In Memoriam

One morning in 1888, Alfred opened his morning paper and found a shocking and disturbing notice. His own obituary. Actually, it was Alfred’s brother who had passed away, but the newspaper had carelessly reported the wrong brother’s death announcement.  Fortunately, the mistake gave Alfred a unique glimpse into his legacy. Alfred was the chemist who had invented dynamite. His inventions, his fortune, and his legacy highlighted the fact that he had made war more destructive and death more massive.

 

Alfred was determined to leave a different legacy. Under the terms of his will, he left $9 million dollars to fund five prizes. These prizes were to be awarded annually to individuals who most contributed to helping mankind through advancements in economics, chemistry, physics, medicine and peace. The man who was once known as the “Dynamite King” was able to change the way he would forever be remembered. You know Alfred Nobel by the namesake given to his five awards, The Nobel Peace Prizes.

 

This Memorial Day, teach your children to remember those brave souls who forfeited their lives to advance the freedom, safety, and prosperity of our lives. And ask yourself… what legacy are you leaving?

Serving God By Showing Up

I listened to Michael tell his story in a Bible study several years ago. Early in his life, Michael knew exactly how he wanted to serve God. He wanted to be a preacher.  Michael’s ministry began on his family’s small mid-west farm. The barnyard was his church and the livestock were his congregation. With a bale of hay as his pulpit, Michael was filled with an uncontainable enthusiasm to teach the Gospel. And so he did. Then one day he realized his church had overlooked one important detail in Christian obedience to God. Baptism. Not a problem.  A large tractor tire with rainwater collected in the bottom would make a perfect baptismal! Impressed with his brilliant resourcefulness, Michael just needed a Christ-loving, servant-hearted believer to, literally, test the water. Much like God provided the ram to Abraham, Frisky the family cat, happened to stroll by…

Now if you’ve ever tried to baptize a cat you will agree, that while cats might go into the water ‘traditionalist’, they come out as ‘zealous charismatics’! Michael knew this the minute that cat hit the water. Before he could say “Holy Spirit!”, Frisky took off through the yard like bullet, howlin’ and screechin’ out praises!

 

Unlike Michael, most of us don’t know how to begin to serve God. So I will give you a hint. The best way to start serving God, is to show up. 

 

It doesn’t matter what you do, where you were (or were not) educated, or even how much you know about the Bible. God can use you. 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.”  It has been said, that one of the most exciting parts of following Christ is discovering your contribution, and then making yourself available to do it.

 

At Wiregrass Church we believe that Strategic Service in the church, in the body of Christ, is one of the ways God grows your faith. When you commit to serving others, to leading others, to greeting others, to making sure that others can hear God’s message in an engaging and relevant way… YOUR relationship with Christ is stretched and strengthened. 

 

But if you’re like Michael and you think the idea of baptizing cats is a good one, then just come on over to any of our children’s environments, and experience the next best thing… herding cats.

 

For more information or to sign-up go to http://www.wiregrasschurch.org/church/serve-2/.

 

WITH you in Christ’s service!

Rebekah Barnes – Waumba Land Director

1 Invite = Many Stories

Recently, I was sitting in my new small group listening to different couples tell their stories. I always love that part of starting a group because, not only do I get to know the people I will be doing life with for the next 18-24 months, but it reminds me also that everyone has a story. We often pass people on the street or meet people for the first time, and never know the incredible story that could potential be on the other side of that handshake or brief, “Hello.”

 

Anyway, I was listening to this couple’s story, and the husband made this statement, “If my nephew would have never invited me, I might have never shown up at Wiregrass Church. In fact, it was because of that invite that…” He stopped to think and count. “…about 40 people, yeah, about 40 people have started coming to Wiregass.” 

 

That was incredible to me. Logical thinking says that one invite equals one attender (or couple). However, in this case that is not what happened, and it’s pretty awesome to look at inviting people to church through this lens. 

 

The more I think about this story, the more encouraged I get, not because 40 new people came to our church, but because those 40 people have 40 stories and all 40 of those stories can be traced back to one common moment. What moment?  The moment when this man’s nephew decided to be bold and invite someone that he had an invested relationship with to church. 

 

The thing that is actually pretty incredible about all this is that when we invest in the people around us, and invite them to an environment where they can feel safe, welcomed, and important, they are more apt to be open to hearing about a God who loves them. That has been the case in these people’s story as well. Many of them have come to realize that there is a God who loves them and wants a relationship with them, and their stories have been radically impacted. 

 

I just think that’s awesome. I think it’s incredible when people learn that God loves them.  I think it’s incredible when people are so passionate that they take the risk to invite their friends to church. But the most incredible thing is that God honors those people who step out and invite their friends by allowing them to be a part of their friends story. 

 

So here are my questions to you and me: 

 

Is there anyone out there telling their story and thanking me? 

 

How many people are around me that I could play a part in introducing them to God?

 

At Wiregrass Church, getting in the game is as easy as an invitation.

Mission Trip To Haiti

Looking for an opportunity to serve and make a difference for God’s Kingdom while serving a nation in need? Do you have a desire to be a part of something bigger than yourself ?

Then please consider a mission trip to Fond Baptiste, Haiti September 7 – 13. Wiregrass Church is partnering with The 410 Bridge, a Christ­centered not-­for-­profit organization that describes their mission as two-fold. The first is “to walk alongside the people in developing­‐world communities where we believe God has called us to serve.” And the second is “to awaken within the hearts of the American church a fresh new passion to use their gifts as a part of God’s overall mission to serve and love His people; and thereby experience a growing relationship with Him.”

