Archive

Tag Archives: vancouver church

August 18 Coffee Church Highlights

By
August 21, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

I’m late this week with my highlights, but I have a great reason…I’m in GORGEOUS Montana having a family vacation.  For those of you who don’t know it, I am a born-and-raised Montana girl.  Yesterday we went to Glacier National Park, which is about 30 minutes from where I grew up.  Mark snapped this shot from the top of Going to the Sun Road.  Not bad, huh?

glacier1

Back to my Sunday highlights!  It was a REALLY amazing Sunday!

I ended up visiting the Battle Ground campus.  I haven’t been there in a little while, and it was so incredible to see the change and growth in that campus.  There is a lot of momentum and excitement for community there.  I walked down the hall and multiple people asked me how they can sign up to volunteer.  There were new people and families everywhere. It was an out-of-body experience!

Meanwhile, I got texts from Mark throughout the morning updating me on Hazel Dell.  The 11:00 am was packed, lots of new guests, worship was awesome… Equal momentum coming from Hazel Dell!

Then I got the update from the Deaf Church…high attendance, new family connected, quality ministry for the morning…All three campuses firing on all cylinders and seeing God work in people’s lives!  It has been a process over the last year and a half since we merged with another church in Battle Ground, but we are seeing the fruit of persistence paying off.  Can’t wait for the fall!

I forgot to give a shot out to Kari and Terrance last week!  They come early to help babysit and set up a couple of times a month and it’s such a blessing!  Terrance has taken the title of Chair Jedi-Master, as my husband is pretty particular about the chair set up.  Terrance is a star!  I love our volunteers.

Both of our kid’s pastors, Vanessa and Kim, were giddy about their ministry on Sunday, too.  We are raising up some GREAT kids who love Jesus and His House!

The youth arrived home on Sunday night after their Rural Community Missions Trip.  They were exhausted from giving it there all, but God did incredible things in and through them as they served their guts out.  Tired teenagers who poured their lives out for others are blessed teenagers!  Way to go!!!

Speaking of teenagers, we are on our way towards an incredible team of youth leaders for the Battle Ground campus.  I know we have not made any announcement formally yet, but we are in the process of conversations, watching God’s story unfold, and planning.  We’ll be rolling out that plan…in God’s perfect timing…soon!  I’m pretty excited!

Financially it’s been a tight summer…that’s pretty typical, but we don’t want to go into fall trying to catch up.  If you are able to help us, we could use an extra $10,000 to start us off of the right foot for September.  You can give online HERE.  We appreciate your financial support of our ministry and do our best to use those funds to minister to as many people as possible!

If you’d like to get baptized, we’ll fill the hot tub any Sunday.  You can sign up online at www.coffeechurch.com.  We LOVE to celebrate with those of you who are experiencing Jesus’ life change in your heart!

Here’s some dates to put on your calendar.  More info will be coming!

September 13 – Vision and Volunteers Night…it’s a night to honor our new and previous volunteers.  We want you there!

September 15 – Small Group Signup Opens

September 17 – Simply Worship Hazel Dell

September 24 – Simply Worship Battle Ground

September 29 – Small Groups begin this week!

So many things going on and so many blessings from Jesus!  Take that blessing and spread it around!  See you when we get back from relaxing all week!!

 

August 4 Coffee Church Highlights

By
August 6, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

Sunday!  And it’s still hot!  Could this summer be any more amazing?  I’m loving the long, clear days with my kids in the pool.  They’ve been wet for two months now…

It’s been a great summer of growth at our church.  We’ve seen a lot of new guests come through our doors and decide to stay and be a part of our church family.  That being said, our services are completely unpredictable in July and August!  I couldn’t guess attendance at any given service if I tried.  I’m looking forward to September when we get a little bit of normality back.

Small groups start again in late September.  Gonna be great!  If you have an inkling to facilitate a group, it’s time to email Tasha and let her know at Tasha@coffeechurch.com.  Letting us know early makes such a smooth transition into groups, so thank you!

