A Funny thing happened in Dallas

Hey everyone - I am in Dallas for two days at a Ministry Advantage training session. In Ministry Advantage I work weekly with a ministry coach who helps me become more systems-oriented about how we do ministry here at New Community. As a young church this is sometimes an overwhelming task, but I feel that our church is truly benefiting from this experience. Anyway I am here in Dallas where it is cloudy and about 80 degrees. I am in a hotel that is surrounded by interstates (I30, 35 and 635). Out my window are three layers of roads. Not too pretty, but I am close to the church for these sessions. I will return home on Thursday evening.

I had a funny experience that I will have to share Sunday. It is especially funny since we are in the midst of the "Pure Sex" series. I am safe and my mind is still pure, but Satan is very tricky. You will have to come Sunday to hear the rest of the story. Oh, and I saw Elvis walking through Midway Airport on Tuesday afternoon. People are strange!

As I sat in these sessions today I was overwhelmed with how much work we have to do to make New Community the church God wants us to be. Our community is lost and hurting and there are not very many people who seem to care much about that. This church is going to keep caring and showing God's love. Then I realized how far God has brought us. In 5 years we have changed from a small group of about 20 meeting in the Weber's home to a growing, vibrant church family of 350. God is the only one who could have orchestrated this change. We have seen lives transformed by God's power and people are stepping up and serving in so many ways. For those of you who have been privileged to be part of this experiment, I say, "I have the utmost respect for you and I love every one of you." This is possible because you are allowing God to work in you and through you.

Not that we have arrived - I don't believe we will ever arrive until the day we get to walk through the gates into God's presence - but I love the fact that I get to work with the best group of people a pastor could ever hope for. Thank you for believing in the vision and mission of New Community. Because of you people are connecting with Jesus and their lives are being transformed by the power of God. You are awesome and I just had to tell you. And I cannot wait to see how quickly we are allowed to impact the next 500 people from Grundy County. Let's get to work! See you Sunday. Pastor Kevin