March Gaylord E-Free Preview

God is doing some amazing things here at Gaylord E-Free and the month of March is set to be quite a month for our ministry.  Below is an update of just a few of the highlights that will happen in the coming month as we continue to strive to MEET as many people as possible right where they are and help MOVE them to where God wants them to be:

THE TRIAL OF THE AGES

Over the first 3 Sundays of March we will be completing our character study in the life of Moses.  Beginning March 23 we will start a new 4-week series that we are calling “The Trial of the Ages.”  Over the 12 hours in between Jesus’ arrest and His crucifixion He endured six grueling and illegal trials.  We will be digging into the Gospels and studying what the Bible says in detail about these trials.  Over the 3 Sundays leading up to this series, Pastor Joe will be teaching a Parallel Points Class on Sunday nights which will follow Jesus from His triumphal Entry through his arrest.  This series will help to prepare us for the Easter season. 

RADIO MINISTRY EXPANSION BEGINS

It has been absolutely amazing to see and hear the daily feedback we are receiving from people who are listening to our 9am service broadcast on The Eagle (101.5).  Beginning this Sunday we will expand our radio ministry to thousands more with our new “Folks Listen” broadcast on The Promise FM (90.5) which can also be heard on line at www.therpomisefm.com.  This will be a 30-minute taped and edited broadcast of past sermons I have preached here at E-Free.  “Folks Listen” will air every Sunday morning at 11am.  The broadcast schedule for the first 13 weeks is as follows:

·        Mar 2 – History’s Greatest Weddings (Adam & Eve)

·        Mar 9 – History’s Greatest Weddings (Esther)

·        Mar 16 – History’s Greatest Weddings (Ruth)

·        Mar 23 – History’s Greatest Weddings (Water into Wine)

·        Mar 30 – History’s Greatest Weddings (Revelation’s Wedding)

·        April 6 – Essentials: From God, Through Me, To You (Draw Near)

·        April 13 – Essentials: From God, Through Me, To You (Hold Fast)

·        April 20 – Essentials: From God, Through Me, To You (Consider How)

·        April 27 – Finding Your Style (The Straight Approach)

·        May 4 – Finding Your Style (The Story Approach)

·        May 11 – Finding Your Style (The Seeing Approach)

·        May 18 – Finding Your Style (The Serving Approach)

·        May 25 – Finding Your Style (The Social Approach)

MARCH MADNESS E-FREE STYLE:

·        March 5 – Concert of Worship

·        March 8 – Splash N Skate

·        March 15 – Men’s Conference

·        March/April – Sr High Florida Trip

·        March/April – Israel Trip

NURSERY EXPANSION MONIES

God is doing some great things in regards to the funding of our nursery expansion.  As of now we have over $227,000.00 in cash and pledges which may allow us to break ground this Spring as we look to raise the remaining monies for this needed project during construction. 

BROADCASTING DATE SET

We have tentatively picked Sunday, March 23, as our first broadcast Sunday with our new camera system.  On that Sunday we will look to broadcast the sermon part of our services down to the Classic Service in the chapel.  Below are some questions and answers regarding this possibility:

Why are we broadcasting the sermon down to the Classic Service?  It is our desire to see our Classic Service grow in both numbers and effectiveness.  Currently the worship portion of the Classic Service is abbreviated each Sunday so that there is time for the attendees to walk from the Chapel down to the Gospel Center in time for the message.  Broadcasting the message down to the chapel will allow more time for worship in the Classic Service and it will allow for the service to flow uninterrupted.  All of this together will enhance the worship experience in the Classic Service.

What if people still want to be part of the Classic Service worship but watch the sermon in person in the Gospel Center?  There is certainly no problem if there are some who would still want to walk down to the Gospel Center for the message.  The only difference is that there will not be a set time in which those who would like to do this are dismissed.  They will have to do this on their own.

Will this broadcast be quality?  The main reason we have not yet started the broadcast is to ensure the quality.  Not only will the picture be high definition in quality, you will actually find the quality increased in that you will be watching the speaker up close rather than from a distance.

What else will this broadcast technology allow for?  Along with broadcasting down to the Chapel we will also be able in the very near future to begin doing a quality video live stream of our worship service on line as well as having video archive of services and messages available on our church website.  All of this will allow us to make even greater strides in our vision which is to saturate Otsego County with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and having it bleed over into all of northern Michigan.

EASTER PREVIEW

Easter this year is April 20.  Due to it being later than usual and in no way associated with Spring Break, we are anticipating the largest Sunday morning in the history of our church.  Our theme will be CSI: JERUSALEM as we set up the empty tomb as a modern day crime scene and use Easter as the first of 3 Sundays in which we follow the evidence to see exactly what happened that resulted in the tomb being found empty.

GREEN TURNING RED

Our Vision Tree in the back foyer outside the Gospel Center is continuing to see the green apples (indicating the specific aspects of our 3-year vision plan and the cost associated with each element) turn to red (indicating that those items have been paid for by someone in our church).  As God lays it on your heart to give a financial gift to see a specific element(s) of our vision take place, you can simply remove the green apple.  You can then place a check in the box that is at the tree or you may give the gift through the church offering or by contacting the church office.  Either way you give – please be sure to indicate what specific aspect of the vision plan you are giving the gift towards.  Because we don’t want to sacrifice present ministry, we do ask that all gifts toward our vision plan be above your regular giving. 

DON’T FORGET YOUR TARGET THREE

Don’t forget to follow through on these three commitments regarding your TARGET THREE.  This is MEETING & MOVING at its best!

·        Pray for each of them by name daily that they would come to know Jesus and that God would use you in the process!

·        Build bridges to them regularly!

·        Partner with E-Free to get them under the sound of the Gospel!