Rock Bridge Community Church

• This past Sunday in Calhoun, we set an attendance record with more people attending our campus than ever before. More people are getting saved, signing up to be baptized, and more people are visiting our church for the 1st time than has ever happened in the history of our campus. I am so thankful to everyone in our church who is inviting and bringing someone to one of our services.

We have several people getting baptized this Sunday during our services. Talking to several people about baptism reminds me that God never gives up on us. You will not want to miss this Sunday and the stories of radical life change that has happened in the lives of our people going public in baptism.

Growing as rapidly as we have this year has helped us recognize that we have an opportunity to improve your parking experience when you drive onto our campus:) We are working hard this week to put a new system in place to be sure you find a parking space when you get to church on Sunday.

What an awesome message this Sunday from Matt Evans!! This series in Philippians has been life changing! Here are some of my takeaways from yesterday:

We GET joy from Jesus and He wants us to GIVE it to other people for His GLORY and Honor.
The cross carries the weight of our joy
If you want people to know you are a Christian, examine how you treat other people.

I’ve gotten a lot of feedback about the “Joy Dimmer” envelopes. I love that our church is being challenged by not “arguing, grumbling, or complaining” this week.

I love my church! God is doing some amazing things right now and I am pumped!! Please keep praying, keep inviting, and keep serving. The Gospel is being preached and lives are being changed!!

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If you’ve been around Rock Bridge for any length of time, you know that one of our most important values of our church is Reaching People. In fact, our Mission Statement is “We want to Glorify God by connecting people from all walks of life to a life in Christ”. That is not just a catchy phrase for us; it’s who we are and what we are about. Simply put, we want to point people to Jesus.

This is so important to us, that we are constantly stressing and asking you to invite people to church every week. And you are!! But I also know that inviting your friends, neighbors, and co-workers can be challenging and often awkward. So, I’ve included some simple steps that will help you get over whatever hurdle is in your way. This list came to me from another church’s blog. But, I think these are very useful suggestions to help when inviting someone to church with you this weekend.

1.  Have a place worthy of your invitation. If you aren’t excited about your church and desperately hoping your friend, neighbor, spouse and/or co-worker will attend this Sunday, why are you still there?

2.  Be specific. The following rarely works: “You should come to church with me sometime.”  It works about as much as, “We should do lunch sometime.”
You have to be specific.   “Will you join me this Sunday for the 11 am service at our church?  I can pick you up around 10:15, we’ll get some coffee along the way and then go to lunch afterwards. How’s that sound?”

3.  Be an expert about the Family Ministry environments at your church. If you are inviting parents with kids, the single most important issue on their mind is, “Will my kids be safe and will they like it?” Do your homework and let them know you’re already thinking about their kids. Email them information about the kids programs. Tell them stories about how much your kids or your friends’ kids enjoy the church.

4.  Leverage the church’s website. More and more churches are trying to help you invite your friends.  Check out their website, Facebook page, etc. This has been a very effective tool for people in our churches.

5.  Don’t give up. My experience is that I have to be persistent and keep inviting.  I can’t tell you how many times friends of mine have said they were coming to church on Sunday only to cancel on Saturday night.  Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be defeated.  Hang in there.  Keep inviting them.

This isn’t about church attendance. It’s about eternity. And when eternity’s at stake, we can push through the awkward tension knowing that we’re simply doing what Jesus did – reaching out to those who are far from God.

So, who are you inviting to church this Sunday?

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This weekend’s services were powerful, life-changing, intense, and God-inspiring! Here are some of the highlights…..

We have seen tons of new families this summer and this weekend was no exception. It has been great to connect with some of the people God is bringing into our church family! With the exception of Easter this year, our attendance Sunday was our biggest ever.

Our second service was packed this weekend! We are planning to bring out more chairs for next Sunday’s services. I am pumped that we are already having this problem!!

Several spiritual decisions have been made in the month of July in our church, including this Sunday. One of the men who gave his life to Christ in our church recently rode his bike about 20 miles round trip to our campus just to tell us how Jesus and this church has impacted his life!

Our Student Ministry Kick-Off is coming up on August 14th at 5:30pm. This is going to be our best year yet for our students. One of the reasons I know this is because in addition to every one on our current volunteer team returning, we have tons of new volunteers ready to invest into the lives of our students. I have two 7th grade daughters and I can’t be more excited for them and for the ministry season that is about to take off!!

