Wow! Two campuses launched in two weeks — Orillia earlier today and Barrie last weekend. And all of it was done in exactly two months to the day from when we learned that Connexus would be born in a movie theatre in two cities. Hard to believe so much happened between October 9th and December 9th. God has done something pretty remarkable, and I'm so grateful.
Some highlights:
- Amazing people. You invited friends. Took risks. Celebrated together. And everyone seemed to thoroughly love what was taking place. Well done!
- The spirit of the teams. I was in Orillia at 6 a.m. today and saw the e-teams have everything unloaded by 6:10 a.m. Unreal! And everyone did with a smile on their faces. You must know God has something great in store for Connexus Orillia!
- Barrie e-teams did such a great job today that we started our 8:30 service at…8:30. Can you believe it? That's a first. We actually could have started at 8:20. Who knows what might happen next?
- Tremendous friends and partners. Did you know that Reggie Joiner, David McDaniel, Jill Howgate, Scott Tanksley and Betsy Wright left Atlanta Georgia at 6 this morning to fly in for the 10:00 a.m. service in Barrie? David, Scott and Jill are part of North Point Community Church where they head up campus expansion for North Point, and Reggie and Betsy work with the Rethink Group (our Orange friends). They wanted to show their love and support for Connexus. You folks are the best ministry partners anyone could ask for! Not to mention fun. Nice snow ball fight in the parking lot….
- Possiblity. It's amazing to think what can happen as people work together, pray together, and imagine together what relevant environments could do to change the face of a community in Jesus.
- Scope. Over 650 adults joined us in worship today on our campuses. Add to that volunteers and kids, and we're pretty amazed at the number of people who are part of Connexus in these opening moments. God continues to humble and amaze us by who He brings into our community, many of whom had given up on church!
Thanks for partnering with us. This truly is a remarkable time that we will remember — and build on — in the months and years ahead.
Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor
[email protected]
