New Opportunities for Small Groups

We are in the midst of our first ever semester break for small groups at StoneBridge. Beginning the week of July 9th, we will embark on a new semester for small groups that will take us to the holiday season. Since May, Jason and I have taken a real hard look at how we view small groups, looking beyond the traditional Bible Study only model of doing groups. We are incorporating a couple of principles learned at the Buzz Conference in May, the most important one being that small groups should accomplish two main purposes: they should be relational and missional. With that in mind, we have some unique opportunities to expand our current small groups portfolio with the new semester begining July 9.

I will be starting a hiking small group where we combine local hikes each week with a 15-20 Bible study/scripture reading onsite. I am excited about this because we have many outdoors enthusiasts in our church, and many are not currently plugged into a small group.

This morning Jason mentioned starting a ministry-oriented small group that focuses in the short term on making follow-up visits to the 104 people that accepted Christ during CR06. This is a cool idea that will accomplish several purposes including building intergroup relationships, discipling new believers, and giving StoneBridgers a new ministry opportunity.

Two of our current groups are facing the urgent need to multiply, which will most likely take place in September. Our college small group is realizing that better community is realized and better Bible studies take place when there are 8-12 people in a group, instead of 18-23. I believe that they are seeing the need to multiply through their own eyes now instead of hearing about the need from me. Good stuff.

So we went to Disney

It's great to be back in Morgantown at my Blue Moose office. Here are a few more details concerning the family vacation I previously promised. So, after we finished the ABA meeting in Daytona Beach, our family cruised down I-4 to Orlando for 4 days of Disney World. My brother's wife Jenny hooked us up with a great vacation rental about 2 miles from the parks...a 5 bd, 5 bath house with a screened in pool and spa. Relaxing at the house and being with Mom and Dad, and Mark, Jenny, and family was a consistent highlight of the trip.

I think Ryan and Janna enjoyed Disney, but they enjoyed playing in the pool at the house just as much. Going to Disney is a working vacation. Battling the heat, the crowds, standing in lines, dropping big bucks for food and drinks, it's work. But its was also a neat experience for our family, and now we can cross DisneyWorld off our list of obligatory vacation destinations. Next year our family vacation will consist of a week camping in the MNF in WV, once again life as it should be.

On Monday, I again leave Motown for a week of church camp at Summit Lake. This year will be more rewarding than years past, because several fellow StoneBridgers are making the trip with me. Jason is the camp speaker this year, David will be leading worship, and Manny, Krista, Dan, and Ashley (StoneBridge collegians) will be going to lead rec teams for the week. It should be a good time.

CR06 Snapshots

I promised to post some pictures from CityReach so here are a sampling of pictures from each of our ministry tracts: COPS (Christian Opinion Polls), Free Car Wash, Sports Camp, and Construction. One of the pics posted is Jason, myself, and Aaron Johnson posing with Marc Magro, starting linebacker for the Mountaineers. Marc is a great guy and came to Sports Camp one day to speak to the kids about good sportsmanship and ethics.

Waking Up in Daytona Beach

My two week blogging hiatus is over. The past two weeks have brought an insane flurry of activity in the life of the Knight family and my StoneBridge family. Here a quick rundown...150 HS students and adults come to Morgantown for CityReach...2500 homes surveyed...415 cars washed for absolutely zero dinero...2 homes built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity...60 kids from Morgantown attended our 3rd annual sports camp...105 residents of Morgantown accepted Christ...bought a new Grand Cherokee...officiated my first wedding...hastily packed for Daytona Beach...drove 850 miles to Daytona...ate world class onion rings at Johnny Rocket's... hit the beach at sunset with the family....woke up this morning for a day of meetings at the American Baptist Association national meeting.

I will be posting more details and stories about CityReach and life during the last two weeks in upcoming posts.

good times at the moose

day 4 of CityReach is winding down, and I'm sitting in the Moose catching up on old times with some friends I haven't seen in quite a while. good times...

new promo piece

I wanted to share a new promo piece for our church. Please feel free to comment...

my head is spinning

T-Minus 3 days and counting...this week is one of the two busiest weeks of the year, the busiest being next week, the week of CityReach. 140 high school students and sponsors from around America are coming to Morgantown this Friday to begin a week of intense hands on ministry and worship.

I like to think that I'm a fairly organized person, but this event annually stretches my administrative capabilities. After CR06 on Saturday, I'm officiating my first wedding ever, then its off to Florida with the family for our church's National Assocation meeting in Daytona Beach, then off to Orlando for 4 days of Disney World, then home for 5 days, then off to Summit Lake Camp in Emmitsburg, Maryland for our summer church camp. Verse for the day...

