WholeHeartedLife

Why I'm So Excited for Sunday?!?

I am so excited about this weekend! Why?

Reason #1: Our new Series "WE". On our Message Board there has been a lot of discussion about how friendly we are as a church. The discussion is due to a couple of comments (made anonymously - they were cordial which is why they stayed up - non-cordial anonymous comments are always struck down and sent to the abyss, never to return to this realm again! ). In a church this size it is SO EASY to "fall through the cracks" which is why we talk so much about you taking "next steps" - we want you to find a place within our fellowship that you can call yours, and the worship service is not the place that is designed to do that.

In our new series, "WE", we're gonna talk about biblical community, what it looks like and why you need to add it to your life. We're gonna talk about how to turn your "ME" into a "WE". It's going to be a powerful service!

Reason #2: Kidz inc. LIVE begins this Sunday! What is Kidz inc. LIVE? It's the revamped, Kidz Konnection. We have been working this summer to make your kidz hyde park experience the best it can be and we're excited about the results! As with Kidz Konnection, Kidz inc. LIVE! will run at 8:21 and 11:11 and will feature great music and a wonderful message of God's love all on your kidz level. Your kidz are gonna love it!

Reason # 3: FAITHTrac 101 is running this Sunday. 101 is our new attenders class. In 101, Pastor Harrell teaches you why we do, what we do the way that we do - literally like a "behind the music" of hyde park! You need to check it out if you haven't been a part of it yet. FAITHTrac 101 is the official "next step" of all new hyde park attendees.

Why do I love 101 so much? Besides the fact that I basically live to see people take their "next step" with Jesus, I also get to eat one of the greatest lunches available with them . Can anyone say, "food"?

See ya Sunday - Don't be late!

Why You Need GroupLink?

You're gonna be hearing a lot about this over the next 5 weeks...

On Sunday, September 21st & 28th, we will hold our 1st GroupLink event in the ROC Gym during our 11:11 service.

 

 

Unconnected People are tentative about taking next steps when it comes to the church. We currently have hundreds of attendees that do nothing beyond the worship auditorium. This is not acceptable because we KNOW that if people don't make friends they won't stay. There must be a connection. Our biggest priority, beyond their salvation, MUST be getting them into a community of believers that is going to spur them onto growing in their faith life. (Hebrews 10:24)

 

BUT WHY GROUPLINK??

 

For many, coming into an existing group is the equivalent to walking into a movie that is already in progress, you missed stuff that (at least to you) seems like it was important to know. Knowing that no one really wants to join a "movie already in progress", GroupLink will be the vehicle where people are encouraged to take that "next step", to join with others (a new group) like them who are ready to become a part of something more at hyde park.

 

In GroupLink, we will meet (during the 11:11 service) in the gym, around the tables, where they will sit with their new groups. Everyone's on the "same page", the same starting point which will ease tensions, after all, "we're all new".

 

We are currently planning to have options such as: Bible Fellowship groups are small groups of approximately seven married couples or seven individuals of the same gender that meet weekly for fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. They are for adults of all ages, stages of life, and spiritual maturity.

 

Does this sound like you? Ready to take the Next Step with hyde park? Who will be the 1st to sign up themselves for GroupLink? SIGN UP HERE

 

(and by the way, those of you in the Pembroke area: don't forget that I'm speaking at Bear Swamp on Tuesday and Wednesday nite 8/19-20)

Incomplete

I have some really great conversations at the gym.

Yesterday, as I was leaving the gym a lady introduced herself to me and told me that she had been attending hyde park. She started attending because she had a 13 year old daughter and knew that she needed to get her in a church where she could learn about JESUS with some peers her own age.

The daughter didn't want to come - the mother made her come - the daughter now LOVES hyde park - mom now LOVES hyde park (by the way, mom is older - perhaps in her 60's)

She mentioned to me that, prior to coming to hp, she felt guilty because she felt that she was robbing the child of being in a church where she (the child) would relate - she felt/knew it was her responsibility, regardless of her own "wants" (they were attending "her" church and MOM was fine there - she just didn't feel it was the "right fit" for the daughter). She (mom) ended up being surprised at how much SHE (mom) loved it. She said she had never felt more welcome at a church, that everyone had received them with "open arms".

