Ready or Not, Here Christmas Comes

Dear Church Family,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. I know that we had a lot to be thankful for, and I trust that you did as well. Chanda and I would like to thank everyone for the amazing surprise birthday party that you had for us at the church. It was definitely the biggest birthday party we have ever had. You do such a wonderful job at making us feel supported and appreciated at Hoffman.

Chanda and I also announced during worship on November 13th that we are expecting a child. The due date is May 8th. We are very excited about becoming parents. Since the announcement, you have all been very encouraging. We should find out whether we are having a boy or a girl just before Christmas. We are grateful to have such a great church family and community to raise our child in.

I also want to update you on our second service. We have been diligently planning for several months now. You will begin hearing a lot more about this new service during Advent worship services. The following people have served on the planning team for this service: Mike Barnes, Jim Beavers, Holly Cress, Ben Garrett, Norman Hiester, Theda Klepinger, John McCreery, Val McKay, Kevin Reinke, Brett Weaver, and Darin Wion. If you should have questions about the new service, please don’t hesitate to ask any of us. It is going to take the whole church’s involvement to make this service a success. Our goal is to reach new people in our community. We hope that you will prayerfully consider how you might help us do that.

We have some exciting things going on during the Advent Season this year. Our Christmas party will be on December 10th and the Children’s Choir Performance is on December 11th. We will also be having two services on Christmas Eve. Our 7 o’clock service provides the opportunity for families with children to worship and be home early. Our 10 o’clock candlelight service is a traditional service with the choir providing a musical Christmas celebration.

Chanda and I would also like to invite you stop by the parsonage (141 S. Main St.) on Sunday, December 18th for a Christmas Open House. This is an opportunity for you to visit us in the parsonage and have a time of food, fun, and fellowship as we celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is a time of giving to others. It is a time when we can serve one another and help those in need in our community. We will have several opportunities for you to serve and give this Christmas season. Our youth are going to be participating in the 30 Hour Famine on December 2-3. This event is to raise awareness and funds for world hunger. Please show your support by donating to this cause. Our church has also signed up to ring the Salvation Army Bell at IGA on December 17. If you would like to help, see Les Trittschuch. You also have the opportunity to participate in Helping Hands this year. You can help setup, sort, pack, or load boxes. This is a great ministry that reaches out to those in need at Christmas time. I hope you will find an opportunity to serve others and share God’s love this Christmas!

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin

Investing In Hoffman

Dear Church Family,

I want to thank all of you for your gifts, cards, and words of encouragement during Pastor Appreciation Month. Your support and encouragement mean more to me than you know. I appreciate each one of you and what you do to make Hoffman UMC what it is today—a church that embraces people in God’s love.

I know that many of you had the opportunity to travel in October. It is great to have everyone back home. October was also a month of traveling for me and Chanda. We spent our weekends out of town. We went to visit my mother in Evansville, Indiana. We visited my family back in Portsmouth. We went to the Pumpkin Show in Circleville. Then, we visited my brother at Morehead State University. We had a great time visiting with family and friends, but with all the driving, we are exhausted. We are hoping to find some time to slow down in November.


We will be entering into a new sermon series in November, entitled “Lessons for a Recession.” There is no doubt that our economy has suffered in the past several years. It has affected our nation, our church, and our very lives. The economists have called what we are experiencing a recession. I believe that in the midst of this recession, God has some lessons that will help us. Lessons that tell us how to live in tough times, and lessons that teach us how to handle our finances. Actually, the Bible talks about money more than it does prayer and many other subjects. Jesus taught about money more than any other topic except for the Kingdom of God. During the month of November, we will be learning God’s lessons for the recession.


One of the lessons of the scripture is that we are to give God a tithe of our income. A tithe is 10%. We are invited to live on 90% of what God has provided and give 10% to our church, investing in God’s ministry on earth. This November 6th, we are going to be having Prove the Tithe Day. This is a Sunday where we invite everyone in the church to give at least 10% of their income during our offering. This is not a long term commitment. It is simply a chance for you to give 10%, trusting that God will make the 90% sufficient to live on. We hope that EVERYONE—children, youth, and adults—will consider taking part in this special day of proving the tithe at Hoffman. Let’s see what God can do through our investments!

As you know, we are planning to begin a second service at Hoffman in 2012. We are hoping to reach people in our community who are not currently involved in church. Our team has been meeting and working hard to make plans for this service. We are going to be meeting at least three times in the month of November. We need your help! If you are interested in helping with this new service effort in anyway, please let me know. We need everyone’s prayer and support to make this new service a success.

