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http://watermarkblogs.org/stories/08/deciding-to-adopt/
This is one of my favorite stories – I love how folks in our body are adopting, fostering, and/or fostering to adopt. All of this is born out of a deep understanding of God’s mercy to us, in not simply saving us, but adopting us as sons and daughters and giving us an eternal inheritance!
Be watching for some great events coming up soon in this area!
Birdie Alexander Elementary
A bus full of families from Watermark descended on Birdie Alexander Elementary School in South Dallas to meet some of its needs and share the love of Christ through painting, scrubbing hall bathrooms, and cleaning classrooms. Together, with Windex and ‘Fabuloso!’ in hand, families washed windows and chairs, organized teaching materials, and wrote notes of encouragement to the school’s teachers.
“I think it’s a great experience for us to get outside our bubble and serve others…to see them how God sees them,” said Maisie Chan. She and Mark Wampler helped repaint the faded letters above the school’s entrance.
In order to help the school, Watermark partnered with Services of Hope, a Dallas-based ministry that seeks to transform the lives of at-risk youth. Outreach Coordinator Donna Patterson said that she can’t wait to see the faces of the kids and teachers on Monday.
“For Watermark to be a part of Services of Hope and serve the local schools in this way is a big blessing.”
And the blessing goes both ways, said Roseana Smith. “It’s fun to see parents serving alongside their kids in this community. You don’t have to go on a mission trip abroad to make a difference.” – written by Marcus Toussaint
Join us on Sunday, May 2, as the entire Watermark family and other area churches gather to love and serve people throughout our city on Service Day 2010!
On May 2, instead of meeting for our regular time of worship, we’ll hop aboard buses at the Watermark campus and serve from 9 am – 12:30 pm at locations across the Metroplex. We’ll serve at schools, neighborhood ministries, transitional homes/apartments, food pantries, educational ministries, homeless shelters, orphan care facilities, recovery centers, and other places where our help is needed. The goal of this day is simple: to share the love of Christ with others through service!
“Service Day is a great opportunity to show the love of Christ to folks throughout our community,” said Watermark Director of External Focus, Jeff Ward. “Last year, our work at schools and many other organizations in Dallas blessed people we never could have expected. This is also a great opportunity to serve alongside our children and with community groups, as we demonstrate the importance of selflessly serving people in the name of Christ. It’s also a wonderful way to get to know other people in the body as you work alongside them.”
This year, we are collaborating with at least 40 other area churches and World Vision, to serve the city on the same weekend. We’re calling the project “Go and Be.” Read more about it at www.goandbe.org and the Facebook Groups page. We’re anticipating that 25,000 folks will be serving on May 1 and 2 as we plan to “be” the church in action as opposed to simply “going” to church. There are several sites where Watermark members will work alongside members from other churches and with people from the surrounding neighborhood.
One of our larger projects that day will be a collaboration with a West Dallas church and Builders of Hope, which has joined with Watermark to work on six houses in West Dallas. Watermark will also partner with World Vision and Dallas Independent School District to do a major painting project at Edison Middle School. It’s exciting to think about the kids at Edison being greeted by a much brighter and cleaner school building on Monday morning.
Please don’t miss this opportunity to share the love of Christ with people throughout our community on Service Day.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
1. Arrive next Sunday dressed in your comfortable clothes before 9 am. Buses will depart as soon as they are loaded. On the way, a bus captain will tell you more about the place you are serving and where your help will be needed. Each site will also have designated site captains who can answer questions and help with any other issues.
2. Drop off young children at the Watermark Tower. Watermark Children’s Ministry opens at 8:30 am and will serve children birth through four years old. Parents must leave their cell phone numbers with Children’s Ministry teachers if they plan to serve off-site. Volunteers are needed in this area, so please email Jinger Lord at jlord@watermark.org to serve our children on that day. Kids 4 years and older are invited to serve with their families. Note: There will be a few buses along the LBJ service road that are headed to projects that are designated for kids 12 years and older only.
3. Serve! Your work will bless others. Don’t forget to take some time to learn more about the ministry or place you are serving and develop relationships with those around you.
4. Get back on the bus around noon. We’ll return to the Watermark Tower by 12:30 pm. Remember, there will be no 9 am, 11 am or 5:30 pm services on May 2. There will be a Raise the Mark service from 7 – 8 pm.
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
Your family. Kids 4 years and older are invited to serve along with their families. This is an excellent opportunity to model the importance of serving others as a member of the body of Christ. If you have a small child who may need your attention during the morning, please consider serving in the Children’s Ministry in the Watermark Tower. We will also have two on-site projects for you to participate in.
Your Watermark friends and Community Group. This is a casual, fun way to build relationships while serving others, so spread the word to your Watermark buddies. Also, remind your friends and community group that Watermark Service Day will take the place of all our regular times of worship on May 2. If you want to do a project alongside your community group, please arrive by 8:30 to load up on the same bus.
