As I sit here with my computer on my lap, I am nearly nodding off. Whew! I am tired.OUR FIRST SUNDAY
Today, we held our first worship service in the newly expanded Worship Center at Hannaford Street Bible Church. Today was also the first day of our 2007 Hannaford Fall Conference and Matt Heard from Woodmen Valley Chapel was our guest speaker. His message was titled "Defeating Discouragement ... as a Soldier." I feel like today was one of those amazing times when God brought everything together. Matt has been praying for our church since he last spoke here a couple of years ago. And his message reflected a lot of thought - not only about our theme, "Defeating Discouragement," but also in recognition of our first Sunday in the new room.
Matt basically shared how a new building such as ours can be a source of encouragement - but can also become a source of discouragement. As followers of Christ, we need to look at the differences between a resort and a soldiers barracks. Our building is not a resort - something that is to serve a simply a comfort for ourselves. It is a strategic tool in God's plan.
WORSHIP MUSIC
Our worship this Sunday opened of Paul Baloche's "I Will Boast" as a reminder that we do not boast of our own strengths and accomplishments, but in Christ and His power. We also sang Mike Hohnholz's "Your Glory" which has emerged as somewhat of a theme for our expansion - that His "glory will fill this place."
During our building, I have also been communicating the importance of community. Basically, we are more than a building, but a group of people, a family, the Body of Christ called to His mission and purpose. We continued the theme of community as well with a video "It Continues to Grow" and the song "The Lion & The Lamb" expressing the desire that every nation, tribe, and tongue come to know Christ.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I will simply say this. It was an awesome day! The band and singers were energetic. The sound system worked well - including the new subwoofers (although the room is too "live" acoustically - too much reverberation. The vocals seem to get lost in the low-mids - something we'll have to work out.). The lighting was great. The video went on without a hitch (using the new MediaShout software and electronic switching). In addition, we had our largest Sunday attendance around 550 compared to an average of this month of 430. I'm hoping someone got some pictures today so I can post them!
