May 16 Highlights
Today was baptism Sunday at North Creek! We do them regularily, but I will never get bored watching baptisms! It’s my all time favorite part of church. To watch people go under water and the symbolism of being washed clean by Jesus is monumental. Congrats to John, Nicole and Kaile! You can click on the pictures below to see a few of my favorite shots!
Other than baptisms, I have to give a BIG shout out to our 9:00 am volunteers this morning. At 8:30 am, I looked around and we had all of our volunteers ready to go, coffee in hand, and smiles on their faces. It was AWESOME! And the best part was that I had 4 new volunteers who KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK! I love the broad base of volunteers at our church. When everyone does their part it sure makes it fun!
We changed our Connection Card to include a box to check that says, “I’m ready to become a follower of Jesus.” We had two people check that box this morning and turn it in. Praise God! And what a great system. Now we can make sure they have the info for Starting Point to get some of their questions answered and give them some foundation to their new faith. It’s not just about the initial commitment to Christ! It’s about getting people from that first step to a strong relationship. We are committed to the whole process.
We went to a going away party for one of our college students, Larissa, on Friday. We are “losing” some great families to long-distance moves this year. We let them go with both blessing and sadness in our hearts.
Honestly, I have been discouraged this week as we have been exploring options for growth in our future. Every option seems daunting, but I am confident that God will lead us in the right direction. Sometimes it’s just aggravating to be in the middle of the story and not know how it will turn out. But, just like a book, you’ve just got to keep going and you’ll get there. So, we’ll keep going!
This was on Rhonda’s facebook, “Got into the car this afternoon and a song Josh recognized from church was playing on The Fish. He says “I didn’t know North Creek was on the radio!”‘ That’s awesome, Josh! We’ll be on the radio someday, just hang on!
All of the kids came in at the 9:00 am service to watch John be baptized. AWESOME group of kids marching in! I love each one of them! Glad that they are a part of our church and our future.
Please pray from some miracles this week for North Creek. To grow to the next level and that’s going to require some work on our part and some moves of God as well.
Blessings to you and your family!