Archive for the ‘community’ Category

Christmas With Avalon

Posted: December 3, 2008 in Avalon, community, FCC Owasso
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When it comes to Avalon, the premier vocal group in Christian music, there is much
to know:
• Five successful studio projects, a remix album, two RIAA-certified gold records
• 19 No. 1 radio hits, 14 of which were featured on a single album, Testify to Love:
The Very Best of Avalon, a feat only an elite few artists have accomplished
• 20 Dove nominations; three Dove Awards
• Two Grammy nominations
• A 2002 American Music Award for Contemporary Inspirational Music

The “Christmas with Avalon” tour is coming to First Christian Church of Owasso on December 18th and 19th at 7:00 PM. You can get your tickets now at http://www.itickets.com or by calling the church office at 918.272.9551.

Tickets are only $12.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door. We have kept the ticket prices low becuase we are asking all who attend to bring a new or gently used coat to donate to Gyles Coates for Kids. Make your plans now to be a part of this incredible night and help bring warmth to someone in need this Christmas season. I hope to see you there!

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Make A Difference Monday: "IT" Matters

Posted: November 3, 2008 in band, church, community, creative planning team, FCC Owasso, planning, service, small groups, worship
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I remember, several weeks ago, sitting in our weekly Creative Planning meeting and going over our upcoming services about community. One of our team members mentioned how tough it was for some people to feel comfortable committing to a small group. He began to describe it like a personal tug-of-war, constantly pulling against the demands of life in order to grow spiritually as a christian. Suddenly an idea was born. The team came up with a drama about a guy pulling on a rope that continually refused help because of his own pride.

The idea was great but there was a big problem, we do not have a drama team at FCC. That may have seemed like a deal breaker for most but we have an axiom we use a lot in our planning meetings, “Don’t let logistics get in the way of a good idea.” The team began to jot down names of people who might be able to pull this off and began the process of convincing them that they were the right people to make this happen. Here is the result.

I know there are a lot of Worship Leaders and Creative Arts people that read this so I want to take this opportunity to tell you, no matter what the obstacles you face, “IT” matters.
The time you spend in creative and planning meetings matter.
The evenings you give up to rehearse with your band matters.
The mornings you drive into the office before the sun even comes up matters.
The countless hours you spend investing into the lives of your volunteers matter.
The tech meetings matter.
Your hard work matters.
The lives you touch matter.
“IT” Matters… to God
God is so incredible. He has a way of taking the little things we do and turning them into major life changing moments. Thanks Mike for your amazing testimony!

Mad Prop’s Friday

Posted: October 3, 2008 in church, community, FCC Owasso, Mad Prop's Friday, small groups
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Friday is Mad Prop’s Day! This is the day I give my “Prop’s” to someone who has done something outstanding during the week. Feel free to leave your own “prop’s”, “atta boy’s”, or whatever it is you happen say to let someone know they are friggin awesome.

For months I have watched our congregation go through various transition for various reasons. We literally re-located from a building we had worshiped in for over 30 years, We have had to re-think major ministries like VBS, we’ve even had to make some really difficult decisions like ending long term ministries such as our preschool program of twenty-seven years. 2008 has been the year of change for First Christian Church Owasso. There have been literally hundreds of changes to our growing church and all indications point to more on the horizon.

One of the biggest moves we have made was due in large part to the rapid growth of our congregation. Our leadership made the conscious decision to shepherd through small groups. This has been a major transition because we have always used our Sunday School program to care for the majority of church members. There were several problems with this model but the biggest was that it didn’t cover the large majority of our membership. At one point there were over six hundred members who were not involved in anything other than our Sunday morning services. As a result, the leadership determined there was a better way to shepherd our congregation and they tasked our Associate Minister, Matt Thomason, with developing a small group program.

After months of hard work and planning we launched our small group program on September 7th. In just five short weeks we have seen a radical change in our church. We are hearing stories every week about small groups engaging in the lives of people who are going through divorces, people who have lost loved ones, providing financial assistance to people who have lost their jobs and people who need to know Christ on a deeper level. There are now less than two hundred people that have yet to plug in to a group of some sort and as a result, the life change that we have witnessed has been extraordinary.

