So I know it's not thanksgiving, but in this space between Christmas and New Year's, I find myself incredibly thankful for what God is doing through Connexus Church.
- So many of you invited friends and family out on Christmas Eve (this pic is from the 5:30 service in Barrie). Thank you for taking a risk and inviting people to join you. We're already hearing stories of how God used the services to impact people, and we're already hearing from people who say they'll be back. Because you invested in your friends and family, our Christmas Eve attendance was actually 50% higher than last year. We found bigger venues in 09, but you filled them. Wow.
- You continue to take risks. Very few churches would open up Christmas Eve with Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll. But it worked, didn't it? I love being part of a community that embraces doing what it takes to reach a community where over 90% of our friends and neighbours don't go to church. (PS. The Christmas carols were awesome too).
- Our volunteers may indeed be the story of the year (again). You continue to pour your heart into hosting environments that are easy for our friends and neighbours to attend…at some cost to yourself. It was awesome to me that at 10:00 Christmas Eve as we put away the last of the gear at our Barrie venue, volunteers still had a sparkle in their eyes. Seeing staff and volunteers partner together brings me joy every week. You simply rock!
- You Gave Christmas Away. Thank you for your generosity. We don't have final totals yet (our partners will report back in early January with final tallies), but we do know you gave thousands of dollars that will impact hundreds of lives locally and internationally. I love the generosity of our community.
- Our children's ministry and student ministry small group leaders are so invested in the lives of the kids they care for. I love this story. 11 year old Claire Bailey leads a Waumba Land (pre school) group. The kids in her group each received a Snowman Kit (7 pieces of coal (two for his eyes and 5 for his smile), a carrot ( the bigger the better), a hat and a scarf.) She then packaged them all up in a snowman gift bag with a special poem and a Birth Certificate… How can you not love that?
- We're seeing more connection. Thank you for hanging out after the services, meeting new people, and welcoming new people into Connexus. Let's keep that up…we'll keep pouring good coffee, you keep building relationships with people. Invite them to serve with you…attend Group Link and get involved in the life of our community.
- You're inviting people. Over 75% of the people who come to Connexus show up because someone invited them. That's just awesome!
My heart is full. Thank you. Thank you God, for your incredible faithfulness. Thank you Connexus, for your obedience and passion. I love that we get to do this together.
– Carey