Can I Get A Witness

Last Sunday, we celebrated the baptism of Marie Loest. What a joy it is to witness and be reminded of the new life that is found in Jesus! Congratulations, Marie! We are so excited to walk beside you in your faith journey!

After the many, many storms in the last month, we have been so blessed to have a dedicated crew of guys to help clean-up and haul away the trees and debris. 

Thank you to all who volunteered their time to help! 

In it’s third year, the Asbury Neighborhood Garden continues to provide fresh fruit and vegetables FREE of charge for our neighbors and friends. This new season has brought an abundance of strawberries with more to come. What a blessing it is to be able to share the love of Jesus and free nourishment for the people in our community.   

As summer approached, we realized we needed some help getting the Church lawn mowed. Not only did we find one person who would be willing to mow, but we found FIVE!  

A big thank you to those who volunteer to mow the lawn on a weekly basis -- Travis Hoover, Alan Kailer, Mike Keating, Keith Kirk and Terry Shields. 

We could think of no better witness to God’s work and faithfulness than that of all the mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers and the women in our lives who have cared and nurtured for us through the years. We also remember those moms who have gone before us today. Happy Mother’s Day and Thank You!

All women are invited to grab a cookie

as a small of gift of appreciation. 

How can thousands of items turn into blessings? Easy: through the Asbury Garage Sale. This annual sale has evolved from a way for us to get rid of some of our extra stuff to blessing those in our community. Whether it is a new bike for an excited little girl, a conversation with a disabled veteran or donating a couple trees to an area bi-lingual VBS director, we had the opportunity to bless and we DID! And through all those blessings we raised an amazing $9,752.21! Thank you to everyone who participated in helping us bless our community! 

Today we celebrate Easton Dahm who graduates from Maize High School on May 14th. 

Easton has grown up with in the family of Asbury Church. We rejoice in his accomplishments and pray for him on his next journey in life.

Congrats, Easton!

With the purchase of new chairs for the O’Campo Fellowship Hall this spring, Asbury had way too many chairs. Former Asburian, Brian Maydew had a solution -- send them to Africa for a church to use! Keith Kirk loaded up 140 chairs and met Brian to load the chairs in a shipping container that will make its way to Zambia by the end of the year! Brian collects all sorts of items that African churches can make good use of and sends a couple containers to them per year! What a blessing it is to partner with people doing God’s work across the globe. Here is a note from Brian: 

Thank you to Asbury Church for the 140 chairs and to Keith Kirk for bringing them to me and helping me load them in a container. We will send them to Zambia this summer for seating in a church we helped build for the Wesleyan Church. Your prayers and the chairs are a great encouragement to me as we spread the good news of Jesus. Thank You, Brian Maydew

What better day than Easter to be a witness to God’s amazing grace already at work in a child? We rejoice in the baptism of Cassia Stacey Koppenhaver, born to Harrison and Bryonna on March 27th.

Haley Mangold has faithfully served the kids of the Asbury CDC & Preschool for more than 10 years in many different positions, most recently as the Assistant Director. She has made the decision to spend more time with her two children and husband. Her last day at the Preschool was Friday, April 11th. We are so grateful for the love and quality care she has provided for hundreds of children during her time at the Preschool. We will miss Haley, but wish her and her family the best as she begins a new chapter. 

About four times a year, we are blessed to have the O’Campo Fellowship Hall taken over by a group of very talented ladies. Beautiful projects spread over tables and the women talk, laugh and enjoy their time of creating masterpieces. We love having this special group at Asbury creating beautiful things and sharing life together! Thanks to Judy Barley for overseeing the quilting and for their generous donation to Missions.

A group of about 10 volunteers gathered on Monday, March 24th to help clean up the thousands -- seemed like millions -- spikey balls littering our yard. Within a couple of hours, the yard was clean and ready for spring to really be here! Thank you to all who volunteered your time! 

A group of men meet every Wednesday morning at 6am to share not only a great breakfast but also all that God is doing in their lives. Want to join? You are welcome...all men are invited to gather at Village Inn (7020 W Central Ave) every Wednesday at 6am. This is a weekly opportunity to connect and talk about life over breakfast (on your own). 

Special thanks to those who showed up last Saturday, March 1st to help assemble new playground equipment. Many hands made the work quick and now our Preschool and Church kids have new equipment to try out as the weather gets warmer. Thank you so much to all who lent a hand!  

Judy and Jim Beebe have been coordinating the food collection for New Covenant Life Support Center and Grocery Relief for the last couple of years. The couple has worked tirelessly to organize, shop and do all they can to help serve this important ministry. They have decided to step back and pass the torch to Lynne and TJ Smith. We want to thank Jim and Judy for their time and dedication to Asbury Church and New Covenant. Your efforts have served as a witness to all the Lord is doing. 