Guests. Many people who don’t typically attend church are interested in serving the community. This is an ideal opportunity to introduce your friends to Watermark in a relaxed, informal way.
A heart that’s ready to care and serve: Throughout the day, people will see our Watermark family at work and will be curious as to why. Serve with enthusiasm and be ready to tell people why the Lord has called us to serve our community.
If you have other questions: Please email externalfocus@watermark.org. Thanks for being part of Watermark Service Day!
This event is not just for Watermark families. If you have a child that you mentor, let his/her parent know about this event and invite them to come celebrate with us!
“Eggstravaganza” was last Saturday and it was so fun to see over 1,000 folks from West Dallas playing, bouncing, egg hunting, and not only hearing the gospel proclaimed but also demonstrated by volunteers from Mercy Street, other West Dallas organizations, Watermark, IBC, and PCPC.
Stephanie Schweinfurth coordinated the event for Watermark and said that the event is designed to expose West Dallas residents to Mercy Street and other ministries there. “It’s also a way to share the gospel with a ton of kids and even the prizes remind them what Easter is about. It’s also a way to build trust between that demographic and our demographic and to expose our people to the poor and oppressed in a non-threatening way.”
Quite a few mentors would tell you their first exposure to West Dallas was through Eggstravaganza and it was so encouraging to see so many mentors bringing their kids to the event as well. Following the event, there is great follow-up through mentoring, after-school care, or sports programs offered by Voice of Hope r Mercy Street. Stephanie said “I like to think it’s a burst of light in an otherwise dark situation and all in the name of Jesus. I hope adults and kids walk away feeling more hope, feeling more loved and knowing that we’re there because of our love for Jesus.”
April 8, 2010 at 7 p.m, Northwest Bible Church
Come see Rebecca St. James live in a benefit concert for the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center on April 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m., at Northwest Bible Church (NW Hwy. & Tollway). Australian born Rebecca St. James is both a Grammy Award winner and multiple Dove Award recipient, who is recognized as one of the Christian music industry’s most globally outreaching artists. She is well-known for her hit songs I Thank You, Breathe and Pray, and can now count her lead acting role in the November ‘09 film release Sarah’s Choice, among her most recent career highlights. A film trailer of Sarah’s Choice will be presented during the event. The concert is open to all, and doors will open at 6:00 p.m.
Tickets are $12 and may be purchased through www.fearandwonder.org or www.friendsofdprc.com, or through the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center @ 214-343-9263. Northwest Bible Church is located at 8505 Douglas Ave., Dallas, 75225, and parking for the event is free.
The Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center (DPRC) is a pro-life evangelical ministry that works with women in unplanned pregnancies, offering them help and hope to choose life for their babies. For the past 27 years, the ministry has had more than 67,492 client visits in the Dallas area. The DPRC offers services through three locations, in East, West and Central Dallas. All services, including counseling, education, emotional and spiritual support, material goods and limited medical services, are free of charge. For more information about the DPRC or the concert, go to www.friendsofdprc.com.
Great video that captures much of the outreach and initiatives that we’ve been working on as we work to “Glorify God, Mobilize the Body, and Transform our Community”!
…seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Jeremiah 29:7
Michael Fleming is one of those men that immediately comes to mind when I think about guys who are “in the trenches”…really working out what it means to love God and love others. It’s hard to believe that it’s been about two years since he left Dallas to start Watermark Denver (http://www.watermarkdenver.org/). I thought I would share Michael’s recent update and let you guys know some of the exciting things that God is doing in and through them. Please add them to your prayer list!
Men-
We’ve had a great beginning to 2010 and I wanted to share some of the things we have going on in our world right now. To start off I wanted to share an email that I got from a couple yesterday:
I just attended my second week at Watermark this morning and I wanted to introduce myself. I just wanted to let you know that the two weeks I have been at the church I have felt so warmly welcomed by so many of the people. It is because of that and because of something you said this morning that I really want to commit myself to this church and its mission in Denver.
I know that you were talking about marriage, but I couldn’t help but apply it to my search for a new church home…when you said that when you are looking for a mate–you should look for a piece of marble that can be turned into a beautiful statue–and I really feel like after spending just a few weeks with you all that Watermark is a beautiful piece of marble that is on a journey with the goal of glorifying the savior, and that is a journey that I would like to be a part of.
So–with all that to say..thank you for your message. Thank you for the church you are building. Please let me know how I might be able to serve here, and the best way to start to get connected.
The Reimers
_________________________
1) Growth
Over the first two months of the year we have had a steady increase in people who have heard about Watermark and have started to get plugged in through our Sunday morning gatherings. We have had 35-40 new people that are attending and our service attendance is averaging around 75. Numbers only matter to the degree that they give us a bearing on how things are progressing. But out of the new attendees, we had 15 join us for our most recent Pastor’s Coffee, which is our first step for new people to hear about the vision and mission of the church. Over half of this new group has plugged into a Community Group and are moving towards serving.
