Central's Pastoral E-Letter: February 24, 2012

 

Dear Central Family,

 

This Sunday we will continue our series on the life of Joseph that we have called RESISTANCE.  We learned last week how important it is to Resist the Resistance and we will continue this study this Sunday as we examine the Resistance of Temptation and how we can have hope to overcome what the enemy places before us.  I will be speaking in the two Contemporary Services at 9:30 and 11:00 and Jared Alcántara will be preaching at the 9:30 Classic Service.  We have some creative illustrations planned for the Contemporary Services that let me just say will make the point!  I hope you will invite a friend to come along with you to any of our venues this week.

 

I also want to remind you we are only one week away from our Leadership Summit on March 4!  This is going to be an exciting opportunity to share with you the ministry priorities that the elders have laid out for the next three years.  If you want to know where we are going and what is the mission that God has placed before us, please plan to come next Sunday night at 6 pm.  We will worship, pray, and hear what God is doing and what He has placed on our hearts as His priorities for the near future.  We also will be making some exciting announcements that you will want to hear first hand and not after the fact on Monday morning.   Childcare will be provided from birth to 5^th grade.  We will conclude the evening with a time of fellowship together as a body.  So if you serve in any way in our church, I want to ask you to take the time to come.  You will see firsthand what God has placed before us and why we are excited!

 

Finally, I want to let you know that the staff is working very hard as we prepare for our Easter Week services.  You will have 6 different opportunities to invite your friends to come and worship at Central!  Starting Good Friday at 7 pm, we will celebrate the sacrifice of Christ.  Then we will have 5 Easter services starting Saturday night at 6:30 pm, followed by Sunday morning at 9:30 am (concurrent Classic and Contemporary services) and 11:00 am (concurrent Contemporary and Acoustic Contemporary services).  So please start praying now who you can invite to come with us as we all celebrate the Power of Easter!

 

See you Sunday!

 

Pastor Gay

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: February 17, 2012

 

Dear Central Family,

 

RESISTANCE! 

 

I don’t know about you, but I see this all around me every day, as I seek to be the husband, the dad, the pastor, and the man that God wants me to be!  The enemy knows exactly which buttons to push in order push back at me and keep me from fulfilling what God desires each day.  I am so convinced that is the message that we all need to hear that we are going to kick off a new 4 part series called RESISTANCE…A Study of the Old Testament Life of Joseph starting this Sunday!  I will be speaking in the 9:30 Classic Worship Service and Jared Alcántara will be preaching in the 9:30 and 11:00 Contemporary Services.  We are going to see that Joseph is more than a fugitive from a flannelgraph board, but instead his life shows us the resistance that the enemy tries to take to get us off course, and the victory that is ours if we only grab ahold and press on.  So I hope you will be with us for this new series – it is going to be powerful!

 

I also want to let you know that we are really excited about the upcoming Leadership Summit that we will have on March 4 at 6 pm.  This is for everyone in our church who serves in any way.  The Elders are calling us all together so that we can share with you our ministry priorities and plans for the next three years.  We want to praise God for where He has been working, and we want to look expectantly at what He has before us.  So please plan to be with us as this is going to be a special night that I know God is going to be present and challenge us all.  Childcare will be provided.

 

One last thing:  This Sunday, we will unveil our new worship folder.  Wait till you get your hands on it!  We have designed a tool that you can use not only on Sunday, but it is perfect for you to give to friends during the week.  We are really excited about this new tool to connect people with what God is doing at Central.

 

See you Sunday!

 

Pastor Gay

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: February 10, 2012

Dear Central Family,

 

I am looking forward to this Sunday and I hope that you will be able to be with us and with take this opportunity to invite your friends to come along with you! 

 

This Sunday we are all going to rejoice in what God did through our Haiti World Impact team this past Christmas.  The Haiti team will be presenting a report of what God did in and through them through testimonies, slides, and special messages given by Pastor Gilmer in the contemporary services and Bryan Bunagan in our classic service.  Both Pastor Gilmer and Bryan participated in this trip so they have much to share.!

 

We will also be rejoicing in the celebration of Believer's Baptism at both the 9:30 and 11:00 contemporary services.  If you have not stepped out and shown your faith through baptism, this is your chance to make it known.  Just bring a pair of shorts and t-shirt, and plan to be blessed as you step out in obedience!

 

I am thankful for what God did in our last sermon series, The Me I want to Be.  Next Sunday, February 19, we will be starting a new series that I am really looking forward to,  We have called it THE RESISTANCE and we will spend the next four weeks focusing on the Old Testament character of Joseph and how his life is filled with lessons that speak to our lives in the 21st Century.  As I am studying, I am seeing so many practical truths that will impact our lives.

 

Finally, I want you to know that we are really looking forward to a special Leaders Summit that we will be holding on Sunday, March 4 at 6 pm.  The Overseeing Elders are calling for everyone who serves in any way in our church to come together for a special night of worship, prayer, and casting of vision as they lay out the priorities that God has placed before us for the next three years.  The elders have been prayerfully working on putting together a clear compelling vision that will be our track for the next three years and we want to share this with our entire body.  You may wonder, “Should I come?”  If you are serving in any way at Central, whether you are a member or not, we want to encourage you to come and hear what God has put on our hearts.  So please plan to come.  Child care will be provided.

 

I thank God for what He is doing at Central!  Just today I was out in the community and someone came up to me, and said, "Pastor Gay!  I will be there on Sunday!  I started back this past Sunday and was so blessed, can’t wait to come back this Sunday!"  I can’t tell you how this encouraged me to hear this.  So I hope you will be there this Sunday to bless others like her!

 

In His Grace,

 

Pastor Gay

 

 

 

Central's Pastoral E-Letter: February 3, 2012

 

Dear Central Family,

 

What a series this has been and I hope you will be with us this Sunday as we conclude our series, The Me I Want to Be. 

 

We will be looking at how our Story, unique as it is, fits together as part of God’s Story, as vast as it is.  We will conclude with celebrating communion as we rejoice in what Jesus did for us all!  I want to ask you to consider if you could sum up in one word what your life was like before you met Christ, and one word that describes your life after meeting Christ,  what would those words be?  That is the sum of your testimony of life change, and we want to celebrate that change this Sunday in each of our contemporary worship services.  So think about it, and come prepared to be blessed!

 

I will be preaching at 9:30 and 11:00 contemporary services, and Jared will be preaching in the classic service.

 

A few dates to keep in mind:

 

Sunday, February 12

We will be hearing from our Haiti team as to what God did through them.  We will be concluding each of the contemporary services with a celebration of baptism. 

 

Sunday, February 19

I will be starting a new series called the Resistance, which will focus on the story found in the life of Joseph.  This promises to be a challenging time of seeing how God is so much bigger than any pain and suffering in our lives.  I hope you will take time to invite someone to come with you for this new series.

 

I am looking forward to seeing you this Sunday!

 

Pastor  Gay