November 21st, 2011
Please pray for Waumba Land this week. Waumba Land is often the place where the youngest Accessibles hear the truth about Jesus’ great love for them for the very first time. Our mission is to create a first impression of our Heavenly Father that makes a lasting impression on the heart of a child. Every lesson we teach, song we sing, and activity we lead is centered on the truths that God made me, God loves me, and Jesus wants to be my friend forever!
Here are some ways that you can pray for Waumba Land:
- Pray for the logistical elements of transition to our new space. Pray that our environmental themes would reflect the creativity of our God. Pray that this space would be an engaging and developmentally appropriate environment for our preschoolers.
- Pray for a full and amazing team of devoted, nurturing volunteers with a surge of energy and dedication as we transition. Pray that the community of Waumba Land volunteers would be a place of connection, warmth, and friendship.
- Pray that parents would trust our leaders to care for their children so that they can attend the service and grow spiritually. Pray that the parents and leaders would become friends as they partner together to teach their children God’s truths.
- Pray for current Access Church families to invest in their friends and neighbors and invite them to this amazing new environment. Pray that Sundays would become the best day of the week for many more young children and their families who have yet to walk in the doors of a church.
- Pray that God would lay a strong foundation of grace and truth in the lives of our preschoolers as He begins to write their stories of faith. Pray that we would be an active part of investing in a generation that only knows “church” as safe, fun, and interactive.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 21st, 2011
There is a lot of cool stuff happening over here at the new building! If you haven’t been by in a couple of weeks, you should come by just to be amazed. Dozens of volunteers have been putting in long hours in anticipation of God doing something very cool in people’s lives here.
Our typical schedule looks like this:
Saturdays, 8:00am—5:00pm.
Sundays, 2:00—5:00pm.
Weekdays, 6:00—9:00pm.
This week I doubt we’ll have anyone working on Wednesday or Thursday evenings.
But Friday and Saturday will be a great chance to come all day and work off that turkey and stuffing!
See you at 4911!
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 14th, 2011
You may have already picked up on this, but Access Church is a pretty unique place. We are a church for people who don’t like church.
Our desire is to create an irresistible experience for those who attend our worship services and our Family Ministry environments on Sundays. We want to be a place where everyone wants to attend. Whether atheists, agnostics, people who just starting in their faith, or people who have had a growing relationship with Jesus for years, we want everyone to be a raving returner.
Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Please pray this week that our new facility will enable us to do that even more affectively.
Please pray for the following this week:
- Pray for your unchurched friends, neighbors, and co-workers by name.
- Pray for opportunities to invest in those relationships.
- Pray for a connection with and acceptance from the Losco community.
- Pray that Access will make an impact on the lives of the people living on and around Losco—that God would transform their lives.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 7th, 2011
Your help makes a real, tangible difference in the success we can achieve creating irresistible environments at our new building. We are opening the facility in just a little over eight weeks!
We have lots of jobs available. They range from running to Lowe’s to buy supplies, to spraying wasps nests, to all kinds of prep necessary to finish demolition and get the building ready for construction. Please don’t be shy about showing up—we’ll put you to good work. You don’t have to be skilled. You can even invite a friend!
This week we’ll have teams there from 5:30-8:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Saturday we’ll be there from 8:00am-5:00pm, and Sunday from 2:00-5:00pm.
Tonight’s priorities:
- Scrape the auditorium floor clean of all glue.
- Remove remaining carpet in auditorium.
- Remove chairs from auditorium and stack in storage room.
- Remove VCT in auditorium (about half is left).
- Demo remaining 10′ wall in auditorium (scrape up glue first).
- Clean lobby floor down to the concrete.
I hope you can make it! It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s great to see immediate results for your labor.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
November 7th, 2011
God has blessed us with so much. When we compare what we have with the rest of the world, we realize that we are rich. God has given us the opportunity to live in a country where all of our basic needs are met and many of our wants and desires are fulfilled. God has been so gracious to Access Church by giving us the opportunity to enter into a facility that will be used solely for the purpose of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
We need to continue to look for ways that we can create the margin to be more and more generous to the world around us. We can show our gratefulness that God has given us the opportunity to partner with His activity in the world by giving back some of the resources that He has entrusted to us.
This week, pray that God would give the people at Access Church an attitude of thankfulness and generosity. As you pray, be challenged to:
1. Ask God what He wants you to do.
2. Genuinely listen.
3. Be obedient. Do what He says.
Pray that God will help you live in an attitude of thankfulness and generosity.
Pray that as we give, God would mold and soften our hearts toward the things that are most important to Him.
Pray that God will use our financial gifts to this project to reach our city in ways we never thought possible.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 31st, 2011
This week we will have crews working at our new Losco building:
- Tuesday, 5:30-8:30pm
- Wednesday, 5:30-8:30pm
- Saturday, 8:00am-5:00pm
- Sunday, 1:00-5:00pm
Bring your whole small group!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bring my children?
Yes, but you must supervise them. They can be a big help if you are there to help them stay on task and out of danger.
What if I’m unskilled?
Most of us are! But there’s a lot of work that just requires following directions. We have skilled people on site all the time giving us direction.
What if I have specific skills?
