It's been a while

Sorry for not posting lately, but between vacations and other things, it has not been a priority for me. Having said that, I am probably going to use my blog on a limited basis and use Twitter a little more.

A couple of thoughts about what's been going on in no particular order:

* Had an amazing time on vacation. Got to spend quality time with my family.

* The weather didn't cooperate very well this year. The seas were consistently choppy for pretty much the entire time we were gone, which makes it a bit tough to take the boat offshore to fish. We did manage to get out some though!

* Really missed being with the  Foothills Community Church family for worship. I'm thankful for such an amazing staff. I literally have no worries while I'm gone.

* Both Pastor Brian Rhodes and Pastor Justin Terry knocked it out of the park delivering their messages.

* Our Kids camp starts today. This is the largest group we have ever taken. Please pray for them.

* This past Sunday evening we had a preview service for our Habersham County campus. It was an awesome evening. About 120 people came out. I was so impressed with the facility. This will be a great place to launch on September 15th.

* There are so many big things coming up in the next couple of months at Foothills Community Church. One of the big things will be the Fall launch of Groups.  Groups are a fantastic way to meet people, and get connected at Foothills, and you will grow spiritually too! Stay tuned for more details.

Here's a few vacation pics:

me with a nice cobia

me with small Indian River snook

3 cousins, Aaron, Daniel and Cole (my son and 2 nephews)

Liz trying to make it happen on a slow day

Mia's construction project

quick update

As you may have noticed, I am blogging a lot less. I actually contemplated shutting my blog down, but I have decided to keep it open but I will probably only blog about once a week.

Here is the latest:

Today is day 2 of Son Sports. The first day was awesome. We had a record number of both kids and volunteers this year. That is very exciting. I have to brag on my wife, Liz. She heads up our Family Ministry department at Foothills Community Church, and besides her regular responsibilities of putting together our incredible weekly Kids worship services, she also heads up Son Sports.

She could not pull this off on her own. She has so many people that step up to make everything possible. I know that she is so grateful for each of them. She has also put together an amazing staff that are passionate about helping kids find and follow Jesus.

Just about every week I have someone come up to me and tell me that they come to Foothills because of our great kids program. I love hearing the stories of how the kids ask their parents every day, "Is today church day?"


In other news, we continue our Sunday sermon series through the Gospel of John. It has been an amazing journey (and we're only half way done!)

This Sunday I will be teaching from John 10 on whether or not we can lose our salvation. You do not want to miss it.

Don't forget to sign-up for our next baptism which will be on June 30th at all of our campuses during the morning services. If you are a follower of Jesus and you have not been baptized this is your chance.

One last thing. Our campus expansion plan is in full swing. Our newest campus in Cornelia, GA will begin on September 15, 2013. They will be meeting in the Community House in downtown Cornelia. If you or someone you know is interested in this new campus OR if you live in an area that would like to be considered as another possible campus location, let us know!

Hartwell Campus Pastor introduction

In case you weren't at Foothills Community Church this past Sunday (I wasn't there either. I was preaching at my friend, Jeff Cranston's Church) you missed this video introducing our new Hartwell campus Pastor, Austin Canen and his wife Emrie.

We are so happy to have them leading the Hartwell campus, and are looking forward to God using them in an incredible way!

To see Austin's story click here.

A few quick things

I have not posted a blog in a couple of weeks, so I'll try to pick up where I left off.


* The last 2 Sundays have been awesome. The rain has been pouring, so it has affected attendance, but the people who have come are there because they want to be there, so their enthusiasm makes up for the lower attendance.

* I've always thought it was funny how on Sunday if it's raining, people can't get to church, but on Monday they can make it to work just fine.

* I am so thankful for all of the people who serve on our umbrella teams. They have been busy, but they make such a big difference!

* Last Sunday, David Odom, our Seneca worship leader was out of town but the worship didn't miss a beat. We have a great worship team.

* This Sunday at Foothills Community Church we will have parent/child dedications. Tons of kids signed-up!

* Our gospel of John series is my favorite ever. I mapped it all out and it looks like we will finish in early December. Which means we will have spent 11 months walking through this amazing book of the Bible.

