Jan

I hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to Sunday as much as I am.  Thanks so much to each of you for the cards and letters that were assembled for the “40 days of affirmation” that y’all put together for Keli and I.  It means a lot to know that you are praying for us and thinking about us.  We have been reading one card a night, right before we crash for the evening, to end our day on a positive note.

 

 

God has been messing me up during this first week of “More Than Me.”  So, in no particular order, here are some things that have come to mind…

 

 

Beginning this Sunday, at 9:30 a.m., we will gather together for a time of PEP (Prayer, Encouragement, Preparation) for the service.   I will speak briefly to those gathered about updates, new info for the week, celebrate stories from last week, etc.  We will pray together and then worship together as the band does their warm up / run through of a couple songs.  I promise this will not take more than 10 or 15 minutes.

 

 

Sunday, March 8, we will not be “having” church, we will  “BE” the church and have a “SERVE” Sunday.  This will be an opportunity to support our partners at USCA and the Convocation Center by helping them with a basketball event and other opportunities for HOME groups and families to serve on the west side of Aiken.

 

 

Last week, 12 new families with children came to CC West and a number of new singles and couples were there as well.  We had 455 total people in the building!  Two people began a relationship with Jesus and a bunch of folks connected in HOME group!  Praise God for that!  That is why we are doing what we are doing.

 

 

This week is the Souper Bowl of Caring.  Our students will be in the lobby after the service to take a special offering of money to give to ACTS and Christ Central.  This is an annual event that we join with hundreds of churches in America to help assist local community food pantries.

 

 

We will have the Convocation Center set up guys for another few weeks to assist us as we build A / B Team structures for our Load In / Load Out teams.  We need for you to begin thinking about whether you want to continue helping with set up and tear down and what team you would like to be on…A team is 1st and 3rd Sundays and B team is 2nd and 4th.  In the next few weeks, we still need any and all who can be there to help.  There will be a weekly opportunity to connect new people after the service by asking them to stay and help tear down if they so choose.  We will also be building a “youth” team for those who enjoy coming early to help set up.  They have been an integral part of our set up and seem to enjoy what they are doing for Jesus and His people.

 

 

Also, I realized this week that many of the things we say and do are completely foreign to unchurched people.  New people, either seeking the truth or just finding their way back to God, do not understand some of things we say and do.  We tend to speak a language and use words that are unfamiliar to people with little or no experience within “the church.”  I have had to think through much of what I say on Sundays so that it communicates across those lines.  Just like last week when I said, “I’ve been asking you all to get connected in a HOME group and I realized that some of you are probably saying, ‘What’s a HOME group.’ “  I then went on to explain what a HOME group is and does.

 

 

We need to think about what we say, how we say it and what we do.  Many things may be very familiar to us but new to others.  Kristi Hunter will be putting together a “help guide” for us in the near future to specifically speak to some of these issues.  We will get them to HOME group leaders to share with your peeps.

 

 

Last, but not least, God has reminded me once again that we are seeking the UNCHURCHED on the west side of Aiken.  What that means is people who do not go to church, have not been in church for a while and have no connection to a home church.  We continue to see people from other churches coming (to include Cedar Creek Banks Mill folks), either by invitation from friends or on their own, and they are taking up seats that are there for UNCHURCHED people.  We got the greatest response this week from a nice woman who is a member and regular attendee of another local church in Aiken.  She attends their 9 am service so she can come to our 11 am service.  NO KIDDING!  That is not our target.  We cannot fill our church with people who go to other churches and who happen to “like the music” or “have always wanted to do the PDL study.”

 

 

Our vision is clear and it is non-negotiable.  We exist for the next UNCHURCHED person who walks through our doors and the West Campus has been planted for them, not for us or our convenience.

 

 

I love each of you.  I thank God for the opportunity to serve WITH you, and I look forward to what God is going to do through Cedar Creek West.

2 Comments »

1. 

   OH YES, 14 families connected into a small group this past Sunday at the West to begin their journey of strangers becoming friends which then begins to feel like family all the while becoming friends of God together! Only someone as cool as Jesus could have demonstrated this awesome way to build relationships with one another and with Him!

   Comment by cindyb — January 31, 2009 @ 10:47 am

2. 

   Hey Pastor Wes,

   I had a dream a few nights ago where I was attending a service at CCC West. I can attend in my dreams, can’t I?!

   Luv ya, mean it,
   Sista Tonia

   Comment by Tonia McCullough — February 3, 2009 @ 12:05 pm

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