Fall Focus - All Involved, All Accountable

In the book of Acts we find a young church fully committed to Christ and each other! What if this young church served as the model for you and me for the way we do life together now? Well, this fall, we are going to give it a try as God calls us ALL to become more involved and more accountable than ever before!


For the month of August I have asked each of you to be in prayer for how God might call you to Fearlessly Give to Him this Fall! We have a great oppportunity ahead as well as a great challenge before us! I have listed out and verbally addressed several of our focuses in the coming months and have specifically asked for both your prayers as well as your input! I have heard from many of you and I thank you for that and continue to ask for your prayer coverage as well!


On Sunday, August 30 we are going to launch this fall focus with a Call to All. This Call to All will be a call to commitment as a church. I have had a chance to reveiw our needs and opportunites, and I want to take a moment now to concretely present both of them to you.


First our needs: We have facility needs that must be addressed ... soon. Our primary and first goal is to meet the need of putting a new roof on our sanctuary. If we have to hire this out, our costs will run between $20k and $25k. If we can do it ourselves, we cut that cost in half. We also have some crucial sound and audio needs in the sanctuary as well as key storage and space needs to meet the growing demands of ministry.


Now for our opportunity: As we meet the needs we also have an opportunity to expand our minsitries as we look toward adding staff. My primary goal is to address worship/creative arts and outreach/easy steps (connections) that will help us grow deeper and wider as a church body. God is moving in some key ways and I am excited about what might be in our near future! Another opportunity is to provide a bucket of funds for our Benevolence Ministry that we would have to carry into 2010. As you know the economy continues to slump a bit and I want us to be as prepared as possible to live out the all involved and all accountable focus together!


Now for the challenge: In order to meet our financial goals we will need a couple of things. First of all, if we can hit our weekly budget goal then we will be well on our way toward meeting both the needs and opportunities. As I look at our finances we will certainly need to hit around $7300 per week in order to really advance these goals. Secondly, we will also need to have some larger contributions through the course of the fall.


So, here is what it will take. First, a renewed commitment to our tithe on a week-in and week-out basis. Next, we will need many of us (myself included) to be in prayer about what we can give above and beyond our tithe to get us to the figure of $1,000.00 per week for the ten week focus. The Lord may lead some of us to contribute a sum in the thousands of dollars. For others of us, he may call us to a smaller amount of $500. And yet to others it may be $100, $20, or $50 - who knows? What I do know is that God will lead us, if we will listen. It may mean advoiding eating out once or twice during these next few months or some other sacrifice that will help us get where God is calling us.


One thing is for sure - on August 30 we will launch our All Involved, All Accountable focus and my prayer is that it will truly, truly be a case of More than Before! On Sunday, November 15th we will wrap up our All Involved . . . All Accountable focus with an awesome morning of celebration during our worship services. Be praying now how you might be 'Involved and Accountable' this fall!


All Involved, All Accountable!

Pastor Biz

Connections happen in Small Groups!

Ever feel disconnected in life, like the world is going on all around you and though you are there you are somehow not a part of it? Somewhat like being on the outside looking in? I know that many of us in life feel that way from time to time - and it can even happen in the church. You just show up one Sunday after the next for weeks or even years only to feel like you are just watching life, worship, ministry happen all around you but you are not 'connected' to any of it.

If you have felt that way, or if you do now, then let me encourage you to begin exploring the small groups WCC will be offering this Fall! Small groups offer a great way and really the best way for you to get 'connected' and get plugged in at a whole new level. They give you a chance, week in and week out, to connect to God and others as you ready His Word and apply it to your daily life! And I am just crazy enough to believe that if you get connected in that way, you will also get connected to God's mission for your life and ministry. Then one day you will realize that you are no longer just watching life pass you by, but that you are living it at a whole new level - a level the is truly 'beyond belief.' Let me whet your appetite for what is coming - here are the small group opportunities that you will have this fall - show up on Sunday and contact the church office for more information - but here are some highlights!

Mixed Groups: * A Study in the Book of Hebrews * The Bilbe in 90 Days * Just Walk Across the Room * The Lord's Table (Our mixed groups are open to all of us and specifically geared toward the believer who is looking to grow in his/her relationship to Christ and each other. Whether single, married, young, or old these groups are for you)

Men’s Studies * Growing Closer to Christ * Monday Night Men’s Groups * Freedom In Christ for Men

Women’s Studies * Freedom in Christ for women * Falling In Love with Jesus * Friday Morning Women of Faith

Couple's Studies * The First Five Years of Your Marriage * Crown Ten Week Bible Study (open to singles)

More to Come! More than Before!
Pastor Biz

Prayer is Our Central Ingredient

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:14

To join together constantly in prayer is the call and commitment of any local church or congregation! As we move forward and Westside into the awesome future that God has for you and for me, I want to call each of us together to pray diligently for this ministry and the expansion of the Kingdom of God in and through us!

As you pray I would ask that you include the following areas in your time with the Lord. These areas are ministry focuses that the Lord has placed on my heart. I would love nothing more than to know that we are praying together in this direction. So take some time and read them below and join me in prayer this month and beyond!

