It's All About Who You Know

We've all experienced that day just before you go on that big vacation. The vacation that you've been thinking, planning and dreaming about for months, maybe even years. Then, there you are the day before the trip. It's finally here and you're so excited about what the next days or weeks are about to bring. There are so many adventures to be had, stories to live and memories to be made.

As a church we are sitting on one of those days, right before something big happens. Ok, not really a day but a moment in time. We've been doing Connect Groups, (small groups, Sunday School classes, growth groups) for many years and have seen some people find incredible opportunities for strong, life changing and encouraging relationships. These groups have been positive and helpful for a few but we believe that everyone needs to be a part of Connect Groups, not just a handful. Those that get in a group typically find them very helpful but the difficulty has been getting people to join a group.

With that in mind, we are stepping into a new adventure with our Connect Groups. Every two to three months, we will be announcing an entire catalog full of new groups for people to choose from. This means that nobody has to be the "new person" trying to break into an established group that's been meeting since Moses led them across the Red Sea. Plus everyone has the security that the group is only going to meet for a couple of months, so if they happen to not feel comfortable with the group, the escape plan is built into the structure.

We will have groups that fit into one of three categories. Interest - things people like to do (hiking, crafts, golf, eating out). Service - helping others (feeding the homeless, home improvements, clothing drives). Study - reading, talking and learning from the Bible or another book. Groups can meet every week, every other week, monthly or maybe even just once. The days and times, locations and leaders will be so diverse I can't mention all the options. All of this makes it more likely and possible for anybody to join a group.

Out of these groups we believe will come relationships that grow and reach levels of depth and commitment that help individuals walk through anything life might throw at them. Each session of groups will have an ending point as we prepare to launch a new set of groups. The friendships and connections that happen within groups will never be expected to stop, when groups end. Our conviction is that more people than ever will now be provided with the real chance to find connections that can lead to relationships that can see them through the ups and downs of life.

This Sunday, at the Info Kiosk in the lobby, pick up your copy of the Connect Groups Catalog. The catalog lists our 17 new groups. Yep 17 new groups! You can join one or more groups. You can join groups with your spouse or by yourself. Really, truly we simply want to see every person at Silver Creek join at least one group. There's never been a better time to join. If you can't wait until Sunday to see the list of groups, you can check them out on our website, which also includes a link to register for groups.

If you have any questions you can contact me or my wife Julie (she's the brains behind getting this all put together). A special thanks to all of the leaders that have stepped up to make our very first round of groups in this new format an incredible collection of options.

Looking forward to what lies ahead,

Brent

One Inch...

Abandonment. Abuse. Abraham. Adam. Abortion. Addiction. Adultery. Alcohol. Angels. Anger. Apostles. Atonement. Baptism. Bethlehem. Betrayal. Bitterness. Blessing. Born again. Blood. Bread. Character. Choices. Church. Commitment. Compassion. Confession. Contentment. Conversion. Covenant. Creation. Cross. Crowns. David. Death. Demons. Depression. Discipleship. Discipline. Discrimination. Disobedience. Divorce. Doubts. Dreams. Election. Elijah. Encouragement. Enemies. Envy. Eternal life. Eternity. Eve. Evil. Exodus. Faith. Fame. Family. Fasting. Fear. Forgiveness. Friendship. Freedom. Generosity. Glory. God. Gospel. Gossip. Grace. Greed. Guilt. Happiness. Hate. Heart. Heaven. Hell. Holiness. Holy Spirit. Hope. Humility. Hypocrisy. Idolatry. Injustice. Intercession. Isaac. Israel. Jealousy. Jesus. Joy. Judgment. Justice. Justification. Kindness. Kingdom of God. Lazarus. Laziness. Life. Light. Love. Lying. Lord's Supper. Marriage. Martyrs. Materialism. Mercy. Messiah. Miracles. Money. Moses. Murder. Neighbor. Obedience. Offering. Pain. Parables. Parenting. Passover. Paul. Peace. Persecution. Perseverance. Peter. Pharisees. Poor. Power. Prayer. Pride. Priests. Promises. Prophets. Purity. Quiet time. Racism. Rape. Reconciliation. Redemption. Relationships. Repentance. Respect. Responsibility. Resurrection. Revelation. Righteousness. Sacrifices. Sadducees. Salvation. Satan. Second coming. Self. Servant. Sex. Shame. Sin. Slander. Sorrow. Soul. Spirit of God. Stealing. Submission. Suffering. Suicide. Talents. Temptation. Ten Commandments. Time. Tithing. Tongues. Trinity. Trust. Truth. Unbelief. Unity. Virgin birth. War. Water. Wealth. Widows. Will of God. Wisdom. Women. Word of God. Work. Worship.

