Sunday, November 6, 2005 - Week 5

I appreciated the comments from last week's post about the service. I need to remember that even when things don't go well, there is still victory. And apparently there was - thanks for the good words.

But fast forward to this week's services, and I have to say that I was so excited by the time I walked out (around 1:30Pm). Two people came to the Lord (Ellen and Raymond), and even though we were missing many people (including some to sickness), we had 127 in our services, which is a wonderful amount. The music/worship was fantastic. I believe it is the best that the praise team has sounded - period. A little loud in the first service, but we are still working with our sound system.

The message was well-received as we talked about being "Shaped for God's Service" in week 5 of the 40 Days. Only two weeks until our Celebration Sunday at the Knights of Columbus, and we are hoping for 175. To reach this goal, we are inviting family and friends who live in the area but either 1) do not have a church home or 2) are not Christians. Please don't invite friends and family from other local churches of like-faith. That's not our goal. We want to share with others what the Lord is doing, and what the Lord will do for them. Also, if you are wondering what you can do, if you have not already been assigned a job, you can email Krista at willis4nh@hotmail.com.

This campaign has been a wonderful thing, getting everybody on the same page and bringing people together in many ways. I will be sorry when it ends, but we will look back on the entire campaign as a resounding success. Small groups have been launched, excitment abounds, and 2006 is right around the corner with some great things happening. I'll share a few:

In January, we will be ratifying our own church constitution. We will also begin serious discussions about building, which I believe we can do by the end of next year (and I'm serious). If you would like to see an example of the type of building we are leaning towards, visit www.sprung.com (take a look around at this site and feel free to email me). We will also spend a large portion of the year doing a character study on the life of David in our Sunday services. And we are taking our small groups into some exciting studies and watching relationships develop. All this, and so much more - so stick around and watch the hand of the Lord work at The Journey.