We had someone bring flowers with them to church with their tithe check.  They wanted to express to God how grateful they are for His provision and what a joy it is to give back to Him.  Well, that’s humbling…

On that same note, Mark spoke on Belshazzar on Sunday and about the greed that consumed him.  Most interesting was the number of conversations with people this week who don’t want to change the giving habits in their lives.  I think the most important character trait we can possibly have is to be teachable and want to grow, even in the hard stuff!  The goal of this life is to grow before you go…

At Battle Ground, Rachael preached her first sermon ever and knocked it out of the park!  It was awesome to have so many of our leaders take a week for Age of Kings and really do a phenomenal job.  My favorite part was watching the Scriptures come alive for each preacher.  They all spent so much time with their Bible character that it really transformed them in profound ways.

You can follow us on Twitter @thecoffeechurch.

School supplies are piling up at both of our campuses!  Thanks so much for bringing in your generosity as we aim to be present in our local schools.  We have two more weeks for you to bring your supplies.

Jim preached on Jehoshaphat at the Deaf Church.  That was the king I preached on, so he’s now my favorite.  Love me some Jehoshaphat!

We went to an open house for one of our young couples from Battle Ground on Sunday night.  I love young marrieds buying their first homes!  It brings back all of the amazing memories of our first house and how much fun it was to make it our home!

Being a part of church is so much fun!  Come and see for yourself!

Hope you are blessed!!!!

 

Gymnastics and Jesus

By
July 31, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

My daughter has recently moved up to gymnastics team, so I spend a great deal of time watching girls flip themselves precariously through the air and somehow land without incident most of the time.  Without any history of gymnastics in my own life, I have learned more since we started than I probably ever needed to know.

One of the most fascinating (and also tedious) aspects of the last year was how much time the coaches spend on strength training.  I have watched so many different workout sessions that my head could explode.  It felt like I waited for months to see my daughter do anything that even remotely looked like gymnastics.  With 12 hours a week in the gym, I was amazed in the beginning at how little was outside of the realm of muscle-building.

But now I get it.  I’ve watched Kennedy’s body begin to move differently.  Her legs, arms, and abs all function together because they have been trained to.  Where she used to struggle with a back bend, she can now easily fold in half, flip, and turn upright again.  And it wasn’t just because she learned the skill, it’s because she earned the skill.  Her body didn’t need to be told to do it; it needed to be prepared to do it.

I think faith is the same way.  If you stretch your faith muscles and work them out in what seems like the smaller things, then the larger challenges in life come easier.  We didn’t plant a church in our first step of faith…that would have been insurmountable.  We had stepped out in multiple avenues for many years to build our strength and trust in God.  When it came time to launch an entire church, we used the reserves of God’s proven reliability from years of experiences.  In seasons of dark doubt, we looked back on those moments to keep us on the right path.

Just like muscles, faith can be gained or lost in any series of habits.  There is never down time to your faith.  The best thing you can do is constantly be finding ways to push yourself in areas of trust in God.

Here’s a couple of thoughts on how to stretch your faith muscles:

1.  Speak what is Biblically true instead of what your flesh feels.  Trust God through your own voice!  When you are tempted to speak negatively, allow God’s Word to be your only outlet expressing your faith.  You will find yourself challenged in your thinking all the time!

2.  Spend time every day in the Bible and prayer.  As you read something or feel like God is telling you something, act on it.  For example, if you read the story about the Good Samaritan, find a way to bless a neighbor that day.  Give your faith time and effort to apply.

3.  Tell people about your relationship with Jesus.  There is nothing that will grow your faith more than making Jesus a part of your conversation.

The good news for my daughter’s gymnastics career is that she will continuously get stronger.  The better news is that there will always be a new and greater challenge in front of her.  That may sound like a bad thing on certain days, but it’s not.  It’s thrilling!  It’s exhilarating!  It’s what keeps us motivated in life.

So, go head, be brave and ask God to grow your faith today…but get ready…it will be the ride of your life!

July 21 Coffee Church Highlights

By
July 24, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

I’m still loving our current summer series, Age of Kings!  I am enjoying reliving the stories of the different kings in the Bible and how they weave into our lives today.  Chris spoke on Ahab from the Old Testament at Hazel Dell and Matt Bumala spoke on Herod from the New Testament at Battle Ground.

