The Journey has come to an end...and a new beginning

As I write this, four Christ Central leaders are attending the Lifeway Women's Ministry Leadership Forum in Nashville, which is where this journey began. We sought to look at women's ministry in a different way, and asked God to show us what He wanted us to do. There was no doubt that we felt something "big" was on the horizon, but month after month, the way remained unclear. What God did do was cause us to seek Him with more dedication and purpose than we ever had. If nothing was accomplished, we are certainly closer to Him now than we were then.

As Cedar Creek Church continues to grow, we will become more focused on our vision, the one of shepherding people through HOME Groups. We believe that in community we experience the life and growth that God wants us to have, and groups will always be our primary focus. This journey has led me to feel strongly about going beyond connecting women in to leading our church in applying that grace we've been given to serve our local community. I have already begun the move from being the Women’s Ministry leader to serving with the Global Outreach Ministry in the area of Local P.E.A.C.E. The shepherding of women will primarily take place through HOME groups, however the church leadership is open to ministries targeted toward women. If you have a passion to reach out to or shepherd women, you may discuss this with your HOME group leader or with David Hardy.

I have been simply amazed at what God is already beginning to do through this new focus at Cedar Creek. Coordination of local outreach will help us focus our efforts and match the gifts and talents within our church members to the areas of greatest need. We are so much happier when we are serving where God has gifted us, and I look forward to partnering with you in that endeavor! I hope you will join us this Sunday evening at 6:00 PM for the most powerful LUMAFest we've ever had and to see the many ministries we are already partnering with for Local P.E.A.C.E. along with the amazing things God is doing around the world.

Now serving you as,
Sandy Spence
Local P.E.A.C.E. Coordinator
Cedar Creek Church
Aiken, SC 29803
803-649-3096 ext. 251

Local Women's Conference

The Miracle of You Conference on October 25-27 at Warrenville Revival Center's Family Life Center (16 Polatty Street, Warrenville, SC) is designed to unmask deceptions and release strong holds by using the biblical record to confirm who we are, what's at stake, and how we can be free and lead others to freedom. It is offered by Wellspring on Williamsburg Ministries in partnership with Christ Central Ministries. The conference is free and runs from 5:30 PM (registration and reception; orientation begins at 7:00) on Thursday, 8:30-5:30 on Friday, and 8:30-11:45 on Saturday.

Daily Devotionals Delivered to your Inbox

Take advantage of all that the internet offers and sign up for a daily or weekly devotional thought. I've been a fan of Prime Time with God for quite a few months now. The written prayers are powerful and scripture laden, while the message is quite challenging and thought-provoking. You can sign up at:

http://www.churchgrowthmail.org/web/pageid/30781/pages.asp

Another I just started getting is called Girlfriends in God (seems appropriate, huh?!). One of the authors, Sharon Jaynes, wrote a really great book called Building an Effective Women's Ministry that my team has read and use as a reference.

http://www.girlfriendsingod.com/Devotions/TodaysDevotion/tabid/97/Default.aspx

What IS so amazing about grace?

I think God is taking me to school. I was given a book a couple of weeks by Christian contemporary artist, Steven Curtis Chapman and his pastor, Scotty Smith, called Speechless: Living in Awe of God's Disruptive Grace. They gave it to me to share a section with my brother, but I got taken in by it. It's a compelling collection of two ministry leaders and their struggles with how God works grace out in their lives. Right before I started reading it, we were told that our church was going to spend 10 weeks on grace in our services. I could not imagine how they could come up with 10 weeks of material. That book has primed the pump for me to see how little I understand about grace. I believe God has a great deal to teach me. Funny how you can be a Christian for so many years and not have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of your faith, nor the awe-inspiring appreciation for what God has done for you.

Notebook and pen in hand...

Diving into the Pool

Heard a great illustration from Bill Hybels during the 2005 Willow Creek Leadership Summit. He spoke of us finding the place God designed us to serve in like diving into a pool. First of all, we have to jump somewhere. Hopefully it will be an area of service that strikes some positive chord in you. It might take several tries, however, to find just the "right spot". The important thing is that we keep trying.

What interested me most, and what I suspect might be happening to me, is when he said that God says, "Here's a new pool." I find myself being a little disconcerted, because I thought I knew where I was going. However, God's been posing the question to me, "Do you really want to serve me, or do you just want to do what you want to do?" Ouch. I find myself clinging to the top of the ladder, not wanting to venture to the end of the board. I guess I need the courage to move to the end and take a leap, knowing that God is waiting to catch me.

Women's Conference in Augusta, GA

It is my continued hope to point women to opportunities for their own spiritual growth outside of Cedar Creek. Another of those is the Women's Community Celebration at Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church in Augusta, GA on Saturday, October 6, 2007. You can download a copy of the brochure on the Women of the Vine link at www.trinityonthehill.net and mail in the registration by September 26. About twenty of our women were thoroughly inspired last year by Priscilla Shirer and this year's speaker is Roseanne Coleman. I haven't heard her, but I can vouch for the quality of this conference and the amazing amount of prayer that surrounds it. The worship last year was exceptional, and it even included lunch that we were able to share about our experiences together. It's a great opportunity to share a conference with other women in our church and not have to travel far. Brochures are also available at our "Under Construction" kiosk.

What?! No Bible studies this fall at Cedar Creek??

Well, we know that this is not going to be a popular decision, but there will be no organized women’s Bible studies offered this fall at Cedar Creek. As previously mentioned, we believe God wanted us to stop doing any events, Bible studies included, so that we could concentrate on hearing from Him. We want our ministry to be done with excellence, so we plan to wait until we can unveil the full offering of activities at once, hopefully in January. Until then, here are some suggestions to meet some Bible study requests:

• Visit Lifeway.com for three online Bible studies, “Believing God” and “Living Beyond Yourself” by Beth Moore and “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby and Claude King.
• Sign up for a regular devotional message to encourage you to get in God’s word (favorite ones listed on the blog—see below)
• Listen to your favorite authors teach Bible lessons on www.oneplace.com.
• Gather a group of girlfriends and do a study together. Visit your local bookstore or online resource (www.lifeway.com or www.christianbook.com) for selections.
  

What’s Going On in Women's Ministry?

Lots more than you think! A team of women has been meeting since February to rethink how we do women’s ministry at Cedar Creek. We are prayerfully seeking how God would have us minister to the women of our church and community. We’ve heard from other ministries at Cedar Creek to see how we can partner with them, read leadership books or listened to ministry leaders around the world. We will soon enter into 40 days of spiritual preparation for our planning retreat.

I ask for your prayers as this team meets monthly. We are obeying God’s call to stop doing anything until He says, “Go!” That means, however, that 2007 will be strangely quiet, but be assured that God is at work in us for the Kingdom. We hope that come January the construction goes away, and we get to the work God has called us to do.