Good News Club

 

Good News Club

 

I received a letter this week from B.J. Bateman, district director for the Good News Clubs. She reported to me that our club had an enrollment of 187 children for the 2008-2009 school year. Most exciting to me was that 14 children received Jesus as their Savior this year in club. Since the beginning of our church beginning a Good News Club five years ago at Mountain View elementary, 87 children have made their decision to become a child of God! I am so grateful for the leadership Liz Niles has given to the club these last couple of years and for those who have given their time to serve every Thursday. You have made an eternal difference!

 

 

Blessings!

 

Pastor Tommy

 

Procrastination

I think all of us struggle from time to time with procrastination. There are some things in life we just want to put off and not deal with because they may be hard, boring, not any fun, etc. That includes areas in our work life and areas of our personal life. Psychologist Henry Cloud says in battling procrastination one should "play the movie." Fast forward a week, a month, a year- imagine if what you need to do isn't done. Consider the consequences. That should help motivate you. Also, he recommends invoking some discipline and accountability in your life. For example, meet with someone and lay out some items you want to have completed by next week. When next week arrives if any of those items are not done you "pay up" financially to the other person an amount that can cause a financial sting. It's a grown up way of being sent to time out. Some good thoughts that I will seek to implement in my life someday when I get around to it- ha!

We're Fulfilling Our Purpose!

We're Fulfilling Our Purpose!

 

 

This past weekend I believe our church hit the "sweet spot" of what it means to be a missional church. Last Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm, we held a free single mom's oil change at O'Neal Village. We were able to change their oil, sit and listen to them as they waited on their cars, take down prayer requests and pray with them, and share the gospel with them. Their kids had a blast jumping to their heart's content in the inflatable. One lady named "Cissy" showed up with three kids. She told us she was homeless. Someone from our church felt compelled to give me $20 to pass on to her as her car was finished. As I gave it to her, tears began streaming down her face and she said, "Thank you!" That is being the church of Jesus Christ!

 

We received a card in the mail this week at the church office from Teresa Cheeks, one of the single moms from the oil change. She stated, "Church family, people like you keep hope and faith alive knowing there's still (the) love of God (from) people still loving and helping others. You really touch my heart. Thank you so much." 

 

On Sunday, I challenged people who were at our worship service to take a Panera sourdough bread bowl with them and go "bless" someone with it. Bill & Debbie Howell took two. With her permission, I'd like to share her story that she emailed to me Monday. It fired me up!

 

I officially met my neighbors across the street and one house down today - Patrick and Shirley H. They're a recently retired couple. Bill had met them quite a while ago and I have said "hi" to Pat a few times when I've been walking and he was out in his yard. Shortly after we moved in, Shirley issued a standing invitation to Bill to walk through their yard and use their dock for lake access anytime we want. Nice people.
 
A few weeks ago, our next door neighbor had told me that Shirley had recently been diagnosed with renal cancer and is in an experimental cancer program. Since that time, they've been on my heart and mind a lot. When I walk past their house on my evening walks, I pray for Shirley. I wanted to do something nice to show her I cared, but I'd never met her, hadn't seen them out for several weeks and didn't want to go knocking on their door to disturb them... yeah, I'm a coward!
 
Today at church, Pastor Tommy had a bunch of Panera Bread bowls wrapped with cellophane on a table by the door. He urged us to take one and give it to someone with no strings attached - just to show them God's love in a practical way - in keeping with our mission to be a bridge of God's love to all people.
 
Bill and I left at different times and each of us picked up a loaf of bread, not realizing the other had picked one up. I had in my mind to give it to one of Zach's friend's parents who spend every weekend sailing. I asked Bill to drive by their house on the way home so I could drop it on their doorstep and they would be surprised when they came home later today. As we neared their house, we could see that both cars were there. They had not gone to the lake this weekend and I got to personally deliver the bread - they were appreciative and pleased that we thought of them.
 
