Category: Events

God’s Love in Colors was the theme of the daily Kids Bible Club held at the Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist Church each morning July 15-19,2019.  Each day a group of kids ages 4-12 (with a couple younger siblings) met from 10:30 am to noon for a Bible Lesson, Crafts, Games, and a snack.  Each day had a different color as the theme based on the Wordless Book which tells the Gospel story in colors.

Monday the color was BLACK and we learned that we all have sinned and reviewed the story of Adam & Eve.  We talked about darkness and that Jesus said He is the Light of the World.  We made blindfolds with the Bible verse on it during crafts and had a series of games maneuvering an obstacle course blindfolded. Our color themed snack was Oreo cookies.

On Tuesday, our color was RED which stands for the blood Jesus shed for our forgiveness when He died on the cross.  Our Bible verse for this day was John 3:16. We decorated red foam door knob hangers and played a version of freeze tag using a red blanket for our game. When you are tagged, you are frozen until the designated person covers you with the red blanket to set you free, similar to the way Jesus’ blood covers our sin to set us free. Our snack was red jello cups.

Our color Wednesday was WHITE representing new life when we accept Jesus’ forgiveness. We had an interesting Blible lesson about Nicodemus and an illustration of how Jesus (bleach) erases our sin (iodine) to give us a new life. For our craft we made a caterpillar out of wooden sticks that unfolded into a butterfly! For our game, we had fun tossing crumpled paper balls into white laundry baskets with half of the kids each facing opposite directions to throw back any extras that didn’t make it into the basket.  Our white snack was Rice Krispee Squares.

On Thursday our color was GOLD and we talked about what the Bible says Heaven will be like.  We decorated a yellow folder with puzzles & games for our craft and had a Treasure Hunt for the game. Our snack was yellow drink and cheese balls!

Friday the color was GREEN and we talked about how to grow as Christians. We planted a flower together as we talked about what a flower needs to grow and what we need to grow. For crafts, we made a beaded cross necklace and then played a review game with the things we learned this week. Snack was green drink and sugar cookies with green sugar on them.

It was a great week.  Here are some more pictures of the fun we had:

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Summer Christian Service Corps (SCSC) team “Render” sent out their midpoint status letter on Sunday July 7, 2019.  This team of dedicated service workers consists of Vanessa Ormsby from the Toronto, Canada Seventh Day Baptist Church and Collin Green from the Milton, WI Seventh Day Baptist Church.  Following nearly 2 weeks of training, the team arrived June 20th and will be with our church until they leave July 21st.  Their team name, RENDER, is based on Psalm 116:12-14: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, I will call upon the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows unto the Lord.”

Here is the status letter they sent out:

Dear Friends and Family,

Greeting to all of you in the name of our matchless Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank you for your continued support, both financial and spiritually, as we continue to serve here at the Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist Church in Ohio.

The first few weeks of our service have been rather productive. We hosted a Bible club for the community of Summit Ridge; the theme was “The Great Treasure Hunt.” Though we began the week with only a handful of kids, we doubled our numbers by the end of the week. Those who participated had an excellent experience, learning through crafts, games, and treasure hunts that the true treasures of life are those which can be stored up in heaven. 

For our second week on a project, we went out to Camp Joy in West Virginia, serving alongside other Seventh Day Baptists at their junior camp. Attendance topped out at 21 campers and we served them in a variety of ways. Vanessa’s helped out primarily with Crafts and Collin with Recreation, but we also helped the with campfire, vespers, and table graces. The children spent the week learning about God, creation and the Old Testament, trying to memorize them. Overall, the highlight of this week was seeing the courage and willingness of the children to learn and try new things.

We are now preparing ourselves for two additional weeks of Bible clubs in other areas around Pataskala. As we go into the next few weeks, we ask that you continue to lift us up in prayer. Asking God to restore our energy, as well as guide us and bind us together as a team. We have stepped into this summer by faith and continue to walk in faith.

