Southland Christian Church

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.

Yesterday was our annual "Non-Meeting" featuring Staff Olympics. There's no need to say much. The pictures say it all. But I will say this... We have an awesome staff!

Hoseheads from Southland Christian Church on Vimeo.

We're having a little fun kicking off our Boomerang series. Our friend, Pete, had some fun with us at 608. Thanks for playing, Pete.

608 Game from Southland Christian Church on Vimeo.

Worship songs evoke something in people who hear them. I have a cousin who is not a believer, but he heard a song on Christian radio recently and texted my mother that somehow “it said everything [he] was feeling”. Truth has that affect on people. Truth resonates within us and music permeates places in us, spoken and written words struggle to reach alone. Hillsong writes simple yet intense, truth-filled worship songs. Consider some of the lines, “There is no one else for me, none but Jesus,” “In everything, in everything we will shine for Your glory, “ “This is my prayer in the harvest, when favor and providence flow. I know I’m filled to be emptied again, the seed I’ve received I will sow.” If those statements were from an article, I most likely would not have remembered them, but because they were set to melodies, I can remember them by simply humming them in my head. That’s the power of music in general, but in my opinion the biggest perk to listening to music that declares and repeats the truth of God; we remember it better!

Hillsong coming here on July 26th gives us an opportunity to hear truth sung over and over not just for our entertainment, but also for our development.  God has gifted and equipped the Hillsong team with His truth and the ability to set it to great music. So HIllsong is more than a concert, it’s a message  - and hopefully one you will easily remember. See you there!

-Amanda

As this is being typed, there's a group of volunteers gutting a travel trailer on the back of our property. Everything that was inside is being trashed to make room for a greater purpose.

Meet the Bruised Reed Mobile Unit. This bad mama is going to be traveling with our Bruised Reed volunteers on various nights of the week to provide needs ranging from clothing to medical referrals... all out of this trailer. This ministry has existed for years in our community. They go into adult clubs and serve food to the girls working there. This trailer, though, will give them a broader platform to serve from. These men in the photo are making room for closets to hold supplies, clothes, even toys for the kids that are affected by their moms' situation. They're cutting out seating so that other volunteers can sit and have a quiet conversation versus standing in a loud dance club. These modifications and this trailer will truly change the way God ministers through Bruised Reed. We're looking forward to what God's going to do with this trailer and we'd love to have your help. Just let us know if you're interested in any way.

When Jesus came into human history he was on a mission to seek and save what was lost. He did it by serving rather than being served, and he did it connected to God the Father.

In Jesus' life and ministry he lived out what he would call us to do. To stay connected to him, to love and build up the church, and to continue his redemptive work in the lives of others.

"With Jesus, in community, on mission" is how we sum this up at Southland, and we want to be doing all three well.

With Jesus makes sense to most of us - you're a Christian.

In community makes sense to most of us - you're in a life group.

On mission... does not compute as easily. This is partly because traditionally mission has been misrepresented as an event rather than a lifestyle. There's also the misunderstanding that mission is something that only takes place overseas and is reserved for trained professionals.

Missional is the word we use to describe the lifestyle of mission that Jesus has called us all to. What this means in the simplest of terms is purposefully doing what Jesus told us to do - to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to connect them to Him along the way.

Around here we've been sharing a lot of stories about the recent rising of self-directed missional groups in our church, and how Jesus is working through them. These missional groups are life groups who are intentionally looking for where Jesus is needed in the neighborhoods and lives around them, and then go to love and serve rather than be served. We've heard many more of you are interested in learning how to identify the mission God has for you. So, at 6:30pm on June 2 in the Chapel of Building A we're going to have a missional group discussion forum. Come on out if you're interested in hearing stories, learning how you can get your life group on mission, asking questions, getting ideas for serving the city, sharing insights from your mission or simply joining the conversation.

We're also doing this discussion forum at our Danville Campus. Same day, same time, different campus.

See you there.

Do you feel like you've missed the boat because you missed the meeting? No way. Give us a shout. We still want to know if you want to help. We'll make sure you have the opportunity to get your hands dirty.

Tara  serves with Serve The City.  She has been reaching out and building a relationship with a single mother and her two kids who live on Warnock St. downtown.  While talking with the mother she found out that the water pump in the mother’s truck had broke.  The mother needed to have this fixed before the truck could be driven again and she did not have the full amount of money to fix it.  Tara sent us this email about her experience that night: 

“As I got in my car to leave, I can’t explain what happened next. All I know is that my car ended up at Advanced Auto and without a thought I walked in, asked how much a water pump costs for a 4-Runner and bought a gift card for $50. I have heard the Lord speak to me before, but never like this. I knew 100% this is what I was supposed to do. Within 20 minutes I had written a note with the gift card inside and was on my way back to Warnock.   I knew that God was using me in ways that I could not understand. He had shown His love through me, and it was completely overwhelming.  I am so very thankful to stand shoulder to shoulder with these people every week. Not only are we filling these homes with love, but these wonderful families are equally filling our hearts. There is nothing greater than that. Love is IT."