* Son Sports is just around the corner.  (June 10th-13th from 6:30pm until 8:30pm.)  What is Son Sports?
Son Sports is kind of like a vacation Bible school on steroids. Kids from 4yrs.old thru 6th grade participate. It has a sports theme, but each day there is also music and Biblical teaching. Activities include arts and crafts, basketball, soccer, football, cheer leading and lots of other things. This year there will also be a magic show by Bam Magic. Every year athletes from Clemson University come and meet the kids too. Son Sports is a huge deal. If you have kids/ grand kids make sure to bring them. You can sign them up right now.
We also need volunteers. Lots of them.  Every year we have at least 100 volunteers help out. Let's shoot for 150 this year! Would you be willing to carve out some time to make a difference in a kid's life?

15 year anniversary celebration Sunday

(15th anniversary. The band was rocking the house!)

Well, our 15 year anniversary celebration is history. We spent so much time praying and preparing for this day and all I can say is, "it was even better than any of us could have hoped for!"

Our morning services were incredible. Good crowds and lots of energy. Then on Sunday evening, all 3 campuses came to Seneca for a night of worship. Here are a couple of highlights:

* Foothills Community Church is truly blessed with musical talent. Unbelievable! All 3 of our campuses worship leaders were there along with other musicians and singers. Plus, we had a praise choir. It was so uplifting.

* Sharing communion together with all 3 campuses was amazing. Pastor Brian Rhodes did a wonderful job leading us through that.

* I love that our Hartwell, GA and Toocoa, GA came dressed in Georgia Bulldogs red and sat right down front in the middle. They are rowdy and I love that!

* Best Part of the day= 55 people were baptized!

*  We had some moments of reflection. We saw a video from the last 15 years and how far we've come.

* We had a lot of fun moments. When we started Foothills Community Church 15 years ago I had a mustache, so pretty much the entire worship team and choir were wearing fake mustaches. When I came up to do the welcome, my wife made me put one on as well. Here is a picture of that:

(the infamous fake mustache)

* I got a chance to share what our next step is as we start the next chapter of our history. In case you missed it, I announced that Foothills Nation will be expanding. On September 15th we will have the grand opening of our 4th campus in Habersham County Georgia!!


* I also spoke briefly from Exodus 33:15 where Moses says to the Lord, "If you're presence does not go with us, don't send us from here." For 15 years we have tried to follow God. As we move forward, if He does not go before us, we don't want to go anywhere. The good news is, that He is leading us. Our job is to follow. There are many more opportunities and we will seize as many as we can.

* We ended the night with some time to hang out in the concourse. A few of us lingered after everyone else had left, and shared some funny memories.

* All in all, one of the best days in our history. BUT THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

 

15 year reflections

This Sunday we will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of Foothills Community Church. It has come a long way since the days of 17 people gathered in my living room dreaming about what God might do.

We have seen some amazing miracles along the way. There have been thousands saved and right at 1,500 people follow-through with baptism! (That's pretty amazing because that means we have baptized 2.5% of our county!)

We have seen hundreds and hundreds of people who have grown in their walk with the Lord, and truly seek to be effective disciples of Jesus.

There have been so many highs, and also some lows. But we have sensed the Lord's guidance through all of it. My wife and I have made so many friends along the way. I wish I could say that everyone who has been on this journey called Foothills Community Church is still with us, but unfortunately many have moved on.

As I reflect over the last 15 years, I am reminded of the Lord's faithfulness. Foothills Community Church  has truly been blessed.

We have been blessed to have so many faithful people who sacrificially give and serve and sacrifice so that others can hear the Good News of the Gospel. We are blessed with a staff that loves Jesus and His church so much that they are willing to do whatever it takes to advance the Kingdom. We have been blessed by other churches along the way who have poured into us. We have been blessed by a community that has warmly embraced us.

I believe we have been faithful to the vision that the Lord gave us from the beginning to help people find and follow Jesus. And we will continue to pursue that vision!

As great as the last 15 years have been, I truly believe the best is yet to come! There will be thousands more that will come to Jesus. There will be thousands more that will become on-fire disciples of Jesus. There will be more campuses, more new friends, and more new opportunities as we forge ahead!

I cannot wait to celebrate with you this Sunday. The celebration will begin during our morning services at all 3 campuses with some incredible things, including baptisms. Then at 6:00pm all of our campuses will be coming together at our Seneca, SC campus to have a special 15th anniversary worship night. There will be music, refreshments, baptisms, The Lord's Supper, and some nostalgia. I will also be announcing when and where campus #4 will begin! Please do not miss this.

