Waterbrook Phase 2 Building Update

On Sunday, August 15, 2010, our Waterbrook Bible Fellowship family gathered on our property at 507 Thomas Street in Wylie, to perform our GROUNDBREAKING. It was a HOT day with temps in the triple digits, but that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm. The Wylie Fire Department assisted with some overhead pictures of the event, including pictures of people broken up into the locations of their future ministry spaces and the congregation surrounding the foundation perimeter of the building. A quick moment of prayer, and we all dug in – adults, teens, little kids – everyone! You can read more and see additional pictures at my personal blog site. Click THIS LINK to go there.

The first permit has been secured from the city of Wylie and work contracts have been signed to get excavation work (state one) started on the property on Monday or Tuesday, August 23-24. Be sure to drive by soon and see the progress.

Pastor Jeff

Phase 2 Groundbreaking to be held Sunday, August 15, 2010

If you haven’t heard the good news yet, we DID get our final approval from the Wylie City Council Tuesday night and are ready to begin moving on construction of the new Waterbrook Bible Fellowship building!

We celebrate our new project with a GROUNDBREAKING this Sunday after our worship service. We’ll gather at Dodd Elementary School for our 9:30 classes (and there are some great classes if you haven’t been in a while), then our 10:45 worship service. After that worship service we’ll ALL help with a quick tear down and pack up. Then, we’ll head straight to the 507 Thomas Street property. We’ll gather under the trees in front of the 507 Ministry Center. After a few brief instructions and a couple pictures…we’ll turn the shovels for our Phase 2 building! We know you’ll be hot and hungry, so this little ceremony will be short.

The Groundbreaking includes everyone, so be sure to bring a digging tool for every member of your family. You can bring a shovel, posthole digger, spade, garden trowel, a snow shovel (do you all know what those are?), or even a spoon. We’ll be surrounding the perimeter of the new building and breaking ground as a family. This is a special day in the life of our Waterbrook family, and I hope you’ll join us for this historic event.

By the way, Pastor Don Moore is back and leading the music team this Sunday in what will be a powerful time of worship in song during the worship service. Plus, our world traveling Teaching Pastor Stephen Bramer is also back this weekend and preaching as part of our summer series “Birthday Celebration.” PLUS, in celebration of our new building “birth” this weekend, everyone in the worship service will get a special treat! I can’t tell you what, but it has icing and rhymes with “ache”.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this weekend’s groundbreaking for our church. God is doing amazing things in, with, and through our Waterbrook family. This building is just a representation of what God is building in the lives of people. It’s amazing to me what God has done in the short six year history of this congregation. And to think that one year ago we didn’t even own any property; yet we’ve already renovated and moved our offices into the Phase One 507 Ministry Center, and finished plans, received city approval, secured financing, and are READY TO BUILD our Phase Two building – a sanctuary and children’s ministry space! We’re only MONTHS away from being in our own church home on Sunday mornings! There are many people who have sacrificed and worked in a variety of ways to make this happen, but it has only been possible because God has led over every mountain and through every valley. So, this Sunday we CELEBRATE God’s Goodness!

I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday!

Pastor Jeff

** Click this link for directions to the 507 Thomas Street property.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS338&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=507+Thomas+Street,+Wylie+TX+75098&fb=1&gl=us&hnear=Murphy,+TX&cid=0,0,8613107129046704814&ei=v8BlTKbmH4Wdlgfp75GVDg&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQnwIwAA

I Love My Church #3: Relationship Space & Other News

In this Webpost…
- Praising God for Sunday!
- Day of Prayer this Saturday at the 507
- Special Prayer Request: Tom Daun
- Monday Events: FCA & Taste of Wylie
- The New Building: Relationships Need Space

PRAISING GOD FOR SUNDAY!

What a wonderful time we had with the Big Reveal last Sunday. I’m thankful for the Capital Campaign Team for organizing the event. Dean & Cindy Dahlke served a wonderful free lunch. It was great watching Wes Bolton allow folks to have a “hair raising” experience using the Van de Graaf generator after the worship service. Speaking of the worship service, a big thanks to the worship team who led while Pastor Don was out of town. I hope you got an “I Love My Church” button, and are proudly wearing it!

