Connexus Community Church

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!

You CAN'T Miss the Baptism Service

Okay, I have a new favourite activity at Connexus: baptism.

Tonight, we filmed a dozen baptism stories (from a teenager to a 70 year old) in preparation for our baptism service next week.  Over and over again tonight,  I was incredibly moved.  Other times, we were laughing out loud. Most of all, I was amazed at what God has been doing in people's lives.

Our actual baptism service is next Thursday, June 19th at 7 p.m..  For details, including location and direction,  click here.  Whatever you do, budget the time to be there.  Everyone's invited for some music, scripture and then a dozen baptisms.  (And, there will be cake!)  We filmed stories tonight.  We'll film the actual baptisms next week. Then over the course of the summer, we'll be playing back people's stories and their baptisms via video at our campuses on Sunday mornings. 

Can't wait to see what God does with all of this, but I promise you I found it incredibly amazing to see what God is doing in people's hearts and lives.

I love being part of this community!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor

Three BIG Things This Weekend @ Connexus

It is another HUGE weekend at Connexus, and given the forecast, I'm thankful all our weekend venues are air-conditioned!  Make sure your friends are ready to join you for what will be a weekend to remember in many ways.

We wrap up God and Sex in Orillia with a moment in the service you don't want to miss and that you haven't seen on-line.

In Barrie, we start a series on doubt called I Doubt It.  If you have friends who question whether God and science are at odds with each other, you don't want to miss this weekend.  The discussion in this clip will get you and your friends asking some intriguing questions as we move into week one of the series!

Finally, Irresistible happens Sunday night at 7:30 at the Rene M. Caisse Theater in Bracebridge. If you know ANYONE in Muskoka who is interested in launching a church they can bring their friends to, tell them about Sunday night.  I'm so looking forward to being there Sunday night to cast vision with Rich Birch about launching Connexus Muskoka. The music is going to be amazing!

Please pray for our communities and region this weekend.  Pray that God would move.  Pray that God would change lives.  Pray that we would hear from God in a powerful way.  Some of us are even fasting and praying on Saturday as we get ready for Sunday.  Maybe you can join us!

If you want the official skinny, here it is:

Orillia Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
God and Sex: Part Three - Totally Satisfying Sex

Cosmopolitan aside, is it possible to have completely satisfying sex?   How do married people find sexual fulfillment?  What about singles?  Where does real joy in sex come, whether you’re sexually active or not?

Galaxy Theaters  - 865 West Ridge Boulevard, Orillia

_____________________________________________

Barrie Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
I Doubt It: Part One - I Doubt that God Can Explain Away Science

Do intelligent people actually believe that a personal God created the universe?  Hasn’t science essentially ruled out God?  Is there any evidence for an intelligent designer behind life?  What does the evidence actually say?

Galaxy Theaters  - 72 Commerce Park Drive, Barrie

_____________________________________________

Irresistible | 7:30 p.m. Bracebridge
What sort of relevant environment would church need to be so we could invite our friends?  Let’s imagine together.

At Connexus we believe the church should be the most irresistible place in the community because we think it honours God and serves our communities.  Currently we have locations in Barrie and Orillia. There is a group of leaders from Muskoka that have asked us to partner with them to launch a new church right here in Muskoka. This event is going to be the first step towards that launch. 

The event will have music, video and a relevant message.  While we love kids (a lot!) but for this event we will not be hosting our children’s environments. 

Invite some friends with you who you think might be interested in learning more about what we need when we talk about church being irresistible.

Rene M. Caisse Theater - 100 Clearbrook Trail, Bracebridge

Saturday Thoughts . . .

What do you think about on Saturdays?  Paying bills . . . working around the yard . . . driving the kids places . . . playing golf . . .   

The list is pretty endless.  One of the things that I think about Saturday's is "I wonder who is coming to church for the first time tomorrow."  Maybe they've never been to church before and they are coming because a friend invited them.  Maybe the last time they came was 10 years ago and they stop going because their experience was less than positive (translation: they stop going because it stunk!)   Are they worrying about it today?  Are they thinking about not coming?  I wonder what they are thinking today.

Our hope is that tomorrow (and every Sunday) people will come to church who normally don't.  If that stops happening at Connexus we'll either change or close our doors.  We are all about creating the kinds of environments where people from all spiritual background can explore Jesus.  If we end up being just a "Christian huddle" . . . we've failed.

So . . . if you are coming to Connexus for the first time tomorrow - Welcome!  If you are helping us host these environments - Thanks!

Looking forward to tomorrow.

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

Radical Followers

Often we can talk a good game in the Christian world, but the real issue is who lives a good game? The longer I live my life as a Christ follower, the more I ask why my life doesn't look more like Jesus' life. It's easy to talk compassion and sacrifice, I love it when Christ-followers go out and do it.  I want to foster that kind of atmosphere as a community.

So that's why I'm excited about some of the things our people at Connexus are doing to make an impact on our community and the globe - an impact that's costing them something and expressing their faith in real terms.

Sarah Flemming and Jessie Scott, two college students at Connexus, are heading to South Africa and then to Mozambique in early June to work with children through some local churches. They'll be taking some of the things they've learned here to provide a vibrant teaching environment there.   Sarah writes:

Here are some of our prayer requests. From what I have learned this far, men and women have very different places in the community, so it will be necessary for us (Sarah and Jessie) to abide by culture expectations in our actions and appearances.  It is winter in Mozambique, but temperatures are still soaring during the daytime, and living conditions will be rough and unhygienic, please pray for our health and safety as we work.  We will run into things that will break our hearts, please pray for our strength and courage. Most importantly, please pray for our unity as a team, and that we will be open to transformation in ourselves as we serve with the love of Christ and see what He sees.

