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. 

Last night was one of the more difficult meetings I've had as a Pastor. There are some growth barriers we're trying to work through. Anyway, I came across this quote today from M. Scott Peck: "Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure. Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and our wisdom. It is only because of our problems that we grow mentally and spiritually. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems, just as in school we deliberately set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of confronting problems that we learn. Wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems because it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has its meaning."

Well said!

"...so they may experience His purpose for their lives."

"...so they may experience His purpose for their lives."

Many people know the first part of the purpose statement we have as a church: "Seeking to be a bridge of God's love to all people." Did you know that's not all? We desire to be a bridge of God's love to all people "...so they may experience His purpose for their lives." God's purpose first and foremost for us is that we call on the name of the Lord to save them (Romans 10:13). But God also desires that we connect with His church family, grow in our faith, serve Him in ministry, worship Him with our lives, and in turn go out on a daily basis looking for ways to be a bridge of God's love to people.

 

It's neat to see those things happening in the life of our church. This past weekend Milo Wilson and seven of our students participated in a 30 hour famine to raise money for World Vision, a hunger relief agency. They also did ministry projects like helping out at Paris Mtn State Park, yard work for a woman who has Lou Gehrigh's disease, and some tasks for an elderly woman who is unable to get out. I had the opportunity to play paintball with some of those students Sunday at Look up Lodge. The picture above is of that day. It was a great time of connection I had with our students Sunday. I am proud of them and the leadership of our student Pastor, Milo Wilson. They are learning what it means to be a bridge of God's love to all people. They are experiencing His purpose for their lives.

 

Our Growth Group semester ends this week and I know two of our groups finished with some great socials. I saw pictures of the Morris Group having a great time of fellowship Saturday night. My Group met Tuesday night for a cookout and the burgers were great. It was a wonderful semester and a time of growth for many. People were stretched as we dug into the books of Isaiah and Micah. I believe this semester has been one of our best in getting people reading, studying, meditating, and applying the Word of God. We are helping them experience His purpose for their lives which is growth!

 

Finally, I can't stress how important I believe Life Transformation Groups are. I met with my partner today and he told me a great story. He and his family were eating out for breakfast this weekend. He and his wife saw a couple at another booth and this couple looked sad. They had an idea. They called the waitress over and asked if they could pay for that couple's meal. She brought the ticket and they paid for the meal and left a Ridgeview card that says, "Just wanted to show you God's love in a practical way." That fires me up! Our people are getting what it means to be a bridge of the love of God. As they share His love, they are experiencing God's purpose for them and that is evangelism. You see, you can't have one without the other. We must each strive to "Know Him and make Him known." Every system is in place to do that at Ridgeview. All it takes is a little obedience.

 

See you Sunday!

Tommy

Bad News... Good News

Recently, Newsweek magazine ran an article on the decline of the number of Americans who would claim they are "Christian."  The article was by Jon Meacham. He offers some powerful data, notably a near doubling since 1990 of the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation, from 8 percent to 15 percent. Meacham also points to a 10-point drop in the share of Americans who self-identify as Christian, from 86 percent to 76 percent.
 
This is a cause for great concern. But, I am actually encouraged about the future. It's actually pretty simple to explain in our church and across America. Let me explain using Spring time and a garden illustration. Some of you are getting your gardens ready as Spring time is upon us. You have raked leaves, sticks, and stones out of your plot. You have tilled and cultivated the soil. You have added some ph balance if the soil is too acidic, etc. You have also set up irrigation systems to water it and have rejoiced with the rain we have received of late. But, you know you cannot expect rows of lush, green corn along with okra, squash, cucumbers, and tomatos if  you forget one important step. You've got to plant the seed in the ground to expect fruits and vegetables to abound!
 
It's no different when it comes to our church. Being a bridge of God's love to all people means we must plant seeds in the ground every week. We can't rely on the single mom's oil change we did last May or the awesome Fall Fest we did October 31 or the lightbulb giveaway we did in February. We must be planting seeds each week. Every week the first question I am asked by my Life Transformation Group (LTG) is, "Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and your actions?" As I write this article on Tuesday afternoon I am reflecting back to yesterday when John Mauldin, Milo Wilson, and myself went out to the North Ridge neighborhood off of highway 14 and gave away seed flower packets as a way of sharing God's love in a practical way. I can answer yes to that question.
 
Please hear me Ridgeview! We cannot expect our church to grow whether we meet in a school or own our own building if we are not planting seeds in our daily week. For me, it means every Monday I go out around lunch time and share the love of Christ in a practical way. I've shared with you over the last month the ways I've done just that (cleaning restaurant restrooms, flower packet giveaway, free soft drinks to local businesses, paying for someone's meal, etc). Believe it or not, it's actually very fun!
 
Why aren't more people being a bridge of God's love? I believe we haven't seen how fun it really can be. Let me encourage you this week to look for one way you can be a bridge of God's love to at least one person. You can pay for their meal in line at the drive through, buy them a cup of coffee at Starbucks, mow their lawn, give them a fern to beautify their porch. The list goes on and on. When they ask why you did it you simply tell them you were wanting to be a bridge of God's love and wanted them to see that love in a practical way. It's as simple as that. And I promise when you do Scripture promises you this in Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." If we as a church and churches across America simply do some of the basics of bridge building for Christ there will be no more articles in Newsweek about the decline of Christianity. I suspect different cover stories will have to be written.
 
Blessings!

Easter Sunday at Ridgeview was a good day. A female in the church snapped this pic of me and my family that I will treasure for years. Anyway, I'd like to pass on a nice email from someone in our church I received this week. I soooo appreciate our children's ministry leaders and Erin Wilson, our children's minister. You guys are awesome!

Tommy,

I’d like to send a note of thanks and appreciation to Ridgeview Church. The Easter egg hunt on Sunday was incredibly fun (and unexpected-we didn’t know about it at all J)! It should not go without being said that Ridgeview does an amazing job when it comes to their children’s programs/events. Erin is so incredible (!!!) and I cannot even begin to imagine all of the behind the scene time it takes to do all that she does. But not only Erin, everyone involved in what goes on for the children of Ridgeview is to be commended! My boys never come away from time spent at Ridgeview Church or C4C (which by the way they LOVE C4C) that they have not been taught something new and exciting about Jesus. Not only is that a great thing, but they are also aware that a challenge has been set for them each week-and their eagerness to meet that challenge is contagious ~What a blessing in every way! I wanted to share my compliments with you mostly because I know it is often that those that work with the children don’t get to see the fruits of their labor. They are most certainly making an impact! They are setting little fires for ChristJ! I appreciate their efforts and their time; it is a blessing to my family.