So…

The above are roughly one hundred and ninety important subjects and/or people addressed directly in the Bible. It is nowhere near a comprehensive list of the important subjects and people in Scripture. On the contrary this is simply a very small portion of what the Bible has to offer. The purpose of this list is to reveal a gigantic elephant in the corner of the room: It is critical that we as a church recognize how we need to plan for the children and students that we come in contact with. We need to be intentional about what we want them to remember, understand and apply from the countless truths and principles flowing richly from these respective subjects? Better still, how do we propose to enable and encourage the next generation to live with passionate abandonment for the only One worthy of their lives?

May I suggest that it is a question worthy of your contemplation? Take a closer look at the listed subjects. Step back. What if Silver Creek sends a generation of children, of students, into a world without at least experiencing and understanding grace? What if in our striving to reach so many we neglect to help the next generation really understand and experience Jesus?

We live in a postmodern, post-Christian world. We are leading a generation that is generally rich in experience, yet relationally and Biblically bankrupt. We see the results of this "truth void" every day. Poor choices. Destructive friendships. Basic, fundamental truths that we assume are anchored in the hearts of the next generation, yet glaringly absent when their presence is most warranted.

Let me be brutally honest: As a church we realize that it is incomprehensible for us to effectively teach the next generation every single relevant and important subject addressed in the Scriptures. It is simply a logistical impossibility. We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

While the most recent Karate Kid movie starring Jaden Smith has become a family favorite in our home, I am reminded of a lesson Mr. Miyagi gave young Daniel LaRusso in the original Karate Kid. When showing Daniel how to throw a punch, he says, "Secret to punch, make power of whole body fit inside one inch." He directed him to focus all of his power behind the punch to one inch on his hand. That is the secret to the vast expanse of truth we have to invest in students.

This responsibility might seem daunting but the good news is we have God leading the way! We need to follow His lead, lean on His understanding and He will take us through the steps we need to influence the lives of kids and students at Silver Creek. We do a dynamic ministry for Children and Students because it is critical that we do our part in reaching the next generation. If you had kids or want to partner with us in reaching young lives, we have a place for you. Our church will train you, invest in you and coach you so that you can be effective in returning the favor and reaching the lives of kids.

We have an incredible group of volunteers that invest time and energy into the kids and Silver Creek. We are currently, however, looking for another handful of coaches to work with our Preschoolers or 1st-4th graders. We ask for 1-2 services a month and you have the opportunity to potentially impact eternity in the life of a student. Will you help?

Thanks for your consideration!
Elizabeth

All Star Team

Growing up playing sports I had the opportunity to play on lots of teams. Basketball teams for my school, local Boys and Girls club teams, travel teams and teams that were formed at the park. There were also soccer teams, baseball teams, football teams and that one crazy time I joined the choir. The choir was certainly a team and a very generous group because my singing ability was less than helpful.

After being on all these teams, I have a great idea of what strong teams look like and how they function. I've also been a part of some teams that had selfish members and those unwilling to listen to coaches. Those teams won some games, from time to time but never became as good as they could have been. They never reached their full potential, actually they never came close to their potential.

The last two weeks at Silver Creek, have been some of the most amazing examples of team I've seen. Remarkable numbers of people stepped into roles and took on new challenges. Other people gave time, energy and resources at incredible levels. Leaders did their jobs, made decisions and moved things forward. When it was all said and done, the results of FUSiON, the Egg Hunt and our Easter Sunday far exceeded our potential. This team has the added benefit of God's strength, power and purpose but the team had to be willing to work together and we did.

Two weeks ago, during FUSiON and the Egg Hunt, we had 837 people attend and be a part of our family production. Plus there were people that never made it inside because they were so busy keeping everything going outside in order to keep the Egg Hunt running smoothly. Then Easter Sunday, 387 people came to Silver Creek, many of those enjoying a fantastic breakfast. Understand we aren't a church that's all about numbers and attendance. Other than every single number represents a person and we are all about people because that's what God's all about.

Those of you that made yourselves a part of the incredible team, that made the past two Sundays possible and helped to exceed our potential, understand that your contribution has changed eternity for many individuals. That definitely qualifies us as an All Star Team. Enjoy the win!

Brent

Silver Creek's Board

At Silver Creek Family Church we have a board of people that meets monthly and is in place to help in making sound financial decisions, creating checks and balances for the staff, asking tough questions in regards to direction and helping to encourage forward movement in the overall development of the church. We currently have nine board members. Two of them were added in the past two month. We want to keep you in the loop on those that serve in this capacity and we encourage you to get to know them, ask them questions and let them know that you appreciate their efforts in helping to keep Silver Creek on track. I have provided a brief synopsis of our board members and included a picture, for your reference.

