Bright and early on a Saturday morning, more than 500 people gathered to clean up the Clear Lake green space.  As everyone arrived, they checked in and got their fancy Church Has Left the Building shirts.

Once everyone signed in, they met up with their work groups to get their assignments.  Luckily, people came dressed to work…

…and packing the proper tools.

After a great pep talk from Ryan, we were off to our work sites, some people by foot…

…and others “charging” forward in style!

Since this area had not been used for a while, the main work to be done was clearing out overgrown brush and trees around two ponds on the land.

Of course, some of the larger trees required a little more heavy duty equipment.

There was also land that needed filled in and leveled with dirt…

…as well as some taller trees that required trimming.

Of course, none of this work was done without the proper safety equipment.

Or without regular breaks, both traditional…

…and a little more creative.

The finished product was both a pond that is now cleared out and more accessible,

(before)

(after)

and, more importantly, a community impacted for Christ.  Karl Garcia, the Clear Lake Campus Pastor, saw the impact of CHLTB on the community of Clear Lake,

“I thought the day went great. With over 500 people coming to participate in CHLTB, we made an incredible impact in the Clear Lake community. There were conversations with several Clear Lake neighbors whose houses border the area we cleaned up.  What a great picture of the church, a body of believers coming together to be the hands and feet of Christ to  a community that cannot pay them back.”

–The Go Team

In the time since we have been out, a lot has been happening with CCCC.  Groups have provided Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts for families in our area, signed up for the upcoming Ukraine trip, and are currently helping a family in San Leon with some work on their house.  Also, keep an eye out for a post recapping Church Has Left the Building coming soon!

Finally, a quick reminder, in anticipation of the upcoming Everyone campaign, don’t forget to have your small group visit a different campus and participate in a Go Op sometime in the next two months!

-The Go Team

1.  Instead of eating lunch alone, intentionally eat with other co-­workers and learn their story.

2.  Get to work early so you can spend some time praying for your co-­workers and the day ahead.

3.  Make it a daily priority to speak or write encouragement when someone does good work.

4.  Bring extra snacks when you make your lunch to give away to others.

5. Bring breakfast (donuts, burritos, cereal, etc.) once a month for everyone in your department.

6.  Organize a running/walking group before or after work.

7.  Have your missional community/small group bring lunch to your workplace once a month.

8.  Create a regular time to invite co-workers over or out for drinks.

9.  Make a list of your co-­workers birthdays and find a way to bless everyone on their birthday.

10.  Organize and throw office parties as appropriate to your job.

11.  Make every effort to avoid gossip in the office.  Be a voice of thanksgiving, not complaining.

12.  Find others that live near you and create a carpool.

13.  Offer to throw a shower for a co-worker who is having a baby.

14. Offer to cover for a co-­worker who needs off for something.

15.  Start a regular lunch out with co-­workers (don’t be selective on the invites).

16.  Organize a weekly/monthly pot luck to make lunch a bit more exciting.

17.  Ask someone who others typically ignore if you can grab them a soda/coffee while you’re out.

18.  Be the first person to greet and welcome new people.

19.  Make every effort to know the names of co-­workers and clients along with their families.

20.  Visit co-workers when they are in the hospital.

21.  Bring sodas or work appropriate drinks to keep in your break room for co-workers to enjoy.  Know what your co-­workers like.

22.  Go out of your way to talk to your janitors and cleaning people who most people overlook.

23.  Find out your co-­workers favorite music and make a playlist that includes as much as you can (if suitable for work).

24.  Invite your co-­workers to the service projects you are already involved in.

25.  Start/join a city league team with your co-­workers.

26.  Organize a weekly co-­working group for local entrepreneurs at a local coffee shop.

27.  Start a small business that will bless your community and create space for mission.

28.  Work hard to reconcile co-­workers who are fighting with one another.

29.  Keep small candy, gum, or little snacks around to offer to others during a long day.

30.  Lead the charge in organizing others to help co­-workers in need.

CCCC has ongoing partnerships with Lighthouse Christian Ministries, Rancho Del Rey, and Shady Oaks Apartments, to give small groups the opportunity of adopting a family and providing a Thanksgiving meal to those in need.

