WELCOME TO
Our Online Bulletin
Join us for worship on Sundays at 10:30am
HAPPENINGS is found any time on our website at www.s-heights.org/happenings.
Once per week HAPPENINGS will be emailed to everyone on our email list.
email us at shcrc1@gmail.com if you want to be on the email list.
Bible Humor
What was the Disciples’ favorite card game?
Look below for the answer.
Pastor Todd’s Weekly Word
Ah the signs and sounds of spring! It’s as if the entire world has been building up potential energy for several months, and it all kinda bursts forth in the span of a few weeks. The skies burst open with spring rains. The ground bursts open with new grass and plants. The trees and flowers burst open with buds and blooms and smells. The very air bursts open with the sounds of chattering birds and critters of all kinds.
Quiet-thing-bursting-forth-with-new-life.
Hmmmm…That seems like a familiar theme, it’s as though perhaps we just celebrated just like that not too long ago in church ;). In case I’m being too subtle, here’s a hint: HE IS RISEN!!!
All of creation seemed to pause there for a hot minute when Jesus died on the cross with a great cry of “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken me?!” Everything got quiet when Jesus died. Nobody knew quite what to do next. But when the news came that He had risen from the dead, just as He’d promised He would, EVERYTHING started bursting from confusion and fear to life and excitement! HE IS RISEN, friends! And that’s good news that brings life to EVERY day!!
Wanna celebrate that new life with some friends? I have a suggestion! Southern Heights…10:30am on Sunday morning at 4141 East Hillandale, just like every Sunday. See you there!
His…Pastor todd <><
PS: We’re also excited to celebrate the new life happening at our sister congregation at City On A Hill in Plainwell. You are all invited to join our Elders and I as we ordain & install their first set of Elders & Deacons at a special worship service on April 19 at 1pm at City On A Hill (317 12th St, Plainwell). This will be our final official act as their parent church, and you’re invited to come be a part of this place of new life bursting forth!!!
Upcoming Events at Southern Heights
These are highlights only. CLICK HERE to see the calendar for a full listing.
April 12 – Sunday
– NO Education Hour
– 10:30am – Worship Gathering
– 5pm – Financial Peace
– NO Middle School Ministry
April 15 – 1st & 3rd Wednesday Ministries
– 10am – Women’s Ministry (morning edition)
– 5:15pm – Pizza dinner
– 6pm – Men’s and Women’s Ministry (no Gems/Cadets)
– 6pm – Financial Peace
April 19 – Sunday
– NO Education Hour
– 9am – Pancake Breakfast – Mission Trip Fundraiser
– 10:30am – Worship Gathering
– 5pm – Financial Peace
– 6pm – High School Ministry
April 22 – Wednesday
– 6pm – Financial Peace
April 26 – Sunday – Outreach Emphasis Sunday
– NO Education Hour
– 10:30am – Worship Gathering – Guest Speaker Rev. John Peter Hakizimana
– 11:45am – Appetizers Around the World – in Fellowship Hall
– 5pm – Financial Peace
May 3 – Sunday – Communion
– NO Education Hour
– 10:30am – Worship Gathering
– Noon – Pizza with the Pastor
Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser
Do you like pancakes? Do you want to support our mission trip to Honduras?
Then join us at 9am on April 19 and enjoy a nice pancake breakfast before church and if you are able to donate to the mission trip it would be appreciated. This is open for all. See you April 19.
Outreach Emphasis Sunday
April 26 will be a special day as we highlight our missions and missionaries that we support around the world. We will have a celebration service and we will welcome Pastor John Peter Hakizimana to bring the message. After worship we will go downstairs for “Appetizers Around the World”… a fun way to remind our tastebuds about all the places where the Gospel is being preached.
Note about Kalamazoo Marathon – April 26
On April 26, the Kalamazoo Marathon will be held. It is also our Outreach Emphasis Sunday service.
The Kalamazoo Marathon path goes through our church neighborhood and some of the streets are blocked or partially blocked for the runners. Please note this and give a little extra time as you drive to church on April 26 as it may take a little longer to navigate the streets around church.
PIZZA WITH THE PASTOR
Sunday, May 3
If you are new around Southern Heights, Pastor Todd wants to meet with you and share lunch – on us. Join him for some pizza immediately after worship on May 3. You can ask questions if you want, or just chat and have a nice lunch. Contact the office (shcrc1@gmail.com) if you are interested so we can order the right amount of pizza. (Also let us know if you have any food restrictions.)
A Good Scripture to Memorize
Honduras Mission Trip Update
Honduras Mission Trip – Q&A
When are you going?
We will be there June 11-19. Some of our group will arrive in Honduras on June 11 and the rest on June 13.
What are you going to do in Honduras?
We will offer a Vacation Bible School experience for students.
We will share our faith at the sports park owned by Gathering Hearts where many young people come to play soccer.
We will participate in church services at TEE on Sunday and Wednesday.
We will participate in village ministry activities with Pastor Nelson Osorto and TEE.
How is the fundraising going?
The fundraising is going well overall. However, we still need to raise approximately $6,000 to cover costs. There is a thermometer display in the lobby to indicate progress. We will have a Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser on Sunday, April 19 from 9 AM to 10:15 AM. Contributions can be made to Southern Heights and marked for the Mission Trip. Thank you for your support!
Who is going?
The following families and individuals are going:
Boersema – Denny
Deubner – Luke and Erica
Earles – Diane, Chad, Casey, Nate, Haley, and Kathryn
Eckstein – Pastor Todd, Joy, and Liam
Macias – Tara and Antonio
Pastor Todd Invites You to Read the Bible Together
We’re reading through the Word of God together! Even if you missed the first few months, you’re welcome to join us as we make our way through the Bible at a nice, manageable pace of just one chapter each day. Read together with others from our church family, share when and where The Word moves you, and learn from others as we do the same. Or… just read God’s Weird, and know that we’re doing it together… many days that’s the best part of this. See you on the Bible App!
A Chapter A Day: Reading The Bible In 3 Years (Year 1, Quarter 2)
CLICK THE LINK TO JOIN THE PLAN
**NOTE** this link and the reading plans only work from a mobile device…
(we didn’t make that rule, we have just discovered it over time)
1st & 3rd Wednesday Ministries
10:00am – Women’s ministry meets in the conference room.
5:15pm – light supper of pizza and chips and cookies.
6pm we will have Women’s Ministry (Same lesson as 10am) and Men’s Ministry.
(There will be NO Gems or Cadets)
Student LIFE Ministries
Sundays from 6-8pm are for Students.
High School – 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays
Middle School – 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays.
Have a Praise or Prayer Request?
Click on this prayer prompter image or email deborahbos2@gmail.com and your prayer or praise will be included in our weekly Prayer Prompter, which is received and prayed over by many in our Southern Heights family. Tell us if your request is confidential and it will only be shared with elders and staff, who will confidentially pray for you.
Your Offerings to God
as of April 5, 2026
If you have questions about your giving, want a copy of your statement, please email our Treasurer, Jeff Baas at jmbaas1@gmail.com.
Free & Confidential Counseling is Available
If you feel the need to talk to a professional counselor, we have a confidential Church Assistance Program (CAP) with Pine Rest Mental Health Services. To get started – or for more info – call 616.455.6210 or 800.442.0809 and mention our Southern Heights CAP membership when you do.
Answer to Bible Humor
Go Fish.