Don Matson, Board Secretary

Don (and Cindy) moved to their present home in Mukilteo and started attending Lynnwood, years ago. Initially, he was recruited to work with Jr. High, which was dominated by a group of boys and eventually included the Hudson boys. Don had three sons and was in charge of the Wednesday night kids program and a group of energetic kids. Don now works with Gen78 (and loves their energy and enthusiasm), organizes Men's basketball, helps with setup/tear down, and the facilities. His favorite Disney ride is Indiana Jones, because the first time they rode it as a family Peter was about 6 and he was convinced that Jacob (his older brother) was driving and was going to get them killed!

Carter Boad, Treasurer

Carter andhis family have been attending Silver Creek for about 15 years and he has been on the Board for about half that time. He feels honored to be a part of this volunteer group. He serves as treasurer but mostly enjoys his role working with the little kids Sunday mornings in the Farm or Jungle rooms. His favorite Disneyland ride is Thunder Mountain Railroad, especially during the fireworks show because there is no line!

Chad Triplett, Board Member

Chad came to Silver Creek Family Church as a board member from Seattle Family Church. Chad joined the church in an effort to find a place for his family on the weeks that he and his two kids weren’t committed to soccer. After visiting, the family decided it needed to be

their new church home. Chad and his entire family has been actively involved in many areas of the church including Base Camp, Gen 78, Setup and Teardown and the Board. His favorite Disneyland ride is Space Mountain especially when riding with the Volz’s and coming up with kooky photo ops!!

Liz Kennard, Board Member
Liz joined the board two months ago. She serves with Gen78 students and she loves connecting with that age group. Liz joined the board out of a desire to serve in an ongoing and meaningful way. She feels like the Lord is challenging her to be involved in ways according to His will and not hers. Liz loves the Silver Creek family and its desire to be constantly and relevantly reaching out to our community and existing body of believers. Her favorite ride at Disneyland, when she last visited in 1982, was Dumbo.

Adam Blackmer, Board Member
Adam has been a board member for about 4 years. He currently serves with the Summit 56 team and the Facilities Team. He serves on the church board because God placed him there. The thing he loves the most about SCFC is that its people are genuine as they strive toward being like Christ. Treasure Island was Adam's favorite ride at Disneyland. (He says was because it's only been about 23 years since he was there!)

Steve Hudson, Board Member
Steve was serving on the Lynnwood Nazarene board when the two churches formed Silver Creek Community. He works in the production room and set-up/tear down teams. One of the joys in being on the board is to see the passion of our pastoral team to reach the neighborhood for Christ. His favorite ride at Disneyland is anything that goes fast, spins and goes upside down.

Gerry Anne Coronacion, Board Member
Gerry Anne serves in Children's Ministry and has been on the board for two months. She loves a lot of things about SCFC, one that stands out is the genuine love and care everyone has for each other. Silver Creek has amazing leaders in Brent and Elizabeth to lead the Church in carrying out God's mission and vision for the church. She is grateful for the opportunity given to her to serve her brothers/sisters in Christ and the community she is in. Gerry Anne loves Space Mountain!

Rick Ratliff, Board Member
Rick has been a board member for about 10 years. Besides being a board member, Rick is a greeter, serves on the finance committee and also helps with money counting on Sunday morning. He serves on the church board to support the church staff as they lead the church forward. Rick enjoys the Sunday morning worship music and has never been to Disneyland.

Michael Volz, Board Member
Michael started on the board as Treasurer for Seattle Family Church in 2005 and then became the Treasurer for Silver Creek, after the merge. Thanks to Carter, he was able to move on from that position and focus on other volunteer activities at SCFC. He is very involved in our monthly FUSiON productions as a Singer and member of the Tech Team, he volunteers in Base Camp working with 1-4 graders, and he helps out with Tech during Sunday morning services. His favorite Disneyland ride is California Screamin’ even though it is actually in California Adventure.

Just Get In

This past week my family was able to get away for vacation in California. Our flight home was out of LAX in Los Angeles. We drove up from Anaheim to LA and arrived a little over an hour before we needed to be at the airport. Someone had told us about a Manhattan Beach that was just 10 minutes or so from the airport. Realizing it might be our last shot at a nice sunny beach for awhile, we drove over to check it out.

Our three kids were dressed for the flight home, not a day near the ocean. We had them roll up their pant legs to their knees, and encouraged them to only go about ankle deep. On of our kids (who I'll attempt to protect, by withholding their name) would soon not only have the bottoms of their pants wet, but would actually be diving under a couple of the waves. There was a change of clothes in the suit case and a place to rinse off in the public restrooms, so it all worked out.