Lots going on

It's been a whirlwind around here since Easter. And speaking of Easter, we had an amazing day at all 3 of our campuses. Over 2,600 people in attendance and best of all, 71 people indicated that they had become Christ-followers!

This past Sunday I was honored to participate in the dedication service of one of the 2 homes that Foothills Community Church is sponsoring for Habitat For Humanity. This is part of our Project Reach initiative, so thank you to all who participated!

In other Project Reach news, our team of 15 people got back from Haiti on Saturday. I have already heard some of the amazing stories of what the Lord did there. Don't forget, in addition to another Haiti trip, we also have opportunities in Harlan County, KY and this year we will also send a team to Africa to help build water wells.

There are a few more things I want to remind you about:

* This Sunday at all 3 campuses we will be having our Get In The Game session. It will be held immediately after the 11:15 service in Seneca, and after the services in both Toccoa and Hartwell.
We will provide you and your family with free lunch and will be providing childcare. For those who may not know what Get In the game is, it's a class to help you know more about Foothills Community Church You will hear a little about where we've been and where we're headed and you will hear about how to get connected at F.C.C. 

* On April 21st we will also be celebrating our 15th anniversary as a church. We will have our regularly scheduled morning services, but at 6:00pm all 3 of our campuses will come together in Seneca to party! We will have all 3 worship leaders and musicians from the campuses leading in a huge worship night. We will celebrate new life through baptism and also observe the lord's Supper together. There will also be a look back at God's faithfulness for the last 15 years and then we'll look forward to our next steps as a church. I will also be announcing when and where our 4th campus will begin. Please do not miss this historic event in the life of our church.


* Don't forget about our Axis student camp this summer. This will be an incredible experience for our teenagers as they descend upon Myrtle Beach SC for 5 days of fun, teaching and worship. For more info, check out our Student Ministry web page. I'm really looking forward to this because It looks like I will be able to be there for a couple of days!


* I am really excited about this Sunday at Foothills Community Church. e will be continuing our series in John called, the Man Behind the Message. If you want to get a head start read John 6:68-7:53. See you then!

Easter at Foothills

It's hard to believe that THIS SUNDAY is Easter. I cannot tell you how stinking pumped I am to celebrate Christ's resurrection at Foothills Community Church.

I wanted to share a few details with all of you about Sunday. We have some incredible, life-changing services planned at all 3 of our locations.

The service times are: Seneca, SC 8:00 am, 9:30 am and 11:15 am. In Toccoa, GA 9:30 am and 11:00 am. In Hartwell, GA 10:30am

You should probably arrive a little earlier than usual because of the large crowds we're expecting. This will give you some time to get a cup of coffee and some refreshments and check your kids in.

During the next few days let's get out and invite everyone we meet to come with us. It's been proven that people are very receptive to being personally invited especially on Easter.

We have some tools available to make it even easier. In fact, I am personally asking everyone to send our TV commercial to all of your Facebook friends, and Twitter followers.

Our worship team is pulling out all the stops and I believe this will be the greatest weekend in the history of Foothills Community Church. If you know someone that doesn't know Jesus, bring them to Foothills this Sunday!!

Feeling relaxed

I just got back from a week down in south Florida for a bit of R&R, and also to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. It is a blessing to be married to your best friend! It's really hard to believe how fast the years have gone by. I definitely out kicked my coverage with being married to Liz!

While we were away I heard that the services at all 3 campuses of Foothills Community Church were incredible. Our Student Ministry Pastor, Justin Terry preached in my absence. He is a gifted communicator, and I'm looking forward to watching his message online.

We are only 2 weeks away from Easter. If you have not picked up your free Easter tickets, you can do that now.

This is going to be the most amazing Easter ever. Our team has been praying and preparing for God to do miracles. In fact we are in a message series called, Are You Ready For A Miracle? I cannot wait.

We have gone all-out in spreading the word about our services this Easter. We are doing television commercials, direct mail, etc. BUT the most effective tool is for all of us to personally invite our friends, family, and co-workers to come with you. If we will do our part, I am convinced The Lord will do His!

There are many options about inviting to one of the services including digital and text messaging. Check these out.

If you have not seen the TV commercial that is being shown on WYFF (Channel 4), here it is. And by the way, the production was all done in-house by Shane Smith and Stephen Morrill. Amazing talent on staff at Foothills, for sure.

a few quick thoughts

Here are a few thoughts about Sunday and more:

This past Sunday at Foothills Community Church was absolutely amazing. It is difficult to put into words what we are experiencing at all 3 campuses.

