Beginning Tuesday, June 1, FCC is excited to see that Kidventure will be utilizing our building to run their camping program for the next 10 weeks, throughout the entire summer. Kidventure has a tremendous track record of professionalism where it comes to relating to kids and families. They are well-known in the community and have worked hard to gain people’s confidence through care and hard work.
What a perfect match! FCC’s vision is about bringing people into vital relationship with Jesus Christ and one of the key points in our vision is ministry to the entire spectrum of the family. With Kidventure present in our building, this brings before us another chance to reach children and families. Their presence and activity gives us a chance to serve and touch the lives of people we otherwise would not know.
We are all tremendously excited. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be some adjustments and chaos for a number of our existing ministries. Ministry is always a little messy, chaotic and sacrificial whenever there is intentional effort to expand and reach out. I’m grateful for a church body that is open and willing to embrace people where they are.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Pentecost Vision
In Acts 2, we have a description of the church in its earliest manifestation. What an exciting, inspiring way of life that we see there.
Acts 2 is Our Vision text. A vision text for a church is that scripture that God has drawn us toward, which is serving as a guide to God’s preferred future for us. Several years ago, we came together as a group of Christians to really look hard at what God was calling us to do, and more important what God was calling us to be. Because this text in Acts 2 is really describing a way of life, more than it is describing a thing to do. A way of living and being with each other and with the world, rather than a list of instructions about what we are supposed to do. Our vision as a church in the 21st century is the vision of the early church that we see in Acts 2 - Inviting and bringing people into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the life the Spirit brings!
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Our vision, then, is to invite and bring people into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ… What an incredible vision of the church! People so totally devoted to God that their life together was charged with the Spirit’s power. Believers loved each other with a radical kind of love. They took off their masks and shared their lives with one another. They laughed and cried and played and sang and served together in authentic Christian fellowship. Those who had more shared freely with those who had less until socioeconomic barriers melted away. People related together in ways that bridged gender and racial chasms, and celebrated cultural differences. And God added to their numbers day by day those who were being saved!
Acts 2 is Our Vision text. A vision text for a church is that scripture that God has drawn us toward, which is serving as a guide to God’s preferred future for us. Several years ago, we came together as a group of Christians to really look hard at what God was calling us to do, and more important what God was calling us to be. Because this text in Acts 2 is really describing a way of life, more than it is describing a thing to do. A way of living and being with each other and with the world, rather than a list of instructions about what we are supposed to do. Our vision as a church in the 21st century is the vision of the early church that we see in Acts 2 - Inviting and bringing people into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the life the Spirit brings!
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Our vision, then, is to invite and bring people into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ… What an incredible vision of the church! People so totally devoted to God that their life together was charged with the Spirit’s power. Believers loved each other with a radical kind of love. They took off their masks and shared their lives with one another. They laughed and cried and played and sang and served together in authentic Christian fellowship. Those who had more shared freely with those who had less until socioeconomic barriers melted away. People related together in ways that bridged gender and racial chasms, and celebrated cultural differences. And God added to their numbers day by day those who were being saved!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Hey,
Got a riddle for ya!
What is dressed casually, arm and arm with a friend new to FCC, feeling the Spirit's movement and passion, present this Sunday for worship...and red all over?
"YOU!"...
...This coming Sunday, at the Pentecost Celebration Worship and Community Meal! (we were calling it a picnic, but you thought that was "hokie", not like this riddle, which is not hokie at all)
Remember to bring a side dish and a friend to introduce to FCC, dress in picnic attire, and be prepared to celebrate and have some fun! We'll be celebrating some stories about our Acts 2 Vision. We'll be acknowleging the children and youth in our Faith Factory and Xtreme Disciples programs. And lastly, holding a carwash in the parking lot that will help raise funds for our Xtreme Youth.
Got a riddle for ya!
What is dressed casually, arm and arm with a friend new to FCC, feeling the Spirit's movement and passion, present this Sunday for worship...and red all over?
"YOU!"...
...This coming Sunday, at the Pentecost Celebration Worship and Community Meal! (we were calling it a picnic, but you thought that was "hokie", not like this riddle, which is not hokie at all)
Remember to bring a side dish and a friend to introduce to FCC, dress in picnic attire, and be prepared to celebrate and have some fun! We'll be celebrating some stories about our Acts 2 Vision. We'll be acknowleging the children and youth in our Faith Factory and Xtreme Disciples programs. And lastly, holding a carwash in the parking lot that will help raise funds for our Xtreme Youth.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Pentecost Picnic: IMPACT 150
Hello my friends!