DAY OF PRAYER THIS SATURDAY

As we seek God’s leading through our rather ambitious building program, we want to be sure we align everything to His will. One of the key ways to do this is through time spent in prayer. Our leadership team has designated this Saturday a Waterbrook Day of Prayer. We’ll have time to pray for other needs and requests, but most of our time that day will focus on the building project. We’ve broken the day up into hour segments from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Each hour allows for 30 minutes of prayer so we can move people in and out of the limited parking spaces at the 507. If you sign up for an hour slot, you’d show up at the top of the hour or a little after (not before). We ask you to be in the 507 and ready to pray by quarter-after (:15). One of the pastors will in a 30 minute prayer time with resources we’ll give you, and finish at quarter-‘til (:45). You’ll have to be out of your parking spaces before the top of the hour to allow the next group to arrive. You can sign up for available slots online at this link - http://www.waterbrook.org/archives/1851 . We do want to fill the entire day with prayer, so please sign up and join us. All ages are welcome to participate.

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST: Tom Daun

Many of you have already received an email with details from Tom regarding his recent diagnosis of multiple myeloma of the bone marrow. Please pray for Tom & Barbara as they process this news and the extensive treatments Tom will undergo in the weeks and months ahead.

MONDAY EVENTS: WYLIE FCA & TASTE OF WYLIE

I’ve been invited to speak to the monthly gathering of the Wylie Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) next Monday, April 19th. Pastor Don is recruiting a Waterbrook band to help lead worship songs for the 75+ athletes we’ve been told to expect between 6-7 pm. Justin Hartweck will be helping lead some games. We also get to provide a supper for the athletes, which my wife has agreed to coordinate. She is looking for some others willing to make a crockpot of BBQ/Sloppy Joes. We’ll also need some chips and pop. If you’re interested in helping, please contact Deana at Deana@DentonsLive.com or 972-429-0172.

The other big event in Wylie on Monday is the annual Taste of Wylie. It’s the primary fundraiser for the Community Christian Care Center, which Waterbrook helps support. It’s held during lunch Monday (11 am to 2 pm) and features food from 30 local restaurants. It’ll be held at the Wylie First Baptist Church new Special Events Center on Ballard Avenue. Tickets are available at local banks or at the door.

THE NEW BUILDING: Relationships Need Space

In the last two weeks, I’ve addressed the importance of our worship services and ministry to children. These are important, and most everyone can recognize how valuable the planned programming is within a church family. We’ve set aside space for another key need within any church…and it’s not the bathrooms. (You will notice we’ve set aside room for the bathrooms because they are important, but that’s not the space I’m addressing today.) The third area we feel is very important is RELATIONSHIPS. It can be difficult to define how “relational ministry” takes place. It’s not easy to harness relationship building into a room or program, but it’s something for which we MUST provide time and space.

We emphasize the role of relationships by providing a brief time in most worship services to “turn around and greet someone near you.” Our hope is for everyone to have a moment of contact with other members of the church family. This time is intentionally short and not adequate for developing deep bonds with one another. Our hope for those brief greetings is to provide the impetus to take time after the service and speak to someone further. Building those relationships and participating in “one another” ministries is fundamental to our identity as the body of Christ. We can have all kinds of first rate programming, but if we don’t take time to build relationships with those who walk through our doors we might as well post an “UnWelcome” sign on the door. Even in God’s eyes, the most amazing productions or incredible sacrifices are noisy droning if we are a people without love. (See. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

In the new building, we’re seeking to provide space for those relational connections to take place. You’ll have the opportunity to do that before and after worship services in the auditorium. We also expect much of this to go on in the lobby of the new building. The lobby space isn’t as big as we’d like it to be (a money/square footage thing), so we’ve created a space outside for “hanging out” and talking. One side of the building has a large awning with space for seating and possibly tables. This will be an idea place to relax after a worship service and talk with friends on a beautiful day. We’ve even included a green space directly in front of the canopy area for kids to play while mom and dad talk. We’ve even talked about options for making this area useable no matter what the weather, but those concepts are for future implementation if finances allow.