First, keep in prayer the continual development of our 'Find Your Fit' ministry here. This ministry is designed to be a 'culture changing' type of ministry. Basically myself or a leader sits down with our Westside Family Members and seeks the Lord in terms of direction in their life and ministry. These meetings have been great so far, but as we expand the ministry I need your prayers that God will revolutionize this church and we will be known as place that involves people in ministry that connects them to their God given mission in this world!

Secondly, keep in prayer our All involved, All Accountable Focus this fall. We will focus on raising money for our roof, benevolence and other ministry needs we have been unable to resource up to this point. I am very excited about where the Lord is leading me on this and looking forward to our launch date of August 30th. Pray that the Lord will bless us with an outpouring of giving. We are such a generous church already - I am excited about the vision of God building us to be the most generous church in the Orlando area!

Third, pray for our Staff hiring that will be made in these next two months. The two areas I am being lead to address are our Worship and Creative Arts and Easy Steps/Connections Ministry (assimilation). I am working with our state office closely and am very excited about what the Lord may be doing, but here is my prayer - that we will find the person God has already selected for us - join me in that prayer this month!

Finally, continue to life up our current staff and leadership. Pastor Amy has lead us well to the point of launching a preschool and VPK, but there is more to be done. Pray for her strength and endurance. Also lift up our Youth Team as they transition to the future of youth ministry here at WCC! Whew - God is on the move! Pray with me for His Presence to continue to lead and direct us - to draw us closer to HIM!

Pastor Biz

Westside Youth Ministry Moves Forward!!

I am very excited about the direction our youth ministry is taking and how the team that Pastor Josh developed while here and other new comers are stepping up to lead our youth ministry into the future. They are having some great meetings and I am planning a time to meet with two of our key youth leaders, Michael Pearce and Aaron Bergesen on a weekly basis. I do want to update you on the direction God is calling us to and the development of a new team of Parents to assist our youth staff as they minister Christ to our young people. We have listed out our overarching goals in accordance with the purpose of Westside Community Church. I ask that you pray fervently for these goals as you spend time with our Lord on a day by day basis.

Purpose of Youth at WCC
God has called us to Engage Teenagers with the Gospel of Christ, Equip Teenagers to grow in their relationship with Christ and Enlist Teenagers to go out and transform their family and friends with Gospel of Christ (sound familiar?)! The team has many ideas of how we can accomplish God's purpose for His youth ministry here in Apopka, but below are the 'key' ingredients or the 'core strategies' that we will focus on!

Engage teens with the Gospel will look something like the following:
Our youth staff will Develop a highly interactive and participative mid week gathering opportunity for teens in grades 6 – 12. This would include group games, interactive group activities, skits, music, drama, video, small groups and a Bible lesson. Secondly, we will also Develop a group of adults who will build significant relationships with our teens that will serve as a bed rock foundation for our kids growth. Thirdly, we hope to Sponsor 1 – 2 convention/retreat experiences for our teens during the year (state youth convention is coming up). And, fourthly, we hope to sponsor monthly age appropriate outings and activities with low cost involved for our 6 – 8 and 9 – 12 grades

Equip Teenagers to grow in Christ will look something like the following:
We will continue to develop our Sunday School Program for both our middle and high school students as we encourage our teens to bring their friends and study God's Word together. We have a great, great staff of youth Sunday school teachers and we hope to recruit, equip and deploy even more! Secondly, we intend to communicate and Practice Spiritual Disciplines/Habits with our teens. Disciplines such as prayer, bible reading, tithing and service are crucial components of Christian living and exciting adventures in life and ministry. Thirdly, we hope to launch periodic small groups (outside of Sunday School) for targeted ages and gender throughout the year

Enlisting Teens will look something like the following:
We would like to develop a ‘mentoring’ program for our older teens to give back to our younger teens. This is a dream of several staff members now and, with the Lord's aid, will become a reality that could literally change the face of our community. Secondly, we will be intentional by giving our teens tools that will equip them to share their faith. And thirdly, we will plan and coordinate quarterly service projects/camps for the ministry within the congregation and our community

A new aspect of parent involvement and opportunity will be the development and oversight of a ‘PIT’ (Parent Involvement Team) Crew (this team will function under the authority of our youth leader(s) and work together with them to be sure our systems and structures can support this thriving ministry

This team will assist in weekly ministry needs of Wednesday night from child care, to sign ins to snacks, food etc. They will also assist in developing fundraiser opportunities for our youth to aid in their expenses for trip. Thirdly, they will assist in communication devices and systems to keep everyone on the same page . Fourthly, they will assist in covering any ‘logistics’ pieces so that the ‘youth staff leaders’ can be freed up to do ministry.

As you can see, we are well on the road to the continuation and expansion of a great youth ministry driven by the purposes God has called this church to achieve. Pray with us and join with us in ministry as God seeks from you and me MORE THAN BEFORE!

Pastor Biz