Pray for our Deaf Church as they are at camp this week!

We took our staff out for Snow Cones on Sunday for staff meeting.  I’m not sure that is the group of people that need a sugar boost right before they need to sit down and accomplish things…Just in case you were wondering, Pina Coloda is the BEST flavor.

A young man accepted Christ on Sunday.  One of our other young men had invited him because he’s in a pretty desperate place in his life right now.  God meets desperate people!  When was the last time you were desperate to meet with Jesus?

Speaking of meeting with Jesus, www.youversion.com can help you start a Bible reading plan.  It’s a great resource to kick off your spiritual growth.

If you attend North Creek and aren’t tithing, my challenge to you is to try it for six months.  I believe that you will be blessed by giving and holding on to your money so tightly is holding you back.

Here’s part of what will happen when you give to North Creek: We’ll have a thriving Youth Ministry in Battle Ground and a better home for our Hazel Dell Campus.  These are our limitations at each campus currently and our budget is tighter than a hipster’s skinny jeans.

By the way, the Battle Ground campus is looking SHARP!  Thank you to everybody who has painted, weeded, thrown out trash, raked, and planted to make it look great.

KidCity is in the middle of a competition between the boys and the girls to see who can give more to missions.  That means my kids are making me do a ton of work to have a garage sale…how can I say no to that???  Here’s a hint if you’d like to help North Creek kids out: the girls outnumber the boys in our church 3 to 1.  If you are a fan of the underdogs in life, hand cash to a K-5th grade boy.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE our volunteers?  We have dedicated and amazing people who pour into our church and community ALL the time.  I love your hearts, your smiles, and your partnership!  YOU are making a difference!

We start collecting school supplies this week for various Clark County schools.  As you are shopping, please pick up some extras to share with needy kids!  High needs items are: Crayola (Battle Ground schools only allow Crayola) broad & thin markers and Crayola colored pencils, book covers, Elmer’s glue sticks, self-contained pencil sharpeners, and cash to offset various needs.

Have a great and really hot week!  Be blessed!

 

 

 

July 14 Coffee Church Highlights

By
July 16, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

What an awesome weekend!  Josiah preached on King Josiah at Battle Ground, I preached on King Jehoshaphat at Hazel Dell, and Jim preached on Solomon at the Deaf Church.

I had a great time preaching on Jehoshaphat!  I came in to writing my message knowing very little about him and left Sunday having him as one of my favorite Bible characters.  That’s the awesome part of really diving into the Scriptures and learning about someone who served God thousands of years ago.

KidCity is in the middle of raising money for missionaries!  They are having a contest between the boys and the girls, so if you’d like to help out, give a kid some money on the way in the door! The Battle Ground campus got painted last week with some new landscaping.  It looks AMAZING!  We still have the portable to paint, but we are well on the way to having everything done there.  We spent about $1500 on supplies above our regular monthly budget, so if you’d like to give to that, we’d sure appreciate it.  Thanks so much for helping us be good neighbors in our community and taking care of what God has given us.

On that note, we are praying for a permanent home for Hazel Dell.  Would you pray with us?  Waiting is SO much fun…ok, maybe not.  Not at all.  Not even a little bit.  Awful waiting…

I hope you are enjoying your summer!  I love the sun, I love the different schedule, and I love the opportunity to have BBQ’s with friends.  Take the time to have some friends over this summer and grow your relationships!

Speaking of relationships, our summer small groups are coming to a close.  We are already dreaming and praying for our fall groups that will launch in September.  If you are interested in facilitating or hosting a group, let Tasha know now by emailing Tasha@coffeechurch.com.

Do you have a heart for prayer?  Do you know that we have a prayer list where you can both get email prayer requests and send your own when you need to?  Just send an email to prayer@coffeechurch.com and we’ll get you signed up!

Thank you for being such an incredible and generous church!  We are so blessed every day to get to pastor and watch this journey of Jesus unfold before us.  Step out in faith in your life.  It’ll be painfully difficult, exhausting, and yet all the while, so thrilling and fulfilling.  I wouldn’t trade the last seven years of church planting for anything!

Be blessed!