Southwest Church - News...

Christmas Eve Celebration - 2009!

On Thursday Evening (5:30 pm and 7:00 pm), December 24th, the Southwest Church will be offering for the entire community a special Christmas Eve Celebration at the Coffman Family YMCA located at 88 Remick Boulevard in Springboro. Throughout these two identically designed celebrations entitled “The Gift,” participants will have the opportunity to enjoy encouraging Christmas Music, an inspirational video, and a brief thought provoking devotional. This will be a worship experience designed for the entire family, so there will be no separate nursery or children’s classes provided on Christmas Eve.

The Southwest Church provides weekly Sunday morning worship gatherings (9:00 and 10:35 am) at the Coffman Family YMCA in Springboro. Throughout the month of December the church has been examining “The Gifts of Christmas.” Each Sunday during both morning worship services the church provides nursery care for children infant to 2 years old, and age appropriate classes for children 2 years old through high school students. For more information about Southwest Church, please contact the church office at 937.885.0720 or visit the web site at www.southwestchurch.org.

Southwest Carnival Fall 2009!

Southwest VBS 2009!

Announcing New Worship Arts Minister – Larry Adams

Larry Adams has accepted our offer to begin serving as the Southwest Worship Arts Minister. Larry was our guest worship leader on Sunday, May 31st and did a fantastic job leading the congregation in a time of worship. He will begin serving on an ongoing basis beginning the weekend of June 28th.

Larry, who was ordained on February 25, 2007 by New Life Vineyard Church in Hamilton, Ohio, is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University with a BA in Religious Studies and a Music Minor. He is presently working on a Masters of Arts in Worship Studies.

Please pray for Larry, his wife, Amy, and their three children: Sarah (6); Brayden (4); and Noah (5 months); as they transition from their present church in Maineville, Ohio and begin working and worshipping with the Southwest Church Family the end of this month!

Southwest Church hosts “Barefoot Sunday” on June 7th to benefit the shoe charity, Soles4Souls™ Inc.

Springboro, OH – May 29, 2009 –
You can help put shoes on the feet of millions of adults and children throughout the world. Simply donate your new or gently worn shoes from now until June 15th by dropping them off in the Soles4Soles box by the front door at the Coffman YMCA.

Soles4Souls has a simple mission -- to collect new and ‘gently worn’ shoes to donate to victims of natural disasters and those living in extreme poverty.  One of the core groups that help transform its mission from a simple idea into a living example of God’s love is the church.

This year, Southwest Church and hundreds of other congregations across North America are participating in “Barefoot Sunday,” where people leave their shoes on the altar to be donated to the poor.  Barefoot Sunday is a unique opportunity for people to remove their shoes and walk out of worship services barefoot.

When asked why Southwest Church is participating in Barefoot Sunday, Senior Pastor Roger Hendricks said, “This is our simple way of letting people know that God loves them. Additionally, we want to invite the entire community to participate in this event by dropping off their shoes at the YMCA or coming to ‘Barefoot Sunday’ at our church on June 7th.”

“Churches have always been incredibly responsive to our programs,” said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls.   "This engaging event will not only leave a mark on the hearts of your entire congregation, but it will also help Soles4Souls continue our mission to 'Change the World One Pair at a Time,'" Elsey said.

The efforts of Southwest Church and participating congregations will go directly toward helping put shoes on the feet of barefoot children around the world.  The U.S. government estimates that 300 million children around the world don't own a single pair of shoes.  A sad irony is that Americans threw away the same number of shoes into landfills last year alone.

About Southwest Church
The Southwest Church meets at the Coffman Family YMCA located at 88 Remick Boulevard in Springboro, OH. Southwest Church offers Sunday Worship Services weekly at 9:00 am and 10:35 am. You can learn more about the church at www.southwestchurch.org or call 937.885.0720.

About Soles4Souls
Nashville-based Soles4Souls™ facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Soles4Souls has distributed more than 4.3 million pairs (currently donating one pair every 17 seconds) to people in over 125 countries, including Honduras, Uganda, Romania, and the United States.  The charity has been featured recently in Runner's World and the Green Guide by National Geographic.  It has also appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, and hundreds of regional outlets around North America.  Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS; donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.

2008 Fall Carnival - A Great Success!

The 2008 Fall Carnival held in October at the Coffman Family YMCA was a great success! The free carnival, which was attended by hundreds of people, was a joint effort between the YMCA and Southwest Church in Springboro.

At the carnival, children had the opportunity to interact with super heroes, play fun games, win free prizes, enjoy s’mores around a campfire, and take a pony ride. The children enjoyed the interactive carnival on a pleasant fall Friday evening on the property next to the YMCA. Local police and firefighters also attended to provide children an opportunity to see up close a police cruiser and a fire truck.

This is a second year that the YMCA and the church have worked together to provide this free carnival and this year’s attendance was the best crowd to date! The Southwest Church is a partner with the Coffman Family YMCA, and presently holds worship services every Sunday Morning in the YMCA at 9:00 am and 10:35 am.

Annual Fall Gathering!

On Saturday, October 11th Southwest Church held our annual Fall Gathering! On a beautiful fall afternoon, friends at Southwest enjoyed a time together sharing games, food, and even a hay ride or two.

The 2008 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off

On Sunday, September 21, people from Southwest Church gathered together for a night of fun and friendship. Chili-lovers of all ages tasted samplings of different special recipes of homemade chili and voted for their favorite chili. The overall winner was Ken Temple; and the children’s favorite was a chili made by Deb O’Keefe.

Following a fun sampling and feasting on chili, many participated in a corn hole competition. Jamie Belanger and Landon Harman were the winners of this fun competition!

Thanks to the Connecting Southwest Ministry Team for planning and organizing this fun event that so many people could participate!

Teacher Appreciation Gifts!

The Southwest Servant Evangelism Team recently purchased, filled with goodies, “gift wrapped,” and delivered tote bags to elementary school teachers in the area. The bag had a simple reminder to the teachers of the positive impact that they can have on the lives of children. The bag simply said... "Small Things Done with Great Love will Change the World".

Backpacks 4 Kids

During the months of July and August, Southwest Church in partnership with the YMCA and other local churches collected, packed, and distributed back packs full of school supplies to the Warren County Community Services so that children in need in the community and surrounding communities can have the needed supplies to have a successful upcoming school year.

These pictures show the director of the YMCA and Heather Alt, Southwest Children’s Minister preparing 64 back packs and additional supplies to be donated to children in need. Each back pack also contained a laminated bookmark which read... "This Bookmark is made for you by volunteers and is an expression of God’s Love for you!"

Southwest Church Luau!

The Connecting Southwest Team led the way during the Second Annual Southwest Church Luau. Members of the Southwest Church had a great time of fun and fellowship on July 19th. Not everyone got in the pool, but everyone had fun! Stay tuned for other upcoming Connecting Southwest Events!