* I would have to say that our worship team knocked it out of the park and down the street on Sunday. Wow!

* We had people saved at all 3 campuses! I love it.

* In the last 2 weeks we have had 29 people give their lives to Jesus. The Gospel is powerful!

* Our Toccoa campus once again had a record attendance. They had to put out more chairs.... twice. Something is up in T-Town for sure!

* Easter is only 4 weeks away. hard to believe, but I'm pumped. We have got HUGE plans for our services. Start thinking about who you can invite.

* Don't forget to pick up your free tickets for the Easter services. We have added service times for our Seneca, and Toccoa campuses.

* Momentum is building for our next campus in Habersham County, GA. They had over 70 people show up last week for an informational meeting! If everything goes well, we could kick-off in the Fall.

* I can't wait for this Sunday as we begin another series in the Gospel of John called, Are You Ready For A Miracle? Invite a friend to come with you.

Some things coming up

* I am beyond excited about this Sunday at Foothills Community Church. We will be starting our next series in the Gospel of John called, The Gospel.

* This would be a phenomenal series to bring someone with you who doesn't know Jesus. Trust me, they will have an opportunity to meet Him.

* It's hard to believe that there are only 6 weeks until Easter.

* Speaking of Easter, you will not believe what we're planning!

* Coming up on April 21st we will be celebrating Foothills Community Church's 15th anniversary. It is going to be a party for sure.  We are planning a huge worship night that evening along with the observance of the Lord's Supper and baptism. I'm pretty sure there will be a little nostalgia as well.

* I can't wait to share more details about FCC's 4th and newest campus. Here's what I can tell you. It will be  in Habersham County, Georgia. We are shooting for the August/September time frame. There are still many logistical issues that need to be worked out before then, so please be in prayer.

* As most of you know, every January we pretty much purge our membership and ask people to re-sign their membership covenant. Unfortunately every year many people forget to send their covenants back into us . If you are one of the people who forgot, here is a link you can go to right now and do it electronically. This will probably take less than one minute. Quit procrastinating :)

* Don't forget about summer camps for your kids. We have 2 different opportunities this summer: 

Kids Camp for 3rd-6th graders from July 30th-August 2nd at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center in Toccoa, GA.
Axis Summer camp for current 6th-12th graders from June 17th-21st in Myrtle Beach, SC.

* Parents, grandparents please arrange your summer schedules so that your students can be a part of these camps. It will have lasting impact in their lives. Deposits for these trips are due very soon.

* I got a chance to speak to our 6th-12thgraders a couple of weeks ago during Live, and I was so impressed with our teenagers.  I'm also excited about Axis Summer camp because I am going to get a chance to be a part of it for a couple of days!

* So many cool things going on right now at FCC. I love being your Pastor!

some quick random thoughts

Here are a few quick, but random thoughts I have right now:

* I absolutely LOVE what the Lord is doing at Foothills Community Church! Life change every week. People hungry for God's Word. People showing up with expectation that God is going to do great things.

* The worship team did this new song yesterday that Kirsten led. Oh my goodness. It was awesome.

* I am very excited about FCC's 4th campus! That's right, I said #4. It looks like it's going to happen in the Fall of 2013. Stay tuned for details.

* I am really looking forward to this Sunday's message. We're going to talk about what makes Jesus mad. Should be interesting. You can get a head start by reading John 2:13-22.

* My wife is battling a case of chest congestion, and laryngitis. (I guess that's one of the  risks of being a children's director.) I'm doing my best, to not catch whatever she has. I really hate to see my wife not feeling well. If you get a chance, pray for her.

*  There is a huge surge of disciple-making going on at FCC right now. As most of you know, In 2013 I challenged our folks to not just settle for being disciples..... but become disciples that are making other disciples. It's really cool to see that taking shape. Within the next 10 weeks, we should have 100 people that are trained to disciple others. From there, I'm hoping we see it grow exponentially!!

* Did I mention that we will be adding a 4th campus in 2013? Oh yeah, I guess I did.

* I got a chance to connect with a bunch of people that are new to FCC in the concourse yesterday. I love that.

* Speaking of the concourse, after the first service the people hung out for a long time. It was like no one wanted to leave. That is very awesome.

* The staff at FCC is amazing. I wish every person could sit in on one of our Monday morning staff meetings. It's so encouraging hearing all the God-stories.