2) Song of Solomon & Marriage Retreat
I am 6 weeks into a 10 week series where we have moved through the book of Song of Solomon. My thinking in doing this series was that we wanted to address the topic of marriage, dating, and sex for two major reasons: 1) That our crew needed a solid biblical vision of marriage because we are young and clueless here; and 2) That this would be a way to reach out to our community and address a felt need. Both of those goals have been met. We have had the best response ever from friends and neighbors of people in our church who have joined us because they are struggling in their marriages. Our crowd has also seen a dramatic increase in how our community groups have been able to go deeper in being honest in where their marriages are hurting and for the first time, for many, are addressing those issues in community.
We will be rapping up the series on March 21st and that weekend we are going to have a short marriage retreat. The plan is to get all of the married couples away for Friday night and then do a have days session Saturday morning 3/20 to work through two sessions to get our couples practical resources for deepening their marriages and to do it with one another. Please be praying for this event. We are really excited about what God is doing in marriages and how this can be a major tool for creating a culture in our church for dramatic life change.
3) Fight Club (Leadership Development)
As we assessed where we saw the most spiritual growth in our church over 2009, the answer was clearly in our leadership development group. (Think along the lines of the Astronaut group there in Dallas) We have just wrapped up our first group of 8 men and we are now moving that group of leaders into the next phase of training. The second phase will focus on growing these men in handling the scriptures, thinking theologically, shepherding, and beginning to take ownership of the church vision along with Kraig and I. Please be praying for these men who I continue to pray for and see as God’s provision for guarding and fighting for Christ’s heart and direction for Watermark Denver. These are the men who are moving to the next phase: Nate Disarro, Daniel Jordan, David VandReit, Terry McKinney, and Robbie Hunter.
Also, we will begin our second round of Fight Club in March and the second round will include 8 men and 8 women. Pray that we would be a church that continues to develop influential disciple making disciples.
4) Redemption Groups
From the beginning we have fought to be a church that calls people to full devotion to Christ and to be a safe place for people to deal with their sin and struggles. We talk a lot about the fact that it is ok not to be ok, but its not ok to stay there. Through that steady call for 2 years, the example of our leaders, and the Song of Solomon series, we are seeing a huge response in people asking for help in digging deeper into the heart of recovery. The problem we have run into is that we are not yet at the place where we have the horse power to pull off a full recovery ministry along the lines of Celebrate Recovery. Our solution is what we are calling Redemption Groups. These are groups that meet every week for 3 months to move through a gospel centered recovery material. We are starting a test group this month and hope to role this out to our church at large at the beginning or middle of the summer. Kraig will be leading these groups with a team of 6 leaders (3 men and 3 women) and is doing a great job of carrying this banner for our church. Continue to pray that Watermark would be a place where people meet our Savior because they can openly and honestly find recovery from their hurts, habits, and hangups.
5) Question Groups (Outreach)
Starting this month I am leading a 7 week session for new believers and non-believers. We want to be the place in our community where people who struggle with questions about God are engaged and can safely ask questions. We will be meeting at a local restaurant and are expecting 10-15 people to attend. The heart of the material is the top 7 questions I have found that keep people from believing in Christ. The two people that I am developing to help me lead this are Peter Tighe and Theo VanRooy.
We are also kicking off our monthly poker outreach this Friday 3/5 and already have 40 guys who are coming. This has been our greatest fishing pond for non-believers.
6) Current & Upcoming Sermon Series: SOS
Here is what we have coming up after Song of Solomon:
7) Miscellaneous
Hope this gives you a clear picture of where we are today, what our needs look like, specific ways and people to be praying for, and what we are dreaming and hoping God will do in our midst today and in the future. Thank you all for the support and the prayer. As always, if you want to follow up on anything let me know and I can give you more details.
Acts 20:24!!!!!!!!!
In Him,
Michael Fleming
–
Lead Pastor | www.watermarkbroomfield.org
mfleming@watermarkbroomfield.org | 303.249.0768
If You Were Mine: A Workshop for Those Exploring Adoption
Have you ever thought about adopting? Tapestry, Watermark’s Orphans Ministry, will be hosting an interactive 7-week study called If You Were Mine for those interested in exploring whether adoption is right for their family.
This study will provide informed insight on many topics, including God’s heart for orphans, basic decisions, agencies, funding, paperwork, home studies and finalization. All of this is aimed at helping you or someone you know, understand the next steps to take and discern whether God is calling you to give a child a forever family through adoption.
The study will run from January 19th – March 2nd (6:30 – 8:30 p.m.). Childcare is available. A workbook is required for this study which can be purchased for $10. We don’t want finances to be a barrier that keeps anyone from attending so please contact us if you need assistance.
To sign up for the If You Were Mine study please visit the Watermark events webpage. Please contact David at dpleventhal@gmail.com
