Friday, April 23, 2010

Hope and Vision

Last week I defined hope as the expectation that tomorrow will be better than today. I talked about hope in the context for us as individuals. If you missed last Sunday and are needing some hope, I encourage you to pick up a CD. I also want to encourage you to give a CD to a person you may know who may be needing some hope.

I also have hope for The Water’s Edge. I believe that tomorrow will be better than today. And today is excellent! With the addition of three staff members in the past few months, we are going to be able to do things we just haven’t been able to do in the past. Starting a new worship experience at 9:00 in the fall, we will be able to reach more people than we have reached before. My hope is that people will grow deeper in their relationship with God and that our relationships with each other will grow deeper as well: new friendships will be started and existing friendships will be strengthened. My hope is that people can bring our hurts and experience healing. I hope that we will serve more hurting people. I hope our kids will grow as followers of Jesus.

I believe that the church provides a place for people to experience joy and fulfillment in life while simultaneously serving God and the world. Here is where I see all of us fitting in:

Prayer.In the next few weeks we will begin offering prayer for people after worship. I am excited about this next step for us. Pray for The Water’s Edge as we serve and love our city. Pray for a spiritual breakthrough in your life. We simply can’t do God’s work without God.

Invite a guest to worship. Our worship attendance keeps growing and it is largely because people have been invited. The single best way to share our faith is to invite people to a worship experience. With a simple invitation you can change somebody’s life!

Join a small group. This fall we will be starting new small groups and reorganizing existing groups. If you want to join one sooner, email us to let us know you are interested (jill@watersedgeomaha.com). I am so excited about our small group emphasis this fall. If you feel led to help start a new group—let Jill know.

Serve. It is my hope that everybody serves on a ministry team. We most look like Jesus when we serve. Serving is a great way for us to meet people and helps us to be part of a ministry that is changing people’s lives. With the 9:00 worship experience launching this fall, many new opportunities to serve exist. Contact Jill if you are not serving and she will get you started.

Share the joy! If you are currently in a small group or on a serving team—invite others to join you. God is blessing you and invites you to share the joy with others!

I’m excited and hopeful about our future together.

The best is yet to come...Craig

Craig

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