Compass Groups January 2015

Dear CCC Family,

2015 is here!  With the start of a new year, there comes a sense of restarting and building.  So with that in mind, here is a question, what are you going to do to build authentic community and establish spiritual growth in your life?  May I suggest joining a Compass Group through CCC.  Compass Groups are the small group environment designed to provide the opportunity for authentic community and spiritual growth.  We have many opportunities beginning this week for you to be a part of this exciting discipleship process.  (Please also note that Stuart will be holding student meetings(IGNITE) on Wednesdays)

Before we get to the options, let me give you some expectations.  These groups will be meeting for a limited time so we ask for a high commitment as the health of the group depends on these factors.  

1) ATTEND.  If you decide to participate, please commit to attend consistently for the length of the study.  Relationships can only build through consistent investment of each involved.  Committing to attend and participate for 6 weeks will give you a taste of what Compass Group is designed to provide.  

2) PARTICIPATE.  Plan to participate in discussion.  These are not classes where you attend and expect to be fed information.  Participation is needed in order for community to be built.  

3) OBSERVE.  Anticipate God speaking and moving as you invest your lives with one another.  Bring an attitude of openness to what God wants to do rather than simply what you hope to receive.

Many may ask the question, what if I want to check out another group at the end of a study?  Where your commitment to the time of the study is expected, you can change groups after that.  You are not committed for life to this group.  The desire is that you are able to find a place where authentic community and spiritual growth are fostered and experienced.  This doesn’t happen for each individual in every group, every time.  There also may be another study that may appeal to you down the road that is provided by another group or leader.  You have the freedom to consider those. 

 

So, with these things considered, here are the options:

Tuesday Morning Ladies Compass Group

9:30AM Weekly

Leader: Kathy Budd

Study: What is the Holy Spirit? and The Names of God

Starts: January 6

Childcare: NOT provided

Tuesday Evening Compass Group

6:30-8PM Weekly

Leaders: Eric and Erikka Pratt

Study: When God’s Spirit Moves by Jim Cymbala

Starts: January 13

Childcare: PROVIDED

Wednesday Evening Ladies Compass Group

6:30-8PM Weekly

Leader: Lorelei Swearengin

Study: Redeemed! by Kerry Clarensau

Starts: January 14

Childcare: PROVIDED

Wednesday Evening Compass Group

6:30-8PM Weekly

Leader: Lance Swearengin

Study: When God’s Spirit Moves by Jim Cymbala

Starts: January 14

Childcare: PROVIDED

Wednesday Evening IGNITE for Students

6:30-7:30PM Weekly

Leader: Stuart McPherson

Starts: January 14

Thursday Evening Compass Group

6:30-8PM Weekly

Leaders: Dan and Pat Benninger

Study: What is the Holy Spirit

Starts: January 8

Childcare: NOT provided

Please sign up or direct questions to conifercc@msn.com.  Please join in and look forward with me to a great start to 2015!

Blessings,

Pastor Lance

CCC Christmas (Advent)ure 2014

Dear CCC Family,

GET READY!!!  The Christmas Season is upon us.  There are many opportunities for you to serve and participate through CCC in reaching our community for Christ this year.  Our theme is (Advent)ure as there is both great anticipation for the celebration of the birth of Christ and there is an exciting journey that awaits His followers.  As you consider your involvement, I ask you to consider three things.  1)How are you growing? 2)Where are you serving? and 3)How are you sharing the love of Christ this year through CCC?  With each of these ideas here are some opportunities coming soon.

How will you grow?:

One of the most important ways you can grow during this season is through Sunday morning worship.  There will be an (Advent)ure awaiting us all every Sunday 9:30AM.  Students will have the opportunity to experience the (Advent)ure of weekly meetings during the three weeks approaching Christmas.  You may want to make it a very personal (Advent)ure through the links below for free PDF formatted Bible Study and Devotions through the month of December.

Advent Bible Study

Advent Devotional

Where will you serve?

Our fantastic First Impressions team is always looking for smiling faces to join the (Advent)ure in greeting people at the door on Sunday mornings.  

Help us decorate the church for Christmas through Hanging of the Greens November 22, 9AM.

We will light up the Christmas lights November 29, 4:45-6PM, and we will need people to help prep and serve snacks for the community to enjoy during this event!

