• What God is doing at our church is incredible.  I love our church!
• Do you realize our church has grown 20% in one year?  That is incredible.
• I loved teaching on the difference between believing in God and really knowing God.  Most people think having a personal relationship with God(really knowing God) is unlikely, unrealistic, and unattainable.  The Bible says that knowing God is the whole reason why we were born.  Build on your commitment to know Him better by spending time alone in prayer, Bible reflection and journaling.  It will change your life!
• We had 8 people cross over from death to life through baptism this morning.  It is thrilling to see God working in people’s lives.  Changed lives is what our church is all about!  And it never gets old.
• We ran out of parking spaces this morning.  We are going to have solve that problem.
• I had the opportunity to teach our First Steps Membership Class this afternoon.  God is bringing some special people to our church.  The room was packed.  We really had no more room for anyone else.
• Life Groups launch in just 3 weeks.  God has not only called us to believe, but He has called us to belong.  Luann and I will be teaching Discipleship Training Level 1 on Wednesday nights at 6pm.  If you are serious about growing in your walk and you are willing to have accountability and spend daily time alone with God, then this group is for you.  Sign up at stonescrossing.com.
• One thing I loved about today’s baptism services was the fact our elementary kids and students got to see everyone being baptized.  Very cool!
• Motion, our high school student ministry, met in the auditorium tonight for the first time.  They have completely outgrown room 140.  I loved hearing Ryan talk about what it means to be a real disciple of Jesus.  The students were challenged to bring a pair of shoes to donate to someone in need and walk out without wearing any shoes.  It is hard to believe so many in our world do not have shoes to wear.  After tonight, a few more will now have shoes.  We can all make a difference one person at a time!
• I am pumped about football season!  But I am concerned about the Colts opening game against the Texans.  Houston is going to be really good this year.  Hopefully, the Colts will be able to patch together an offensive line before too long.

We realize many of you are wondering what our next steps are related to “The House.”  Here are some answers to the most common questions we are receiving:

When do we begin contributing to “The House” Campaign?

The answer to this question is simple:  right now!  The campaign officially began on May 2nd.  The earlier everyone fulfills their pledge, the earlier we can break ground.

Is it okay for us to designate all of our tithes and offerings into the “The House” Campaign fund? Contributions to the “The House” should be over and above our normal giving.  Do not forget we still have to pay the light bill, as well as fund current ministries and pay staff salaries.  We do this through tithes and offerings given to the General Fund.

How do I give to the “The House” Campaign?

Simply write “The House” on your memo line of your check or check “The House” on your giving envelope.  You can also give securely online at www.stonescrossing.com.

Are you disappointed we did not hit the goal of $700,000?

No way!  We are hopeful the actual cost of the expansion will be lower than our initial projections.

What are the next steps?

We are currently talking with local banks about financing the expansion.  We are also beginning the process of developing the construction plans with our architect which will take approximately 30 days.  It will take an additional 15 days after the plans have been finalized to secure bids for the project.   Once the bids have been secured, we will communicate to the church what the actual costs will be.

What if my financial situation changes?

If you need to make an adjustment on your pledge, please contact Kristi Bennett at kristi@stonescrossing.com.

Pastor Ryan Johnson told me that this past Sunday, there were 53 middle schoolers worshiping during The Flow (our Sunday morning middle school environment). That is the most middle schoolers we have ever had!  What God is doing is so exciting and it is because of your prayers, support and generosity!   With God’s help, we can do this!

The Luck family attended the University of Alabama’s Spring Football game, A-Day.  There were 91,000 people in attendance to watch this practice game.  Needless to say, Coach Saban and I were very pleased with the outcome.

Our strategy is to encourage couples to invest heavily into their marriages.  Ultimately, our goal is to use this felt need for a better marriage to bring people to Christ.  We are not sure where God is taking us, but we are excited we are taking a huge first step in just a matter of days!

From Heather:

“I have already delivered our gifts to our adopted family.  They are really sweet!  Would love for our church to stay in touch with this family.  They are currently looking for new inexpensive housing so if anyone knows of anything please contact me or the family.  They have such consuming health issues it is hard for them to attend church services but she definitely seemed open to the word and God’s love.  Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to meet this precious family.”

From Steve and Laura:

“I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to serve someone in need this Christmas.  My husband and I wanted all of our family to participate in a project such as this.  Last evening we loaded the kids in the car (some were a little grumpy at first) and headed off to the store.  Once the shopping commenced, everyone seriously went into action looking for just the right gift!  We all began to have fun and didn’t mind sacrificing time to bless another person in need.  The gifts were delivered and the family was very grateful.  Thank you for organizing this project and giving our family an opportunity reach out to another.  We were so blessed!!!”

This one is from Melanie:

“Hi!  We delivered everything to our adopted family on Wednesday evening.  They were great.  We spent time talking with them.  They do have an older daughter, 19 who lives with them that wasn’t on the list.  So we are going to send her some $ for her classes she is taking in January.”

From Debra and Rick:

“We delivered our presents to our family on Wednesday. They were very appreciative. I told them to give the gifts to the children from them. We felt blessed to be able to help.”

This was a note that Miki received from one of the families we ministered to.  It shows you how powerful sacrificial love can be.

