Launch Lunch

Connections Community Church is officially "launching" - we're going weekly!
And we're celebrating with a LAUNCH LUNCH.
Made to order Omlettes and other brunchy food.
And it's all on the house!

We'll Worship together at Silver City at 10am and then head over to the Navigators Resource Centre (1 km north on Richmond, 11 St. John Street) for lunch. It's easy to get there - head north on Richmond past Fanshawe Rd, just past the sign for Arva you will see St. John St. on the right, turn right, the building is on the right about half a block up.

Please take a minute to RSVP - we need an estimate for how much food to get. Feel free to invite a friend. And don't worry, there will be lots of food!
Two ways to RSVP:
1) Email Robin at saylormom@gmail.com.
or
2) Facebook - click here http://www.facebook.com/event and let us know you're coming.


Praise God that He has blessed us beyond all we could ask or imagine! Let's celebrate His goodness, His grace and His provision.

See you Sunday!

6:33 Prayer Plan

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

We invite everyone to join in praying for our launch into weekly worship. Starting today, Sunday Dec. 30 we are committing to a time of prayer at 6:33 a.m. or p.m. (or both!) all the way until Sunday January 6, when we hold the first of our weekly worship services. Pray for the following goals for 2008:

• Filling all 350 seats (the largest theatre) in worship by summer 2008.
• A sustainable rotation of 100 people in volunteer teams: Connections Groups, FAST, FIT, Family, Worship and Media.
• The official launch of our Connections Groups in Fall 2008 with 200 active participants.
• Expanding to 2 worship services by Christmas 2008 and seeing more than 500 attend our worship services.
• 52 new commitments for Jesus Christ as savior and Lord- one for every week of the year.

This week of prayer will lead us into a 24-hour prayer vigil starting Saturday, January 5 at 6:33 a.m. and concluding Sunday January 6 at 6:33 a.m.
Participants can sign-up for 1/2 or 1-hour slots.
This vigil will take place as a “chain”- as each person finishes their time slot they will phone the next person in line. This way we can be sure that we’ll cover the full 24-hours without any gaps.

To sign-up for a time slot call Paula Birtch at 519.685.1927, email us at gsaylor@connectionschurch.ca, or just respond to this posting.

Song: Cry of a Tiny Babe

Here's the song that inspired and followed the sermon...
"Cry of Tiny Babe" by Bruce Cockburn, Nothing But a Burning Light, 1990

Mary grows a child without the help of a man
Joseph get upset because he doesn't understand
Angel comes to Joseph in a powerful dream
Says "God did this and you're part of his scheme"
Joseph comes to Mary with his hat in his hand
Says "forgive me I thought you'd been with some other man"
She says "what if I had been - but I wasn't anyway and guess what
I felt the baby kick today"

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

The child is born in the fullness of time
Three wise astrologers take note of the signs
Come to pay their respects to the fragile little king
Get pretty close to wrecking everything
'Cause the governing body of the whole [Holy] land
Is that of Herod, a paranoid man
Who when he hears there's a baby born King of the Jews
Sends death squads to kill all male children under two
But that same bright angel warns the parents in a dream
And they head out for the border and get away clean

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

There are others who know about this miracle birth
The humblest of people catch a glimpse of their worth
For it isn't to the palace that the Christ child comes
But to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums
And the message is clear if you've got [you have] ears to hear
That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear
It's a Christmas gift [that] you don't have to buy
There's a future shining in a baby's eyes

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

The Cry of Tiny Babe

December 23, 2007
George J. Saylor
(This sermon was presented as a first-person narrative. The person is none other than God. While I was hesitant to take this perspective, the biblical account gives so much insight into the birth of Jesus, and into the character or God, that I ultimately determined that this could be done in a reverend and faithful way.)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25

I love that child...

(Go to http://cccsermons.blogspot.com/ to read the rest of this sermon)

My Christmas Wish List

This is going to be simple and brief.
Simple because I want you to remember them.
Brief because I want you to pray for them and God is not impressed or moved by long-winded prayers.

God does seem moved by heart-felt, Spirit-led, other-centered and persistent prayer (I'm thinking mostly of Luke 11:1-13).

So without further ado, here is my Christmas wish list (a.k.a prayer requests) for Connections Community Church in 2008. Let us commit to pray and work together so that we might see:

• Filling 350 seats (the largest theatre) in worship by summer 2008.
• A sustainable rotation of 100 people in volunteer teams- Connections Groups, FAST, FIT, Family, Worship and Media.
  
• The official launch of our Connections Groups in Fall 2008 with 200 active participants.
• Expanding to 2 worship services by Christmas 2008 and seeing more than 500 attend our worship services.
• 52 new commitments to Jesus Christ as savior and Lord- one for every week of the year.

Five requests, one for each finger (except for my father-in-law who gave two of his fingers to the farm).
Remember them, pray for them, work to make them reality.
I think they are appropriately audacious and attainable.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen!" Ephesians 3:20-21

Church Bulletins

I started another poll.
If you have an opinion on church bulletins (the program given out at the worship service) go to the blog and vote, or even post a comment here.
We know we'll have some type of bulletin and communication card system, we just want a little feedback on how important and useful it is to people.
That all.

2007 Christmas Letter

January- George gets the “green light” to begin plans for the North London Church Plant.