The 410 Bridge serves as a bridge between the local church here and the local community in Haiti (and Kenya). By partnering with The 410 Bridge we Nind a way to go and serve with ongoing teams. This allows us to build long­‐term relationships that impact communities.

We (Wiregrass Church and The 410 Bridge) are excited about this partnership and invite you to join us in being part of God’s work in transforming lives together on both sides of the bridge!

We plan to send a team of 15 with Adam Roberson leading the team, along with a 410 staff member. The 410 Bridge also provides Haitian leadership while the team is in the country. The service projects are prioritized by the local Haitian leadership council and focus on 5 main areas: spiritual development, clean water, quality education, micro-­‐enterprise and health/wellness.

The cost of the trip is $1850 which includes Airfare

Lodging
Food
In­‐country ground travel expenses
Haitian 410 Bridge staff member
US 410 staff person
Insurance in case of political uprising or natural disaster to get team out In‐country logistics and itinerary of service
Satellite or in­‐country phone with team leader
Team leader training

Please check out these video clips that cover the heart of The 410 Bridge at www. 410bridge.org

For questions, please contact Sally Bolden, sbolden@wiregrasschurch.org or Adam Roberson, aroberson@wiregrasschurch.org

“I Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 

Hey Non Givers

I would like to speak directly to everyone that give none of your money away. Most church leaders get mad at people that don’t support their church but I don’t. I actually get sad. I get sad because I want so bad for you to experience the freedom that comes through being able to give your money away. I’m not even talking about giving to just this church, just living a generous lifestyle in general. The large majority of the people reading this give nothing and the average Christian gives just over 2% of their income away.

So why am I talking about this? Here is why… I think it’s the churches fault in a lot of ways to why people don’t give because we haven’t provided a relavant way for you to give. As most of us probably know most people in our church probably don’t have any cash or checks on them. Each week we pass the buckets & you can’t give at all. This isn’t your fault, it’s ours. So we are going to start focusing on providing you a solution for something that will help you in your giving.

It’s called online giving. On our website, we have a place where you can give digitally. I’ve talked to so many of you guys that say you just don’t carry cash or check and I want to tell you that this week, we are celebrating online giving and I believe that a large majority of you guys that have given nothing away will start giving because we made it easy for you this week!

To give online simply go to wiregrasschurch.org and select “give online” under the give tab. As we are learing in our current series the best way to battle greed is to give. So start battling greed this week and experience what me and my family do, which is giving online.

WITH You,

Troy

Invest and Invite Story (via Facebook)

This week I want to share with you a story that came across our facebook page. It speaks to the power of investing in people and then inviting them to church.

 

 

Mom: I attended church this morning, Wiregrass Church with our neighbors. Although one of my daughters has been going for several weeks, it was mine and my other two daughters first time and we really enjoyed it. This church was unbelievable and honestly I have never seen anything like it before. The girls though they were at Disney World. It was a great service, a comfortable atmosphere, awesome music, very friendly people, and we can’t wait for next week.

 

Friend: Sounds like a great place to be

 

Mom: It was a wonderful place. My daughter has been there before with our neighbors for about four weeks and she loves it. Our neighbors invited us and we finally went today and we were so glad we did. They have a service at 9 and 11. One of my daughters goes to a place at 9:00 called Upstreet and then she goes to some place called  Leadership. My other two daughters go to the 9 o’clock service and goes to a place at 11 called Transit. They also have a high school class on Monday nights that one daughter will go to called Inside Out. This is not your ordinary church and i mean that in a good way. My neighbor always says “It’s a Church for people who don’t like church.” It’s a welcoming environment, casual dress, friendly people and extra activities that are planned for the family to do. It’s exactly what we need in our life and we can’t wait to go next week.

 

What a great story of someone who decided to be BOLD and ask someone to church. This is a story that is still being written. What kind of life change might take place? Who might this Mom ask to come with her to church? The potential is there for all of us. Sometimes we just have to be BOLD and ask.

 

WITH You,

Troy

Financial Change Through Groups

I want to share with you a story from one of our Access Groups here at Wiregrass Church. If you are not familiar with Access Groups then allow me to be of assistance. Access Groups are like Community Groups, but meet weekly for a short term to explore one topic. One of the Access Groups we have is Financial Peace University. This story is the result of someone who chose to come each week and learn how to be a good steward of their finances in the context of a group. When you learn with a group you have the support and accountability for change to take place and stick. This is another great example of how life change happens and is sustained in the context of community. Enjoy!

 

“I wanted to share something exciting that has happened to me lately concerning my financial peace. Last Friday I spoke with a mortgage lender about obtaining a loan to purchase a home. The lender advised that I wait 3-6 months as my credit score would improve, and I could obtain a better interest rate. She explained that my low score had to do with past credit decisions and debt to income ratio; however, she was quick to say that there were absolutely no blemishes on my credit report since 2010. I explained that due to a divorce, I had been able to make my own financial decisions. She said ‘Well, it shows. Keep up the good work!’ Now, at one point in my life, I might have been upset over this denial, but I actually felt a victory in this rejection! My persistence at becoming debt-free was beginning to show. I knew then that my perception had changed. I am on the right track, and attending Financial Peace class each week confirms this and maintains my focus on the goal of obtaining this peace.”

 

If you are interested in learning more about Access Groups visit us on the web at wiregrasschurch.org/groups.

 

WITH You,

Troy