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint" - Jeremiah 31:25 (NIV)

The next step in the movement

The vision God gave us for planting a mulitiplicity of churches along the I-79 corridor took a major step yesterday. Aaron Johnson and his family, and Andrew and Allison Johnson rolled into Washington, PA from Little Rock, AR with a full Penske truck and a couple of cars in tow. A team of 10 people, including 4 StoneBridgers and 6 guys from FBC had both families moved into their homes in 90 minutes.

David made the comment that he believes the Johnsons will be able to reach the 20 and 30-somethings of Washington with great success. Their new plant will be a parachute drop and there are some serious challenges that come along with that territory, but I pray that God will give them some amazing victories in the months to come. Be sure to pray for this planting effort in the weeks and months ahead.

It was just three years ago this week that our family moved to Morgantown to begin the process of planting StoneBridge Church. We have enjoyed a God-sized adventure and look forward to future windows of opportunity to plant churches in the region.

The End of an Era

Today was graduation day. This morning Janna graduated from preschool, complete with short ceremony and picnic at Marilla Park. Next year she hits the big time...Kindergarten. This evening, we attended Ryan's Kindergarten graduation. His class recited Scripture starting with each letter of the alphabet, spoke Spanish, sang Scripture songs, and generally wowed the crowd. We're thankful that God enables us to be able to send our kids to a wonderful, Christ-centered school.

It is awe-inspiring for Belinda and I to watch our kids grow and mature. It's hard to believe an entire school year has passed since that first day in September when teary-eyed Moms took their children to class for the first day of school. Along with the excitement of watching our kids grow, I feel a real sense tonight that the Knight family has come to the end of an era. The preschool years are over. In September, Ryan enters first grade and will experience the homework that comes with the territory. Times are changing.

Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it. - Proverbs 22:6

Back from Blackwater Rim

I love mountains. Our family enjoyed a refreshingly long weekend on the Blackwater River and later on the rim of Blackwater Canyon. We also got to spend some quality time with new friends who are attending StoneBridge. Thanks, Ephraim, Charlotte, and Tyler for a great weekend. Their friends, Paul and Su-Jen from Northern Virginia also joined us for the festivities. David, Loren, and Krista (fellow StoneBridgers) joined us on Sunday night.

Our family loves camping. It brings us closer together and usually helps us to re-energize and refocus on the tasks waiting back in civilized life. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights from the trip:

Highlights:

• enjoying trying my hand at trout fishing for the first time in my life
• eating freshly cooked trout on Saturday night (caught by other people)
• building deeper friendships and making new ones
• watching the sun go down on the rim of Blackwater Canyon
• taking the fam on a mid-stream hike down the side of Canaan Mtn (don't ask)
• successful covert mission into Blackwater Falls campground for hot showers
• driving back and forth on Canaan Loop Road, getting "mud on the tires" (4x4 road)

Lowlights:

• weathering torrential rains Friday and Saturday morning
• having to change muddy clothes on the kids 27 times
• Tyler tumbling into the rapids of Blackwater River, but subsequently rescued by mom and dad
• firewood $5.50 per bundle
• leaving solitude for civilized life

I leave you with some pics from the trip...

blogging hiatus upcoming

I'll be away from the blogging world and from the church planting world until Tuesday. Our family is headed to the Blackwater Canyon Rim for a weekend of camping and hiking. This is one of our favorite spots in WV.

Eat More Chik'in

The past two days I have been busy wearing my publicity director hat and hitting the streets promoting our upcoming sports camp. Several elementary schools agreed to send our promo postcards home with the students, so 1700 kids took home postcards about the camp yesterday.

Today, on a whim, I walked into Chick-Fila and asked the manager if we could place our cards on the order counters. She told me they couldn't, but they could stuff their drive-through bags with the postcards. Yea, you heard right...everyone going through the Chick-Fila drive-thru for the next 2 weeks will receive a Sports Camp postcard with a link to StoneBridge on it. I left her about 1500 cards and will return to reload on Tuesday.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth, My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt His name together. - Psalm 34:1-3

Radio Advertising Anyone?

The roaring freight train we know as CityReach is coming June 9th. 150 high school students and adults around the country will converge on Morgantown for a week of hands-on ministry and worship. One of our big events during CityReach is a sports camp for elementary age kids. We offer instruction and coaching in 5 sports: basketball, baseball, soccer, flag football, and cheerleading. This camp is one of the best events that we offer all year long.

Today, I began our two-week intense effort of promoting the camp, visiting the schools and distributing postcards, setting up our newspaper ads, and discussing the possibility of doing two weeks of morning drive time commercials and/or live call ins on our local rock/pop station, WVAQ. It looks like we can get 2 weeks of publicity with WVAQ for $900. I'm curious if anyone out there has tried radio advertising to promote your church or special events? If this is a success, we might look into using radio on a regular basis.

mavs win! mavs win!

