Making the Connection

Deuteronomy 6:9 says that God’s Word is so powerful that the children of Israel were to write His commands on the doorposts and gates of their homes. Today, as we were working on the new TCC location, we wrote Bible verses that are foundational to what we’re about on the metal studs that will be in the walls of the building. If you come up in the next week or so to serve, feel free to bring a sharpie and add scriptures to the walls. Because, one thing that will never change is our commitment to the unchanging truth of God’s Word!

I am celebrating the incredible spiritual growth that’s happening right now at The Connection Church. There is a definite wave of the momentum of God’s Spirit at work through us, even more than we’ve seen in many, many months. For example, financially, we’re displaying more generosity than we have in a long time. The month of February is a great example. We met and even exceeded our budget by over $3,400! I can’t let that pass up without saying: Go TCC! Way To Go!!! Woohoo!!!

Since our wallets are such a big indicator of deeper spiritual issues, this is a clear sign of our growth.

Thinking back on when we started as a church, when our in-house receipts were just made up of my family’s tithe, through our initial explosive growth to the point where we became fully self-funded, we were consistently taking ground in the area of giving. But around the time of the talk of recession in our economy, it seems that we became fearful and were not willing to give as quickly or faithfully. As a result of our lean giving over the previous 18 months or so, we have steadily cut back on our budget needs to the point where we have gotten to the very essentials of what we have to do (not that there was that much more added in before).

I know that times have been tough, and there are many people who have struggled financially. At the same time, there’s no better chance for us as a church family to demonstrate total faith that we know God is our source by trusting Him with our finances. We also have a better chance to make a difference as we show God’s love to our community during these times.

Since the start of 2010, I can see that we are ready to step out and do more than ever before. So again, I want to applaud our success in February! And March has started off strong too!

Just FYI, we made an initial payment of $15,000 on our new location that takes care of the months while we’re building it out. In July, our monthly payments will start up and by that time, our budget will need to have risen from $27,848 a month to $35,847. We’re stepping out in faith because we know that God can do ANYTHING! And He’s called us to follow Him boldly through the doors He has opened for us.

The Big Hunt 2010 from The Connection Church on Vimeo.

We’re getting ready for The Big Hunt 2010 on April 3rd from 10:30-1 at Thunderhill Raceway. The Big Hunt was the very first event that we did when we moved to Kyle in 2004 and that started the whole thing. It’s crazy to think that TCC started with something as simple as an Easter Egg Hunt, but God uses these simple events to bring about BIG change in people’s lives. How does that happen? Well, we provide a fun and friendly environment and offer something that people are looking for, a free family event. At the same time, something else is going on on another level. We are creating a positive impression of a church that’s all about giving back to our community and serving people in practical ways.

God is also on a BIG HUNT.  2 Chronicles 16:9 says that “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” We have a conviction that God loves people and so we love people too! And somehow, through an event like The Big Hunt, God reaches out to people right where they are to bring people to make a connection with TCC and ultimately an eternal connection with God through Jesus Christ! And we get to be a part of it!

So how can you help people make the connection this Easter?

• Be at Thunderhill Raceway at  8 a.m. on April 3 to help out on one of the teams.
• Buy and stuff eggs with non-chocolate candy or prizes. Do it as a small group, families, or individuals. Get your workplace involved. Be creative! The goal is 30,000 eggs!
• Pick up a case or two of bottled water the next time that you buy groceries. We need 200 cases of bottled water.

Remember, God will take what you give and multiply it to make a difference in people’s lives all around our community. And that’s what we’re all about: To see Hays County changed one life at a time!

Can you feel it? After months of working through the process of finding, designing and just working through the red tape of securing a location, we’re starting the work on building out our soon-to-be home. Yes!!! Do the happy dance, it’s alright, no one is watching you.

Just to bring you up to speed, it’s 18,000 square feet of space in an industrial-type facility right between Kyle and Buda just off of I35. One of the craziest things about this site is that it used to be the home of a huge indoor shrimp farm. But we’re done thinking shrimpy. This is going to be the BIG home of a place that will facilitate changed lives starting first in our county and extending through this region between Austin and San Antonio.

Some of the initial work is being done by sub-contractors in our church family. But soon, we’ll have tons of volunteer work that needs to be done. But just imagine with me how incredible it’s going to be when we’re able to meet there anytime for any need, from a home-base for ministries to the community, to our kids and student ministries, our deaf ministry that is exploding, and more!

One of our goals is to be able to meet at the new location for our Easter services this year, but due to delays at the start, this is going to be a hard goal to meet. So please pray with me that this is going to be possible. It’s also going to take big money and plenty of sweat equity. The dollars that a step this big takes are staggering. I have total faith that God is going to provide everything we need through each of us who believe in the vision of TCC. TCC is a dream born in God’s heart that we get to be a part of for His Glory! So hang onto your seats, folks, and get ready for the ride of your life!

Here are a few pics of some of the first steps at the new building:

Digging the plumbing trench

Prepping the Ceiling

Fueling up the Wet Saw

Small groups (At TCC, we call them Connection Groups) are messy! Because they involve people, things rarely go just like you want them to. But anyone can learn the skills and, yes, art, of being a great group leader.

Nic and I have recorded some leadership training audio resources for anyone who is in a leadership position. I’m going to be posting these free resources here over the next several weeks so you can check them out. My prayer is that you will grow in your leadership as you make a difference in lives through your group.

Are you having trouble filling up your group? This first audio podcast will give you some practical ideas about how to find people and invite them to join your group. So get ready and “Fill ‘er Up!”

Quickshot: Circles of Life

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