Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Time Change

Remember to set your clocks back one hour this Saturday, November 3.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Update from Brooklyn


Dear Friends,

I want to start by issuing an apology for not updating you all more frequently. Life as a bivocational church planter and father of two small children can be difficult and time consuming at times. Please understand that we love and appreciate each of you and the fact that you are praying for us. I cannot imagine how much more difficult this journey would be without your support. So, please forgive me (Nathan) if it ever seems like you have been forgotten. You are indeed near and dear to my heart. 

That being said, God is doing some great things here in our ministry and our family. As always, it's much easier to summarize in bullet points:
Our core team is growing: In that last two months, we have added two couples to our core leadership team. Beyond Kevin and Kristi Cabe who joined us in March, our leadership team now includes: Jon and Bonnie Carr (Atlanta, GA) felt called to plant a church in Brooklyn and have joined our team for a 1-year apprenticeship. Over the next year, I will have the opportunity to train Jon as a church planter, and then when he is ready to plant, Cornerstone Church will function as his sending church and main on-field partner. This is an amazing event for our church, because it means that we will be able to plant a new church even though we are a church plant ourselves! Trey and Caitlin Eitel, after feeling a call to go to seminary decided to attend the NYC extension of SBTS (my alma mater) rather than attending on campus so they could gain experience in church planting and help us support our work. The Eitels come to us from First Baptist Watkinsville, GA, one of our church partners. It's amazing to see how God is bringing people to Brooklyn to serve His church!
Our church is growing in size: We are now averaging 30 people on Sundays with approximately 20 in our weekly small groups. This is amazing, and we give God glory considering that the idea of planting a church in Brooklyn started with just two people and has grown significantly! We were really excited this fall, that due to the fact we have several children as a part of our church, we were able to participate in a local children's parade.   
Our church is growing in their love for God and their walk with Christ: Lesley and I are each actively involved in discipling our Cornerstone members. I meet once per week with Jeremy (pictured, above right, holding the banner) to discuss personal evangelism and walking in Christ. He has been a believer for a long time, but craves to follow Christ more deeply, and we are pursuing that together. Lesley has been meeting weekly with two ladies, discussing topics such as prayer and Bible study. We are thankful for the opportunity to lead the people of Cornerstone Church. 
Summer is already looking to be great: We are already in the planning stages for spring and summer mission teams. We have several churches interested in sending volunteers, and we look forward to seeing God work during our volunteer time in the summer.  
Family Update:
WE HAVE MOVED! In September God opened the door for us to finally have a 2 bedroom! We are so excited and are loving our new place. Nathan and I have a room to ourselves (with 4 walls and a door!), and the kids room is bigger than before. Our living room is HUGE. We hosted 18 adults for dinner the other night and felt very comfortable. I have a full size dishwasher, a new oven, and my own washer and dryer that cost me nothing. The little things in life that make us happy! To the right is a picture of us sitting on our front steps of our new place.
Sophia: Sophia is our smart and independent little woman! She  brings me much joy each and every day, as well as teaching moments for myself. Any mom of a 2 1/2 year old has to learn patience!!!! She is doing an incredible job with potty training. She loves going for walks, shopping, etc. Every morning she asks "Where are we going today?" She LOVES to sing, her favorites are "Nothing but the Blood", "Bless the Lord", and "Stand up for Jesus!"
Caleb: Caleb will be turning 1 next week! He is my sweet little boy! He LOVES his mama.  Started walking at 10 months old and yes he is a climber too! Still has the cutest dimples and loves to show them off. He laughs and smiles all the time. He is determined to do EVERYTHING Sophia does and he is all boy... loves to "attack" Sophia, throw anything and everything and eats like a man! I call him my little monster! 
Prayer Requests:
Pray that Nathan would lead our church well. Pray that he would have good time management skills, would dedicate time to preaching and preparation, and would disciple the staff and members of Cornerstone Church as God leads. 
Pray for our church to grow in love for Christ. Our people are asking some great questions about faith, and we are seeking to answer those daily. Pray that we would be diligent in our discipleship. 
Pray for our summer planning. We have several churches interested, and we want to plan to utilize them well. 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Global Impact


GLOBAL IMPACT...
GIC is Saturday, October 27 & Sunday, October 28. WBC will welcome special guests John Duncan, Gordon Fort and Drew Cline. The music & worship ministry team will lead on the morning and evening of October 28. The Student Choir and Squared will join us in leading the PM service.

