Weekday Evening Schedule for 2007-2008

In all the places I've lived I haven't experienced a culture like Lancaster County that was so built around church schedules. It's slowly changing, but remnants are still there. Take for example Wednesday evenings.

I think there are still business that close early on Wednesdays so their employees can go to Wednesday night church.
It's an unwritten rule in the school's athletic league that there are no games on Wednesdays and in some cases, no practices either.

That was the traditional church schedule, services Sunday mornings, Sunday night and Wednesday night. I'm excited that we're adding to that schedule this fall. Our children's ministry is going to make use of break out groups Wednesday night to the point that they need additional room space. Our youth ministry is also planning to use break out groups and was looking for more rooms too. Those two ministries are essentially going to have the majority of our building in use on Wednesday nights this coming academic year.

Meanwhile, that didn't leave enough space for the Worship Arts ministry, so they're moving their rehearsals to Thursdays nights. Our assumption used to be that families would come Wednesday nights, the adults would go to choir practice and the kids would go to the children's/youth programs. From what we can tell, that doesn't hold true so much anymore. So we can make this shift without creating an inconvenience for the average family.

So the building should see even more use and more importantly, we see God working in and through our children's and youth ministries, so we're making adjustments to join Him in what He's doing.

Musical Chairs

We've been playing our own version of musical chairs at Grace in recent weeks. The Worship Design Team (a group that works with Pastor Scott and Matt to plan different elements of each week's service) wanted the Auditorium in a centered-stage configuration for the Samson series. We've used a centered-stage config two times previously and by luck of the calendar, Jay was out of town or unavailable those weeks, so I took charge of laying out the chair setup. For this third time, Jay was around and thankfully, he didn't use my notes.

The setups I used were very boxy and used unusually long rows. Those setups worked, but there downsides:

-with more than 12 chairs in most rows, some event topping out at 30, it was hard to get into a row having to crawl over others who were already seated.

-with each section parallel to one of the walls, we needed to setup additional video projectors.

-with each section parallel to one of the walls, if you sat in the corner you had to turn in your seat to actually face the stage and it felt like you were a long ways away from the stage.

The setup Jay used for the current configuration improves, if not eliminates all of those issues. I give him credit.

We're also working on a revised configuration for the regular chair setup that we hope to roll out in September. We're looking to accomplish a couple of things:

1. We want the main aisle at the back of the room to directly connect with the main lobby entrance.

2. We want the center of the room to be filled with chairs, not an aisle.

3. We want to see if we can put full-width aisles on the outside of each side wall.

It's still in research and development, so we'll see if it becomes reality. We're also exploring other a chair setup system to replace the longstanding ABF-reliant system. Thinking most ABFs view their chair setup responsibilities as a chore, if not a drag, we're investigating whether there are people at Grace who view chair setup as a ministry opportunity. It's a long shot, but we're investigating.

Musical chairs, Grace style.

What's happening with Grace athletic nights?

Monday nights have been associated with pick-up volleyball at the Grace Auditorium.
Thursday nights were associated with pick-up basketball, more recently replaced with floor hockey.

Pickup basketball's been on a break for something like three years now and in 2007-2008, volleyball and floor hockey will be joining basketball taking a break as well. While not something we've prescribed, we see it fitting in with the ongoing morph of Grace Church.

The leaders of pickup volleyball and floor hockey were ready to pursue other involvements at Grace. We encouraged them in their desire to shift, but saw it as an opportunity for the church at large. Demand for rooms has increased in the past 2-3 years and having the Auditorium signed out Monday & Thursday night's left little room for other ministries to get in there.

Though they'll be on a break for at least the next year, we're interested to see where God works in the coming months and how we can join Him, and however than applies in the way the building gets used. In the meantime, the Auditorium will be used by other ministries on Monday and Thursday nights in 2007-2008. I'll describe exactly how in my next post.

Grace Church Bible Reading Challenge - Home Stretch

We're getting close to the home stretch of the Grace Church Bible Reading Challenge. Are you still going strong? I got behind last weekend and spent most of this week catching up and finally caught up this morning. Commitments are tough and they take... commitment.

We've been pleased with the traffic on the Reading Challenge blog. As of Friday night (8/3) at 7:15, by my quick count, I came up with 38 unique contributors to the comments out of the total of 213 comments posted. I'm guessing that about half of the 213 comments are Pastor Scott's, but I'll let someone else count them up while they're waiting on hold during a telephone call or something.

As you can see from the following graph and table there's a sliding trend on the blog as well. The blog spiked to 853 visits on July 18th whereas today, Friday 8/3 registered 264 visits. All in all though, it's been a neat forum for the church body to interact.

The individual pages views listed in the table below report the number of times someone actually clicked on the post for each particular day whereas the chart above reports the daily number of visits to the general blog site blog.lgbc.org.

2007-07-04 to Today

Title	Views
Psalm 119:1-40	369
Psalm 119:81-128	365
Psalm 119:41-80	298
Psalm 119:129-176	275
John 10-12	253
Judges 13-16	247
John 1-3	235
John 4-6	206
John 13-15	181
John 16-18	165
John 19-21	162
2 Peter 1-3	154
1 John 1-3	150
Philippians 4; 1 Peter 1-2	139
John 7-9	137
About the Challenge	121
Philippians 1-3	109
1 Peter 3-5	95
1 John 4-5; 2 John; 3 John	84
Ephesians 1-3	59
The Challenge	37
Ephesians 4-6	33

If you've fallen behind or dropped out of late, I encourage you to get back in the game. After all, it's not so much the challenge that's the point of this, it's our immersing ourselves in our Saviour's Word.

Heat activated alarm

Around 1 or 1:30 yesterday the normal Grace Church summer routine was interrupted by the sound of an unscheduled fire alarm. Well versed in the drill, everyone evacuated in a calm, orderly and timely fashion. I on the other hand was scurrying. First of all, I was in the bathroom at the time the alarm sounded. As I washed up, it dawned on me that I didn't recall seeing Jay Hall's motor scooter in it's normal parking spot, meaning Jay was likely not in the building. When that's the case, I'm the guy that's responsible for handling the alarm.

When an unscheduled alarm sounds, there's added pressure to figure out whether someone inadvertently pulled an alarm or where the problem lies, all the while making sure the building is being evacuated. So I'm running around, trying to assess all of this.

Turns out one of the heat detectors in the attic popped. It was set to trip if the temperature exceeded 135 degrees, which gives you an idea of how hot it was up there. It's been replaced with a 194 degree sensor - otherwise we'd probably have another unscheduled alarm again today and from what the forecast says, tomorrow, the next day, the next day and the next again.

Anyway, it was another chance to chat with the Lititz Fire Chief, Ron Oettel. He and I have developed a casual acquaintance over the past 10 years. I appreciate his demeanor and attitude to these sorts of deals. He's usually very professional, cordial and expresses his best interest in protecting the people and assets of Grace Church. As is often the case with these kinds of alarms, we can spend 30-60 minutes trying to track down exactly which sensor (out of over a hundred in the building) is the one that's reporting trouble. It's often because of dust or like yesterday, overheating. Anyway, during that troubleshooting time, we get the chance to talk and catch up. Of course, all the while the daycare kids and staff were out in the sweltering heat of the parking lot. I regret not letting them at least come in under the main entrance to get in the shade.

Thankfully, we were able to get everything cleared sometime after 2pm and the kids were back to nap time in no-time.

Guarding our hearts and our internet connections

I've appreciated Pastor Scott's admonition over the past three years for us to guard our hearts and in particular guarding them in the area of our internet connections. Matthew's (5:29 and 18:9) pretty clear in describing how seriously we're supposed to treat this stuff - a good reminder for all of us.

