Big things are coming June 25, 2008

During the One Prayer series we’ve been experiencing messages from other church leaders but Perry has some huge news about the future and vision of our church to share this Sunday, and he’s doing it live.

Before Perry shares it with the church, we want to make sure all our leaders and volunteers who are on the front line of ministry know what’s in store.

On July 13th we’ll begin a 6-week series called You Asked For It… answering questions people in our community have submitted over the past few months.  We will also grow from 4 services to 5 services with the addition of our new Greenville campus.

Our Greenville campus will meet at 9:15am and 11:15am and we expect the excitement level to be incredible.  We’re estimating about 1,000 people already will be a part of what God is going to do in Greenville through NewSpring! Our Anderson campus will meet for new service times at 9:15am, 11:15am and 6pm.  The 6pm service will be unique with extended music and worship.  (For all of our amazing volunteers who serve during one of the pm services at this time, you will be hearing from your Staff Coordinator within the next few days for your service transition.)

Perry will share this news and a more focused vision for NewSpring Church beginning this Sunday.  We will be handing out invite cards to our members and attenders so they can invite their friends to You Asked For It…

This summer is going to be awesome in the life of NewSpring Church. All these changes will better enable us to make Jesus famous one life at a time and be a part of life change in our community.

See you all Sunday -
NewSpring Volunteer Ministry

Intentional Movement June 23, 2008

God calls us all to move with the intentions of making His name famous.  Are you moving with a purpose?

Ephesians 4:12 “…train Christians in skilled servant work within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.” -The Message

We are not meant to wonder this earth with no intentions or purpose.  I leave my office at 12 with the intentions that I will get some lunch, I get out of the bed at 5am with intentions of getting a good workout in, I go through my life with the intentions of……

Knowing Jesus is only the beginning of a journey that should never stop.  At NewSpring, the first thing we want for you is a relationship with Jesus.  This is the most important decision you will ever make.  With any relationship it takes time to get to know each other better.  We want you to constantly move towards getting to know Jesus better, at another level.  To think about how God gave us the church, the body of Christ, NewSpring so that we can come together to love people as Christ loved people blows my mind.  What a blessing the church is.  And to think not only did God give us the gift of the church, no he did not stop there, he gave each of us within the church a gift to keep the church moving and alive.  And not just moving, but moving with rhythm, together with ease, wasting no time or effort, and with movement that is a beautiful reflection of Jesus.  It’s then and only then that we, both the church and as individuals, will be full.  As a volunteer, you are an active, moving member of the body of Christ.  As we move together, towards one purpose, what God will do through us will be extravagant.  We want you to be intentional about what you do with your life as a Christ follower, you have purpose.  We should all be constantly moving toward maturity and development.  Just as Jesus once walked this earth to show a love to people that they had never seen before, we are to move in our lives to show a love to people that they’ve never seen before.  We want to help you be alive like Christ.

Listen to His Voice, Watch His Step, Touch His people,  and See His face.

Intentional movement = Exponential growth

Impact. a volunteer class June 18, 2008

Tomorrow, June 19th @ 7pm @ NewSpring

If you or someone you know wants to learn more about what volunteering here at NewSpring is all about join us tomorrow night and sign up by e-mailing skye.thomas@newspring.cc.  You will get a chance to have some one on one conversation with volunteer staff and hear about all of the different opportunities for you to be a part of this huge work.  Are you ready to get in the action God has called us all to be a part of?  Yes, you are.

Live Free Live Loud 2008 June 16, 2008

We are about two weeks out from a night of excitement for this community.  Live Free Live Loud, a concert and fireworks display, is Saturday, June 28th @ 7pm.  It’s not too late if you’d like to have a front row seat to serving our community.  We will be showing people Jesus by serving them all the way from the parking lot to their special spot on the grass.  If you’d like to volunteer with us e-mail lia at lia.schendel@newspring.cc.

We will be hanging posters at different businesses to get the word out.  We have some of those posters at the church office if you want to come by and grab a few to hang at your business or the hot spots you go to through the week.  The more displayed in the community the more people we get to minister to.  Yea for teamwork!