I met with another Connexus volunteer on Monday who is going to India in November to work with some of the "untouchables" in the name of Jesus.  Way to go Bill!

Another Connexus couple is spending their honeymoon in Africa working among the poor in Jesus' name (isn't that awesome?)!  And I've spoken before about Bill Fitch (who will be part of our Muskoka campus) and his amazing work training African church leaders through Listen2Learn.

On the local scene, groups and individuals are serving at places as diverse as the Light House Men's Shelter and the Pregnancy Resource Center.

This is all in addition to the great work so many of our people have done and will be doing in Guatemala.  Last March, numerous Connexus families traveled over the March break to work with the people of Guatemala.  Guatemala will be a natural focus for GlobalX (our international mission arm) when it launches in the next twelve months.

We live out our faith when we give out our faith.  You're a community that makes me grateful to be your pastor.  Thanks for expressing your love for Jesus into the community and this world at large.  You inspire me!

Carey Nieuwhof
Lead Pastor 

What Are You Doing With Jesus This Week?

I'm so grateful for the dialogue Jesus the Guru, is generating.  But I want it to go way beyond talk about Jesus and focus on talking with Jesus. 

How's that going for you?

In week one of the series, I encouraged people to read their Bibles and interact with God in prayer as though God was alive (because He is).  After all, Christianity claims a personal God whom we can actually know. I suggested reading something like the Gospel of John to get started - a chronicle about the significance of who Jesus was.  Did you try that?  If so, how has trying to begin or kindle a personal dialogue with God through the Bible gone?  Blog back.  Leave a comment!

In week two, I'm encouraging each of us to change the way we pray.  Instead of asking God to do everything we want, I encouraged us to try to do the things He wants by actually submitting ourselves to Jesus' incredible teaching.  The rest of the world values Jesus' teachings immensely.  Many Christians don't - we pay lip service but not life-service to Jesus' teachings.  We read his words don't implement them, and then complain when our life doesn't work out well.

So I encouraged us to change our devotional habits.  Instead of

• Praying in the shower, car or drive-thru line, start each day (or evening) with 10-15 minutes of focused prayer and scripture reading.
• Telling God stuff you want changed when you pray...start by asking God to open you to His Word.

Try spending a week in three chapters of Matthew (Matthew 5-7).  Some suggestion as you read:

• Ask God to change you (too many Christians ask God to change).
• Ask God to show you how to apply these teachings directly to your life
• Shape your prayer around how God might want to shape and change you.

The bottom line:  Jesus is personal and real, and in other religions, you change when you convert. Christians need to change too.

This week, let us know how the journey is going.  What are you reading?  How is it shaping you?  How are you actually discovering/experiencing Jesus today? This week?  Let us know!

- Carey

Lunch on Us During Jesus the Guru

So if you had $3,500 to spend to help draw people into a relationship with Jesus, how would you spend it?

We were faced with that question a few months ago, and decided we'd use it to provide an incentive for you to have lunch and meaningful dialogue with a friend you invited to Connexus.   

The Opportunity
Starting Easter Sunday in Barrie and Sunday March 30th in Orillia, we launch Jesus the Guru, a series aimed at creating a dialogue about the popularity of Eastern spirituality and Jesus' role in relationship to it. (If you haven't seen the trailer yet, you've got to check it out!)

There's no better way to facilitate dialogue than to get those of us who follow Jesus into a room with our friends that's safe and relaxed enough to enjoy each other's company.  Like going for lunch after church.

So we'll help buy lunch for the first 50 families at each campus who bring a friend to Jesus the Guru.  The first 50 families who come with a friend can stop by the Host Team front desk and pick up a $35 gift card toward lunch that's good at numerous restaurants (like Montanna's, Kelsey's etc).  Because eating out is expensive and not "easy" for a lot of families, we just thought we'd help facilitate a great experience. You don't need to talk deep theology -- just being there with your friends even to talk about what they thought about church can be a step in the right direction.

A Different Strategy
In the past, we would have been more likely to buy billboards, send out flyers or buy radio ads.  Here's why we decided not to do that with the money we are allocating toward gift cards:

• Our primary way of introducing people to Christ at Connexus is through personal relationship.  We all have friends who aren't in a relationship with Jesus yet, and if we could get them to engage, growth of the Kingdom would become 'viral', with friends inviting friends. 
• Flyers and billboards create awareness, but at best have a 1% or less response rate. If 100 families invited a 100 families, imagine what could happen in the Kingdom.  Plus that's over three times the return over traditional investments.
• An invitation is personal.  A flyer or billboard reaches someone who knows no one at Connexus.  An invitation means you walk with someone through their Sunday experience and can process it together.  The likelihood of someone returning goes way up because of that.  The likelihood of someone entering a growing relationship with Jesus goes way up.
• It's a lot closer to how the early church grew -- relationally.
• It's an easier access point into community groups and the heart of ministry at Connexus, because the friend already has a person to dialogue with and friends you can introduce them to.

So, there it is.  A $35 gift card available to the first 50 families at each campus who bring a friend to Jesus the Guru.  We're praying for you, and anxious to see what God does in terms of sharing His forgiveness, grace and love with our community through you.

What do you think?

- Carey