At Grace, we take it seriously employing a content filter that's tight enough that it's a nuisance at times, but it's worth the trade off. Not perfect by no means, but we restrict access and track usage. We recently switched from using SurfControl to using St. Bernard's iPrism if you're interested. I've gleaned a lot from working with these companies. One, their databases of sites to be blocked change daily, if not minute by minute. Two, I appreciate their willingness to deal with smut day-in and day-out to protect all of us. Since they often take control of my workstation to troubleshoot problems during tech support calls, I inform them that I've turned off my monitor and to alert me when I can turn it back on while they test if the filter's working etc. They understand when I explain I work at a church and Christian school, but chuckle at how they have to deal with the junk daily and get paid to hip wade in the filth. Another tip I picked up - to test if our filter is working okay, rather than using an explicit site, I use guns.com as a test. It's blocked under the same policy as the explicit stuff, but the guns.com site doesn't run the risk of any elicit pictures coming up on my screen.

With all of that I've been surprised at the number of other organizations that I've had contact with in the past year that don't seem to take a high stance on this. Some don't use a filter at all, others use a filter but never monitor the activity. It takes time, is a nuisance and can be embarrassing to track and at times confront users who are attempting to reach inappropriate sites. It happens and we have to deal with it.

What about at home? I've heard of two products used by several families that they've found successful, if you're looking for resources:
Bsafe Online
Cyber Sentinel
I mention these for the benefit of any readers that don't know where to start in addressing this for their home use - don't take this as an endorsement.

Just like the security system on our houses, locks and deadbolts, these measures do not provide absolute protection. But we still lock our doors because it reduces the likelihood of a break-in. In the same manner, a content filter reduces the likelihood of viewing inappropriate material.

Of course, there are other measures we can take to improve our protection and the protection of our families. Place computers in a public area of your home with the monitors positioned such that anyone can see what's on the screen. Use password protection to restrict access for those who would benefit most from the protection. Just to name a few.

And that is what this is all about, protection. The filter at Grace Church is not employed because we do not trust our staff or students, it's because we want to protect them from coming across stuff they don't need to see. The leaders at Grace recognized from the outset that we needed to offer that protection to our staff. As leaders of our homes, we need to recognize our responsibility to protect ourselves and our families. Join me in doing whatever it takes to guard our hearts and our internet connections.

Volunteer shoppers needed

Okay, so if you're looking to get involved at Grace, this might be just the opportunity you are looking for... we need shoppers. If you like to shop and if you're like me, love to buy in bulk, here's the opportunity.

Seeking the best deal for supplies for our daycare, school and Sunday/Wednesday ministries, we often purchase large quantities from Wal-Mart, BJ's Wholesale Club and Costco. Thing is it takes two people to get the stuff because we purchase so much. To date we've been using paid staff, who normally are caring for children or working in one of the offices, so we have to cover them when they're out shopping. It's pure shopping, so anyone who can drive a van and life bulk quantities of drinks and other grocery supplies can do it. We'd supply the shopping list, so your role would be to pull it off the shelf. We'd need you to go shopping about once a month or so.

If you're interested, let me know.

Apples (computers that is) are tempting

Though I've been a PC-guy for years, I am more and more tempted to defect to the Apple-side. So the following quote hit my funny bone...

Chris Pirillo: "The box said Requires Windows 95 or better. So I installed OS X."

An outsiders perspective on church

Having the privilege of growing up in a Christian family, I've attended church since birth. My Dad was an Assistant Pastor when I was born and not long after that became a missionary planting churches. So, understanding what it's like for someone to attend church for the very first time is difficult for me. That's why I found this post interesting... http://www.davidfoster.tv/?p=286

Daycare inspection results

Thanks to those of you who prayed for the daycare staff during last week's inspection. Our staff came through with flying colors and did a tremendous job. During the inspection the inspector often visits each room and while expecting the daycare workers to be caring for the children, the inspector starts rattling off questions along the lines of, "What temperature should the referigerator be?" or something of the sort. To help the daycare workers, two of the administrators went with the inspector to each room and helped care for the kids so the daycare workers could concentrate on answering the questions.

The visit went well. We did receive one citation because an EPI pen wasn't in the box packaging. Our track record has been so exemplary that we take even one citation like that pretty hard. But as with other inspectors, they always leave saying how high the quality of care our center provides to the children. If you see anyone who works with the daycare, be sure to thank them for their hard work and for maintaining a good testimony with the State.

In my next post I'll disect last week's financial audit.

What's in a daycare inspection?

This week is the annual State inspection of the daycare ministry. Being State certified gives our center credibility with the families who entrust the care of their children to use. That makes the annual inspection crucial.

While the inspection is normally a one-day gauntlet, we've been notified that this year's will be a two-day review. Inspection consists of a inspector from the State reviewing every detail about our center. They review each child's file with the office staff for emergency numbers, proper record keeping among many other State requirements. They spend a lot of time interviewing the office staff about the daycare program and their compliance with standards. They review our fire drill records, making sure that we hold a drill at least every 60 days (we practice every 30) and that we evacuate all the children in under three minutes (every scheduled drill is timed). They review our evacuation procedures. They review our security process. They scrutinize our daycare staff for proper and current certification in CPR/Fire/First Aid training. They review all the necessary child abuse and criminal checks and educational requirements depending on the responsibilities of each staff person. And that's just the stuff that's reviewed in the office and I didn't even cover all of it!

Then they walk through the entire daycare wing. They observe the staff caring for the kids in real time. While caring for kids, the inspector will fire roulette questions at the staff who HAVE to know the answer on the spot. They review the cleanliness of each room, whether everything is in it's place. They give their personal assessment as to whether our rooms are designed for the ultimate safety of each child. They make sure all the proper emergency information is posted in each room. Everything is open game for questioning and scrutiny. They review the kitchen, the food preparation too.

Then they go outside and give the same thorough review to our outdoor play areas. There are State mandates for the depth of mulch on the playground in addition to all kinds of other details.
You probably get the picture. It's a very intense, stressful time.

With the passionate staff God has blessed us with, our track record in these reviews is exemplary. Of course, that puts pressure to maintain that same high standard. Be praying for Tammy and her staff as they go through the 2007 inspection.

Monopoly: to play or not to play?

Grace Church has ended up in the unenviable position of being surrounded by houses. Years ago, what is now the development that lines what we would call the back of the church property, was a field. From what I hear, we had a chance to purchase it, but at that stage of Grace's life we weren't positioned to do so. The houses that front the church on West Lincoln have been there since the 1970s.

I noticed in the past few weeks that the large house next to the Chapel parking lot is on the market. Over the past 6-8 years all but maybe one of the houses that line West Lincoln have gone on the market. Each time a house went on the market the Elders weighed the pros/cons of purchasing it.

To date, they've decided, and I support, not buying the properties. The land is of most value to us. Additional land would give us more green space to build out other parts of the property. The houses create a visual block to our property from West Lincoln, reducing our visibility. In a lot of respects we'd probably prefer to level the houses. Of course, paying market rates for 5+ residential properties is going to run upwards of $1M in today's market - that's a lot of money for but an aggregate of a couple of acres. That's why we haven't pursued them.

Each time I see one of those houses go on the market, I remind myself why we've decided not to pursue them.

What's Happening Now?

The general sentiment seems to be that with the Rodeo complete, the church office has entered reclusion. In reality, the opposite has occurred. We're knee deep in getting ready for the upcoming academic year and trying to keep up with growing ministries. It's a 24x7 challenge. Here's my attempt to quantify it...

The school, daycare and children's ministries are growing. We're working on re-arranging room usage to free up space for additional math classes, the afterschool program and for more Sunday School and Wednesday night programs. That all begins a domino affect on other groups that use our facility. Groups that had been using the Fellowship Hall throughout the year, beginning at 5pm, are having to push their start times back because we need the room through 5:30. The Worship Arts ministry rehearsals are moving to a different night of the week. Sunday morning Adult Bible Fellowships are being moved around so the Children's Ministry can use some of the larger rooms in the building. We're also rescheduling the outside groups that use our building as well. It's a very complicated tango that's being expertly choreographed by our Master Calendar master, Elaine.

We're also taking a hard look at the Children's Wing, reevaluating our usage of the space in that area and looking for more efficient ways to use it to further the direction of the Children's Ministry. For years we've accepted the space as is, but we're now recognizing that in some ways it's inhibiting the ministry.

We've added additional staff this summer including a Pastor, several support positions, an assistant in the Athletic Department plus an Elementary PE Teacher. Of course, as new positions, we didn't have offices for them, so we're busy creating and equipping new offices.

