Latest email from Mark
Sunday afternoon @ 4:45 in WC146: A Gathering of ABS Leaders (All = Disciple, Community, & Mission) Be there. Bring a pen. Bring a ready mind & heart. Expect!
Vision…. Hope… Strategy will be shared and we will initiate 2011 with much expectancy and a desire for ongoing unity. As we pray, we are asking God to be Himself among us in ways that lends great glory to His name and that this area, city, and the nations will be glad because we meet. We are praying that the Word of God ‘study us’ as we study His Word. It is an ongoing prayer that we lift up the name of Jesus and that, as we lift His name, He will draw men, women, and children to Himself. This is going to be a remarkable year!
We are planning a ‘Welcome’ party for our NEW student pastors on Sunday evening, January 16th. We want them to know that we are glad that they are joining in with the vision that God is orchestrating at Valley View. We want them to know that they are well loved. Ultimately, we want them to know that they will be prayed for and encouraged and strengthened in their ministry from their first moments in our fellowship. So, after the PM Service on the 16th, we will have a meet and greet in the foyer. Also, I am asking our ABS groups to pour out some love in a very practical manner.
After getting great and wise feedback from those who read my e mail last week, I am making a slight adjustment in my instructions. It appears that EVERYONE likes the theme idea and my pounding idea = not so much. So, here is my guiding wisdom….
- 9 AM groups, please provide a ‘themed’ basket for the T.J. Joy family.
- 10:30 AM groups, please provide a ‘themed’ basket for the Steven Platt family
(Pate/Wright & Jim Smith Groups – will you please provide for the T.J. Joy family in order to assure an even number of baskets for each?)
Feel free to be as creative as you would like with your theme ideas. Here are a few examples of themes. Please don’t be limited by my examples!
- Game Night (board – games, etc); Night on the Town; Ball-Game Night; Woods & Water (kill something and eat it theme!); Cooking Thrills; Baking Basket; Laundry Basket; Pampered Basket; etc.
Example: When we first moved here, we received the neatest gift. It was delivered in a ‘Roll Tide’ bucket and filled with soda’s and snacks and Alabama cups and Alabama plates and napkins and odds and ends that I can’t remember. Putting a gift card to Wings U or Dreamland with a basket like this would be a nirvana themed basket! It was SO special to receive this love and we felt so blessed. We simply want to pour out the love on these couples and welcome them to ministry at Valley View.
- We will have tables set up in the foyer in the afternoon on the 16th. Please deliver your baskets by 5:45 PM that evening. The table will be labeled “T.J. & Malyssa Joy” or “Steven & Ashley Platt” – PLEASE place your basket on the proper table.
- Also, it would be great to take some time this Sunday or next to write a note from your group and place that note in the basket. Encourage them with words and let them know that you will be praying for them as they minister!
- Disciple Leaders (Teachers), you may not be the best ‘themed’ people. I guarantee that you have people in your class who would LOVE to do this. Collect some resources (money) via your class and cut people who are good at this loose to provide the themed gift.
If you have questions about this fun-fest, please feel free to ask me on Sunday night at our equipping meeting OR drop me an e mail.
Huge Stuff that you need to know….
- Our Students will have a Disciple Now weekend on January 21 – 23. This will be a life-changing event! Our kids will leave their homes and park their lives in host-homes in this city for a weekend. They will be challenged to ‘Become’….. to become all that God intends for them…. To become students who shape the culture for the glory of God… to become leaders in the church today AND in the future. This weekend will include intense discipleship and amazing concerts and powerful speakers and TONS of laughter and fun! If you teach a class that holds parents of 6 – 12thgrade students, please let them know that we will have a sign up table in the Gathering Area (Mall) THIS Sunday. This is a ‘can’t miss’ event for our students!
- The Awakening! February 13 – 16… Kari Jobe will lead us in worship. Scott Dawson will open the Word. We will invite multitudes and we expect that our God will spring salvation from the ground. Prepare your hearts! Prepare the heart of your group!! Today, begin to challenge your group to identify a family that they would love to invite to The Awakening. We are expecting a God-sized move!
o You will hear MUCH more details over the next 2 – 3 weeks about The Awakening… things like 18 Days and 3/20 and 1….. Pray and Expect!
- February 6 is the Super Bowl. We are planning to do several things on Super Bowl night. We will have church, just not at church! We plan to use the MOST WATCHED EVENT in the nation for the good of the gospel. Here are suggestions…
o Plan an ABS party site for your group! (If you group is super-sized, plan a couple of party sites)
o Use this party to reach out to couples who you have identified and been praying for as people that you want to invite. What a ‘safe’ and fun night to get them into the heart of your group
o I will provide a Power to Win half-time DVD IF REQUESTED. This DVD can be used to present the gospel in an unthreatening way. For more info, look atwww.sportsspectrum.com
The Super Bowl can be a great football game, but it can be SO much more. It can be an event that welcomes people into your group and, even more gloriously, that welcomes people into the Kingdom. (We will not have a typical service on campus that night in order to encourage our groups to enjoy parties with purpose)
Our students (6 – 12th) will have an on-campus Fest during the Super Bowl game. They will have a highly intentional outreach at half-time. Our new guys have just arrived, but they are hoping to secure a UA athlete and to have them share in tandem with the Sports Spectrum Video. UA athlete is TBD.
There is so much going on at Valley View. God is opening doors and hearts and lives to His work in ways that overwhelm me. Our college students just returned from a completely life-altering event. Our MS/ HS students are opening their eyes and hearts to God’s ‘next’ in our fellowship. Our kid’s ministry is striving to grow amazing kids in the grace and knowledge of Christ. A new intern (Quanah) will be asking God to open doors across this city in order that Valley View has EXTREME mission impact. I could keep listing all that God is doing and still miss SO much. God is alive and at work among us. Pray and expect as never before. Let’s ask God for an amazing 2011! I am so grateful to be a partner in the gospel. I am so humbled to be able to serve and to share in what God is doing here. I love you all and I cannot wait to venture through this year with you! 3/20!!
By Grace… For Glory,
Mark
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