Christ Community Church's Women's Spring Study (beginning the week of May 13) is CANCELED. Those women who have registered and paid for childcare will be contacted by the church and refunded. Summer Book Club books are still available at the Women's Table in the lobby on Sunday mornings.
Hey Ground Zero friends! Thanks for coming out to our first ever Pet Night. We had an amazing time with over twenty animal visitors. It was great to learn all about your pets and their various talents/nontalents. Thanks for making the night something to bark about!
Special thanks to those of you who "flexed" last night with us as we attended First Monday Men, Last Comic Standing.
Congrats to Dan Gottwerth for winning the contest!
CrossRoads meets next on Monday, May 14 at 7pm in the Student Center to continue our series, The Best Question Ever.
Remember that Summer CrossRoads kicks-off on Monday, June 4. Volleyball from 6pm - 7pm followed by pizza and the meeting in the student center at Christ Community.
We have decided to call an audible on our Monday, May 7 CrossRoads meeting. This scheduled meeting happens to coincide with First Monday Men, also on Monday May 7. Because this is the last, First Monday Men of the year, (and it should be a great one! - click here for all details) we are inviting all college-age/young adult men to attend First Monday Men.
CrossRoads Ladies: Gretchen will still lead your time together. 7pm in the Student Center as usual. We can still all meet at Applebee's at 8:45pm.
We will continue with Andy Stanley's video series, The Best Question Ever, on Monday, May 14 - 7pm in the Student Center.
Remember that summer CrossRoads, which includes sand court volleyball from 6pm - 7pm, followed by pizza in the student center, begins on Monday, June 4.
She is Safe (SIS) The world uses and discards its most vulnerable women and girls. But God loves each one of them, and He sees their potential to change the families, communities, and nations they live in. She Is Safe (SIS) works to free and empower women and girls in high risk places around the world. They prevent, rescue, and restore them from suffering, abuse, and exploitation. Then they equip them with skills and tools as they work to build new lives of freedom, faith, and a strong future. At Christ Community Church, a small group of volunteers meets monthly on the first Sunday of the month in the conference room between services, to pray, discuss and be advocates for the causes of She is Safe (SIS). Consider joining this group of advocates or checking out their website for ways to pray and give to help their goals of helping women. Notice on the website, there is also a section called, Read to Rescue which the WOW Homeschool group is participating in this summer to help women and children in India. The reader number is RD2R0008 if you want to participate too! There is also a Run to Rescue program if that is something you want to be involved in this summer. http://sheissafe.org
Bridge of Hope of Lancaster & Chester Counties Bridge of Hope brings together professional staff and trained church-based mentoring groups to empower homeless and at-risk single mothers to attain: • Permanent housing • Financial stability through employment • Life-changing friendships • Growth and wholeness In Bridge of Hope’s latest newsletter they describe a situation of 2 children making mother’s day cards for their mom. The one child was excited, knowing his mom will put it on the fridge among the other pictures, notes and artwork. The other child was living in a shelter and crumbled up her card in discouragement saying, “I wish I had a fridge so my mommy could put up my card.” Eventually that mother and child were helped by Bridge of Hope to get into an apartment, with a fridge! The first thing she did was ask for paper and crayons to make some refrigerator art! They state in their update that 1 in 50 children in the US will find themselves in the position of living in a shelter this year. You can help change that statistic. Consider sending a gift to support Bridge of Hope, Lancaster & Chester Counties, in honor of a special woman in your life. In return they will send a Mother’s Day card to hang on her fridge! http://www.bridgeofhopelcc.org/
At Christ Community Church we currently have one mentoring group that started last summer!
The Scent of Water, by Naomi Zacharias Job 14:7-9 For there is hope for a tree…though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water will bud and put out branches like a young plant. The Scent of Water is a book written by Naomi, the daughter of Ravi Zacharias. The ministry God has called her into is one whose goal is to identify and financially equip existing organizations aiding women and children at risk, as well as to provide individual scholarships to support education, healthcare, and basic living needs. In this book she shares stories of the women she has met along the way so far and how their lives have touched her own. She shares personal stories and one realizes there is a lot to learn from each other, and we aren’t all that different, although circumstances can be. Some of the stories are hard to read, but opens one’s eyes to the bigger world. Consider taking a look at it! Also to note, the author, is part of the upcoming Women’s Ministry Spring Study titled, Real Women, Real Faith.
During our recent marriage seminar, Dr. John Trent mentioned some faith at home ideas he wanted you to have.
Click on the link below to open the pdf with these ideas.
I've also been working through Dr. Trent's book with my daughter called Bedtime Blessings Vol. 2. This book is full of devotionals you can go through with your elementary-age child. Many of the ideas require a few small supplies, so you might consider doing them before your child is actually in bed! But, similar to the ideas found at this link, this book will help you enagage with your child in generational discipleship.