We're reassessing our insurance policies

We're putting in some new interior doors to further isolate our children's areas from the main lobby and gymnasium during school/daycare hours to continue to increase our security measures. If we reach our goal, it should hardly be noticeable on Sundays and Wednesday nights.

We're replacing several rooftop HVAC units - the building is showing it's age.

The annual State daycare white-glove inspection is this week.

We're rethinking our computer network log-in accounts, especially for students. Classes endured long delays logging into our system last year so we're trying to correct that.

I'm working on upgrading our data storage system, we filled that last one up over the span of 18 months - it's getting harder and harder to keep up with the demand for data storage.

I'm working with Betsy, our computer teacher and a couple of IT guys that I've gotten to know who attend Grace to create a strategic roadmap for our IT department for the next 3-5 years to keep our IT stuff up to snuff.

We're considering changing the normal seating configuration in the Auditorium for Sunday mornings.

The Concept Development Team meets for the first time this week. We've been wanting to get that launched for the past two years and are finally getting it off the pad. This is the group that will first devote it's attention to the property across the street and ultimately help us nail down the conceptual direction we'll propose in terms of future expansion.

I realized recently that our web page is due for a content makeover, so we've put that on the to do list, too.

And on top of everything, the financial audit begins today and will continue most of this week.

Getting in good with the alumni department

Being a Grace Brethren Church, you might expect our staff have a strong Grace College representation. There are a few. Seeing as our Senior Pastor graduated from Liberty, you might expect our staff to consist of several Liberty grads. While we don't, five out of last year's Senior class are headed to Lynchburg in the fall.

Though none of my doing, the number of PCB/PBU grads on staff has increased from three when I started 9+ years ago to six, by my count, as of this week.

New feature on LGBC.ORG

In conjunction with the iBook message series and specifically the Bible reading challenge, we're rolling out an interactive forum on LGBC.ORG this weekend. It's designed to give the Grace Church body an opportunity to share what they're learning or thinking about as they read the different portions of scripture. It's also a forum in which the body can ask questions to which our Pastoral staff can respond. I've been working with TCW, our tech support company, over the past few weeks to get it set up.

I'm excited to be able to use the internet for this kind of an application. The challenge is the internet is accessible by everyone under the sun and our target for this application is those who are connected with the ministries of Grace Church. We're gonna try to control that by moderating the comments.

On each day's scripture passage you'll be able to post your thoughts, questions, comments, etc. about the passage. Others will be able to respond with threading so you can see who's responding to what.

You can watch for it at blog.lgbc.org

Help Wanted: Flower Gardens

We could use help keeping the church flowers beds and bushes looking nice and presentable. Flower beds were formally assigned to ABF classes for them to plant and care for over the summer months. However, since few ABFs actually meet over the summer that system didn't really coincide with their schedule or the built-in accountability. So we're trying to come up with a new system to keep our property looking nice.

I wonder if the system they used at my first elementary school is still in place? I attended Labo Elementary School for grades 1 and 2 - in the boondocks of Southern Luzon. Like many other grade school students after the first day of school I brought home a grocery list of items that I needed for the school year. My parents were a little concerned that the list included a sickle. See the daily morning routine for the entire school included the following:
Morning assembly on the soccer field to sign the national anthem and morning calisthenics
Cutting the grass with sickles and tending to the garden and grounds around our classroom
Oh, and each Friday afternoon we cleared the classroom floor and got out the brooms, floor wax and coconut husks as all the students cleaned the floor!

So if you're looking to help out at the church and enjoy yard work, give me a call or send me an email. Last week, Aimee spent a couple of hours on two consecutive days on the office side and I really appreciate her work.

If you have suggestions of new systems I can consider to replace the now defunct ABF flower garden system, leave a comment.

Help rename LGBC.ORG

I've wanted for quite some time to replace our LGBC.ORG web address with an address that's more connected with our ministry. Our current address is an acronym for Lititz Grace Brethren Church, and while it's still one of many nicknames people use to refer to the body of believers that meet at 501 W Lincoln Ave, I think it's finally becoming less prevalent. As a result, I'm looking to get a new web address. Unfortunately, most, if not all of the logical ones are already taken, so I need your creative help. I welcome your suggestions and thank you in advance.

Celebrating Holidays Overseas

Sue Weaver, who along with the rest of the Weaver family, Grace Church sent to France as missionaries back in the 1980s, shared the realities of celebrating holidays overseas in her Xanga yesterday.

Is the building sacred?

I have to give credit to all that were involved in the design/layout of the building projects at Grace. For more than 30 years the walls/rooms/hallways that they conceived have served the needs of the ministries of Grace. They planned with foresight and a joining God in what He is/is-going-to-do mentality that ended up with spaces able to accommodate a lot more people than were being served at the time of construction. I hope to emulate their ability to plan for future growth.

With 30+ years of ministry under our belts, with God using our ministry to reach more and more people, with the changes in our culture, and with an aging building, we're having to evaluate our facility. Rooms that we've become accustomed to being the same for many of those 30 years, some of you recall riding your tricycle down the aisle in the midst of construction, are being used in entirely different ways that what they were originally.

If you look back there are ways that we've adjusted our ministry. With few large rooms and strict policies to protect the Auditorium carpet, our church rarely hosted all-church social functions. But that's changed in the last several years. We've had several all-church potluck dinners. That's just one example.

In all of this, I'm seeing a greater demand for more multi-use, multi-purpose rooms with mid-sized floor space. The schedule pressure for use of the Fellowship Hall and the Youth Room, our two current rooms that fit that description is intense.

The new sense of commoraderie and cooperation among staff and ministries has been integral to making the ministry schedule pressures work to this point. We're exhausting our current resources forcing us to look for new ways to stay up with demand. The good news is we have the floor space, it just isn't configured efficiently.

This summer we are reevaluating room assignments/room use around our facility and have ideas of way to reassign spaces for maximum efficiency with the way ministries are wanting to use the building in 2007-2008. We are also identifying spaces that with a little bit of renovation/reconfiguring can open up more opportunities for our ministries.

I want our building to be a tool that ministries can use efficiently. Our ability to use it to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be is more sacred than the walls themselves.

This Might be a Dumb Question

A radio program I often listen to has a weekly segment entitled This Might be a Dumb Question. The host asks callers to call in with things they've always wondered, but never asked. Each call begins with the phrase, "This might be a dumb question, but..."

I wonder what questions people who regularly attend or are connected with the ministry of Grace Church have? It may seem like a dumb question, but I'm sincerely interested in trying to answer what I can. Here's a list of some of the questions I've answered in the past:

This might be a dumb question...

• but why can't I use the church kitchen?
• how in the world did we come up with the idea of doing a rodeo?
• but what are the benefits of a multi-purpose building?
• but is baptism so important that we should spend extra money for a full baptismal?
• but why do we baptize people in a hot tub?
• but how did we arrive with the concept of meeting people/moving people?
• but why do I have to have clearances to volunteer to work with kids?
• but what happens if someone collapses during a church service?
• but why do we use giving envelopes?
• but how do I start a ministry at Grace?
• but what happens at a Grace Church staff meeting?
• but why does Grace Church rarely cancel Sunday services because of weather?
• but why am I too cold in the Auditorium?

If you regularly attend or are connected with the ministry of Grace Church, I'd like to know what questions you have by posting a comment.

Rodeo Photos

In addition to an article, the Lititz Record has posted 236 photos of last Sunday's Rodeo.

Ministry Plan for 2007-2008

On June 17, Pastor Scott, John Kegarise (Elder Chairman) and myself presented the ministry plan for 2007-2008. The ministry plan has been developed by the ministry leaders and paid staff. I've assembled their work and reviewed it with Pastor Scott before presenting it to the Elders. With Elder approval the plan went before the church body for their review. But before we look ahead, let's take a quick review of what God has been doing in our midst for the past several months.

For about a decade our attention has been focused on other ministry areas, but over the past year, it appears that God started to move in new ways in our Children's Ministries. By providing the financial resources we were able to set aside funds to return the Children's Ministry Director position to full time status and to increase the Early Childhood Director to a half-time position. In addition to providing the funds, God also provided the individuals to fill those slots.