GET EXCITED and ANTICIPATE BIG THINGS.

stories June 16, 2008

One Volunteers experience from this past Sunday…

“One of the things I love most about my area of service here at NewSpring is meeting so many different people from so many different places.  I have the priviledge of checking in first-timers and from time to time, I actually get to escort them to their class rooms.  I love this part because this allows me to engage a little more with the families as I take them around the building and tell them about our church.  Of course in telling them about us, I always ask a little about them.  This past Sunday, we had a family from Ohio.  They had been on vacation to Orlando, and were coming back through on their way home.  They made a point to come to our church Sunday, because they have been watching our services on-line for quite some time, now.  I asked them how they heard about us.  The mother said that she had been on-line looking for information about ministries for expectant mothers and happened up on our web site.  Ever since then, they have watched every week.  Another family was here visiting our area and was invited by their son who has been coming for a few weeks.  They were amazed at the church and the youth and children’s facilities coming up.  I was able to share with them about how God had just exploded this ministry from a small bible study at Anderson College!  They, too, were interested in how to follow us on-line.

It blows me away every week that God is using us: you, me, all the staff, all the volunteers, to make such an impact, not only in our community, but across the country, and even the world.  I am so blessed to be a part of such an awesome ministry! There is so much joy in serving God here, and hearing these stories is God’s way of encouraging me and really blessing me in knowing that every Sunday is an opportunity that I am given to do something that can make a difference in someone’s life and their eterninty!”

Margie

the next step June 10, 2008

The following is from an amazing volunteer.   He serves with us throughout the week in the office.  He’s always ready to do whatever, whenever.  It’s because of the ministry of people like him that God is blowing this place up.  Thanks Ben!

“Volunteering is “the next step” for me.  It always has been.  I felt called into the ministry 18 years ago.  You always assume that you are being called to be a preacher, youth minister, etc.  But that just didn’t seem like that was what God was asking me to do.  So I waited, and waited, and still waiting to some extent.  About ten years ago I realized that maybe God was just calling me to be a solid church member.  I don’t have the gifts it takes to do a lot of things in traditional ministry.  But I can make myself available to the non traditional jobs.

The other thing is this.  Don’t be afraid to ask me to do something!  I make myself available for anything.  If I need to come clean bathrooms, I will.  Years ago at my former church, I noticed that I was quick to volunteer for the spotlight jobs and seemed to shy away from the other stuff.  I won’t bore you with the details but, through a series of events, I accepted the fact that my only focus needs to be to glorify God and not Ben.

I gave you this Dr. Phil moment just so that you know where I’m coming from and why this is important to me.  Thanks for what you do!”

What is your next step?

The Bee Movie June 9, 2008

What if we all were as crazy about making the name of Jesus famous as those Bee’s are about making honey?  Those Bees live for making honey and are excited about it.  There are tons of little jobs that are required to make the perfect honey.  You can get the gunk out, stir the honey, catch the drip of honey that lingers after it’s poured, etc.   There is no job too little.  They were all great bee things.

We all want to do great things in life.  What we view as great things are not always what God wants us to view as great things.  The ultimate great thing in life is what God wants us to do.  Even if something seems great in our minds and looks great according to the world, if it’s not what God wants us to do, it’s not great at all.  In the Bee world life is honey, every job is great because it points to honey.  For us life is Jesus.  Does your life point to Jesus?  For Barry the Bee, he was constantly reminded to think Bee to stay on course.

Are you thinking Jesus?

Window view June 4, 2008

Window view, originally uploaded by sherry.moorhead.

