Breaking Through Barriers

Well, the big news from last Sunday is we broke the 500 barrier: we had 506!! A new Compass record! How awesome is that?

This number tells me that a lot of folks are finding our church and feeling like they fit in. Think of it – dozens of folks each Sunday who haven’t been connected to a church in who knows how long, if ever – and they are feeling for the first time that they belong.

So, hats off to so many of you who have been so faithful! As I’ve said before, your effort is paying off. Remember: the whole goal of this thing is that more people know Jesus by the time we leave this Earth than did when we got here. That’s why we’re here. And you, by your passionate involvement here, are helping this place become attractive to those who need to hear the Gospel.

We had a great service as well – there was a ton of energy in both of our services, the worship team did fabulous, and we had a huge number of kids in our Children’s Ministry! I was really excited to have my wife, Judi, get up with me and talk about what the wife’s role of submitting to her husband looks like in real life. She was pretty nervous getting up in front of everyone, but I thought she was articulate and insightful. And thanks to so many of you who encouraged her afterwards. I hope you got the picture that we’re both just real people trying to honor God in our marriage just like anyone else!

In addition to the growth we’re seeing, it also seems like every week people are checking “I want to know more about God” or “I want to receive Jesus as my Savior” on the back of their cards. We’re making contact with these folks, and doing everything we can to get them connected and help them in their new-found walk with Christ.

My Home Group has been an example of this. Last night we had 14 adults and 12 kids over at my house. The adults sat around a fire pit in the driveway while the kids hung out in the house. (Yeah it was chaotic, but it was fun!). And in our group we’ve got several folks who are just beginning their journey to Jesus. They’ve been intrigued by the subject of marriage and relationships, and they’ve been drawn in by the idea of talking with real people about real issues and feeling a sense of community with the others.

Anyway, this Sunday is the final chance to bring someone to our Fireproof Your Marriage series. But I’m already totally pumped about our next message series starting November 2nd, at 9:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.

So what’s the next series on? Well, we’ll be taking a tour of the book of 1 Peter. And the title, while very simple, is designed to strike right at the heart of what we’re all dealing with right now:

“Don’t be scared.” – God