Our second year of the Christmas Walk-Thru had even greater numbers of people travel through our building to the Victorian era, on to Italy, then Switzerland and finally the manger scene.

On Sunday mornings we've studied the Book of James, When Faith and Life Collide; what Jesus said about the future, Back in the Future; Meeting People Where They Are and Moving People to Where God Wants Them to Be; Baptism and Footwashing, Just Add Water; Lost and Reel Families. Through these studies, God has challenged us, convicted us and drawn us into a deeper relationship with Him. And of course we baptized 104 adults and children this past Spring.

Sunday morning Auditorium attendance has been up about 8% over the previous year. We're averaging 1,191 people per Sunday in the Auditorium. Giving has been healthy too, but as you might expect with an influx of new attenders, it's increased at a slower pace.

God has done some AMAZING things in our midst in 2006-2007! What could He possibly have in mind for 2007-2008?

In 2007-2008 we are seeing signs that God is opening up opportunities for us to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be.

Meeting People Through the Rodeo
The Elders and staff are really excited about the potential of how God might work through us and the rodeo outreach to build new relationships with people who are far from God. With the tremendous upside potential in that one day, we are preparing across the board to be able to meet more people and help them take steps closer to God. We anticipate that the rodeo impact on our ministry may well span all of 2007-2008, if not beyond.

Meeting People; Moving People Through the Core Classes
With all of the growth we've experienced over the past several years, we've identified that we need to provide stronger opportunities for people to connect with our body. The Pastor's Class is being reworked into four Core Classes. Each class will end with a specific next steps of seeking water baptism, daily Bible reading, getting involved in a specific ministry and regular tithing. The Core Classes have the potential to provide those who are new to Grace an avenue to take steps to grow deeper in their relationship with God.

Meeting Children and Teens Where They Are, Moving Them to Where God Wants Them To Be
We're also anticipating fresh approaches in our ministries for children and teens. We think we see signs that the work God initiated in these areas in 2006-2007 will take off in 2007-2008. The new staff are getting settled in their positions, have had time to assess and seek God's direction for their ministry and in 2007-2008, we'll start to see the launch of some of those new components. These ministry areas have been using the same type of approach for more than a decade; meanwhile the culture of the children/teens we've been serving has changed drastically. We are excited about how God is leading us in new directions to reach the children and teens of today with His Word in a way that is relevant to the way they think.

Moving McCracken's and Roche's to Where God Wants Them To Be
In Global Outreach we're excited about what God is doing in Cambodia. Our support of three Cambodian nationals, who've been supported through the Birthday Gift for Jesus is now part of the budget. We also have the opportunity to support them as they shift into tent-making ministries. We are happy to announce that we'll be sending Mike and Joan McCracken to assist the Cambodians in setting up a business of raising pigs. In our backyard, we're happy to be officially partnering with Joe and Kim Roche, who've been our go-to couple for people with financial counseling needs. The Roche's have sensed God's leading them to join with Crown Financial Ministries in a full time capacity and seeing evidence of how God has equipped them and utilized them in that type of role already, we are excited to be supporting them as they take this step of faith.

To sum up, we the staff and the Elders, see 2007-2008 as a hallmark year for Grace Church. As God continues to lead us in seeing His Kingdom expand in the greater Lititz area, we recognize that our body has to be equipped at every level to be able to handle the growth. We need to see those who've joined the Grace Church body of the past several years get connected and involved in our ministries beyond Sunday morning services and become fully engaged, active participants of the living body that is Grace Church.

The budget translates our proposed ministry plan for 2007-2008 into financial figures. The plan requires a bit more from each of us than in year's past. While each endeavor has an attached price tag, and giving is an important part of this process, it's not so much your money for which we are asking. We want to see everyone under the umbrella of Grace Church become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, joining us in our endless pursuit to meet people where they are and move people to where God wants them to be.

Help trim bushes, weed, carpentry

We can use help at the church from people who are interested in trimming bushes, weeding and carpentry. One mom who recognized the need contacted me out of the blue and has already worked four days weeding, trimming and cutting the areas around the church office. If you are willing to help make our facility look nice, let me know.

Rodeo Wrap-Up

Stories continue to surface about the seeds that were planted surrounding the rodeo and Lord-willing, we'll be hearing those stories for years to come. Ironically, three days after the event the field still isn't completely cleared off yet. The port-a-potties are still standing there in the middle of an empty field. It's a funny picture.


Here are some final numbers:

• 12.5 acre field
• 7,000+ in attendance
• 35 port-a-potties
• 2 electric generators
• 3,100 hot dogs
• 3,000 bags of chips
• 3,000 1-pint drinks
  
• 30 gallons of chili
• 10 tents
• 20 trash cans
• 1 dumpster
• 1 refrigerated tractor-trailer
• 2,500 seat bleachers
• 1 rodeo arena
• 34 received minor medical treatment for brush burns, splinters, blisters and abrasions (no medical emergencies)
• 1 Senior Pastor with very tired feet from standing the entire day at the main entrance greeting everyone as they arrived and thanking them as they went home
• 4 shuttle buses that operated all day ferrying Grace Church attenders to/from the parking area at Warwick High School
• 3 Operation Barnabas teams
• 1 ATV
• 2 Gator-type golf carts
• 320+ volunteers
• 3,000 rodeo programs
• 2,409 food coupons
  

Now we look ahead. I had a conversation with the farmer yesterday so I could learn the different crop schedules. In planning for next year, I wanted to know what crops could be planted on the land depending on the church plans. It turned into a fun conversation not much different than a game of Pit as we talked about rye, oats, wheat, corn, soybeans and flax. I learned that oats is the fastest to grow and be harvested, taking about three months from the time planted to the time of harvest. Oats is what was harvested off of the field just a few weeks ago. Rye is the next fastest crop, followed by wheat and corn. Even though the game was invented in 1904, the grain values in Pit still hold true today. Wheat is the only cash crop for the farmer with whom I was talking. Corn is the next in value, though for silage it's the best but it takes the longest to grow. Of course, the ethanol movement is creating a shift in grain values. I always loved Pit, so this whole phone call was a blast. I shared my fascination with the farmer and his response took the conversation to a whole different universe.

He said, "I am constantly amazed at how I can plant a seed, nurture it to grow into a crop, harvest the crop, feed it to my cows and the cows produce milk. To see one little seed ultimately turn into milk is a process man has tried unsuccessfully to duplicate, it's a process only God can do." I replied with the following which is a good wrap to my rodeo coverage...

The cool thing is that on Sunday we planted a different kind of seed and in the coming days, we'll nurture them and watch them grow to produce fruit. And like the seed-milk process, it's a process only God can do.

Rodeo: So what's next?

I previously documented the genesis of the rodeo idea. It hit me recently that in our wish to see our ministries (church, daycare and school specifically) become more cohesive, the rodeo idea was first suggested by one of the Lititz Christian teachers who doesn't even attend Grace on a regular basis. I think it's cool how God worked through that one person's suggestion, close to probably three years ago, to impact as many people as He did.

Of course, the buzz ever since the event got underway has been, "Are you going to do a rodeo next year?" Such sentiments are an affirmation that we succeeded in producing an event with quality. I'm not sure if Lititz had ever had a rodeo or when the last one was. That's probably one of the reasons why so many people checked it out. Whether we do a rodeo next year, I don't know. But I know we will pursue, like an American's Cup sailor seeking the next wind shift, where God is working, how we can join Him in what He is doing all to make it as hard as possible for people to go to hell.

For now, we gave the farmer permission to plant another crop of oats on the field which should be harvested in November. Whether another crop goes in after that will be a season by season decision based on where we are in the ministry planning cycles. The whole farming angle of all of this is almost like a life-sized version of PIT. I'll explain in the next episode of the Rodeo Miniseries on Administering Grace.

Some three years ago, a teacher suggested we do a rodeo. Where do YOU see God working? Has God put a rodeo-like idea on your mind?

Rodeo: Rising to the occassion

It took a volunteer train to pull off the rodeo, but near the front of the train, leading the effort, were several individuals. You've probably met them, heard of them or saw them about during the rodeo. But there's a unique element to them that you're likely unaware of and that didn't strike me until just recently.