In May, I submitted a Grant Application to the West Ohio Annual Conference for our 2012 revitalization efforts. As a result of this grant proposal, we just received notification that the annual conference has decided to invest in Hoffman by giving us a grant of $13,400. We will be using the funds to assist with our new service, our discipleship program, and a church wide study that we will be doing later this year.

November is a busy time for our church. We are going to be hosting a Mission Breakfast on November 6th at 8:00 AM to raise money for “Wings of the Morning,” which is an aviation ministry that brings healthcare, medical supplies, pastors, and missions teams to people who live in areas where there are no roads for transportation. We will also be hosting our Annual Election Day Dinner (November 8th) and Craft Show (November 19th).

November also means Advent is coming, Christmas is just around the corner, and that our snowbirds will be leaving us to go to Florida. Since December is a busy month, I thought I would give you a few “save the dates” for your calendar—Christmas Party (10th), Children’s Choir Program (11th), and Pastor’s Open House (18th). We will also have our two Christmas Eve Services at 7 and 10, and since Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, we will have our special Lessons and Carols Service on December 25th.

As I look back over everything that we have accomplished in 2011, I am so grateful to be a part of Hoffman United Methodist Church. Our ministries to children have continued to have a positive impact on our community. Our facility is in use by many community organizations. We have seen our building debt go down significantly in the past year. All of this was made possible through your support. Hoffman United Methodist Church exists because YOU have invested in this church. You have supported this church with your time, talents, and treasure throughout this year. We are grateful for all that we have been able to do through your investment in Hoffman.

As many of you know, November is also a time when we invite you to make a commitment to continue investing in the ministries of Hoffman. We invite you to do so by filling out a Pledge Card (attached at the bottom). Pledge Sunday is November 20th. Last year, about 46% of our giving units turned in pledge cards. This year we are setting the goal at 60%. Pledge cards are important because they give our leadership an idea of what our income will be in the coming year. I hope that you will prayerfully consider filling out a pledge card and bringing it to church with you on Sunday, November 20th or mailing it to the church to the attention of Joy Paulus, our financial secretary.



As I mentioned earlier, the recession that we have experienced has touched our church as well as our lives. As I looked over our finances, I noticed that over the past five years we have experienced a steady decline in giving (see the chart) that matches the economic recession. As a result of this reality, we have worked hard this year to make wise financial decisions. The communication between our committees and staff regarding finances is better than ever before. We are working to be good stewards of what you have given us. You may have noticed in the graph that I believe there is hope. I believe that we will begin to curb this downward trend in 2012 and our income will begin to rise again.

We hope that you will join us in making 2012 one of the most fruitful years in the history of Hoffman United Methodist Church!

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin Williams

Journey Toward God

Dear Church Family,

Just about everyone can remember where they  were the morning of September 11, 2001 and the days that followed. As we approach the 10th anniversary of this tragic event, my prayers go out for our country and all those affected by this act of terrorism. I pray for healing and hope for the future. I pray that we can learn to live without fear. May we remember the victims and families from September 11.

As the summer comes to a close and school starts back up, there is no doubt that we will be as busy as before. As many of you know, Chanda has begun going to Edison to complete her RN degree. Please pray for us during this time of transition. I also appreciate your prayers for the rest of my family.

Now that I am commissioned as a Provisional Elder, I begin two years of “supervised years.” I will be participating in the new conference program called “The Crucible.” During this time, I will be participating in retreats, seminars, and other work as I prepare for ordination in June of 2013. The first of these events will be September 14-17.

Many of you have had the opportunity of being part of Emmaus. For those who are not familiar with it, the Walk to Emmaus is a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen your walk with Christ. My wife and her mother will be going on their Emmaus Walk this month. I have been asked to be one of the speakers for this event. It will be an exciting weekend. Please be in prayer for Chanda, Gail, and me. I hope that those of you who have not been to Chrysalis or Emmaus may consider going in the coming year.

As we finished up our series on Romans 8, I hope that you all have learned something more about what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. I hope that you have had the opportunity to memorize and internalize scripture as well. It has been a dynamic study of learning those words that describe who we are as Christians: freed, empowered, adopted, transformed, assured, and loved.


Beginning in September we are going to begin a new sermon series focusing on the book of Exodus, entitled “Journey Toward God.” We are all on a journey. There are obstacles and trials that get in our way. There are distractions that may cause us to lose focus of our goal. As we look at Exodus, we will be examining our lives to discover if we are journeying toward God or away from God. We will discover that journeying toward God is the way for us to live life to the fullest. It is the way for us to have the abundant life that Jesus offers. We need to get out our map and compass. We can’t be too ashamed to ask for directions. We want to set our course on a journey toward God.

Not only will you have the opportunity to learn about Exodus through the worship services, we will also be offering small groups that will give you the opportunity to gather with others and discuss the book of Exodus. I hope that everyone will take advantage of this opportunity for fellowship and discipleship.

