I hope you’re all doing well, especially now that spring appears to be springing.

This past week I thoroughly enjoyed watching so many of you take that crucial and important step of baptism. Hearing some of your stories over the weekend reminds me of why we started this church to begin with some 5 years ago. These are some of my favorite Sunday gatherings – when we set up the tank and celebrate people’s baptisms together. Whether young or old, guy or gal, it’s really exciting to hear people articulate their belief in Jesus Christ as they allow God to shape their journey and their story from here on out. That’s good stuff.

I hope you didn’t miss it.

This coming Sunday we’re kicking off a brand new series called GINORMOUS. The beginning of a series is a great time to invite a friend who is not a part of any church to come along with you to a CCC service. (Service times are 8:30am, 10am, and 11:30am.)

I hope you have a fantastic rest of the week! See you soon.

David Robinson

We had a fantastic 5 year celebration this past weekend at Community Christian Church. I hope you were able to be a part of it all.

Friday night was sidesplitting at our annual Comedy Night where Darren Streblow and Taylor Mason helped us laugh our socks off. The desserts at the end of the night were a great way to top off the evening.

And then on Sunday we had more than 900 people come out to celebrate CCC turning 5. It was terrific! Hopefully you were able to pick up a piece of birthday cake and a goodie bag full of treats. (You know you love the white wristband and stickers, not to mention the candy!)

God has certainly been faithful over the last 5 years. And it’s been quite a ride thus far. I look forward to what’s in store for us as we journey along together. Our future is bright and our hope is firmly placed in the one who does not disappoint.

I’m glad you’re a part of what’s happening at CCC.

We have another exciting Sunday coming up here at CCC with our Baptism Celebration during all three services and Starting Point from 9:45 – 11:30. (Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead an hour as we spring forward.)

I look forward to reading your stories (remember, 100 words or less) and hope we all can become better at expressing how Jesus has changed our lives. Have a great rest of the week and I’ll see you again on Sunday as we conclude our series – “Just Walk Across The Room.”

David Robinson

I grew up marginally Catholic, which means we went to church once a month or so, mostly when my brother and I were misbehaving.  I certainly didn’t take it very seriously. When the time for a choice about confirmation came, our entire family took a step back from church altogether. For several years we didn’t go anywhere on Sunday morning.

My uncle began talking to my father about how important it was to have his family in church and for him to be the leader of our family, including in the realm of spirituality. Because of those conversations our family began attending church with my uncle. Yet, I still remained aloof. I didn’t want to be involved and I certainly didn’t want to become like one of those Christians you see on TV, with their bland clothing, plastic smiles, and no personality.

One day out of the blue, my brother announced he was going to a student event at the church on Sunday evening, and he asked if I’d like to join him. I didn’t, but when you’re fourteen and you have a chance to get out of the house you take it.  I’m glad I went, because what I discovered there changed my impression of Christianity.  These weren’t perfect people in sweater-vests thumbing through Bibles.  These were regular high school kids just like me.  And if I was that wrong about what Christians were like, was it possible I was wrong about what God was like too?

Through that student group I was able to go on several service trips to Mexico, make lasting friendships that endure today, and to encounter Jesus in real and meaningful ways. All because my brother offered a simple invitation and I accepted.

Nic Cox

After growing up in church I went through a “freak-out” phase where I got as far away from church and God as possible. For a few years I was looking at various offbeat ways of approaching faith. I believed in there being a “spiritual realm”, but basically I was into the entire religion/faith/new age section at Barnes & Noble. That search led me back to exploring the Bible, and it was right around that time a friend invited me to help his band out and play some guitar for a church event.

It wasn’t anything more complex than a friend asking me for a favor, but that invite helped me stick around and give God a fair shot. It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t a ploy; it was just a genuine invitation from someone I cared about. It was very simple and honest. Now that I think about it, his approach to inviting and getting me involved is a big part of what helped me start out on a new path.

Ryan Dupre

In high school, my best friend Candace invited me to go with her to a young adult bible study. She invited me more than once before I took her up on it. At the time, I was 18 and my family was not a part of any church. This was my first real exposure to studying the Bible and hearing about Jesus. I was like a sponge, soaking it all up. This sparked some huge changes in my life. I started attending a church, accepted Jesus into my life, and was baptized. I was set on a wonderful path. Now a relationship with Jesus is a fixture in my life. Even to the point where now I work for the church!, As an 18 year old I would have never of guessed in a million years! My friend’s invite was simple, but completely changed the course of my life. I can’t imagine my life any other way. I am so grateful to my best friend (who still is by the way) and for what she shared. It has made all the difference.