Imagine you've just started in a new job as the head of an entire department or division. Along with an able staff, you job is leading about 100 people. You've never done anything on this level before, you've barely gotten your feet wet, but you've got tremendous support from the team around you and your leader. That's not too far from the position in which Doug, Tammy, Susan and Con found themselves last fall; all four of them had assumed new roles at Grace.

Having already identified their strong leadership and organizational skills, and needing people to ring lead the rodeo efforts, when they had only been in their new roles for but a few months, we asked them to take on the additional challenge. As I look back, I'm astounded. They've excelled beyond our expectations. If put in the exact same position, I'm not sure I would have succeeded to the levels they reached.

In addition to being incredible people, they are and have surrounded themselves with a collection of an equally incredible team that empowered them to reach greater heights. And, if I haven't stressed it enough already, through all of us it was really God working and His doing immeasurably more than we imagined.

Oh, and while I've got your attention, I thought of another fringe benefit to the rodeo... we used the land. While we worked hard during the land purchase process to orient people to where the property lines where and which field we were buying by handing out maps etc., I still heard people asking where the field was even just last week. Those who participated in the rodeo have a clear idea not only as to where the field is, but a concept of it's size, what it looks like and the condition it's in. In fact, a lot of us took a good bit of the field home with us covered in layers of dust. Many have even tasted the new property. Hmmm, I'm not sure that if those were the only things to come out of the rodeo that it would've been worth it just for that.

So, are we doing it again next year? Watch for my next post.

Rodeo: Ms. Simpson and others

I enjoy meeting new people and seeing the opportunities God provides to use me to impact their lives, the challenge to show them God's love for them. Though I didn't get to do that anywhere near as much as I'd hoped to do for reasons out of my control, the few interactions I did have were a lot of fun.

I recognized the first family I encountered at the start of the day from our daycare ministry. It was neat to see them being impacted by a different aspect of our church. Later, I was also surprised by several people, who after enjoying the rodeo, were interested in seeing what our auditorium looked like. I enjoyed being able to show them the room, empty as it was, and answer some standard questions about what our church is like. But the interaction I probably enjoyed the most of the day was with Ms. Simpson.

Just after the start of the event, I realized that one of the areas for which I was responsible wasn't covered as I'd expected. This led me to make multiple walks back and forth between the 501 W Lincoln property and the rodeo location. On one of those trips, as I greeted the droves of people walking down the drive to the event, I was asked if we had a wheelchair for a lady who needed some assistance. She apparently had sent her friends on to the event while she awaited my return.

After grabbing a chair and getting her situated, with no one else to help her, I had the privilege of wheeling her to the event. Of course, I had my doubts as to whether we'd succeed in taking the wheelchair four-wheeling across the field. Within a few feet of getting off of the private drive and onto the dusty field, she gladly accepted resorting to staying on the periphery with a distant view of the arena. She was simply content to be in the shade. She took me up on my offer to alert the others in her party as to where she was located, so I was off to find the two among the mass of humanity spread across the field. I have no idea how, but I succeeded in finding the others.

As I headed on my next trip back to the church building, on my way out I let her know that I'd found her friends. In the meantime, Josh (the teen who gave his testimony during Sunday's service) was talking with her. Josh and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable. Someone with a Rita's container caught her eye and while she'd had lunch already and wasn't interested in using her free hot dog coupon, a gelati suited her fancy. Without hesitation, both Josh and I reached for our wallets. With Josh agreeing to help her out and my duties calling me elsewhere, I left her in Josh's care for the time being.

Between Josh and myself and hopefully even others I don't know about, I hope Ms. Simpson sensed God's love through us that afternoon. I've got several more posts in the coming days about the rodeo, but in the meantime, who were some of the people you met and what opportunities did you have to share God's love with them?

What Pepsi, Basketball and a Rodeo have in common?

My parents were part of four church planting initiatives in the course of their ministry in the Philippines. We'd move to a new town as complete strangers with the goal of spreading the Gospel. How do you start a church when you're a complete stranger, let alone a stick out of the crowd foreigner, and you have no idea whether anyone else in town has ever heard that Christ's death on the cross was a payment for their sin?

One of the methods my Dad used was to go to the Philippine equivalent of the local Sheetz, buy a Pepsi and strike up conversations. Multiple conversations led to a regular get together that transformed into a Bible study.

As a 6-foot tall, high-energy, competitive high school student, in a country that loves basketball, I would head to the closest cul-de-sac and play ball each afternoon with the men in town. I'd strike up conversations, explain what a guy like me was doing in their village instead of playing professional basketball (their assumption, not mine) and build relationships with them.

Pepsi and basketball ultimately led to a group of believers who gathered weekly and began sharing the Good News with their friends and family. The Rodeo wasn't much different. It was an opportunity for us to strike up conversations, explain why we would do such a thing like that and build relationships that otherwise may not have been established.

In my next post, I'll introduce you to Ms. Simpson and some others I was able to meet Sunday afternoon.

Rodeo: Analysis

I've spent the better part of a week or more keeping you informed of the behind the scenes details of the Rodeo outreach - it's been fun to be a part of it and to bring you along for the ride. Now, some time for reflection.

What a day! I can't believe how well everything came together and the number of complete strangers that showed up. I'm astounded by the many levels in an event like the Rodeo and at each level I saw the potential of how God could use it for His glory.

The prayer life of Grace Church - I don't have a measure of what the routine prayer life of the body of Grace Church consists of, but for at least the last few weeks, in some cases maybe even the last nine months since we announced the idea, people have been praying. They've been praying for a specific purpose and possibly praying more than they normally do. Pastor Scott, myself and others have challenged people to pray and shared specific areas for prayer, but whether or not people followed was between them and God. If indeed their prayer lives increased, that can only be attributed to the Spirit's prompting. An increase prayer life in a church is just one of the benefits of doing something like the Rodeo. And, if God did nothing else, but to increase the prayer life of Grace Church, I think it was worth all of the effort.

Investing in Grace Church - I'm not talking about cash, I'm referring to lives. We've experienced tremendous growth at Grace over the past four years (yes, the growth trend started even before Pastor Young completed his ministry). As we saw with the Beach Blast, an event like the Rodeo opens opportunities for more people to get involved in the ministry of Grace. Sure, we've got slots that need to be filled across our ministries, but a lot of them are in circles with established networks that can be difficult to penetrate for someone new. That's what makes events like the Beach Blast or Rodeo unique. Because they're completely new, there are few, if any established networks in place, so everyone is on an even playing ground and can get involved. We had 320 people show up at the volunteer meeting for the Rodeo. A bunch of them had not participated in a Grace event previously. They've now had that chance and are likely to invest more of their life at Grace Church. Let's just say that the whole prayer life aspect of this was a mirage, if the only God does through the Rodeo is use it to motivate people to invest their lives in serving Him, it would all be worth it.

Intrapersonal relationships - After the meeting Saturday night, it was neat to see how many people stuck around just chatting together. A number of those conversations were groups of people who had just met. New relationships formed as a result of working side by side during the Rodeo. New relationships that God can use in a ton of different ways tomorrow and into the future. Even if they never volunteer for another activity, if all God did through the Rodeo is build new relationships among the church body, it would have been worth it all.

Leadership Development - Events like a Rodeo are an undertaking that requires leadership. They're in essence a concentrated leadership development program full of delegation, prioritization, working with people, leading people, trusting people, managing a budget, troubleshooting, and on and on. We've seen the leadership abilities of the people on the task force developed to new levels. And if that alone were the single outcome of the Rodeo, it would have been worth it.

Church/Staff Unity - When faced with the impossible, groups have the choice of rallying together or splitting a part. By God's grace, we rallied together, both as a church and as a staff. It was obvious by the conversations. What are you doing in the Rodeo? Are you excited for Sunday? I can't wait for the Rodeo? Who did you invite? The staff rallied together in a way that exceeded everything I've witnessed in my years at Grace. We hit snags, we always do, but as a staff, we solved them together in a positive atmosphere. We flexed unlike I've ever seen, rolled with the punches and methodically found creative solutions for unexpected problems. Those experiences will reap benefits for years to come which is well worth all the toil if God accomplished nothing else through the Rodeo. There are many more I can think of, but that horse is dead.

