Connexus Community Church

Sex and Celebration Planned for Long Weekend @ Connexus

Okay, so my career as a tabloid headline writer was short.  But there is truth in that headline.  Let me explain.

As we celebrate the May 2-4 weekend, or Victoria Day Weekend, or the long weekend, or whatever you call it, Connexus has got some sweet things lined up at both campuses.  We want to bring the best out for God every weekend, long weekends included.  If you've got a house-full or a back deck full of people, bring them along.

Here's what's happening.

Barrie Campus: God and Sex Launches
God and Sex | Part One: Sex Tricks | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Sex has so much promise.  But somehow it doesn’t always deliver what we hoped for.  Somewhere along the line, we got tricked. What happened? Join us as we explore sex in the Bible and see what happened to the gift God gave us and what that means for our lives. 

Note: This service is rated PG 13.  We'll be talking honestly and biblically about sex.  There is great kids programming at Connexus at all services for kids aged birth-grade 8.

Orillia Campus: Six Month Birthday Party Comes to Town
Personally Changed | Our Six Month Birthday Celebration | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Six months ago, hundreds of people pooled their energy, faith and resources and decided to begin Connexus. How do you measure progress?  In changed lives.  This week, we’ll pause at our six month anniversary and hear some compelling stories about what God is doing to change lives.  Plus, we’ll explore a very tangible expression of life-change – baptism – and what it means for your life today.

I firmly believe the best thing going any long weekend is God, and I am so looking forward to celebrating Him together and with our friends this weekend.

- Carey

Kindred Spirits . . .

Do you ever meet someone who you feel like you've known for years?  Do you ever bump into a group of people who seem to asking the same questions and attempting the same stuff?  I totally had that happen today!

A friend of mine, Jim Tomberlin, works helping churches multiply their impact.  Jim is a pioneer, visionary leader, and a lot of fun to hang out with.  So when he asked me to spend a day with him it was easy to take the day to do that.

Anyways . . . today I was with the leadership team of an incredible church in New Jersey called Liquid Church.  As I was sitting around the table I was thinking . . . I wish I could have my leaders sitting here and listening to this group.    They launched a year ago with 400 people and today they are around 1200 on Sundays - not in the Bible belt - but in New Jersey (insert Sopranos joke here)!  Incredible growth on the surface . . . but it was some of the "below the surface" stuff that impressed me most.

In talking with Lauren, their groups guru, I found out that just over 1/3 of their adults are in groups.  That's fantastic when you consider that means they've added hundred and hundreds of new people while their weekend attendance is exploding.

Mike, their lead "get it all done" dude, was telling me about the commitment of their set up team.  This might sound familiar . . . 3 transport trailers full of gear every Sunday - the majority of the team rolls in at 5:30 am.  They start so early that some of the team actually sleeps over at the hotel they meet at!

Tim - their "Carey" - I was very impressed with.  Can I be honest?  I would think if the church I was pastoring grew by 300% in 12 months my head would be huge.  (Can I be a little too honest?  I've met pastors who churches aren't growing anywhere that fast who's heads are huge.)  But Tim is a down to earth dude.  (Although he does have really big hair.)  It was my privilege to watch his interactions with his team - showing so much respect and care for the team.  Not a sense of "this is all about me".  Quality dude.  I think God is going to use that humility.

Dave serves as their Executive Pastor . . . A solid guy who has left the marketplace to throw his leadership behind this church.  He serves as the CFO . . . and is the guy standing up driving the vision and saying "let's go farther, faster!"   

I wish you could have been here today (although fitting a few more dozen people in the room would have made it tight!).  I count it a privilege to interact with leaders like this.  If your ever in NJ - drop by Liquid.  If you are looking for a podcast to follow - tune in!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Executive Director of Operations
Connexus Community Church

Stories

This is celebration week at Connexus as we mark six months since launch.  We had a great day in Barrie yesterday and are completing look forward to bringing the party to Orillia this coming weekend. 

In the message yesterday I got the chance to tell stories.  Nothing amazes me more, humbles me more or encourages me more than hearing people tell stories of how God has impacted their lives.

No doubt, Connexus has attracted a whole new crop of people over the last six months.  In one of the services, I told the story of a Laurie-Ann and her husband Ron who came to us right after launch. They were both already committed follower of Jesus. One morning in our "shake a hand" time they introduced themselves to a young couple.  She was completely unchurched in background and he hadn't been in a decade (bad experience growing up). The next week, the couple found Laurie-Ann and Ron and sat down next to them.  Ron and Laurie-Ann struck up a conversation with them, spent some time with them, and invited them to join a community group. 

After the service, a couple came up to me and said "Hey Carey, we are that couple. I can't tell you how this community and this experience has changed our lives." Both have now made a commitment to follow Jesus, and one of them is getting baptized.

