Making the Connection » Service

Giving Away My Birthday For Water

Cole — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:51:45 +0000

I first heard Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water tell his story at Catalyst Atlanta in October. He spoke passionately about the fact that 1 in every 6 people in our world don’t have access to clean water.

Water is essential for life, and the key to health, business, and education. Millions of people get deadly diseases from contaminated water that you and I wouldn’t even want to walk through, much less drink. 45,000 people will die this week from the lack of access to clean, safe water. Those who survive have to walk for hours everyday to get nasty water to give to their families. This is unimaginable and inexcusable when we can do something about it.

So my birthday wish this year is to provide safe clean drinking water for people in need. I’m so thankful that I don’t need anything this year. Not another iTunes card or another electronic gadget. This year is all about saving lives.

This is my 41st birthday and my wish list is simple: I’m asking that you give $41 or more to provide the gift of water. It’s not for me, 100% will go directly to freshwater projects for people in developing nations. Will you partner with me to make a difference? Go to this site to find out how you can get involved: http://mycharitywater.org/colephillips

No related posts.

Jesus Freaks of the Week: The Castillo’s

Cole — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:18:52 +0000

I’m so pumped to have Javier & Juanita Castillo and their 3 kids on our team. You see, Javier has been a pastor for many years. He has a heart for reaching people far from God. When he was leading Kyle Community Church, he found all kinds of ways to actively engage them in serving the community. And I’m honored that several months ago, they chose to follow God’s leading to join us at TCC.

On Sunday, Javi was one of the first people at Hemphill. Instead of striving for position, he said, “I may not get to preach every week, but if you’ll let me be responsible for setting up the chairs, I’ll be the best Minister of Chairs you’ve ever seen.” WOW!

They have stepped up to lead a Connection Group, and on Sunday they filled the group in one day just by meeting people and inviting them to their group.

And then, I was totally humbled after everyone was gone to see Javi & Juanita in the broom closet mopping up water that had leaked all over the place (the water was there when we got there in the morning, and not even our mess).

Their enthusiasm, support, and encouragement are off the charts. So Castillo’s, you are our Jesus Freaks of the Week!

No related posts.

We Got Decked

Cole — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:25:37 +0000

Last week, my family went on a much needed vacation to Florida. We consider this our second family vacation, our last one being back in 2005, and it was a blast. I can’t wait to let you in on all that we experienced.

While we were gone, we asked the West’s to check on our water and if it was not too much trouble to consider pulling our trash to the curb and putting it up. I thought that would be a big request

But the big news is what happened back home and what we found when we got back. Joe Barnes picked us up from the airport and when we got home, Pam noticed someone had done a little work in our flower bed up front. She was shocked to think someone would pull weeds for us. Then we noticed our backdoor windows were covered with wrapping paper and a sign that said, “To the Phillips Family with Love.” Standing on our back porch were several of our friends on a BRAND NEW PERGOLA AND DECK!!!

Needless to say, we are floored by our new deck (cheesy pun intended). It is something we’ve always wanted so we could actually use our backyard. But this one far exceeds what we could have ever done on our own. And to think that people gave their own money and sweated it on in the sweltering heat for hours. We will never forget this selfless demonstration of love!

Though I’m not even sure who all contributed to this project. It was kept top secret so some people might have wanted to get involved who didn’t just because it was so hush-hush. But I want to thank everyone who decked us from the bottom of our hearts. I’m planning on having a deck party as soon as we can and you’re all invited!

Decking the Phillips from Cole Phillips on Vimeo.

No related posts.

Lunches of Love

Cole — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:35:15 +0000

At TCC, we’re all about finding needs and meeting them in practical ways. I got to go out with one of our Connection Groups as they delivered over 30 lunches to kids in need in our community. This is just one of the awesome ways The Connection Church is all about showing God’s love to people so they can connect with Him.

No related posts.

Office Block Party

Cole — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:38:20 +0000

Everyone’s invited to come to the Ambassador’s BASH at 800 Goforth Square (The TCC Offices) for some fun tomorrow night (Thursday, July 2nd) from 6 to 9. This event is a part of the Kyle Chamber of Commerce and is sponsored by the businesses in our cul-de-sac.

TCC will have a booth setup in front of our office to give away popcorn and meet people in our community. We’re also providing a prize (probably a pop-up canopy) to be given away for the event. If you want to help out at the booth or just come out to participate, I’d love to see you here. Join us as we represent!

Ambassador Bash

No related posts.

Striking Back at Ike

Cole — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:07:38 +0000

The pictures of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike last weekend are unbelievable. It's time to do something about it. Something simple and practical, but something that will have huge results for real people whose lives have been altered by the loss of their home. Thousands have been uprooted and many are right here in our backyard.

The Hays Area Food Bank will supply food twice a week to any evacuee as long as they have to stay in the area. But I got the word that their shelves are empty. That should never happen as long as we are here to do something about it. Let's bring tons of food to the PAC on Sunday so we can show God's love in a big way to our community.

Here's what they need:

Canned
meats, canned fruits & veggies, mac & cheese, pastas, peanut
butter, granola bars, bottled water, cereal, rice & beans, dried
milk, bay & infant formula, & soups

It's time to step and do something to make a difference. I can't wait to see what God's gonna do through Connectors.

No related posts.

Buying Down the Price of Gas

Cole — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:35:43 +0000

It’s hard to believe my friend and mentor Nelson Searcy, pastor of the Journey Church of the City in New York, has started blogging. He’s the most strategic thinker I know. You can basically tell him where you’re at and where you want to go, and he immediately begins breaking the process down into achievable steps. If you read his books Launch and Fusion, you’ll see what I mean. They’re must reads for every pastor and planter. He’s also giving away a free podcast he recorded with me on how to do a gas buy down, one of the servant evangelism projects we used when we were launching The Connection Church. Welcome Nelson to the blogosphere!

No related posts.

Bald Santa

Cole — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 22:33:08 +0000

One of the perks of being a pastor is that I got to go and play Santa today by delivering 5 boxes of food to families in our community who will get to have some good eats this Christmas because of the generosity of TCCers. At one house with 12 kids, I got this picture of a bike rack out back with tons of bikes! I’ve heard stories from a lot of our people about how they’ve reached out to share God’s love in practical ways this Christmas. That’s what it’s all about!

No related posts.

Cookies For The Troops

Cole — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 13:40:00 +0000

Kevin’s Cookies is making a difference this Christmas season by sending cookies to encourage 200 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trey and Jennifer, my Connection Groups leaders, are the real deal and God is using them big time! Check out this site for more info.

No related posts.

Hawaiian Luau at Tobias

Cole — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:47:44 +0000

We just got back from Tobias where some of our peeps served a Hawaiian lunch for the teachers who are getting ready to go back to school. I’m so proud of all those who stepped up to make this happen. What amazed me was that parts of the meal were provided by a couple of professional caterers in our church (Trey Williams and Marcus Crawford), and Sue Terrell brought some of her catering bowls and trays. Pat Biddle did a great job coordinating the team. And thanks to Kristi and Jordyn West and Patti and Jenny Etheridge for serving. Amber picked up a $25 door prize that we gave out to the lucky winner. I love it when people work as a team in the areas of their strengths, everybody wins. It was cool to just serve the school. Our relationship with them is so important and we want to be a help to them however we can.

No related posts.