Small Groups begin this week and we are very much looking forward to watching new relationships being formed and growing in our walk with Jesus. It’s not too late to signup, but it’s time to do it now!

Grandma Dix is 91 years old and attends our church nearly every Sunday. I got to talk to her for a while in the foyer and my favorite thing that she said was, “I know that God has a plan for my life and I’m working hard to figure out what that is.” When I am in my nineties, I want to still be asking myself what new dreams God has for my life.

Mark talked about partnership this weekend. It was a much needed topic of giving your time and your money to God’s mission. We have a very strong church in volunteering and doing your part, which we are so proud of! However, many of our people aren’t giving their money in the way that God talks about in the Bible. It is true statistically for most Christians and it’s a fact that I don’t want to be true in our church! We’ve got to be generous with our money because there is a world out there that needs Jesus and that is part of God’s plan for us to meet that need!

Met a sharp young 14 year old who wants to volunteer at our church! That girl was on top of things and so responsible. It is those type of young women that I want in my girl’s lives. I want them being surrounded by GREAT teenagers who love Jesus.

I talked with a 27 year old on Saturday night that is a beautiful young, single woman. We talked about how important it to marry the right person. How do you know if it’s the right person? Tough question, but the Bible gives us some framework to go by. Begin with a man who loves Jesus and you’re off to a good start! The rest can be found in the pages of His Word…dive in to the Bible before you take the plunge into marriage!

Speaking of reading the Bible, I’m reading Judges…what about you?

I’m on a delegating mission this month. I’ve got too much on my plate and I am so excited about the people that God is bringing into my life to take some of the weight. It’s humbling to ask for help, but the funny reality is that people LOVE to be a part of something bigger than themselves…and boy, is God’s church bigger than any one person!

Next weekend is our 4 year anniversary as a church…PARTY! Plan to be there because it’s going to be FUN!

Sometimes I think parents hope that their teenagers will love Jesus so that they will be safe and secure through the tumultuous years of adolescence. It’s the “If Jonny is a Christian, he won’t drink, smoke, chew, or sleep with girls that do…” religion.

The problem comes when you look at if from a teenagers point of view. Everything about the teen years is about living on the edge and doing something different with their lives, yet the church and parents seem to wrap a Christian package of safety and security. It’s no wonder teenagers, in mass, are leaving churches in America. They watch oh-so-dull relationships with Christ and hear oh-so-dull speeches about purity and make one big connection: Christianity is boring and the world is exciting. What a completely wrong representation of a very controversial Jesus!

I have never looked at Christianity as a safe place to land. I grew up in a non-religious home where my dad looked at religion as weakness. When I decided to make Christ a part of my life as a teenager, I was being “rebellious” to the way I was raised. I knew that I was walking into a land-mine of controversy for the rest of my life. I would need to know what I believed, why I believed it, and defend that belief at a moments notice. I would need to live out my faith with actions and attitudes that never faltered. I would be far from safe and far from secure.

I have carried those feelings into my adulthood. I look at living daily for Christ as a great challenge and very risky. I look at the things that are asked of me in the Bible and say…CAN I REALLY LIVE THAT WAY AND HAVE GOD COME THROUGH FOR ME? Try giving 10% of your income to your church and living off the rest…better yet, try selling ALL of your possessions and giving the money to the poor. That’s what the Bible challenges us to live like…Feeling safe and secure now?

Our teenagers want to see the risk in it…and believe me, there’s plenty to show them. It’s time for our older generation to get off of our lazy spiritual butts and live out the adventure that God laid out…preach the Word, give money you don’t have, shut off the computer when your tempted to look at porn, don’t whine about who hurt your feelings at work and be Jesus to them, go on a missions trip, pray out loud over your family at dinner…whatever it is…give your faith some legs.

The good news for all parents of teenagers: I didn’t drink, smoke, chew, or sleep with anybody as a teenager. You really can have the best of both worlds because once a teenager sees how incredible a life with Christ can be, they will do what it takes to succeed.

I am very much looking forward to our new small group structure! It’s been great to see the groups forming as people have been signing up. From my point of view, I can see the opportunity for some great friendships and some valuable growth in people’s lives.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to sign up yet, NOW IS THE TIME! A couple of our groups are filling up and once a group is full, we close it! There’s only so much room in our houses and only so many kids a babysitter can handle! You can sign up now on our website at www.coffeechurch.com.

I highly recommend a couple of our groups: First, Financial Peace…this will change your life in such practical ways, you will never be the same. The average family pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 in the first 91 days of Financial Peace University. Can you imagine that scenario in your own life?

Also, if you know of a college age person, we have an 18-23ish group beginning that I am very excited about! It’s a great opportunity to pull in people from our community who are at that particular juncture in their life.

Lastly, our weight loss group has both men and women in it, so sign up now to begin to think correctly about food and your body! Christians are the most overweight portion in our society and it’s time to change that!

Check out our other groups on the website! We can’t live without community as the body of Christ, so find yours today!

With all of the growth that we have experienced this summer, the weight of ministry is getting heavier! We need to delegate some responsibilities to lighten the load! If you are interested in something, let me know:

Volunteer Coordinator: Put together the monthly volunteer schedule and find replacements as needed. Send reminder emails and process new volunteers. This job requires a “spaghetti” mind that keeps all sorts of details in line. It is one of the largest jobs that we have to give away and it is best for someone with free time and top notch people and administration skills. There is no group of people that we value more than our volunteers and we want them to feel LOVED!

Saturday Hosts: We need a team to rotate through getting the building ready for the weekend services. It would be best if this were two or three people so that one person doesn’t have to commit to every Saturday. Responsibilities include arriving at 5:00 on Saturdays, making coffee, sweeping, organizing the chairs, refilling Connect Cards/Giving envelopes, lighting candles, and straightening EVERYTHING to make it look orderly and neat.

Worship Team Babysitter: We need some people who are willing to come at 4:30 pm once a month on Saturdays to hold the babies during worship practice. There are at least two babies there now every week and moms/dads need some help.

Baptism Coordinator: 5+ times a year we do baptisms. We need a two person team to fill the tank, empty the tank, communicate to the baptism candidates all of the details that they need to know, and make sure they get their certificates.

Camera Man: Various times during the year we need someone to shoot videos for us. This is a random job…sometimes during services for baptisms and sometimes during events or for special purposes.

Saturday Night and Sunday Afternoon Lock Up: Love to sit around and wait for people to leave? Our kids don’t…we need someone who will graciously wait for people to clear out, while your pastoral staff goes home. People usually clear out about 45 minutes after each service.

Meal Coordinator: We use a great site… www.takethemameal.com. When we have a family in need of meals, we need someone to find out the pertinent information, set up a plan, and either contact the family’s small group or communicate to the church as a whole depending on the type of need. We probably have a need for this about 5-10 times a year.

Shopper: We are ALWAYS needing something…coffee, supplies from Cash and Carry, Party City, Walmart, etc. If you love to run errands and find deals, this job is for you!

We’ll come up with more things that need to get delegated, but this is a great start. If you are interested in one of these, please email me at stacy@coffeechurch.com and we’ll get the right people doing the right things!

Here’s my highlights for the weekend:

Since it was Sept. 11, I wanted to take the time to remember those who were lost nine years ago and our military men who still fight daily for our freedom. We live in a great country!

Mark spoke on community in the context of small groups. Our small groups are kicking off on Sept. 19 and they are going to be wonderful! Sign up now at www.coffeechurch.com by clicking on the Ministries>Small Groups link. The sooner you sign up the better so that we can make adjustments as needed!

It was our first real weekend in the new Little Adventurers/Nursery area. Very fun to be in a new space with some definite perks over the “old” digs. We still have some detail work to do, but it’s clean, safe, and ready to go!

We had our fourth highest attendance today! Bring on the people! So much fun to be in a growing church and all the more reason to get involved in a small group.

The Calibrate Conference asked us to make a highlight video of our church plant, so Chris was walking around taping people all weekend. It was pretty funny to watch people cringe as the camera came by! If you didn’t notice him…be very afraid! You might just be on the big screen in front of over a thousand leaders/pastors!

BABIES! There were six infants at the 10:30 service…all born in the last few months! The twins are out of the ICU and were at church today. We are so glad that they are home and ready to change the world!

If you are interested in working in the nursery, go to our website and fill out a volunteer application. Apparently we will never have enough workers to keep up with them all! Two of the babies were in the new nursery room at 10:30 am. It was peaceful, quiet, and such a nice place to be. This week sound and video will be wired in to allow our workers to watch the service and hold the babies!

We are gearing up for our big celebration service on Sept. 25/26. It is our 4 year anniversary as a church and we couldn’t be more ready to celebrate! On one hand it’s hard to believe we are only 4 years old and on the other hand it seems like we have been at this forever! Can’t wait to be 4!

Have a fabulous week!