Who We Are
We are a vibrant family of faith rooted in God's Word, gathering together to worship, and equipped to share the love of Christ with the world.
We are a caring community that is passionate about serving others and growing closer to Christ. We believe Jesus Christ is our Savior, the source of our compassion and acceptance and the drive behind our desire to share God’s love.
A MESSAGE FROM
PASTOR RICHARD
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”- Matthew 28: 19-20
Next week, a group of us from COTH are heading to Guatemala for the Pura Vida mission trip. I am very excited! Church of the Hills is the sponsor for the English Camp this year. I give thanks for the generosity of our church that ensures camps like this happen. Four others will be joining me from COTH: Briana, Heidi Smithson, and Donna and Jerry Bucholz. Former member Joanna Cook will also be going.
In case you don’t know about the English camp, I will give you a brief overview. We are based in Chichicastenango, which is a town in the Guatemalan highlands known for its famous market days. The Catholic Church in the heart of the market is pictured above. Each day, we travel outside of the town to Lemoa, a small village with a beautiful lake. On the shores of this lake is a Methodist Camp, where we set up for the week. For 5 days, local students are brought to the camp, and we teach them English. Education is so important for children in Guatemala. It’s one of the ways they can break the generational cycle of poverty. Pura Vida supports these students with scholarships and by hosting these camps where they learn English.
This will be my second time going to Guatemala to teach at the English Camp. Like a lot of mission trips, the first time was a life-changing experience for me. I really enjoyed working with the children and getting to know them. I may have taught them some English, but I learned a lot from them, too. I hope to see some of the same children again, and I’m also looking forward to meeting new children that were not at the camp the last time I was there.
There are many ways to share Jesus as we do mission work. I’m excited to share Jesus by teaching English. But I’m also excited for what the children will teach me. I suspect my eyes will be opened in more ways than one, and I will come back inspired to do more mission work.
Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels and a successful trip, filled with blessings, both for us and all those we meet.
May the love of God be with you,
Pastor Richard
Love in Action
“Love in Action” is the Church of the Hills mission team. The primary goal of the team is to serve the needs of others locally, nationally, and internationally. The people of Church of the Hills are blessed with unique gifts; although the size of our congregation is smaller, sharing these gifts remains a vital part of our outreach ministry.
The “Love in Action” Committee will guide us to be Christ’s faithful witnesses. As such, we will share a deep life of service and participate in God’s mission to care for the needs of the sick, the poor, and the lonely to establish Christ’s just, loving, and peaceable rule in the world.
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