Easter Big Day: Ridgeview Goal 215!

 

Easter Big Day: Ridgeview Goal 215!

 

This past Sunday in our morning worship we had Tom Cole & Kathy Green share their stories with us. Easter a year ago they were not really connected to a church and were not experiencing His purpose for their lives. But what a difference a year makes! Tom and his family began attending our church last December and Tom gave his life to Christ. They in turn invited the Green family for our Big Day this past February and since attending Ridgeview Kathy has rededicated her life to the Lord. Tom is in a Life Transformation Group each Friday meeting with two other guys. They are challenged to read one chapter of Scripture a day as well as to keep one another accountable spiritually. Kathy has been attending the Brown Growth Group on Sunday evenings and it was recently that God's Spirit powerfully spoke to her in that group. She rededicated herself to Christ that Sunday evening.

 

I believe there are many more people in our community whose lives and the lives of their families can be changed forever by walking through the doors of Ridgeview Church on Sunday morning. Never underestimate the power of one hour on Sunday morning! Never underestimate what God can do with people when they come to church, get connected with the Ridgeview family, and Christ changes their lives. That's why we're pushing for a Big Day goal of 215 this Easter Sunday!

 

Let me ask you to do three things this week leading up to Sunday:

 

1) Pray

 

Pray and ask God to continue to move in the life of our church. He is working! Pray that God would continue His work by us finding favor in those we invite to church this Sunday and they would come. Pray that God's Spirit would speak to people as they enter the parking lot, are greeted in the foyer, hear the gospel through our worship music, and as I share the good news of Jesus Christ and share the truth of His Word. Pray hearts would be open to Jesus this Sunday.

 

2) Fast on Good Friday

 

I believe since we embarked upon our church wide 21 day fast earlier this year God has poured out His Spirit on our church. We are seeing life change! Jesus assumes we will pray and fast when He said "When you fast..." We must pray and couple our prayers with fasting. I believe it releases spiritual power.

 

3) Invite

 

We can pray and fast all day but if we never invite anyone to church, it does no good. Truth be told, it is easier to just pray and even to fast and never walk across the street and invite a neighbor to church. Studies show many of our neighbors are just waiting for us to ask and that one out of four will come if they are simply invited. You can use use the invite card from Sunday if you'd like and put something in their hands. However you do it, just do it. I promise if you make the big ask I will present the gospel as clearly as I possibly can. I believe we are going to see many people step across the line of faith Sunday and follow Jesus. I can't wait!

 

See you Sunday!

 

 

Great Palm Sunday weekend! It was an honor to parnter with our friends from Northwood Baptist in Greer for a community egg grab at Lake Cunningham Park Saturday. There were over 1600 people there- and that's not just preacher numbers. That was the number registered and there were a number of people who didn't register. Incredible day and a great way to be a bridge of God's love to our community!
Sunday at Ridgeview was a powerful day! It was inspiring to hear the stories of Tom Cole and Kathie Greene. Both their lives and the lives of their family have been changed since coming to Ridgeview. God is working in their lives and I love to hear stories of life change!
Easter is this Sunday. It's the biggest day of the year for Christians. I'll be inviting tons of people to church because I believe their lives can be changed by the power of the gospel. Whether you attend Ridgeview or somewhere else, if you care about people you'll invite them to church Sunday. Their lives may never be the the same!

Community Easter Egg Hunt This Saturday!

Community Easter Egg Hunt This Saturday!

 

Thanks to all of you who came over to Rocks' restaurant Sunday after church and helped us stuff eggs. The food was great, the fellowship was sweet, and we got a lot accomplished. We are excited about partnering with Northwood Baptist Church this Saturday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at Lake Cunningham Park for this great outreach. We have a number of people signed up to volunteer. If you would like to get in on this opportunity Saturday to serve, let me know and I will get you in touch with our coordinators. It's a great opportunity to invite your neighbors to come with you as well.

 

Big Day #2 of the year: Easter! Ridgeview Church goal is 215.

 

Please begin praying now for those you would like to invite to our Easter service on Sunday, April 4. Our church goal is 215 people for that Sunday. It has been wonderful to see new people who have come to Ridgeview from our first Big Day of the year (February 7) and see them get connected into the life of the church. Did you know we had 154 people this past Sunday at Ridgeview? That means we would only need 61 more people to reach our goal of 215. Just think about this: iif every person in our church brought with them just one person on Easter Sunday we would have around 300 people! I will be sharing more this Sunday with you on some invite tools and ways you can reach out to those you love and care about this Easter. After all, Easter is the BIGGEST DAY of the year for Christians. Jesus gave His life on the Cross for us and in Him we can have forgiveness of sins. That's the greatest news in the world. I can't wait to celebrate it with you and those I have invited for Easter Sunday!

 

The Lord's Supper on Palm Sunday like we've never done it before

 

I look forward to sharing with you this Sunday through some visual representations on stage the triumphal entry of Christ. There were massive amounts of people there in Jerusalem. Estimates are around 2.5 million. Surely, there were some things left behind in the streets after the parade was over. I invite you this Sunday to explore the people that were there and the things they left behind that spectacular day. At the the end of the message, we will partake of the Lord's Supper in a way that will challenge us all to leave some things behind and follow Christ.

 

God is doing great things at Ridgeview Church! It is a joy to be on this journey with you!

 

 

 

Pastor Tommy

 

20 Random Things I Wanted To Share With You...

1. Great day Sunday! Lots of energy and just thought you'd find it interesting that Sunday a year ago we had 112 people; this past Sunday we had 147 (on Daylight Savings Day).

