Connexus Community Church

Book Club - #'s are in!

Well friends!

The people have spoken!  The numbers are in for our summer book club.  Check out the results below:

Faith Builder:
The End of Religion by Bruxy Cavey
Amazon   Chapters   AudioBook

Leadership Development:
Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley
Amazon   Chapters    AudioBook

Just for Fun!:
The Shack by William Young
Amazon   Chapters    AudioBook

Ok . . . so we're going to start with "The End of Religion".  Our target is to have it read by Monday August 11th - when we all post a "book report" to the blog.  It can be as short or as long as you want to make it.

So?  Are you in?  If you're up for the book club - let us know by posting a reply to this post!

Here's to a summer of good reading!  We'll do some check-in posts over the coming weeks as we're reading Bruxy's book.  Remember - posting and replying will make this fun!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

This Weekend @ Connexus

Really looking forward to Sunday.  For starters, I'm pumped because I'll be preaching live in Orillia on Sunday with the final message in the I Doubt It series. Can't wait to see everyone in Orillia again on Sunday! And one of the best preachers going is beginning a new series in Barrie Sunday (hint, it's not me!). And, Barrie, you'll have some really cool people to host the service Sunday.  Some of our Orillia team is heading to Barrie to say hi. It should be a great weekend at both campuses!

Second, we've got some big stuff coming down the pipes for the summer/early fall.  Just when I thought June was a big month, our team did more planning.  Stay tuned!

So, I'm hoping you'll be here this weekend with some friends.  Hey, I'm even interrupting my holidays to come back to preach Sunday, and happy to do it (there's a neat story behind it)....

Here's the skinny:

Orillia Campus | Sunday July 6th 2008   

I Doubt It | Part Four: I Just Doubt

Are doubts an inherent part of the Christian faith? Do people ever reach a stage where we just stop doubting? Why is it that sometimes as we grow spiritually, we question more, not less? What does God think of our doubts? What do we do with our doubts? Join us as we see how doubts are an essential part of a life of faith.

Music:
I am Free
Filled with Your Glory
Blessed be your name

Barrie Campus | Sunday July 6th 2008

Simple | Part One:  Follow Me

There is a common misconception that the church is a gathering place for saintly, perfect people. Moreover, some think that being a Christian means observing a set of rules or commandments. The reality is that the Christian life is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. And at the heart of that relationship is an invitation that Jesus extends to people from all experiences of life: "Follow me."

Music:

Sing to the King
Blessed be your name
Rain Down

See you Sunday!

Carey

Christmas in July

Hey friends,
(Hopefully we are friends after this post . . .)

So we've started working on Christmas eve at Connexus already.  I know  . . . I know . . . it's July.  We want (need) to get the ball rolling.

We're working on some great creative concepts and have started to block out some big ideas.  Our goal for Christmas Eve is to present this incredible message that God came to earth in Jesus.  We want to create the kind of service that we all can invite our friends to and clearly present this idea that God isn't passively waiting for us to find Him but that He took the first move to come to us.

We've started looking into locations and are running into some snags.  We originally were thinking about the Barrie Molson Centre and doing a "kidstuf" sort of event where we would invite families to fun/wacky/great family experience.  We liked the BMC because it's a neutral space - the kind of place we think folks who don't normally attend church might be less creeped out with attending at - we want to keep the spirit of that in whatever location we end up at.  Turns out BMC is closed for Christmas.  (We've tried being annoying and asked lots of people - to no avail.)  After the BMC was gone . . . we started looking into other locations.  Orillia Opera House - Nope  ... Gryphon Theatre - Nada ... East Bayfield Centre - Zip  ... Barrie Sports Dome ... Zero   Any Highschool in Barrie/Orilla ... Zilch    So as you can see . . . we started running out of good (obvious) options.   We could ask a to borrow space on an "off time" from a couple churches - haven't explored that option yet.

This where you come in - the reason for this blog post tonight.  We are thinking about a couple different options at this point for Christmas eve . . . and we're wondering if people would be up for weighing in with your thoughts.  WARNING: My bias is going to show through in this.  I'm not pretending to be impartial.

Idea 1 - We could rent two elementary schools in Barrie and Orillia and host two services.  We'd need to go through the hoops with the people at the school board to open up the facilities for us but we feel pretty confident that we could find space in some schools.  We like this option because it's community oriented - it's in the heart of the cities we are attempting to serve.  It would also be nice to have something close to all of our people this year - rather than a central (outdoors or otherwise) event like last year.