Faith & Family Night at the Wichita Thunder

Last Sunday, February 16th, 2025, a group from Asbury joined thousands of others to cheer on the Wichita Thunder to victory at Intrust Bank Arena. Following the game, everyone was invited to a Q&A with two actors from the The Chosen. Jordan Walker Ross (Little James) and Giavani Cairo (Thaddeus) took a variety of questions from the audience about their characters and the upcoming season 5 of The Chosen. It was a great day to spend together!

The MMI team recently returned from the Dominican Republic. A few of the team members -- JP Smith, TJ and Lynne Smith -- shared their experiences with the Asbury congregation last Sunday. What a joy it was to hear their testimonies and stories from this special trip!

Kate Green is gifted in helping others draw closer to God in an experiential way that enables a person to P.A.U.S.E. and rest in Him. (See the details in the middle section of the Sunday Brief). 

To our Brothers & Sisters at Asbury Church -- 

We are so grateful for your partnership with New Covenant. We can’t do it without you! The Christmas Eve offering for the Life Support Center is a blessing for sure! Than you for your faithful generosity. Words are not adequate -- we are blessed. May the good Lord continue to bless the Kingdom work of Asbury Church. 

-- New Covenant Pastor Cathy Holley

With Pastor Rick on sabbatical, we have been blessed to have the Rev. Wendy Mohler-Seib, Ph.D. preach the last three weeks in January. 

She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Theology and Humanities at Friends University. 

We thank Pastor Wendy for making the time to share great messages with the congregation here at Asbury!

If you are around Asbury Church during the week, you might run into groups of kids, teachers and leaders from Asbury’s Child Development Center and Preschool. We are so thankful for Janelle Dean (director) Haley Mangold (assistant director) along with the teachers and cook, CJ, for their dedication to providing Christ-centered childcare for these special kids. Please continue to be in prayer for the CDC and Preschool!

Before we get too far away from Christmas, we thought it was important to reflect back on the season and the reason. We are so blessed at Asbury Church to be surrounded by wonderful, generous people. We had a couple of opporuntities to give back this season. At the Christmas Eve service we collected an offering for the New Covenant Life Support Center in the amount of $8,961! We also donated the money we would have spent on a gift for the congregation at the Christmas Eve service to the Meridian Rehab & Health Care Center. More than 50 of the residents were not going to get a Christmas gift. We stepped in and purchased blankets, treats, slippers and more for all 50 residents! We also helped a single mother provide gifts for 2 kids and 1 grandchild after she had escaped a domestic violence situation.

We have been blessed to bless. What a season / reason! 

As we end our year, we wanted to bear witness to our fearless leader, Pastor Rick. He began his sabatical on December 26th and will be taking time to recharge, rest and probably shoot some sort of animal for fun. Pastor Rick has led Asbury Church for almost 10 years and we have been blessed by his leadership and the way he has born witness to what God is doing at Asbury. Please be in prayer for Pastor Rick during his sabbatical. .

Did you know that Pastor Nathan hosts a Brewery Ministries Youtube channel that currently has nearly 19,000 subscribers? There were 1.9 million viewers in 2024. Were you one of them?   If not, check out “Brewery Ministries” on Youtube.  You may just learn something.  

You might not know this, but your Sunday Brief has been hand folded every week for more than a decade by a group of loyal and dedicated volunteers. The group has varied in sizes through the years, but has carried on by Pat Ashton (15 + years) and Linda Reith (11 + years) in recent years. The two have decided to retire from their work, but we wanted to highlight their work and dedication to the Asbury congregation. 

We know they will not love the picture, but if you see them, please let them know how much they are appreciated and loved! 

The congregation gathered last weekend to celebrate thanksgiving through worship and fellowship. It was a wonderful time together. We are very thankful for this church and every person who gathers here throughout the year!

Did you know that we reach hundreds of people each Sunday online? Each week we hear of people watching from all across the state, the nation, and at times, even the world. Our livestream platforms -- Facebook, YouTube, and Website, provide us with other ways to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ.  Please be sure to thank the Tech Team for all their hard work.

Asbury Church is blessed with many opportunities to grow in Christ. Some examples are the Wednesday evening classes. This is a picture of those who are participating in the Experiencing God study facilitated by Pastor Rick. This study has challenged the class to take a hard look at their love relationship with Jesus that leads to faith and action. A good challenge for us all!

We are so blessed to be served by a wonderful staff here at Asbury Church. They give of their time, their gifts, their talents and their hearts in service to the Lord and this church. Take a moment this week to thank the staff for their labor of love for the congregation at Asbury. 