I could go on....six months into this, I am beginning to hear story after story like that.  It makes it so worth it.  I know so many in our community have sacrificed so much on both campuses.  Yesterday, I had one of those days where I realized that every ounce of energy we can pour into this is more than worth it, and I just left SO grateful for this community and each of you.  The investment we are making now will resonate into eternity.

Big Weekend This Weekend @ Connexus

So this is a BIG weekend @ Connexus with lots of stuff going on.

I know many Connexus people (including Toni and I) will be at one of the three Under One Roof venues Saturday night to benefit Cindy Morris.  Things start at 7:30 tomorrow night in Barrie, Orillia and Oro. For more information, see our post earlier this week.

Mother's Day
We have a special gift at both campuses for the women in our lives on Sunday.  They got delivered today.  I'm not telling, but they're quite nice.  You'll want to be there to find out!

Barrie Campus | 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Six months ago, hundreds of people started a church called Connexus.  This weekend, we're going to celebrate with stories of life-change, look at how to measure spiritual progress, and end up with an invitation we've never given before.  Join the party this weekend - and invite your friends to come with you.

Ross McLeod leads worship and I will be giving the message.

Special note:  At the Barrie campus, we'll have a photographer on site for both services and our friends from Global TV will be back again to film in the adult and kids environments for the 10:00 a.m. service.

Orillia Campus |8:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Daytimers for kids in kindergarten?  Running from appointment to appointment?  If most of us are honest with ourselves we probably feel overwhelmed with balancing the demands of life and the relationships that mean the most to us.  Is it possible that we are simply too busy?  Is there a better way to handle our time?  Does our schedule affect our spirituality?

Jackie Wright will be leading worship and Rich Birch brings a fantastic message! Bring some friends.

(The six month anniversary party moves into Orillia May 18th.)

So that's it.  So excited to be home, and to see once again what God is doing in people's lives.

- Carey

Coming soon to a Connexus near you . . .

Did you hear what the next series big series is going to be at Connexus?

It's going to be a good one . . .

Get more information here.

Send some evites from our website . . . invite some friends . . . spread the word . . .

Can't wait for Tuesday night!

Hello again friends. . .

So this week I'm back in Atlanta with a number of people from our team.  (Andrew Walker - music dude, Tim Walker - video dude, Rob Meeder - host dude, Carey Nieuwhof - my boss dude)  This week we're attending the Drive Conference at our partner church down here called North Point Community Church.  Since the thing got rolling yesterday they warned us a couple times to make sure that our car is full with gas when we arrive today because tonight they have some sort of road trip planned.

The excitement in the air is tangible as people are wondering what is going to happen on Tuesday night.  Last night we joked around about starting a pool to see if people could guess what is happening Tuesday night.  I woke up this morning wondering what is happening Tuesday night. 

I'm hooked.  They've got my interest.  I'm pumped for today!

I got thinking this morning that I wonder how we can craft experiences that create a similar tension in our friends lives at Connexus.  I think we do a great job on so many levels on many things . . . but do our friends wonder during the week what is happening at Connexus this weekend?  Are they beating down the door just having to know what we're talking about?  Maybe sometimes . . .

Anyways . . . thanks for the opportunity to come to Drive.  We'll report back about what happens tonight!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Executive Director of Operations
Connexus Community Church

p.s. as a way to leverage our financial resources better - we drove to this conference.  (20 hours!)  it was a lot of fun . . . I would recommend a road trip like that soon with some friends of yours.  A great investment in community!

Celebration Anyone? Don't Miss These....

It's so good to chat, even by blog.  I'm excited about being at Orange and Drive, but can't wait to come back to our community late Wednesday night.

We are going to celebrate some great things soon. 

Under One Roof
Just a reminder that Under One Roof, three simultaneous concerts designed to benefit the trust fund set up to help Cindy Morris and her children  happens this coming Saturday at three locations:  the Free Methodist Church in Barrie, Bethel Baptist in Orillia and Trinity Community in Oro beginning at 7:30 p.m.  Cindy continues to recover remarkably well from her injuries, and your prayers are appreciated!

Connexus' Six Month Anniversary
On May 11th in Barrie and May 18th in Orillia, we're going to celebrate Connexus' six month anniversary.   We've been gathering stories of life-change over the last few weeks and I can't wait to talk about what God is doing in people's lives.  It's going to be a fun celebration that will certainly be great for our team and for our friends.  Don't miss the celebration when it comes to your campus!

Irresistible
We're also going to be hosting an event called Irresistible for all those from Muskoka who are thinking about being part of our Muskoka campus launch.  It's June 8th at 7:30 the Rene M. Caisse Theater in Bracebridge.  Tell your Muskoka friends about it!

Volunteer Summer Celebration
We love our volunteers!  Wherever you volunteer, don't just go home on Sunday, June 22nd. Join us at a soon to be announced location for an early afternoon Volunteer Celebration BBQ.  Just to be clear, we don't plan on barbecueing you - just some meat. Should be fun for the whole family.

I love our community...and it's great to see what God can do when people come together.  So get that iCal , blackberry or good old fashioned pen and paper out now and mark these dates.