However, she said something interesting. They had just been attending worship and didn't really know many people, she said, "I knew that we were INCOMPLETE - there was still something missing. We needed to get involved. So I decided to find a Bible Fellowship Group to attend."

With the help of some great members of our greet team she found a BFG. I WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL THAT JUST ATTENDING WORSHIP LEAVES THEM INCOMPLETE. We need to do everything we can to help people connect beyond the worship center. Hyde Park BFG's should be so great that, if people don't attend they KNOW that something is missing. I truthfully don't think they currently are.

InComplete - Outcast - missing - needing more... are you involved in a BFG? If you are, what is your group doing to connect with NEW people? What is your group doing to minister/care for your existing members? Is there someone in your group you've been missing that YOU need to call?

the "made" series is the perfect time to get involved in a group - either onCampus OR in a home - Quit making excuses and do the right thing.

Grouplink Challenge

If you're "hyde parkian" you've no doubt heard me lament about the fact that we have hundreds of people who attend our church but have not connected to anything other than the worship experience.

This is not good. As a matter of fact, in Sunday's message i said,

"for those of you who only attend a worship experience - you aren't connected anywhere else, i petition you to get plugged into a 'BFG', because if you don't get plugged in YOU WILL EVENTUALLY LEAVE HYDE PARK. You will - you'll leave and you'll tell people that we are 'just too big' and we don't want you to do that! If you don't get 'plugged-in' you're gonna fall through the cracks. You need a place where somebody knows who you are - a place at hyde park where you are 'doing life' with others."

We are willing to do anything we can to help people to connect with God and with people - we are constantly looking for ways to do this. It's never easy to get new people to actually connect. I think maybe it's their fear of commitment that keeps them from taking the next right step. So, in the process, they just continue to wait... often times never finding their place.

In an effort to keep this from happening, we are just under 2 weeks away from a new opportunity for people who are "unconnected" to connect - bfg grouplink. Grouplink is:

a brand new 6 week connection that allows you to go deeper in your relationship with God and to meet new people at hyde park. The short 6 week commitment allows you to see if the group is a 'good fit' for you!

We are actually offering 3 great studies to kick this thing off - they are:

iMarriage - Imagine what would happen if you and your spouse focused on fulfilling one another's dreams rather than piling on expectations. Possible? Absolutely! Learn the secret of removing the big "I" from marriage. Interested in this? Register Here

Take it to the Limit - A study for those whose lives have become TOO FULL and whose checking accounts are too empty! Learn how to get the most out of this life! Register Here

The Best Question Ever - You are about to be introduced to a single question that will revolutionize the way you make decisions. Andy Stanley poses this question as a filter through which to evaluate every decision in every arena of your life. Register Here

Are you connected to a bfg? Are you looking for something new but just haven't stepped out to "try the waters"? Are you connected to a bfg but feel like maybe it's time to "step it up" at hp, maybe in a leadership capacity (we do have some opportunities coming up that you could do this!). Maybe you have a friend attending whom you have not been able to get to take that next right step... come on, guys - help a brother out!

Where i've been...

I spent today at a "Think Tank" hosted by our State Convention at Village Church in Fayetteville moderated by Phil Stone, Sunday School Consultant for the BSCNC.

Good challenging conversation - some really great people trying to figure out how to help others make disciples. I heard a lot of great ideas - only one thing missing though: how to actually make churches CARE enough to worry less about their likes and dislikes and worry more about how they are going to reach the people who are going to hell all around them?

A lot of the questions asked by Phil were "what can we do differently" - I don't think "they" are the problem - pastors and people living a life of complacency is the problem as I see it. "God, change our hearts that we will be a people of action!"

By the way, meetings like this kill me physically - I am so tired that I FEEL AS IF I'VE BEEN BEAT!

Try Something Different

I did not intend to post this morning. But...

As I read this short post by Craig Groeschel about churches that aren't growing (that wouldn't be us) I began to apply what he was saying to our Bible Fellowship Groups (which should be growing).

Read it then ask yourself: what could we try different?