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Simply Worship

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April 4, 2013
Ministry
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Picture 5Next week we have our Simply Worship event at both campuses.  Jot it down on your calendar so you don’t miss it!

One mistake we all make is not scheduling time in our busy lives to stop and listen to God.  It is truly a discipline that requires effort.

The job, the kids, the house, the yard, the sports events…it all gets in the way of taking time to pray, listen, worship, and breathe!  I know in my own life, I am a better mom, wife, and friend when I have spent time with Jesus in prayer, worship, and Bible reading.  It take the crazy out of my world and replaces it with the peace of God.

At our Simply Worship nights we do very little programming in an effort to allow you to just BE in the presence of God.  So, sing if you want to, sit down and pray if you want to, read your Bible if you want to.  But let’s all, as a church, come together and allow God to fill us up with who He is!  We never leave His presence disappointed!

We’ll see you Tuesday at the Battle Ground Campus or Wednesday in Vancouver!  Looking forward to it!

March 31 Easter Highlights

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April 1, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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What a great day!  Could the weather have been more incredible?  I love Easter for obvious reasons, but when the sun shines and ends a long, rainy winter, it just makes the whole holiday perfect!

Church was fun all around!  We preached the value of the resurrection and were thrilled to have all of our services well attended to hear the good news.  We love guests at the Coffee Church and are always ready to welcome anybody in for the message of Jesus.  We had 450 people into our churches for this amazing weekend and look forward to the Stories of Changed Lives we will hear for months and years to come.

Our worship teams knocked it out of the park!  Thank you to Matt and Alissa for leading us well.  We appreciate your faithful teams who serve week in and week out with amazing talent!

I also want to thank all of our volunteers who served yesterday.  We had plenty of hands of deck and it was just a smooth morning all around.  We appreciate all that you do to help lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.

We gave all of the kids candy-filled eggs on the way out the door.  ‘Cause that’s what my kids needed on Easter….more candy.  At 4:30 am my oldest daughter called me in to her room with a stomach ache and proclaimed, “I think I ate too much candy!”  No kidding.

We served free lattes at Battle Ground, which just meant that everybody at Hazel Dell came in the door saying they considered swinging by Battle Ground on the way to Hazel Dell…I reminded them that there at THOUSANDS of places to get a latte in the Vancouver area and they will be just fine.

Eddie apparently did something cool on his guitar at Hazel Dell.  I miss these things as I have an amazing inability to understand music.  I did however enjoy worship, so they are doing something right!

I came home to a house filled with 30 people…the more the merrier!  We had a massive egg hunt in my back yard, which means that we’ll be finding eggs until winter.  I am surrounded by the best people in my life!  Then we invited my in-laws to a smoked turkey dinner, compliments of our friends John and Kari!  We loved it and were excited to have Grandma and Grandpa with us to end our Easter celebrations.

Pastors – whatever we thought was so important to do for Easter Sunday, we should probably do every week.  That’s how we try to go about church at North Creek, but even I found myself doing things that probably should have been done months before.  Our job is a matter of life and death all 52 weeks a year.  No pressure…

We have some good things to tell you coming soon.  We always have good things to tell you.  The favor of God is with us and we know He is moving us where He wants us to be!

Next week will mark our one year anniversary of the launch of North Creek Battle Ground via a merge with Maple Grove Church.  Best. Adventure. Ever.  And so much of our gratitude goes to the Hazel Dell folks who put the mission of God in front of their own desires and needs.  We are humbled by your hearts!

Let’s make Easter a year-round point in our lives.  He’s alive, which means you are too!  What better news could I possibly put in my blog?  On that note, live free today!  Free of addiction, anger, pain, doubt, fear…all of it!  Be blessed!

 

A Promise Fulfilled

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March 28, 2013
History, Inspiration, Ministry, Team
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IMG_3292Seven years ago we met Kim Goodrich.  She was helping with kids at the church we were at and got wind that we were starting North Creek just a block from where she lived.  She had expressed interest in being a part and we were pretty excited to add someone to our small band of brave people embarking on a crazy journey.

At first glance all those years ago, we weren’t even sure what to make of Kim.  She’s a relentless go-getter and as feisty as a trapped cat.  However, we quickly realized that she’s smart as can be, kind to her core, has an unwavering determination, and will never let the world get her down.  In other words, she was made to start a church.

Through a series of events that we would never have expected or foreseen, God made it clear that our first Children’s Pastor was this very unexpected surprise sitting in our midst.  So, with a bit of trepidation, we brought a Pepsi (her favorite drink) to the office and asked if she could come for a visit.  We slid the Pepsi across the desk and asked her to take the job with a paycheck of $100 a month.  She said yes.

Over the last seven years she has literally bled, sweated, and cried for the mission of this church.  She’s taught the Bible, baptized kids, and loved them through elementary school turmoil.  On top of it all, she took on the task of being our bookkeeper for the first six years of our existence.