These are just some of the fringe benefits. In my next post, What Pepsi, basketball and a Rodeo have in common, I'll get to why we did the Rodeo in the first place, which I didn't even get to in this post.

Rodeo: Cleanup and another challenge

It's 8:30 Sunday night, and at this point, you can hardly tell what happened today. The cleanup was as amazing as the event itself. Meanwhile, the 501 W Lincoln property has morphed in a matter of minutes into an Avalanche Ranch for VBS which kicks off tomorrow. This is the challenge to keep praying!!!

The OB Teams have helped immensely to get everything set tonight, but more work is slated for tomorrow as well. Be praying for the 300+ kids that are registered already and invite the kids in your neighborhood to come on out beginning tomorrow night or any night this week. Pray, pray, pray and pray some more!!!

It's great working/serving of Lord and Saviour side by side with each of you.

Rodeo: Winding down

It's 6:35 Sunday evening the day is winding down, but what a day it was. From all reports, the bleachers were packed for both rodeos. I saw a ton of people I'd never seen before and a lot who didn't appear to be from Lititz.

To my knowledge, from what I've heard to this point, there were no major issues either. Unbelievable!!!

Rodeo: The army has gathered

We just finished the gathering of the army - 320 people attended tonight's volunteer organizational meeting for the Rodeo tomorrow. I think we had a small taste of what Gideon and his force may have experienced as they got together.

The field is set. Tents are up and staying up. The sound system is in place. The arena is up, bleachers are ready. The animals are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning and a few people are camping out on the field tonight for the fun of it and for security. It's all coming together in a very amazing way and I'm seeing so many different positive things coming out of this even before we start building relationships with people we've never met or seen before. I've been taking pictures to document all of this, but haven't shared them because you gotta come check it out in person... even if you live in France, find some way to get over here!

Rodeo: weather update

Don't stop now. Even though it appears God is answering our 6 months of prayers by eliminating the rain concern, we still need God to give us the perfect weather mix. Yesterday, the wind presented some challenges.

We ordered something like seven tents and in normal setups, the company gets them put up in several hours. The tents arrived around 9 or 10 Friday morning. When I left the office at 4:30, two were set up and had been for several hours, two others had been set up and then blown over. Pray that we have just the right weather mix over the next two days.

Pray for the souls too. I took a phone call from a family in Lancaster yesterday that's planning to attend. I'm brushing up on my Spanish.

I look forward to seeing the volunteer army assembled at 7pm tonight. Can you feel the anticipation?

Rodeo: registration count

Though we closed pre-registrations at 2pm today, everyone can still come and fully participate in the rodeo on Sunday. The pre-registration was designed to merely give us an idea of how many people to expect so we could gauge how much food we needed to have prepared. As of 2pm, pre-registrations topped out at 2,409.

The field is in the midst of being converted to a rodeo arena. Tents are being erected, port-a-potties have been dropped off as well as several large generators.

You'll want to wear sneakers or boots as it's still a field. Feel free to bring lawn chairs, though we'll have plenty of seating on bleachers that hold several thousand and lots of hay bales. Continue to pray as there are still many logistical details that need to fall into place. I can report that everyone is working through their tasks list in a very calm demeanor with eager anticipation.

If you're volunteering, see you Saturday night at 7!

Rodeo: Pray and pray some more

The trucks started rolling in at 8 this morning. The bleachers and arena are working their way to Lititz. The field's to be disc-ed today. Lots of logistics need to come together over the course of today and tomorrow and with it a lot of details. Be praying with and for us as we look to coordinate everything.

Rodeo Registrations Exceed 1,700

Registrations for the Rodeo crossed over 1,700 at 9:15 this morning.

Rodeo: Pictures/Video

Though we have a couple of volunteers lined up as official picture takers to document Sunday's outreach, like a wedding, bring your camera/video camera. The more pictures and video clips we have to work with the better!

As of 8:30 this morning, we crossed over 1,500 registrations.

Rodeo: How to engage someone in conversation

Over lunch with the Operation Barnabas teens today I asked them for some help. I heard that they had been trained in how to engage someone they've never met before in a conversation. I thought those tips might be useful to us as we have the opportunity to engage people we've never met before at the rodeo on Sunday. The approach they use is based on the acrostic F.O.R.M.; each letter represents a potential conversation topic.

F - Family
People are usually very interested in talking about their family be it their kids, their spouse or other loved one. On Sunday, there's a high likelihood that there will be a lot of families at the event so questions about their kids/family will be a great conversation starter.

O - Occupation
Second to family topics, the OB'ers explained that adults are usually very willing to talk about what they do for a living.

R - Religion
Similar to what Bill Fay shared a few years ago, questions like, "what do you normally do on a Sunday afternoon?" or "do you regularly attend a church?" will also start a conversation.

M - Message
Unfortunately, the my lunch conversation with the OB'ers go interrupted at this point and I wasn't able to get a good definition of what Message stands for.


As of 2:30, Rodeo registrations have crossed over 1,400.

Rodeo: Parking

The parking plan for Sunday has been finalized. All Grace Church attenders will be asked to park their vehicles at Warwick High School. Shuttles will be running from WHS to the field at regular intervals.

The trick will be emptying the Grace Church lot after Sunday's services. We need everyone to move their cars to the high school as soon as the second service is over on Sunday morning. Thanks in advance for helping us out with this.

Rodeo: Staff Meeting Prayer Walk

We had a unbelievable staff meeting this morning. TK from CE National challenged us based on Ephesians 3:20 and we spent the better part of an hour meditating on who God is and what it would look like if He did immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. It was a humbling and terrifying exercise.

We ended by walking over to the field, forming a circle and committing the coming days as well as the land and the events to God.

I challenge you to consider taking a prayer walk with friends or your family and to walk the field together asking God to make it clear as to how He is challenging us to be a part of what He is doing. If you come by, park in the Grace Church lot and just be cautious when crossing the street.

And before you ask, yes, Warwick Township has offered to assist us with traffic control so everyone can cross the street safely on Sunday.

Rodeo: overnight activity

Registrations for the rodeo crossed over 1,000 overnight (we received 70 since the office closed Monday afternoon). Word about the event is spreading, so much so that we've had several food vendors contact us requesting to join. So as of yesterday, funnel cakes were added to the food menu. How cool is that?!?

One person has responded to yesterday's post and will be helping with phone registrations today, but I've got more slots available if you enjoy data entry and taking phone calls. Don't miss your chance to be a part of this amazing event!

Rodeo: Who did you invite?

Someone was sharing with me yesterday that they were doing projects around the house the other day when their son answered the phone. A minute or so later the parent was summoned. The communication went something like, "We regret to inform you that due to other commitments, President Bush will be unable to attend this Sunday's Rodeo and Western Fair, but he appreciates the invitation."

Apparently a similar call was received from Governor Rendell's office. I'm inviting our two neighbors and my contacts at the bank. Who are you inviting?

Rodeo Update 2

I'll try to give you a play by play of rodeo prep this week...

First off, I learned it was rye that was planted on the field, not oats. The rye was cut and harvested last Friday/Saturday.

According to reports the field is very dry and dusty. The rye is so short we don't even need to mow it with a lawn mower as we had prepared to do. The road access for the event trucks looks to be better than expected as well.

Of all things, the first thing to be placed on the property in preparation for the event... a dumpster. It was dropped off this morning, a little earlier than any of us expected.

We're taking a fair amount of phone registrations, so if you know anyone who'd like to volunteer to help with some data entry this week, let me know. We could use an hour or more of help any day Monday-Friday from 8:30-4:30 and if possible, I'd love to have some phone coverage lined up on Saturday from 8:30-4:30.

With press releases hitting the papers this week I'm anticipating phone traffic. My assumption is that if they get a live person, the likelihood of the caller attending the event will increase. Not that they wouldn't come if they reach the auto attendant, but it's another impact opportunity.

Have you seen the marquees in front of Keller Ford and Keller Dodge in Lititz?

