascade Hills Church. The message from Matthew 7:24-27 resonated with everyone, because everyone goes through storms. Storms are universal. We may not be able to choose our storms, but we have the ability to choose our attitudes through the storms. We get to choose if the storm makes us bitter or better.

Ike Reighard gave his personal testimony of the storm he went through when his wife and newborn child died in the delivery room of Piedmont Hospital. It was a storm he never saw coming. What he learned when he went through that storm was, “God is too wise to be mistaken. God is too good to be unkind. When you don’t understand, when you can’t see His plan, and when you can’t trace His hand, trust God’s heart.”

Seven people accepted Christ as their Savior. Many people gained new insight on storms. A storm handled correctly honors God.

Thank You for 25 Years of Leadership, Pastor

On April 5 and 6, Pastor Bill Purvis will have led Cascade Hills Church for 25 years. We will be celebrating his leadership and his service to the church all weekend. If you would like to thank Pastor and tell him how much he has meant to you, please leave him a comment.

Hospital Volunteers Recognized

The following is a letter received by the Cascade Hills Pastoral Care Department:

Dear Christ’s messenger,

While in Hughston’s ICU waiting room, I was greeted by two smiling faces offering a goodie bag. What a wonderful outreach for you church. It meant so much to be thought of at this time. Thank you so much for your caring spirit,

Ralph and Martha Walton

The “goodie bag” mentioned in the letter is a sack full of snacks that Cascade Hills volunteers take to area hospital waiting rooms each day. Thank you volunteers. You are making a real difference!

Emotion-Driven Life

Pastor’s topic throughout the services in February is “The Emotion-Driven Life.” I’m curious to know how your emotions have affected your decisions. Specifically, how has anger, bitterness, jealousy, and guilt determined the choices you have made?

Emotions make us human. Without emotions, we would perform like robots. Jesus wept with compassion when He saw Mary crying over the death of her brother, Lazarus. He had compassion for the crowds that came to Him with various needs. He became angry at the moneychangers in the temple and at the Pharisees for the hardness of their hearts. Jesus expressed the emotion of love better than anyone else when He took the punishment for our sins on the cross.

God gave us emotions. How we are driven by them is the subject this month. This sermon series is sure to bring about discussion and change.

Pastor to Lead Biblical Church Growth Conference

Since Bill Purvis became the Senior Pastor of Cascade Hills in 1983, over 5,299 people have been baptized. Church membership has grown from 32 attenders to over 8,403 members.

On Tuesday, February 19, 2008, Bill Purvis will lead a “Biblical Church Growth Conference” at Cascade Hills Church from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. He has learned a lot about growing a church in the last 24 years and wants to encourage other pastors and lay people that it is possible to grow a church anywhere by following the tried and proven Biblical principles he will detail at the conference.

If you know of any pastors or lay people who would be interested, direct them to http://www.billpurvisministries.com for information and registration.

More Accolades from Columbus Employer Committee

The following is from a letter sent to Cascade Hills Church from Jamie Loyd, the manager of the Columbus Career Center, and Judy Giddings, chairperson of the Columbus Employer Committee:

On behalf of the Columbus Career Center and the Columbus Employer Committee, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to everyone for taking time to volunteer with our Evening with Santa event held December 2007. Our committee reaches out to disadvantaged children in our surrounding communities that may not be touched by any other organization and we did this for well over 200 children this year.

This event takes on a life of itself with much planning on the part of our committee and a large volunteer base. Without all of the committee members, volunteers, entertainment groups, donation sites and Cascade Hills Church, the children would not have been blessed with as much fun, food, entertainment and the warmth of the holiday season. We appreciate everything you did to help us make this event a huge success for the children. Once again, thanks to all of you!!