Now who to give the second loaf to? Bill had taken his with no person in mind and we had already delivered to the persons I thought of. As we neared our house, Bill saw Pat and Shirley out doing some yard work. Bingo... we had our person(s)! As soon as the car was parked in our driveway, we made a beeline.
 
Not only did I meet Pat and Shirley, but was able to tell her I had been praying for her as I walked in the evening. She hugged me.  What a blessing we got today... Shirley's attitude is the best I've ever seen for a person with terminal cancer. The cancer has metastasized to several places in her body, yet she is smiling and feeling good. Her experimental chemotherapy is not making her sick, yet has shrunk several of the tumors by 50%. She knows that even if the chemo kills all the cancer cells, this form is so aggressive that it will mutate itself into another form and pop up somewhere else. Yet I could see the hope in her eyes - she was not at all giving up. Wow - what a lesson for Bill and I when something in life gets us down. I believe God arranged for both Shirley and Pat to be outside today at just the time we came home. Perhaps if we had not stopped at our friend's house first and spent some time chatting with them, we would have missed Pat and Shirley. If Bill and I had left the church together, I know we would have taken only one loaf of bread and given it away before we got home.  Because of God's perfect timing and awesome planning, I made a new and wonderful friend today.

 

Thank you Debbie, for sharing your story. And thanks to all of you who gave of your time to serve single moms last Saturday. I look forward to hearing many more stories of God's people on mission with Him this summer. Oh, by the way, I'll have more bread waiting on you Sunday!

 

See you then!

 

Pastor Tommy

 

The Scorecard

 

The Scorecard

 

I've been reading a book lately by Reggie McNeal called "Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church." For many years we've measured success of a church by "nickels" and "noses." We measure how much in tithes and offerings the church receives and how many people attend. All of those things are important. But, one thing that never seems to get measured is how many people are we sending out each week? I've had lots of people ask me over the last five years how many people we were "running." Not one person has ever asked me how many of our people are involved in some kind of externally focused church activity. I believe that's a very important number to measure. It needs to be on the scorecard. 

 

I'd like to share with you this week how Ridgeview Church is sending people out. Pictured above are a few of the thirty sourdough bread bowls from Panera Bread Company. We are getting those out to new movers, new homeowners, people who've visited Ridgeview, kids from Good News Club, teenagers from Release time, etc. We are blessing our community! That's exciting to me!

 

Not only that, this Saturday we will be out at O'Neal Village conducting a free Single Mom's Oil Change. Thanks to everyone who took a "Single Mom's Free Oil Change" stick sign and placed it in the community on Sunday. I received a call just a few hours after they had been placed from a single mom wanting more information. I also received another call today from a single mom. She wanted more information about the free oil change and where it would be located. She shared she had three kids and had lost her job recently. Things are very tough for her. She then asked me a question, "What's the catch?" I had a great opportunity to tell her that the people of Ridgeview Church wanted to bless her life because they wanted her to know God loves her- no strings attached! She will be there Saturday!

 

I am proud of the people at Ridgeview Church. Each week that goes by and each month we are sending people out to be a bridge of God's love to all people. Let's measure our church on how well we are doing in that area. As I said Sunday, we as a church should always be in seeker mode for those far from God. We've got to go to them. By this coming Sunday, we will have done that for the week of June 1-7. Let's put that on the scorecard!

 

Josiah Wilson

 

After church on Sunday me and my family went down to Savannah, Georgia to attend Patrick Knorr's wedding at 5 pm. Patrick was with us for four years at Ridgeview as he went to school and played football for NGU. We spent the night in Savannah and came through Charleston Monday to see Milo and Erin Wilson at MUSC. Tanya was able to go see Josiah in the PCICU. I have a cold and so I didn't go back. We gave them the rest of the love offering our church took up for them. They have been touched greatly by the love, generosity, and prayers of God's people. Please continue to pray for the Wilson family and for Josiah. I would even suggest you fast if you are physically able.

 

You can stay current  with all the latest news on Josiah and how you can pray more informatively at www.thewilsonheart.com.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor Tommy

 

 

 

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!

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

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

 

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.