* I got a chance to speak at LIVE last Wednesday. It was a lot of fun to speak to teenagers. Best of all, all 3 of our campuses were there. I must say, I am so impressed with our young people, they have a heart for God.

* If you are a talented singer or musician, we are having worship auditions. Check it out.

* Enough ramblings for today. Have a great week. And don't forget to invite a friend to church next Sunday.

Super-excited

I wanted to post a few observations as to what is going on at Foothills Community Church recently.

I can't help but feel truly blessed to be a part of a church that is as incredible at FCC. We are in a time of great blessing from God. There is a wave of anticipation, expectation and hunger for the Lord on Sundays that is actually building every week.

I believe that part of this is stemming from our new series from the gospel of John. People seem genuinely fired-up about taking their spiritual lives to a deeper level. We have done series through other books of the Bible in the past, but never one that will allow us to spend as much time as necessary to truly dig in. I just have to say, I am loving it personally!

I also sense that as a body, our church doesn't want to just soak up scripture, but wants to take what we learn and live it out 24/7. Our Project Reach initiative giving and participation is going really well. Our Haiti mission trip in March is almost filled up!

Our Find and Follow groups are doing awesome. We have so many people getting connected through the groups.

We have definitely started 2013 off with a bang, but let's do whatever it takes to stay fired-up, and motivated. Let's also continue to invite our friends to church. This is a fantastic series to invite them to.

This Sunday's message is going to clarify for all of us what our mission is, as Christ-followers. I cannot wait.

I could go on and on, but the point is, these are some incredible days in the life of our church.

One last thing. If you missed the first 2 messages in the According to John series, here's the link to watch them.

According To John

This past Sunday we kicked off what I believe is going to be the best series we've ever done at Foothills Community Church called According To John. We are going to spend several months in this series, and it is going to be awesome!

Here's what you can expect:

* Spiritual growth. Yes, if you show up and apply what you hear, you WILL grow spiritually.

* A deeper love and appreciation for the Savior. When John wrote His gospel, he wrote it to show us who Jesus is, not just what He did.

* High take-home value. There will be next-step application every week that you can use in your life. This series is about more than just learning facts, figures and history, it's about life change.


I wanted to let you know that Brian Rhodes is putting together a very useful tool for you to use to keep up with the series. In fact, if you scan this image with your smartphone you will have access to last Sunday's notes and message:  

I want to encourage you to invite your friends. This is the perfect series for bringing guests.

* Also wanted to share that we had 118 people attend our Get In The Game (new member's class) last Sunday!! God is moving!

Going to the next level in 2013

I am very excited about the possibilities that lie ahead in 2013. From a church standpoint, I believe that Foothills Community Church will see the the most increase that we've ever seen. Now when I say increase I'm not just talking about numerical increase. I do think we will see a huge numerical increase, but what I'm even more excited about is the spiritual increase we will see.

I mentioned in my message yesterday the conversation that I had with a man that told me that he had heard that Foothills was a great church to go to  to be saved, but if you wanted to grow that you would need to find another church. Wow, that hurt. It broke my heart, because it simply is not true. By far Foothills puts more time, energy and money into growing believers than we do to reach unbelievers.

While it is true that Foothills does see many people saved each year, and it's no secret that I have a huge heart for the unchurched, it still doesn't change the fact that we are just as committed to the second half of our mission statement as we are to the first half. (Our mission statement is to Help People Find and Follow Jesus)

That said, let's talk about 2013. I have challenged every person that attends Foothills to take another step spiritually. No matter if you have been a believer for a day or several decades, take another step. So often believers stop growing and become content with a flat line spiritual life.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have a responsibility to grow spiritually: Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT:  ¹² You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.^[a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. ¹³ For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. ¹⁴ Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Here is our commitment. From the stage on Sunday mornings, I will do everything within my power to help you grow. We will offer you opportunities to serve and attend a Find and Follow Group, but every single person must be willing to take full responsibility for their own spiritual growth. Every believer needs personal Bible study, a regular prayer time, should be connecting with a church, should be giving of their finances to support the Lord's mission, healthy relationships, and be living out God's mission for your life.

I have to tell you, that I have been so encouraged by the excitement level of our people to take these steps.


Here are a couple of things of note:

* We will be starting a brand new message series through the gospel of John. This is going to be great. We are going to take our time and really drill down into scripture. At this point I am estimating that we will be in John for at least 6-8 months.