We vowed that we would someday pay her full time.

Five years ago we all went on a devastating journey with her as her husband was suddenly diagnosed with MS.  Kim, mother of two elementary kids, was faced with the impossible task of a daunting medical situation, needing a full time job to support her family, and helping her children understand this new reality.  And to make matters worse, we were in no position to hire anyone full time.  So, we watched as she navigated her life outside of the walls of North Creek.  We cried with her on her first day of work.

But a promise is a promise…sometimes with a slightly different timeline than we could ever script.

With Wayne’s resignation last month we were faced with the fact that we needed someone to keep our finances afloat….and we had just the peg for that round hole!  So, it is with great joy that we are officially announcing that Kim has been hired full time as both our Children’s Pastor at Hazel Dell and our Financial/Administrative person for all three campuses and the Learning Center.  Yes, it’s a big job, but trust me, Kim will fill it well!

Kim – Thanks for sticking through this dream with us.  We are humbled by your heart and inspired by your perseverance.  We are grateful that you have loved our kids for seven years and look forward to many, many more.  Let’s change the world!

March 24 Coffee Church Highlights

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March 25, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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It’s Spring!  I love the sunshine pouring in and the blooming flowers.  It’s a new season, both in the weather and at North Creek.  So many exciting things in store!

Yesterday was “Leave a Mark” Sunday where we asked for volunteers in all three hearing services and the deaf service.  Let me tell you…we are humbled and amazed at your hearts.  We have always been blessed with lots of volunteers, but we are growing, so we feel like we are constantly asking for more!  Coffee Church problems!  We were thrilled yesterday to add 20+ volunteers in the hearing services and the deaf church blew us out of the water!

If you didn’t sign up to volunteer and you want to, go to www.coffeechurch.com and find the volunteer application under the resources tab.  We can use at least one person more in every area, but some main ones we are trying to overload due to excessive growth are: Battle Ground Nursery, Kid City, Tiny Town, and Checkin.  Also Battle Ground media and sound each need one more ASAP.  Hazel Dell needs Kid City and 9:30 am Tiny Town.

We had more guys ask about maintenance than I can count.  That’s a good thing because we have a long and ugly maintenance list!  We look forward to our guys bonding together over hammers and duct tape.  Well, duct tape is how I fix my problems.  Maybe they will come up with a better plan…and no, I did not sign up for the maintenance team.

Why do we want to overload our volunteer schedule?  We want another campus and our systems must be strong before we get there!  Too many people in our community need Jesus to stop now!

We can’t wait for Easter!  Six days!!!!

The Learning Center is open for registration!  If you need a great preschool for your little one, check it out at coffeechurch.com.  It’s going to be a pretty amazing year and I’ve loved hearing all the details unfold.  Amazing changes ahead!

We all have a limited perspective of who walks among us at church every Sunday.  The stories in the room are inspiring.  Take some time and ask people how Jesus changed your life.  Your walk with God will never be dry again because you will see His hand everywhere.  It’s the beauty of the Church!

Our team makes me laugh.  They stuffed Easter gifts yesterday at our staff meeting.  Sometimes we lead a large, multisite organization with a preschool and a deaf church.  Sometimes we put eggs in bags.  And in the end, it’s all important to somebody!

Matt, Alissa, Jordan, and Emily sure do a great job leading worship, don’t they?  We consider ourselves blessed with a team of worshippers who also happen to be talented.  Here’s to watching God use them in amazing ways!

We served free lattes at Battle Ground yesterday to get our systems going for the new espresso bar there.  We’ll be doing that some more in the month to come because now we have more baristas to train!  It’s also our evil scheme to get you there earlier…and it works.

Small groups are closing up this week!  It’s been a great semester.  We’ll be starting them again in about a month, so stay tuned.

Enjoy your week!  See you on Easter!

 

 

Easter at the Coffee Church

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March 22, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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Facebook timelineI can’t wait for Easter Sunday!  It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year as we take time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  It’s the moment in history that separates every other religion from Christianity.

Without Easter, we serve a dead Christ whose promises were buried in a grave with Him.  With Easter, we serve a living Savior who has defeated death itself and bridged the gap for our sins.  Now that’s a reason to celebrate!

Our theme for the morning is “This Changes Everything.”  So many people in our world just need something to change in their lives.  What if Jesus is the change people are looking for?  What if He’s the change YOU’RE looking for?  We want to invite EVERYBODY to join us!  We don’t care if you love church, hate church, are scared of church…we just want you to come and experience what Jesus is all about in an environment where you’ll be love and accepted.

We’ll also have special stuff for all of the kids and a gift to send home with them as well, so your children will be well taken care of!

So, wear whatever you want, grab a cup of coffee on the way in the door, and enjoy Easter morning with us at the Coffee Church.  See you soon!