Choir & Band:
  • AM attire: "normal"
  • PM attire: all black
  • Call time: AM - "normal" / PM - 5:00pm
  • Songs: Symphony / Great God / I'm Singing
Band:
  • AM: will only play Symphony
  • PM: all songs except A Place Called Grace (piano only)
Student Choir:
  • Attire: blue jeans & black shirts
  • Call time: 4:30pm
  • Songs: Great God / A Place Called Grace
Squared:
  • Attire: black pants & white shirts
  • Call time: 4:30pm
  • Song: I'm Singing

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Drew Cline to join us for Global Impact

Drew Cline has been married to his wife Lori for 16 years and is the father of two girls, Daisy and Jovie. He has served the church for over 20 years as a church staff member and as a guest artist. Drew has led worship and taught at worship conferences across America, including Willow Creek, Saddleback, and First Baptist Church of Atlanta, GA. He was the lead singer for NewSong for a little over a year, and was nominated for a Dove Award for their project "The Christmas Hope." With the help of Grammy Award winning producer Phil Naish, Drew released his solo project "Way of Life" in 2007. The "Way of Life" project features duets with Christian recording artist greats, Russ Taff and Christy Nockels. Drew worked with the International Mission Board to produce music videos for his songs "Here Am I, Send Me" and "To the Ends of the Earth." "Here Am I, Send Me" won a Telly Award for excellence in music video production. Drew has also had the opportunity to do recording and/or concert work with Point of Grace, Jaci Velasquez, Wes King, Steven Curtis Chapman, MercyMe, Third Day, Jeremy Camp, Hawk Nelson, Sanctus Real, Dolly Parton, Sandi Patty, Kathy Troccoli, Don Moen, Todd Agnew, Rachael Lampa, Mark Schultz, Sheila Walsh, and the Gaither Vocal Band. Additionally, he has experienced commercial success through his work on NBC's "The Today Show," Country Music Television, Kohl's, Chevrolet, Ford, and Yamaha.

Here's one of the videos that Drew did in partnership with the International Mission Board. The video also features Christy Nockels.

 

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Sunday, October 21

MORNING SERVICE: [Click on Song Title for iTunes Preview]
Here For You (Tomlin)
God Is Good All the Time (Moen)
You Are Good (Houghton)
More Than Amazing (Brewster)

EVENING SERVICE: [Click on Song Title for iTunes Preview]
Victory In Jesus (Bartlett/Cottrell)
Glory to God Forever (Fee)
10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) (Redman)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Sunday, October 14

MORNING SERVICE: [Click on Song Title for iTunes Preview]
Are You Washed in the Blood (Hoffman)
You Are Holy (Prince of Peace) (Imboden/Rhoton)
God of Wonders (Byrd/Hindalong)
Hail the Day (see detail in earlier post)
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand (Stennet/Indelible Grace)
Holy Is the Lord (Tomlin/Giglio)
Revelation Song (Riddle)
Holy, Holy, Holy (Heber/Dykes)
I Surrender All (VanDeVenter/Weeden)

EVENING SERVICE: [Click on Song Title for iTunes Preview]
Soon and Very Soon (Crouch)
Sing to the King (Foote/Horne)
The Way of the Cross Leads Home (Pounds/Gabriel)
Hail the Day (see detail in earlier post)
Majesty (Here I Am) (Smith/Garrard)
Made Me Glad (Webster)

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Hail the Day


Verse 1
Hail the day that Christ arose
Through the skies to worlds unknown
Glorious there He ever reigns
Object of all heaven's praise

Verse 2
See Him lift His hands above
See the scars of His great love
He has conquered death and sin
Saving all who hope in Him

Chorus
Hallelujah, hallelujah
The King of love is on His throne
Hallelujah, hallelujah
His grace will lead us safely home

Verse 3
Though He dwells beyond the stars
His redeemed are on His heart
Even now He intercedes
Jesus cares for all our needs

Credits:
Lyrics adapted from Charles Wesley's "Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise". New lyrics and music by Steve & Vikki Cook c 2011 Integrity Worship Music/ASCAP

Monday, October 8, 2012

4th Quarter Birthday Bash

Sunday, October 21 at 7:30pm
Celebrating the birthdays of music & worship ministry team members
who have birthdays in October, November & December

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Sunday, October 7

MORNING SERVICE: [Click on song title for iTunes preview]
Glory to God Forever (Fee)
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand (hear full song in post below)
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (Newton/Tomlin/Smith)
I Will Sing of My Redeemer with You Set Free (Bliss/McGranahan/Cottrell)

EVENING SERVICE:
The WBC Student Band will be leading