Church At The GYM was featured in the USA Today!
Our church made the national news! We were recently mentioned in an article that was posted on the USA Today website on Wednesday and appeared in the Thursday print edition. The article is about churches, like ours, which are meeting in non-traditional spaces.
As many of you know, we are doing church a little differently here at Church At The GYM in Sanford, FL because we are reaching out to the un-churched (people who have never attended church) and the de-churched (people who used to attend but have stopped).
Over the next few days, we’ll be highlighting a few of our distinctives, and we’ll be sharing why it is that we do things the way that we do. Stay tuned for more!
In the meantime, check out the USA Today article!
Rick Biven – Our Special Guest on February 19
Rick Biven is here in Sanford!
Did you know that our missionary to Mexico, Rick Biven, will be our special guest speaker on Sunday, February 19? He has been staying here in Sanford, FL this winter, and he has set aside this special Sunday to be with us. This is an excellent opportunity to hear an update regarding what God is doing in Mexico. It is pretty awesome to know that our church has had a part in the spread of the message of Jesus all around the world!
Here is his 2012 Ministry Video. Check it out!
Thanksgiving Food Drive (Saturday, Nov 12)
Canned Food Drive
My heart was deeply touched as new friendships were formed and old friendships were strengthened while we gathered together once again to become the hands and feet of Christ, handing out brown paper grocery bags to every door in three neighborhoods in Sanford this Sunday past, just trying to make a difference. Doing everything we can to make sure that (at the very least) the 40 families we promised are going to have that Thanksgiving Dinner this year, in their homes, with their families and loved ones!
You Can Get Involved!
I encourage everyone who can to come out and help us this coming Saturday at 10:00am, to come and gather the Blessings God will provide through people in these neighborhoods. Just meet us at the church, and we’ll go out to the neighborhoods together. You can be a huge part of this blessing for the folks we provide Thanksgiving Dinners to! This 3 or 4 step process is exciting and rewarding every step of the way, knowing that you helped not only in delivering the meals to someone, but that you actually helped in acquiring the meals as well. That it took hard work and dedication, makes it that much more memorable for years to come! What an amazing Thanksgiving you will have! What an awesome God we serve when He will see to it that those empty bags are filled with food! And what an amazing role you can choose to play in feeding the hungry! Please pray about this opportunity and make every effort to come out and help on Saturday God Bless!
(Contributed by Sandy Adcox, CATG Volunteer)
You can also help us deliver the Thanksgiving Meal Packs at 4:00pm on November 20!
A Revision of Duties (Sometimes God changes things up)
“The Levites duties are revised”
That was the header for an awesome passage in 1 Chronicles 23. Starting in verse 24, we see how the Levites get their roles and responsibilities massively restructured. Before this shift, the Levites were responsible for carrying the ark of the covenant – the seat of the physical representation of God.
Think of the times you’ve felt the closest you’ve ever felt with God, and how rare those “super close” times tend to be. Now, imagine what an amazing responsibility it must have been, to be a Levite tasked with carrying the ark of the covenant – to have the physical presence of God at arm’s length.
In this 1 Chronicles passage, however, the Levites get their “duties revised.” I love this header because it’s so counterintuitive to what our modern reaction would be. The Levites had to shift from this awesome resposibility and physical closeness to God, to essentially becoming assistants to the priests and the custodial crew to make sure the Temple services went off without a hitch.
How could this header not be “The Levites get a demotion,” or the “The Levites get demoted and then revolt?” Why does the Bible not record the Levites letting out a collective groan upon hearing the news, especially given the Israelites’ penchant for complaining? I think it’s because the Levites weren’t motivated by personal gratification but rather divine mandate. They didn’t see themselves as having a job that was comprised of specific tasks, but rather as being privileged to contribute anything to a higher purpose. Rather than looking at what they were doing, they were focused on what they were achieving.
Application
That is so key in our personal, professional, and spiritual lives. Look for the “why,” search for the end goal, find the glorification of God in who you are, not what you are doing. Tasks are more volatile than personhood. You may have a job or position one day, and be out of it the next. But your heart, soul, mind, and strength are things you can always give to God, regardless of circumstances. If you can find a way to praise God with your whole person, your personality, your intentions, and your passion, as opposed to the various tasks that happen to fill up the minutes and hours of your days and weeks, that is when you will be truly fulfilled.
(This essay was written by Chris Coultas, Worship Leader of the 10:0am Service)
How did all the animals fit in the ark?
Noah & Sons
This past week, Pastor Williams shared a message entitled “Noah & Sons.” It’s the latest message in our Hall of Fame series based on Hebrews 11. Noah was a man of tremendous faith in challenging days. It had never rained before (and probably never flooded, either), and yet God tells him that it’s going to rain and the whole earth will be covered in water. God tells Noah to build an enormous ship big enough to hold his entire family and the animals that would be needed to replenish the earth. It takes Noah 100 years to build this boat! For years, he is mocked and laughed at, yet he continues to demonstrate great faith in God…faith worth emulating.
So, how did all the animals fit in the ark?
Today, many of us may still wonder how all of those animals fit inside the boat. It’s questions like this that cause us to be a little hesitant to accept the biblical story as accurate. But, simple science and simple math reveal how this is possible. You can believe that the story is true…and therefore, that the Bible is true!