“I want to thank you from the bottom on my heart! This means so much to me and will be such a blessing for my boys! I can’t wait to the day when I can help someone else out who is in need…But now under my circumstances, God has provided in so many ways for my boys and I. So each and every day I wake up I thank him for his guidance, understanding, and for walking with me every step of the way! I could go on about the many blessings that have happened. But the day you called me I was is shock as I knew it was going to be hard for me to give my boys a Christmas they deserved. I was so blessed by your call! …As I said this means so much to me and I promise you one day I will pay it forward! I am a big believer in that!

Our church is amazing!  Let’s keep it up!

“We have gone to church for a long time and we have always given an offering but we never tithed.  Over the last year God has been speaking to us in this area of our lives.  On Sunday January 22, Pastor Scott was speaking about tithing and we decided (even before he issued the 3 month challenge) that we were going to listen to God, give God control of our finances and begin the practice of tithing.  During that service I wrote a 2nd check for the amount that made 10% of our pay that week and added it to the envelope.  My husband had no idea I had written this extra check.  We got home from church that day and he handed me in cash the exact amount of money that I had written that 2nd check for!  I laughed and told him about the check and that it was for the same amount that the cash was.  I knew God would bless us, but I sure didn’t expect it to happen that fast!”

Here is another one I received:

“In January we realized that our family had approximately $1,000 in unexpected bills that we had not prepared for.  Although there was no way that our income would cover these expenses we continued to tithe our 10% in faith that somehow we would figure it out later.  Not truly having any plans.  Sort of just using the ignore method.  In January we made a decision to change our home owners insurance policy in attempt to save a little money.  After making this change we received a check for roughly $950 due to overpayment from our original insurance policy that we had canceled.  God is capable and faithful and all I can say is look out, He will do measurable more than what we could ever imagine.”

And there is more:

“2009 was a very hard year for us. Our family endured a lot of illness (nothing serious) that resulted in a lot of medical bills, co-pays and deductibles. It seemed as if every time we turned around, something in our house was going out and we were having to replace water heaters and water softeners and garage doors and openers. Then there was my car. Fuel pump, odometer, breaks down. WHAT MORE???? We also suffered with marital struggles.   Instead of continuing to trust God, we gave less and less. And felt more and more guilt.   Pastor Scott’s  messages on tithing helped spur the reminder that God is faithful and God is good. He will provide all we need and more when we trust in Him. We starting giving again and already God has blessed us with a healthier marriage, a more profitable business and a better outlook on life. And that’s just since last month. Imagine what God can do for us as we continue to trust Him.”

Not done yet…read this:

“This last series, In The Zone has been great for us.  We have committed to be the faithful givers that we know He wants us to be, so we began 2010 with our tithe, and just today, as I was driving down 135 my van began to overheat!  This became very depressing to me, as we had just had the transmission rebuilt not that long ago, but I remembered Pastor Scott’s sermon from Sunday and began to thank God that we have a vehicle.  I called my husband who just happened to be on the South side of town to let him know what was happening and he came and got the van to have it checked.  We ended up needing a new radiator and water pump, which was estimated to cost $796.00.  I began to chuckle because you see, our taxes were filed Wednesday night, February 3, an all time record, and our return was $800!!!  It’s just like our God to bless us in ways we would never expect!  I often wonder why we always think God will bless us financially, because my blessings have always come in the way of relationship building, but today I was shown that God always meets us where we need him the most.  Thank you so much for this series!  We love this church, we love the staff and we are excited for the vision of this church!”

You just cannot out give God!

First of all, the walls in the Family Ministry Wing are down.  There will be new carpet, new paint, new seating, new technology.  In other words, we will have a whole new look for our Excite ministry.  This renovation will give our children’s ministry a little bit more room for elementary worship.   A huge thanks goes to everyone who has volunteered their time, treasure and talent to make it possible.  I want to especially thank Jason and Jennifer Jacks for being the Project Team Leaders.  It should be completed by Sunday, February 21.

Speaking of February 21, I want to remind you our new times for worship, 9:30am and 11:00am, begin on February 21.  That is also the day our middle school ministry, The Flow, will move to 9:30am.  I know this is an inconvenience for some of you.  I know these new service times are not your preferred times for worship on Sunday.  Making this change will help us overcome the challenges of a growing church.  I really do appreciate your willingness to sacrifice for the vision of being able to help more people take their next step toward Christ. I really, really do.  And I am proud of how you taking the changes in stride and with joy!

If you typically come to the 10:45am worship experience, I would ask that you make the 9:30am worship experience your new service.  We simply need more space at the later service.  Your great commitment to the Great Commission will grow a great church, and this is an easy step that will make a huge difference!

Another challenge of a growing church is parking.  Pastor Jim is looking for able bodied men and women to serve on his parking team on a rotating basis.  If you are willing to help out, please contact him at jim@stonescrossing.com. We need this team in place by February 21.

As many of you know, we are going to be moving our administrative offices back into the church building.  Our target date for this move is the week of April 5-9.  We are excited about the fact we will be able to save a lot of money on rent.

Married Life Live is almost here!  I am going to blog more about this later, but for now, I need volunteers to help us with set up on Wednesday, February 17 at 7:00pm at the church.  Let me know if you can help by emailing me:  scott@stonescrossing.com.

Okay…that is it for now.  There are so many great things happening at SCC.  Thanks for all you are doing to make it possible!