Another intentional step we’ve taken to allow relationship building is in making the auditorium a flexible space. This means we can tear down the seating and set up tables/chairs for a church dinner, wedding reception or funeral lunch. We won’t have a fully developed fellowship hall, but will have the ability to transform our biggest space into a community gathering area when needed for special events. What about coffee pots or a pop vending machine? Well, we haven’t gotten that far in discussions yet, but I’m sure we’ll have a donut table somewhere. J

Next Week: The Value of our Own Home

Jeff

I Love My Church #2: Children’s Ministry Space

In this Email…
- Praising God for Easter Week!
- New Sermon Series begins this week.
- Big REVEAL Lunch THIS SUNDAY
- Our Need for Landscaping Help
- The New Building: Space for Children

PRAISING GOD FOR EASTER WEEK!

Thanks to all who made it out to the 507 building last Wednesday evening for our prayer meeting! What a powerful time of praising God and praying together. Our Sunday morning was a fun and worshipful time together. Thanks to Carolyn Russell for organizing a fantastic egg hunt on the front lawn – and the kids and adults who helped. Thanks to Pastor Don and the music team for leading those amazing songs of praise. And a special thanks to Linda Emmons for sharing her story of Willie’s homegoing and her confidence that she’ll see him again. I’m still praising God for the visiting families we had join us. Several came as a result of the invitations passed out to students at Dodd Elementary School during the week. I’m grateful for all the Waterbrook folks who took time to talk to visitors (kids and adults). We had just over 200 in the worship service. What a weekend to focus on God’s power as evidenced in the resurrection.

THIS WEEK: I LOVE MY CHURCH & YOUR FREE GIFT

If you left church Easter Sunday saying, “I didn’t get a present from Jeff today during the sermon,” you better come back this Sunday. I’ll be following up our “Team Player/Prayer” series with a series to help us understand the coming group of believers Jesus prayed for in John 17. This “I LOVE MY CHURCH” series will dive into WHO the church is and WHAT the church does. Stephen and Don will join me April 18th for a sermon on the WHYs and HOWs of what we do during our Sunday morning worship services. We’ll study the inward focus of the church presented throughout the New Testament “one another” passages on April 25th. Then, on May 2nd, another local pastor joins us to help broaden our view of the church in context of the larger community. PLUS, those who join us this Sunday will receive a FREE gift that goes along with the series.

BIG REVEAL LUNCH THIS SUNDAY

I had a thrilling evening last night sitting with the Building Team as they looked at drawings and talked about plans. Our designer, Bryan Rogers, sent me the drawings with the latest improvements today – and they look great! I look at these drawings and can see space for people to gather and learn together. I see space for kids to play, celebrate God and accept Christ as Savior! I see space for people to hang out and get to know one another. And I love the way the building(s) – yes, buildings – are arranged for future growth with green space for kids to play while parents talk under the awning. I have no idea how many hours I’ve spent during my pastoral career looking at concept site plans and building blueprints, but I can honestly say I’ve never been more excited than I am about our new Waterbrook Phase 2 plans. I really hope you’ll plan to stay after the worship service this Sunday, April 11th, our BIG REVEAL lunch and meeting. The lunch is being provided by the Capital Campaign team and is free, but they do need a realistic count to know how much food to have prepared. So, if you haven’t yet RSVP’d – please take a moment and click the following link. You’ll go to the page on our church website where you can complete a form that tells us you’re coming to the lunch. It’ll take less than 4 minutes (as long as you can remember your name). During the REVEAL, which immediately follows lunch, I’ll be showing you the interior and exterior plans, and present the finances and our needs. I sincerely believe you’ll leave this meeting excited about what God is doing through Waterbrook Bible Fellowship. Here’s the link to RSVP > http://www.waterbrook.org/archives/1837

