Lockport Campus Friends,
Last weekend I was fortunate enough to visit New Spring Church (www.newspring.cc) in Anderson, SC. New Spring is a church that started with 8 people in their Senior Pastor, Perry Noble’s, living room back in 1996. In 12 short years God has blessed them immensely and it now is a fast-growing, innovative church of over 10,000 people. Their vision is cast through these 4 E’s. Engage the Culture, Enlarge the Kingdom, Endure Together, and Enable to Serve. I can honestly say that in my short time there and my interaction with their staff they are all are committed to this vision. It drives them, it consumes them, and it inspires them to impact their world for Christ. They truly are an outward focused Church with a passion to live dangerously for Christ and live this life with a sense of urgency. They live urgently because they know that this life is short and Heaven and Hell are very real.
In fact they are so committed to impacting this world for Jesus that just like Parkview they are starting their first Multisite Video venue on July 12th. This campus will be a 1,200 seat venue situated in Greenville, SC. Residing in a renovated grocery store, the campus will have live worship, full children’s programming, student ministry, full service Coffee Shop, and your bulletin can be given to you in paper or plastic bags. Ok the paper or plastic thing is a joke, but you get the idea. Please pray for this campus and their Campus Pastor Howard Frist as they open their doors in less than 2 weeks!
All that to say, that what brought a “New Spring” to my step was not the amazing worship, or solid preaching, or even the obvious commitment to excellence that the Church displays, but rather it was the genuine heart of service the Church had that blew me away. Now don’t get too concerned, I’m not going to drool over the thousands of volunteers they have or the 90 person staff they run. But what did make my heart jump was the excitement they showed in serving. It was awesome to hear them talk about how excited and privileged they felt to serve Christ. They beamed as they handed out pens and bulletins. They smiled as they washed down windows and doors between services. They laughed as they worked together in the Coffee bar making mochas and lattes for people. They had a joy about them that as they served it made me want to jump in and help them and I don’t even go there!
I could see that they loved to serve because they understood that serving was part of what made them part of New Spring Church. They knew it was a huge part of showing Christ that they loved Him, and an enormous part of showing Christ’s love. And what blew me away even more was that at New Spring Church, serving was not an option – it was a must. If you considered New Spring your home Church – they expected you to serve. So…they dive into serving feet first and I would argue that not one of them would regret it.
Oh, I forgot to mention something about their first multisite campus. The new campus they are starting in Greenville will have right around 700 people coming to the campus from their Anderson Campus. 552 of them will be volunteering right away when the doors open. For you statistic freaks out there that is almost 80% of the people starting the church will be serving.
Just like the congregation of New Spring Church, you have the opportunity to be part of something ground breaking – not only for the history of Parkview, but in the Kingdom of God. That’s right; you are being given the opportunity to partner with the Creator of the universe to start a Church. You are being provided the chance to work elbow-to-elbow with the God that parted the Red Sea in the days of Moses. You are being handed an invitation to help lead people to Christ for the first time. You are being shown a way that you can impact this world in a way that affects people’s eternity and in some cases it is as simple as passing communion, running a light board, hosting a small group, teaching children, parking cars, or showing people to a seat in the Worship Center. My challenge to you is this… like the members of New Spring Church have done, step up and be willing to serve!
I pray that as this Campus opens and people start streaming through the doors to find Christ that you haven’t missed out. I hope that you don’t find yourself someday sitting on your front porch telling yourself that you “were almost part of something great at that Parkview Lockport Campus”. I hope you don’t have to tell your friends that you “could have been a part of that great Church that is doing so much in the community”. I pray daily that you can walk with your head high and proud saying to anyone that asks “I serve at Parkview Christian Church~Lockport because I love God and because of that love I love to serve”.
My challenge stands…what are you waiting for?
Campus Serving Opportunities
Here is your chance to step-up and serve. If you feel like you can fill any of these areas contact us at joyce.renik@parkviewchurch.com.
SERVING AREA: USHERING
LEADER: Ian McManus
OPPORTUNITY: 1 Co-Leader; 4 Team Leaders (Lead 1 team/month); 8 Team Members (Serve 1 Sunday/month)
SERVING AREA: COMMUNION SERVERS
LEADER: Pat McDonald
OPPORTUNITY: 1 Co-Leader; 3 Team Leaders (Lead 1 team/month); 18 Team Members (Serve 1 Sunday/month)
SERVING AREA: PARKING
LEADER: Need 2 Co-Leaders
OPPORTUNITY: 4 Team Leaders (Lead 1 Team/month); 7 Team Members (Serve 1 Sunday/month)
SERVING AREA: LIGHTING
OPPORTUNITY: 3 Team Members (Serve 1 Sunday/month and Training Provided)
SERVING AREA: DIRECTING
OPPORTUNITY: 4-5 Team Members (Serve 1 Sunday/month and Training Provided)
Key Prayer Areas
Pray for the hire of our Children’s Director to occur next week.
Pray for expediting shipping and installation of Audio/Visual Equipment.
Pray that people will step up and accept the challenge to serve at this great Campus!
Ministry Area of Focused Prayer: Communion Servers - Please pray for Pat McDonald as he leads and develops our Communion Serving teams. Ask God to bring the volunteers and leaders that are needed to provide this portion of the service on a weekly basis. Pray that God guides and directs this ministry we prepare to provide the symbolism of Christ’s sacrifice to us each and every week.
All For His Glory,
Brian Hunt
Campus Pastor
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