Check out this video that explains how the animals all fit…
October is…
The month of October has been set aside annually for several causes and programs, and we just wanted to remind you about them as we continue on through the month. Perhaps, God is even challenging you to take action and get involved. October is…
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Clergy Appreciation Month
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Down Syndrome Awareness Month
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Pregnancy Loss & Infant Loss Awareness Month
Cultivating “Godly Sorrow”
It’s football season, so I think it’s very appropriate to talk about passion and excitement. Real fans wildly cheer their team’s victories, and occasionally, deeply mourn their losses. Do you identify with that, or are their other things that light you up? What do you get really fired up over, what excites you, what causes emotion to burn deep into your being?
Now another question, what are your most intense emotions. Really think about it – when you have an intense emotional reaction to something, what are you typically feeling. Chances are, the most common and intense emotions we experience are sadness, anger, or joy.
What about regret and remorse? More than likely, it’s been a while since you’ve truly allowed yourself to experience these emotions. Our culture idolizes personal happiness, glorifies anger and rage, and romanticizes sadness, so it’s “acceptable” to experience these emotions. Shame, guilt, regret, and remorse are the red-headed stepchildren in our culture’s collective bank of emotions. We live in a society of “no regrets.” We say it is meaningless to live in the past, and “What’s done is done.”
Yet when we embrace this mindset, we abandon the gravity of sin and forget the holiness of God. Furthermore, this nullifies the grace of God and downplays the sacrifice of Christ. When we reject remorse, we silence our consciences and the Holy Spirit within us.
When was the last time you wept over your brokenness? When was the last time you looked back on your day and realized you had abandoned God, that you had ignored His calling and thumbed your nose at His command? When was the last time you felt sadness wash over you because you disappointed God? The Bible records one particularly poignant story of two men who blatantly abandonded, betrayed, and rejected God. Their response was not to “forgive themselves” and move on immediately. Both men had intensely sorrowful reactions when they realized what they had done. Why do we not call all of our sins “betraying God’s grace?” Was it not our sins that put Christ on the cross?
Some may say this is a negative view of God – that He is full of love, grace, and is “the God of second chances.” These would say that we need to bask in the grace of God and freely accept it. Those statements are true – God is like that. Yet sin is sin, and after all He has done for us, is it not the height of arrogance to vaccilate freely between accepting the love of God while ignoring the will of God?
Some may say this is a dangerous approach to considering sin – that we as a society are prone to depression, and overemphasizing our faults and flaws would be extremely detrimental. This is also true. Yet God has left us with an appropriate way to deal with our own sin. Returning to the story I referenced earlier, who were these two men who abandoned God? Judas and Peter. Both men realized they had betrayed Jesus in their own ways. Judas felt sorrow and disgust at himself, and tried to erase his actions and distance himself from them – eventually his sorrow led him to commit suicide. Peter also betrayed Christ, and “wept bitterly” when he realized what he had done. Yet he stuck around long enough to run back to Christ with passion and humility when given the opportunity.
2 Corinthians 7:8-13 talks about a “godly sorrow” that yields repentance. God is not in the business of inducing depression. Longstanding shame and guilt only neutralizes us and makes us impotent for the Kingdom of God. Rather, God sends the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, to induce remorse, so that we would acknowledge our wickedness (incidentally, calling all our wrongdoing “wickedness” greatly increases its perceived severity) and turn from our ways (i.e., “repent”) towards a closer relationship with God.
David asked God to create a “new heart” in him after he abandoned the ways of God in favor of murder, sexual immorality, and passion (Psalm 51). In fact, the psalms are filled with the remorse of a man who would turn to God and run away from Him. Would that God would soften our hearts again, and give us a sensitivity towards our own sin, and passion for personal holiness.
(This essay was written by Chris Coultas, lead singer of the Church At The GYM Band)
You Are A Masterpiece!
It’s true. You are a masterpiece.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
God made us. Think about that for a second; God made you! He made you to do something great. This week as you go out and live in your community of Sanford, Lake Mary, Deltona, Deland, Debary, Longwood, or anywhere here in the Central Florida area; know that God made you a masterpiece.
(Contributed by Jason Williams)
Go see Courageous this weekend!
This weekend we’re encouraging everyone at our church to go and see Courageous, the new movie from the producers of Facing the Giants & Fireproof.
It’s important to support the film on opening weekend
The longevity of a film in theaters is closely associated with it’s performance on opening weekend. If it does well, it gets to stay. If it does poorly, it is replaced by a higher grossing film, probably one that’s been in theaters for a while. And, the longer the film is in theaters the broader its impact. It will reach more people with the message of the Gospel if it is well-supported by people of faith. If we don’t support faith-based movies like this, fewer will be made. If we will support movies such as this, the movie studios will finance more. It’s as simple as that.
So…
Come see the film with us this Sunday at 4:15
Free childcare will be provided at the church from 3:45-7:45 by the great people who are part of our AWANA team.
Also…
Please use the event as an outreach opportunity
Invite some friends to go with you.
Here’s the trailer for the film
See you this weekend at the movies!
P.S. – We are giving away more free tickets to the film this Sunday morning!
(Contributed by Jonathan Williams).
Welcome to Our Church
In Sanford, FL we realize there are a lot of church options. There are big, medium, small; there are loud, medium, quiet; there are high class, low class, and no class. At our church, we don’t focus on any of that. We focus on Jesus being the focus of our church. We want to be a lighthouse to Central Florida displaying that Jesus is our superhero. Come and try out – our church.
