Four Months Ago…

13 11 2007

Four months ago we held our first service at the theater. We did ALL that we could to make it the biggest and best worship experience we could as a young fledgling church. I watched our first service on video tonight and MAN have we come a long way. I am definitely glad we did previews cause…well, just believe me when I say it’s good we practiced. I chuckled at the set up we did and where we are at now. I think we’ll keep laughing at our progress. Check out the difference in appearance from July 1st to Oct. 28th.

What a GREAT God we serve that allows us to be creative and expand our ideas and ministry. God doesn’t want us to remain the same. I think God LOVES seeing his people create and innovate in His church. I think His heart swells when His people can try and connect the Gospel with their culture and new ways that they can relate too. The Gospel NEVER changes. The presentation and methods will ALWAYS change. And hopefully at Element Church, they will always get better. That last picture is our surfboard Sunday. (They are supposed to be stain glass windows) That’s what we get for trying to be creative.





Thanksgiving, Dedications and Communion

13 11 2007

We start a two part mini-series called Thanks:Giving this weekend. It is our last two Sundays as one service. Exciting times are happening here. Again, we’ve just had wonderful response from guests, our volunteers are off the charts, and people are continuing to be connected to Element Church.

This Thanks:Giving series has been good for me. I LOVE learning. I love studying for sermons because I get challenged before I ever bring the challenge. In looking at what it means to be thankful and giving. We’re going to use two different words, grateful and generous. Anyone can say “Thank you” but not everyone is grateful. Anyone can give but not everyone is generous. Generosity has nothing to do with what is given but what it costs the giver. A grateful heart produces a generous life. There is a teaser for you.

This Sunday is going to be very cool. We are having child dedications as part of our service for the first time. We have 5 families getting kids dedicated. And check this out, they range in age from newborns to 15 years old. Yep, 15. Several of the kids being dedicated are by parents that are new to church or returned to church after a hiatus and they want to make a public declaration and commitment that they are raising their kids in the way of the Lord. I am so excited for this moment on Sunday when we as a church rally around these families to say “We are with you in raising these children for God”.

We have two people being baptized at 4 PM on Sunday afternoon at Calvary Chapel. Thanks to Pastor Shaun for opening the church doors for us to use.

Also, on Sunday we are going to be taking communion together for the first time as a church. It is going to be a very full service but one of the most memorable ones to date for me. A lot of firsts coming up for Element Church. Don’t miss it!

Following Christ,

Jeff








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