10 years of churchlife: Part 1
Friday, July 15, 2011 at 11:10PM As of June 6, 2011 we have been meeting together for 10 years. That is a decade of attempting to be a group of people who are united by Jesus and who seek to glorify God in their lives together. It's 10 years of being a church that somewhat resembles what is described in the New Testament. It's 10 years of being a church with no building, no paid staff, and no formal positions. It's 10 years of believing that every Christian is a priest who can and should minister God's life to others.
10 years is a big deal. So we are celebrating this weekend.
The celebration began tonight and goes throughout the weekend. I hope to write updates here periodically.
Tonight was a great beginning. It was really fantastic. We rented out a nearby elementary school and had desserts and popcorn together. Michael facilitated churchlife Jeopardy (yes, you read that correctly). It was awesome. Hilarious. Creative. Brilliant.
He had a powerpoint that looked just like the Jeopardy board, and he chose three contestants from the audience (Johnny, James, and Amy). They sat up front with bells as ringers. The rest of us watched and laughed, although each contestant was allowed a lifeline where he or she could poll the audience.
The categories? They included:
- Arrival Times (Answer: they arrive 15 minutes late to every meeting. Question: Who is ____?)
- Street Names (Answer: (name of family). Question: What is (name of street)? (this was harder than you think!)
- By the Numbers (hilarious questions like "how many cars has this family owned" and "how many times have we helped this family move")
- Meeting Titles (the answer would describe a meeting type, and the contestants had to come up with the name that we use for it)
- Song Associations (the answer would be the title of a worship song, and the question had to do with who you tend to think of with that song (because some people just really love certain songs)
My descriptions do not do justice to how funny this game was. Amy won! Not only was Amy the only female, she had been with the church the shortest amount of time (although it's still been like 7 years).
After the game, I showed a video montage that I had created for the celebration. I interviewed as many people in the church as I could and put it together with some music and pictures. It was a labor of love, and it was well received. The whole video was an hour long, but I will try to post a part of it here (or a trailer).
More than anything else, the video conveyed just how much God has done in our lives these last 10 years. When you put these moments together, it is breathtaking.
For those who meet with us, dvds will soon be available. If you do not meet with us and for some reason would like to watch this hour-long video, if you put your name and address in the comments I will mail you one for free.
All that to say, it was a wonderful beginning of a celebration weekend.
Reader Comments (3)
Sure would love to see the video, Rishi. Love your church! What an awesome group of caring believers!
Last night left me thankful for this body of believers. This morning left me hopeful for this body of believers (and beyond). I wonder how tonight will leave me? (Because it's all about me right? obviously I'm kidding).
Thankful for your work on the video. Thankful for Amanda's working as well. Your family is precious to us. -maria
Ha! Atta girl, Amy! I love this whole idea and your story so far. Please make sure Amy brings a DVD to Michigan!