Celebration Sunday

This past weekend was Celebration Sunday at our church.  That's city talk for "Church Homecoming".  The communications team prepared two awesome videos for the three morning worship services including some awesome aerial video taken with a drone to recap highlights from the past year.  At the end of the service, the pastoral team challenged members to think about how God has worked through our church family to bless them this past year and to write what they were thankful for on the chalkboards.  To illustrate, they showed a video in which church members shared stories about what they appreciated from the previous year at our church.   Our 11-year-old was chosen to represent the children's ministry and to talk about the Agape service ministry in which 5th graders weekly serve as helpers, hosts, greeters, etc.between each service.  But when the video crew arrived at our home, she wanted to talk instead about her participation in Access ministry, a ministry for those with special needs to help them integrate with the rest of the church family in life classes, worship, Bible study, and fellowship.   

I previously had no idea how much work goes into these videos.  Our daughter is featured in less than a minute of this video, yet we had to schedule three different filming sessions at three different locations, and I still have no idea how much time was invested preparing for the sessions and editing.

At the chalkboard session filmed in our church lobby on a Tuesday morning, my 8-year-old saw people working and hustling everywhere and said, "Wow! I had no idea how much work our church team does throughout the week!" We are so thankful for a ministry team that goes to great lengths to communicate in such creative ways so that we can most readily receive the message.

Filming session at our house

I left the room during the filming session at our home so as not to make my daughter nervous and had no idea what she said until the video was released. What a blessing it is to have a church family you can count on to reach out, reach in, and always love. I love all these stories and have experienced a taste of each.

Thank you, church family, for modeling Christlike love, for nurturing the seeds of faith in our children's hearts, and for giving my daughter and other youth the opportunity to serve others, for you are growing in them a heart of compassion. And thank you for allowing our daughter to participate in a video that made her daddy cry.

Warning:  Mommy Pride Moment
Zoe's mom shared this video on her Facebook page and someone we don't know commented, "So beautiful! Tears and I don't even know any of the people but the little girl who was helping with Zoe...WOAH!!! I hope my kids have half the heart she does!"

Sometimes I can be really hard on that girl, but may I never forget what a beautiful heart of compassion God is growing in her.  Her compassion is greater than any of the rest of us have in this family, so we need her influence.

I'm so glad the video included a story about college students reaching out, for we had just been to my college alma mater earlier that morning to pick up three freshman who had just moved in and brought them with us to church.  I so hoped those first year students seated next to me would love the church and want to come back.  Pictured below with me is one of the students who came with us. 

She is the daughter of one of my best friends from college.  I met her mom at the beginning of my freshman year where we both lived in the Scholar's dorm.  We both got involved in IVCF and this same college ministry at this same church. I told her to invite two more people to fill up the van, and so she did.  Sara and Allison joined us. Being with this young lady who talks, thinks, and acts just like her mama was the most wonderful deja-vu, for it reminded me of God's faithfulness.  I felt like I was 18, and that she was her mom.  The other two freshmen, Sara and Allison, reminded me so much of two of our other closest friends our freshmen year, Christa and Tricia.  I had to pinch myself to remember that the year is 2015, and that I am no longer a college student. All three loved the church and want to come back next week.  YAY!  (And I am finally seeing why we needed a van!)

Our daughter was one of six students chosen to serve as a hostess at our celebration social after the evening service.  I love the way she so enjoys serving others.

Drone image of our social in the courtyard