Oct/03/2009 09:13 AM
This is exciting.
In case you missed it last week, we rolled out our partnership with Clear Creek Middle School to mentor students and meet needs of families in Ellijay. Through this important relationship, we are going to be able to touch lives the way Jesus did in some incredible ways. We have already been “piloting” this program in small ways, and it has been incredibly effective!
In just our initial discussion about it on Sunday morning in the church service, we have already seen quite a few of you donate food, clothing, and even freezers to store stuff in for the upcoming winter season! The church response has ALREADY been amazing, even though we really haven’t even gotten started!
If you want to hear some of the details, they come towards the end of last week’s message, which you can pick up on our podcast page. That message is right here.
Don’t worry! Never gotten involved in a family’s life that way before??? No sweat. We are here to support and resource you. There will be a mentor training on Sunday, October 18 right after the service. Lunch is included. Sign up at the service this week, or RSVP via email.
This is really exciting. Who would think of a church that would be ministering INSIDE it’s own group and OUTSIDE in the community? That’s what we’re here for.
James 2:14-20
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Sep/07/2009 10:46 PM
Turns out I miscounted.
I’ve been all excited recently, telling people that this coming Sunday will be our six-month anniversary. Man, was I wrong! This coming Sunday will be our FIVE-month anniversary since we launched The Orchard Church here in Ellijay. That’s right... Five. We started on Easter Sunday, which was April 12. I re-counted just now (even used my fingers) and we have been going strong for FIVE months.
You’ve got to be kidding me! In five short months we are already filling up the movie theater on Sunday mornings! Last week, we saw three people turn their lives over to Christ for the first time. This past Sunday, another person made the same decision! We consistently have at least a handful of visitors each week. Lately, I feel like I have to apologize to people for having difficulty finding a seat when they arrive a few minutes late.
Sunday mornings are going pretty smoothly so far... The band rocks, the videos are cool, Tracy Crook keeps everybody smiling with just a trace of white donut powder on their lips. There is a buzz of excitement about Life Groups starting up next week. AND we have over THIRTY people signed up for the Orchard Orientation this coming Sunday!
Everybody seems to be excited about the growth we are experiencing, and the life change that is going on all around us. I hear people talking about it all the time. AND, they are excited about the fact that we’re filling the theater. This is great, but also an impending problem. We don’t want our space to be a limiter of growth for us! So what do we do next? Well, there are a dozen different opinions, ranging from adding a SECOND SERVICE, to renting bigger space, to buying a building. We are talking and praying through all those right now.
IN THE MEANTIME, we are taking some immediate measures to alleviate the space issues, and I wanted to let you know about some of them...
- First, I am asking EVERYONE to help by arriving just a little earlier, and taking a seat near the front and toward the middle. This will make it easier for visitors to find seats more easily.
- Second, I will be talking with Jeremy Towns (theater owner) about using the “party room” overlooking the theater (behind the big glass window). We have a couple of pretty good ideas on how to do that, already.
- Third, I’m asking that all people with odd-month birthdays sit on laps of people with even-month birthdays during the service. (okay, I’m just kidding about that one. I wanted to see if anyone really reads this. if you do, email me and let me know.)
All in all, these are really good problems to have. God is blessing us tremendously, and I know that He has GREAT things in store that are yet to come! We’re only a few short months into this journey! Just THINK about what He will do when we really get our feet underneath us! Aug/27/2009 08:22 AM
So here we are in the FALL... School has started, and we are almost in SEPTEMBER!!! Where has the time gone??
Many of you were there on Sunday when we took the Life Group Survey, and discovered that MOST of you were interested in being involved in a Life Group! That is awesome! Now, our small group leaders are making plans and preparations to get rolling. This is going to be a very exciting thing. If you didn’t know him already, you met Jeff Langley this past Sunday. He introduced himself, and walked us through the survey. You will get to meet more of our life group leaders over the next few weeks leading up to the start of our groups the week of September 13. Each of our Life Group leaders will also be at the Orchard Orientation on Sunday, September 13, so you can get to know them a little bit before jumping into their group. I hope you’re planning to be there.
For more info about our Life Groups, just visit this page. For more info on our Orchard Orientation, there is a blurb about it on this page.