- Carey

This Sunday @ Connexus

What are you doing this Sunday?  Hopefully coming to Connexus!  Invite some friends to come with you. . . it's going to be a good time.

Barrie:
Dejunkification: Part Two - Narrow the Focus
Daytimers for kids in kindergarten?  Running from appointment to appointment?  If most of us are honest with ourselves we probably feel overwhelmed with balancing the demands of life and the relationships that mean the most to us.  Is it possible that we are simply too busy?  Is there a better way to handle our time?  Does our schedule affect our spirituality?

Jackie Wright and band will be leading on the music front!

Orillia:
Dejunkification: Part One - Less is more (really!)
Garage sales, self storage units, basements full of boxes . . . let's face it . . . we all have way to much stuff.  Is there a connection between the amount of stuff we have in our lives and our relationships with the people we care for the most?  Do material possessions help or hinder our relationship with God?

Geoff Breen will be back to Orillia with his band to lead!

Happy Rainy Friday . . . it's better than Snow! 

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Executive Director of Operations (stuff other people don't want to do)
Connexus Community Church

"Orange you glad" for Church leaders!

Hey friends,

It's been good to be down here in Atlanta for the Orange Conference.  I had the privilege of talking with literally hundreds of church leaders about the stuff I've learned over the last number of years being portable and doing this whole multisite thing.  I'm glad for Connexus' value of working to serve other church leaders.  It's always great to talk with so leaders about what God is doing in their context.  Here a couple things that stuck out with me from the conference . . .

Small Groups Leaders are doing a Huge Job! 
To put it simply . . . Small Group Leaders are the backbone of effective local churches.  Whether they are serving the smallest kids in Waumbaland or leading an adult group through multiplication.  This picture was my favourite moment of the conference.  These fine gentleman (ages 14-25) are being interviewed by Reggie Joiner (The Orange King) about the impact that small group leaders have had on their life.  Each story was profound as they talked about the effect that each of their small group leaders had on them.  Only after they told their stories did we learn that they were talking about the same small group leader!  Then Reggie called their leader to the stage to give him an "Orange" award.  As there SGL took the stage the entire crowd stood on their feet for a standing ovation for this small group leader.  It was a fantastic moment.  Small Group Leaders are the heart beat of what we are doing.  I wish everyone of our SGL's could have been there to see this moment.  Thank you for what you do!

God is a big God up to Big Stuff!
I know it might come as a surprise to you . . . but I usually just think about our church.  I know that God is doing stuff in other churches but I don't spend much time thinking about it.  It's not that I am not interested in knowing what God is doing in other places . . . there is just so much right in front of us at Connexus that I don't have much bandwidth to consider it.  It was great to hear many great stories of churches doing all kinds of really cool stuff.  A couple stories that serve as examples of the sort of stories I kept hearing . . . the good guys at Sagebrush Community Church in New Mexico.  They were portable for years and growing quickly.  The moved into their building and have gone from 1500 people to something like 4500 people in a very short period of time.  They are are setting out to open another campus to reach more people in another part of Albuquerque.  Fantastic!    Or Tim DuBois in Clearwater, FLA and this really cool monthly event he is doing for teens and parents together.  Imagine that!  Teens and Parents attending something together and talking about spirituality!  Amazing!

Christian Leadership Community
It's great to bump into so many leaders within the broader Christian community.  It was nice to reconnect with people from my past from various parts of our broader faith family.  It's always good to catch up with people you haven't seen in a couple years.  It's also very good to be challenged by new people that you've never met before but have this unspoken "family" relationship as a part of the world wide family of Jesus.

I'm sure there is other stuff that I could write about . . . but I wanted to capture a couple of my initial thoughts on being at Orange 2008.  As a parting idea I was glad to see so many people respecting Carey.  He's a little bit of a rock star in these circles.  It was fun to see people lining up to talk with him after sessions.  In so many ways we are privileged to have him leading Connexus.  I know that might sound kinda weird because I think we live in a culture that doesn't like speaking well of leaders.  But Carey is a smart dude, a clear thinker and a great communicator.  It's great to have him leading this team!  Give him a huge when you seem him next - I'm sure he'd love a couple hundred people hugging him when he gets home from ATL!

Have a great night!  They are boarding my flight . . . I should get going!  I'm missing my community group tonight . . . bummer . . . but maybe there will be people still hanging around when I get there . . . I think people left close to midnight last week!

Rich Birch
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com
Executive Director of Operations
Connexus Community Church

Kids are amazing . . .

It's been great to be at Orange this week.  Ministry to families is so important to us.  It's been a great shot in the arm to be reminded how vitally important it is for us to work with parents to see an impact on children and students.  This video reminds me what a precious gift all "our" kids are to us . . . and what a great privilege it is for us to serve them and their parents every week!

Rich Birch
Executive Director of Operations
Connexus Community Church
rich.birch@connexuscommunity.com