We hope to see you all soon,

Team Render (Psalm 116:12-14)

Vanessa Ormsby (Toronto SDB) & Collin Green (Connecting Church, Milton SDB)

Our church joined in the festivities at the Pataskala Fair & Fireworks on June 29, 2019. We had a booth under a large canopy we got from Didomi with two tables set up. One for doing various crafts with kids throughout the day and the other containing church information, pens with the church info and free bottled water.  We enjoyed conversations with people as they stopped by and parents as they waited for their kids.  We also got acquainted with the people in our neighboring booths!

It was a good day.  We had Sabbath School & worship in the morning as usual and then afterward set up our booth about 2pm.  Our two summer dedicated service workers helped with the set-up as well as organizing and leading the craft table.  We did a variety of crafts throughout the day decorating paper crowns & foam door knob hangers, painting suncatchers, making paper fans, and doing some foam refrigerator magnets.

Around 9:30 pm as it was getting dark, we packed up and enjoyed the fireworks on a warm & clear summer night!  Many thanks to all the people from our church who helped and “hung out” at our fair booth to make it a fun day and great chance to spend time with each other outside of church!

Here are some pictures:

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“The Great Treasure Hunt” is the theme for the daily kids Bible Club at Summit Ridge in Pataskala.  Each morning June 24-28 at 10:30 to noon, the Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist Church is hosting a fun time of skits, songs, Bible lessons, crafts, game and snacks!  Join Pirate Pete, a treasure seeking pirate and Truly Bell, an angelic fairy who tries to teach him about the true treasures in life.  Each day we have been learning a different Bible Verse helping to better appreciate the many treasures God gives us both now and in Heaven.

The Summit Ridge Bible Club is the first of three being held by the church this summer.  “The Great Treasure Hunt” will be held again in the evening 7-8:30 pm July 8-12 at JFK park in Reynoldsburg.  Then there will be another morning Bible Club with a different theme “God’s Love in Colors” based on the wordless book held at the church in Pataskala July 15-19 10:30-noon.  All Bible Clubs are open for kids ages 4-12.

Enjoy these pictures from the Summit Ridge Bible Club!

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After 29 years as the Pastor of the Pataskala Seventh Day Baptist Church, Pastor Robert Van Horn has announced his retirement in the fall of 2019.  While we will miss him as our pastor, we are blessed to have had him as our spiritual leader, pastor, teacher, and friend for so many years! Pastor Robert and his wife Lana are not planning to remove their membership from our church, but are going to spend their winters in Florida and come north to join us again in the the summers.

At this time, Pastor Robert is continuing in his role as our Pastor throughout the summer, with an indefinite retirement date sometime before the end of October 2019.  In January a Pastoral Search Committee was appointed consisting of Chip Thorngate, Darwin Van Horn, Dean Fox, Marissa Patterson, and Christopher Van Horn.  This committee has been revising & preparing a job description for the new Pastor as well as beginning the process for identifying and selecting potential candidates.  As a church we have already begun praying for the right person to become our new Pastor.  (If there is a time gap between when Pastor Robert leaves and a new Pastor is selected, the Deacons will have the responsibility for arranging coverage of the weekly worship service.)

Pastor Robert has certainly left his mark on the many lives he has touched through baptisms, teaching Sabbath School, Camp Joy staff & board member, special music and drama, hospital visits, baby dedications, children’s stories, workshops, leading praise time, youth retreats, sermons and more.  One area most appreciated about Pastor Robert are the many times he has dropped other things just to help someone out — from a flat tire to moving a piano!  Another way we have been blessed through the years is Pastor Robert’s ability to bring people together over a meal, whether grilling out, hosting a banquet, holding a seder, enjoying a church potluck, or inviting people into their home.

Yes, we will miss Pastor Robert Van Horn & Lana as our church’s Pastor and wife.  We wish them many years of enjoyable retirement as they continue to serve God in a different way.  We are also excited & hopeful to see who God will lead to become our new Pastor, Shepherd, Teacher, and Friend.