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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Countdown to Kickoff

Okay, so only 3 days, 22 hours, and 11 minutes until we launch The Gathering!  I am so excited not just for the sake of starting a new service, but because it will give us, as a church, new opportunities to reach more people in the new year.  Check back tomorrow where I'll have a post on "new" things.  Keep praying for everything that still needs to be accomplished, pray for my sermon preparation (this is one of those weeks where my computer is inhabited by demons!) and ultimately, pray that God's glory will be top priority and that the gospel will ring in the hearts of everyone in attendance! 

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

January Series

   As I begin to think about the first sermon series that I'll be preaching through in January, I am totally excited because we're going to be studying the New Testament book of Philippians.  Philippians has always been one of my favorite books of the Bible and I'm really excited to teach through it.  We're calling the series: 'Overwhelmed by Joy'.  In the series, we'll be looking at the one theme that runs throughout the entire book- joy.  Everyone in our culture is pursuing joy but very few people actually seem to find it.  People turn to culture, religion, and medication in an attempt to find joy but the problem is that none of these solutions bring true and lasting joy.  In this series, we'll see how true joy is found in Jesus.  I hope you'll take the opportunity to invite friends, neighbors, co-workers, family members, and classmates to join you for this series.  Only 11 days until launch!!!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Ernie Marcum


Today I'd like to highlight our Communications Team Leader Ernie Marcum.  Ernie has devoted a lot of time, energy and effort to The Gathering and brings a great deal of technical knowledge and wisdom to the team.  I asked Ernie a series of questions and I've posted his responses below. 


What is your favorite color? Yellow (like my bike)
What is your favorite band? Reilly
What are some of your hobbies?  Motorcycles, photography, music
What instrument do you play?  Soundboard
What is your favorite vacation spot?  St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
What is your favorite sports team?  University of Michigan football
Share one random fact about yourself: I DJ in my spare time!

Quote from Ernie: "The worship team has been a huge blessing to me.  These gifted people have continuously grown and show me Christian love at its finest.  I am proud to be a small part of their worship."

Progress

I am really excited about how things are progressing for The Gathering!  We had a volunteer meeting last night and nearly 20 people came out and there are still more who want to help but couldn't make it to the meeting.  There's still a lot to be done, but God has it all figured out and things will fall into place.  Please keep a couple of things in prayer leading up to the launch in January- 1. We need an accomplished pianist/keyboardist for the worship team.  2. We need to figure out timing/set up for the transition from the 9:30 to 11:00.  I continue to be encouraged and greatly look forward to launching this new experience in January!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Katie Renee Bankert and Dan Bortz

Today I'd like to highlight two members of our worship team- Katie Bankert and Dan Bortz. 
We'll start with Katie...

What is your favorite color?  Pink
What is your favorite band?  Rush of Fools, Switchfoot, Skillet...basically everything!!!
What are some of your hobbies?  Photography, cheerleading, camping, fishing, singing, hiking, biking, hanging out with friends, shopping.
What instrument(s) do you play?  Vocals, learning guitar
What is your favorite vacation spot?  Ocean City, MD; Cancun, Mexico
Who are your favorite sports teams?  Ravens and Orioles
Tell us some random facts about yourself:  I have one kidney, I love nature, I can't drive


Now for Dan...



What is your favorite color?  Black
What is your favorite band?  Skillet and Breaking Benjamin
What are some of your hobbies?  Listening to and playing music, playing football, hunting, going to creation
What instrument do you play?  Bass guitar
What is your favorite vacation spot?  Colorado Springs, CO or Long Beach, NC
What is your favorite sports team?  Pittsburgh Steelers
Share one random fact about yourself:  I love the tv show 'The Office'

Sunday

This past Sunday was awesome!!!  The preview service went well and I think, created a lot of excitement for The Gathering.  There were a number of people who volunteered to help out as well which is an answer to prayer. 

