Friend Day

Friend Day was a success! (Even though I have written nothing about the results of our inviting efforts.) Not to make more excuses for not blogging, just to let you know, I have spent some time getting in the groove for the Christmas season this week and at the same time I have the next four sermons close to the finish line. Additionally, I am aware that this Sunday has the potential to be better attended than Friend Day so that brings into play additional thoughts about how to approach the message.

So what did I think about Friend Day?

Friend day could have been a bit better in several areas (all of the shortfalls are on me) but overall it was a very good day. With 13 first time visitors and more than half committing to return, we are on the verge of some significant momentum. Our drama folks really made it easy for me to present the message and the music was the best since we started according to several folks.

What I like best is that our greeters make people want to return before they hear the message or music. That is huge, and I am so thankful for folks that are willing to volunteer every week to welcome our visitors, prepare breakfast and coffee, run sound, lights, teach children, clean the building, etc.

By the way, our upgraded refreshment station was a huge hit thanks to a generous donation of tables and chairs!!

Hope to see you this Sunday for Friend Day revisited. OK not officially, but it is acceptable to invite your friends this week too.

Don't forget we have lunch together immediately after church this Sunday... Barbeque :) No need to bring anything or make reservations. Just bring a friend and hang out!

See you then!

Looking Forward to Sunday

Haven't posted in a while due to being completely swamped. It has been a long time since I've been this tired. Busy doesn't even begin to describe it.

I worked on our facility a lot this week making sure everything was top notch for our GUESTS that are coming on FRIEND DAY. (Don't you clean your house when you are having company?)It was a great motivator to get a lot of things caught up, cleaned up, and spiffed up. So, be prepared for some (good) surprises on Sunday!

Matt has prepared a great worship set, and our (newly formed) Drama Team will be demonstrating their talent and creativity, while making us ponder the age old question, "how do you get into heaven?".

So, basically, if the old preacher can get his act together, we should have a great time together on Sunday :)

Pray for Sunday. Prepare now for our time of worship together. And invite friends! They will be welcomed, have fun, and most importantly, hear the truth of Christ.

Sunday De-brief

Every so often you have one of those days where things are non-standard -- where things are not as you expected and the best planning on your part does not bring the results you imagined.
I tend to have those days every 7th day.

The fun thing is when you prepare a message with a particular set of attendees in mind (not to single them out - just knowing who would likely be in attendance) and you wind up preaching to a very different crowd. That was yesterday. Along the way I found out that two families have really bought into our outward-focused thinking.

This is big!

Remember our upcoming events:

* Hanging out at Hendrick's Elem. while helping out with the Movie Night this coming Friday. . .

* Friend Day is only two weeks away and friends have already been invited. Keep inviting folks! If you've been invited, I promise you'll be glad you came.


See you on "Day 7".

KidVenture

I wanted to give everyone some info on what to expect if you have children and you are thinking about visiting Threshold.

First of all, be prepared to be surprised at how much fun your kids have.

Seriously.

They just might BEG you to take them back to church.

And, no, it's not because we bribe them with candy or hypnotize them! It's because we believe our teaching time should be FUN and ENGAGING and SAFE.

We sing and dance and shout out Bible verses. We watch silly skits that show us what NOT to do. We have been known to dress up in silly costumes to capture a child's curiosity.

We know children learn better when they are ACTIVE - so we use hand motions to memorize things. We connect the Bible to real life situations through roll play and even games.

We sing songs and pray and thank God for all He has given us. We learn to be good friends and good sisters and brothers. We laugh a lot :)


Right now our church is small. It won't always be. So from the beginning we have initiated a secure child check in system. It works like this. On the way in to the auditorium, you will see a KidVenture kiosk.


(Okay kiosk sounds fancy-shmancy. It is really a little nook in a hallway, but it works for now!) You check in your children with the KidVenture volunteer, and you and your children receive matching labels with a number code and name on it. If your child needs you during the service, your number code will appear on the screen. When you pick your child up after church, you must have your label. Or we are gonna card you. Seriously. :)

In addition, ALL of our children's volunteers have been given a back ground check to ensure the safety of our chilren. (Yes, this is Lisa, the "Preachers Wife" and yes, he did a background check on me too!! So if you want to work with children, don't be offended when we ask for a background check. It's nothing personal! And we are flat-out going to do this for the safety of the children in our care)


Okay. FUN. ENGAGING. SAFE. See?

We have been having quite a few visitors lately, and we love it. We can't wait to see more new faces on Sunday! Wonder what to expect for adults? Read this.

FOOD PANTRY IN GREAT NEED

These are the most pressing needs.

We have been very low lately!!!!

If you can help, bring these to the

Upstate Family Resource Center

Canned meats/pasta

Canned veggies

Breakfast items

Dry Noodles/rice/beans

Mac and Cheese

Spaghetti sauce

Another Good Day

Sunday was a good day to be a church planter. New faces again. We also had some return visitors. We are on the edge of a breakthrough in reaching our community. We are seeing people inviting their neighbors and expressing concern about their coworkers and family. When people are accepting the fact that God loves them and sharing that love with others the world is a better place. Yard signs are bringing folks to us... why not join us too?

Fall in the Park

Fall in the Park Boiling Springs gave us an opportunity to meet many new great people. As a first timer to this event I did not know what to expect. From my past festival experiences I anticipated a larger event but saw a steady flow of people that I had never met. So it was a good day. We gave away 250 frisbees and information to 100 parents. It may have been only 97 but 100 is a good round number. The event included a dog show, and a talent show. Also several local demonstration teams participated in the festivities. Looking forward to participating in the event next year.