MBC Loudoun is blessed to have an amazing team of leaders shepherding our Weekend Host Teams!

Sunday evening, we gathered at the home of two of our leaders (our newcomer brunch hosts, appropriately : )). It was a valuable time as we…

• Fellowshipped together as a family over a themed dinner

SHEPHERD’S PIE

SHEEP-SHAPED BUTTER FOR OUR ROLLS!

• Freshened our roles as leaders as we reviewed our Leader Commitment in light of some great passages on shepherding (Luke 15:4-7; John 10:2-5,14, 16; 21:15-22; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-4; Ezekiel 34:1-6)

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ~ Acts 20:28

• Discussed this year’s theme of being a family expecting guests

• And adopted a new scheduling tool and community hub for MBC Loudoun’s Weekend Host Teams!

I am blessed by such amazing leaders who love the Lord, love serving Him, and bless our congregation as they do!

Last week, I had the pleasure of welcoming a new volunteer into our respite program called Break Out. As a volunteer for Access, you do not need any prior experience with children who have special needs. You just need the courage to take that first step that Jesus calls us to take when following Him. It reminds me of the scripture found in Matthew 14:27-29 when Peter is having to take that first step out of the boat. It is always the scariest one! However, you come to realize that not only are you furthering the Kingdom of God but what you thought would be God’s blessing to someone else is also a blessing for you. Here is an email from that volunteer:

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for asking my feedback … it was different than I expected … not sure what I expected … but I was exhausted when I got home and had one of the best night’s sleep! It made me realize just how lucky I am to have 2 “healthy” kids. As tired as I was after 3-1/2 hours, I can’t imagine how tired the parents are doing this 24/7. I now understand the need for Break Out and will be there as often as my schedule allows.

I am a big believer if we can just get people to DO SOMETHING they will be touched and Blessed and realize how much even the smallest thing helps further the Kingdom, so if my email touches one person and opens their heart to volunteer somewhere, please us it!

Ken

February’s Second Saturday was a great time of blessing others with the love of Christ. Dozens of families and adults gathered on a snowy day to make 55 valentines for residents at a local retirement community.

Each family received a copy of Adventures in Odyssey’s “The Last I Do” – a fun story all about why we celebrate Valentine’s Day.

 We pray that those receiving the valentines will be impacted by Christ’s love.

A big thank you to Jill Rembold who organized the event and made delicious goodies for everyone!  And to Jill Smith, who helped set up and tear down. This event would not have happened without them!

LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! ~Psalm 8:1

We kicked off MBC Loudoun’s first ever Digging In!  On the last Sunday of January, we dug into our lunches (pizza and ‘dirt dessert’) and the sermon. It was a great time of fellowship with others from our MBC Loudoun family and we got to know Pastor Jim more personally.

We dug into Will Pavone’s sermon about Psalm 8:

“What are some things in the mundane of which you can be more mindful?”

Our group pointed out the beautiful area that we get to live in – the houses, trees, parks and mountains – and the remarkable God we serve who made it all for the enjoyment of our eyes. It’s easy to take these things for granted, to allow them to become mundane, everyday and common when we should really take the time to thank God for the beauty and wonder of the world He’s created for us.

“What steps can you implement to make room for a greater attitude of praise in daily life?”

We discussed how we need to prioritize a special time to spend with the Lord in order to have a greater attitude of praise from day to day. Sometimes this means taking time away from the everyday. My husband and I do this by taking time to go to the mountains, hike until we find a gorgeous view and then, take it in – this allows us to remember how small we are compared to God and how He has everything under control.

One thing that was very impactful was how vulnerable Pastor Jim was.  He shared some things that gave us a glimpse into the heart and mind of our pastor, the impact the Lord in having in his life and the impact He can have in ours.

It was a great time and I want to invite you to join us for the next Digging In – which happens to be this Sunday(2/26) at 12:15 in The Rock.

After a long week of going back and forth to Fairfax for shunt adjustments because of the pain. Cherie’s doctor informed her that he did not know what more to do but to operate again. Cherie spent last Saturday and Sunday immobilized in bed from the pain in her head. Yesterday morning, Matt drove Cherie to John’s Hopkins. After countless hours with Matt’s persistence and Cherie being less than 10 days out of surgery with shunt failure again, they started paying attention. They got her information in the hands of the Director of pseudo tumor clinic, Dr. Rigamomti. He has agreed to take her case. PRAISE JESUS!!!! GOD IS AWESOME!! This will mean many trips to John’s Hopkins over the next several weeks and even months because there is still no know cure.

I received this email and wanted to share this with you. Cherie Sandrof sent an email expressing gratitude for the outpouring of support they have received. It is amazing to see the Lord work through you when His people step out in faith to bless others.

From Cherie:

I’ve had multiple brain surgeries over the past year and each and every time kind people from our church family step up to help us out. I have not been able to track names and/or contact information, etc. of who has brought a meal. However, I’d really like to sincerely thank every single one of them. Do you have a list serve of some sort that you could send this email out to?
As you know, in addition to my complicated health issues, we also have 5 year old triplet boys, one of whom has special needs. We also have no family in the area. Needless to say, when I end up having emergency surgery, life gets tough.
I cannot explain in words just how much it has meant to me that the church body so willingly and lovingly takes care of us when we are in need. I simply cannot imagine what our family life would be like if they hadn’t. From childcare help, to washing our laundry, and most importantly: bringing a hot meal. To some, bringing a meal might seem like a simple task. But for us, it is so much more than that. It is so obvious that these meals are lovingly prepared and delivered with such a giving spirit. It’s comforting and makes us feel so loved.
In the past we have not always felt welcomed at other churches, partly because of our son with special needs. The ministries at McLean Bible Church have helped to keep our family together. Through all of the trials we’ve had, the response we’ve received from McLean Bible Church has restored our faith in the body of Christ.
I really just wanted to thank each and every one of you personally and let you know how much this has meant to our family.
Best,
Cherie

Unfortunately, between the time I received this email to the time this appears on the blog page, Cherie has had to go back in for more brain surgery. Please keep Cherie and Matt in your prayers.

