Central's Pastoral E-Letter: April 30, 2011

 

WOW!  That is all I can say as I look back at how God worked in our midst last Easter weekend!  I am so thankful to all of you who came and brought friends to one of our three Easter Services!  God worked through you so that we broke all attendance records with over 1000 adults and children in attendance!  This is because you all prayed, invited, and served!   The sea of blue shirts that blanketed our facilities to greet people and care for them from the “street to the seat” was a powerful witness to everyone who came as a guest!  Even more exciting is the number of people who indicated they would like more information or would like to attend either Starting point, Financial Peace University, or Discover Central!  So thank you for praying, inviting, and serving!  It was a weekend of God’s power at work.

 

I hope you are going to be with us this Sunday as we kick off a brand new message series, FAQ!  We have taken the questions that were submitted on Easter Sunday and have put together a series that will seek to answer those questions from a Biblical perspective.  Jared Alcántara will be addressing the issue of the Problem of Evil in the 9:30 Classic Service, and in the Contemporary Service, I will be speaking about the issue of Salvation and all the questions you submitted, such as: Can a person lose their standing before God? What about suicide? What part if any do good works play in salvation?  What does God expect?  At the end of each service you will have a chance to ask questions in each service.  During the contemporary services, you will be able to text your questions by using this number: 609-429-0825.  You can even text your questions right now, and we will be having a discussion of these at the end of the message.  So as you can see we are getting ready for a powerful series, and I hope you will plan on coming and bringing someone along with you.

 

Are you connected?  If not, this Sunday we will have a LifeGroup fair in the Fellowship Mall where you will see all the new LifeGroups that will be starting up the spring/summer sessions which will start on May 15.  Be sure and check it out!  Some great choices are available for you to grow and connect.

 

See you Sunday!

 

Pastor Gay

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: April 22, 2011

 

We are READY!

 

Come and remember the power of the sacrifice of Christ at tonight’s Good Friday Communion and Worship led by our Classic Worship Choir at 7:30 pm.  Nursery provided up to age five.

 

SUNDAY IS COMING!

 

On Easter Sunday:

 

8:30 am

Classic Worship Service featuring the majesty of the organ and grand piano.  We will be led in worship by our choir and it is going to be a powerful morning of praise.  Nursery provided up to age five. Come early to enjoy our Central Café which will open at 8 am!  Do you know friends who love traditional worship?  Invite them to come with you!

 

9:45 am and  11:00 am

Contemporary Worship led by our Praise Band and Gospel Ensemble.  We will rock the house as we explore the power of the Resurrection exploding in our lives!  Dynamic children’s programs each hour from infants to fifth grade.  Come early and enjoy some great refreshments in our Central Café!  Still time to invite family and friends to join you!

 

Don’t forget that at all three services you will have a chance to mark down your FAQ questions you would like answered from a Biblical perspective.  I will then choose four of these to respond to in our new message series that will begin May 1. You can also text your questions to us at 609-429-0825.  Look for the display in the Fellowship Mall and get those questions to us!  This is going to be an exciting series! 

 

Finally, don’t forget to bring your canned goods for Central’s 2^nd Annual Food Fight to benefit the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.  Here is our chance to impact lives in a practical way!  Bring your donations to the Fellowship Mall.  Thank you for your generosity!

 

It’s going to be an AWESOME WEEKEND!  We are READY!  We just need you to come and bring your friends with you!

 

Waiting with Great Expectation,

Pastor Gay

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: April 15, 2011

 

Dear Central Family,

 

The clock is ticking!  This Sunday, we will kick off a week of remembrance of the sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior! 

 

I hope that you will be with us!  We will be finishing our series Simply Jesus by looking at Christ the KING!  Jared Alcántara will be speaking in both contemporary services and I will be teaching in the classic service.  I know we are going to be blessed as we focus on KING JESUS!  Look forward to what God is going to do.

 

I want to remind you we will have a special Good Friday Worship Experience on April 22 at 7:30 pm.   This will be unlike any we have ever done.  We will meet for a time of focused contemplation on what Christ did for us in giving his life on the cross. We will be led in worship by our Classic Worship Choir and the evening will include a time of communion as a community.  Child care will be provided from birth to age 5.  Come early to get a good seat and be prepared to be impacted.

 

Then comes Sunday!  Easter Sunday is going to be a wonderful day of victory, celebration, praise, and worship.  We will have three services on Easter Sunday.  All services will be held in the worship center. 

 

Classic Worship at 8:30 am

Featuring the choir, organ, grand piano, and the Easter traditional music we have grown to love. Nursery will be provided. 

 

Contemporary Worship at 9:45 am and 11:00 am

Two identical services where we will be led in worship by our Praise Team and the Gospel Ensemble and much more!  Exciting children’s programs will be provided during both hours. 

 

Come early and enjoy a cup of coffee and refreshments at our Central Café, which will open at 8:00 am on Easter Sunday. 