This week I want to give my Mad Prop’s to Matt Thomason. This was probably the biggest and most difficult transition we have had to make in the life of our congregation. Matt and his team have done an outstanding job of helping our church better shepherd and care for each other through small groups. The task has not been an easy one and Matt would tell you there is still a lot to be done, never the less “Mad Prop’s” to Matt T. and his leadership in our new groups initiative!

Leave “Mad Prop’s” for Matt T. and comment about your small group experience over the past five weeks.

Make A Difference Monday

Posted: September 22, 2008 in church, community, friends, Make A Difference Monday, ministry, small groups
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Here at romanstwelveone we are always looking for ways to be “Living Sacrifices”. As a part of that effort Mondays are “Make a Difference Day”. This is an effort that goes beyond giving our used items to Goodwill or dropping money in the plate each week. While those things are important it is equally important that we allow God to use us to impact the lives of those around us in real and tangible ways. This is your day to share and brainstorm ideas on how we can live out our worship in a way that is “holy and pleasing to God”.

Sunday, my small group was informed of a woman who is going through an incredibly difficult divorce. Not only does she need your prayer and spiritual help she has now found herself in desperate need of physical help. While I cannot print her name here, I can tell you she has just a few days left to move out of her house and has literally no where to go. This week a few of the ladies in our group are helping find a place for her (and her kids) to live and this weekend several of us are getting together to help her pack and move her stuff into wherever that may be. All of us have been effected (either directly or indirectly) by broken marriages. We can all relate to the difficulties this woman and her family are facing at this very moment. The needs here are great and if you feel that God is leading you to help please let me know and I can fill you in. This is where the church shines and where lives are impacted. Please pray about how you can join us and help this family in their time of need.

Let us know how you are impacting your community, school or share an idea you may have that could make a real difference in somone’s life. Your turn…

Make A Difference Monday

Posted: September 15, 2008 in community, Make A Difference Monday, ministry, service
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I have been thinking about doing something like this for a long time now. Im not sure how well this will work or if any of you would even consider participating. However, I want to use Mondays to challenge, discuss or create ways that we can help make a difference in people’s lives beyond our normal daily routines. So here is your assignment. Explain one tangible way you are helping make a difference in people’s lives and why. You may not be doing this on a weekly basis but your ideas may be helpful to someone who is looking for a way to show Christ’s love to others. If you are not involved in something but have an idea let us know what you are thinking. The idea here is that we can create somewhat of a “think-tank” that will help generate ideas about ways we can impact our community in a real and tangible way. Here is what one community from Atlanta is doing…

Your turn! Let the impact begin…

Tuesday Question Of the Week

Posted: September 2, 2008 in church, community, Leadership, ministry, small groups
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One of the big buzz words in many churches these days is “Community”. It’s always interesting to me that we find new and creative ways to package what God intended for the church to be. When I was growing up it was CARE groups then later it was LIFE groups. It wasn’t much longer we threw away the acronyms and called it Small Groups and of course now its just Groups with an emphasis on “community”. I guess the most surprising part of this is the concept of repackaging is that we have to do it at all. Its almost as if we have to “sell” God’s word to the believers to claim to follow His word.

You don’t have to look very hard to find God’s intention in establishing smaller communities in which to do ministry. When Moses was leading the Israelite people God recognized that it was next to impossible for any one man to lead such a massive amount of people. He had Moses divide his people into smaller groups down to ten per group just so he could lead them effectively. Jesus had a small group who later established small communities around the region and eventually started the greatest small group movement in the history of mankind.
Most of the New Testament was written to small groups of people.

I find it a bit ironic that the larger we get as a congregation the smaller we have to become to shepherd people and do ministry effectively. So here is my question of the week:

Tuesday Question of the Week

Are you in a small group? Why?/Why not?