The attraction factor

A couple weeks ago I walked into my office and saw an incredible display of beauty outside the window. There are large cherry trees in front of the building, and they were in full bloom. (Sorry for the picture quality...it was the best I could do with a camera phone.) The view was stunning...and thought provoking. Just like that tree captures our attention, and attracts us, so it can be with our church. Not the building, but the people. When the local church is working well, it's is a thing of beauty, far more attractive than a fruit tree. When followers of Jesus live lives of gratitude, service, and compassion, the church attracts people from miles around. It's my dream that as we make progress on the building here at 13 Firstfield, we'll never forget that we are called to "be the church." The people in our community might enjoy the trees, but they truly need to be attracted to lives that are being changed by the power of the gospel.

Beach Blast!

It was an open house and a futurama and a fun-filled afternoon all rolled up in one. Popcorn, mini-golf, fun, music, and more. Hundreds of people came out to see what the building will look like when it’s all done. The pictures we displayed helped everyone visualize what we can anticipate over the next year. (see samples below) And the pictures we TOOK helped us visualize that we won’t take ourselves too seriously along the way. (again, see below) It really was a Winter Beach Blast!

But beyond the bricks and mortar and glass and technology, we were reminded of the potential this facility has to reach people with the amazing good news of Jesus Christ. Hundreds of thousands of people live within a 25 minute drive of our church and are disconnected from the life God offers. We believe this facility is intended to help us communicate in creative and powerful ways that there is a loving God who changes human lives through Jesus Christ. Just this week I listened to someone tell how God is changing his life since he started attending Seneca Creek. I thought to myself, “this is why we’re here…for people just like this!”

Pray for our hearing tonight (February 13^th) with the City of Gaithersburg. Specifically pray that we can obtain the approval we need to move forward with our plans. And pray that God continues to pour out a spirit of generosity on this church as we step into the next chapter he has for us: Chapter Two: Trading Places, Changing Lives!