Emerging Leaders: Last weekend, we had our annual spring equippers retreat at the lake. In our church, “equippers” are those who serve as leaders in our small groups. We have six different small groups, called “canvas groups,” mid-sized groups of 20-30 men and women that focus on building relationships and having a spiritual presence in different areas of campus. Each staff member leads a canvas group and coaches a team of 5-7 equippers. I was so encouraged to see the new leaders who are “being tapped” and stepping into new roles in our church. We have one of our strongest freshman classes yet and they are unstoppable. Many we’ve asked to step up in various capacities within the Rock for next year. I’m most encouraged seeing lives changed and their vision of reality transformed as they are learning to wrestle with God and make decisions about how to live their lives each day… I see them growing and changing as they are faced with the reality of who God is and who they are as a result and answering the call God’s placing over their lives to live on a mission every day and learn what it means to follow Christ.
Catalytic Events – Spring Break Trips: Our spring break trips truly serve as a catalyst for growth in our church and this last spring break was no different. The Rock took two trips, one to an urban ministry called “SOS” – Service Over Self, a ministry we have a partnership with in Memphis, TN. They are a ministry focused in the inner-city and do homeless street ministry as well as being a redemptive force in the neighborhoods they serve, as they build homes for those in need and share the message of Christ.
This year’s Honduras trip was of particular note, as no one came home unchanged. Something powerful happened in the lives of the 19 who went and served with the church, orphanage, AIDS clinic and school we partner with in Choluteca, Honduras. 12 of the 19 people who went were freshman, and their lives were forever changed, as they are still wrestling with all God revealed to them. I asked one of the freshmen to share his experiences in my prayer letter.
Women’s Retreat: It’s difficult to even know where to start with the women’s retreat, as every part of this process from start to finish was like walking out of a dream. It ended up turning into a huge outreach, as many girls came who had never been to the Rock before but heard about it from a friend, or who visited the Rock for the first time when we started promoting the event. We were floored at the response, as it was our first retreat, we were hoping for 25 girls. About 70 girls attended the retreat and there was a lot God did in and through their lives that weekend.
We focused on identity, but first had to start off addressing the ways we’ve been wounded as women. Because of the sensitivity of these issues, we were reminded during the retreat there is a huge need for more women in leadership in our churches. The men in our churches play a critical role and made a tremendous impact, yet we're also finding the role women play in ministry and the unique opportunity they have in the lives of other women. We're finding one of the biggest reasons many women never recover from these issues is the difficulty in approaching male pastors, regardless of the level of trust in that relationship, sensitive issues in the ways in which women are wounded today are difficult to talk about with men, so many women go years without ever talking about them, it at all.
We had to start uncovering some of the wounds in their past during the retreat, so they could see how these hinder them from truly experiencing the love that only He can give and the life transformation He offers. Without acknowledging and recovering from these wounds, many women never realize the fullness of who they already are in Christ or understand their irreplaceable role in the Kingdom of God. The thing is we can’t live free and we can’t live the life God intended us to live until we start living out of the reality of who God says we are and believing that truth about ourselves.
It was a huge success and we owe every bit of it to God. We have started praying about what vision God would have for next year’s and the future of how to more effectively minister to our women, as there are now three women coming on staff this year, myself and two other ladies, Cassie and Peggy. We each have very different ministries to our women, but share the same passion for helping women learn how to follow Christ.
Recovery Ministry and Canvas Group updates to come soon.
For more around The Rock, check out our website.
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