On Saturday, July 27 at around 4:30 p.m., the Lord allowed a bus accident to take Pastor Chad and Courtney Phelps (and their unborn baby) and Mrs. Tonya Weindorf home to enjoy Him in His presence forever (Psalm 16:11; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Hebrews 11:13-16). Dozens of our church's children and teens were returning from a week of camp when the accident occurred with the teen bus. Our church's website (HERE) has more details about this "trage-tunity" (i.e., what many would call a "tragedy" is actually a divine "opportunity").
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The youth group at Colonial Hills Baptist Church is named Youth E.D.G.E. It stands for Evangelism, Discipleship, Growth, and Encouragement. It was Pastor Chad’s desire that we apply those principles to everyday life. When the bus accident happened, a few of us teens got together to see how we could impact the community through this tragedy. We came up with rubber wristbands.
Each wristband sold to the community will have an attached tract (HERE), written specifically for this tragedy, that clearly shares the gospel—this is how we will Evangelize the community. By selling these wristbands we will be inviting people to visit the church where we will be able to Disciple them and help them Grow. Last but not least, we hope by the selling of these wristbands to be an Encouragement and example to the community as we both struggle through these hard times. On the outside of the wristbands it says #E.D.G.E.strong and has the date of the accident, 7-27-13. The names of those who died are included on the inside: Chad-Courtney-Baby-Tonya. Some ask why we put Baby. The baby girl that Courtney Phelps was carrying was just as human as me and you; therefore, she deserves a rightful place on the wristbands just like her parents. The wristbands are $1 each. All the proceeds will go toward purchasing a new church bus so that the teens and children may continue to go to Christian camp each year (i.e., the "Chad/Courtney—Bus Fund." |
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If you would like to read more about our source of hope and strength during this difficult time of losing our Youth Pastor, please click on the graphic at right. It is indeed "good news"!
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