Southland Christian Church

I didn't expect to go to Africa. But God made it clear that I was suppose to take this trip to Ethiopia, and I quickly realized He was going to teach me something huge.

Over a month later, I am still learning lessons.

This trip, the people I went with, the experiences I had all played a huge role in changing the very course of my life.

I came back to Kentucky with three truths, which God had heavily impressed on my heart.

He is faithful. Even when we are not, even when we can't see Him working. He has proven Himself over and over again.

He loves us. Like a Father who loves His children, a redeemer, a hero. Almost everything He does in our lives stems from this love - His desire to close the gap between us and Him. So simple, yet transforming.

He is strong. One of the most personal lessons I learned while in Ethiopia stemmed from my struggle of feeling weak. The verse our whole trip was based on was Philippians 4:13. It took me a while, but finally I began to understand it is not important how strong I am. The whole story is about how strong the Lord is, and how we are called to let His strength work out through us.

—Ana Vaughn

Did you know we're on Twitter? Do you know what Twitter is? Why do horses wear shoes?  Do horses wear socks?  Well, I can help you with about half of those questions.  Yes, Southland is on Twitter and we use it for lots of reasons.  We may be reminding you of last week's sermon, prepping you for this week's, posting a job or maybe tossing out a fun fact about horses and socks.  No matter the Tweet, we encourage you to follow.  We'd love to hear an @mention from you about how you're feeling or what you need.  We'd love to get you plugged in beyond cyberspace.  Check it out.  We're here.  Danville is here.

We're adding a few services this easter. Read the full entry for all the details.

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Southland has scholarship opportunities for elementary, middle, high and college students. If you'd like to apply - download, fill out and return this pdf application with all other required documents to the office by May 1, 2010.

Yes.  Yes it will.  But we are excited to say that we are, once again, doing baptisms in the pond Easter Sunday, April 4!  Bring your family, a lawn chair and maybe a wetsuit.  This is going to be great.  Last year we baptized hundreds in that cold water and we're doing it again. If you want to get in the water for baptism, contact Sarah for the Harrodsburg Road campus or Brian for the Danville Campus. And if you don't contact ahead of time, come anyway!  But plan on being there either way to support our Southland family making these decisions.  It's gonna be stellar.

Baptisms are at 2 pm at the Harrodsburg Road campus and also at 2 pm at the Millennium Park pond in Danville.

There's been such a cool reaction to the Prayer Walls that have been available at our weekend services during this series.  We just wanted to share how beautiful your prayers have been as they've gone up. We're praying for each of these and encourage everyone to be a part of the Prayer Walls during the weekend experience.

Check out the full entry for more pictures.

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For about a year now, Southland's High School Ministry has been gathering students in homes all over Lexington and Nicholasville.  We've seen up to 200 students come together with up to 50 leaders in the 7 houses throughout the week.  Those numbers add up to a lot of life change.  So, if you've been curious, we wanted to show you what these Home Groups looked like.  And if you have questions or want to get involved, just contact Mallory.

Hollywood is smart. Really smart. They've picked up on something that the church has yet to notice. 

The power of the Middle Schoolers, tweens, teenyboppers,..whatever you call them, they've got power they don't even know they posses.

Think about it. It's Middle Schoolers who've rocketed Miley Cyrus to international pop stardom, gave us the multi-million dollar High School Musical trilogy, presented Taylor Swift with a Grammy, single-handledly made Nick Jonas' split from the Jonas Brothers a top ten search on Google, and bought up every last pair of skinny jeans and Vans for when their moms drop them off at the skate park on Saturday. 

Hollywood knows that these kids are impressionable, they're looking for someone to tell them what's cool, what's meaningful, what they should be doing. 

Brad Bramer, Middle School Experience Leader: "[Middle Schoolers] are unpredictable, they are discovering who they are. They are inconsistent, sometimes they are all over the place and sometimes they are focused. It's the most teachable and influential age." 