* Don't forget our first Get In The Game of 2013. It will be held at each of our campuses. If you have not signed-up, do it today. In 2012 almost 400 people went through the class. We are praying that over 500 people will go through the class and become members in 2013.

* We are praying about our 4th campus. I met with a group of people last week that want to be a part of that. This could be huge. Stay tuned for more details.

* Our Toccoa campus set an all-time high attendance record yesterday!!

* Our Find and Follow groups kicked-off last night. We have lots of people involved in groups this semester.

* I am so thankful for all of our volunteers at Foothills. Last year over 700 people served in one of our ministries. Let's see about adding a couple hundred more. If you haven't served, and would like to, let us know.

* If you have missed the messages from the last two Sundays I would encourage you to watch them. You will understand who we are and where we believe the Lord is leading us in 2013.

New Year's and your Health goals

I know that as we enter a New Year a lot of people make resolutions. Statistics show that most New Year's resolutions have to do with health, weight, or fitness. Unfortunately most of the time we fail to keep these resolutions for more than a month.

Of all the blog posts I have done, the ones that I discuss my fitness journey are by far the most popular. (Here are links to a couple of past posts. Let's Talk About Health.   Let's Get In Shape)  I'm pretty sure that's because deep down all of us want to be more healthy.

When it comes to my health I am constantly trying to improve and learn more. This is one of the reasons that I am constantly changing my workout routines.

A couple of months ago I had a routine blood test which came back showing elevated liver functions. Upon my Dr.'s advice I stopped taking my statin medicine, and also many of the supplements I was taking. I was re-tested a month later and my liver functions were back within the normal range. But to my amazement (and discouragement), my overall cholesterol was 200. On the statin drugs my cholesterol had dropped to 128.

What does all that mean? Well, it means even though for the past 20 months I had exercised religiously 6 days a week, and had eaten exactly what the Dr. had told me and yet, literally nothing had changed as far as my overall cholesterol.

This led me to more research about alternative ways of eating that could actually work for me. For the last several weeks I have been eating a cross between The Paleo diet and the Primal Diet. The common thread between these two diets is that they are extremely "clean" ways of eating and encourage the eating of meats, fruits, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables, and discourage the eating of sugar (and sugar substitutes), dairy, processed foods, legumes, and grains.

In addition to those changes I have also changed up my workout routines a bit. I won't list my routines in detail but they consist of 2 times a week doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The best part of my HIIT routine is that it takes 22 minutes to complete (half of that time is resting) yet it is amazingly effective.  The other 4 days are a combination of some P90X routines and more conventional weight training, and a day of rest. 

Since making these changes I actually feel like I am taking my fitness to a new level. I have more energy, and I have more options on the menu to choose from.

I talk to people all the time that say to me, "I could never do what you do. I don't have the self-discipline." While it's true that it takes self-discipline, I believe the most important thing is motivation. When you get motivated enough, you will make changes. For me, it was the diagnosis 21 months ago that I had blockages in my heart. That got my attention, and motivated me to get serious about my health.

Let's resolve to stick to our fitness goals in 2013!

Catching up

I haven't blogged in a few weeks, so I wanted to check in and catch you up to speed.
I'll be brief and try to give you the cliff notes.

* Our Christmas services at Foothills Community Church were unbelievable. The attendance was strong, and we had lots of first-time guests. Best of all we had 8 people that gave their lives to Christ and 66 people that made recommitments of their faith.

* Right after the service my family headed down to Florida to spend Christmas with my parents. If memory serves me, I believe that this was the first Christmas that we have been back down to Florida. It's always a blast to hang out with my family, and it's always great to have 80 degree weather on Christmas!

* This past Sunday, it was great to be back at Foothills and to start the New year out talking about what the Lord did in 2012 and where He is leading us in 2013. I am absolutely pumped about what's in store for us this year!

* Here are some of the things that the Lord did in 2012:

295 people gave their lives to Jesus
367 people made recommitments of their faith
141 people were baptized
392 people went through Get In The Game (membership class)
743 people served in one of our ministries
Our church gave nearly $250,000 above our normal giving, toward Project Reach, which helps the needy, and hurting.

There is so much more that I couldn't even begin to describe..... but the best is yet to come! Put on your seat belts in 2013!

* We also had our annual membership renewal. If you haven't renewed your membership yet, you can do it here.

* If you have not gone through the Get In The Game class, which is required for membership you can sign-up for our next class on January 20th here.

