Greetings Hillcrest Family!

The Elder Board and the General Board met in a combined meeting on December 8, 2020, to develop a plan to move forward with in-person ministries after Christmas and New Year. Prior to the meeting, we asked for your prayer support and asked you to send us your thoughts by email. We received about ten emails and most expressed an understanding of the difficulty in making the decision, expressed their prayer support for the leadership, expressed a willingness to help, and expressed a desire to resume in-person ministries.

After considering the current local Directed Health Measures (DHMs) and mandates, the leadership voted to resume all in person ministries following all local DHMs and mandates effective January 3, 2021. As long as face coverings are required by the local mandate, Hillcrest will require all attendees over the age of 5 to wear a face covering, in accordance with the Seward City ordinance, and follow other DHMs and mandates at all activities in the building. This includes but is not limited to Worship services, Sunday School classes, nursery, Children’s Church, Revolution, Inside Out, Bible studies, and Wednesday night Hillcrest Kids activities.

Thank you for your continued prayers as we navigate these difficult times. We are thankful that you realize there are no easy answers and these decisions have placed a significant strain on our staff and leadership. We ask that you continue to dispense grace abundantly to those with different points of view. Proclaiming Christ together until He comes!

Rob Mitchell,
Church Chairman

Ben Ford,
Elder Chairman

Giving Report
Praise Him for His provision! Last Sunday's general fund offering total was $15,439.54. We are incredibly thankful for your gifts and for God's blessing!

2020 Year-To-Date Budget: $726,635.66
2020 Year-To-Date General Giving: $684,924.70
2019 Year-To-Date General Giving: $610,005.99
Year-To-Date Thanksgiving Offering: $115,641.18

Christmas Gifts for the Pastors
Once again this year, we will present our five pastors with monetary Christmas gifts from the congregation. This is another great opportunity for us to bless our pastors and their families. If you would like to contribute, please put your gift in an offering envelope and designate it clearly as “Pastors’ Gifts”. You can place the offering envelope in the drop box or mail it to the church between now and December 20th.  If you have any questions, please contact the church office at 402-643-2316. Church Address: 2433 Progressive Rd. Seward, NE 68434

Join us this Sunday!
This Sunday, Pastor Curt will continue our Christmas series "The Giver" with his sermon "He Gives Healing to a Diseased World". Join us in person at 9 AM or 10:30 AM or on Facebook Live or at live.hillcrestefc.org at 10:30 AM.

Christmas Eve Services
3:30 & 5:00 PM at Hillcrest | Livestream at 5 PM
Celebrate the birth of our Savior with us on Christmas Eve! This year, we are having services at 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM. You can also celebrate with us from home during the 5:00 PM livestream on Facebook or www.live.hillcrestefc.org!

Revolution Ski Retreat
March 11-14, 2021
Sign-Up Deadline: January 17
The senior high Ski Retreat is still on for 2021!  We are going to have a great time growing in our faith, building memories together, and shredding the slopes at Snowy Range Ski Area! So, what do you need to know? This year we are doing most of our registration online, but payments for the trip will still need to be turned in physically to the drop box at the Welcome Center. What about COVID? I (Pastor Zach) have talked with the camp coordinator at Table in the Wilderness and he assured me that we will be able to socially distance during our time at their camp. As far as other health concerns go, we will keep the students attending the trip and their parents updated as the health mandates may change in the coming months. We are looking forward to having a fun and safe ski trip this spring!

Salvation Army Volunteers
Help raise funds for our community by signing up to ring the bell for an hour at Walmart this Christmas. Ninety percent of the money dropped in a kettle goes right back into our community!