December 24, 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to the Wildermouth Church Newsletter!
As this newsletter reaches you, we will be within 24 hours of one of the most sacred and joyful celebrations of our faith—the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My heart is also filled with eager anticipation as we prepare for our Candlelight Service this evening. I am deeply humbled and grateful for the overwhelming response of volunteers who have stepped forward to help make this service possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to each and every one of you. Your willingness to serve is a true gift to our church family.
It’s hard to believe that we are already looking ahead to a new year—new beginnings, new resolutions, and new adventures. While January weather in Ohio can always be unpredictable, we are excited to announce a special concert on Saturday, January 24th at 6:00 PM, featuring Kameron Waits. Many of you will remember him from our Fifth Sunday Sing in November, and we are delighted to welcome him back for a full concert. More details will be shared in the coming weeks, but I encourage you to mark your calendars now and begin thinking about who you might invite to join you for what promises to be a wonderful evening. And yes—there will be food afterward!
As we think about the year ahead, I invite you to join me in prayer, asking God to show us how we can become even greater servants to our community. I often hear from people who say they “used to” attend church at Wildermuth, each with their own story and reason. At the same time, I am often surprised by how many people in our local area have never heard of Wildermuth at all. Let’s work together to change both of those realities. This may mean being more present at local events and festivals, or even hosting new opportunities right here. It will take effort from all of us—but we must remember why we do it. We are not doing this for ourselves, or for the pastor, or even for Wildermuth alone. We are doing this for God.
I once saw a shirt that read, “Let’s make heaven crowded.” That simple phrase has stayed with me. Will you join me in doing our part to make that happen in the year ahead?
With the Joy of Christ,
— Pastor Vance
Pastor Vance's Ventures
For your convenience, below is Pastor Vance’s tentative schedule for the next few days. (It may vary depending on emergency situations, meetings, etc.)
Appointments can be made by calling/texting 614-706-3040 or email at
pastorvance@wildermuthchurch.com
Wed 12/24
Candlelight Service 6 PM
Thurs 12/25
Christmas Day – Office is closed
Friday 12/26
Office by Appointment
Saturday 12/27
Day Off
Sunday 12/28
Worship Monday
12/29
Vacation
Tuesday 12/30
Vacation
Wednesday 12/31
NYE Open House and Fellowship 7PM
- Come the Parsonage to watch OSU and play some games (Euchre)
Meetings, events, and Worship services
- God and People Stories (GPS)Ministries, an outreach ministry by Pastor Vance in our area.
GPS Ministries — Somerset
- Join us Wednesday evenings at Wannabees (the sign out front says “Main Grill”) at 105 W Main St, Somerset, OH. We fellowship over a meal between 5-7 PM (arrive as you can, purchase your own meal from their great menu) and Bible study starts at 7.
- Contact Pastor Vance if you would like transportation to this service.
GPS Ministries — Airport
- Join us for a Fly-In (or you can drive in) Church service.
- Meets on the 3rd Satuday of each month at 10 AM at Fairfield County Airport (KLHQQ) located at 3430 Old Columbus Rd NW, Carroll, OH.
- Enjoy Coffee and donuts in the Terminal Building as we gather around and learn about a Pilot Story, how it relates to a God Story, and discover how we can apply it to our lives.
Small Group Opportunities
We are going to stop the Small Group Sunday night meetings for the remainder of 2025.
Will resume in January 2026
Ministry / Volunteer Opportunities
- We invite all to share your gifts during our Worship Service
- It could also be by sharing a poem, some musical gift, or other talent during our services. It could even be to serve as a Song Leader during our Worship time, or in some other way
- BC Food Pantry - Monthly (typically the 3rd Friday of the month but subject to change) we can minister to our community by helping to set up for the Bloom Carroll Food Pantry. 6:30 PM to ? at Shalom UMC, 4925 Plum Rd NW, Carroll, OH 43112
- Donations of canned Dog and Cat Food can be brought to Wildermuth.
- Consider helping Wildermuth Church in supporting missionaries…
- All money raised through this program, as well as the money donated in the cup by our offering plate, goes to mission’s support.
Looking to the Future
- January 24th at 6 PM we will be hosting a Gospel Concert featuring Kameron Waits!
- Many of you thoroughly enjoyed his songs when he joined us in November so we have asked him to come back and do an evening concert with us.
- Current plans are to have a dinner after the concert
- One of our long-range visions for our church is to become a host church for two different youth groups.
- Trail Life for boys and American Heritage Girls are Christian based Scout-like organization for youth ages 5 to 18.
- We will need a minimum of 5 adult males and 5 adult women to commit to being the leadership teams in order to get these troops chartered.
If you have any interest in learning more about these, please contact Pastor Vance.