 

Also, on Easter Sunday we will be giving you an opportunity to be part of a brand new series we will kick off May 1 called FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions.  We will be asking everyone who comes on Easter to mark down a specific question that they would like to see addressed from a biblical perspective.  We will then be teaching on these questions for four weeks in May.  So begin to think about what your question will be and get ready to mark it down on Easter Sunday.

 

WHEW!  As you can see we have been working hard, and are looking forward to what is coming!

 

Finally, a reminder about tomorrow’s Men’s Breakfast at 8 am.  Our speaker, Wayne Stewart, will share his powerful testimony of how God transformed his life by freeing him from addiction. He is the Community Outreach Director and Care Guide Coordinator for The Lighthouse Network, which helps people navigate life successfully by providing treatment options for mental health and addiction challenges.  Guys, get ready to be encouraged and challenged!

 

See you all on Sunday!

 

In His Grace,

 

Pastor Gay

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: April 8, 2011

 

Dear Central Family,

 

I was so excited after this week’s staff meeting as we made plans for an awesome Easter Weekend!

 

We will start with the Good Friday service at 7:30 pm.  We will meditate and celebrate the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf and be led in worship by our Classic Choir and fellowship in Communion.  It will be a special night. 

 

Then Easter Sunday morning, we will have three special services.  We have made up invitation cards for you to use to give to your friends to invite them to our Classic Service at 8:30 am or one of two Contemporary Services at 9:45 am and 11:00 am.  These cards are available in the Welcome Center for you to pick up. 

 

We have two different invitation cards.  The first, a traditional Easter design to invite your friends to our Classic Easter service at 8:30.  The second, you can’t miss, because it says KABOOM! on the front, and emphasizes the resurrection power of Christ when it flows through our lives as it is an explosion of love, joy and peace.  So plan to pick up some and get the word out!  We are excited about what God is going to do!

 

I also want to invite all our men to come to our next Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, April 16, 8 to 9:30am.  Our speaker, Wayne Stewart, will share his powerful testimony of how God transformed his life by freeing him from addiction. He is the Community Outreach Director and Care Guide Coordinator for The Lighthouse Network, which helps people navigate life successfully by providing treatment options for mental health and addiction challenges.  So guys, make plans now to come and get ready to be encouraged and challenged!

 

Finally, I want to encourage you to make sure you are here this Sunday.  I will be teaching in the Contemporary Services, and Jared will be teaching in the Classic Service.  We are going to look at how Jesus showed himself to be a REBEL as we continue our series Simply Jesus!

 

One last word: Get ready for a new message series that will kick off the Sunday after Easter!  That is one people will be talking about for a while!  More on that next week!

 

See you Sunday!

 

Pastor Gay

 

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: April 1, 2011

Dear Central Family,

 

I trust you have enjoyed your week and that you are looking forward to what God is going to do this Sunday at Central! 

 

We will be continuing our series Simply Jesus, and will be examining the question that so many of us ask in our hearts if not verbally: “Why doesn’t God always heal?  Why doesn’t God always deliver me from my pain and suffering?”  We will examine how Jesus answers this question in the Gospel of Luke.  I am looking forward to how God is going to teach all of us. 

 

I will be teaching in the Classic Service, and when we were planning this series, this is one that Pastor Jeremy asked for the opportunity to bring the message, so Jeremy will be preaching in the contemporary services.  I have heard a glimpse of what God has put on his heart, and we are all in for a blessing.  This is one of those questions that many of your unchurched friends could be asking, so I invite you to bring them with you!  Thank you to all of you who have been bringing friends each week of this series.

 

I also want to say thank you to everyone who gave so generously to the Japan relief fund.  Due to your generosity we are able to give over $15,000 to help with the relief effort that is being done through our missionaries the Koike and Kato families.  Thank you for being so generous!

 

We are working hard as a staff to get ready for our Easter Services.  Check out our website www.worshipatcentral.org for more info.  This Sunday we will be distributing special invite cards that are the size of a business card for you to give out to people you come in contact with throughout the week to invite them to one of our three Easter Services.  We will have a full Classic Service at 8:30 and two identical Contemporary Worship Services at 9:45 and 11:00.  We are praying for God to work in a powerful way as we all celebrate being more than conquerors through Christ!  I hope that you will begin to pray now about whom you can invite.

 

Finally, I want you to know that we have had so many new folks checking out Central the past few weeks that our children’s ministry, 252, has grown at 11:00 that we need extra help to minister to all the children.  This is an exciting time to work with the kids in a brand new active program where kids are so excited, they are inviting their friends, and they are coming back!  So if you are willing to be part of a fun, exciting kids ministry, please contact our Director of Sunday Children’s Ministries, Joseline Capre, at jcapre@cbcnj.org    THANKS!

 

See you Sunday!

 

Pastor Gay

P.S. Come early to get a good seat!