Yes, the "little" mavericks beat the spurs last night in game 7 last night, pulling out an improbable 119-111 victory. I vented 5 years of frustration as the mavs ran out the clock and almost scared Belinda to death. Tony Parker can only eat his words now about "ripping the heart out of Dallas". Tony, you can enjoy watching the Mavs win the NBA Championship at home this year.

google earth

Belinda introduced me to the world of Google Earth last night. Using this program I figured out that we live 1920 feet above sea level. Yes, I am a nerd (a.k.a. "geographic man").

Cool stuff.

Busy week away from the blogosphere

My hiatus from the blogging world stemmed from an extremely busy week, highlighted by my Mom's visit from Dallas. It's a rare treat to have my Mom visit, and I dropped all inessential activities accordingly.

Sunday's worship gathering was stellar. God's spirit seemed to be moving through our people as we experienced a powerful time of worship, and Jason gave a powerful talk relating Paul's experience at Mars Hill in Acts 17 to our new opportunities stemming from the release of the Da Vinci code movie. David wrote a hilarious impromptu song during setup time(Adam Sandler would be proud)refuting the Da Vinci code. David, you need to record that song and post it to your website. Also on Sunday, Loren (one of our WVU students) shared about her upcoming short-term mission trip to Russia and we challenged our people to pray and give toward this effort. Loren has a real heart for God and it is exciting to partner with her for this trip. We ended the service with a special prayer/commissioning time for her. Awesome day!

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." - Isaiah 43:18-19. After praying about the possibility of relocating our Sunday worship gatherings to the posh, new Hollywood Theaters in University Town Center, we received closure on the issue yesterday. The answer was a resounding "NO!". Hollywood Theaters has a corporate policy in place that prevents outside groups from renting theaters. After spending a few hours feeling like I had been "Millvilled", I realized that God had made a possibly difficult decision easy -- He wants us to remain downtown, in the heart of the city.

God's confirmation is reassuring to me as we continue to pursue people with the love of Christ in Morgantown. I leave you with the lyrics of Petula Clark's 1964 hit, "Downtown"...

When you're alone and life is
making you lonely You can always go - downtown

When you've got worries, all the
noise and the hurry Seems to help, I know - downtown Just listen to the music of
the traffic in the city Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there You can forget all your
troubles, forget all your cares So go downtown, things'll be great when you're
Downtown - no finer place, for sure Downtown - everything's waiting for you
Don't hang around and let your problems surround you There are movie shows -
downtown Maybe you know some little places to go to Where they never close -
downtown Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova You'll be dancing with
him too before the night is over Happy again The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares So go downtown, where
all the lights are bright Downtown - waiting for you tonight Downtown - you're
gonna be all right now And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to Guide them along So
maybe I'll see you there We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares So
go downtown, things'll be great when you're Downtown - don't wait a minute more
Downtown - everything's waiting for you.

Monday, May 15, 2006

HD coming to the Knight house!

After holding out for several months, I placed an online order this morning for HD service with DirectTV. Just in time for game 5 of the Mavs and the Loser Spurs. Go Mavs!

The Blue Moose

One of the reasons I love being a church planter is the freedom to have a mobile office. My office of choice is the Blue Moose Cafe, an eclectic coffeehouse in the heart of downtown Morgantown. One of the reasons I like the Blue Moose is the unique mix of culture and ideas that can be experienced on a daily basis...you never know what you are going to hear.

The great thing about having a mobile office is being in the center of the marketplace and having the chance to connect with people. I'll post a picture of the Moose as soon as I find my camera cable...if I find my camera cable.

Moms rule the day

Worship was great today as we honored all of the Moms in the audience (original idea). Each Mom received a home spa kit, a rose, and a coupon for a free Chick-Fila sandwich. I know this seems random, and it was. Actually the plans were to simply give away spa kits. On Friday, the marketing rep from the new Chick-Fila contacted me about their Mother's Day promo, and I ended up with a stack of free sandwich coupons. Then this morning, Ed Craft, our senior member at age 52, showed up with a huge bouquet of roses for the ladies. Ed brings vitality and energy to our church, whether its showing up on Sunday with roses, taking his pastor on a ramp dig, or bringing creative meals to our HomeTeam (Ed, you need to open a restaurant!).

The day was bittersweet for Belinda and I because Belinda lost her Mom to cancer in January 05. Shirley was the best Mom-in-law a guy could have. I miss our relaxing visits on her patio in Arizona -- there's not a more relaxing place on earth. The picture to the left is of two of my favorites: Belinda's Mom and Grandma Jan taken several years ago at a Cracker Barrel in TX.

My Mom and Dad are traveling back from East Texas today. Dad spoke at Lone Cedar Baptist Church today, a church he pastored in the early '70s when I was born. Mom is flying to Pittsburgh on Thursday to spend the weekend with us. Mom, we can't wait to see you!