Southland Christian Church

Last night we launched the first ONE80 in Danville. We just wanted to share a quick update and a crummy picture. (We apologize for the pic. We tried to sketch a better rendering of the event, but we couldn't get it to look right.) Anyway, our Age Level leader, Jon, challenged middle and high school students to live with Jesus, in community, and on a mission.  It's going to be great to see what God does as ONE80 meets weekly in Danville. If you have any questions about getting plugged in, contact Jon.

Life Groups are Biblical communities which meet outside the walls of the church in the places where you do everyday life. If you would like to invest in building friendships with other Christ-followers, this is a great step for you!  We're getting ready to launch several new groups before the end of September.

If you want to get connected in a Life Group, or are just interested in talking more about what a Life Group is, send an email to danville@southlandchristian.org. If you’ve signed up but have not been contacted, please e-mail us at danville@southlandchristian.org so we have your interest in writing.  We want to make sure everybody is included!

We're excited to open the stage up this weekend to not just Jon, but also Wayne Smith and Mike Breaux. We'll take a look into past, present and future with each of Southland's senior pastors from over the years. We'll see how Christ has changed and led this place for over 50 years. Be sure to join us this week. It's going to be a great view into Southland.

Reflections from Brian Lucas from Danville's recent Worship on Wednesday

Psalm 100:  Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

For me there is just something about seeing the people of God worship with praise and singing.  I don’t know if it is my love of music or my love for God.  But I can’t think of anywhere else where it is alright and accepted to come into a building and sing, close your eyes, raise your hands, and express your love to something bigger and better than ourselves.  Sure we can go to concerts of our favorite singers or bands and do a lot of the same things but I don’t believe there is the same emotion behind going to a popular concert.  There is something in us that wants to show our love for God in this way.  

It is neat to see guys I have played golf or softball with letting go of the tough guy image and just worshipping.  I also love to see the kids, eyes closed tight and hands in the air, singing as hard as they can.  Or families sitting together all worshipping together.  It is just neat to see the body of Christ letting go of themselves and giving it all to Him. Let’s all take time this week to live out Psalm 100.  We have so much reason to give praise.

Recently we got the chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus through a work day at Jennie Rogers Elementary School here in Danville. About 15-20 of us volunteered a Saturday morning to do some much needed painting in several classrooms and offices. This is only the beginning of our partnership with Jennie Rogers. If you would like to know how you can get involved, contact Lana Yeary at 502-594-5219.

Well, you did miss the pre-sale price for tickets to be a part of our night with Chris Tomlin. But no fear. Scrounge up the extra three bucks and purchase your tickets now. This thing may sell out. So you better get on it.

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.

That's not entirely true. But as we wrapped up some of our discipleship classes, we received some emails of how God was working through individual's study of the word that we wanted to share. Here's some of what we got...

"I want to tell you how enjoyable and informative the class was for my wife and I. I hope the Church decides to either lengthen or add similar classes. I also took the Wednesday night Bible study taught by Dan and Jon. The two were very helpful. Thanks."

"Thank you so much for offering the Theology 101 class. It was a refreshing look at the trinity and the church. I was impressed with Dan's teaching and knowledge. He really challenged us to know the Lord better and use that to help those around us. I'm so glad I went!"

"It was wonderful to be in a class that was a cross section of the church: young/old, married/single, male/female. I hope more classes like this will be offered. I've had a hard time finding a Sunday School that studies the Bible and doesn't have age or marital or gender requirements."

Keep an eye out as we begin to launch more classes in the fall. It's a great way to get plugged in around Southland.

We saw a cool church that grabbed your Dollar Club efforts and used it for themselves. Pretty cool stuff. Here's an excerpt... "I was looking for some kind of experience that we could participate in as a whole community that would remind us each week that Jesus is alive and breaking into the world in us, through us and for us. My friend Don was at Jon Weece’s Church, Southland Christian in Lexington KY.  He told me Jon asks his congregation each week to give one dollar to a particular offering. They take that entire offering and give it to someone in need outside of their church."

How cool is that? Read the whole article here.

We had a great story come through from our Children's Ministry in Danville.

"Our ministry were writing letters to their Food for the Hungry kids we're sponsoring in Mozambique this weekend.  One little boy wrote, “My name is Lawson and I go to the Southland Christian Church.  It is my favorite church.  The church is in Danville, Kentucky.  We are sending you a care package.  It’s what we do.”  

It’s what we do.  Yes, it is, Lawson!  You know you’re in a great church when the kids know loving the world is what we’re all about.

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.

We can't wait to see you at the pond. If you're interested in getting baptized at the Harrodsburg Road campus, contact Sarah. For Danville, contact Brian.

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.

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).