Last year, Shannon Langerud’s small group adopted a family through Lighthouse, and this is how she described the experience:

As a group it was very humbling.  The one family that we met with was so grateful, even before we asked them to pray with us they asked if we would pray with them.  They were so grateful and thankful for what we had done for them.  It is nice to really see how thankful someone is for something that did not take us much time at all.  We were so surprised how easy it was and how reasonable the groceries were to feed a family for Thanksgiving.

With just a small amount of time and money, you can make the Thanksgiving Holiday a special one for any number of families who need assistance this year.  If your group is interested in helping out, contact Erika Steele, Susan Repschleger, or Terri Hubbard for more information:

Lighthouse Christian Ministries – Erika Steele -erika@lighthousecm.org

Rancho Del Rey – Susan Repschleger – susan.rep@hotmail.com

Shady Oaks Apartments – Terri Hubbard 2hubbs@comcast.net

“The Core Group here is what a clinic would look like for what church planters do.  It is a blessing to watch how God works in and through people to transform a school into a church; this is the church in action.”

-Karl Garcia, Clear Lake Campus Pastor

When the morning arrived, each of the different teams came together to make the Clear Lake Campus a reality.  The Set-Up Team met at 6 a.m. at the storage facility, where more than a dozen people were there to load all the equipment into the trailer and the electric cart, transfer everything from the storage facility to the school, and, finally, to receive instruction for setting up from leader Jeff Sommers.  As the trailers arrived at the school, equipment was quickly unloaded and distributed to the different areas.  The Set-Up Team worked fast and furious moving chairs and tables in the commons area for the ministries to come in for their set-ups. Jeff had hoped his team would have everything complete by 9 a.m.; they made it with 15 minutes to spare!

The Tech Arts Team was at the school bright and early, as well, to begin the stage set-up.  The team had just the right combination of knowledge and talents along with a good number of people for this first set up. The school did not have the appropriate amount or source of power so a rented generator had arrived at 6 a.m. and was utilized for the sound, projectors, and more on stage.

After all of the set-up was finished, it was time for the various First Impressions teams to go to work.  The Coffee Team prepared two urns of coffee with all the fixin’s, and stationed them on tables on either side of the First Impressions area to welcome people in.  As people began arriving, the Greeters were stationed in the breezeway entrance to the school.  A Greeter walked with people to offer a tour of the new campus, take them to specific areas like PeeWee-Ville, and show them where the service would take place.

In the auditorium, Tech Arts had set up a full band, screens, and projectors.  The Worship Team did an incredible job leading praise and worship, after which Campus Pastor Karl Garcia gave a welcome.  This was followed by four stirring testimonies, and then an exceptional message from Senior Pastor Bruce Wesley for our new campus!

The excitement in the building was thick!  It was wonderful to see how all the ministry teams had come together to turn Clear Lake High School into the CCCC Clear Lake Campus.  Many people, from many different walks of life, came together on mission to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their community.  As fantastic as all this was, the best part were all the people who were at the first service of the new campus, which was experienced by over 300 in attendance that day!

“Attending the new campus was very exciting.  Bruce’s message tied back to the Missional Community study from Small Group.  Being here and seeing the excitement of the campus launch helped me see the vision of the new campus and the importance of planting a church.”

-Cathy Faust, Visitor

Loving Hearts has grown from God giving the Hesters a heart to reach special needs adults to him using their small group as the vessel to put their hearts into action.  After they became Navigators and went to Group Link, by the end of the night, they had a full group, about half of whom had adult sons and daughters with special needs.  They did not believe this was coincidence, and so they decided to begin a ministry to serve this group of people who often have few activities and events designed for them.

The first event that Loving Hearts put on was a Christmas Party last year.  The coffee area was decorated, Santa made an appearance, each person attending received a gift, and there were refreshments and plenty of games and activities for everyone to participate in.  In just a short year since then, they have tripled the amount of people attending, have had opportunities to invite people to church, and even have had people get plugged in and serving in different ministries.

The Hesters feel God has really given them big ideas for going forward with Loving Hearts.  They want to continue adding more events, hopefully working to hosting an event about once a week, they would like to expand to include all of the campuses, and even get groups to “adopt” a special needs adult and minister to them throughout the year.  Additionally, they hope to expand the ministry to the parents and caregivers, who too often don’t get the love and support that they need as they care for their sons and daughters.