1st Wednesday Worship and Prayer is this week. We are going to focus on praying for the many school administrators, teachers, custodians, and school bus drivers….as they get ready to go back to work this week. We are also going to pray for our students and parents. Do not miss this service! Dinner starts at 5:30pm

Our staff has been working hard all summer long and I am proud to serve with every one of them. We have moved into a new building, pulled off an awesome VBS event for our children, experienced growth in every ministry, and they are all gearing up for the new ministry season. We have not slowed down all year and they have all worked harder this year than ever before! Please let them know how much you appreciate them the next time you see them.

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This Sunday, May 29th, we will open our new building for the 1st time with 2 new service times. We have prayed, planned, and prepared for this day for several months and we are excited about what God is going to do!

I hope you can join us at 9:30am or 11:00am at our brand new location: 100 Peters Street (the Old Piggly Wiggly building). We will have full children’s ministry programming for both services and the twice as many chances for you to invite someone to church with you.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Carll

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• This Sunday is Vision Sunday! This is an important Sunday as we celebrate what God is doing, while reminding ourselves who we are as a church and where He is leading us in the future. Here is what you need to know..
  • • This is a great weekend to invite someone to church with you! We challenged every one of you with “Each One Reach One”
    • Immediately following the service, we will be having lunch together at the Calhoun Convention Center (next to our new building). This is in the Gordon Hills Shopping Center (behind Mama’s Home Cooking)
    • Bring a side dish and/or a dessert to share. The church is providing the meat and we are asking you to bring some side dishes to share!
    • We are planning to open the new church building for you to see!! I am so excited to show you how much work has been done.

• This Sunday is going to be one of the biggest days in the 4 year history of our campus. The local church is the hope of the world and it is God’s plan A for reaching people for His glory!!  What God is going to accomplish through this “What If” series is going to change the way we think about church!! The Christian life is about listening to God and doing what He says and this Sunday we are going to share with you what we believe God is telling us as a church.

• So…make plans on being here AND bring people with you (remember, FOUND PEOPLE FIND PEOPLE!!!)

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• We finished up the “No Dropped Calls” series this weekend with a message that dealt with how to pray for one another. One of the greatest privileges I have as a pastor is to get to pray for the many needs in our church and community but there are times when I feel like my prayer life is anemic and lacks power. I was convicted by the Apostle Paul’s letter and prayer here and challenged you to pray for the next 7 days for the people God has put into your life. I would love to hear how God is answering your prayers this week!

• We start a new series this Sunday call “What If”. I honestly believe this is going to be one of the best series we have ever had! It is more important than ever before to begin to invite someone to church with you this Sunday and remember Vision Weekend is coming up (March 13th).  Who are you bringing?!?

• On March 13th (Vision Sunday) we are going to having lunch together immediately following the service at the Calhoun Convention Center (next to our new building). After lunch, we will be opening the doors to the new church building so you can see all of the progress. This is going to be a special day for our campus!! We are planning on doing something very special and memorable for you when we open the doors and you won’t want to miss it.

• It has been amazing to see all of the progress in the building this week. We’ve watched nearly all of the walls go up and it looks amazing. I will be uploading some pictures this week so check back for updates. You can also follow the progress on our facebook page.

• I’m looking forward to our 1st Wednesday Dinner and Worship Service this week. It is one of the best services we have and the dinner is always wonderful. Dinner starts at 5:30pm and the worship starts at 6:30pm.

• Have a great week!!

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January has been one of the best months our campus has ever experienced! I am so honored to be a part of a church that is unashamed to reach this community with a “whatever it takes” attitude. Here are some things I am excited about….

• Our attendance is up! In a month where we typically see some new families, we have seen some unprecedented growth in January. One of the primary reasons this is happening is because you are inviting and bringing your friends, neighbors, and coworkers to church. DON”T STOP NOW! God’s Word is being preached every week, Jesus is becoming real and relevant in people’s lives every week, life-saving decisions are being made every week, and life change is happening every week! We live in a community where literally thousands of people do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that ought to compel us to get people to church this Sunday. Who are you inviting?