Ideal 2 - We host a single Christmas eve event at the Convention Centre at Casino Rama.  (Wait!  Hear me out before you send your cards and letters.)  When I think of the Christmas story I am struck by a number of things.  Jesus arrived in a completely unexpected place - a barn - a Casino is close to the last place I could image people thinking a Christmas Eve service would be.  I am also struck that God "risked" coming to earth as a child rather than coming as a full grown man - we could probably use the location to talk about why God took that "risk".  It's also an incredible conference centre attached to the hotel (so kids can attend) with virtually free busing from all over central Ontario.  (Plus I "bet" that there are more people in Casino Rama on Christmas eve than in all the churches in Barrie & Orillia combined - a sad state of the communities we live in.) 

So now . . . it's your turn.

Some possible questions to answer:
1) Do you know of some great mystery facility we should be thinking about that we should be exploring?
2) What do you think of these two options?
3) What could we do to craft the sort of Christmas eve experience that would have a shot at reaching those 90% of people in our cities that didn't attend anywhere last year?
4) Do you think I'm totally nuts for thinking about Casino Rama . . . and may need to get my head checked?

Please fill in your comments below.

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

p.s. We're going to post stuff about the Summer Book Club tomorrow. Stay tuned, friends.
p.p.s.  We're pulling together an event for the end of August that I am totally pumped about.  It's not the "Fill the Truck" event that we're going to talk about this weekend . . . this other event is going to be at the end of August and a lot of fun.  Keep your ears to the ground!

Happy Canada, Eh!

Hey Friends,

Just a quick post to say Happy Canada Day!  We hope that you have been able to take some time today to celebrate what's great about Canada.  If you need some ideas . . . check this out: 

BTW - It's suppose to be funny.  If you don't like the video . . . email this address: click here.

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

p.s. If your looking for something cool to read check out this post from our friends at Liquid Church.

Fill the Truck?

This coming Sunday we're going to be announcing something that we're all going to be taking part in on Sunday July 27th.  It's called "Fill The Truck".  It's going to be fun, it may contain a little bit of healthy rivalry between our campuses and going to help some people along the way.We'd love to tell you what it is. . . but you're going to have to come this Sunday to hear about it.

Get ready to "fill 'er up!" in just a few short weeks!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

p.s. In "marketing-speak" this is a called a tease!  :o)  Are you intrigued?  We hope so.

The Long Weekend Rocks @Connexus

I have to say probably more than any other series we've done so far at Connexus, I've loved the I Doubt ItOrillia and wrap it up with part 4 in Barrie.   It should be a great weekend.  series.  I'm really looking forward to this weekend as we move into part 3 of the series in

If you've got friends or family over, bring them out.  I don't want to say "I promise you it will be worth it", but I've really enjoyed doing part 3 and preparing for part 4 of the series.  Man, I'm pumped!

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Orillia Campus | Sunday June 29th 2008   

I Doubt It | Part Three: I Doubt God is in Control

With this much atrocity and evil in the world and around us, how could God possibly be good? Why would anyone believe in a God in light of all the suffering we see?

Service times: 8:30 am and 10:00 am

Galaxy Theaters Orillia 865 West Ridge Blvd.

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Barrie Campus | Sunday June 29th 2008

I Doubt It | Part Four: I Just Doubt

Are doubts an inherent part of the Christian faith? Do people ever reach a stage where we just stop doubting? Why is it that sometimes as we grow spiritually, we question more, not less? What does God think of our doubts? What do we do with our doubts? Join us as we see how doubts are an essential part of a life of faith.
   
Service times: 8:30 am and 10:00 am
Galaxy Cinemas 72 Commerce Drive Barrie

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Finally, thanks to our incredible volunteer crew.  We had a great bbq last Sunday to celebrate you, but I'm going to be celebrating you again on this long weekend Sunday when you do all the things you do to create great environments that help lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus.  You inspire me!  Thanks to all our summer serve people who will be stepping up this weekend for the first time too.

All for Jesus folks.  He's more than worth it!  See you Sunday.

- Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor 

Connexus Hero: Sare Martin

Sare Martin

She is a fantastic leader within our children's ministry here at Connexus.  A fellow team member summed it up best by saying "She definitely has her heart for kids and winning them to Christ a priority and serves almost every Sunday."

Sare helps on the weekends and can often been seen floating around the Connexus office mid week and helping out.

