Christian Life Church presses forward with new Senior Pastors

your age, interest or location, there is a group out there for you. We have an area designated for our guests called our Host Center where brochures are available for each of our groups that provide details of meeting times and locations, as well as an overview of the purpose of each group. We have a dynamic mens ministry called Mens Fraternity. The ministry has developed a mentoring program that we launch each fall and also spearheads various outreach activities throughout the year. We also have a vibrant womens ministry called Bright. They also sponsor several events per year. In August they are bringing in national speaker and author, Carol Kent, for a conference here at our church. Childrens and Student Ministry At Christian Life we place high value on the next generation. Several of our most gifted servantleaders assist in training our young people as they learn to live for Jesus! Last year we performed a complete overhaul and renovation of our childrens wing, which houses what we call our Life Kids Ministry. Our Life Kids have a summer retreat each year that we call Kids Kamp where they can swim, fish, play games and eat entirely too much junk food. While the children absolutely love the fun and fellowship, the main purpose of Kids Kamp is to bring them into a deeper place of intimacy with God. Time is set aside each day for worship, Bible study and prayer. We also have a dynamic student ministry that we refer to as our Ignite Youth Group, which is comprised of 7th through 12th graders. They go on several day trips as well as two weekend experiences called the Momentum and Ascension Conventions. These events have truly served as transformational experiences for many of our young people as they testify to encountering God in a life-altering way. Outreach Efforts Because we believe domestic and international missions are of utmost importance, we invest heavily into what we see God doing in our region and throughout the world. We allocate 10% of our budget to reach those causes. In fact, 1% of every dollar we receive through our tithes and offerings goes towards evangelistic efforts to reach the Jewish people in their homeland of Israel. We believe that God is moving in a powerful way and that the future of our village is bright! One thing that we are encouraged by is that, unlike churches in some communities that seem to compete with each other for attendees, there is a genuine sense of unity among the churches throughout our region. The Greater Rantoul Ministerial Association (GRMA) is comprised of area churches united in the cause of advancing the Kingdom of God throughout Rantoul, Gifford, and surrounding neighborhoods. Pastors from several area churches meet together monthly to discuss ways we can corporately add value to our communities. Together we are making a tremendous difference as we organize events such as the annual National Day of Prayer Breakfast, as well as taking a leading role in the High School Baccalaureate Service. Service Information and 3D Easter Christian Life is targeting the segment of our community that is currently not attending church. If you fall into that category, we invite you to be our guest. Every service is designed with visitors in mind. You can expect high-energy contemporary worship, Christ-centered preaching and genuine hospitality in a laid back, casual environment. From the greet to the street we try to make our guest feel welcome by providing escorted tours of our facility and offering complimentary coffee and iced tea at our Life Caf, where you can connect to wireless internet. CDs of our Sunday morning messages are also available free of charge and we even have a gift for first-time guests. Our Sunday service is held at 9:30 a.m. On Easter Sunday, however, we will hold two services (9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.). We will be showing a video titled, Easter 3-D. It is a 3-dimensional portrayal of the story of mankind from creation through the resurrection of Christ. The video will be followed by a short message called the 3-Dimensions of Faith. We also have what we call Life Training on Wednesday nights from 7:00-8:30 p.m. which is designed for those who want to dig deeper into the teachings of God. We utilize excellent video training from Bible teachers such as Beth Moore, Dr. Tony Evans, Chip Ingram and Andy Stanley. Having been a part of Christian Life and the community of Rantoul for 16 years, Sheryl and I look forward to this new chapter in our lives in a community that we love and appreciate. You can find more information about us at christianliferantoul.com and receive a daily word of encouragement as well as church updates on Facebook at christianliferantoul. We look forward to a visit from you!
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Pastors Barry & Sheryl Hinkle with their children

e hope that you read last weeks feature in the Rantoul Press reflecting back at John and Barbara Bonacorsis 30-year tenure as Senior Pastors of Christian Life Church. We at Christian Life are grateful to the Press for sharing about their wonderful and fruitful lives of dedication to our congregation and community. We are publishing this article to introduce Barry and Sheryl Hinkle, who assumed the role of Senior Pastors January 1, 2014 as the Bonacorsis and the Executive Board passed them the leadership baton after completing a two year succession plan. We, Barry and Sheryl, are honored at the calling of God to walk in the footsteps of our mentors and spiritual parents in the Lord. We are eternally grateful for the influence that they have had in our lives as well as the solid foundation that they have laid at Christian Life. The best part for us is that they are not going away but are remaining on our staff as part-time Associate Pastors. Their support and wisdom are simply invaluable to us! Let me just say that I am so proud of my wife, Sheryl, who is a retired Registered Nurse who sacrificed her career to homeschool our five children. I am also proud of our children: Cassie (24), Leah (16), Nate (14), Abbi (12) and Ben (9). They have made this transition into the ministry so much easier because of their support and love for the Lord as well as our church. Cassie has served as a missionary to India for the past 3 years

after graduating from Christ for the Nations in Dallas, Texas in 2009. Our Vision and Purpose The vision God gave to the Bonacorsis thirty years ago for the church was to lead people into an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ expressed through living out what we call the Christian Life. That has always been and will always be our primary focus. Our purpose statement is expressed as follows: Christian Life Church exists to develop passionately devoted followers of Jesus. We accomplish this by promoting personal responsibility for spiritual growth. This approach produces self-feeders who learn to rightly divide the Word of God on their own as they worship Him with whole-hearted devotion. With our primary focus on worship and the Bible, we provide an avenue of opportunity to experience the life transforming power of Jesus Christ. One of our talking points around here is that we are willing to do anything short of sin to reach people with the message of the Gospel. We believe that real life transformation happens best in the context of authentic relationships, which is why many years ago we developed home fellowship groups that we call Life Groups. These groups meet bi-weekly throughout Rantoul and surrounding communities and provide a place where you can connect, grow and discuss the issues and challenges we all face. Regardless of