School started back here today in Carlsbad. I know for some of my friends and family in other parts of the country, your schools have already started back, while some are still a week away from starting as well. And don’t forget, colleges are about to get back into session as well. We are already in August of 2015. This year is flying by, yet there seems to be some big excitement this time of year, every year. Schools are starting back. Some may be excited about that, while others are not so much.
Another source of a lot of the excitement surrounding this time of year is that football is about to start. Preseason NFL games are taking place, and we are less than a month away from high school and college football being back. In fact, we have less than four weeks before Carlsbad has their first home football game of the season. I’m a big University of Tennessee football fan, and they are about three weeks away from their first game. I love this time of year. But it’s not just because of football. It’s not just because of school starting back. It’s also because it seems to be a new beginning for churches as well.
For many, we trim down our programming and calendar for the summer months. This could be because of many different things. People are traveling on vacation a lot during the summer, volunteers need a break, attendance drops whether you are having your full programming, and many other factors seem present, along with the fact that many churches follow the schedule of the school systems. So now, most churches are gearing up for their fall kickoffs if you will. And you’ve got a lot of excitement in the air.
Most of that excitement, however, seems to be about school, or football, or anything else other than church at times. I’ve been one of those people. I love football and the anticipation of it starting back is always an exciting time of the year. But this year is different for me. Yes, I’m still very much excited about football and fall and everything else. Even more than that, this year, I am super excited about what we are going to be offering in the fall at Central Christian Church. Our whole church will be going through The Story through small groups, adult worship, and our children’s church program. I’m excited because we have almost 30 people that have committed to being in a small group, which is over 75% of our regular attendance. I’m excited because I know what The Story can do. I’m excited because my leadership team here at the church seems to be excited as well. But most of all, I’m excited because we get to talk about how our story intersects with God’s story.
I want our whole congregation to be excited about this, though. I want us all to participate and to dig into God’s word together heavily over the next few months. It’s my prayer that we can all channel this excitement of a new school year and a new football season into excitement about a new endeavor here at church as well. If you are in Carlsbad, NM, especially if you are a part of Central Christian Church, and you have not signed up to be a part of a small group yet, please consider it. I promise you it will be worth it. If you have signed up, join me in the excitement of this new opportunity. Let’s take our excitement out into our community, and let’s do exactly what we talked about doing this past Sunday; We Speak Good News!
It’s great to be excited about things. But let’s all get excited about the best thing. The good news of Jesus, and sharing that with all that we come into contact with! I’m excited about what’s to come at Central…Are you?
Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak 