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November 15 Coffee Church Highlights

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November 17, 2015
Ministry
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It was a very long week for many families in our church and the bottom line always remains that Jesus is our peace, our strength, and our hope.  When the whole world is in turmoil, Jesus remains our Rock.

On that note, we are praying for the multiple nations in our world who faced such tragedies over the last week.  The world needs Christ more than ever.

On another note, our Let’s Talk series was phenomenal!  It’s such an important topic to talk about communication in our marriage, our relationships, and our families.  It was nice to have Chris back in the pulpit again as well!

We got to dedicate Marc and Amy’s beautiful daughter, Kensley, on Sunday.  We love that family, we trust that God has plans for their lives, and we look forward to God writing their story!

We’ve sure been enjoying Prairie High School.  It’s been an incredible blessing as we sell our buildings towards the future.  We are so grateful for the custodial staff and the student techs who are incredible!

We would love for you to jump in to volunteering, if you aren’t already serving.  We have the BEST volunteer team on the planet and a great way to meet people is to serve alongside of them.  We are looking for more people to join our security team.  Basically, it is a team of people that walk the campus making sure that our environments are secure and our families are safe.  We also have openings in our kids ministry as well.  If you’d like to sign up, go to www.coffeechurch.com and fill out the volunteer application.  It takes a few minutes!  We do background checks as well on all of our children’s workers.

Join us on December 2 for our next Simply Worship.  It’s a night to worship, pray, take communion, and be with Jesus.  Our friends at the Link Church are being amazing and allowing us to use their facility, so come check it out at 7:00 pm.

Simply-Worship5.fb

 

North Creek, I am praying for you.  The Bible says we are aliens on this planet and some days that feels more real than others.  We simply don’t fit in this broken world and when we face pain it can be such a foreign, confusing place to be.  Heaven is our real home and the love of Jesus is our safe place.  We must stay in the mindset that whatever we face has to be surrendered to Him.  He makes all things for the glory of God and that is truly our redemption.

I am so grateful for His love.

 

 

November 1 Coffee Church Highlights

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November 3, 2015
Inspiration, Ministry
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We had a great weekend as we kicked off a new series this weekend called “Let’s Talk”.  This series is based in relationships with a focus on communication.  Such good stuff whether you are married or single!  Join us for the next several weeks as we dig in to the Word of God in this area.

We are feeling great as we head into our 6th week of a massive transition for our church.  Our systems are going smoothly, our volunteers have been outstanding, and we are seeing new growth each week.  We are loving being mobile and taking a respite from the daily responsibility of owning a building.  We look forward to the future, but are enjoying the present as well!

We would love some new volunteers in a couple of key areas as well.  If you’d like to serve on our security team once a month, we’d appreciate several more people.  Basically, security is just people who walk around our key areas to make sure all is well.  We’d also love those of you who love working with kids to consider jumping in once a month in one of our kids areas.  If you’d like to serve, you can fill out a volunteer application at www.coffeechurch.com.

We are enjoying how many people are coming early to have coffee and get to know some new friends. Our foyer is filling up by 9:30 am, which has given us some great opportunities to talk, pray, and create community.  Join us early on Sundays!

Also, we are praying in our auditorium during worship practice from 8:30 to 9:00 am.  It has been such an amazing moment to connect with Jesus and prepare our hearts for what is ahead.  Everybody is welcome, even your kids!

Thank you to everybody who has jumped in with our 12for12 missionary giving.  Just from our current commitments of $12 a month per family, we have currently TRIPLED our monthly missionary giving, which is AWESOME!  Thank you for your generosity.

Also, we appreciate your faithful monthly giving to North Creek.  Tithing is a HUGE part of our obedience to Jesus.  If we aren’t willing to let Him lead our finances, that is a stronghold we need to address in our hearts to fully live out the life Jesus has for us.

We prayed two weeks ago for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.  We had several people lean into that prayer and some of them received that gift.  We encourage you to continue to seek all that God has for you in every area that the Bible teaches!

Our growth group had a Mexican potluck on Sunday that was INCREDIBLE!  I ate my weight in delicious food.  Just thought that was good advertisement for you to join a growth group in January.

Good things are going on at North Creek!  Invite a friend, jump in somewhere, and enjoy some great community!

I love this church!  I love Jesus!  I love what He has in store for a people who will submit to Him!  Let’s do this!

October 18 Coffee Church Highlights

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October 20, 2015
Ministry
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We were blessed with missionaries Doug and Tasha Myers last Sunday!  Wasn’t that a great sermon about obedience?  What is God asking you to do for him?

Doug and Tasha are currently ministering in Ethiopia where they will be starting a church next year.  If you’d like to be a part of a church plant in Ethiopia you can do that in two ways: 1. Move your family to Ethiopia and live a wild adventure for Jesus.  2. Give your money to the Myers to fulfill God’s dream for their lives.

Speaking of giving your money, jump in to our 12for12 giving campaign to give $12 a month for 12 months to our missionaries.  We literally want EVERYBODY at North Creek giving money to our missionaries to make a difference in the world.  We want to keep missions at the forefront of your mind as you make purchases throughout the week.  What could you do with your $12?

We are feeling like we are back to (our new) normal as a church after moving to Prairie High School four weeks ago.  We have fewer and fewer little kinks along the way and people are getting to know more people each week.  Thank you to everybody who has been so amazing with this transition.  It has been so smooth and we feel like God is changing our church in powerful ways.

Our Growth Groups are kicking off this week and we are looking forward to growing together and enjoying the company of some amazing new friends!

We have two new areas that we are building up in our church that you may want to be a part of: 1. Security team and 2. Prayer Team.  If you’d like to help with either of these teams, email Rachael@coffeechurch.com and she will get you processed quickly!

Are you reading the Bible?  Praying? Worshipping? God has something to say to you and He wants to use your life.  Put yourself in the posture to be used by God.  We are praying that the Holy Spirit changes everything about your heart, life, and the product of your choices.  We are a people of power and freedom, so let’s walk in that authority!

OK, we’re on our way to such an amazing place!  Thank you for your prayers, support, and love for Jesus.  Let’s change the world!

 

Just Keep Running

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October 15, 2015
Ministry
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Today’s post is in honor of October 15th National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and dedicated to my friends who have babies in Heaven.  You are each heroes to me for getting up in the morning, facing your grief and walking forward with the grace of Jesus shining through you.

 

Sometimes in this thing called life, we are thrown into the pain and suffering of this broken world with a front row seat.  Perhaps the closest we will get to the heart of pain is the loss of a child.

As parents, love is birthed in us at the moment of conception.  We begin to dream for, pray over, and protect fiercely this little baby that we cannot even see with our eyes, but whom we love with our very souls.  Our perfect picture is a healthy baby that grows into an amazing adult who will surely bury us before we bury them.  Anything short of that goal is almost too much for our frail hearts to handle.

Last week our dear friends, Daniel and Lisa, lost their baby unexpectedly late term in their pregnancy.  It is in that moment when you feel the earth’s horrifying gravity a little too heavily and yearn for the sweet respite of Heaven.  Words are too inadequate and we know that only Jesus can truly provide a soothing balm of peace in the darkness of grief.  It is simply breath stealing.

Daniel and Lisa’s oldest daughter and our oldest daughter, Delaney, have become fast friends in the last several months.  As a pastor’s kid, Delaney has been on the forefront of grief many times.  She has been with us for too many devastating visits and has held the hand of several friend’s facing the harsh reality of loss. Perhaps that is why Delaney latched on to Emily’s grief quickly and carried it with her as her own.  She delivered a gift to her friend, stood by her in small group, and cried over the sadness in her heart.

A few days later at Delaney’s cross country meet I watched my girl run in the distance and enjoyed seeing her long stride push past her own pain.  She was running with literally everything in her body and I could tell she was focused on doing well.  Delaney is not naturally competitive, but this day she was running with a new determination.

When we got in the car I told her that I was proud of her for trying so hard.  I was stunned when her answer came from the back seat, “I was running for Emily. I just thought of her the whole time and did my best for her. When I was struggling, I thought, ‘Just keep running.’  And so I did.”

I wasn’t expecting that at all and the beauty of realizing that she was still carrying that grief on behalf of her friend caused hot tears to roll down my cheeks.

God’s own wisdom often comes from the most innocent of moments, doesn’t it?

I sat quietly in the front seat contemplating what Jesus was speaking to my heart.  It had been such a long and difficult week and His sweet presence in the car was a welcome lift to my weary soul.

“Stacy, do you hear those words?  When you feel pain, JUST KEEP RUNNING.  When you want to stop, JUST KEEP RUNNING.  When you don’t know what to do, JUST KEEP RUNNING.”

And that’s true for all of us, isn’t it?

 

Daniel and Lisa…JUST KEEP RUNNING.

Greg and Kristina…JUST KEEP RUNNING.

YOU…JUST KEEP RUNNING.

 

And the really beautiful piece of being a part of God’s family…You are not out there on the course alone.  When you think that the grief might overtake you and the pain is too much, just remember that there are many people who aren’t just running with you…they are running FOR you.  And they are fighting for you, praying for you, and pulling for you.

You aren’t alone.  Just keep running.

 

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

 

 

October 11 Coffee Church Highlights

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October 13, 2015
Ministry
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After a very long and trying week, it was good to be in church on Sunday!  Jesus is so good…the hope of the world and the hope for our hearts.

We are adjusting very well to mobile church and have our setup down to a crazy science already.  Our environments are working great and we are enjoying some new trends happening at church.  The church is hopping by 8:45 am and people are showing up early to just drink coffee and chat in our foyer.  Our kid’s ministry has been calm and secure with plenty of room for experiencing Jesus.  We are loving the new found community happening on Sundays by our new systems.  Join us early and get to know some new friends!

We got to meet new baby Lilly on Sunday.  Congrats to Justin and Becki!  We are so excited for you as you begin a new season of your life as parents.  We are praying for your wisdom and a few good nights sleep along the way!

Isn’t worship fun in Prairie’s auditorium?  I love having a larger worship team and worshipping alongside more of you.  Here’s a secret to making your worship explode in your life on Sundays: spend time with Jesus Monday through Saturday.  Read your Bible, play some worship music, pray…I can tell who has been with Jesus throughout the week because they aren’t approaching Jesus the same way.  People who walk with Jesus regularly are just different after being in His presence.

Mark spoke on Spiritual Gifts on Sunday.  Take some time to read 1 Corinthians 12 and pray about what God has gifted you with and how He wants you to use those gifts to benefit His mission.  I am excited to watch people step out in His giftings and see the miracles that God has for His Church!

We got the sweetest gift from Carl and Susan for Pastor’s Appreciation month.  We also got some cards from kids, which is always sweet!  Thank you for taking the time to communicate your love.  It is appreciated!

We have several families who are facing grief this week.  We are praying for you and standing with you!  It is these moments that make me yearn for eternity.  I take comfort in the fact that we will all be together with Jesus at the end of this deal called life.

The Hazel Dell building has officially closed and is now Greater Faith Baptist Church.  We are praying for them and look forward to visiting in the future to see how they are doing!  As a church we are now debt free, but our budget only shifted slightly due to the rent at Prairie.  Thank you for those of you who regularly give to support North Creek, especially during this transition as we change so many aspects of our church.

claudioA year ago Mark went on a missions trip to Brazil and Argentina that changed his life.  God spoke many things to him and much of the direction shift we are currently experiencing is a result of those moments.  One of the greatest revivals in the world has been poured out in South America and we are praying that the outpouring of God somehow reaches us in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Last weekend Claudio Friedzon, the pastor who was a part of the beginning of this revival, had a massive outdoor service.  I attached this picture of the event so you can see what we see.  Imagine a Nation that calls upon Jesus to this magnitude!

Would you pray with us for this kind of impact in our community?  There is no other hope than Jesus for our world.  He’s it. We have to become a movement of people who stops thinking about a church that is convenient, a church that is safe, and a church that is small.

Nothing about serving Jesus is convenient, safe, or small.

Let’s change the world!