Monday Morning Update 1.11.10

What a cold morning! This week during set up it was about 12 degrees. That's pretty darn cold. I was dreading unloading in the cold. I had to run down to my classroom to grab a couple of pieces of paper to make sign-ups for small groups, and by the time I returned to help unload the truck, there was a whole herd of people helping. I love The Crossroads. 12 degrees and nobody thought, "It's cold, I'm not going to help out this morning."

We had 115 people this week. With 80 chairs and 74 adults, it looks like next week we will have to set up more chairs. It is exciting to watch the growth happening at an exponential rate. Children's church is booming. We will soon need to add additional workers to be able to effectively teach our kids about Jesus. I know that this week in the nursery, my daughter Grace said it was really hard to manage that many children with only two people.

Shawn recast the vision this week, as he typically does every January. It is important to him that we never forget who we are and why we exist. I love the single minded focus that he encourages. We will love God, love people and rock (reach) the world. Our lives must be driven by those forces. As long as we keep our focus pure as a church, it becomes difficult to be apathetic, disgruntled, and lazy.

I am excited about the next couple of topics coming up. The rest of January, Shawn will be preaching about money matters. He will be talking about how to use your finances in a way that brings God honor and glory. I am hoping that he will give me an opportunity to share about consumerism and fair trade, about using our money in a way that encourages justice and fair treatment of those less fortunate than ourselves. In February, he is toying with the idea of a marriage series called "hot and spicy" where the two of us will share the stage to tell our story of a broken marriage and how God redeemed it. How God brought beauty from ashes. He would like for us to share how we make our marriage work by keeping God first and to allow our congregation the opportunity to ask us questions about marriage.

I enjoyed worship this week. I liked using scripture interwoven among the songs. I think it allows God to speak through His word to our people. I am excited about our growth as a worship team. We will soon begin a bible study time together. I think that will create a bond that will carry over onto the stage.

I loved having the opportunity to visit with several of our new members after church at a birthday party. It is cool to see friendships growing and new leaders rising up among the new members.

Last night we took time to sit down and evaluate our last mission trip and discuss our next trip. I am excited about where God is taking us and how He will be using us to fulfill the great commission.