I have included the message from this past Sunday. If you've ever wondered what Foothills Community Church is all about, here you go:

Special Christmas Offering

If you have not given to Foothills Community Church's Christmas Offering yet, it's not too late. You might be wondering what this is. Let me take a  second to explain.

Each year FCC has a special Christmas offering which goes toward several important causes. One of the causes is a local effort called Christmas For Kids. Each year in Oconee County thousands of children would not be opening Christmas gifts if it were not for them. We have participated for the last 3-4 years.
Another place the money goes is toward the Golden Corner Food Pantry. Even before we began Project Reach, we have been involved helping feed the hungry. Since Project Reach however, we have become heavily involved n this great ministry.
Some of the Christmas Offering also goes toward helping families that attend FCC that are having tough times.
We received an incredible email thanking the church for being there for them this Christmas.

I will post portions of the letter, without the names:

.... We were just talking Saturday afternoon that this be first year that we
don't get to even buy a gift for anyone, especially the kids, and we were
missing the joy of buying the kids there gifts but, we were so thankful that
the church was going to give them something so they didn't have to have a
Christmas with no gifts at all.....   I told him I had never seen a church or

charity do it that way.  My husband just cried with me all over and said I guess

that is God's way of telling us not to give up and he is going to let us
experience a little of Christmas after all although it is the others that
are doing the giving.  

 

You and the church have no idea how much this has meant to us and how much
we are so thankful that we go to a church that people are so loving, pure
and true.  I told my husband last night it was amazing how bad I have felt
and had the most terrible day that I had yesterday trying to work and after
coming home and just sitting there at the dinner table about ready to cry.
Then suddenly the church calls us......   The thoughtfulness of the
people who give to the Christmas Fund and the church and all of you that
make this possible is the most important gift when people need it the most
no matter what the gift may be.  FCC is such a blessing to us.  We love all
of you so so much.  Please tell everyone  and all our church members that
made this possible that we send our upmost appreciation and thank you all
from the bottom of our hearts for everyone's thoughtfulness and their gift
of giving so that our kids can have a Christmas.

Thank you for making a difference in people's lives by giving toward the 

special Christmas Offering (Remember, this is above and beyond our normal 

regular giving) 

You can give online here.

Blown Away

I am blown away about what the Lord did yesterday at Foothills Community Church. It was one of my favorite days in our history.

We kicked things off with some great services in the morning. I'm not sure of the exact number, but we had a lot of people respond to the invitation to begin a relationship with Christ, and then each of our campuses had baptisms.  It was the first time that all 3 of our campuses had baptisms on the same day. The total number of people baptized during the morning services was 24!

Then at 6:00pm all 3 of our campuses came together for a huge worship night. It was one of the greatest worship services that I have ever seen!

I am not kidding, the level of excellence that our worship, and tech teams brought was world class.
There was a sense of anticipation in the room even before the first song was sung. People came hungry for more of God's presence. We closed off the back sections of the auditorium and had everyone squeeze in together toward the front. It changed the dynamics in the entire room.  (I implored everyone to bring the same intensity to worship on Sunday mornings, and to sit near the front)

Another thing that was noticeable was the amazing Christmas decorating that had been done by so many people pitching in. Our volunteers are amazing. Hundreds of hours were spent to make that a reality. Thanks to Kelly Ross and her team for putting us in the holiday spirit.

This Sunday we will begin our new Christmas series called, Empty. Invite, invite, invite. People will come to church with you, if you ask.... especially during the Christmas season.

We have made it even easier to invite your friends. You can use our electronic E-vite or promote it on Facebook or Twitter. Just go to this link and click on which way you want to promote the new series.

December 2nd

This Sunday (December 2nd) will be a day that you do not want to miss at Foothills Community Church.

On Sunday morning I will be doing a message called Brand New, that I am pumped about. Then after that we will celebrate baptism at all 3 of our campuses! To me, the days that we do baptisms are my favorites. I love watching people go public with their faith in Jesus.

The Bible teaches that every person who becomes a Christ-follower needs to be baptized. If you have not done it yet, this is your chance. This will be the last opportunity for 2012, so don't miss out.


Then at 6:00pm all 3 of our campuses will descend upon our Seneca campus for a huge night of worship. There will be worship leaders/ bands and singers from all 3 campuses leading us. We will also be observing communion that evening. This is going to be amazing!

This is a perfect opportunity to invite some friends. Believe me, they are going to love it!