TimHowey.Com

Looking Back on Easter@Grace

Last week (post-Easter) was so packed (short week + 2 funerals + 2 other crises) that I couldn't post a update on what happened at Grace Easter weekend. But here are a few comments. Enjoy:

• "The most emotional, moving, inspirational...I have ever been to. Thank you."
• "Dear Grace Church...tonight was AWESOME! I believed when I walked in, but now my belief is even stronger! Can't wait for those people who dont know Christ to...walk away with something special..."
• "I have to explain this picture. During the opening of the service the band introduced a song called Manifesto, during the song a painter came out and painted a somewhat random painting on 6 stacked cardboard boxes. None of us understood the meaning. Then later in the service, after the pastor walked us through the pain and suffering of the crucifiction, they played a song and the painter came back out, he deconstructed the stacked boxes, stabbed wooden paint stirrers into 2 of the boxes, then restacked the boxes in a different order...creating the picture you see above.., after he restacked them he added the whites of the eyes, splattered red paint, then squirted the line of red paint across the top of the 2 top boxes, it was extremely moving to see the end result...the picture of Christ after he was crucified. Again, an amazing service this morning - the team at Grace church...AMAZING...best Easter service yet."
• "My 7-year-old doesn't receive a weekly allowance or much money of her own yet, so we haven't expected much of her in the way of tithes and offerings yet. She apparently paid attention to the recent lessons on finance, though, because this morning as she was collecting her Easter candy she asked me if she could give back some of the candy in the offering! I told her I thought that would be a great idea -- as long as the candy stayed wrapped :)"
• "I wanted to send a note to say how blessed I am to work & be part of such an UH-MAZING group of people. You all humble me. Seriously!!  Thank you for what you do!  Thank you for stepping up to print, fold, cut worship guides on the fly. Thanks for answering the call in a mighty way & preaching, teaching, serving, loving!!!  You all ROCK!!!"
• "A lot of times people over promise but not the case at Grace: Easter Service was AMAZING!!"

God is good.

Why Teens Leave the Faith...

Check out this article on Why Teens Leave the Faith and What We Can Do About It. Studies like this one were the motivating factor for us to move our Middle School ministries to Sunday night and challenge families to worship and serve together on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings.

"Yes, this decision makes life more inconvenient for me as a dad. It's more inconvenient for us as a family. But parenting is never about our own convenience. It's about raising children with a sustainable faith." (Me, 2012)

A 2-Min Crash Course on Easter

Take 2 minutes right now to check out a video I shot on Easter weekend at Grace.  It is going to be Uh-May-Zing!  We've got an artist who'll be producing a work of art LIVE during each service. And it is CENTRAL to leading up to the moment when I invite your friends/family/classmates/coworkers to receive Jesus Christ themselves.

Register NOW for your free tickets to 1 or more of our 7 Easter services! Also register HERE to volunteer at 1 or more of our Easter services. (It's an all-hands-on-deck weekend to see thousands of lives changed!)

Easter 2012 Invitation from Grace Church on Vimeo.

  

 

 

To the Anonymous Person...

Dear "Anonymous-Person-Who-Wants-Me-To-Do-Matthew-18-For-You,"

I got your note. I hear your heart. I can relate to your apprehension.

Unfortunately, I cannot do Matthew 18:15-18 for you. To do so would be an act of two unhealthy things:

• Depriving you of the chance to grow
• Disobeying God myself

If you need help preparing for such a meeting, that's what the church is for -- to equip you! If it goes south during the process, that's what the church is for -- to support you!

With Love,

Tim

Register 1 of 7 Easter Services!

We are adding 2 services for Easter weekend, our biggest weekend of the year -- 1 on Saturday afternoon, and 1 on Sunday morning (a all-family sunrise service).

• Sat 4/7 -- 3:30p, 5p, 6:30p
• Sun 4/8 -- 6:30a (Sunrise), 8a, 9:30a, 11a

Invite your friends and family! There are people in your world who definitely WOULD come if you'd just invite them. It's Easter!

