I don’t think it can ever get old hearing how impacting our children’s ministry is to our community. There are two things that happened this weekend that made my day. Three weeks ago a gentleman came by our church. His regular Sunday would unfold by dropping off the nanny and his children at a church. He would then go and just hangout at random places like Best buy or stores like that. Two Sundays ago, he stopped to see what we were about because of the signs and asked us about our ministries. He told us that he would come back the next week with his children and hopefully his wife. Last Sunday He was there with his two children and he went to our video service, his wife could not make it because she was working. When he picked up his children and asked them if they liked it, they never hesitated to answer YES! He then decided to call his wife, he told her that she needed to take her lunch break and that he would come and pick her up. He wanted to show her the church. He came back 15 minutes later and as a great potential Guest service volunteer, was showing her the campus. As they left he told us they would be back next week! He came this week with the whole family!
Last Sunday night we had connection 101. This is a class to join Christ Fellowship. We had a couple there who had two children in our ministry. We always begin by introducing ourselves and saying how we came to church. When we got to her, she began to cry over how grateful she was that her children loved the Waystation and how it meant the world to her!
Both of this stories are awesome, the Waystation (1st grade through 5th) and Anchor Harbor (Pre School) but the best part about this is that we would never be able to pull this off without the volunteers and THEIR passionate desire to see children come to Christ! This is not the first time this has happened and I know it wont be the last. But I cannot think It will get old hearing about the impact our children’s ministry has!
Thank You God for giving us AWESOME LEADERS!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Do you Care?
This week has been really exciting. When you care not just about the people but about our ministry people can really see it. I received an email from Tony Isaacs. Here is what it said:
Dear Homestead Campus Team,
I am writing you as a team to tell you how much I appreciate your passion
And care for our Christ Fellowship Homestead Campus. Everything I've
experienced in my visit last week visit was over the top. I had 2 guests
with me who visited both our campuses. This it what they said, "We were
overwhelmed with the Palmetto Bay Campus and all that is going on there, but
we were more impressed with the Homestead campus. The spirit and unity of
the workers, the appearance of the campus and the execution of the set up
and tear down were phenomenal. We expected the Palmetto Bay Campus to be
like it was but the Homestead Campus blew us away."
WOW, I am so proud of all of you! Great Job!!
- Tony
This is so refreshing to hear. Each person that is involved makes a huge effort to be consistent. Being a part of a fun environment is….FUN!
This week I talked to a member on Sunday who was going through some tough times. She has been a member of our church since 2005 but really never been committed. She came off and on but a few weeks a go decided to start serving in our guest service team in Homestead. After she began serving she also found out about possible tumor. She shared it in our leaders meeting prior to our services and ask for us to keep her in prayer. I prayed with her that day and asked her to keep us updated. She called me a few days ago and told me it was not a malignant tumor but that she would still have to have surgery. She also told me that other leaders had called her and she finally felt that she belongs! WOW! That is awesome to hear! The fact that people cared made the difference! Seeing individual leaders step in the role of ministering to each other is so neat to see. Great job leaders for making going the extra mile ad truly caring! This is what is contagious! My prayer is that each week we may continually grow to be more like His church! I Thank God that HE has given me the privilege to serve in this church!
Dear Homestead Campus Team,
I am writing you as a team to tell you how much I appreciate your passion
And care for our Christ Fellowship Homestead Campus. Everything I've
experienced in my visit last week visit was over the top. I had 2 guests
with me who visited both our campuses. This it what they said, "We were
overwhelmed with the Palmetto Bay Campus and all that is going on there, but
we were more impressed with the Homestead campus. The spirit and unity of
the workers, the appearance of the campus and the execution of the set up
and tear down were phenomenal. We expected the Palmetto Bay Campus to be
like it was but the Homestead Campus blew us away."
WOW, I am so proud of all of you! Great Job!!
- Tony
This is so refreshing to hear. Each person that is involved makes a huge effort to be consistent. Being a part of a fun environment is….FUN!
This week I talked to a member on Sunday who was going through some tough times. She has been a member of our church since 2005 but really never been committed. She came off and on but a few weeks a go decided to start serving in our guest service team in Homestead. After she began serving she also found out about possible tumor. She shared it in our leaders meeting prior to our services and ask for us to keep her in prayer. I prayed with her that day and asked her to keep us updated. She called me a few days ago and told me it was not a malignant tumor but that she would still have to have surgery. She also told me that other leaders had called her and she finally felt that she belongs! WOW! That is awesome to hear! The fact that people cared made the difference! Seeing individual leaders step in the role of ministering to each other is so neat to see. Great job leaders for making going the extra mile ad truly caring! This is what is contagious! My prayer is that each week we may continually grow to be more like His church! I Thank God that HE has given me the privilege to serve in this church!
Monday, November 5, 2007
The value in investing
This weekend was unbelievable! A local plant nursery donated 260 plants to our church; each of these plants would normally be sold for about 5-7 dollars a piece. We decided to attach invest and invite cards to the plants and hand them out following each of our services. We asked our members to think of a friend or neighbor that they might give this plant to. I did not know what to expect. It was the first time we had ever done anything like this. The plan was to put out 50 plants per service. We have four services in Palmetto, and we would take 60 to our Homestead campus.
The result: Well, on Saturday we were mobbed… people rushed to pick up plants, and in less than 5 minutes all of the plants were gone! It was a beautiful, but at the same time flustering. If I could have given all 200 plants that night, they would have all been gone! On Sunday we ran into the same problem following our 10:30 service. We even gave away our cardettes (the plastic stakes that go into the plant with an invest and invite card) without plants. The members were excited just to take the stake and planned to buy a plant to accompany it.
There were a few lessons that I learned from this. First, never say no to someone’s gift. Second, never underestimate the power of a free gift. The neighbors and friends that receive this gift do not know that the plant bearer received it for free. Anything that is valuable and pretty will be accepted with gratitude. The third lesson is a little harder to think through. For a long time we have instilled in our members the importance of investing in their neighbors’ lives so that they will get an opportunity to invite them to one of our services. Did our members feel more confident to reach out to their neighbors with this plant than they do with just a card? I think they did! So maybe its through little things like this that will make a big impact in the lives of our community. The last lesson is that you never know when you will learn a new word…like cardette!
The result: Well, on Saturday we were mobbed… people rushed to pick up plants, and in less than 5 minutes all of the plants were gone! It was a beautiful, but at the same time flustering. If I could have given all 200 plants that night, they would have all been gone! On Sunday we ran into the same problem following our 10:30 service. We even gave away our cardettes (the plastic stakes that go into the plant with an invest and invite card) without plants. The members were excited just to take the stake and planned to buy a plant to accompany it.
There were a few lessons that I learned from this. First, never say no to someone’s gift. Second, never underestimate the power of a free gift. The neighbors and friends that receive this gift do not know that the plant bearer received it for free. Anything that is valuable and pretty will be accepted with gratitude. The third lesson is a little harder to think through. For a long time we have instilled in our members the importance of investing in their neighbors’ lives so that they will get an opportunity to invite them to one of our services. Did our members feel more confident to reach out to their neighbors with this plant than they do with just a card? I think they did! So maybe its through little things like this that will make a big impact in the lives of our community. The last lesson is that you never know when you will learn a new word…like cardette!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)