OUR NEED FOR LANDSCAPING HELP

Would you believe our HOA guidelines (a very thick manual) include rules about “no weeds in the yard or flowerbeds” and that we must have our sidewalks edged. We also have instructions about the maximum height of our grass. (“Quick kids, get dad a ruler!”) We would be in violation of every one of those rules if it wasn’t for my wife. She’s the one who makes sure our landscaping stays in compliance. I tell you that because if you thought I’d be the one to keep the lawn and flowerbeds at the 507 looking good, well…you may be wrong. J Seriously, we need some help keeping our yard looking good. We have a commitment from the Rush teens to help with mowing. (Let’s hear it for the Rush students and leaders!) We still need some help with our flowerbeds. Please email our Office Administrator Norma Peyton if you’d like to help with this project. (We have no budget, so it may just be weeding.) The other BIG thing we need help with is moving some brush tomorrow. We have a trailer, truck and driver (Thank You Don Reed!) to haul away the debris from recent tree trimming. We even have a place to take it. But, we need help getting it loaded on the trailer. Pastor Don tells me he’ll be at the 507 this Thursday at 5:00 pm to get it loaded. Email or call him if you are willing to help get it loaded onto the trailer. Any assistance would be appreciated.

THE NEW BUILDING: Space for Children

According to a recent Barna survey, 70% of adults say they attended church every week during their childhood. During teen years, those statistic drop to only 50% of the population attending a church event on a weekly basis.[1] That’s a drastic drop in a short period of life. As teens grow into young adults the percent who attend a weekly church even continue to drop drastically. You’re probably seen the statistics that demonstrate a person is most likely to accept Christ as Savior during childhood. That likelihood drops dramatically into the teen years, and becomes a less than 30% chance once a person reaches adulthood. These are just a few of the statistical reasons we believe quality ministry to children is important.

We also know ministry to children is important to parents considering a church home. Did you know an adult will put up with bad music, parking problems, mediocre preaching, and even unfriendly people at a church, and come visit a second or third time? But, if they show up and don’t feel their kids are safe or being adequately cared for and taught, they won’t come back! I’ve spent years studying marketing surveys directed at both parents and kids. The business world knows a dedicated child “customer” always draws in a dedicated parent “customer”. Every parent knows they find a McDonalds during vacation travel because you know it’s what will make your kids happy. And no parent in their right mind would spend an evening at Chuck E. Cheese if they had a choice. They go because it’s where little Johnny wants to have his birthday party. So, you typically get one shot at providing a positive environment for children and parents. One visit for them to either be impressed or repulsed by what you do. This is part of the reason we believe quality ministry to children is important.

The primary reason we believe in providing quality ministry to children is because children matter to God. The importance of teaching children is covered in both the Old and New Testaments, my favorite being the importance of the role of godly parents in raising godly kids. (See Deuteronomy 6:6-9 or Ephesians 6:4 for the value of parents.) There’s also the incredible story of the time Jesus stopped his ministry among adults to spend some time with kids, whom the disciples appeared to believe would be a bother to their master. (See Matthew 19:13-15) Ministry to children is not a secondary thought, or simply to provide babysitting so we can do “real ministry” without distractions. Quality ministry to children is attractive to parents and helps bring new families to the church. It helps feed quality students into our teen ministries and gets a jump on training the leaders of tomorrow. Children in the church bring real “childlike faith” in for all of us to observe and learn from. Good children’s ministry is a blessing to students in public schools, private schools and families who are homeschooling. And, most importantly, it pleases our Heavenly Father because children matter to God. Have you heard that somewhere before? Click this link to see a good listing of how children’s ministry benefits everyone –> http://ministry-to-children.com/benefits/.

Realizing these biblical, statistical and marketing realities, the Waterbrook leadership team decided a portion of our new building would be designated for quality ministry to children. Teens are also very important to us, but we decided our teens, like adults, can go to the 507 building for ministry space on Sunday mornings. Parents want to know their younger kids are safe and nearby, so nursery, preschool, and younger elementary kids will have rooms in our new Phase 2 building. We’ll provide a secured area that is clean and fun. We’ll continue our dedication to providing the best content to go with the great fun. It also means we’ll continue using the best children’s ministry volunteers around. Children Matter to God, so they matter to us too!

Next week: The Need for Space to Build Relationships

Jeff