Also register for you FREE EASTER TICKETS here to make sure we have spots for everyone! (Your guests don't need tickets. We're saving spots for them!)

It's going to be an incredible service. We will see you then!

OWNit365 Behind the Scenes

We are in the middle of producing 66 short intro videos for the 66 books of the Bible on our OWNit365.com website (and YouTube!).  Check out this Behind-the-Scenes look at how we produce them!

 

New Kids in the Kingdom

We had TWO families have children accepted Christ in/after our services last weekend!  Check out this story:

• "_____ is my 7 year old son and he sat with me in 'adult church' today. On the way out I asked if his name was in the book of life and he said he didn't know. I asked if he would like to know how to get his name there and I told him about the prayer that Pastor Tim said at the end of the service. While driving home, he said he prayed that prayer with Pastor Tim. _____ asked if it was the same to say the prayer without talking as it was to say it out loud. I explained that it was because...and _____ finished my thought...God heard him. I said that Jesus likes when we say it out loud so that everyone knows... I admit to still just scratching the surface of understanding the application of faith to my own life but I will never forget this day and I would love to support my son in any way possible..."

And check out this tweet!!

• @bgann6 @TimHowey @ownit365 @graceks [My son] got saved 2night, message at church really had impact on him #jesuscancomenow

Wow. That's what it's all about...

How to Sleep in for Jesus!!

Here's an AWESOME story of a family who's decided to worship & serve on Saturday & "sleep in for Jesus" on Sunday to free up some real estate for visitors.  Way to go!!!

Pastor Tim,

Before the birth of our daughter we were regular attenders during the 8am Sunday service as we enjoyed the "small" church atmosphere offered by that service.  Now that our daughter has arrived we have found it extremely difficult for us to attend the 8am service thus forcing us to attend the 11am Sunday service.  It is overwhelming for us to see how full the 11am service is.  We had trouble finding a parking space, the children's ministry was busting at the seams, and the worship service was packed.  Clearly this is not the "Grace" experience we are used to.

Answering the call you put out during service last weekend, our family is pledging to serve and attend church on Saturday then "sleep in for the Lord" on Sunday.  We expect the Saturday service will give us the "small" church atmosphere we enjoy and grant our young family the flexibility our schedule needs.

God is doing great things through Grace and we are excited to know that our family can make a difference by making room for new believers to attend Sunday.

Sincerely,

John & Kim

CALLING ALL MEN!!!

CALLING ALL MEN to join me at the Grace Church Men's Breakfast on Saturday February 11, from 7-9 a.m.! We'll be hearing from Craig McElvain on "What is God's BEST for my life??"

Takes one minute & register right here.

Watch a special invite from Mike Anderson, our Men's Ministry Director. Hope to see you then!

 

Men's Breakfast Invite from Grace Church on Vimeo.

OWNit365 - How One Church Is Using It

Here's an email from a pastor about what OWNit365.com is doing for an entire church!!!

Hey Pastor Tim,

Just wanted to say thanks for creating OWNit365 and for sharing it with everyone else!  We are launching a new church in Louisburg, KS called The Porch Community Church.  We will start OWNit365 NT+ about a month after we launch in Feb!

Some of my favorite things are:

• You only read one chapter a day (not too overwhelming)
• You get one day off every week to rest or catch up
• You still get some Old Testament every week
• The family discussion is an added bonus. 

Our vision is "seeing lives change."  The Word of God is what changes lives as we read and apply it to our lives together! Reading the Bible is SO important because it is one of the main forms God uses to talk to us and transform us! Deut 6:7 tells to talk about the scriptures all the time!  This is a lot easier when we are all reading the same thing. Plus, we can help keep each other on track!

Our goal is to saturate ourselves in the Word of God, let it change our lives and do it together!

Pastor Curtis Riley
The Porch Community Church