A couple weeks ago, Adam asked the staff to come up with one thing that we might want to go back and tell to our 21-year-old selves. Here are some of those nuggets of wisdom from our staff:
Other people are more important than I am.
Serving without love isn’t really serving.
A big part of discipleship is showing and passing on godly character.
Life is moving faster than you think, so prioritize the stuff that is eternal.
Holiness is better than “success.”
Hiding is dangerous.
I still have much growing to do.
If I jammed all of those together into one statement it would be, “True success is growing to reflect Christ more and more through personal holiness, loving sacrifice, and an eternal perspective.” That is true for the staff at Sandhurst and it is true for families. Next you will read about some of our upcoming events, and I’ll share how that statement is the heartbeat in these activities:
10/29 – Family Sunday w/Kids Choir and Baptisms. Since this is the fifth Sunday of the month, elementary kids (5k-5th grade) will stay in the service on 10/29 instead of being dismissed before the sermon. Why? Because we want to leverage this Sunday to help these kids do what all Christians do—worship and learn in community. And we want parents to have the chance to shepherd their kids through what it looks like to hear God’s Word and apply it. Parents are exercising an eternal perspective by lovingly leading their kids into submission to Scripture with the saints.
10/31 – Halloween Outreach. Instead of regular Life Group and KidsOnMission events on 11/1, we are going out to where the people are on 10/31. Your life group can do this together (it can be super fun!) or you can do this as a family or friend-group. We will show the joy and fun that comes from knowing Christ while inviting people to Fallback Sunday. The big idea is simple: we want to bring an eternal perspective and reflect Christ on the one day of the year where everyone is outside interacting together. Here are some great ideas and resources.
11/5 – Fallback Sunday/Tailgating Together after the Gathering. This will be a big family meal. The idea is to enjoy being together. This is a great time for new people to make friends, and for long-time members to be friendly. Simply: it’s time to experience some BBQ-soaked fellowship as we pursue holiness together as a community.
That’s what’s coming up. But more importantly, that is the heart behind it.
Oh, and one more for your calendar:
11/15 – Family Skate Night. This takes the place of KidsOnMission on this night too. Families should come. Pizza is included in the cost of the event. $10/person or $25/family. Families come free if at least one child and one parent memorize Psalm 19:7-10 by 11/8. Just record a video of parent and child saying or singing it to kelly.hayes@sandhurst.net :)