Melissa Carpenter

The Christmas Project

Christmas is right around the corner, and we have a great opportunity to be a blessing to some families in our community who aren’t able to purchase gifts for their children this year. The Christmas Project is a simple way to bless a family and help make a child’s Christmas special. Here are a few comments from CCC families who participated last year:

Our family enjoyed buying presents for a family this Christmas and plan to do it next year, too. I think it is a great reminder of how much we take things for granted. Our two boys, who are quite young, also realized how important it is to follow in God’s path and be gracious to those who are in need. We as parents want to instill this from the beginning.

It was great for my kids and my husband and me to shop together and find the right things for this family. I wish we could have done more than we did! It really was special for us, as we committed to this as a family. It’s funny, when we first got the name of the family, I began praying for them. The other night at dinner, my daughter reminded me to pray for Victoria and her family. It was cool that she was still thinking about them.

I must tell you the whole experience is one Ill never forget. The joy I had this year was overwhelming and not something I was fully prepared for. I hope the family had an amazing Christmas.  I may have over done it a little with shopping, but I was having so much fun!

If you would like to participate in The Christmas Project, stop by the information table on Sunday and pick up a child’s card. Purchase a few items from their wish list, and bring the gifts back to CCC on Sunday, December 19. We’ll make sure the packages are delivered before Christmas.

Click here for further instructions regarding the Christmas Project.

We want to bless this school all throughout the year in a variety of ways. Perhaps you love working with kids and could help them with their math and reading, or maybe you enjoy working with your hands and could help the art teacher with many of the projects they do during the year. The possibilities are endless. Consider contacting Bonnie Wesselhoff at bwesselhoff@bcps.org to get things rolling as a volunteer at the school.

I had prepared my children for a Christmas without presents. I reiterated daily how at this point in our lives, it would be negligent of me to spend money we didn’t have on Christmas. When I saw the amount of gifts for my children, I was overwhelmed. I have never known how touching or powerful the kindness of strangers could be. When my kids woke up Christmas morning and saw the many presents, they were shocked – screaming at 4:00 in the morning, but strangely enough they unwrapped their presents very slowly, loving every one.

I was trying to be happy so that my mom wouldn’t cry, but I was just pretending because it was a bad time. We were all trying to smile and think that we would get presents. And then Santa came, and my mom was crying, and I don’t know why because we got lots of presents. I got nice clothes and a CD player and a game and a stocking and candy. My favorite is a Razor, but I can’t ride it inside.

At Christmas I was worried about getting things for my children. When I saw all their gifts, I was shocked and then I wished I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about it. It is really nice that you helped us. My children went crazy, and we had to go outside so they could run around and calm down. Thank you for my gifts too. I didn’t think there would be gifts for me, too.

I live in a big house with a lot of people. We didn’t know that we would have a good Christmas, but we did. Santa brought me and all of us kids a lot of stuff, and we had fun. I was mad at my mother when we came here, but now I’m not.

Christmas was really nice. I got so much help. All of us moms got together one night before Christmas, and we got to see our children’s presents. We were wrapping things together. It was a sense of family that I don’t have now. It’s going to make me cry to think of it. Thank you for your help.

It is such a joy and a privilege to be a part of this community that really strives to follow Jesus in the ways we live.

Leigh Ann Hawkey

When we pulled up at the Family Crisis Center with bags and bags and bags of presents, they were just blown away. The staff at the center told us the mothers and children weren’t expecting anything at all for Christmas and this would be a big surprise. I wish we could have seen the children’s faces on Christmas morning. I’m sure it was even a bigger blessing to the mothers as they were able to wrap and give those presents to their kids. I drove away from the center overcome with joy. Yes, I was happy to have space in my car again, but I got to experience the joy of giving. I also was so very proud of the families in our church community who try to follow Jesus and be a light to the world.

Thank you to everyone who provided Christmas presents for these families. We’ve already heard several stories of how people have been moved by this experience of either giving or receiving. If you have a story about Adopt-A-Family for Christmas, we would love to hear it. Email your story to leighann@communitycc.net