Pastor’s Chat                                                                                                          8-3-2011

Following the Holy Spirit and His moving in life is a lot like a surfer seeking to catch a wave. A surfer can’t create the wave, can’t control the wave, he or she just needs to be ready, and as the wave rises and crests, to move with it. We have been finding this last year a fresh moving of the Holy Spirit in our ministry and church life. We see the Spirit moving in all of our ministries, but one of the places it has been freshest and strongest is with our Canvas worship services on Sunday morning. God is doing something new and fresh and it is exciting to feel it. As we mentioned two weeks ago, the moving is so strong on Sunday mornings the elders have been looking at a new service schedule in which some of the services move over to give growing space for the younger generations. We have circulated an option for three services in the worship center  for Sunday mornings and the response has been positive. So the elders voted Monday to begin the three service schedule on the weekend of October 8/9, 2011.

Let me briefly explain what the new schedule will look like. On Saturdays we will continue our significant service at 5 p.m. with Contemporary Worship Director Matthew Kennedy and myself in the Worship Center. We will no longer have a 6:45 p.m. service on Saturdays. We would love to give opportunities on Saturday night to just be together as a church family, so we are pursuing having a monthly dinner after the 5 p.m. service on communion weekends. That may not start immediately, but it is something we think would be great to have. On Sunday at 8:00 a.m. we will have a full blended service with choir and orchestra in the Worship Center with Dr. David Halverson and myself. On Sunday at 9:30 a.m. we will have another full blended service in the Worship Center. Also we will have a Canvas service in the 290s. On Sunday at 11:15 a.m. the Canvas team will be in the Worship Center. We will start a new service at 11:15 a.m. in the 290s, in which I will be with Cliff Young, a very gifted man, with a new style of worship which we are calling urban gospel. I am looking forward to these new services and a chance for us to celebrate together the diversity of our church family. I love the 290s as it takes me back to my mission church days and the excitement of growing something new together. The Chapel Option will not be continuing on the North Campus but will have the opportunity to join the new service at 11:15 a.m. in either the Worship Center or the 290s. All of the services would have the full breadth of Children’s Ministries.

We are working with the Adult Fellowship Groups and how to adjust when they meet to be to the best advantage for them as well as supporting the worship services. Children’s and Tech Ministries have huge challenges with this, but they are stepping up to the challenges.

One significant advantage of the changes is spreading out our parking demands over three services. We are concerned with parking congestion and believe this new schedule will help people get on and off the campus more easily. We still strongly encourage each of you to use the shuttles on Sunday, as there is still plenty of space behind Jack-in-the-Box and on North Campus. I enjoy parking on North Campus, chatting on the bus, and getting out quite quickly to go west on PV Drive North.

We’ll have more details to give you as the time for the change gets closer. Let’s keep it all in prayer, and also praise God as the wave of the moving of the Holy Spirit is rising in our midst and creating more opportunity for us to see people come to Christ, and become part of us as we grow together. All of this is about our vision, “To know Jesus intimately and to share His love and truth passionately.” Praise God that He has entrusted us with more at this most important season in history.