• Our giving is up! In a month when post-holiday budgets are tighter, and church giving is usually down, our giving increased 22% in January!! That is incredible!! In addition to the increase in our general budget, you continue to support our “Step Together-Calhoun” campaign with over 110,000 pledged and nearly $40,000 given in the last 9 weeks. Your generosity and sacrificial giving is fueling our mission, funding our ministries, supporting our staff, and helping us move into a new building in the next few months.

• I got to hang out with some new families this Sunday after our service for our NEXT Luncheon where we shared our mission and vision. Several joined the church, stepped up to serve somewhere, and committed to join a small group. I love being a part of a church that is healthy and growing where people are excited about what God is up to in our community!

• This week’s message from Matt Evans was personally convicting for me to hear. the “pirate we tackled this week was “being led by something other than faith (or trust) in Christ. Here are a couple of things that convicted me the message…
  • “Do you really believe the Bible is true and relevant to you? Are you convinced” If we believe it, why are we not living it out?”
  • “Believe it; Live it; Preach it”
  • “The most important sermons are the ones you preach (or don’t) to yourselves”
  • 5 sermons to preach to yourself
  1. God is great and He loves you very much
  2. God is great and I live for His glory
  3. Hope is alive because Jesus it alive
  4. I am who God says I am.
  5. Temptation, you are not going to pirate my faith, my family, or my future.

• Next Sunday we finish up the Faith Pirates series with an important subject: Suffering and how it impacts our faith. This will be a very challenging subject and if you know someone struggling, this is going to be a great service to get them to.

• Our 1st Wednesday service is this week. If you haven’t been, this is a great time to get to know our church family better, enjoy a great meal, and experience some authentic worship with communion. I hope to see you beginning with dinner at 5:30pm.

• Have a great week!!

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What an incredible weekend at Rock Bridge Calhoun! Here are some highlights….

• Matt Evans, our lead pastor, was back this Sunday teaching and I loved seeing him again. Here are some highlights from the message

• “Relating to God based on how we perform (how we see ourselves in the mirror) is a faith pirate.”
• “God’s choice of us and His work for us make salvation possible”
• “Real faith begins not with a command to obey but an invitation to trust goodness and His greatness. (Our performance has nothing to do with it)”
• “What God-focused step should you take right now?”

• The 1st 3 services this year have been, in my opinion, the best we have ever seen. The worship has been amazing, we have seen a ton of new families, and God is moving in the lives of our people.

• Our technical team is the best!! From our set design, to our lighting and audio, we have one of the best portable environments I have ever seen. These guys get to church every week nearly 4 hours before anyone else shows up and they do it with an amazing heart to use their gifts to make Jesus famous! I love you guys!!

• We had a great week getting some important work done in the new building. The new subfloor is nearly complete and the ceiling grid was gutted to prepare for the next phase of construction. We are hoping to get our building permit soon and walls will soon be going up. You can check out pictures of the work at our Rock Bridge Calhoun Facebook page.

• We have a NEXT lunch after the service on January 30th. This a great event if you are new to Rock Bridge and want to learn more about who we are, want to get more involved, or if you are interested in becoming a member. You can sign up by emailing me at calhoun@rockbridge.cc

• Our student ministry has gotten off to an amazing start this year! My daughters cannot wait to get to church on Sunday nights and as a parent, I love that! Kurt is hitting it out of the park and if you have students, you seriously need to get them to the LINK of Sunday nights at 6pm.

Thank you to everyone is serving, giving, inviting, and praying for this church! God is doing some amazing things and I honestly believe the best is yet to come!

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Our new series, Faith Pirates, begins this Sunday. In this series, we are going to be looking at things that can “steal” our faith. This is going to be a GREAT series to invite a friend to church with you. See you Sunday and come expecting God to speak into your life!!

Faith Pirates from Rock Bridge on Vimeo.

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URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FROM MATT & BETH EVANS:

“Last night Beth’s oxygen levels dropped and she had to be put on an oxygen mask to get her levels back up. They moved her into a “step up” unit for closer observation. We spoke with Dr. Boulad this morning and asked lots of questions. He informed us that this puts us at a more serious level right now.”

The cause of this is 1 of 3 things:

1) Infection (they are giving her everything under the sun to prevent/cure infections)

2) Fluid on the lungs (they are giving her stuff to rid her body of fluids)

3) Toxicity from chemo/radiation

We just need lots of prayer right now for this lung & oxygen issue to be cured and cleared.

We still are moving to transplant sometime later today.

Matt

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