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March 10 Coffee Church Highlights

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March 12, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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Love, love, love Jesus’ Church!  It just never gets old.

What does get old is Daylight Savings Time…ugh…Sunday felt like I got hit with a 2 x 4.  And let’s just say that the kid’s classes were a joy all around!  Thanks to all of you parents who navigated getting the kids ready with less sleep than normal!!!

We had a teenager quoting a chapter in the Bible at Battle Ground and an 8 year old quoting at Hazel Dell.  It is awesome to see our young people filling their brains with the Word of God!

Remember that next Sunday night, March 17 at 6:00 pm is our goodbye dessert for Wayne and Jenny.  It will be an informal setting where you can express your appreciation to them for their 20 years of ministry here.  We look forward to blessing them!  If you have a moment, email me a letter of appreciation for them at stacy@coffeechurch.com that we will print out and present them in a book.  You can also email me if you are interested in providing a dessert for our event.  Thanks so much!

We have been growing a lot lately and would love your help in volunteering on Sunday mornings.  You can sign up at www.coffeechurch.com under the Resources tab.  Our volunteers only work one service a month and have a great time!

Our Kid’s Checkin computer was down at Battle Ground on Sunday…yikes!  Sorry about the wait for you parents, but I’ve got some great news for you – not only will the computer be up and running on Sunday, but you now officially have two computers!  Twice the excitement for our bursting kid’s classes at Battle Ground.  Hazel Dell, you’re next!!!!

I love change…no really…I love it.  I know that’s strange, but I am an early adopter and look forward to new adventures.  Here we go!

Worship was amazing at both campuses this weekend.  We sure love our worship teams and appreciate the extraordinary amount of effort that they put into that ministry.  Thank you!

Sometimes I wonder if kids and teenagers run our church.  Everywhere I turn there are young people doing ministry in our midst.  It might be my favorite thing about North Creek and I never want it to change.  Our kids feel like they can give and serve in our midst, which is the foundational point of the church.  It’s not about “attending the show” but about being a part of the body!

Think about inviting a friend for Easter…actually, just invite them now!  We have guests all the time and love it.  There’s never a bad Sunday to visit North Creek.

I hope your week is exciting!  Give the glory to God.

March 3 Coffee Church Highlights

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March 5, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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claraAlways something exciting going on at North Creek!

As you probably read in my blog yesterday, Wayne and Jenny announced their resignation.  They are excited about their new season of ministry and we bless them!

At Battle Ground, we had an 8 year old quote James 4.  Nailed it!!!  She will be at Hazel Dell next week, so don’t miss it.  We are never to young or too old to memorize God’s Word.

At Hazel Dell, Kris quoted James 3 and nearly burnt the house down with her live illustration.  Side note:  If the match is lit, don’t hold it next to the box of matches.  Her husband is a fireman, so if things had gone terribly wrong, we’d still be OK!

We also officially opened the preschool registration for the Learning Center in Battle Ground.  We inherited a great legacy of Maple Grove Preschool and we are excited to build on their foundation.  We are getting lots of calls and inquiries already, which is very exciting!  You can find all the information and registrations forms at www.northcreekkids.com.  Get your registration in for the fall soon!

We got the best gift on Sunday…smoked pork chops!  Yes, I’m a Montana girl and can easily be won over with meat.  Yummy!

We need Kid’s Checkin Volunteers at both campuses.  It’s an easy job and the more we have, the smoother our process gets.  Sign up at www.coffeechurch.com to work one Sunday a month.  We appreciate our volunteers!!!  Also, here’s some great news for all of you parents…we are adding an additional checkin computer at both campuses to alleviate the line.  It will all be done by Easter!  Thank you for being patient in our growing church!

One of our goals is not to solve all of our problems at once, but to be solving SOME problem all of the time.  It’s a very balanced way of making sure we are getting the ball down the field in a measureable way.

One thing that will never change is that everything changes!  That’s why we trust God when the changes unfold and know that everything will be just fine in the end.  God is faithful!

As I also mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Sunday marked one year of multisite and merging.  I may just have to write an entire blog about that!  It has been one of the most amazing years of our lives, but it did not come without some tough lessons and leadership ability stretching.  I give a lot of the credit of North Creek’s success to two very flexible campuses full of people.  I feel that an immeasureable amount of grace was poured out on our lives as we attempted to forge new paths to our future as a church.  We are humbled and blessed by those of you who did not say, “Well, we’ll see….”, but rather said, “Well, let’s do it!”  That support has made all the difference…we are grateful pastors!

What a God!  What a Church!  What an adventure!  What could possibly be next???

The End of an Era

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March 4, 2013
History, Ministry
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It was one year ago yesterday that Mark preached for the first time at what was Maple Grove Church where Wayne Sommers had pastored for 19 years.  It was that day that marked the beginning of a merge with Maple Grove and North Creek.  It was a day full of hope, anxiety, and uncertainty.  And it has been a year full of learning, growing, and building.

