If you've been wondering what baptism is all about, we offer baptism classes before upcoming Celebration Services where baptisms are performed. We have short classes for Elementary-aged students and their parents as well as a Teen & Adult Class. There's never a need to sign up...just show up; if you decide you're ready to be baptized at the next Celebration Service, you'll have a no-pressure option to sign up at the end of the class.

Our next Baptism Class for Elementary Students and their parents is Monday, Feb. 24 at 6:30pm in our Balsam room. The next class for Teens & Adults is Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6:30pm in our Fraser room. We hope to see you there!

If you're ready to sign up to be baptized, you can do so here.  

If you're ready to have your baby dedicated to the Lord at an upcoming Celebration Service, you can click the link above to register. For more information on having your infant dedicated, email MVF Kids Director Darcee Barber. Dedications will occur at our next Celebration Service on Sunday, March 2 at 7pm.

You can register your infant to be dedicated here. 

Join us at our next Celebration Service on Sunday, March 2 at 7pm for baptisms, baby dedications, and an awesome time of worship with the MVF Worship band.  It's a party you don't want to miss...and did we mention there's cake?

GriefShare is a Help and Hope Group for those who have lost someone close. Through a 13 week DVD-driven curriculum, we'll walk alongside you as we hear top experts on grief and recovery subjects and then discuss what we watched and what you are experiencing. During the week, you'll have the opportunity to use the workbook for further personal study of the grieving process and help sort out your emotions through journaling. Our next class begins Saturday, March 8 at 8am in our Conifer room and runs through Saturday, May 31. 
You can register for Griefshare here.

Who should NOT attend Griefshare: We understand that there are other losses in life that create feelings of grief. You might be experiencing a job loss, a divorce, estrangement from a child, or the loss of friends because of a move. This grief is real, but it is not the kind of grief discussed in GriefShare sessions. We encourage you to ask a pastor, counselor, or church leader for help in finding resources that will be of specific help in your situation. If you are going through separation or divorce, please consider finding and participating in a DivorceCare program.  

The New Testament book of Colossians is a rich exploration of the nature of Jesus as Christ. It contains Paul's best statement of the "Christology" of Jesus: that Jesus is the visible image of God and all of creation (including us!) is redeemed from sin through Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20).

Our study of Colossians is 5 weeks long and contains a unique element of being completed with a partner (your spouse or a friend). During the study you will read and re-read Colossians while completing about 2 hours of homework a week. Some of the work will be done by yourself, while other parts you will collaborate with your partner to divide the work and then share insights together. 

We will meet on Tuesday evenings at 7pm for discussion and teaching starting March 25th thru April 22nd.

The Bible Study costs $30 for a set of partners. You'll get a total of 6 books:

• 2 copies of the New Living Translation Colossians Filament Reading Journal
• 2 copies of the English Standard Version Colossians Reading Journal
• 2 copies of the Colossians: Jesus the Visible Image of God workbook

While not required, it will be helpful for you and your partner to have access to a Bible Dictionary.  We suggest the Nelson Compact Bible Dictionary, which can be ordered through Amazon or you can order a copy through MVF for $15 as part of your registration.

While we know Easter isn't about a bunny, we do know that MVF's Egg Hunt is a huge outreach! Every parent and child that attends is invited to our Easter services, plus they get to know us and see our building at the free breakfast the day of the egg hunt. Each year, we spend about $1,300 on pre-filled eggs; if you'd like to help defray costs, you can sign up above to pre-fill 100 plastic eggs with the toy or candy of your choice and bring it to MVF by Thursday, April 10. Please let us know you're helping by signing up above so we know how many eggs we'll need to order to have enough.

Hey MVF Ladies! It's time to get signed up for The Good Book Club! This time around we're offering two books (keep reading below.) The first gathering is March 25 and childcare will be offered for an additional fee. Sign up via the link above.

• Captive in Iran by Maryam Rostampour & Marziyeh Amirizadeh (304 pages): Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh knew they were putting their lives on the line. Islamic laws in Iran forbade them from sharing their Christian beliefs, but in three years, they’d covertly put New Testaments into the hands of twenty thousand of their countrymen and started two secret house churches. In 2009, they were finally arrested and held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, a place where inmates are routinely tortured and executions are commonplace. In the face of ruthless interrogations, persecution, and a death sentence, Maryam and Marziyeh chose to take the radical—and dangerous—step of sharing their faith inside the very walls of the government stronghold that was meant to silence them.
  In Captive in Iran, two courageous Iranian women recount how God used their 259 days in Evin Prison to shine His light into one of the world’s darkest places, giving hope to those who had lost everything and showing love to those in despair. The cost for this book is $16.
• None Like Him By by Jen Wilkin (176 pages): Human beings were created to reflect the image of God—but only to a limited extent. Although we share important attributes with God (love, mercy, compassion, etc.), there are other qualities that only God possesses, such as unlimited power, knowledge, and authority. At the root of all sin is our rebellious desire to be like God in such ways—a desire that first manifested itself in the garden of Eden. In None Like Him, Jen Wilkin leads us on a journey to discover ten ways God is different from us—and why that’s a good thing. In the process, she highlights the joy of seeing our limited selves in relation to a limitless God, and how such a realization frees us from striving to be more than we were created to be. The cost for this book is $10.