I just love our MBC Loudoun family! It seems the Lord has really blessed us with a great community. Here are a few highlights from the last couple weeks:

• An attendee e-mailed me recently, “I would never feel so well connected if the Lord hadn’t opened the Loudoun Campus.”
• A couple of weeks ago, we had a sort of focus group with our Saturday night attendees asking them what makes the Saturday night service so special. Their overwhelming response? The community!
• A volunteer feels well-connected: “Thank you for helping me be a part of the MBC family!”
• One family was with their relatives on Christmas Eve so attended another campus. They were excited MBC Loudoun had a Christmas Day service… because they wanted to be sure to celebrate Christ’s birth with their church family!
• A couple hundred people attended our Christmas Day service and stayed almost an hour fellowshipping afterwards as we enjoyed birthday cakes for Jesus!

It is God’s people – His body – that makes MBC Loudoun such a special place. Thank you for being such a great community!

Thank you, MBC Loudoun!

We are so grateful for the Lord’s provision for our Weekend Host Teams.

Weekend Host Teams help prepare people to encounter Christ from the street to their seat. While we encompass a variety of teams, we’ve been recruiting most recently for Ushers and Welcome Center Hosts. And the Lord was gracious! He provided for almost every need we had. Thank you to each of you who signed up – you are an answer to prayer! We look forward to serving the Lord with you.

We are praying for just two more people to join the Welcome Center team and four Saturday night ushers.

God is good, and it is a joy and a privilege to serve Him!

]]> http://impactloudoun.com/2011/11/youd-look-good-here/feed/ 0 http://impactloudoun.com/2011/09/how-do-i-get-answers-about-jesus/ http://impactloudoun.com/2011/09/how-do-i-get-answers-about-jesus/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:23:56 +0000 bwalters http://impactloudoun.com/?p=1906

By Brian Walters, Director of Adult Ministries @ MBC Loudoun

It’s not too late to sign-up for Mclean University at: www.mbcloudoun.org/mu! Get answers to your questions about Jesus, the Bible and more in this series of classes that will introduce you to some of the basic building blocks for the Christian faith. Each lesson examines biblical truths and helps you apply them to your life.

If you are beginning a relationship with Jesus or are just exploring who Jesus is and what the Bible says, we recommend you begin with Christianity 101. Remember, McLean University is not just for new believers.  There are several classes offered to help believers in Jesus to grow in their faith.

Check out this video to get inspired and then take a class!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m sure we all can relate to our mom and dad yelling at some point in our lives, “Dinner is ready, come and get it!”  Or perhaps these days this may be communicated via a text message!  But in the 1800’s they rang what was called a dinner bell so everyone that is out and about would know it is time to come in from work or play to eat dinner.  Well, we are ringing the dinner bell for you all to come and sign-up for the fall session of MBC Loudoun Dinner Groups.

We will kick-off Dinner Groups with the First Annual Dinner Group Chili Cook-Off to be held on Saturday, September 17, from 4:30 – 6:00 pm to initiate our Dinner Groups.

Why is MBC Loudoun interested in Dinner Groups?

At MBC, we believe passionately that every Fully Devoted Follower of Jesus Christ needs to have strong and vital relationships with fellow believers.  Dinner groups are a valuable way at MBC Loudoun to connect with others in biblical community. It is very encouraging to see the body of believers stepping into community with one another.  The unity of the Christian community derives from and is guided by the gift of the Spirit that lies at the heart of its life together (Acts 2:42-46; Hebrews 10:24-25).

What is my commitment level to Dinner Groups?

Each Dinner Group member will participate one time a month (October/November) to meet in a host home or point of gathering as decided by the host.  The dinner can consist of a potluck, out to eat at a restaurant, a picnic in the park or any other creative dinner outing that you can come up with.

If you want serve as a host of one of our Dinner Groups, we need people to host either in October or November, or if you have the gift of hospitality you are more than welcome to host both months!  Host duties are primarily logistical, and include scheduling the details of the dinner (time, date, location, whose bringing what, etc.).

We will then come back together as a large group on December 3 at 10:00 am (please mark your calendars) for a Cookie Exchange to end dinner groups until Spring, when we will do it all over again meeting new people for fellowship.

How do I sign up for a Dinner Group?

We will have sign-up forms in the bulletins on August 27/28, fill that out and drop it off in the lobby at the Chili Cook Off sign-up table.  There we will have sign-up sheets for bringing chili, corn bread, desserts, and accessories.  Sign-ups can still continue after that online at the dinner group site:   http://mbcloudoun.org/dinnergroups until September 7.

There will be games, prizes and, chili, of course, at the cook-off and you will also have a chance to meet the other people in your dinner group and start to plan for your October dinner.

Children are welcome, but there will be no childcare at this event.

Who is welcome to join a Dinner Group?

EVERYONE

Wait…..I have more questions:

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Rhonda Etter at home: 571-223-0498 or by email at loudoundinnergroups@gmail.com .

We want to thank you for this opportunity to serve our Lord in this manner and anticipate a wonderful turnout for Dinner Groups.  We are blessed that God has called us to minister to you in this way.