The next event that Loving Hearts is putting on will be their 2nd Annual Christmas Party on December 11.  If you or your group is interested in getting involved with Loving Hearts, here is how you can help:

–Attending parties to help with the activities

–Decorations (donating decorations and helping set up decorations)

–Providing refreshments

–Donating gifts

Please contact Marilyn & Ed Hester at mredhester@comcast.net or 713-206-7396 for more information on serving with Loving Hearts.

1. Cook an extra casserole and give it to a neighbor

2. Buy an extra dozen donuts and give them to a neighbor

3. Start a compost pile and allow neighbors to dump their compost

4. Host a coffee and dessert night

5. Organize and host a ladies craft night

6. Organize an effort for neighbors to help take care of elderly in neighborhood

7. Become a regular at your neighborhood pool/park

8. If you have a skill, let neighbors know that you can use it to help them for free

9. Host a movie night and discussion afterwards

10. Start a walking/running group in the neighborhood

11. Start hosting a play date weekly for other stay at home parents

12. Organize a carpool for your neighborhood to help save gas

13. Collect good will store items and offer to take them to goodwill

14. Have a front yard ice cream party in the summer

15. Start a sewing group

16. Go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood (invite neighbors in on it)

17. Throw a July 4th block party

18. Start a neighborhood Facebook/Twitter/Google + group

19. Ask longtime residents to help you learn about the neighborhood

20. Offer to babysit neighbors kids so they can have a date night

21. Find out your neighbors birthdays and take them a card and baked goods on it

22. Setup a meet your neighbors night with drinks in your driveway/front yard

23. Ask your HOA or apartment complex if they need help with anything

24. Host a regular Saturday morning breakfast potluck

25. Host a sports game watching party

Cross CC currently has two services every Sunday.  The first service, in the mornings, has taken shape based around an important question.  As more and more families came on board with Cross CC, Ryan realized that the vast majority of them had small children, just as he and Kara do.  It is important to Ryan, and the other families involved, that their kids understand what is happening at Cross CC, and understand that they are a real part of it.  So, they began to ask themselves, “How do we bring the kids along with us?”  With this in mind, the Sunday morning service is geared toward involving the kids with learning and spreading the Gospel.  The morning begins with people trickling in, usually with some combination of children and food in tow.  For 15-20 minutes, warm greetings and conversation fill the room as kids race around it, until everyone arrives.  Each Sunday morning of the month is based on a different activity.  The previous weekend, they focused on their “Rescue Lists,” which are similar to the Top 5 at CCCC.  They began this service with both parents and children discussing how each family spent the week praying for and talking about their Rescue List.  After this, it moved into the focus for the third Sunday of the month, which is a game or activity for the kids and adults to play.  This is related to the teaching from the Jesus Storybook Bible that followed; the lesson is geared toward the kids, but is relevant to the adults as well, and it is also tied into the call from Christ to be missional with our lives.  After a few worship songs and a time for giving, the rest of the time spent together is for lunch and fellowship.  The kids eat and play, the adults eat and talk, and then everyone disperses for the afternoon.

The Prater family were not the only people who made the move from CCCC to Katy.  James and Kim Tavernier, along with their three boys, have also followed God’s call to Katy to be a part of the core group of Cross CC. Their story is one of trusting God to live as “Sent“ people, through the excitement and difficulties of uprooting their family to be a part of a church plant.

The Taverniers’ story begins shortly after they got married, when James and Kim were looking for a new church.  They had already checked out a few different ones when their oldest son, Cal, heard Lee McClure (CCCC’s Senior High Pastor) speak at his school, Pine Drive Christian School.  He really enjoyed Lee’s talk, and wanted to go to CCCC so he could check out the Mpact Ministry.  They began attending CCCC, and shortly after this, found out that CCCC was becoming a part of Acts 29.  James had already listened to many of the Acts 29 sermons, and was not only familiar with the church planting network, but had grown to have a heart for church planting.  Needless to say, he was quite excited to find out that their new church was working to be a part of this network.  After they began attending CCCC, they got involved with the Matrix, where their middle son was active, and through this they got to know Ryan.

