First Sunday

Yesterday was a full day wasn’t it?  So busy!  First home worship services for 18 groups, the smallest being about 10 and the largest about 50.  Wow!

Because our home services didn’t start until 1pm, Helen and I met with a World Vision representative in the morning.  This man is the director of the 30 Hour Famine project and last year was amazed at the amount of money our church, a first time participant, was able to raise.  The other church that raised more than us has been a participant now for 10+ years, which is why they were so amazed that a first timer was able to raise so much money! So this rep came because he was curious about our story.  He kept asking how did you do it?  What did you guys do?  What’s your story?

Well, as Helen and I showed him around North Loop that morning, he said was able to get a pretty good picture of how we were able to mobilize so many people in such a short time and raise so many funds for them.  He said when he first stepped into North Loop, even though I was waving at him from across the room, he thought he had come to the wrong building because it was swarming with children.  ImpACT and Joyland were holding their service in the multi-purpose room, so we led him through a crowded foyer, all the while being greeted by name by children and adults alike.  We then showed him through the tiki-themed large conference room where the youth were holding their first worship service together, in a darkened room with a full band setup and mirrors in the front (elements for the message).  Afterwards, he saw our missions wall and the compassion wall as we left the busy building.

During breakfast, he noted how we seem to be a very close community and yet not inwardly focused as it was evident that we are externally focused through all the various outreach efforts we make through ImpACT, compassion ministries (including elderly care and the compassion international sponsorships) and missions.  In the end, he commented on how ironic it was, that he, as the director, came to meet us so that he could find out how he could help us in our 30 Hour Famine efforts, but that he came away very touched and moved by what he experienced and what he was able to see in the short 1.5 hours we were together.

I am excited that Gracepoint Berkeley is meeting in home worship services for the summer, to be able to spend that time getting into each other’s lives and going through our ups and downs together and strive to be like the early church together.  Here’s a picture from ours.  Let us know how your experience was this past Sunday!