We have also established a team that will be working to explore beginning at second worship service here at Hoffman. Please be in prayer for God’s guidance as we discern how we can best reach the people in our community who are in need of a relationship with God and other Christians.

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin

Dear Church Family,

The summer is going too fast. It is hard to believe that July is already here. June was an exciting month. I would like to thank everyone for the generous graduation gifts from the church. Chanda and I are looking forward to using them to dine out for the Adventure series. I also look forward to making a trip to Cokesbury to spend my gift card. Thanks for being such a supportive and giving church!

July is here, and that means that July 4th is just around the corner. Some of you may not realize this, but my first real experience in West Milton was July 4, 2010. Rev. Kevin had invited me to come up and be in the parade. We met many of you while spending the day here in West Milton. We are looking forward to celebrating our first Fourth of July as residents of West Milton.

July is also an exciting time for our church. We will be having our Art Show, Adventure Series, Dayton Dragons Game, 5/2 Lunch Bunch, and Kids Club. There are many ways for you to get involved at Hoffman this Summer (see inside for more details).

I want to share with you a few scriptures that are near and dear to the hearts of Christians all over the world.

- “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
- “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
- “For I am convinced that [nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
- “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear….”
- “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
- “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
- “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ.”

I have shared all of these passages with you for a reason. Not only are they inspiration for our daily lives, but would you be surprised if I were to tell you that they were all contained in one book of the Bible? What if I were to tell you that all of these beloved verses were contained in one chapter of the Bible? That’s right all of these verses can be found in Romans 8.

Beginning on July 10th, we will be starting our new Sermon Series called “Alive!” Romans 8 is one of the best-known and best-loved chapters in all of Scripture. It is teeming with life and promise and hope for all those who take the time to refresh themselves in its words. It is my prayer that this six week sermon series in Romans 8 will renew and strengthen us as a church as we behold what it means to be truly Alive!

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin

Unleashing New Life

Dear Church Family,

I hope that you have all had a great month of May. I know that I have. It has been busy, but it has been good. On Saturday, May 21st, I graduated with a Master of Theological Studies from United Theological Seminary. I had finished my Master of Divinity in 2009, but I had decided to pursue a second degree that would allow me to focus on Biblical Studies, especially Greek and Hebrew. It is a wonderful relief to have finished. After 22 years of schooling, I am no longer a student. (We’ll see how long that lasts.)


When graduation season comes, we know that summer is within sight. This summer will be an exciting time for us at Hoffman. In addition to our Adventure Series that many of you are participating in, we have many events planned for the summer, which are listed below:

-Annual Conference Trip (June 8)
-Church Sale (June 23)
-Art Show (July 8-9)
-Dragon’s Game (July 9)
-Church Picnic (August 7)

In addition to all of that we will be continuing the 5/2 Lunch Bunch this summer. This will be my first experience of Lunch Bunch. I am looking forward to it. For those of you who do not know, Lunch Bunch is one of our summer outreach programs. We will be feeding the children and doing VBS curriculum during June and July. Let Pam know if you want to be involved.


The West Ohio Annual Conference will be held June 5-9. This year’s conference is a particularly exciting year because I will be commissioned as a Probationary Elder in the United Methodist Church. This will place me on track for ordination at annual conference in June of 2013. Annual Conference is a time when clergy and laity from all over West Ohio gather for worship, workshops, and business. The theme for 2011 is “Unleashing New Life,” taken from Acts 5:20, which says, “Go stand in the temple courts and tell people all about this new life.” We will be challenged to share our God stories with those whom we encounter in our everyday lives. I challenge each of you to find opportunities to share your God story with those you encounter. It is important to acknowledge the ways that God has worked in our lives and share that with others.


As most of you know, we are well on our way in our series on the life of David—“As David’s World Turns.” We are continuing this series through the month of June, where we will look at

- Days of Our Life: David’s Confession (Psalm 51)
- Guiding Light: David and His Poetry (Psalm 23)
- All My Children: David and His Sons (1 Kings 1)
- One Life to Live: David’s Last Words (1 Kings 2)

We could spend an entire year looking at the life of David. After all, he is mentioned in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament figure. He has the longest biography of any biblical character. David is a dynamic figure. I hope you will join us as we wrap up the life of David this June.


Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin

Lent: A Time for Rest, Renewal, and Repentance

Dear Friends,

At Hoffman UMC, we are coming to the end of our study on Christianity’s Family Tree. It has been a great time of looking at the other traditions within Christianity. We have learned more about our brothers and sisters in Christ and more about ourselves. We have discovered ways in which we can learn from those who come from other traditions. I hope that you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. It is important for us to understand that the Christian faith is much larger than Hoffman UMC, and I think we have seen that through our study together. I pray that this study has helped each of us become more effective disciples of Christ.