When Ryan announced at the January C4 training that he would be leaving to plant a church in Katy, the news was met with mixed emotions within the Tavernier household.  James was immediately ready to go; church planting had been on his heart for a while, and here was a close friend heading out to do that very thing.  Kim was somewhat less excited, as their son Cal would be entering his senior year of high school in the fall, and she was reluctant to uproot him at that time.

However, shortly after that time, Cal mentioned, for an entirely different reason, that he would be ok with moving that summer if they needed to.  With that barrier out of the way, the path was beginning to get more clear.  Kim still struggled with focusing on the difficulties the move presented, but she slowly began to be obedient to where she knew the Holy Spirit was leading their family, and ultimately, they made the move out to Katy.

Getting on board with a church plant has not come without difficulties for the Taverniers.  One of the biggest adjustments they have had to make is a change of mindset, for both themselves and for their kids.  Coming from CCCC, they were used to finding a place to serve where they fit well, but in moving to a brand new church plant, you have to be ready to do whatever is needed of you, whether in your comfort zone or not.  They also had to change their kids mindsets, in that church isn’t the building you go to, it is the body of believers; meeting in a living room is just as much of a church as any large auditorium.

The difficulties that arose also became another place for God’s love and grace to shine through.  Kim was apprehensive about leaving many of the great relationships she had made at CCCC, but she found comfort in the words of Paul, who showed great affection for the friends he had made as he wrote to them from far away.  In the end it came down to trusting where God was leading, and they recognized that,

“We weren’t leaving CCCC, we were being sent to Katy.”

The second service of the day takes place in the evening, and is a gathering of the adults.  It is a time of prayer, praise, teaching, and discipleship.  The service begins with people sharing stories from the week of Cross CC’s guiding values (relational connection, personal growth, radical giving, engaged attendance) in action.  The floor is open for anyone who wishes to share, and is a wonderfully powerful time to hear how God is working in both individual lives and in the life of Cross CC.  This time allows the group to create the culture, identity, and accountability of missional followers of Christ.  The middle part of the service is spent on teaching and training.  They are currently studying though the Gospel Centered Life, in order to plant their roots firmly in the Gospel of Christ.  The most powerful part of the evening service was the last 15 minutes, which is devoted to prayer.  There are three separate prayer sessions; confession, grace stories, and My 5.  People pray in pairs with a different person each session, and having a time to come together and focus on prayer is an immensely meaningful way to end the day.

Overall, the events of the day were extremely reminiscent of the book of Acts:

 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”  –Acts 2:42

Teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer were definitely the themes of the day for this small, but growing, group of people who currently make up Cross CC.  There are still a handful of people at CCCC who were around when it was in the same spot as Cross CC, but for most of us, a church plant in its infancy is a somewhat unknown experience.  However, CCCC is continually working to create a culture of “Sent” people, and the Prater and Tavernier families are a perfect example of how, sometimes, this means following God to somewhere new.  Being “Sent” can mean many things; working in a ministry where your gifts can flourish, walking across the street to talk to your neighbor, joining the Core Team of the Clear Lake Campus (or the next campus that launches), or joining a new church plant.  More than any one of these actions, however, it means submitting yourself to where Christ is leading you, and trusting enough to follow Him there.  Spend some time in prayer discussing this with the Lord.  If you feel him leading you to Katy to get involved with Cross CC, then get in contact with Ryan.  If he is leading you elsewhere, whether within the Bay Area and CCCC or somewhere completely new, then trust in His guidance, as our loving God will lead us where His will can be accomplished:

 “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”  –Jeremiah 29: 11-13

How Your Group Can Help:

-Prayer, Prayer, Prayer

-Give to First Gift to Jesus, which supports church plants like Cross Community Church

-Email Ryan to sign up for the monthly email list

If you are interested in learning more about joining up with Cross CC, or if your group would like to help out, you can contact Ryan Prater at rprater36@gmail.com.

Anchor Point offers many services and programs through the work at the center; free pregnancy tests, crisis counseling, adoption information, healthy relationship education, abortion recovery programs, parenting classes, and small group support.  For many of their classes and educational materials, they offer “Baby Bucks,” which allow clients to purchase clothes and necessities for their baby.  Through all of their programs, they seek to provide specific help for the individual circumstances of each clients, which is rooted in an opportunity to encounter Christ.