Please let us know, and we’ll try hard to lean into your expertise for that part of the project. We have coaches leading different areas. Josh Hough with the UpStreet hallway and theater, Lisa Caudill with the Waumba Land hallway, Rick Egger on flooring, Shawn Fentress on lighting, Jeff Stone, Tim Stokes, and Brad Scott on the auditorium, etc. Jump in on a team, and put your expertise to work!
Should I bring tools?
Yes! Common around-the-house tools come in very handy. Shop vacs, pressure washers, hammers, screwdrivers, cordless drills, etc.
What if I can’t stay all day?
We have a whole list of one-hour jobs. Take on one, or several.
Can I work during the week?
Yes, we have crews over there many evenings, and some folks have come to work during the day, as well. If you’ve got some time available, just call or email, and we’ll help get you started.
Bottom line:
Just jump in! There’s not a bad time to come and help! We need everybody who is available!
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 31st, 2011
We anticipate that God will bring many new people into this building when we open our doors in January. Many of these people will come to us with a desire to find a church home that challenges them in their walk with God.
We want to serve these people that God brings through our doors. We want to create a place where they feel safe leaving their kids. We also want to create a place where kids can’t wait to come back the next week. We want to create a place where teenagers feel comfortable and loved and able to invite their friends. We want this to be a place where they can grow in their young faith. We’ll strive to create a welcoming, grace-filled place where adults experience hope for their lives and practical help in their walk with God.
Please pray for the following this week:
- Pray for the people who are stressed out, broken-hearted, and in need, physically and spiritually, who will come to call Access Church home.
- Pray that we will create a place where parents feel safe leaving their kids and kids will have an amazing experience.
- Pray that we create a welcoming, grace-filled place where anyone of any age can experience hope.
- Pray that God would use us as we work together to lead these people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 24th, 2011
Celebrate! To date, 55 families and singles have pledged $145,000 to the new campus! This is great news! There are a few more families that we expect we will still hear from, but at an average pledge of $2,589 per family, we’re overwhelmed! We’re excited for our church and also for what people will learn in their faith through this kind of generosity.
Demolition! About 15 people spent Saturday and Sunday tearing down walls, removing carpet, and carrying a ton of furniture here and there. The interior of Losco is pretty much unrecognizable right now. Huge progress. Even cooler are the stories of who is doing the work. Really fun to see people otherwise disconnected from Access putting in lots of time. Anybody know Ben and Cindy Moore? He’s been totally disconnected from church. Doesn’t come to church with Cindy. But this weekend he probably logged 15 hours at the new campus. Unreal!
Design! We’ve retained Kristin Norris from Athens Church as our designer for the project. Kristin has been the set designer at Athens for years, and she is responsible for all of the look and feel of the new Athens campus. She will visit Jacksonville sometime in the next 10 days.
Build! We’re trying to funnel all $145,000 into materials, which means we’re leaning heavily (entirely) on volunteer labor. Please go to this Google form and sign up to be a part of one of the construction teams. We will publish a schedule this week of work times and an order of projects/tasks.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 24th, 2011
We are deeply convicted that circles are better than rows! What we mean by this is that we think “groups” are a vital part of a person’s life, relationships with others, and relationship with God. We really believe that loving God and loving others is not simply about sitting in a row on Sunday morning.
At Access Church, groups take many shapes. We offer Starting Point groups for those wanting to join a circle of people who are asking questions about God. We offer Financial Peace University for those wanting to join a circle of people who are inviting God into their financial lives. Lastly, we offer Community Groups for people who want to join a more long-term circle of people who are living in similar life stages.
Each of these group settings have proven to propel people into more abundant life with others and with God. Please join us in praying that God does the same and more as Access Church enters a new season.
Here are a few thoughts to direct you as you pray:
- Pray that people across Jacksonville would feel compelled to join a group and do life in circles rather than in rows.
- Pray that more people in Jacksonville would invite God into the financial part of their lives and join FPU.
- Pray that God would draw people to Starting Point who are looking for answers about Him.
- Pray that God would provide passionate leaders for these Access groups.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
October 20th, 2011
Renovating a building is a huge task! Architects, contractors, landscapers, painters, electricians, roofers, and many more are involved. It’s amazing to think people are literally working before the sun comes up until well after the sun goes down, making sure this facility becomes all it can be.
To put it simply, a project of our scope is complicated! There’s stress involved. And lots of details! There are months of sweat for years of life-change.
Here are some specific things we can pray for in regards to construction:
- Pray for the safety of those working on the site.
- Pray for the families of those who are here working on this project from out of town.
- Pray for efficiency of work, and pray against costly or untimely surprises.
- Pray that the neighbors seeing the work being done would be curious and start asking questions.
- Pray that God would protect our building from acts of nature, theft, or vandalism.
- Pray that a spirit of joy would fill our building, even now.
- Pray for favor with city and county employees and inspectors.
- Pray that working on this project might lead many workers to attend Access Church and ultimately walk in a growing relationship with Jesus.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Please pray for Waumba Land this week. Waumba Land is often the place where the youngest Accessibles hear the truth about Jesus’ great love for them for the very first time. Our mission is to create a first impression of our Heavenly Father that makes a lasting impression on the heart of a child. Every lesson we teach, song we sing, and activity we lead is centered on the truths that God made me, God loves me, and Jesus wants to be my friend forever!