This month, we will be entering into the season of Lent. Lent is the season that leads right into Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday (March 9th) and concludes on the Saturday before Easter (April 23rd). During this season, we prepare ourselves for Easter. It is a time for rest, repentance, prayer, service, self-examination, and self-denial. It is a time for Christian growth and renewal. Lent lasts 40 days (not including Sundays).

Historically, Lent was a time when those wanting to join the Christian community would learn about the faith. Easter was the day in which new members would be accepted into the faith. Well, we are adopting this ancient practice this year. We will have a new member’s class during Lent, and we will be accepting new members on Easter Sunday. If you are interested in this class, please let us know as soon as possible.

As we prepare for the time when we reflect on Christ’s gift of salvation to us, we generally make sacrifices by fasting. This is not necessarily a fast from food, but it is sacrificially giving up something in our lives. I had a friend who jokingly gave up things like Brussels sprouts and exercise. Unless you really like Brussels sprouts and eat them regularly, this really wouldn’t constitute a sacrifice. During Lent, we fast from something that we do a lot and find pleasure in. This fasting is done as a discipline of self-control and to help us identify with Christ’s sufferings on our behalf. Chanda and I usually fast from a common item. Last year, we gave up meat. In the past, I have also given up things like television, computer usage, instant messaging, and online gaming. Consider what you might give up this Lenten season and share it with me and others. It can be an opportunity to share your faith.

During the 6 Sundays of Lent, our sermon series is “Encountering Jesus.” We are going to be looking at 6 places in the gospel where individuals encountered Jesus. We are going to see what we can learn about Jesus through the encounters. We will be looking at his encounters with: the devil, a religious leader, a blind man, a woman, a dead man, and a political leader. During at least one of these sermons, I am planning to try a new style of sermon that I have never attempted before. This should be an exciting series for you to invite friends to.

We are also going to have several small group studies going on during the Lenten season. We hope that you will find a small group to join that you may grow in your faith through the study of God’s word and fellowship with others. You will find the details of these studies in this newsletter.

Having been here for seven months now, Chanda and I are planning to go on our first vacation at the end of March. We will be leaving on March 28th and will return on April 4th. Be praying that we will get the rest needed to come back and serve a renewed energy.

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin

Christianity's Family Tree Continues

Dear Church Family,

It is hard to believe that I have been serving at Hoffman for six months now. Time certainly has flown by. Chanda and I have enjoyed our time at West Milton as we have gotten to know the members, ministries, and mission of Hoffman. It has also been great to get to know the community and school. I hope to continue to get to know you and the community better so that I begin casting a vision of where God is leading us in the future.

We are in the midst of our sermon series and study focusing on Christianity’s Family Tree. Our worship services and study have been great. We have had a great turn out to our afternoon studies. For those who have not had the opportunity to make it, each study is self-contained. So, you will not be left behind. Please plan to join us each Sunday at 4 PM.

While we have studied Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Lutheranism, we have many other traditions to study. Here is our schedule for the remainder of the series:
-Presbyterianism (January 30th)
-Anglicanism (February 6th)
-Baptists (February 13th)
-Pentecostalism (February 20th)
-Methodism & More (February 27th and March 6th)

In preparing for this study, I came across a quote from Billy Graham that I found enlightening. He said, “I am now aware that the family of God contains people of various ethnological, cultural, class, and denominational differences. Within the true Church, there is a mysterious unity that overrides all divisive factors… I learned that although Christians do not all agree, we can disagree agreeably. And that what’s most needed today is to show an unbelieving world that we love one another.”

What a hope for the future! Let’s learn to disagree agreeably to show an unbelieving world that we love one another. Through this study and series, we hope that we can enrich our understanding of our own faith by exploring the faith and practices of other Christians. In doing so, I hope that we can learn to appreciate and respect all Christians. I hope to suppress our unwarranted judgments and stereotypes that we may find unity. As we study the theology, worship, and history of each tradition, we grow deeper in our faith and our understanding of Christianity.

As we look forward to Lent, we are planning a new member’s class for the six weeks of Lent. If you would like to learn more about our faith, our church or what it means to join a church, this class would be a great opportunity for you. There is no commitment to join made prior to taking the class. At the end of the 6 week class, you will be invited to join our church.

All who join the United Methodist Church become a member of the covenant community dedicated to making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Members make a promise to God, and the congregation, to uphold the church with their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service and their witness. Hoffman UMC is a church where many hands join together as one to make a difference in our community. We invite you to join us!

May God Bless,
Pastor Justin