What a great day of rejoicing as New Covenant Church celebrated its 20th Anniversary as a worshipping community. Several from Asbury Church joined in the celebration and Pastor Rick was honored to preach on this special occasion. What a joy to partner with New Covenant and celebrate with them! 

We have a group of people from Asbury volunteering their time to the reading program for children from K-5 grades at OK Elementary. It only takes 15-20 minutes once a week per child -- depending on the grade we read to them, or they read to us!  We develop a great relationship with them throughout the year.  For example, Jacque read to a girl a couple of years ago and when she heard Asbury was back reading she asked for Jacque to continue with her. This is a wonderful outreach for our Church.  We have started the school year, but it is never too late to join us in this outreach.  If interested call Julie Thompson 316-841-5643 or Jacque Perkins 316-253-9404.

We received this email last week and just had to share. We don’t know Remy, but are so glad our shirts were a blessing! 

I was at your garage sale a few months ago and you were giving away leftover t-shirts from past vacation bible schools. I took them all and went on a mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya. The shirts were given to the “Made in the Streets Ministry” in Kamulu, Kenya. This ministry provides food, housing and life skills to street children so they can get back on their feet. They were so happy to get the shirts! You never know how much blessing the shirts you have given. I am a part-time missionary doing short term mission mostly Philippines and abroad. God bless you and thank you! Remy Kingsley

For two weeks, we collected clothes for the Gateway School Clothes Closet! Kate, Christian and Sarah delivered a car full of items to the school, which is located just down 15th Street from Asbury. They were so grateful for our support! Thank you for your generosity for the kids at Gateway!

Last weekend’s Round-Up was such a huge success. We welcomed about 200 people to Asbury for worship, food, fun, dancing and more. The event also included FOUR BAPTISMS, FIVE NEW MEMBERS were welcomed into our Church family, and Bryonnna gifted our 3rd graders and youth with a Bible or devotion! What a joy and all glory to God! Huge thank you to all the volunteers who made this day possible! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Asbury missionaries, Jim and Courtney Woods are serving Christian Challenge at Kansas State University. With school starting this week, Christian Challenge had it’s first night and it was amazing! “The picture doesn’t show the full balcony. We had to change venues for our weekly meeting due to scheduling conflicts this semester and we’re meeting at a church on Monday’s this semester. Last year on our first night of Challenge, we had 662 in attendance. Tonight we had 845. We counted twice cause we didn’t believe it. This is nuts,” Jim said. Praise be to God!

Asbury’s faithful Tuesday Morning Adult Bible Study always takes the month of August off from meeting at the Church. The group, however, still gathers together once a week at The Copper Oven to share breakfast on Tuesdays at 9am. 

This long-running Bible Study will begin meeting for the Fall on Tuesday, September 3rd at 10am in the Fireside Room. All Adults are invited to this Bible Study, which is usually taught by Pastor Rick, for learning, fellowship and usually some great food! 

Submitted by Travis Hoover: Men’s Breakfast every Wednesday morning we have a great time of fellowship, devotion, eating and swapping stories. All Men are Invited: 6:15am on Wednesdays at the Village Inn (7020 W Central Ave, Wichita, KS 67212-3381).

Last Friday, Asbury welcomed the summer’s VBS kids back for a FREE movie night. Our special guests were treated to VIP seating on glitter-filled intertubes with a pail of popcorn, sunglasses and snacks! Such a blessing to have these kids -- and some new families -- in the church building! 

Last week (July 15th-19th, 2024) we were so blessed by the more than 65 kids who came to Asbury for Vacation Bible School! We had some kids accept Jesus AND they were all so enthusiastic about the songs and the meaning of TRUTH (it comes from God) and Jesus is our ROCK! God also blessed us with so many volunteers who loved on and shared Jesus into the kids and each of our lives. At worship last Sunday, we celebrated with many excited kids and families asking about Asbury!  We pray that the seeds that were sown during this last week, will have a lifelong impact on these kids! Praise God! 

In July (2024), we kicked off Wednesdays at the Bell Tower -- an evening of prayer, fellowship, worship and fun! Rain didn’t stop us from worshiping the Lord together the first night and since then, the weather has been beautiful! 

All are invited to join us in this time together this summer!

Asbury is so blessed to have a group of dedicated volunteers who work year around to beautify the landscaping of the Church. 

Although we do have two all-church clean up days in the spring and fall, this group works in the in-between to make sure the Asbury grounds are free of weeds, look pretty with trees and flowers, and do all the little things that can go unnoticed.  

We appreciate this group of hard-working women who help Asbury look good for our members and visitors! 