Brad thinks that Middle School students have a place in the "body" of Christ, but it's not necessarily the one they should have: "I call them the armpit of the church. No one expects anything out of them. I expect them to reflect Christ's actions. I expect [adults in the church] to pour into them, to pour into the most influential part of someone's life, not treat them like damage control." 

This is where Brad and countless other Middle School leaders from Southland and several other Lexington churches are stepping in. Enter the GLU Conference. 

"Our students don't always have a concept of the what the Church, with a capital "C," really is. They've got friends who go to different churches, they drive around and see churches all over Lexington, some of them even go to two or three different churches in a week. Our goal is to unite the church, city-wide, to unite our Middle School students." 

The goal of GLU is to teach Middle Schoolers to be recognizable Christ-followers in their three main mission fields: in the home, with friends, and at school. "Those places are their mission fields and if these students are reflecting Christ [in these places] families would be more healthy, schools would a place of love and healing, not judgement and insecurity. And we want them to do it together; there is strength in numbers. We want them to work together, from all churches in Lexington, to see the bigger picture of the mission is and how they fit into it." 

The GLU conference is stealing a page from Hollywood's book and catching the crowds on their way to watch the DIsney channel. "If we can get Middle School students to start caring about the gospel in the same way, or more than, they care about pop-culture, then Middle Schoolers could lead the church. They could teach us how to be real, not forced or fake. They can make a huge impact in their three mission fields and in the church." 

So, unplug their ipod, wash them up, swing through McDonalds for some pre-conference fuel, give them 10 bucks for the registration fee and bring your Middle Schooler to the GLU Conference, March 5-6, at Southland. We can't promise miracles. Their pants might still  be a little low, they still won't want to take a shower, and they may still sneak out with way too much eyeliner on but they'll come back with a few new friends, a greater understanding of their identity in Christ, and the strength to stand together, no matter where they sit on Sunday. 

GLU from Southland Christian Church on Vimeo.

Author Donald Miller is coming to speak in our weekend services at Southland March 13/14! If you haven’t read his new book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years you should. It's all about the concept of story and how our lives “feel written” because there is a “Writer who is writing us into his story.” Many of you have read his widely-popular book Blue Like Jazz which is a really fun book to read as well. Mark your calendar and definitely bring a friend because Donald is one of the best story tellers you’ll ever hear and even better than that, he is one of the most authentic people you will ever have the privilege of hearing. 

Sometimes we forget how much God is at work in what we do. A recent email went out to some of our staff with these words; "We currently send out 8,000 cards a year to community shut ins and nursing home residents and monthly cards to the residents at the veteran’s center. This has been going on for 14 years.  Estelle who headed up this ministry for 14 years passed away, leaving the card ministry with an amazing number of of rubber stamps and other card making materials.  This is a very special ministry because it ministers to those who need to be reminded they are still loved when they are going through illness or other problems."

What a great thing Estelle has done for so long! Thanks to her legacy here and what she gave to Kingdom work. Estelle took what she knew and did great things with it. If there's a way that you've been thinking about getting involved, let us know.  We'd love to get you plugged in.

When it comes to Southland’s Danville Campus’  “Unstoppable Force” class, it’s clear that the name doesn’t refer to the actual event.

Campus Pastor, Dave Rizer: “It’s funny because we call it “Unstoppable Force” then we had to cancel it because of the weather.”

The name refers to something a little stronger than Lexington’s recent, and seemingly permanent, transition into frozen tundra - the church as the body of Christ.

“The church is designed as a kingdom that you can’t put a hand on…it has no geographical boundaries…it just continues to move from generation to generation…it isn’t a place you go, it’s what you’re a part of.”

The class focuses on the book of Acts, which is especially relative to the new church.

“It’s an introduction to who we are [as part of the Body]…the book is so interactive…[the church] is writing the next chapter.”

