Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Please welcome Cailyn Grace Brady!

Congratulations to Sean, Beverly, Cheyenne, and Camden Brady on the birth of their newest family member. She was born today at 1:11 am. She is 7 lbs, 19 3/4 inches. She is a beautiful baby girl!

Great Day Sunday!

Thanks to all who came out for our Family Fun Day. It's always a great day when we have baptisms. The food was delicious. The fellowship was sweet. The kickball was intense. And, I'm very proud of our church collecting 22 units of blood that will be credited towards Josiah Wilson in Charleston. Great job Ridgeview!

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Josiah Nathaniel Wilson!

Josiah Nathaniel Wilson!

It's 3 pm and I just spoke with Milo. Josiah's heart cath was
successful. They were able to make the hole they needed. He entered
this world around 7:50 am this morning. I know the family is grateful
for the many prayers they have received from God's people. They have
also been blessed by your generosity. Currently, the "Wilson Heart
Love Offering" has raised around $3,700! That will be a huge help to
them with living expenses in Charleston.

Let me encourage you to continue to pray for this dear family and this
precious little one. You can find more information about their journey
at www.thewilsonheart.com .


Also, next Monday, May 25, Beverley Brady will be giving birth to
their third child. Please keep Sean, Beverley, Cheyenne, and Camden
and their newest family member in your prayers.


See You Sunday!

Pastor Tommy

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Here is what's happening...

 Habitat For Humanity
 
This past weekend I had my first opportunity to be a part of Habitat For Humanity project. It was great to be a part of Saturday's time of priming the walls with about 12 other people from Ridgeview. It's great to be a part of a church that is outward focused and desires to serve the community. Thanks to all of you who have of your time Friday and Saturday to help with this. I want to especially thank John Mauldin, our Connect Minister, who recruited many of us to be a part of this. We were so glad we did!

 
Summer Sunday morning Growth Groups?

At Rigeview we believe that life change happens in groups. Those groups can be large groups or small groups of two to three. With the busy summer schedule arriving and many people making vacation plans, we'd like to propose and experiment: Sunday morning Growth Groups. They would meet before  the worship service from 9:00 - 10:15 am. The Ridgekidz children's ministry would meet concurrently during the Growth Groups time. There would be an extended session time for the preschool during the worship service. Everyone else would meet for worship in the worship center. We'd like your thoughts and opinions on this change for the summer. Would you be willing to come at 9:00 am for Growth Groups on Sunday morning? Do you like this idea or not?  What are your thoughts? I would appreciate any input you could give. My email address is tommy@ridgeviewchurch.net or you can call me at 630-9459.
 
The Wilson Heart Love Offering
We have a very generous church! That was displayed this week from our Sunday morning love offering for Milo and Erin Wilson and the girls. Money has also come in the mail and through those who have given online. They have received over $2,000 dollars to help with expenses related to Josiah's birth at MUSC in Charleston. Thank you for your generosity to them! They have been touched greatly with your love, generosity, and prayers. Please continue to keep Josiah in your prayers as he enters this world via C-section on May 20. He will be whisked away immediately after birth for a heart catherization. You can stay informed and pray more informatively by checking out www.thewilsonheart.com.
 
 
See you Sunday!

Pastor Tommy
 

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

I was quoted by the Greer Citizen!

This past Saturday our church was one of fifteen churches that volunteered at the Greer Family Fest. The Greer Chamber of Commerce had asked for the assistance of churches to help with the crafts portion of the festival. It was known as "Creation Station," and it was a sight to behold. Hundreds of kids came through the area between 11 am to 3 pm. Several things struck me as I looked around that day at all that was going on. First, it was neat to work alongside fourteen other sister churches in the Greer area for a common cause. We were not in competition with one another to see who could have the best craft station or how many kids we could get to come to our booth. All of us were there to give of our time and talents to share the love of Christ with kids through crafts. The second thing that stuck out to me was the way churches and the city of Greer worked together. The Greer Chamber of Commerce had a real need: volunteers to run the craft booths. They asked for churches to help and help is what they received. Major bridges were built between city officials and churches. That's a great thing! One of the quotes in the Greer Citizen stated, "This festival is much better organized this year. The churches made a big difference..." I was also interviewed that day by the editor of the Greer Citizen. My quote made the paper. I said, "This is a great opportunity for a lot of churches working together." Okay, not a life-changing statement but it is true. Opportunities to serve our community along with sister churches in the name of Christ is a taste of what heaven will be like. I received an email today from another new church in the Greer area asking that we join them in August for a back to school book bag giveaway for kids. What an opportunity to partner with another church to do great things for the Kingdom!
 
At Ridgeview we care for our community. We love our community in the name of Christ. There are many other churches in our area that are doing that as well. I believe by caring and loving our community alongside our sister churches doors will open for all of us to share hope to our community. That hope we share is that God loves them and they can have new life in Christ. No one church in our area can reach everyone. We're all in this together. We're on the same team. So, pray for other churches in our community. Ask God to bless them so they in turn can be a blessing to the community.