Weekend Recap...

This was perhaps the busiest weekend in the short history of Catalyst Church. It was incredible to watch our people serve, celebrate and connect like never before. It seemed appropriate to recap the whole weekend rather than just Sunday.

Friday Evening- Movies on Main

• We partnered with the city of Rowlett to sponsor the movie "Tangled" on the lawn in front of the public library.
• We popped popcorn, manned bounce houses, and passed out fans to hundreds folks spread out on the lawn.
• It was beautiful to see our Event Volunteer t-shirts scattered all over the place, our people talking to folks who were asking questions about the church.
• The highlight of this night personally was that I did nothing but show up and lend a hand here and there. It was all planned by Tim and Pam Moriarty and pulled off by our great volunteers.

Sunday Morning

• I was nervous about the day because I was not "preaching" per se. I was telling the story of God's provision, faithfulness, and goodness to Catalyst church in a land gift we recently received.
• I was nervous because this Sunday was the 10th anniversary of 9-11 and I knew that a lot of other churches were focusing on that and we were not.
• I was nervous that people would somehow be disappointed on a day that was to be a celebration.
• Catalyst scared me to death on this day... at 10:30 when the first song began, we had about 40 people in the building. I even commented on my facebook check-in that I was hoping for a late rush. I literally felt sick that we may have a half empty room on a day of celebration. We ended up with nearly 170 in attendance and had to pull out folding chairs. I guess they say "better late than never".
• We decided that on a day that brings up many different emotions like hate, anger, unforgiveness, revenge, etc... we would be better served to hear of God's faithfulness and leave with a sense of hope rather than any other emotion.
• I'll be honest, it felt like a risk, but one that I knew we had to take. We prayed for our country, our first responders, and those who were hurting over the loss of people they loved, but then we spent the day focused on God's goodness.
• The worship (musically) was off the charts. The band sounded great, the mix was great, and it was just a little bit louder than normal. The best part was that I could hear our people belting it out. I love that our church doesn't just stand and watch the band play.
• It was amazing to look across the room as I was telling the land story and see people wiping their eyes from beginning to end. I'm sure they were all "happy tears" .
• After the service, we took a group picture on the new land. I dislike group pictures as much as anybody and was thrilled that most of our people treked over for the pic. Thanks to Dan Pence from Stillwater Church for Snapping the photo.

Lunch...

• HUGE turnout for lunch. Probably our best ever result as we munched on fried chicken, baked beans and potato salad.
• We got everyone fed quickly and for the first time (thanks to Stillwater Comm. Church for the tables) we were able to house everyone inside around tables.
• It was great to see everyone linger long after the food was gone. It reminded me of family dinners when the food is secondary to the company.
• Another shout out to Tim and Pam Moriarty for organizing lunch. This church would not be where it is without them working behind the scenes.

C-Group Game Night/Launch Party

• We decided to try a new way of attracting folks to our C-groups in the form of a Game Night.
• As people arrived, we helped them find a group based on location and time and day if they weren't already connected to a group. It was great to see so many new faces.
• Each group had a circle of chairs and competed in various games ranging from Trivia, to minute to win it-esque games, to a Playdough version of Pictionary. It was loud and there was lots of trash talking among the groups, but in the end the teens triumphed and won a pizza party for their efforts.
• Nobody seemed to mind missing the start of the Cowboys game. I would have rather missed the end... ugh!
• Special thanks to Gary and Denise Cuppett for organizing the games.

Highlights for me...

• The way our people came together to pull of so many events in one weekend was amazing.
• Seeing people post, "I love my church" all day long was amazing. The thought was echoed by young and old alike.
• Seeing new folks take a courageous step to join a c-group.
• Watching our church continue to become a family is amazing.