Sunday Reflection: Baptism

One of many things I appreciate about Pastor Scott is his willingness to try things. We held a baptism yesterday and unlike previous baptisms, this one was held outside. We set up the inflatable pool just outside the auditorium and baptized seven individuals. It was neat to see a daycare employee and a Lititz Christian alum take the step of baptism, especially since both have started attended Grace in just the past year or two.

Fortunately, it wasn't until the pool was setup outside that it was learned that if you overfill the pool, it collapses. It would've been interesting had that been learned in doors!

There's something about an outdoor baptism for me, whether it's the public proclamation aspect of the event or the memories it stirs of so many outdoor baptisms in rivers, public swimming pools, lakes and oceans throughout my childhood in the Philippines.

On the other hand, whether it was because the audience was able to get right up to the pool or the natural lighting conditions, it was hard to ignore just how awkward it is to baptize in a not-deep-enough pool. The problem solver/logistician that I am, I was ready to put in a real pool on the spot. I don't have the data to back it up, but I think we'll find that chiropractic visits increase after each Grace Church baptism!

Either way, it was neat to be part of the church family, who gathered in a casual, outdoor atmosphere to celebrate with the seven who took the step of baptism.

Pray Harder

The church staff arrived at the office yesterday only to find that the hard drive that contained all of our files and databases went bad rendering them unusable for the majority of the day yesterday. It's operating today, but different files are corrupt. Fortunately, we have a good back up from which to restore and that seems to be working. On top of that, our photocopiers aren't working as they normally do this morning. Oh, and there was the tornado warning Wednesday afternoon too.

These inconveniences are throwing our normal routines out of sync. The bulletin is just now being printed - it's usually signed, sealed and delivered by now, ready for Sunday. I haven't been able to publish our ministry plan for 2007-2008 which I'm to present Sunday night. The Operation Barnabas Orientation isn't able to make the copies they need.

The timing of all of this seems more than just coincidence. Aside from completely losing it, the only thing I can think of is to PRAY HARDER!!!

The Rodeo's Big Obstacle: Parking

We're just over a week away from the Rodeo. Some 15,000 mailers are arriving in homes over the next day or two; we received ours today. Next Wednesday night the Operation Barnabas teens along with our youth group teens will be going door to door to invite families in the Manheim area. Things are coming together.

On this side of the event, aside from the weather next weekend, the biggest obstacle we anticipate is parking. Anticipating a crowd of up to 5,000, they'll be bring a lot of vehicles to the rodeo. All of the events are slated to occur on the farm field, so we'll be using the 501 W Lincoln property for parking only. Our overflow plan includes parking vehicles on the soccer field. And to give us as many parking spots as possible, we'll be asking all Grace people to park at an to-be-announced off-site parking location.

Please join us in praying for clear weather for next week and for families attending the rodeo to carpool!

The Conference Room that is no more

Over the past two weeks the conference room that used to be in the Administrative Wing has ceased to exist. Over the last 6-9 months conference room use has changed.

To begin with, the Elders never did fit around the entire table. The conference table seats 12 comfortably. The Elders have numbered upwards of 20, so like you see at US Senate Committee hearings there was always a second row of Elders seated behind those who were at the table. It was never conducive to an all inclusive group discussion.

The formerly organized School Board, numbered around 10, fitting comfortably around the table. But in the daycare/school reorganization the Board of Education numbered 16 immediately outgrowing the size of the room.

And while the church staff of around 12 had no problem holding staff meetings around the conference table in 2004, once the daycare/school office staff's were included plus other staff additions, the attendance doubled to something like 22.

Accessibility was another factor. Though the logical location for group meetings the conference room was never an easy room to access in the first place with the level of office security.

The need for more offices was the final shift that necessitated change. In the summer of 2006 we added three PT ministry staff positions but only had one private office. As PT positions and seeing as we didn't know what the future would hold, we setup a temporary shared office arrangement for two of the three PT positions. We made that work for several months.

As anticipated the landscape of the three PT positions changed over the course of the year. By June we no longer needed the shared office arrangement. However, the creation of the FT Pastor of Spiritual Formation position necessitated another private office. Already recognizing the limited use of the conference room, we've divided it in half to create two private offices, one that will be for the Pastor of Spiritual Formation and the other for a use to be determined later.

If you've been in the holy of holies before, the next time you stop by you'll notice things are a little different with the conference room that is no more.

A Field of Oats

The future site of the rodeo is currently a field of oats. One of the first issues we had to face in preparing for Sunday, June 24 was how to convert a farm field into a rodeo arena/ground that people can navigate comfortably. Not having any farm experience in my life to this point, I've learned some things that probably won't be on my resume, but interesting facts nonetheless.

The greatest concern was to do everything we could to keep from having a field of mud on Sunday, June 24. We've been praying for dry weather for that day/weekend since day 1 of this project. Secondly, I learned that oats have a strong root system that provides a firm surface/sub-surface. From what I learned, oats in our area are usually harvested around the 4th of July. The operation that farms our field graciously agreed to forgo their corn crop this summer, corn's usually planted in the Spring; planted oats to help us create a firm surface and will harvest the crop of oats a week prior to June 24, a few weeks earlier than normal.

But for now, it's just a field of oats.

Who are you?

If you're reading Administering Grace, would you leave a comment to let me know who you are? I'd like a better understand of the audience for whom I write . I often question the merit of the dribble I post here and whether I'm contributing anything of relevance. Feel free to suggest what topics you'd like me to pursue further or that most interest you.

Genesis of the Rodeo

Some may wonder how we came up with the idea for a rodeo outreach. If my memory serves right and I'm not 100% sure as to the accuracy of this, but my first recollection of any mention of a rodeo dates back a couple of years to when we were in the process of purchasing the 12.5 acre farm field. I recall Pastor Scott mentioning in passing that we could use the field for a rodeo. Last summer, the Science Teacher at Lititz Christian, who happens to participate in a Christian rodeo ministry over the summer, invited Pastor Scott and myself to attend one of their events. It didn't suit our schedule, so we never made it, but that was the next time a rodeo appeared on our radar. Fast forward to the Fall of 2006.

Having almost doubled the number of people attending our staff meetings, Pastor Scott realized we needed to do some team building exercises. He divided the staff into 4 groups and asked them to work together to put together a staff meeting. One of the groups, knowing that we would be hosting the Operation Barnabas Orientation in the Summer of 2007, led the staff in a brainstorming session of what ministry opportunities we could use to partner with Operation Barnabas. In that brainstorm, the rodeo appeared on the radar again, this time, gaining momentum and turning into a full fledged endeavor.

So it's not too far fetched to say that it's an outreach that's more than two years in the works.

A Lifetime Impact: Summary

Mr. French, Mr. Friesen and Ms. Wollerton, while each giving me knowledge in different areas together reinforced a common theme... they instilled self confidence. They each have played a key role in shaping who I am today. Each have a deep love for God, a passion to serve Him with excellence and had a passion for educating missionary children. Mr. French continues to teach art at Faith Academy. Mr. Friesen is now on staff in the IT department at Taylor University and Ms. Wollerton now has her doctorate in education and is teaching higher education at Azusa Pacific University according to my Google Search results.

With so much rosy attention on high school these past few posts you may be wondering why I bothered with college and graduate work. I attended college to gain a foundational Biblical education and graduate work for professional expertise in leadership. Maybe when we start a college program at Grace I'll expound on the lifetime impact of those years of my life.

A Lifetime Impact: Ms. Wollerton

Ms. Wollerton, English, Speech, Yearbook - Return on investment is common terminology in the financial arena. Of just about any class I've taken, grade school, undergrad and graduate school, I'd have to say I've received the highest return on the investment from taking Yearbook. Amazing when I think that it was a course for which I signed up to simply fill an elective my Junior year of high school. I participated in two years of Yearbook and the principles I learned in those two years I've used weekly since entering church ministry. Meticulously, Ms. Wollerton instructed us in the principles of page layouts, headline and caption writing, capturing the essence of an event or period of time in a matter of paragraphs, how to establish a theme across a collection of pages, how to crop pictures among many other details that appear in the weekly bulletin. They're lessons I've passed along to my staff not just in the bulletin, our brochures and the webpage.

