Southland Christian Church

Here's a great question when you're thinking about putting your kid in a lifegroup... Which Group Is Right For My Child?

Southland offers two different type of group experiences for children ages preschool through 5th grade.  Which one is right for you?
 
LIFE GROUPS are small groups for kids designed to help them find deep friendship, belonging and spiritual encouragement.  In Life Groups, kids form relationships with a consistent adult Life Group Leader and with other kids their age.   Life Groups do outside events together including both celebration times and service projects to help kids grow spiritually.   
 
Fall Life Groups kick off Sept 18/19 weekend in all Children’s Ministry environments.
Children must be able to consistently attend the same worship hour to join a Life Group.   Once an adult completes the registration card, children will be placed in a Life Group the following week.  Registration cards are available in all Children's Ministry environments.
 
MAGNET GROUPS are small groups for guests and for families who do not typically attend the same service hour from week to week.  Magnet Groups are designed to help connect less connected kids to the church and to Jesus.  Kid in the Magnet Groups do the same activities and large group time as everyone else, but will not necessarily be with the same kids and leader.   Magnet Groups require no previous registration or commitment.
 
BOTH GROUPS meet during our weekend worship service times at 5:30, p.m., Saturdays; 8:30, 10 and 11:30 a.m., Sundays. as part of the children’s worship service in their specific weekend environment.

What Do You Get the Kid Who Has Everything?

Remember the first time your child asked you for something?  I remember the day I visited Babies R’ Us with my daughter, Emma, when she first became aware of toys on the shelf.   I wanted to buy her everything.  There’s something hard-wired into the heart of a parent to give our kids good things.  That’s why we sometimes overload their schedules with sports, dance classes, swim lessons, etc.  We don’t want them to miss a thing.  We want them to have all the things we never had.
This fall, if you really want to give your child something that will last, don’t just settle for another activity or more stuff.  Give them the gift of community.   At Southland we offer an experience called Life Groups, where children ages preschool through fifth grade can build deep relationships with an adult leader and other kids their age.  Life Groups let kids experience what’s it’s really like to be a part of the church where they are known, loved and shepherded in their growing faith.  
They meet during our weekend worship services at 5:30, p.m., Saturdays; 8:30, 10 and 11:30 a.m., Sundays as a part of your child’s weekend environment.

 To register your child for a group, fill out one of the Life Group registration cards available in the Children’s Ministry rooms.  

Thanks,

Jason

Here's a post from our new Office Host, Stephanie. She's the one answering the phones and greeting people when they come in through the week. We asked her to give a quick view into what she's picked up on after a couple weeks in the new job. Here's her thoughts:

Most of us who attend Southland hang out for an hour or two each week. We drink a little coffee, listen to Amaris belt out a song, and watch Jon give away free pizza. When I became a member of the Office Host staff, I was incredibly excited to experience the “real” Southland  and see the ins and outs of daily Southland life and gather all the wisdom that I was sure must be floating in the office air.
 
 In just two weeks, I’ve heard the depth of many scientific conversations among staffers. A current popular topic is the development of theories on the precise amount of time that a Double Bubble gumball, courtesy of guest speaker Reggie Joiner’s visual prompt, can last before it runs out of flavor, color and texture, rendering itself useless.
 
 Conversations that demonstrate the creativity and ability to practically apply Biblical knowledge are also popular. The new desk in the front office has freed up a noticeable amount of space. Our staff Culture Director is keeping tabs on the ideas that flow from the wealth of brilliant staffers, including a rocking chair with a nice, quilted blanket thrown over the back; a crackling fireplace; and an oversized checkerboard to foster the Acts 2:42 concept of Christian community. Others are suggesting that we work on the importance of keeping our bodies, as the temple, healthy and include a treadmill and smoothie machine. In the works: a possible www.oneideafortheoffice.com* website where staffers can leave suggestions for the empty space, since it’s sister website, www.oneideaforlex.com is already working so well for the new campus project.  
 
Even with all that distracting brilliance, the front office is the perfect place to get to know  the people that make up our local portion of the body of Christ. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with a woman who has spent almost her entire life in the area surrounding the Lexington Mall and has been praying for its revival and for God to send his people there. Hearing her laughter and joy at the realization that God has honored her prayers was a beautiful thing. I’ve spoken with a man who came to Lexington to study social work and is now starting his own organization to help the people in his home country of Zimbabwe. I’ve discussed the weather, the theological basis of Catholicism, and t-ball. I’ve spoken with people who are homeless, jobless, and hopeless and realized how much our spiritual family and our city are crying out to be covered in prayer.  The people I have the opportunity to talk with on the phone or in the office are part of the rhythm of Southland’s heartbeat.
 
And quite possibly the coolest thing about setting up camp in the front office? Seeing how much caffeine, prayer, and iphone usage go into keeping this place running every week.