February- George and Robin go to “Church Planter’s Boot Camp” in Florida. Both agree that “Church Planter’s Beach Vacation” would be a more accurate title.
March- George finally gets to go skiing- all is right in the world. Announces name- “Connections Community Church.” There is much rejoicing.
April- “Design stage” small groups begin meeting in homes around London.
May- Connections sponsors 2 soccer teams; George attempts to coach; Saylor’s celebrate 10-year anniversary!
June- “Design stage” transitions into “Development stage” with about 30 active adults.
July- It’s Canada folks, nothing gets done in July.
August- 2000+ balloons given out at Balloonfest/Ribfest; final plans made for Preview services. Saylor’s decide to take vacation- brilliant idea! Website launched.
September-
Thursday Sept. 6- 9 am: George gets his last haircut; Saylor’s garage filled with empty wooden storage cabinets. Noon: 28ft trailer delivered, cabinets too tall to fit in trailer, George doesn’t freak out. 4 pm: Team meets at Horizons Solutions and admires our equipment. 6:30 pm: The team meets at First CRC and plays with the gear, the men take a ripsaw to the cabinets- they fit in the trailer.
Friday Sept. 7- 9 am: Dress rehearsal at Silver City Movie Theatre. Out by 11am. George goes home to write a sermon.
Saturday Sept. 8: George contemplates moving back to North Carolina. Finishes sermon, decides to stick around "just to see what happens."
Sunday Sept. 9: 196 people show up to our first Worship service; George is glad he stuck around, gives God the glory because there’s no way he could have done this.
October- Services held every other week, the numbers stay up, more people get on board, strategic planning begins.
November- Services continue to draw 125-175 people.
December- Connections celebrates its first Christmas with two services; gets ready to go weekly starting January 6…

What God has done with Connections in one year- from a dream, to the first fruits of a new church- is beyond what I dared to ask. In 2008 we eagerly anticipate seeing what God will do. Our mission remains the same- to gather more workers, “for the harvest is plentiful.” Now, with workers committed, we begin with even more intensity to seek the lost that they may find salvation in Jesus Christ.

Linus' Christmas Monologue

I used this in the service on Sunday and it's too good not to share...

What I've Pondered...

I've decided to take my own advice (occasionally we preachers actually listen to what we say).
I went on a run this morning, and for the first time since Sunday I had the space to actually ponder what I really want for Christmas (beside the skis).
So I started to think and pray about hope, peace, love and joy. Here's what I came up with...

Hope. I hope God builds Connections Community Church.
I hope God will take us, make us, and where necessary, even break us.
I hope that our church brings God glory and delight.
I hope God grows us in size- big and small.
I hope our worship service attracts hundreds, then thousands, even tens of thousands. It happened in the bible, it happens today, and it can happen in London.
I hope we have the blessing of sharing the word and love of God to everybody in this city- I really do.
I also hope we grow smaller- connecting all who desire with Connections Groups that meet in homes to deepen relationships and learning.
I hope we quickly grow beyond a worship service, beyond home groups, and into a presence that takes this city by storm. A presence of justice, mercy and building the common good for all people.
I hope our church becomes a vessel for God's Spirit and real change in people's lives.
I have a lot of hopes for our church.

Peace. I pray for peace in the development of our church- a peace that pervades our relationships in leadership, in the congregation, and even stems into the city. I pray for a peace that guards our decisions and protects our vision. I pray for a peace that comes upon all who come in contact with our church- peace with God, peace with people, and peace with our world.

Love. I pray a spirit of love will characterize everything, everything, that Connections will say and do and be. Enough said.

Joy. I pray for joy in the lives of our people. Joy and laughter in our worship, in our Connections Groups, in our hearts. Joy is awesome. I pray Connections becomes a place of infectious joy!
So think about it, pray about it, and comment about it. What are your prayers for hope, peace, love and joy for your life, for our church, four our world?

Ponder These Things...

Charles Dickens is synonymous with Christmas. Everyone knows his famous tale- a Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, Tiny Tim- great stuff. But Dickens wrote another story that, in my opinion, captures the spirit and experience of Christmas even better than he did in the Carol. I don’t think he knew he did, and I don’t think anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever made this connection. But the very first line of his famous Tale of Two Cities rings true for most of us this time of year...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Read the rest of this sermon here.

Ministry Teams

When we started the preview services in September it was "all hands on deck" every service for all our our volunteers. It has been an effective way to get things started, to figure out how to do things, and to build the team and moral. In through this season we've been fine tuning our

Ministry Teams.

Now it's time to take it to the next level, expand the Ministry Teams to a rotation model, and start meeting weekly- January 6th!

And while we can't offer our worship service without the Ministry Teams, we are designing them to do much more than a job. We want them to build

connections...relationships...community.

A group of people that have a common purpose, a common place, and common interests. A natural gathering of people to do so much more than just a job.

SO if you reading this and you've attended Connections, please consider joining a team.
If you're a supporter, please keep us in your prayers as we get people plugged in.
Even at this stage of development we require 34 people PLUS our worship team.

Here are our Ministry Team expectations and job descriptions...

Expectations for all team members:
The desire to serve and to make people feel welcomed
To be familiar with the 3C vision and plans

FAST: Facility Setup Team- 10 person minimum
Time: 8-9am, 11-11:30am
~ Show up and set up; relax and enjoy the service; pack-up

FIT: First Impressions Team- 12 person minimum
Time: 9-11am
~ Welcome Centre and Connection Café (4): make coffee and answer questions
~ Greeters (6): open doors, welcome people and assist in making name tags
~ Ushers (2): help people in the service to find seats and feel comfortable

Family Ministry Team*- 12 person minimum, 4 per room
Time: 9-11am
~ Background check Required
~ A desire to serve children in the nursery, children JK-1st, or 2nd-5th class room
~ Familiar with check in process and lesson plan

Worship and Multi-Media Team- varies
Time: 8-11am
~ Skilled musician and/or Technically skilled (or learning) in such areas as sound, lighting, graphics, computer and web technology
~ Active participation in rehearsals