Happy Valentine’s Day! Here’s my thoughts from the Coffee Church yesterday:

I got to preach yesterday on loving God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. This was a weighty sermon for me and I struggled with it a lot. I just wanted to do a good job for God. First service was a difficult one for me and second service went great. The irony of this is that it’s usually opposite for me. My prayer is that whether I feel like I did a good job or not, that God would do what He needs to do in people’s hearts.

On that note, here’s an encouraging email of the day:

The sermon that Stacy gave today was one of the most influential sermons for people who are just beginning their walk with God, if you did not walk away feeling totally uplifted and closer to God than ever there is something wrong with you. I am totally grateful for your help in my new journey with God and look forward to what is to come. Happy Valentines Day to you and your family..

Also, we had a youth group from Bremerton come down yesterday to help pass out advertisements and pick up some trash on our property. They worked from 1-4:30 pm and accomplished a lot. They were a great group and I appreciate their investment into our church.

When Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday and you’re a pastor, you’ve gotta reschedule a date with your special someone. By the time we got home we were too tired to go out for dinner! We’ll have to try again later this week!

A family in our church brought our kid’s pastor a big Valentine gift. That’s awesome.

Kris Gray and I both work at a homeless shelter part time. Our co-worker and his wife came to visit our church yesterday. It was awesome to see them in the “bar”.

Some of you asked what book I referenced yesterday – Primal by Mark Batterson. It’s a great one!

My mom came to visit all last week. It was great having my mom around!

Delaney made a Valentine for everyone in our church. Not the store-bought kind, but homemade ones. She forced my mom and I to cut out hearts and then she wrote her name on the inside. She folded it and sealed it with a sticker. She worked for hours and used every sticker that she had. She’s got the market on being a sweetheart.

Starting Point (our class for people who want to know more about God) is still going strong. They come out of their room on Sundays and there is so much energy. They are all excited about what they have learned and you can literally FEEL them growing. I LOVE it when Starting Point is in session. It brings new life to our church.

I really love our worship team. We have never wanted a worship team full of pride and focused on musical ability. What we have always wanted is a group of people who humbly used amazing talents to praise God. Guess what we have?

We could not raise our kids well without my in-laws. They love our girls and fill in the gaps where we fall short. Being pastors and parents is a tricky balance, and thanks to them, we are able to do both at the same time.

Another Sunday down…what are you going to do to change the world this week?

Last night we had our Simply Worship at church. It’s just a night to worship, take communion and pray. Simply Worship has been an event that has literally been a window into the soul of our spiritual growth as a church. When we first started this event, I can painfully remember about 8 of us worshipping in a rented sanctuary with a shoe-string worship team doing their best to keep up the energy as 16 eyes starred back at them. It was what it was. And now, looking back, I am so grateful for those times. It represented who we were back then and now how much we have changed.

Yesterday we had 83 people packed into our auditorium worshipping their God. The front row was lined with kids from 6-10 years old. They weren’t goofing off or coloring. They were worshipping right with the rest of our church. They were matched with the rows of teenagers, raising their hands, praying, and finding their place in the story of God. The rest of the room was filled with adults in different stages of this Christian life. All ages, all stages, and all loving the adventure of being on the journey of Jesus.

I love that our “baby” church is growing up. I am like a proud mother watching this group of people define what will set them apart and how they will take the mandates of the Bible and make them real in their lives. The growth of our church has never been dictated. It’s this beautiful, organic, and pure growth as people come face-to-face with their Savior.

I can’t wait to watch the future unfold for the Coffee Church. It’s a bright one with a firm foundation. Let’s change the world.

Mark read this email yesterday during his sermon and it’s definitely worth sharing:

Since June Jack and I have been coming to North Creek. Before North Creek and Starting Point I was lost. I didn’t realize what I was really choosing over God. Now looking back the decisions I made almost make me want to cry. North Creek changed it all for me. I feel so amazingly blessed to be a part of it all. There is truely no one else out there like North Creek. The only regret I have is having not found you sooner. I can’t thank Kayla enough for the yardsale that changed my life. For Angela who was the best example I’ve ever had and someone who I knew I could trust. Also for Jack and his parents for encouraging me to go to church. Not to leave out Michelle, Brian, and Tiffany who were there with me in Starting Point when I really made the decision to give my life to God. To surrendar to Jesus and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. There are no words to express how much everyone means to me. Every last one of you has played a part in my change from starring in my story to playing a much more special role in God’s story for me. To you, Mark and Stacy, for creating a place that changes the hearts of people like me everyday. To your vision for what North Creek is and what it is becoming. The biggest thank you in the world is not enough. May God richly bless you as he has begun to bless me. I could go on with gratitude, but this letter would be enormus so I leave you with my favorite quote, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning to dance in the rain!” God helps me dance in the rain. Thank you.

Amber

It was Vision Sunday at church, so Mark spoke a message about who we are and where we are going. It was awesome! So excited for our future and all of the great things that God has in store for us as a church. If you missed it, I highly recommend catching online in the next couple of days. It’s an important message for you to be updated and aware of the direction that we are heading.

So, here’s the rest of my highlights for the week:

Delaney made coffeechurch.com cards to pass out to her friends all on her own. She said that she hopes that her kindergarten friends don’t already have a church because they would really like ours. What a beautiful heart!

Tiffany W. joined the worship team this morning. She’s got some pipes! We have some of the most talented, amazing people on our worship team. I appreciate their humble hearts and beautiful spirits.

Lots of new faces again this morning. Did you know that we grew by 65% last year? Our goal is to grow by 100% this year.

Our children’s pastor, Kim, and her husband celebrated 10 years of marriage today! Congrats!

I had people ask about how to get involved in small groups, making espresso, and children’s ministry this morning. No problem there! Let’s get you plugged in!

Our teenagers were all back from Generation Conference. They were tired, but very blessed. God touched their lives and did some deep works in their hearts. Thank you to those of you who gave scholarships for students to go. I had a parent tell me how grateful they were for what their child experienced and said that they wouldn’t have been able to go without a scholarship.

I taught the Little Adventurer’s at 10:30. They did a great job worshipping today and belted out the song, “God Is Everywhere” at the top of their little lungs. What a joy!

Marcus and Tasha let Mark in on some of the things that are going on in their hearts…something’s brewing! We love to hear how God is molding and shaping your lives in ways that we could never even imagine. Marcus and Tasha – we fully intend to partner with you in your dreams and goals! Watch out!

Spent the afternoon at the park with my girls and my mother-in-law. It was a nice break!

Come to church. Change your life. See you next week!

Mark Batterson recently said, “I think church needs to be a two-way street. When you become part of a church you become a shareholder in the corporate vision. But churches also need to help individuals identify the unique vision God has for them. Churches that do both of those things have a catalytic culture that is hard to put into words. Vision becomes contagious. We believe God has called our church to be a dream factory!”

I love that imagery. It resonates with Mark and I to the core of who we are. On Sunday we will focus on numbers, goals, strategies…it’s all important. Actually, it’s vital. I’ve been a part of both types of churches – those who are floundering and those who have a plan on how to grow people’s lives for Christ. I’d choose those with a strategy everytime.

However, what you won’t hear on Sunday is a deep heartbeat inside of us to make YOUR dreams come true. We won’t announce from the pulpit specifically, but in the middle of our bigger plans lies dozens of plans that incorporate other people’s dreams. Some who want to be pastors, some who have dreams of entrepreneurship and long to start something from scratch, some who are artists, some whose dreams are to see a spouse come to Christ…we hear them all and want nothing more than to partner with you in making them happen.