Brand New Things at PCC!

I’m really excited about our church right now.  Good things are happening.  As I mentioned on June 16^th  in the Letter to the PCC, for the last eighteen months we have been methodically working our way through a certain list of critical areas in our church that needed help.  We took a hard look at our ministries and internal systems.  Everything was put on the drawing board for evaluation and some tough decisions had to be made.  During this process we have not expanded or added any new ministries; and for good reason, other critical areas needed to be fixed first.

After a lot of effort we have finally hammered out a good result.  We have found our stride in the adult service, and the Kids Zone has come together beautifully.  New leaders have been deployed in several ministry areas of our church, other leaders have found new places to serve, and new staff has been added to the team.  Attendance on Sunday mornings is better balanced between the two services; we no longer have an “A” service and a “B” service.  For the most part, we are firing on all eight cylinders on Sunday mornings, which is a huge step forward for us.  In short, the right people and the right systems are now in place.

The time has now come for us to pull the trigger on some new stuff around here.  Unlike before, we are now ready to expand and add new ministries.  This is what’s happening next:

Giving Page.  We are upgrading the giving page on our church website to make it easier and more convenient those who prefer this electronic option.

Ministry Fair.  Tomorrow we are offering about a dozen different opportunities for people to serve in a ministry at PCC.  Walk around and take a look at the different displays.  Read the brochures.  Talk to the ministry leaders at each station, they’ll be glad to answer your questions.  It’s time to defrost your frozen assets and get involved.

Ministry Leaders Luncheon.   Also this Sunday we are having a lunch with all department ministry leaders immediately after second service.  This is our way of saying thank you to those who lead.  While it’s certainly not going to be the level of an elegant appreciation banquet, this will give all us face time together.  It’s going to be a lot of fun.  No, it’s going to be a blast!

State of the Church Address, Six Month Update.  On July 3^rd I will give a six month update on the state of Pace Community Church.  You may remember the talk I gave on January 2 entitled “Vision Sunday”  in which I gave you all the cold, hard facts about the state of our church, how we got there, and what we were going to do to turn things around.  The six month update will show you the progress we’ve made.

Baptism Service.  This will take place on July 17^th.  We have made the decision to have baptism services more often, but with fewer people each time.  This will make it easier for us to handle and make it more meaningful for the families being baptized. On this Sunday we’ll baptize about 10-12 people, half in first service and half in the other.  It’ll be a regular day, singing, worship, message, and baptism at the end.

Newcomers Luncheon.  On July 31^st we are hosting our first ever Newcomers Luncheon.  This will be an informal lunch for newcomers, guests, and our newest members to PCC to meet us face-to-face, ask any questions they have, discover a little more about the PCC family, and just have some fun.  The meal is free.  Renae and I used to host an event similar to this in my home called “newcomers coffee” and we did it for years.  This simple act of hospitality brought in scores of new members and established many relationships that we still cherish today.  Hospitality grows a great church, and we believe this Newcomers Luncheon will be even more effective.  Listen out for details.

Teen Summer Camp – August 1-5.  Teen camp is going to be a lot different this year.  It has been totally designed "in house" by the Youth Staff of PCC.  The name of the camp is “Road Trip” and the theme is “Your Direction Determines Your Destination.”   It is designed to get teens thinking about these questions:  What is the real purpose and meaning of Life?  What’s really important to me?  Where does God fit into my life and future? and Where am I going?  The camp will take place at Camp Baldwin in Alabama, about an hour drive from Pace.  Because of its closer location I'll be driving over for a day myself to hang with the kids.  I've even been invited to speak at one of the break-out sessions, and I think Renae has been invited to speak too.  This camp is going to be a home run!  We will publish more details about the event as the date gets closer.

Vacation Bible School – August 15-19.  This year will be completely new and totally different than in all previous years.  We are approaching VBS with a very strategic plan; it will fall into perfect alignment with our current “Think Orange” approach we now use in the children’s ministry on Sundays.  Plus, we plan to incorporate as much parent participation as possible by offering a teaching class to the parents while the kids are involved in VBS activities.  VBS will not be a baby-sitting service this year or a convenient drop-off opportunity for strangers.  The goal this year is to “partner” with parents in raising godly children – not do it all for them.  And yes, the kid are going to have a blast!  We are pulling out all the stops to make it the most memorable VBS ever!

Young Adult Ministry to Start July 19th.  Attention young adults.  You are invited to join us on Tuesday night, July 19^th at 6:15 p.m. for our first get-together.  It’s a night of bowling at Cordova Lanes and dinner at Olive Garden.  This is for 18-to-25 year olds, married or single.  Bring a friend or bring a date if you like.  If you are interested, there is a sign-up sheet at the information table in the atrium.  To help you get connected and stay in contact with others you can go to the young adults Facebook page at  PCC Young Adults.  Or you may contact Denise Yates for more information.

Over 50+ Adult Ministry.  This is still in the exploratory stage and will likely launch very soon.  If you are interested, just fill out one of the interest surveys and place it in the drop box in the atrium.

Elective Bible Classes in the fall.  In an effort to better serve you we are hoping to offer a series of elective Bible classes in the fall.  We did something similar to this a few summers ago called “Foundations” which was highly successful.  This project is still in the early stages, but we have identified a few teachers and possible subjects.  It’s still a few months away, but we’ll keep you updated as the plan progresses.  We might call it PCC University.

Okay.  There you have it.  This is what we’re doing right now.  But this is just the beginning.  It’s a new season at PCC.  We’re going to be trying a lot more new things around here.  We are going to be adding new people to our church, new members, new ministries, new programs, and events for fellowship.  There will be recreational activities, needs-based ministries, new groups, new classes, new teachers, new leaders, new staff, and new pastors.  We are going to create open doors for people to enter the life of our church, mobilize the members for ministry, raise financial resources, and assimilate newcomers into the social networks of our church.

We’re going over the top!