How will you share?:

Sharing God’s love can be an (Advent)ure through time, talents, and treasures!  Plan to INVITE FRIENDS to great events like Christmas Light Kick-Off(11/29, 4:45), Ladies Fun and Fellowship(12/5, 6PM), Community Christmas Party(12/12, 5:30PM), and Christmas Eve Services (3, 4:30, 6, and 7:30PM).  Share your resources through donating food for the Lights Kick-Off(11/29), sponsoring and Angel Tree family(available soon), and Special offering for Care Ministry(Christmas Eve Services).

Whatever ways God leads you this season, make it an (Advent)ure as you grow, serve, and share His love and hope!  Merry Christmas!!!

For His Glory,

Pastor Lance

Church Family Night

A long time ago, in a land on the other side of the globe…

It was a period of great victory in the resurrection, and there was great persecution from those who opposed the followers of the Way.  Led by a group of disciples who spread the good news to every part of the world that was known to them, the church family had its beginning.

Through covenants by God and failed attempts by man, God sent His Son Jesus to conquer sin and death.  The process of reconciliation continued in a special way through the cross of Christ.  This band of followers took up that mission to make disciples, and we are continuing that mission today.

Church Family night will begin September 24, 2014, and it will continue, in Conifer, the mission begun by those original disciples.  Every Wednesday September 24-November 19 we will enlist the best of our Jedi trainers to train our church for the task of being disciples of Jesus.  The children will learn to arm themselves with the armor of God.  The students will learn to live with courage in the face of adversity.  The adults will learn to manage finances or interpret the Bible.

All of this to equip every member of the Kingdom of God for the task at hand, Reaching Our Community for Christ.  Plan to join with us in this struggle as we fight against the forces of darkness and shine light on the Conifer area.  Sign up for childcare, classes, and groups either on the communication card or the online form and be a part of this band of disciples who race to see God restore the freedom to our hearts as He created them for life in the beginning….

Fellowship of the Unashamed

We are in exciting days at Conifer Community Church.  Many things are coming up that have the potential to reach our community in new ways with the gospel.  Pastor Lance shared on August 10 and 17 about this call to reach our community for Christ.  You can listen to those messages on our website if you missed them.  One responsibility as a disciple of Jesus is to be a witness, through our lives, that is unashamed of the gospel.  May our colors be clear by the power of God's Spirit.

Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

by Dr. Bob Moorehead

"...Thy Will Be Done..."

“I wish we were on the same page.”  This is a comment I hear in church, marriages, and as people talk about their relationship with God.  The desire is to be working from the same goals, desires, projects, etc.  In spiritual term, we want to be discerning and doing the will of God.  This desire should drive us to spend time in prayer with God continually.

Melanie and I have coffee time as often as we can.  This is a time when we sit down and discuss life stuff, heart stuff, and set our direction as a family.  When we meet regularly it is amazing how many difficult things can come up in life and we remain on course.  But if there is a period of time that life “gets in the way” of our coffee time, it is very predictable that life will get in the way of our relationship.  Have you had those times when things seem to just work, not because things go as planned, but because you have taken time to get on the same page with others?  This is the way relationships work.  Time spent together getting on the same page is essential to working from the same page.  I have found that it works in a similar way with God.  When time is spent with God in prayer regularly, it makes life work much more smoothly even though difficulties arise.

Jesus spent His “coffee time” with His Father on a regular basis, and His life reflected that relationship.  It served as an example to how our relationship with God and others should go.  Many times in the gospels we see Jesus retreat to pray.  In Mark 1:35-39 we see the demands of the people around Him did not throw Him off course.  He and His Father were on the same page.  When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He taught them to say, “Thy will be done…”  Time in prayer puts you on the same page as God through submission to His will.  Prayer is listening to His will breathed into your life.  

This 40 day challenge in prayer should deepen your relationship with God, and in turn, should give you a clearer focus on His will in your life.  Begin with simply submitting to His will.  Ask for His direction.  Ask for His wisdom.  And listen in silence to His voice.  You may not have a great revelation at that moment, but over time together with God, He will place the pieces of our lives and hearts in the place that they should be.  Let's allow ourselves to get on the same page as our creator.

May God clarify His will for you as you spend time with Him in prayer.

40 Days of Prayer

“The Christmas lights at the church are wonderful!”  This can be heard many times over throughout the season as you could imagine.  It is interesting what comes next in many cases.  I usually follow this comment from someone by asking if they have parked and tuned their car radio to 97.7 to see and hear the full experience.  Many of the people I talk to have only seen the lights on Hwy 285, and then there are some who have parked and watched the animated lights without realizing that the lights are choreographed to music and broadcast on the radio.  Others still have seen and heard the full experience.  The last group are the ones who are the most amazed.