It’s so interesting that I have such a perfect view of the construction going on outside my window. There are so many little things that have to be done before the walls even go up and a building is visible. Right now there is a ditch dug with some skinny wire cookie rack looking things laying in there. When I see that I cannot honestly comprehend in the big picture of things what benefit those skinny wires have in supporting a building. There are so many steps happening out there that have to be done to keep the building from falling down. God tells us that it takes each one of us, each with a different thing to do, to come together to build up His church. Each person out there on the site has a certain job to do, some big and some small. They each required training, knowledge, and experience in order to complete their job. In order to build this building, each one of those construction workers had to be built up first. The same is true for His church. You build up the people in the church, you build the church. Each of you are in the blueprints of NewSpring. We want to meet you where you are in your stage of construction. You have to be willing to get in the ditch and be a metal cookie sheet looking rack. We want to build your relationship with Jesus, your understanding of his love, and your passion for His people. Together we will build a church that will not fall down.

HHEEEEE’SSS TTTHHRREEEEEEEEE June 4, 2008

OK, so I can honestly see why my mother used the phrase “I’m going to give you something to whine about”.  The whining is driving me crazy!@#!@#!#

• He’s three years old.

• He’s wild and full of energy.

• He’s anxious to learn and do.

• There is not one word that comes out of my sons mouth that does not take at least one minute to say.

• He is also the loudest talker ever.  I believe most of this comes from competition for my attention.  I’m constantly asking him to lower his voice, reminding him that I can hear him when he talks normal.

• Then there is the asking one million times before I have the chance to answer.  And sometimes he give me the chance to answer but he does not like my answer so he keeps asking again and again.  I continue to remind him that I heard him the first time and that he has to give me a chance to get the answer out of my mouth or that my answer stands.
• He’s threeeeeeeeee!  He’s adorable, lovable, a clown, and he’s got me wrapped.  I will always be there for him and there is nothing he could ever do to make me stop loving him.

How many times do you think God is saying those very same things to us…

“quit whining” – just talk to me normal.  Have a conversation with me and trust that I’ve got it covered.  Do you really have anything to be whining about.  Did you see Jesus whining?

“You do not have to yell” – my attention is always on you.   You do not have to compete for the Lord’s attention.  Talk normal.

“I heard you the first time, give me a chance to answer/my answer stands ” – we are so impatient sometimes, God’s timing is perfect.  The Lord hears us the first time, we just have to be willing to hear him even if he does not reply the way we expect.

Yes, we all grow up but we will all have times that we convert back to being a three year old.  Thankfully we have a father that will consistently remind us of his Love for us.  constantly seek wisdom in pursuing a life of obedience to Christ.  It’s not if you act three, it’s when you act three remember there is nothing you could ever do to make the Lord stop loving you and He is always there beside you.  Talk normal!

The things you learn from your kids.

Communication Question June 3, 2008

One question I get a lot from other churches is how do you effectively communicate with the some 2500 volunteers that you guys have here at NewSpring? My answer always goes something like this “every way possible”. Here’s what we do right now.

• mass email- While this is not the most effective way because some people just do not read e-mails,  this is a way . From the very beginning of serving we try to let volunteers know to be looking for communication through e-mail about things coming up and special announcements.
• snail mail – letters or invitations are sent out from our area maybe two or three times a year. These may be for inviting members not serving to check out a serving opportunity or invite them to a volunteer class. We also send invitations to volunteers for our volunteer celebration that we have yearly.
• Phone calls – depending on what needs to be communicated and the time we have to communicate it, phone calls are made. Many times phone calls are used when there is a smaller group to communicate to and a volunteer team will come in to make those phone calls with us.
• Weekly team meetings – There are always announcements and details given out at the team meetings on Sundays. These are mainly used as reminders and done along with letters or e-mails.
• Blog – Anytime stories are shared with me or there are upcoming events and such I try to blog them.
• Word of mouth – Leaders and other volunteers spreading the word can reach more people than any e-mail. Just as the church has grown because of the talk in the community, so will the volunteer ministry. People will talk about what they are excited about.

With the team work of staff coordinators, Volunteer leaders, and coordinators each of these tools of communication are used on a consistent basis. What is most effective in reaching out to large numbers of people at one time? I would love to get feedback from our volunteers and other church leaders on what you feel is most effective in keeping everyone communicated to and in the know about ministry. Comment it.