Thanks for the email, Tara. And thanks for what you do. It's amazing what Jesus will do with a water pump. If you're interested in the ministry that's doing these types of things, let us know. We'll get you going.

Getting together to sing songs of worship and thanks to Jesus and to seek Him in prayer is pleasing to Him. We want to experience God this way more often than just Sunday morning, so we're going to get together this Wednesday night, May 26 at 7pm in the Building E Worship Center of our Harrodsburg Road campus. Come to sing to Jesus, pray for one another and experience being the church this Wednesday night.

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.

Summer sports leagues are getting ready to kick-off. Actually, there won't be a literal kick-off because the two sports are softball and sand volleyball, neither of which involve kicking. Technically it's a legal play to kick in sand volleyball, but you can't serve with a kick, so kick-off is still an irrelevant term.

So anyways, summer sports are getting ready to start. For sand volleyball there is a competitive league and a recreation league, and for softball there is a men's league and a co-ed league. To play in any of the leagues you'll need to sign up below. There is also a need for captains within each league. You can sign up for that below, too.

Sand Volleyball Captains

If you were a captain in the Spring League you still need to register for the Summer Sand League but do not have to retake the training classes. Training for captains will happen sometime between May 17—June 6. Requirements to be a captain are available in this pdf. Register here before May 17.

Sand Volleyball Recreation League

The recreation league will play on Monday nights, June 14—August 9. Cost is $20 per player, $27 if you'd like to order a shirt. No late registrations will be accepted. Register here between May 17 and June 6. Note: This registration form erroneously has a drop down menu to select the league you want to register for. That field is no longer applicable, and this form is only registering for the Sand Volleyball Monday night recreation league.

Sand Volleyball Competitive League

The competitive league will play on Tuesday nights, June 15—August 10. Cost is $20 per player, $27 if you'd like to order a shirt. No late registrations will be accepted. Register here between May 17 and June 6.

Softball Captains

Training for captains will happen sometime between May 17—June 6. Requirements to be a captain are available in this pdf. Register here between May 16 and May 30.

Softball Men's League

The men's league will play on Monday nights, June 28—August 9. Cost is $30 per player. No late registrations will be accepted. Register here between May 31 and June 18.

Softball Co-ed League

The recreation league will play on Friday nights, June 25—August 6. Cost is $30 per player. No late registrations will be accepted. Register here between May 31 and June 18.

Soccer Coaches Needed

We may have spoken too soon about no kick-offs. The local outreach team needs soccer coaches for a neighborhood outreach in Lexington. You'd be a coach, so you might not be kicking all that much, but rather helping others learn how to kick, so our no kick-offs debate earlier still may hold true. If you're interested in showing some neighborhood kids they matter to Jesus through sports whether you're kicking or not kicking, contact Jeff Story.

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 like to celebrate "wins" around here and follow them up with a challenge of "if". Here's a win from the High School Ministry. It comes in the form of an email to one of our Student Ministries pastors.

Bryce,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve within the high school ministries this year!! It has been the biggest blessing from God and something that I needed so much...I think my girls bless me more then I do them. I love serving the students, building relationships, loving on them and coming to home group every week....it is one of the highlights of my week!! Thank you to you, the high school ministries staff and Southland for appreciating me and the leaders and letting us know. Me and my family have served within the church our entire lives and never once have I been thanked like this. For you to genuinely go out of your way to make sure we all know that we are doing a good job and what we are doing is making a difference is HUGE!! You just have no clue. I do not do this by any means to get told thanks, but coming from giving and giving of my time in the church and it becoming something I am "expected", "should"., "need" to do or if I am not giving all my free time to the church then I am doing something wrong and becoming burnt out or dreading having to "serve in the church", this is such a refreshing difference! This is how it should be and another reason Southland and its staff continue to amaze me by their love for people and God and how prevalent it is in the small things.....like saying thank you. It is people like you, Jon Weece, Kaleb and all the other staff I have come to know/look up to that is healing my heart from past damage from "the church". I thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to serve and be a part of something great that is not about me or the people who work, but about God and doing his will and what he has called each and everyone of us to do. I am extremely grateful!!! I look forward to being involved with the high school ministries this summer and in the years to come!!!

I love you guys and hope you and the staff have a fantastic rest of the week!!!!

God bless,
Heather 

How awesome is this? Now ask yourself the big "if" question. What if you decided to give student ministries a try? What if you just started giving a little of your time every week for the God and the community? What if we all did? That's quite a challenge. If you've got your own "Win and If" story, be sure to let us know.

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.