God is Hitting the Accelerator at Community!
Ok so have you experienced this recently?….You’re in the car and someone (maybe it’s you!) hits the accelerator rather suddenly and you kinda feel this “umph!” as you jet forward and continue in a rapid motion down the highway toward your destination… My personal favorite is when you’re in a golf cart and you’re in Park (you golfers out there know this is true in all types of golf carts, no matter how fancy the course is!), then when you hit the gas it’s like this jolt of energy (because all golf cart brakes are so sticky!) that sometimes gives the unsuspecting passenger a bit of whiplash!
Acceleration. It’s that feeling when suddenly everything gets kicked up a notch, the stakes get a little higher, the momentum starts to build a little faster, and the goal starts to get increasingly more attainable.
That’s the feeling we’re having at Community right now. I can’t explain it in any terms better than that. We’ve had more baptisms in the last couple of months than we’ve ever had in a 2-month period in the history of the church. Our student ministry celebration services have a higher attendance than they’ve ever had and our students are preparing for a massive serve-explosion in a couple of weeks where they will impact the lives of literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in the Naperville/Aurora area through generosity. Our Community 4:12 ministry to the under-resourced area of East Aurora just secured a 7,000-square foot space in downtown Aurora that is going to allow us to create a cultural and spiritual renaissance within the community of East Aurora through meeting people’s needs and helping them find their way back to God. Our Celebrate the Journey support and recovery ministry continues to celebrate incredible milestones of life change through recovery from addiction, healing from divorce, confidence through tough circumstances, and they are currently seeking to determine how this ministry can expand to new Community locations so that more communities can experience the freedom of this life-changing ministry.
Additionally, I wouldn’t be telling you everything if I didn’t tell you what else happened this past weekend at Community. In the midst of what many perceive to be a world financial crisis, God continues to further the mission at Community through blessing us with incredible generosity. This past weekend, our offering was over budget by about 15%! And this number is not just about a budget, not at all. This number is about so much more.
This number represents:
Several new families at our newest Plainfield campus who have found their way back to God and have begun experiencing the joy of generosity through tithing and giving to those around them, discovering what it means to truly life a generous life…
Eleven new families churchwide who began giving for the very first time this weekend as a result of God working radically in their lives through this church…
A group of attenders at our Naperville campus who recently came together for a retreat to take a greater ownership over the mission of helping people find their way back to God through exploring new ways to reallocate generosity to this Jesus Mission at Community…
A group of attenders at our Shorewood campus who recently experienced a life-changing day called Walk Through the Bible where they discovered God speaking to them in specific ways through His Word and learned more about what it means to be a true Christ Follower…
Several hundred small groups churchwide who are experiencing what is said to be one of the best DVD curriculums our small groups team has ever put together called The Story of Everything…
Over 5,000 people across nine locations who are encountering God week after week, day after day, and who are living radically different lives than they once lived as a result of God’s Spirit moving in their hearts… and who are devoting their changed lives to helping more people find their way back to God.
I can’t help but feel the excitement measured with the weight of responsibility that this type of acceleration brings to a church like Community.
God, give us the wisdom it takes to continue stewarding these gifts of time, talents, and treasure in a way that glorifies you and helps more people experience the joy of knowing you. We are thankful for each and every person you have brought into this place. Thank you for their hearts, thank you for their commitment, and thank you for their openness to allowing you to work through them in a way that only you can do.
3 Responses to “God is Hitting the Accelerator at Community!”
November 14th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I am still suprised that no-one has commented on this post! You are not the only one feeling this way and seeing it. God is awesome, and I am really psyched for what is next with us!
November 17th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
‘Tis true .. great post Julie!
March 6th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Hey Julie,
I’d love to chat….email me.
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