SUMMER SUNDAY & CAMP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!- We need lots of fantastic leaders to make our summer ministry happen. From summer camps, to Sunday School there are many places to serve with these sweet little ones! This year we will need ALL leaders to complete specific forms for background checks
We had such a great time celebrating with families for a Family worship service! Over 200 kids and their families join us for what we called, our KidzROCK praise party. The night was filled with worship, laughter and also moments of learning as Dan Gottwerth helped us reflect on Jesus' incredible sacrifice together. Our night ended with a super fun glow-in the dark Egg Hunt and boy did these kids do a great job of finding them!
Thank you to all of you that joined us for the night and to the many volunteers who helped us hide eggs/ etc. So thankful for how the Lord developed such a great night of fun and fellowship together!
CrossRoads begins a new 6-week series Monday, April 16 - Monday, May 21 called, "The Best Question Ever". Curious what the question is? Join us for the series!
After this series, we will start "Summer CrossRoads" on Monday, June 4. Summer CR always includes sand court volleyball, pizza, music and a message. There's always plenty of time to hangout with friends.
Special thanks to the 350 of you who came to the Blessing Challenge for Marriage seminar! Dr. Trent was very encouraged to see so many of you in attendance - as well as so many of our staff members who also attended.
John helped us determine our basic temperaments. In so doing, we can serve our spouses, family members and friends from a point of strength. We can also give them the grace to thrive in the strengths God gave them. Dr. Trent also gave us practical tools for building strong marriages.
In terms of a next step following the seminar (whether you attended or not) if you are married and are interested in either a couples small group or couple-to-couple mentoring, please contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Today is the first day of spring, but it actually feels more like the beginning of summer at the moment. The warm weather and clear days have been a welcome beginning to one of the most important times of the year for myself and believers all over the world. This season is one of reflection and contemplation and also joy and celebration as we remember the wonderful tragedy of the cross and the world-changing triumph of the resurrection of Jesus.
Here at the church, I and the worship team are busy preparing for services meant to allow our community of believers to worship and respond faithfully to God's greatest gift of love.
On April 6th at 7:00pm we are having our annual Good Friday service in the multi-purpose room. This year's theme is "Stories of the Cross" and our time together will be spent hearing the stories of those who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and its implications for their lives. That evening we will also gather around the communion table together as our response to this amazing sacrifice.
Then on April 8th at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00am we'll celebrate the resurrection at our three Easter Sunday services. These services are our biggest celebrations of the year at CCC and they are the perfect time to bring a friend or loved one who doesn't normally attend church.
We hope that all of Holy Week will be a special time of worship for you and your family and that our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services can be a part of your engagement with God in this season.
Thanks for all who participated in our recent food drive in partnership with the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission.
As a church working together, we collected 198 bags filled with supplies such as pasta, canned meat, soup, powdered milk, chicken broth, oatmeal, canned fruit and vegetables, olive oil, shelf-stable parmesan cheese, rice, beans. These items will benefit the homeless in Philadelphia.
Christ Community's marriage seminar featuring Dr. John Trent is coming up on Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24. Though we will accept walk-up registrations, please register by this Sunday, March 18, if possible.
We have been working our way through the Biggest Loser Spiritual Discipline series now for seven weeks. We have covered everything from prayer to simplicity to sharing our faith. In the process we have been challenged to lose some old habit or at least curb them back to a respectable level. But why all the fuss? Do Spiritual disciplines really matter in the grand scheme of things?
Let’s consider our best example of Christian living... Jesus. Here is a guy that did everything well. He loved God well. He loved others well. He was fully obedient to God. He always followed the leading of the Spirit. He never pushed His own selfish agenda but always lived out God’s will perfectly. Not only is He the best example, He is the perfect example.
Now I know you are thinking, “How can I possibly compare to Jesus? There is no way I can even come close to living how He lived. I will never do anything perfectly, let alone even know God’s will perfectly. I am doomed to failure so why even try!”
This is what I have to say to you: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11). We have the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish anything. This means, and it really does, that we are able to be as obedient and loving as Jesus Himself if we live fully in the Spirit as Jesus did. BUT, since we are subject to this pesky thing we call “the flesh”, we will not live up to that ability.
This is where the disciplines come in! Disciplines are the tools we use to get into “spiritual shape”. They develop in us better hearing for listening to our “trainer”. They develop bigger muscles for “beating the flesh into submission”. And they condition the heart to “beat” with a love for God and others far beyond our fleshly capabilities.
It’s not hopeless, but you do have to get up and stop wallowing in self pity. Tone up people! Leaving the flabby fleshly desires behind and developing healthy habits grounded in discipline and focused on Jesus start with the first step. The only one holding you back is YOU!!
SMALL WONDERS CAMP
We had such a great time celebrating with families for a Family worship service! Over 200 kids and their families join us for what we called, our KidzROCK praise party. The night was filled with worship, laughter and also moments of learning as Dan Gottwerth helped us reflect on Jesus' incredible sacrifice together. Our night ended with a super fun glow-in the dark Egg Hunt and boy did these kids do a great job of finding them! 
We have been working our way through the Biggest Loser Spiritual Discipline series now for seven weeks. We have covered everything from prayer to simplicity to sharing our faith. In the process we have been challenged to lose some old habit or at least curb them back to a respectable level. But why all the fuss? Do Spiritual disciplines really matter in the grand scheme of things?