By Inside Out on 12/23/2009 2:45 PM

This Sunday – December 27 - we’re meeting at our normal times of 9:00 and 11:09 but we are not having our “Off the Hook” worship service. Instead, during our 11:09 service, I’ll be retelling the Christmas story with the help of the kids. Bring them to the worship service and we’ll  dress them up as angels, shepherds, Mary and Joseph and have some fun.

Oh, and don’t forget that we have a worship service Christmas Eve at 7:00pm at Calvary Community Church (7550 Cherry Park Drive, off Hwy 6, behind Taco Bell).  We’ll sing some of the traditional Christmas songs. I’ll preach a Christmas message. And then we’ll light the candles and sing “Silent Night.” Sound like a plan?

Merry Christmas,

Pastor Elliott

By Inside Out on 12/18/2009 3:01 PM

Christmas and the New Year are on the way. Our 2nd annual Children's Christmas Pageant featuring our Lifepath Children and our Off the Hook Players is Sunday at 10 am.  This year our children will make guest appearances on the hit show 'Angel Idol' as they compete for the most important job of their angel career- announcing the birth of the Christ child! This year's pageant also features our Off the Hook Players who make their own attempts at stealing the show...oh, and when was the last time you saw Elvis at a children's Christmas pageant? You'll definitely want to arrive early for a seat up front this year!

Our Christmas Eve service is at 7 pm at Calvary Community Church. They don't do a service themselves and allow us to use their space. Make sure to tell any Calvary p ... Read More »

By Inside Out on 12/10/2009 2:53 PM

Here is a reminder that we have a congregational meeting this Sunday at 10:00. We will be electing elders, presenting the budget, and setting the pastors' salaries for the coming year.
 
That's a lot to do in one meeting, but hopefully there will also be time for some question-and-answers on our vision and future together. What have we learned during our time of exploring the Inside-Out vision? What are the next steps? And what about a building? I want to make sure we are communicating our progress. We are a good way through our 6-8 month period of exploring the Inside-Out vision and we are definitely closer to the time to make some decisions. I'll put together a couple of bullet points on where we are for Sunday. If you can't be at the meeting, don't worry, I'll email them out next week.
 
We will definitely have a time to do question-and-answers on Sunday, January 31 ... Read More »

By Inside Out on 12/4/2009 2:48 PM

Tuesday night our Director of Community Development and Outreach shared with the elders all of the things we did in November to bless our community.  I thought you might like to see it:

Star of Hope

• Women's Ministry collected 116 gifts for the Star of Hope

CAM (Cypress Assistance Ministry)

• There are 15 volunteers on a regular basis volunteering at CAM with their various ministries or projects
• 8 young adults and men did home repair to siding, roofing, and kitchen drawers of a CAM client
• Youth ministry purchased over $700 worth of gifts and made 15+ children's stockings for CAM

Habitat for Humanity Read More »

By Inside Out on 11/25/2009 2:23 PM

Remember that two Sundays from now, on December 6 we are having one unified worship service with a meal to celebrate our life together at as a church. In addition, the principal of Tipps Elementary will be present to share with us how our partnership is affecting the school. Worship will start at 10:00am. This means the set-up crew can sleep in an hour until 8:00. (Yay!)  We want a rough head count so we know how much food to order, so if you haven't let us know if you are going to be there, please do! You can RSVP online, or mark the back of your communication card ... Read More »

By Inside Out on 11/19/2009 3:24 PM

Many of you know Kenny and Vicky Scianna and their daughter Blair. They have moved to Tomball, so they aren’t with us much anymore, but this Sunday we are getting a special visit. Blair is a member of a church choir for people with special needs called The Joy Disciples and they have agreed to come and lead worship. Unfortunately they can only be present for 11:09 service, but we’ll take what we can get!

Sunday, December 6 we are going to have a unified worship service– at 10:00, followed by a meal together as a congregation. It is a chance for all of us who are normally scattered over three worship services to be together and celebrate what God is doing for us and through us. We’ll be asking for you to RSVP so that we know how much food to order.

Sunday, December 13 we will have a congregational meeting at 10:00. The purposes of the meeting are:

< ... Read More »

By Inside Out on 11/18/2009 3:05 PM

Last Sunday before the first service, some congregation members expressed to me their concern that we haven't made a concerted effort to raise money for a new building. Since our time at Labay Middle School expires in the summer of 2011, this was a concern to them and probably to some of you. As I talked with them, I began to realize that I haven't done a very good job of communicating the progress we are making as a church and how the building fits into the plans. That's what this blog entry is about.

As you know, we have a vision to become an inside-out church, making disciples by serving our community.   And we are in a time of exploration to figure out what this vision looks like in practical ways. Currently we are volunteering at Cypress Assistance Ministry, doing research in the community, and we have recently formed a relationsh ... Read More »

By Inside Out on 10/9/2009 11:16 PM

You've likely heard of spiritual gifts before.  Perhaps you've taken a spiritual gift inventory before, where you rate yourself on how you respond in a bunch of different scenarios, and then you are given an assessment of what are likely your spiritual gifts.  Or maybe the subject of spiritual gifts seems a little mysterious to you.  What are spiritual gifts, anyway?  Basically, spiritual gifts are special abilities we receive from God's Spirit which helps us to do something to help others that we are ordinarily incapable of doing on our own.

Our spiritual gifting is a very inside-out concept.  It is something that God does on our inside  so that we can make a difference through our outward living.  Two scriptures come to mind:

1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve ... Read More »

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By Inside Out on 9/30/2009 1:55 PM

Many of you have heard my story…young years surrounded by abuse and addiction. Leaving home at 16 and living transitionally homeless because I was shuffled to various family members, then to a treatment center, Buckner Children’s Home, and finally to college. It was in college that during the most painful time in my life, the suicide of my mother, that I realized God had a very clear and specific plan for my life. God had indeed changed my life from the inside, healing my deepest hurts and personal areas of sin. He freed me so radically that I began focus on the outside, walking in the joy of being able to pour into others lives in order to be a part of God’s plan for my family and community. Never in my wildest dreams would I of thought God could take all my brokenness and pain and use it to impact, equip and encourage others.

As you can imagine, on this journey God has used several pivotal ministries and experiences to impact my direction and mindset. One of those was a ministry ... Read More »

By Inside Out on 9/17/2009 2:38 PM

Welcome  to the Inside-Out Blog, which is dedicated to communicating God's vision for our church.  One of our leadership team will make a post here each week.  So make sure you check in regularly.

If you want to make a comment, check the instructions in red to the left.

So to get us started,  here is a summary of our vision and where we are with it right now. 

Why a New Vision?  Why not do church the same old way?

The world doesn't just need to hear about God's love. They need to see it. It's so easy for a church to remain stuck behind its four walls, isolated from the community God has called us to serve. It's no wonder that fewer and fewer people in our society see church as being relevant to their lives.

At lifepath we want to turn church Inside-Out. What does ... Read More »

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