For many of us this illustrates well our experience of the Christian faith and in particular, a life of prayer.  Many experience prayer simply as a drive-by observance.  The intersection of life and prayer consists of hearing an elder, pastor, or worship leader pray at church, and occasionally sharing in a word of grace when the family is gathered for big meals.

Others have said prayers at bedtime, dinnertime, and difficult times throughout their lives.  This experience can be rewarding and challenging.  It is as if you are watching life flash in front of you with only the soundtrack of your particular life playing.  You are left to create your own music in your head, and many times that music is silent.

But then there are those who seem to be constantly in a prayerful attitude.  They see and hear things that others do not.  They have answers to their prayers, and there is a sense of constant contentment as the storms of life rage around them.  Somehow they have tuned in to the correct station and hear what music is suppose to be playing in the otherwise seeming silence and chaos.

As you can see from the illustration of the Christmas lights, there is not a great distance between those three experiences.  My hope and prayer is that during the first 40 days of 2014, as we commit to pray in new ways, we will all see that there is a full and meaningful experience within the Christian faith and relationship with God that is not too far from where you are right now.

What is 40 Days of Prayer(DOP) suppose to be?

40 DOP is a spiritual growth campaign lasting for the first 40 days of 2014.  The personal challenge is to ask yourself, “What does my prayer life look like right now?” And “What are some small steps of faith through prayer can I take in the first 40 days of 2014?”  Maybe you have never prayed regularly or daily.  Set aside a few minutes each day in the morning and evening to simply pray. You don’t have to have the “right” words.  You just need a heart that desires to be in tune with God’s heart.

Maybe you have been praying bedtime and mealtime prayers for years, but there seems to be a deeper experience that you are missing.  It may be good for you to set aside a larger block of time to pray and listen to God’s guidance.  You may want to pick a Psalm and pray through he Psalms.  This can keep your thoughts and prayers focused on God rather than the concerns of the day.  You may also want to use a prayer devotional such as Draw the Circle to help guide your prayers for those 40 days.

Perhaps you consider yourself a “Prayer Warrior.”  You will probably already know what to do when we as a church and community set 40 days to prayer.  You may want to spend some time at the church praying through the rooms, and walking around our property praying for God to keep His hand on His church.  You may also decide to walk around your neighborhood praying for those who live close to you, and when you are walking through the grocery store pray for those who you pass between the aisles.  You may also want to sit and pray for those around you at church on a Sunday morning.  Pray that God will bring His Spirit to life among us in 2014.  The possibilities are limitless, and the growing experience is priceless to see God at work.

Bottom line is that each of us takes a new step in prayer as we begin a new year.

Why 40 Days?

There are a few reasons for the 40 day designation.  Before I give you a few reasons, realize that there is nothing right or wrong with doing things this way.  It is simply a designated concentrated time for us to be on the same page for 40 days and developing the same spiritual discipline for that time.  With this in mind here are a few thoughts on the 40 days:

1)  40 is a significant number used throughout the Bible.  The rain fell for 40 days and nights on Noah.  The children of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness, and Jesus went into the desert for prayer and fasting for 40 days before He began His ministry.  Again there is no magic in the 40 days other than it is a significant period of time to focus our hearts and lives.

2)  40 days will help you develop a new “prayer habit” for the new year.  If you build a new habit for this amount of time consistently, it is more likely to become a lifestyle.  We should be constantly striving to build patterns in our lives that reflect the character to Christ, and prayer is one of those disciplines that builds character and causes growth effectively.

3)  Why prayer for 40 days?  We are encouraged by the apostle Paul to “Pray continuously” (1 Thess. 5:18).  Prayer is as essential to our relationship with God as studying His Word and worship on Sundays.  Prayer adds a dynamic to our relationship with God that allows us to express our deepest struggles, confess our sins, and listen to His voice and will.  40 days of concentrated effort and expression will allow us to grow significantly in our spiritual lives.

What is the plan for the 40 days?

Personally:  Set aside time each day for prayer and pray during that time.  There will be resources provided to help guide those prayers for our church, community, and personal lives.  If you have a kindle you may want to purchase the 40 day devotional Draw the Circle to set the tone.

As a Church:  We will have designated opportunities to come together in prayer and study during the 40 days.  Share your stories and struggles during this time of prayer with others that you know well.  My hope and prayer is that this time will broaden our vision of our God and see the things He wants us to set our hands to do this year and into the future.  Sermons will be focused on the topic of prayer and challenges will be proclaimed each week through God’s Word.