The class is on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Southland’s Danville Campus. Everyone who is interested in learning about the church and their role within the body is encouraged to stop by, even those who consider themselves to be “veteran churchgoers” (i.e., those who have been privy to Jon’s sports jokes for quite awhile now – an “unstoppable force” than no amount of mass emailing from Southland attendees can stop).

63,000 pounds of supplies.

Millions of prayers.

So far, Southland family, we've helped to address many medical, nutrtional, educational and other daily needsof the Haitian people. Even our kids have created cards of encouragement for their Haitian peers. And everyone who has played even the smallest part in lifiting up the Haitian people deserves a HUGE thank you.

But now that the news coverage has shifted frrom medical heros to the sports variety, from the blistering island streets to the snow covered slopes, it's important that we stay committed to praying for the people of Haiti.

Southland contact in Haiti, "Dr. Bob," is still working with the people of Port-au-Prince.

"Tens of thousands of peopleare [still] roaming the streetswithout homes, food, drink or clothing...I can testify to the fact that [relief organizations] are busy distributing materials...and have promised me food, water and certain medicines."

Even with the shortage of basic needs, Dr. Bob testifies to the character of the Haitian people.

"It amazes me how little evidence I see daily of the looting...one would expect in these conditions: definitely a tribute to the gentle nature, courage and resliience of these brave people."

Dr. Bob has one more request of Southland:

"Please keep them and us in your prayers in this very difficult timefor all involved in this huge relief effort for Haiti intheir hour of deepest need."

As the island contiues to repair the physical, mental and emotional damage it has suffered, let's continually remind ourselves to lift their needs to God, just as often as we do our own. Pray especially that all of the supplies we collected will make it into the hands and hearts of those who need it most.

We get a lot of great stories that come across the desks here at Southland.  This one seemed to shine pretty bright as we read it.  We thought it would be worth sharing. It comes from a volunteer who was visiting a gentleman that had been confined to the walls of a hospital for over six months.

His email read, "[The patient] continues to improve and said he will be going home at the end of this week. He is anxious to get home. Since I knew this would be my last visit, I discussed his faith; which eventually led to his accepting Christ as his personal Savior and I marked a cross on his forehead with water to symbolize his baptism. I gave a copy of the New Testament for his use. We talked a long time about faith and how Southland’s visits reinforced his belief in God during the tough times early on in his hospitalization."

There are no names attached to this story, but we don't need them.  God has identified this guy and has already thrown a party for him.  And to that volunteer, we say thanks.  We love stories like this.  We hope to see more of them as we continue in our current series, The Me I Want to Be. We know God will open the door for a load of life-change for anyone who is open to it... just like this guy in a hospital bed. Come check it out.

Last weekend’s Super Bowl party was a blast. We started the night, much like a real football game, with a center field and a captain representing each age group.  Instead of flipping a coin,  we had a pig skin (pork rinds) eating contest.  Each captain received a full bag of “pig skins” and a glass of water.  After a tie it came down to just two people—the tiebreaker was the winner who ate  the most “pig skins” in 10 seconds. The grand champion stuffed 14 pig skins in his mouth and took home the prize and  stinky breath.  
 
We thin kicked off the night with pizza and games while “The Big Game” was in the background.  During one of the time outs we set up a relay that involved “up downs”, weaves, and passing toilet paper.   Over all we had a great night of fun and hanging out.  Too many times we miss the opportunity to have fun as Christian and share in experiences.   We made some memories that night (and a big mess) but we had a blast!

One of our favorite things we do around here is our Jesus Prom. The Jesus Prom is an annual themed event for physically and/or mentally challenged adults. It's held every November and is guaranteed to be a good time.  So if it's in November, why would we bring it up mid-February? Well, it turns out that we're not the only ones jumping on board.  Here's a church in Boulder, Colorado that's adopted the idea for themselves. So, way to go, Southland, for jumping into the idea and setting the bar high for this group of people... and we're certainly glad to do it all together. Here's an article about what Flatirons is doing and a video of their prep.