The irony was not lost on me yesterday as we announced that Wayne and Jenny are departing our church for a new position.  It is almost like someone planned it to the day.  And we all know…Someone did.  Wayne and Jenny are at a place in their lives where they can turn over their hearts to a new adventure and a new season.  There is just no doubt in our minds that God is orchestrating this change at this time for Wayne and Jenny and we are thrilled for them!

For those of you who love them deeply, you will be glad to know that they are only going right around the corner to Lifepoint Church in Vancouver to be Associate Pastors.  In another interesting turn of irony, this is also the church where Mark and I youth pastored for 6 years before deciding to start North Creek.  With a seven year adventure between us, we are simply switching churches!

Wayne and Jenny’s final service with us will be on March 17, 2013.  Wayne will be preaching a farewell message and then we will have an event in the evening where you will be able to say goodbye formally.  More information to follow on the details, but plan for it!

And with that, a new season begins for North Creek as well.  One thing we know: God has it all in His grasp and our job is to simply do the work laid out before us.  And there is much work to be done!

So, congrats to Wayne and Jenny!  We wish you well and will look back with great awe on the journey that God brought the four of us on together.  You will always be a beautiful part of our story…

 

Announcing the Learning Center

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February 28, 2013
History, Ministry
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One of the many blessings that came with the merge was a weekday preschool that has been running for 17 years in Battle Ground!

Maple Grove Preschool has a rich history of teaching preschoolers in a fun and educational environment.  It has been lead with excellence by Kelly Eldred and it is with sadness we announce that she will be leaving that role at the conclusion of this school year.  We have loved getting to know Kelly and so appreciate the care she puts into the children that grace our doors everyday!  There is a long line of children that she has impacted for the last two decades in our Battle Ground community!

Learning Center Logo Scratch PadOn a happier note, we are pleased to announce that Michelle Cuthbert will be taking the director position beginning in September 2013.  Michelle attends our Hazel Dell Campus with her husband and three beautiful children.  She has a BA in Business and a Masters in Teaching.  We look forward to watching her take hold of the legacy being handed to her and continue educating kids with excellence!  We have loved getting to know Michelle and look forward to her leadership.

We are also changing the name of the preschool in the fall term to the Learning Center.  At the Learning Center, we will be offering preschool classes for both 3 and 4 year olds.  I also happen to know that Michelle has a heart and passion to add a Kindergarten back to the schedule in the years to come.

Open registration for the preschool begins March 1, 2013 and we hope to get a strong roster full of excited kids soon!  If you are interested in knowing more about the preschool, you can start by perusing the website at www.northcreekkids.com.  You will find a downloadable registration/immunization form there as well.  If you have questions, please feel free to stop by and visit Kelly in the preschool office or you can email Michelle at michelle@coffeechurch.com.

Also, if you know of a preschool age parent looking for a preschool, please send them to our website for more information.  It’s going to be a truly amazing year!

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February 24 Coffee Church Highlights

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February 26, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
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Packed the weekend with fun things!

Friday night I had a bunch of ladies over for a game night.  So much fun to just hang out, play games, eat lots of yummy food with women I love and appreciate!  If you want on that invite list, sign up on our small groups link at www.coffeechurch.com under Rebecca’s group.  You’ll get an email once a month about an upcoming activity that you can attend if you are available!

Sunday went well!  I jumped over to Battle Ground for service and always love being on that campus.  I hung out with Jessica and taught 14 Tiny Town preschoolers.  It was a full class, but they did SO well.  God so evidently works in the hearts of children and it is a joy to watch!

We had our Annual Business Meeting on Sunday.  True to our nature, we don’t do the typical business meeting, but rather use it as an opportunity to hear from some of our staff about how their ministry is succeeding.  We do some of the “normal” stuff of talking about statistics and money, but our bottom line is always the same: how are we leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus?  That’s the question we strive to answer each year at our annual meeting.

Yesterday we had one of our staff member preaching in Ridgefield to fill in, we had one at a church in Hoquiam watching her daughter speak, we had one training sound techs in Oregon, and we had our own two campuses running as well.  We were spread out all over the place!!!

I’m memorizing James 5…it was hard to start, but I’m making great progress.  Everything in life worth doing takes work, so don’t get discouraged!  Keep trying!

I’m enjoying our small group and getting to know some new people in our lives.  It is always a blessing to open our home and dive into friendships.  It’s also a blessing to eat cake and banana bread!

One of the main focuses of our church is to spread out the work amongst the many!  Do you know that we have over 150 volunteers just in the hearing church?  That’s over half of our people who serve once a month, or in the youth group, or in help during the week.  What’s crazy about that is that we still don’t have enough help!  We have multiple people serving twice to cover the gaps.  Wouldn’t it be awesome to get all of the bases covered?  If you want to begin to volunteer, you can sign up at www.coffeechurch.com.

Here’s my challenge for you this week: Do the RIGHT thing.  Even if it’s hard.  That’s what we are challenging ourselves to do in our small group.  It’s quite the challenge, but if you consistently do the right thing, you really do open yourself up to a life of blessing and peace.  WORTH IT!