 

2. Milo Wilson is finishing up our message series on Margin and will address "Scheduling Margin." I am meeting with the worship team Wednesday night and will assist Jenny Dunster and the team in worship this Sunday. I am very nervous!

 

3. Please bring bags of candy (Starburst, hard candy, no chocolate candy) to church Sunday that will fit in plastic eggs. Then, join us after church for lunch at Rock's Country Store and help us stuff those eggs with the candy.

 

4. Please begin praying for our second Big Day of the year: Easter Sunday (April 4). Our church goal is 215 people. It's been exciting to see new people come into Ridgeview, get plugged into the life of the church, and grow in their faith. That's why we're setting attendance goals!

 

5. Good News Club at Mountain View Elementary will have the last club this Thursday for the school year. We've had a great year and Liz Niles has done an excellent job! Liz will be stepping down after this year from leading the club. If you are interested in leading, please let me know.

 

6. We will be hosting the North Greenville University Commuter luncheon this Thursday. If you would like to assist, let me know.

 

7. We had a family visit our church Sunday because of the smoke detector battery giveaway we conducted Saturday a week ago. Thank you Josh Stovall for helping us organize this and everyone who went out and made visits.

 

8. Palm Sunday is March 28. We will have communion. This is one of my favorite times of the year!

 

9. We are closing on a date in May for an outdoor baptism. Someone in our church has graciously agreed to provide barbecue. I can't wait!

 

10. We will have a meeting right after church to share more information about the Staten Island mission trip. Dean Lewis is our coordinator. It is going to be another great trip!

 

11. We have been asked to host the kids area for Greer Idol/Tunes on Trade this summer on Trade Street in downtown Greer. A great opportunity for our church!

 

12. We are scheduling a Single Mom's Oil Change for May. I am very proud of this bridge project our church does for single moms!

 

13. We will be partnering with Taylors First Baptist and Habitat for Humanity the first weekend in June to build a Habitat house. We will be painting the rooms.

 

14. Our student ministry is seeing record numbers of kids on Sunday nights. If your middle or high school student isn't participating, get them there!

 

15. Our Ridgekidz "Champions For Christ" kids will be going to the Greer hospital next Wednesday, May 24th, to take 100 bags of cookies to the nurses and doctors who care for others. It's a great teaching opportunity for our children! 

 

16. Ed Niles has returned from his mission trip to Honduras. Ask him how it went!

 

17. Six guys took it upon themselves to wash the church van and trailer last Saturday! Thank you Paul Eill, Brian Bowen, Kevin Babb, Scott Jefferson, Roy Reece, and John Eill.

 

18. We are making disciples at Ridgeview! Growth Groups are clicking and more and more people are getting involved in a Life Transformation Group.

 

19. We are finishing up our direct mailer today for Easter Sunday. It will land in around 15,000 - 18,000 homes. The series title is "It's all about Jesus!" Gary Hogeboom puts this mailer together for us with his company, Val-Pak.

 

20. How's the margin in your life going this week in regards to finances, time with God, time with family, taking care of your health, work boundaries, and temptation?

 

That's it for my ADD blog today! See you Sunday!

 

Moral Margin This Sunday

 "I have been unfaithful to my wife." Those were the words our South Carolina Governor eventually got around to in his press conference last year. It made national and international headlines. How does that happen, especially to a man who seemed to have everything in order and was even being considered a US Presidential contender? As I've reviewed his press conference, I noticed Governor Sanford made a comment that I believe many people missed. I'm going to show it this Sunday. It has all to do with margin. I've received some great feedback on this new series. Remember, margin is the difference between your load and your limit. What steps have you made this week to bring some margin to your life? I look forward to sharing with you this Sunday how we can establish moral margin in our lives, especially as it relates to sexual purity.

 

Pastor Tommy

 

 

 

 

 

Daylight Savings Time This Sunday- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Will Be Waiting On You!

 

Mark your calendars for this Sunday as daylight savings time swings into action. Remember, "Spring forward, Fall back" - therefore, we lose an hour of sleep. To reward you for being at church this Sunday having lost an hour of sleep, we are breaking out the "hot and fresh" Krispy Kreme doughnuts. It's a small way to say thanks for worshiping with us. It 's going to be a great day!

 

See you then!

 

Pastor Tommy

 

 

 

New Series: Margin starts Sunday

I am looking forward to beginning a new message series this Sunday on margin. Dr. Richard Swenson defines margin in his book Margin as the difference between your load and your limit. I look forward to sharing with you how Jesus addressed this issue with two women named Mary and Martha from Luke 10. 

 

Smoke detector batter give-away this Saturday 

Hope to see you Saturday from 10 am - 12 pm as we meet at my home (14 Swenson Ct, Taylors) and go out in our community and pass out free 9 volt smoke detector batteries. It's a great way to share the love of Jesus in a practical way!

 

A Great Birthday Gift!

I am very grateful for the wonderful gifts you gave me for my birthday this past weekend. I use my Kindle everyday and it is one of the best gifts I've ever been given. We also are looking to enjoy some of the best Italian around using the gift card to Della Ventura's. I serve such a wonderful church!

 

The Church Has Left The Building!

Our church will be distributed throughout our community this week with Growth Groups meeting almost every night of the week and outreach projects we're doing. I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we gather in one place to celebrate Jesus for who He is and what He's done in our lives and in our community.

 

See you Sunday!

 

Pastor Tommy