So today we nominate Sare for the "Energizer Bunny Award of Merit" at Connexus for her dedicated service and the incredible positive energy she brings to it!

Thanks Sare!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

p.s. if you have nominations for Connexus Heroes - drop me an email with a description and picture!

Summer Book Club: Book Picking

Hey friends!

So it seems like there is some interest in the summer book club here on the Connexus blog.  Here are the rules of engagement:
1) We're going to read three books over the summer. There will be one book in each of these categories: Faith Development, Leadership Building, Just for Fun.
2) Please fill out the polls below for books in each category.
3) To make this "work" each of us will need to commit to reading the book that the group decides. (It's about being stretched!)
4) We will set out a reading schedule for each book.
5) Each person is required to post a short (or not so shortish) reflection on the book to the blog comments.

So here we go . . . let's pick the books!  You might want to do a little research on the Internets before picking which of these selections you want to pick.  Choose wisely!

Faith Development

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Leadership Development

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Just for Fun!

Opinion Polls & Market Research

There they are!  Pick away and we'll make our choices by the end of this week!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Connexus Community Church

P.S. (If you get this blog emailed you . . . you'll need to drop by on the web to cast your vote. Click here to visit now.)

Can You Beat Our Volunteers? Don't Think So....

So today our staff team (eight or so in all) got to say thanks to our volunteers.  Apart from what God is doing in people's lives, my completely favourite story of the first seven months of Connexus is our volunteers.  You folks humble us week in and week out with your incredible spirit and selfless service.

Today, over 200 volunteers gathered for a thank you barbecue.  We cooked lots of burgers and dogs, and ate enough salad to feed a small town.  It was SO much fun being able to serve YOU for a change.   

It was a thrill to give away some prizes to this crew.  We gave away two weeks of free camping for at Camp MIni-Yo-We, ten free massages courtesy of Georgian College, an iPod shuffle, some DQ and Tim Horton Gift Certificates, camping gear, kids toys and more.  Thanks to Camp Mini-Yo-We and Georgian for the donations, and to Shaw's Catering for donating the ginormous bbq today!

In typical Connexus volunteer fashion, our volunteers have already started thanking the staff for serving them.  You guys are nuts.  Hope you enjoyed the day!

Hey - thank you to ALL our volunteers. God is using you every day to shape and change lives! 

If you want to become part of our amazing team of volunteers, email us.  We'd love to hear from you!

- Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor

Even More This Weekend @ Connexus

We are completely excited about what God has been doing this month at Connexus.  Here's a summary/update:

Baptism
Well over 100 folks joined us last night at Bass Lake for our first Baptism service, where we had the privilege of baptizing 12 Jesus-followers.  Watch for the stories of the people who were baptized and video of their baptisms to be played back on various weekends over the summer during our Sunday services.  And for the many of you who missed this baptism service but want to be baptized soon, you can apply on line here.  We're planning the next Baptism Service for August.

Volunteer BBQ
We totally LOVE our volunteers. If you volunteer in any way at Connexus, do NOT miss the Volunteer BBQ immediately after services at Oro Memorial Park.  There will be burgers and dogs, games, and a chance for our volunteers from both campuses to connect and have some fun together. Kids are welcome! And, we'll be giving away a couple of really awesome prizes! Seriously.  You'll kick yourself if you miss it when you hear what we are giving away. 

I Doubt It
I'm loving the I Doubt It series. We've had some great feedback so far, and I'm really hoping your friends will be coming with you.  We've brought some friends already and are looking forward to more joining us in a few weeks.  Who will you bring this weekend as we talk about faith, doubt, and Jesus?

Here's what's up:

Orillia Campus | Part Two: I Doubt Jesus is God

Accepting that Jesus lived and was a great teacher is one thing, but is it actually true that Jesus is God? What evidence is there that Jesus rose from the dead, that He is the Messiah, that He actually was and is God? Can anyone actually unearth reasonable evidence that Jesus is who he said he is?

Service Times: 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.

Galaxy Theatres Orillia: 865 West Ridge Blvd, Orillia

 

Barrie Campus | Part Three: I Doubt God is in Control

With this much atrocity and evil in the world and around us, how could God possibly be good? Why would anyone believe in a God in light of all the suffering we see?

Service Times: 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.

Galaxy Theatres Barrie:  72 Commerce Park Drive

It's great to be even a small part of something BIG that God wants to do in people's lives.  See you Sunday!

Carey Nieuwhof

Lead Pastor