Over the past couple of days since I've been home, I've laughed about this moment but more than anything I've wondered why I just watched. I'm trying to figure out at what moment in life did I decide that I'd pass on opportunities to "just get in", enjoy the ocean, love the opportunity and take advantage of great situations. Sure I'd have gotten a bit cold, and there's the hassle of changing clothes, and it would have made it a crazy scramble to get to the airport. Now I sit in Starbucks, the rain is coming down, I'm back to work, the responsibilities of life and church swirl in my head and I can't help but wonder why I didn't "just get in". The ocean was right there, the beach was so nice, it would have worked out.

Certainly as adults there's wise planning needed, sound decisions to be worked through and time lines to manage. That's too bad because I'm pretty sure life is supposed to include more moments where we "just get in". Take opportunities that are in front of us. Those opportunities might not be the ocean, but it could be spending more time with a friend, eating dessert, trying a new volunteer opportunity at church or in our community, learning a new skill or going to bed early when you get a chance. You don't need it but you have my permission to "just get in" the next time you're standing in front of the ocean.

Brent

It's On

We are now less than two weeks away from what we are praying will be an incredible day at Silver Creek. It's the time where we are putting all of the finishing touches on all the plans, ideas and projects that will make that day, tremendous. There have been lots of people from Silver Creek that have already invested lots of time and energy into this day. Our singers have been rehearsing on Sunday afternoons. The actors have been memorizing their lines and thinking through their blocking. Prizes have been gathered. 6000 plastic eggs are waiting to be stuffed with prize tickets and chocolate eggs. The cotton candy and popcorn have been purchased. Our Easter Bunny costume will be heading to local schools to hand out fliers. It's On.

Many of you have already taken the step to sign up to help in some way, to provide us the man power to pull it all together. There are still several areas you could jump in and be a part of this event that we'll be talking about for months. You won't want to miss it. You can help put the eggs out for the hunts. Greet many of our guests as they enter into the building. Monitor an inflatable, helping to keep kids safe as they enjoy the event. Help people find parking spots as they enter our lot, making their first moments on campus positive. You can email Lori Sauter (rlsauter@gmail.com) to find exact times and volunteer positions that are available.

There is also going to be a plastic egg stuffing party and facility prep projects worked on Saturday morning at 9am. Contact Tina Adams (mkmom3@comcast.net) for details about helping with the eggs and David Grisham (dgrisham42@gmail.com) for details on the work projects. These are two great additional opportunities to jump on board and be a part.

More than anything, please keep everything about these days included in your prayers. We trust that God is helping us become more prepared to receive the guests He sends our way. Yep, It's On.

Brent

It's time to grow young

My youngest son had his 8th birthday earlier this month. His friends gave him all kinds of great gifts and as his parents we thought we'd give him something he could hurt himself with. We bought him a Ripstik. It's basically a fancy skate board, that has just two wheels but are both on swiveling casters. The board pivots in the middle and rather than pushing with one foot to move forward. The rider swivels their hips causing the board to pivot, swiveling the casters, propelling the rider and board forward. It's really pretty amazing and is looks very smooth. Do a quick YouTube search and you can see you one in action.

I'm sure you're similar to me and pretty much too busy most of the time, to slow down enough to have some simple fun. Then yesterday, I found myself with about 20 minutes of time before I had to run off to my next "thing" and there sitting in front of me was a Ripstik not currently being used. Every thought that makes sense passed through my mind but I didn't listen to any of them.

I spent the next 20 minutes, out in our driveway, swiveling my hips, trying to master the Ripstik. For the most part, not to brag, I did pretty well. I managed to figure out how to start, which was not an easy task. Jump off when I started rolling faster than I could control. And the one time I fell off and landed on my back, I didn't hurt myself (luckily) and from what I could tell, none of my neighbors were looking out their windows at that moment.

Probably not my wisest choice of the day. Nothing all that great was accomplished through my attempts. There was not one life or person in need that benefited from my little "return to Junior High" experiment. To be honest, it was my favorite 20 minutes of the day. For 20 minutes I wasn't worried that this weeks message would make sense Sunday morning. The dishes that needed to be washed weren't calling my name. The television wasn't sucking life from my brain. Bills that wanted to be paid sat on the counter and I didn't care. For 20 minutes, I was young again, it was incredible.

There's no part of me, that wants to go back to being 8 years old. But for that short time, it was exactly where I needed to be. I'm not sure how you can grow young from time to time but if you can figure it out, don't miss the opportunity. Maybe not the most spiritual advice you'll every get from me, I still think you should give it a try.

Brent