It’s hard to believe but Sheila has been serving Suncrest // Hobart as the interim Kid’s Director since May.  It’s taken us a little longer than we hoped to find our next Kids Director but I’m thrilled to announce that we have found that person.  I’m going to make the official announcement on Sunday so you won’t want to miss it.

As Sheila’s husband I’m a little biased, so I’ll let Debby our Global Children’s Director talk more fully about her contribution below.  In short though, God has used her in a remarkable way in our Kids Ministry.  As the Campus Pastor I’m just grateful for her service and how I always could trust that our kids ministry was in good hands.  Here’s what Debby had to say:

Just before I arrived at Suncrest in March of this year, Julie Coons (and family) moved to Terra Haute; leaving GO! Kids at Hobart without a Director.  At that time Sheila agreed to take on this role as an interim but with the intention of being done in August.  Needless to say, it is December and she is working diligently to make sure that every kid feels welcome at Hobart!

Can I take a minute to brag on this lady?  She is pretty amazing!  I have gotten to watch her juggle kids, husband, school (yep, she home schools too!) and ministry with a gracious spirit and ALWAYS with a heart for kids and a desire to introduce them to Jesus.  If you’ve never gotten to hear Sheila’s story, it is definitely worth hearing. She is a remarkable testimony to God’s grace and His ability to take what is amazingly difficult and make it beautiful.  Sheila is beautiful and I have been so blessed to get to serve with her these past few months.

We will be putting together a time to thank Sheila in a formal way, but please do not hesitate to do so when you see her.

Doug will be making an announcement Sunday about our next steps in GO! at Hobart, this note is just an attempt to thank Sheila for allowing God to use her to bless us and for job well done!

In Him,
Debby Albrecht
Global Children’s Director

I love seeing the progress at our Hobart building from week to week.  Pictured here on the ladder is one of the key people making it happen.  Charlie Talley is nothing short of an answer to prayer.  Charlie is leading the construction side of things with his considerable skill.  Every time we hit a potential snag he comes back with a quick “I can do that!”  That can do attitude is why we are making such good progress.

If you haven’t met Charlie yet, then I encourage you to come out on one of our Saturday workdays.  There’s still plenty to do.  We have 2 more work days for December.  December 11th and 18th.

Join us!

We had a great dessert on Wednesday. I was so encouraged by those who showed up and expressed genuine excitement about the future of our campus. It was fun sharing our plans for the facility that God has blessed us with.

If you missed, I would still love to provide a forum to answer questions and talk more about this next season of our ministry. Let me know if you would like to schedule some time. I’ve already had one offer of dinner from a family that couldn’t come.

doug

We have another workday scheduled this Saturday. We will start 8am. We need all kinds of different help, but specifically looking for anyone who would be helpful for framing. Additionally we need some help in providing lunch, tearing up carpet and cleaning.

Let Doug know if you can help.

I’m so excited that the two new elders we are recommending to our Suncrest family are both from Hobart. Reproducing leadership at its best!

Larry McManus

When we were in the planning stages of Suncrest // Hobart, Larry and his wife Kelly were one one of the first families I asked to be on our launch team.  Larry had tons of leadership experience and knew that he would be a key part of making Hobart campus go.  I should mention that he is one of my best friends so it made him on the launch team all the more fun!  Since then his family have been key players in our growth.  Larry has provided leadership for our prayer ministry and Student ministry.

Lee Anderson

Lee and his wife Beth arrived at Suncrest in the spring of 2008 as we were in the heart of planning to launch.  They had recently moved back to the area because of work.  When they heard our plans they jumped on board and have been instrumental every since.  Lee is an excellent thinker and has been especially vital in our planning to move our campus to a 24/7 facility.

Our process for bringing on  new elders is very simple.  As we recommend these two men to you, if you know of any reason why they should not be elders we ask that following the Biblical process you go to them first.  You can call the church office to get contact information (210.365.9000).  If you are unsatisfied at that point then the next step is to go to the elders.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

That’s what I was thinking last night at Leader’s Edge. It was so cool to gather with other leaders to share and hear how God has been at work through Suncrest. Greg shared with us some numbers that are significant. Numbers like…
…$300,000 – the amount given to the Jesus Mission;
…1093 – our average attendance at the end of last year
…1403 – our attendance last Sunday.

There’s more but I’ll let you check it out on his blog and in his note later. The highlights about Walkerton an Highland were especially cool to hear.

The best part for me though was telling the story of 2 different families who happened to be sitting in the room last night. 2 stories of transformation from new life to new leadership.

There’s Angela who received one of our postcards announcing our launch. She got her sister and mom and dad to come. Next her and her dad are baptized. They continue to get involved and when the challenged is put forth to help Walkerton. They step up to go. But wait there’s more. Angela and Maria (her sister) have also participated in our Celebrate Recovery ministry and now have become emerging leaders in that ministry!

Then there’s Les and Pilar who came to check us out some time after we launched. I should say Pilar came first and then she brought Les. And they loved it. In fact, Les told me that one of the things that sealed the deal was when he was standing around with some of the guys and they were talking about UFC. He knew then that Suncrest was made up of a bunch of real people. He and Pilar were baptized earlier this year and have since stepped into leadership in Children’s Ministry and the setup and teardown team.

I love the story of God in your life!

As we stand on the verge of a new season of ministry I anticipate sharing many more stories of God at work. Wow! I am in awe of God’s work.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

On Sunday I announced that Hobart Campus is moving into our own 24/7 facility in early 2011.  I’ll write more on the blog about that move, but in the mean time check out my message from Sunday to hear the whole story.  You can listen to that message by clicking here.

Hobart Celebrates 2 years from Doug Gamble on Vimeo.