Two Services

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

1 Corinthians 3:6

Dear CCC Family,

As I have mentioned a couple of times in service, the leadership is considering if this is the time God wants us to move to two services on Sunday morning.  This is both an exciting and prayerful time for us all.  We are still welcoming any feedback you may have about two services.  I appreciate the honesty with which many of you are expressing your feelings about this potential move!  Each comment is being taken seriously and with great contemplation.  As you are processing the prospect of this potential change, here are just a few prayerful thoughts reflecting some of the feedback so far.  

1)  Some have asked the basic question, "Why are we thinking about two services?"  

The short answer is because space is limited, and we are seeing a consistent increase in attendance.  The elders have been watching this for a couple of years pretty closely.  This Fall has been the greatest seasonal increase in recent memory.  The average attendance has increased 18% comparing Fall of 2012 and Fall of 2013.  There are also many new people/families visiting.  We are seeing an increase that God is providing and our desire is to be a good steward of what God provides.  Another thing we must consider is capacity in parking.  With our service attendance at 167 on December 15 with Elk Creek, the parking lot was full.  We should not plan that we can sustain full for an extended period of time. (see capacity discussion under question 2)

2)  What other options can we consider or have been considered?

A couple of things have been discussed, and a couple of things have been enacted.  We have added more seats to the main level and the balcony which increases the capacity slightly.  This should provide for a small increase in attendance, but it will not accommodate the size of increase experienced between Fall of 2012 and 2013 again.  This reasoning is based on church growth principle which states that a congregation will not be able to sustain attendance of more than 80% capacity in any given space, parking included.  We are staying in the 70-80% range right now.  Where there can be exceptions to any rule of thumb, I don't think we should plan with the idea that we are the exception.

It has also been suggested that the children be kept in their classes instead of attending the beginning of the service.  The space created by children and leaders would not amount to a great increase of space at this point.  The children are also attending out of a conviction from leadership that our children need to be brought up to understand the importance of broader church worship.  This is a valuable time for the children to learn the songs of the congregation, join in communion as appropriate, learn about communion, and interact with leaders in the church through the children's sermon.

We also have the new renovation area to consider, but we are a ways away from being able to develop that and parking lot in a way that will double our capacity.

3)  Will this create more work and time commitment for those who are serving?

Yes and no.  For some there may be increased time commitment initially, but we also must keep in mind that it creates more opportunity for others to get involved.  With the potential of more people in attendance and particularly new people joining, there will be an increase in the number of people participating on teams who are serving as well.  This, in most cases, is not simply a doubling of work, but it is a time of multiplication of ministry.

4)  Will this create a generational divide in the congregation?

This is probably the biggest concern looking at the transition, and I don't have a solid answer for this.  It is an issue that consumes much of my prayer time with regards to two services.  Having generations represented in each service is of such great value.  Our leadership team is taking a very careful look at what is "offered" during each service, and our intention is to make sure there is no generational divide created because of the offering of programing.

At the core of this concern is also a question of fellowship with those whom we enjoy each week, will I see them any more?  One of the things that has been considered an essential in this discussion is a transition period of about 30 minutes between services for fellowship and community building.  This would give a time for people to connect between services.  

5)  When will this happen?

Currently the leadership team is taking time to pray as we look at the data and listen to the congregational concerns.  After the first of the year, Ministry Council will meet and decide if this is the right time to go to two services.  As soon as the decision has been made a timeline will be communicated so that we can prepare as a congregation, volunteer teams, and leadership teams.  The bottom line concern is that we are good stewards of the people God is sending our way.  

6)  How should I prepare?

Prayer.  We will begin 2014 with 40 days of prayer.  Among the things we lift to the Lord should be the growth of His church.  Listen carefully as you study His Word.  Pentecost began as the disciples were simply gathered in prayer.  Their minds and hearts were open to what God wanted to do, and the church began.  Also communicate the thoughts you are processing.  You are welcome to speak with a ministry leader, email Dorothy in the office, or email me.  

This is an exciting time when God is moving clearly in our midst.  I hear stories each week of how people are growing in their relationship with Christ through the ministries of CCC.  Excitement is contagious.  Watch, listen, and learn what God is doing.  Join Him in His purpose with CCC, and let us step boldly into 2014 in prayer.

Prayerfully,

Pastor Lance