Megan Lagoy learned about the work Anchor Point is doing in July 2011, and immediately decided that she wanted to get involved.  She is close to completing her volunteer training, which will allow her to teach some of the educational classes.  She also is the CCCC Go Leader for our cooperation with Anchor Point.

Anchor Point currently has many needs that could be filled by both groups and individuals:

For groups wanting to get involved:

–Purchase and install cabinets in several locations at the center.

–Sort and organize donated items.

–Deep clean the facility (once a month).

–Donate 50 18-gallon Rubbermaid storage containers.

For individuals wanting to get involved: 

–Teach the “Share Jesus Without Fear” class for new Anchor Point Volunteers.

–Clean the facility (weekly).

–Organize the House Beautifier team.

–Create and donate a vinyl logo for the office wall.

If you or your group are interested in helping out with any of these needs at Anchor Point, or would like to find out about additional ways to help out, please contact Megan Lagoy at megan.lagoy@gmail.com.

Shady Oaks

At Shady Oaks, families were “adopted” by members of CCCC, who then went backpack and school supply shopping and delivered the supplies to their families.  In just 30 minutes at West Campus, all 20 kids who needed backpacks were adopted and cared for.  God continues to amaze through the work being done at Shady Oaks through CCCC.

For more information on how you can get involved at Shady Oaks, please contact Terri Hubbard at hubbard.terri@gmail.com.

Lighthouse Christian Ministries

Lighthouse partnered with a handful of other ministries, including Samaritan’s Feet, the Assistance League of Bay Area’s Operation School Bell, the Greater Houston YMCA, and KSBJ, to bring school clothes and school supplies to the people of Bacliff/San Leon area.  In addition to clothes, shoes, and school supplies, each of the 400 students who were apart of the backpack drive at Lighthouse had their feet washed when they came to receive their school supplies.  If you have never had the joy of watching, or participating in, an act of service as humbling and glorifying as washing someone’s feet, it is quite an amazing thing to witness!  Cherryl Currie-Wong was able to experience this for the first time…

Everyone had a job, and knew what to do with it.  I’ll have to admit that when I got there, and learned my job was washing little (and some big), dirty (and some very dirty) feet, it was not what I was expecting.  I was like…”really Lord, this is the job you want me to do?”  But, after washing a few feet, and talking with the children…..I LOVED MY JOB!  I was like…”thank you Lord for this job!”  It was such a blessing to me to be able to see the smiles on their faces when I put those new shoes on their feet.  I immensely enjoyed getting to talk to them one on one, and, if only for a brief while, getting to know them and reminding them that Jesus loves them.  If I am able to volunteer again next year, I hope, I get the same job!

For more information on getting involved with Lighthouse Christian Ministries, please contact Erika Steele at erika@lighthousecm.org.

Rancho del Rey

Volunteers at Rancho del Rey brought backpacks and school supplies to over 50 children to take to school this year.  In addition, they took water guns and snow cones to have a great time beating the heat as they passed out the school supplies.  God continues to work through the relationships that are being built in the community of Rancho del Rey, and if you would like more information on getting involved, contact Susan Repschleger at susan.rep@hotmail.com.

The Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Over 20 backpacks, full of supplies, were delivered to the directors of The Bridge to distribute to residents of the facility.  Many of the families that move into the facility come with only the clothes on their backs, and so a new backpack for students soon to start school is truly a blessing.  If you would like more information on helping out at The Bridge, a shelter for victim’s of domestic and sexual abuse, please contact Jane McCollough at jmccollo@ccisd.net.

Overall, the CCCC backpack drive was able to deliver almost 500 backpacks full of school supplies to students, as well as clothes, shoes, and snow cones.  Feet were washed and relationships were cultivated, all from selfless people answering the call of Christ to love and serve those in need.  If you were moved by one of these stories, please be encouraged to get in contact with one of the Go Leaders for Shady Oaks, Lighthouse Christian Ministries, Rancho del Rey, or The Bridge.  Or visit www.clearcreek.org/go for information on the other Go Local partnerships, church plants, and Go Global trips.