Mariners Church Ocean Hills Preschool just celebrated its first holiday season and now they are gearing up for spring! If you have not toured the preschool, we invite you to schedule a tour! If you do not have preschool age children, you can still help support this new ministry by getting the word out into the community! Mariners Ocean Hills Preschool has an enriching, faith filled program that offers both half and full day options. More info here or contact Liz, lgraham@marinerschurch.org.

PRESCHOOL REGISTRATION
Jan, 25 to Mariners families exclusively
Jan, 30 to the public

We were never meant to take this Journey of faith alone. God has entrusted us with the great and mighty gift of the gospel. Join us as we gather Thursday evenings for this Beth Moore Study. Contact Holly for any questions, hjdhart@cox.net.

WOMEN’S “ENTRUSTED” BIBLE STUDY
Thursdays through Jan 26, 6:30-8:30p
Ocean Hills Campus 

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year.  I loved our Christmas Eve service; it is always one of my favorite things we do (I know, I say that a lot).  This year was our biggest Christmas Eve ever – many of you invited your family and friends. Way to go! And, I want to thank Rob and Lauren for leading the service on New Year’s Day. They did an amazing job and it’s so fun knowing our youth are in such good hands.

This Sunday we will be kicking off a new series, FREEDOM.  Freedom is an interesting word. We feel like we want it, yet we can’t quite define what it is. We are going to see that in life freedom can be a good thing and freedom can be a bad thing. There are good ways we try to find freedom and there are ways that lead us astray. The great news is that God wants you to be free! And we will learn how to find true freedom in life. This is a great series to invite someone you know. It speaks to a need we all have.

Last but not least, it is a new year and with that we will be talking about Rooted. One of our biggest values is that you find community at Mariners Ocean Hills. Rooted is such a great way to find community, understand the vision of our church, and realize your purpose in life. It is an engaging nine-week experience that you won’t soon forget. I look forward to seeing you Sunday. God has a great year in store for us!

Blessings,

Jeff

The Mariners One Year Study Bible features a daily passage from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, along with insightful study notes. This limited edition Bible is available for purchase at the Welcome Center.

MARINERS ONE YEAR STUDY BIBLE
$20 (includes tax)

Every year we take our students away to winter camp to Thousand Pines in Crestline CA. In Junior High Ministry, we want to give every student a PERSON who knows them and PLACE to belong.Camp gives us the great opportunity to do just that. Click here for more info or to register.

JHM WINTER CAMP
Fri, Jan 13 – Mon, Jan 16
Costs: $333 per student

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and you’re finding rest throughout this week! I am excited for us to be back together on Jan 1 at our normal service times, 9&11a.

Blessings,

Jeff

From the entire staff here at Mariners Ocean Hills, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas. We consider it an honor to walk through life and do ministry with you. It has been an amazing year for us as a church, and we certainly pray that it has been a special year for you as well. We look forward to all that God has for us in the coming year.

We invite you to join us for our Christmas Eve Services at 3p or 5p. It will be a great time to celebrate all that is Christmas and a special service you will most certainly enjoy.

Merry Christmas,

Jeff

Christmas is more than just a holiday – it is not just a celebration of the past. Christmas acknowledges a God who is present here and now. Jesus is the hope of the world. Christmas is the promise of God with us.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES
Sat, Dec 24: 3 & 5p
Regular services resume Sun, Jan 1.

Great job! More like amazing job! Last Sunday, we packed 30,000 meals to be shipped all the way to Venezuela, helping those who are hungry and in need of food. What a difference you are making in the life of someone in the new year. I love that we are a “difference making” church. We don’t just talk about it, but we lean into things that need to be done and we do it. Way to go.

A few things to know about Christmas weekend…
First of all, Christmas Eve services are at 3 & 5p.  It will be a great service, filled with powerful worship and a message about the hope that good news brings. It is the perfect service to invite family and friends to. Like I said on Sunday, we will not have a service the following day on Sunday (Dec 25). We want you to spend time with your family and friends. We ask so much of our volunteers that I did not want them coming back to serve again the next day and miss Christmas morning with their loved ones. So, our weekend Christmas service is on Christmas Eve.

We look forward to seeing you at church the next two weekends. It is the most wonderful time of the year, and it is always fun celebrating it together!

Merry Christmas,

Jeff

What a great time we had at the Tree Lighting on Sunday night. (Just another reason I love our church!) Thank you to all who showed up and those who volunteered to make it happen. It was so fun hearing comments from people coming to Tree Lighting for the first time. “What a fun church we have!” was just one of the many fun things I heard. I totally agree. You are the reason it’s fun. So, thank you!

Not only are you fun, but you are making a difference. I love the response you have shown through our outreach opportunities to serve Thanksgiving meals and purchase Christmas gifts for those in need in our community. You have been incredibly generous. It is a great picture of what our church is about. Thank you.

We have a few things coming up. First, our Men’s Breakfast is this Saturday at 8a. My dad is speaking. He is a great guy with a great story and testimony. It will be fun having him here. I will probably be a little uncomfortable because it’s my dad, but if you have Saturday morning free, please join us.

Then, this Sunday after each service, we will be packing 20,000 meals to be sent to Africa for those who are struggling with hunger. If you can, plan on spending 30 minutes after the service working on this amazing project. To think we can make a difference in people’s lives all the way around the world who are starving and wondering where their next meal is going to come from is pretty remarkable.

Finally, I want to make you aware of what December means for us as a church financially. You may not know this, but 25% of our budget comes in during the month of December. That is why our year-end offering is so important to the life of our church. We are able to do some great ministry because of your generosity and God’s blessing.  As you respond to the amazing gift of Christmas this December,  please prayerfully keep in mind all of the opportunities God has for us as a church in this coming year.

As always, I love doing life and ministry with you.

Merry Christmas,
Jeff

P.S.: Christmas Eve Service times are 3 & 5p.