Sunday, May 23rd...you know what's happening, right? Just remember a fabulous grillin' picnic, attend worship in picnic attire, and IMPACT 150 - an easy way for us to impact the lives of 150 new people by introducing them to FCC! You've said you like what's happening at FCC, so bring someone with you May 23rd and share the love!
Sunday, May 23rd...you know what's happening, right? Just remember a fabulous grillin' picnic, attend worship in picnic attire, and IMPACT 150 - an easy way for us to impact the lives of 150 new people by introducing them to FCC! You've said you like what's happening at FCC, so bring someone with you May 23rd and share the love!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Cupbearer to the King
Nehehimah has just prayed a kind of prayer that is self-disclosure at its most honest (Neh 1: 5-11). Most of us wouldn't want to have anyone see us so real, especially in those moments when we are open before God when no one else is around.
After this prayer, a really incredible prayer, Nehemiah tells us what he does. In verse 11 he says – I was cupbearer to the king. He was cupbearer to the king...hmmm. Something about him telling us in this moment, after this prayer, seems to indicate a flair for the dramatic. Or perhaps the dramatic news of the terrible state of God's Holy City has turned a light on in him that opens him up to an old thing in his life but with new eyes. What is Nehemiah’s purpose in telling us so succinctly that he was the cupbearer to the king? I wonder about that. Nehemiah seems to want us to see the opportunity in that – kind of like Esther who had close proximity to the King in her story. Is Nehemiah presented with the same opportunity and responsibility?
This is an important piece to Nehemiah’s assessment and discernment of what God is doing in his life. What opportunities does Nehemiah have that no one else has? This is a necessary ingredient and often a critical mistake that people make. God’s providence is such that He places us in strategic environments, where we can reach people, touch people unlike anyone else. Or another way to see it, the places and relationships we find near us, our spheres of influence “call” us into some action that will propel the purpose and mission of Jesus in the world.
In 2009 121 new families came to FCC for the first time – that’s a lot of people God has placed in our proximity, that’s a lot of opportunity God has brought to us. All signs point to the same or more in 2010. But what about on a personal level? Who is in my life (your life) and circles in whom I can invest God’s love? What opportunities do I simply fail to see that could serve to expand the mission and purpose of Jesus in the world?
Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. Where are you a "cupbearer to the king?" What opportunities do you have that few other people have? What would "success" (as Nehemiah prayed) look like for you to make the most of a relationship for the growth of God's kingdom?
After this prayer, a really incredible prayer, Nehemiah tells us what he does. In verse 11 he says – I was cupbearer to the king. He was cupbearer to the king...hmmm. Something about him telling us in this moment, after this prayer, seems to indicate a flair for the dramatic. Or perhaps the dramatic news of the terrible state of God's Holy City has turned a light on in him that opens him up to an old thing in his life but with new eyes. What is Nehemiah’s purpose in telling us so succinctly that he was the cupbearer to the king? I wonder about that. Nehemiah seems to want us to see the opportunity in that – kind of like Esther who had close proximity to the King in her story. Is Nehemiah presented with the same opportunity and responsibility?
This is an important piece to Nehemiah’s assessment and discernment of what God is doing in his life. What opportunities does Nehemiah have that no one else has? This is a necessary ingredient and often a critical mistake that people make. God’s providence is such that He places us in strategic environments, where we can reach people, touch people unlike anyone else. Or another way to see it, the places and relationships we find near us, our spheres of influence “call” us into some action that will propel the purpose and mission of Jesus in the world.
In 2009 121 new families came to FCC for the first time – that’s a lot of people God has placed in our proximity, that’s a lot of opportunity God has brought to us. All signs point to the same or more in 2010. But what about on a personal level? Who is in my life (your life) and circles in whom I can invest God’s love? What opportunities do I simply fail to see that could serve to expand the mission and purpose of Jesus in the world?
Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king. Where are you a "cupbearer to the king?" What opportunities do you have that few other people have? What would "success" (as Nehemiah prayed) look like for you to make the most of a relationship for the growth of God's kingdom?
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