Saturday night recap - 11.28

It's hard to believe, but we've found ourselves in the first week of our 2009 Advent Series.  The theme this year is "Waiting."  Here's what God did through our teams tonight:

-For the first time, we brought to the stage the big Christmas trees that normally reside in the lobby during this time of year.  It provided for a great Christmas feel, and some very creative camera shots.
-For a post-Thanksgiving, shortened week, our teams were very focused - maybe because of the rest that the holiday afforded!
-Spencer started our services out with a loop-driven acoustic guitar prelude on the theme from "O Come, O Come, Immanuel."  Combined with the look and feel of the stage, it was an amazing way to invite people into the significance of this time of year.
-Shawn Steere ran a camera for us - his first time running a camera on the weekend... though he's done it many times for our KidStuf program on Wednesday nights.  He did a great job.  It's cool to start seeing those two production environments begin to cross over.
-Cole Matlock stepped in at the last minute to cover for a sick James Roberts.  Love the willingness and servant's heart that so many of our volunteers so naturally put on display.
-Mark Lukasievicz jumped back in on keys while he was home on Thanksgiving break from Iowa State.  Although we're disappointed that he's not normally in gold and purple, we were glad to have him back!
-Our worship experience was awesome.  Spencer arranged "O Come, O Come, Immanuel" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" in a way that really brought us into the tension of the theme, "Waiting."  Zach Elster really did an amazing job on the electric providing the overall feel.
-The congregation responded - they were so engaged.  The theme was so clear throughout the set, with "Come Thou Fount" and "Hungry" allowing for some Spirit-inspired moments.
-This was the first service during which we did our Strategic Concerns on video.  Our production teams made it a seamless experience.  This probably reclaimed about 5 minutes from our service, and made for a clear, concise way to get people necessary information.
-Matt Rittgers recapped our "Friends Feeding Families" event via a great video spot which he created.  277 families served at Thanksgiving because of the generosity of the people at Prairie Lakes Church.  Another cool way to invite our people into the significance of that initiative.
-John preached a great message on Mary and Joseph, and how they waited through the craziness that was they're first few years of marriage.  This provided for a great challenge at the end - to trust God while we wait through difficult circumstances.
-We are building a culture of response - providing space in our services for people to encounter and respond to God... whether through prayer, silence, or connecting with a pastor/elder up front.  So many people just sat in their seats and prayed after the services, or came forward for prayer about what they were waiting through.  Although the service ended at 6:45, the Worship Center wasn't cleared out until 7:05.  This is why we do what we do.

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving.  Welcome to the Advent season.  I'm looking forward to each of you getting a chance to wait together for Christ's birth.