Asbury’s Breaker Rock Beach Vacation Bible School is just around the corner, but a group of volunteers have been busy creating our very own beach here at Asbury for kids this summer. From palm trees to a light house to our very own waves, you are not going to believe how great the Church is going to look and how much fun kids are going to have learning more about Jesus at VBS! Thanks to all the volunteers! 

Camp Asbury, our summer camp for kids kindergarten through age 11, is back this summer and we are so excited! The teacher, Ms. Christie, is keeping busy and having fun with 14 kids! Their summer plans include field trips, weekly physical activities, arts and crafts and much more! 

In it’s third year, the Asbury’s Community Garden is providing fresh vegetables for those in our community. From strawberries to peppers to cucumbers, the Garden is open to anyone interested in coming by and picking what they will use. 

We’ve had a wonderful response from the community with the Garden. As one community “customer” said, “Wonderful job and an inspiration. If only more people did this, imagine how different things could be. God bless your efforts and your family.” 

We are also grateful for Nathan Snyder’s leadership with the Community Garden and all the volunteers who have worked to make the Garden possible. 

The second GMC Heartland Annual Conference gathered together at Christ’s Community Church in Joplin, Missouri from May 30th to June 1st. Pastor Rick and Mary Lou Just were representatives from Asbury. It was a wonderful time filled with worship, times of fellowship, and yes, holy conferencing.  The conference was led by Bishop Scott J. Jones with amazing speakers. The group also voted for those who will represent the Heartland as delegates to the convening General Conference of the GMC in September in Costa Rica -- one of which is our own Pastor Rick!

At the beginning of the year, we began to celebrate Souper Sundays -- the last Sunday of the month. On this day following the 10:30am worship service, we gather for a meal and fellowship. It’s been a great success with as many as 75-80 staying for the meal. Make plans to join us for the next Souper Sunday on June 30th! 

 Every Thursday morning Pastor Rick leads chapel time with the Asbury preschool kids. The kids learn Bible verses, sing songs together, and listen to a kid’s devotion. Lots of hugs and laughter too. 

Grocery Relief is a Life Support ministry of New Covenant Church, providing a monthly box of food for households in the Delano District and beyond. Asbury has been part of this ministry for many years and your generosity has blessed many families. This month’s collection of food is almost taking over the Choir Room! Thank you for donating to this special ministry!

The annual All-Church Garage Sale is an opportunity for Asbury to open our doors and welcome the community into our building. But, it is also our chance to have conversations, get to know and bless those who come to Asbury for “stuff.” The “stuff” you donated, might just be “stuff,” but it also might provide hope for a young mother who can’t afford a toy for her child. It might provide hope for a wife who’s husband is deployed in a far away land. And it might provide hope for a young man who doesn’t have much, but was able to pick up some needed household items for free. Those are just a few of the situations we encountered throughout the Garage Sale. Yes, we got rid of a lot of “stuff,” but it is our hope that our stuff will provide a blessing and be a seed that might be planted in their lives. At this time, the 2024 Garage Sale raised $7,650.80!

The Social Sewers -- the group who meets at Asbury once a week on Tuesday mornings -- are creating special gifts for those moving into new homes around Wichita. Brent Sprunger and Ruth Laham are hand embroidering “Welcome Home” wall hangings. 

The wall hangings will find a special place in Habitat for Humanity homes around the Wichita area and hopefully offer a reminder to the residents that their home is a blessing!  

Asbury Church is blessed to be led by the leadership of its Church Board.  The Board is responsible for the governance of the church which includes trustee, finance, staff-parish relations, and nomination decisions. (Note the smiles on their faces.) 

The members include JP Smith (chair), Mary Turner (secretary), Lawrence Perkins, Russell Hall, Cuy Mauck, Beth Perkins, Susan Habeger, Synda Kitts, Kyle Harvey, TJ Smith, Karla Hayden, Loyd Hamrick, and Senior Pastor Rick Just.

Pastor Rick and Mary Lou gave a mini-concert for the Asbury Preschool kids last Monday. The concert was the kick-off  for the “Week of the Young Child,” which is being celebrated throughout the week by the Preschool. A fun time together and Pastor Rick and Mary Lou are available for autographs!  

Technology has changed the way we worship and the method in which we share the gospel. Because we can now livestream our worship services and many of our events, we reach people all across the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. We believe you will be very interested in these online attendance numbers:

January:  

8:30am Service – 709

10:30am Service – 312

TOTAL – 1,021

February: 

8:30am Service – 312

10:30am Service – 1,021

TOTAL – 1,333

WOW! If you want to see some amazing quilts and sewing projects, you must check out the fantastic work of this group. Every Tuesday they meet in Asbury’s Room D106 to embark on a sewing journey where they can create beautiful works of art and fellowship together.