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Tomorrow

I am totally excited for the 'preview' service tomorrow!  The band sounded great at practice today and I can't wait to hear them tomorrow as they lead us in worship.  Keep spreading the word about The Gathering- we want as many people as possible to encounter and experience Jesus through this! 

Monday, November 23, 2009

Juli Devita and Joey M. Ahrens

Today you get a double shot!  Since I was away all weekend, I didn't get to post any profiles.  So today, I thought I'd catch up on lost time and highlight two members of the worship team- Juli Devita and Joey Ahrens.


I'll start with Juli.

What is your favorite color?  Green
What is your favorite band?  Skillet or Owl City
What are some of your hobbies?  Singing and dancing
What instrument do you play?  Vocals
What is your favorite vacation spot?  Ocean City, NJ
What is your favorite sports team?  The Steelers!
What are some random facts you'd like to share about yourself?  Psychology interests me.  I was once absent from school for 7 months straight and I still passed!!!



Now for Joey!
What is your favorite color?  Any color that makes people happy.
What is your favorite band?  I like heavy metal.
What are some of your hobbies?  Football, Dodgeball, Guitar
What instrument do you play?  Lead Guitar
What is your favorite vacation spot?  Anywhere I can chill away from home.
What is your favorite sports team?  Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins
Share one random fact about yourself:  I want to go far with my God-given talent of guitar.

Great Weekend!

I just got back from a great weekend at the Alive middle school conference in Ocean City, MD.  As I took everything in, it hit me that The Gathering begins in just over a month!  There are still a lot of things that need to happen and still a lot of positions we still need to fill, but I trust that God's got it all worked out and everything will fall into place in His timing!  This weekend, The Gathering worship band plays at the 9:30 service and I'm totally pumped for that!  Keep spreading the word about this blog and the new experience coming up in January!
Peace

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Rachel Katherine Grim


Today I'd like to highlight our worship leader Rachel Grim.  Rachel brings energy and life to the team and somehow always seems to be having a good day.  I asked Rachel a few questions which are posted below. 

What is your favorite color?  Yellow
What is your favorite band?  Skillet and Jack Johnson
What are some of your hobbies?  Music (singing and playing guitar), Student Council and other school activities, art
What instrument(s) do you play?  Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
What is your favorite vacation spot?  Emerald Isle, North Carolina
What is your favorite sports team?  I have no interest in sports
Share one random fact about yourself: I want to make a difference in the world for Christ.   Psalm 34:18

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Rachel today.  Check back again tomorrow for another member.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Tony Devita



Today I'd like to start by highlighting Tony Devita.  Tony has worked hard to organize the team and put them together.  He's also a 'rock star' drummer, but he'll never tell you that because he's an incredibly humble guy.  I asked Tony a series of questions which I posted below as well as Tony's answers. 

What is your favorite color?  Hunter Green
What is your favorite band?  Genesis
What are your hobbies?  Drums, Gourmet Cooking, Eating, Sleeping
What instrument do you play?  Drums
What is your favorite vacation spot?  Ocean City, Maryland
What is your favorite sports team?  (no-brainer) Pittsburgh Steelers
What is one random fact that you'd like to share about yourself?  I love music

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Tony.  Check back tomorrow for another member of the team!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Meet the Team


Throughout the course of this week, I want to highlight members of The Gathering worship team.   This is a great group of skilled musicians and vocalists who will lead us into the presence of God each Sunday morning.  The team will be playing at the 9:30 worship service on Nov. 29, so come check them out!

Monday, November 9, 2009

January's Coming!!!

So this is the first blog post for The Gathering Worship Experience.  My hope is that we can use this as a way to connect virtually during the course of the week and discuss the message and other things that we've been learning through scripture.  Over the next month I'll be posting about the progress of the service as well as giving some more info. about The Gathering.  Please, please, please be in prayer for this new experience- pray that people will step up and get involved, pray that things will come together before January, and ultimately, pray that God will be glorified through this!

Jeff