Let the Journey Begin

Sunday was an incredible day! Information Sunday, journey guides, and Impact Groups created a buzz in the lobbies at both our 46th Street and Wash campuses. You can click on the picture above to see a slide show of the day.

Pastor Bob along with Mark Johnson, Ed Luebe, and John Maurice presented how we arrived at the decision to relocate. In 2003 our Building Committee recommended that we not further grow on our current site, but seek out other alternatives. We brought in church consultant Bob Gilliam a month later to do a comprehensive facility analysis. At the end of the consultation, all of our elders, deacons and equipping staff unanimously selected the relocation option.

In 2004 our Elders voted to relocate. A Property Acquisition Team began to look at potential properties. Then in May 2005 our church family voted 204-2 to purchase 55 acres on North Center Point Road in Robins.

It has been an exciting journey that brings us right up to this point. And now we are embarking on our Embracing Faith capital stewardship campaign in order to raise $10 million dollars! This is a God-sized vision and will require God-sized resources.

Yesterday, Pastor Bob asked everyone member and attender to begin a spiritual journey, asking: "God, what do you want to do through me to accomplish your will for New Covenant Bible Church?" The answers to that prayer will begin to unfold over the next two months.

We handed out Journey Guides at the end of the services to assist each person on their spiritual journey. And this Sunday was the last day to sign up to participate in an Impact Group during the Embracing Faith series.

Let me encourage you to ask God what part He wants you to play. Inform yourself and then begin to pray. Grapple with what sacrifice means to you. Ask God to lead and guide you as you seek to make not just a financial decision, but a spiritual decision. Let the journey begin!

Enough

We had a great Membership Weekend with 39 people attending. It's so much fun sharing New Covenant's history, mission, vision and values with this group of people. You can click on the picture above to see photos of all who attended.

What an incredible experience to read through all their testimonies. Journeys through broken marriages, profound loneliness, addiction, purposelessness, loss of a spouse, despair, fear, and shattered dreams. And in the middle of their brokenness, finding Jesus Christ to be enough.

Over the course of the weekend, we ask each prospective member to make three commitments - commitment to Christ, to community and to contribute. When I asked for a show of hands regarding how many people are already part of an Adult Bible Fellowship or small group, almost every hand in the room went up! And many are already serving in some capacity. Many others filled out a ministry brochure as a first step in finding a place to serve.

It's a joy to be able to serve here at New Covenant. God is doing a work in the lives of people. He is transforming broken lives and making them whole. He is building His church. We have the privilege of getting to co-labor with Him. He is enough!

Our Joy

Our Washington High School Campus launched last Sunday. The morning was full of excitement, exceeding my expectations! There were 198 in attendance in the auditorium with about 35 additional children in the nursery or children's church. You can click on the picture above to see a slide show of the morning.

It was amazing to see how crowed the hallway felt after the service as people spend time talking and interacting with one another. The entire morning had a distinctive "New Covenant" feel. It was especially exciting to see how many visitors attended. When Pastor Tye asked how many came as a result of receiving our mailing, 20-25 people raised their hands!

The service was God-honoring, the hospitality team members were warm and friendly, the environment and decor was attractive, the children's ministry team members were enthusiastic and the set-up/custodial team members were serving behind the scenes. A special "thank you" to everyone who prayed, planned, assisted or served in any way.

This whole journey of launching a second campus has been a large step of faith. The process has been similar to giving birth to a child. And just like the prospective parent, we too have experienced a whole range of emotions - fear, wonder, excitement and anxiety. But on Sunday, we experienced the joy of seeing a God-thing being birthed. The idea of a Wash Campus moved from a vision to a vivid reality.

It's our prayer that God will use this campus to help many become passionate followers of Jesus Christ. This is our prayer. This is our joy!

Time to Celebrate!

We had our Celebrate gathering this evening. The purpose was to praise God for changed lives. I would say the evening lived up to it's name! It was awesome spending time worship God together with over 700 others. You can click on the picture above to see a slide show of the evening.

Galyn Peterson, one of our charter members, shared what New Covenant has meant to him and his family. Bob asked those who have been impacted in some way by Galyn and Ruth to stand. It was awesome seeing all the lives these two faithful servants have touched over the years.

Jordan Koskamp and Brandon Zeadow shared how Brandon came to Christ this winter. What an awesome story of God's grace and timing. Jordan had prayed and shared with Brandon for years. And then one evening, Brandon attended our Impact Group during the Why series. Three days later he attended The Navs meeting at UNI. That night, Brandon and Jon talked for several hours and Brandon prayed to cross the line of faith! Brandon has been coming back to Cedar Rapids almost every weekend to attend our Impact Group and to worship at New Covenant! It's been so fun watching Brandon grow in his faith.

And I loved hearing Andy and Terri Schifflet share about what New Covenant has meant in their spiritual life. Melissa Spicer shared how God used Starting Point, Watershed, the WOW Adult Bible Fellowship and her relationship wirh Terri to change her life.

Bob commissioned all those who are planning to attend or volunteer at our Washington Campus. It was very moving seeing people standing all over the room, expressing their intent to serve God's purposes at our second campus. God is certainly doing a new thing at New Covenant.

It was quite an evening. It was good being together as family. It was good to take time to celebrate!

From Vision To Reality

Yesterday was the Open House for our Washington High School campus. Wow, what an exciting morning! I was helping greet at one of the doors and people just kept coming.

After months of prayer and planing, our Wash Campus has become a reality! I have to admit, it felt a little strange greeting people with, "Welcome to New Covenant!"

But New Covenant it was. Thanks to our tremendous volunteers, Wash was transformed into a warm, inviting place of worship. Over 160 people came to check out our new campus. It was a pretty exciting morning! You can click on the photo above to see a slideshow.

Today, over 7300 postcards were mailed out to homes around Washington High School. This Sunday is our official public Grand Opening. Pray for those who receive the mailing and that hearts would be prepared to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

A special "thank you" to our Launch Team and all those who are involved in making this dream become a reality. May God be glorified as we work together to bring New Covenant to the Wash neighborhood.