Danville Campus Blog

One of the things that I love most about my job in Age Level Ministries is getting to see how people at Southland respond to prompts to take their faith to the next level. They always come through in amazing ways and this weekend was no exception. How little did we know that our request to "Radically Invest Our Lives In the Next Generation" would touch the hearts of so many people this weekend! I stood there each hour between services watching as people responded in two powerful ways:

1. Hundreds of people dropped off their volunteer cards at our Harrodsburg Road Campus, signing up to invest their lives in the next generation. What amazed me was the sense that so many people really get what we are trying to do – we want the next generation to know Jesus! Because of these commitments, our students will be able to continue to grow in their love of Christ while the volunteers will be able to take ownership of investing in the life of a child or student.
2. People took the opportunity to commit to praying for a child/student by name. Cards were available with the first name, last initial and age of every student that attends Southland at Harrodsburg Road and Danville Campuses. The amount of prayer cards that were taken was amazing. This experience became even better as I got to see how people reacted as they went to pick out a name. People looked for certain ages, names that they could relate to, families even pulled cards off together talking about what child they thought would be the best fit for their family. Another powerful scene was the amount of parents who would go to their child’s environment, pick them up and bring them back in, so that they could be a part of picking out a name.

This weekend's message was about generation after generation coming together to help another. How blessed we are to be a part of such an amazing place. I am sure that God is being blown away listening to all the prayers for our students and smiling as he looks down upon us.

Laura, Nursery Leader

How will you get involved in the next generation? If you have questions on how to get started, contact Nate.

In Matthew 14, we read about the story of Jesus walking on water.  We also read about Peter getting out of the boat and walking toward Jesus.  But at some point he remembers that the waves are against him and he remembers he shouldn't be able to walk on water and begins to sink.  I know (figuratively), what he feels like.

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Not long after I finished college I wondered if I had plateaued as a Christian--hit the high point of what I would know about God and His Word.  The journey getting to that point was filled with excitement as I turned each page of the Bible and learned something new for the first time.  Each story stirred emotions within my heart.  I was excited as David defeated Goliath by the power of God.  My heart ached as I read through the accounts of the cross for the first time.  I was a little confused as I turned to the last book of the Bible, Revelation, and thought maybe someone a long time ago wanted to add a little science fiction into the Bible (joking--kind of). 

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We all have different interests, talents, abilities,  likes, and dislikes.  Through our local church, we get to utilize a variety of gifts and talents in a lot of different areas.  We just had training for our Children's Ministry Summer Serve volunteers.  Each weekend we see lots of folks on the stage who have outstanding musical talent and abilities to share. 

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What a great weekend...

A few weeks ago, Jon walked us through Matt. 8:23—27.  Jesus is asleep in the boat and the waves of the Sea of Galilee begin to rise.  The disciples, also in the boat, begin to worry and fear for their lives believing that surely they will drown.  Jesus, in the meantime, sleeps as if He is back home on His Tempurpedic, the perfect pillow holding His head in place, with the sound machine in the background playing a trickling stream of water. 

The disciples, most of them fisherman, know the power of the storms on this water.  So they wake Jesus saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” (v.25).  Right here is where I enter the story because I would have been asking the Lord for help as well.  Jesus gets up, questions their faith, and then calms the storm.

There have been many times I have laid awake at night, unable to sleep because I am worried about something.  The stack of bills on the counter, the car that needs many repairs, the house that needs to be worked on, the college fund for the kids (that hasn’t even begun), the reasons why certain things happen— they all keep me awake at night.  I can even hear myself calling out to Jesus, “Save me from this, Lord, or I might die.” 

This story of sleeping made me think to other times in the Bible when sleeping was an issue.  Later in the Book of Matthew, Chapter 26, Jesus goes to pray in Gethsemane and takes the disciples with Him.  Here we see a glimpse of the fully human side of Jesus when He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me” (v.38).  So Jesus goes up further and prays but when He returns the disciples had fallen asleep.  Again, put me in this story-- right here.  Jesus questions their faith and tells them again to stay awake and, “watch and pray” (v. 41).

I wonder what it is that I am falling asleep on?  What is Jesus asking me to stay awake for and I have no problem going right off to sleep?  I often find myself thinking that the disciples were ridiculously naive.  They walked with the Son of Man and yet they feared the waves and fell asleep when Jesus asked them not to.  However, I am worse than they were.  I have the whole story held in my hands.  I have the power of the Holy Spirit living in me and yet I still have fears and questions.  I also fall asleep (literally and figuratively) when I shouldn’t.  

As I strive to be more like Jesus, my hope is that the things that are important to Him are what are important to me, and the things I need not worry about don’t make me sleep deprived.

Brian Lucas, Experience Leader

As we have been going through the book of Matthew as a church, I’ve been taking time each week to focus some of my quiet time on this book. The way that my mind works is, I often get caught up on a word and try to see how often it’s used; when and where, and in what context. A word I decided to trace through Matthew is "Follow." Take a look.

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As the Danville campus has grown over the last 15+ months, we have seen several of it's children's environments grow to capacity. Because of this, next week we will be opening a new environment as well as shifting some ages and grades around. In the image below, you will find a map of the new rooms and age breakdowns for the Danville Campus. In addition to creating more space, this move also allows us to more effectively group our children according to developmental stages. This will allow our teaching to have more impact in your child's life on a weekly basis. Please direct any questions or concerns to Lindsey or Jon.