*This is not really a website... although it would make a great one.

Not "brats," like "Hey you brats, get off of my lawn!"

It's like a bratwurst. As in, "Hey middle school kids, are you coming to the Lift cookout for burgers and brats?"

Well, if you are a middle school kid, you should totally come. If you know any middle school students, let them know about our festival of grilled meats. It's this Friday, July 23. Call us if you have questions.

Do you have some thoughts you would like to share about the proposed campus on the Lexington Mall property? Maybe you are considering Jon's request to attend that the new campus to help get it off the ground and would like to offer some input on the ministries needed there? If so, plan to stop by Building F on Sunday, July 18 from 9:30am to noon and share what's on your mind. At that time, the Architects, site designers and Southland leadership will be there to hear your ideas. This opportunity is similar to that being offered at Lexington Mall site on Tuesday evening, July 13 where we will hear specifically from the community surrounding the site. Regular Southland attendees are not expected to attend on Tuesday evening as we want to make that a community event.

As the project progresses, there will be many opportunities for you to provide input and have your questions answered. You are invited to continue visiting the website for further updates and planned events.

High School students are at CIY this week. It's an entire week devoted to hanging out with each other and focusing on God.  Don't forget to pray for these students as they will experience God in some life changing ways which will have great impact.

If you're looking to get plugged into Southland, you'll want to come to our Welcome to Southland class that we have Sunday mornings at 10am. You'll learn the ins and outs of who we are and why we do what we do. You'd also learn that the Welcome to Southland team is crazy about fireworks... which makes this a quick reminder that there won't be a Welcome to Southland class on July 4. Make sure you join us the next week, though. We'll be there sans sparklers and bottle rockets.

If you have questions about Welcome to Southland, contact Jennifer.

Thanks for joining us for an awesome week of Who's in the House! Look how excited we were to see you. We want to hear your stories of what's going on in your home after WITH. Send them to us and we'll post some of them up here on the blog.

Heroes in the House was awesome last night! We had an awesome time learning about what God is doing and can do in our families. If you missed last night, make sure you visit us tonight, June 24 at 7pm in the Worship Center. We'll see you there!

Last year ONE80 high school ministry had it's first ever Mud Bowl. It's really not any more complicated than it sounds - we made a big pit of mud, rounded up all the friends we could find, and ran around playing games in the aforementioned mud.

And we're doing it again. Saturday May 15 from 1-3pm Saturday July 17 from 1-3pm in the back of our Harrodsburg Road property (by the baseball fields) we're creating a pit of mud. Anyone in high school should be there, and bring all their friends.

Some parents may not want their students covered in mud - just tell them it's for church, and to build relationships with people so they'll meet the real Jesus. Also, washing machines were invented for a reason!

If you have questions, just contact Mallory.

Update: This is going to sound very silly, but it’s too muddy to have the Mud Bowl Saturday, May 15th. Long story short - to get the equipment in to prepare the perfect mud pit, we have to go through the imperfect mud with trucks, which would no-doubt become stuck, and create some serious issues. We'll let you know when the Mud Bowl is rescheduled.

Update 2: A new date of July 17 has been set. You can see it on the calendar here.

We got this email today and wanted to share it with everyone.

Wow. Can I say that being a part of Southland is such a blessing? Being part of a big church is definitely intimidating at times, but there is power in numbers. With great power comes great responsibility, and I am so proud to see what Southland is doing, through creating MySouthland online, the community garden, the drive for expansion to the city of Lexington, Danville, the series covering spiritual disciplines so that we can live in the fact that we are no longer hostile in our minds to God, because in Christ we are redeemed. Wow. Well, I simply wanted to offer a smile via the internet and let whoever reads this know that even from far away in Paducah (I am on an internship right now), you all are still making my heart glad. And for that, I praise God.  For the glory of the great Amen,

Laura

Thanks, Laura. We're glad that Jesus is at work in your life.

We love hearing this type of story... especially when there's an obscure reference from Teen Wolf. There's a special prize* to the first person to email us which quote is from the movie. There's also a prize** for anyone who shares a great story of their own.

*There aren't actually any prizes.

**We can't believe you'd keep all that good news to yourself just because there's no prize. Come on. Share with us.

If there's one thing I know, it's that a baby does change everything. It ain't easy... but we have a plan. Every year at Southland we take some time to celebrate families with new additions (and I'm not talking home renovations, here). We offer a service for moms and dads to commit their parenting efforts to God and let other loved ones commit to helping that little kid grow. If you're sleepy, frizzy haired and smell of stale milk, this might be the perfect opportunity for you. These services are May 16 at 1:30pm and 3:00pm at the Harrodsburg Road Campus, and at 1pm for the Danville Campus . Contact Laura or check here for more info.

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.

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. 

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).