In producing the Yearbook index, I was trusted to work in the main IT server room, without adult supervision into the wee hours of the morning - a privilege I took very seriously and considered a great honor. In my Senior year a simple composition of mine was used as the theme for the entire book, I designed graphics and a photograph to coincide that were used throughout the publication. It was amazing to see my work on a printed page with hundreds of copies in the hands of the student body.

In Speech I learned to communicate verbally to an audience, specifically how to think on my feet. Elements that come in handy in the midst of business meetings. Ms. Wollerton invested an inordinate amount of time in these classes instructing me, setting high expectations, equipping me to meet them and then challenging me to exceed them.

Though I'm not in a classroom on a daily basis, I hope the few chances I have to show our students how something works or talk to them about how I do what I do or to talk with the Yearbook staff, that I too will give them nuggets that last a lifetime.

A Lifetime Impact: Mr. Friesen

Mr. Friesen, Computer Teacher and JV Basketball Coach - My first interaction with Mr. Friesen was on the basketball court. I hadn't excelled in intramural basketball, but like any other sport for me, it involved competition so I played. I didn't understand the fundamentals of the game beyond don't double dribble, don't travel and heave the ball at the basket (I was a scrawny malnurished missionary kid). One particular open gym while shooting at a basket by myself, Mr. Friesen took the time to come over and show me one simple pointer - on my shooting hand, hold the ball on my finger tips instead of in my palm. He gave me that one simple instruction and he let me be the rest of that day. I eventually made the JV squad and he began to teach me the game of basketball. He invested time teaching me the game, but kept his expectations high. Over Christmas all of the missionaries in our mission would gather for a week long conference. Someone had the bright idea that Mr. Friesen and his wife would be a great couple to lead the sessions for us teens-the sessions were great, but the fringe benefits were less than desireable. Each morning at about 6am, when I was still recovering from having watched the latest bowl game, he'd wake me to go running to stay in shape since it was mid-season. He pushed me hard, had high expectations and didn't let me fail. After the first game of my Junior year, a game in which I had been yelling instructions to my teammates throughout the game, inadvertently letting the other team and everyone else in the gym for that matter know that we were in a 1-3-1 defense, Mr. Friesen pulled me aside and pointed out that my teammates had been listening to me, that I had been an on-the-court leader. He also mentioned we'd be implementing signals so I wouldn't give away our defensive scheme.

In the classroom, Mr. Friesen unleashed my love for computers, particularly programming. I was bitten by the programming bug early, as early as grade 4. As I reached high school, Mr. Friesen was in the early stages of introducing a new programming curriculum based on Turbo Pascal. I think he mostly taught himself and built the new program from scratch. The new curriculum was the exact set of challenges I needed to spur me on to strive for more. He taught us in a way that was open to our ideas. Other than Computer Applications, which I pretty much already knew since I was teaching missionaries how to use WordPerfect and the ill-fated WordStar, I took every computer course Mr. Friesen offered during my time in high school, culminating in AP Computer Science. He came oh so close to getting me to go to his alma mater, Taylor University to study Computer Science. I had the chance to visit the Taylor campus at the end of my Junior year in college and had I visited the campus prior to deciding which college to attend, I probably would've picked Taylor.

Mr. Friesen's taking my undeveloped abilities on the basketball court and in programming computers and molding them to reach a greater potential have stayed with me to this day. Even though it doesn't help me make a living, I still shoot a consistent free throw. And the computer expertise I gleaned from all those courses is used daily as I now try to strip apart the code behind webpages, create more and more complicated functions in Excel spreadsheets and enhance our databases.

Mr. Friesen's impact on my life was so fundamental and has had such long lasting an impact, I hope that I have but a smidge of a similar opportunity to influence the lives of the kids in our school.

High School: A Lifetime Impact... Mr. French

I've been taken by surprise by my recent feelings about our school ministry. Without a doubt I've become much more passionate about that aspect of our ministry over the past few years and it's led me to analyze exactly why.

With my increased influence in the school program, I've taken a higher interest in what the ministry is accomplishing. And my standard of measure of the outcomes I desire are directly related to the outcomes my high school education has helped me achieve. When I look at who I am today, the abilities and strengths that have been developed in me, I trace a lot of them back to my high school education and a few specific teachers that took the time to invest in my life.

David French, Art Teacher - I don't consider myself an artist in the most compromised definition of that word, but that one semester or year of art my Senior year has had a lasting impact. For it was Mr. French who encouraged me to be creative, not to be afraid to go against the norm if that's what I felt led to do. This was most captured in a class project that year. We were to bring an empty soda can to class, crumple it up and create a pencil drawing of the crumpled can. I watched my classmates all crumple their cans that while each would be unique, they'd all be similarly crumpled. I approached Mr. French with a different idea, draw an uncrumpled can then crumple the drawing instead of the can. The end product didn't produce the effect I was going for, but from the get go, Mr. French encouraged me to pursue the concept. It was a stupid soda can, but it's stuck with me for close to two decades.

In spite of my odd intricacies, he gave me the freedom to create. When he gave the class the option of drawing a part of a human skeleton, I of course chose the pelvis and along with all the other pieces, it too hung at the main entrance to the school for all guests, staff and students to admire. So too did the green/blue faced and red-eyed Ayatollah Khomeini and a collection of red cows.

Following Mr. French's example, I love the opportunities to encourage our students to be creative and pursue their ideas.

Commencement 2006-2007

My wife and I attended the Lititz Christian School commencement of 2006-2007. We started attending the annual celebration several years ago. I enjoy seeing the students who I've passed in the hallways on a regular basis and some who I've coached on the soccer field in years past, achieve the accomplishment of completing their high school graduation.

I had heard many compliment the Lititz Christian Class of 2007, but never really realized it myself until commencement. It was clear throughout the program that this was a special class. Unified, upstanding teens who came together as a group, encouraging each other and spurring each other on toward love and good deeds. I'm proud of these students, but even more, I'm excited about how God might use them in the future.

I was excited to hear how each graduate feels God is leading them right now. At least two are feeling led to use their God-given musical talents to lead church worship. There are students pursuing social work, nursing, teaching english, dance, fire/EMT, business - a whole array. I haven't had a big role in their education, but I take the chance to shake the hands of the students I've gotten to know and congratulate them on their accomplishments. In some cases, kids that I first met as 6th grade runts who I've watched grow into young teens. Kids who as freshmen we acting well below their age in the front seat of the bus on the way to a soccer match, who, with a few years under their belts are now ready to head to college with a level of confidence. Kids for whom studying maybe didn't come naturally making this achievement worth celebrating.

I'm proud of our Class of 2007. I congratulate them and am excited to hear how God uses them as they enter the next phase of their lives.

A Church/School Relationship that is Working

Thank you to the Administering Grace faithful who've been checking in daily/weekly in spite of the recent black out. The 2007-2008 budgets have finally been completed and hopefully more regular posting will resume.

The 2007 school year is on the cusp of of completion. I came to Grace with a preconception about church-run schools. My grandparents attended a church that had a school ministry that strained both ministries. Hearing the stories of the regular tension between the church and school made me nervous about such arrangements. When I had the opportunity to join the staff at Grace, I seized it with a challenge to influence a positive church/school arrangement.

I've benefited greatly from the philosophy, values and structure that Pastor Young had already ingrained which already had our ministries primed to work in unison. In the last several years, it has been exciting to see us move to an even higher level of cooperation, in the end benefiting the people in our care. I've been energized by our school ministry in 2006-2007 and have seized opportunities to encourage, participate and support that aspect of our ministry.

From eating lunch with the faculty and staff, to being the secret reader, attending graduation and the school play, speaking to the grade 12 accounting class and the grade 6 computer class. I've gained an even deeper appreciation for the ministry of our teachers and the daily opportunity they have to influence the lives of the kids in the classes. I've gained a greater understanding of the huge role I have in providing the faculty and staff with the best benefits and compensation possible.

Through the school, and my responsibilities in supporting the faculty and staff, I have the privilege of impacting the lives of the students as well.