We collected School Supplies for the last couple of weeks for foster kids in the Hazel Dell Community at our church. Thank you to all of you who generously gave!

We were able to give 20 backpacks, many calculators and LOADS of pencils, crayons, glue, etc! We got a great email from the director saying, “The supplies are fabulous!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! What a pile and especially the backpacks and calculators. We appreciate your support and generosity so much!” The foster kids got to go “shopping” on Friday through the donations and start school off ready and equipped!

So glad to be a part of a church that thinks outside of our box!

Busy with church renovations this week, but thought I would share a great blog from Steven Furtick…enjoy!!!

Few of you have ever heard of Ron Wayne.
A lot of you have used the products that stem from his creation.
All of you need to know his story because it’s a warning to all of us.

Along with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Ron Wayne cofounded Apple Computer Inc. on April Fools Day, 1976. Yes, there was a third founder of Apple. But few people know that because just twelve days after he signed the agreement he himself drafted that would have given him 10% ownership of the company, he sold back his shares. For $800. If he had stuck it out, today he would be worth around $22 billion.

Instead he now sells stamps out of his home. And plays penny slot machines after midnight. A poster child for what could have been.

Ron bailed on Jobs and Wozniak because he wasn’t sure about the future. Jobs spent a lot of money that Ron was going to have to pay the tab for initially. Wozniak was non-committal. And the prospect of starting a computer company just seemed too difficult and taxing.

Basically, Ron was afraid. Afraid that the payoff wasn’t going to be worth the work. So he quit. And missed out on billions.

Most of us are never going to really experience Ron Wayne’s story on the level at which he experienced it. Most of us are not going to be able to say that we missed out on being responsible for the birth of cool.

But I am afraid that many of us are going to sell out and accept an $800 payoff when we could have made billions. Not literally obviously. But I worry that instead of putting in the hard work and pushing through periods of uncertainty and difficulty, you’re going to take the easy way out and walk away. From your marriage that is struggling. From the calling you know you have received but is tougher than you thought it should be. From the risk you’re supposed to take.

That’s not to say that some people aren’t sometimes called to sell back their shares. The wife that is getting beat by her husband should not wait for a payoff down the road. Sometimes God calls you to a different ministry or career. To move to a new city. To play conservatively.

But more often than not, we sell out before the big payoff because we’re scared. Or we don’t want to do the hard work. Then we use God to justify a decision we have already made out of fear or apathy. And we never know what could have been down the road if we had kept persevering.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Your story is not destined to be a cautionary tale of what could have been. God would rather raise you up to be an example for others of what can be. Of the incredible marriage that is possible through God’s grace and power. Of what God can accomplish through people who stay true to their calling.

God has a much larger payoff for you than the one you’ll receive if you give up now. Persevere. Stick it out. Push through. When the payoff comes, it will be worth the work and the waiting.

Coffee Church highlights from last weekend:

I got to speak on Abishai…love his little-mentioned character in the Bible! You can catch the sermon online later this week if you missed it!

Starting Point is coming to a close. I love what comes out of that class! Lots of learning and lots of growing in the leadership department!

So many new families this summer, it’s been a fun challenge to get to know everybody and begin to get them connected to friends and our integrated into our lives! That’s the best problem a church could have…

We baptized two awesome people this weekend…Nate and Samantha. I got to baptize Samantha, which was my very first baptism ever. It was an honor to be with her as she proclaimed to live for Jesus. She is also pregnant, which is a wonderful time to commit your life to Christ. That little baby will have a godly mom and dad, which is PERFECT!

We REALLY need some of our 10:30 attenders to switch to our 9:00 am service! The coffee is fresher and so is the sermon…

Some of our returning guests told us that we are TRULY a friendly church. They joked about how long it took to get to the coffee pot because everyone was greeting them and asking about their lives. They loved it and returned for a second week!

We are plunking away at our new nursery and Little Adventurer’s room. It’s going to be GREAT in a few weeks!

We had a family reunion for Mark’s side this weekend. His Aunt Rose and Uncle Jim came to visit our church. They are in their 80’s and FABULOUS! I hope that I am that spry when I’m in my 80’s!

Our Saturday night service is growing nicely. We are happy about the decision and looking forward to watching it grow from here. Normally that is our most energetic service, but this weekend everybody came in all melted from the heat. It was pretty fun to watch everyone kind of sink into their air conditioned seats and soak in the cool air!

Marcus was back in town and we were glad to welcome him back to the stage for worship. They did an excellent job!

Busy week again for me…hope yours is wonderful!

We are changing our small groups structure this fall and we’re REALLY looking forward to it! We are changing to a 10 week semester system beginning in about one month. You can sign up for a group to make a ten week commitment to either a topic or a type of small group, such as prayer or young marrieds. Once a week you’ll experience discipleship and relationship in a home setting.

We’ll be rolling out the specific details soon, but we look forward to offering a financial group, prayer group, Bible-based weight loss group, a North Creek get-to-know-us group, young marrieds, and several others! At the end of the 10 weeks we’ll take a short break and then you can sign up for a new group or the same group all over again.

We are currently looking for people who would like to lead a group for either this upcoming fall semester or early next year. If you are interested, please email our Small Groups Administrator, Audrey Rogers, at audrey@coffeechurch.com.

Great things are in store for the fall and we want you to be a part of them! Here we go!

On our vacation Mark and I visited a couple of churches. It’s always an interesting journey! There are good things to pick up on as well as observations about what makes a guest uncomfortable. Both of these things are so good to be reminded of!

One church that we attended had about 20 people in it. Although we have never had a service quite that small, we’ve had a few that have been in the ballpark over the last four years. I’ve gotta say…those services at North Creek are difficult for me! I thrive on the “crowd” as a leader. The more the merrier. Cram the in. Standing room only. Get out of the way of the coffee pot!…That’s just where my comfort level is. After all, if there are a ton of people it must be a good church, right? And if there isn’t…well, fill in the blanks…

However, being a guest in a small church was a totally different perspective. I really wasn’t concerned with the number of people in the room at all. In fact, I could not have cared less! What was most important to me was whether or not I felt comfortable in my surroundings. Was the lighting right? Was I informed about where to do and what to do? Was the speaker far enough a way that I wasn’t getting spit on, but close enough to not feel ridiculous in a small setting? Was the worship time pleasant and uninterrupted? Did I leave with something more than I came in with? Those were all of the “issues” that I was aware of. The fact that there were just a handful of other people was WAY at the bottom of my list.

That fact very much surprised me, but it was also a great comfort. We can’t control the number of people in the room, especially at a young church. Our numbers fluctuate more than the weather in the Northwest. Completely unpredictable. What we can control is how important and valuable people feel when they come in to our environment. People who are put in new situations really just want to FEEL at ease. Nothing more, nothing less.

Don’t get me wrong, I want every one of our services full of people! I love those Sundays when God’s house is standing room only. That will always be our goal. However, on the hot summer days of August when the wind seems to blow God’s people out to the lake, I will remember the lesson I learned at a little church in Montana…just make them feel comfortable, informed, and important!

And many blessings to that church that allowed us to come and be there guest!