Volunteer Opportunities

I am so very proud and excited for all of you that have been participating in our Wednesday night discussions lately. We have all thought of some great opportunities to be a blessing to those around us. Included is a list of opportunities to get involved that have already brainstormed. Please feel free to comment and add any other ideas that you have thought of.

I can't wait for us to get together to share the joys and sufferings, the good things and the challenges that we go through while we bless others. Remember that we will be meeting the second Wednesday of the month to encourage each other and share the stories of being a blessing to those around us.

Don't forget that even though it is important that we are involved in the "bigger picture" we also need to be aware that the bigger picture includes being a blessing to our friends and family that don't know God's grace and love.

I am so excited to be involved with a group of people that gets so amped up about serving others. I have not seen this level of enthusiasm when it comes to blessing people. You are all amazing and I am personally blessed just being a part of this group and I can't wait to serve alongside many of you!

God Bless,

Ken III

PS - to make things easier, if you are interested in any of the following groups and you are not acquainted with someone on the list below shoot me an email and I will pass your information along through the appropriate channels. kensowers@gmail.com

Compassion in Action (Angie Sedmak)
Knitting Hats
Rocking Babies
Dept. of Aging (Ken Sowers III)
PC work (Jim McHugh)
Spiritual Spartans (Jim McHugh)
LAN parties (Jim McHugh)
Financial Planning (Daryn and Kim Keeney)
Camp outs (Daryn and Kim Keeney)
Fishing with families (Daryn and Kim Keeney)
Painting Ministry (Scott Honess)
Project Hope (Scott Honess)
Hospice Volunteer (Shaun and Whitney Spence)
Big Brothers Big Sisters (Brian Starick)
Working with children with special needs (Christy O’Conner)
Visiting Parents at the NICU (Emily (Wearstler))
Pictures with families at NICU (Emily (Wearstler))

Becoming an impact in our community

There has been a growing wave with churched and un-churched alike to make a difference in their community. People are coming out in droves to help their community with walk-a-thons, cleaning up their streets, etc. Prince of Peace church wants to build it's outreach to the community so that if for some unforeseen event we were to leave, the community as a whole would feel that they lost an integral part of themselves. How can we as a church and a community reach out to those around us so that we are part of the web in our community.

Please take this opportunity to brainstorm so ideas that we can start in implement in our outreach to Mentor and Lake county. We are looking for tangible ideas that we can start right away, and even grandiose ideas that we will need work and time to get there. The most important thing to think about when brainstorming, is what does our community need? Think about the children, the adults, etc and what they need. Also, think outside the bun, or the church rather. We need to be a church that will GO into the neighborhood rather than wait for them to come to us. Any ideas and suggestions would be great.

Naming our service

This past week it was brought up that maybe we should have a name for the Sunday Night Service. As we think of a name I want all of us to keep in mind how it might sound to un-churched people around us, i.e. we don't want them turned off because we call it "Crazy Christian Fellowship." We need to be aware of the culture that we are trying to reach and what suits their needs.

Jason had suggested using a bible verse like, 707: Mt 7:07, or 242: Acts 2:24, those are taken, but maybe there are other verses that speak to the group.

Comment your ideas to this blog and the next time we meet we can narrow down the ideas. And just remember this is a brainstorming session, so the only bad ideas are the ones that no one was willing to put down!

While we delve more into the topic of fasting I encourage all of you to look at your life and see what you can give up and fast from. I recommend that if you are uncomfortable with the idea of a food fast that you analyze the time that you spend throughout the day. Look at the minutes that you spend watching TV, "playing around" on the computer, anything that would be construed as entertainment. As you look at those minutes or hours you will begin to realize that you can fast during those times and have a great impact on you. Please feel free to share different types of fasts with the group. Even different things that you have heard of people fast from in the past. May God bless you abundantly during this venture!

Kenny

Prayer and Fasting

We have all talked about how this is such an exciting and energetic time for all of us involved in the Sunday Night worship service. With that said we really need to examine some personal things in our lives as we move forward. Scott Honess put a charge out to the people who were at last Sunday night's planning session. He challenged us to fast and pray. On Monday he elaborated his challenge by saying that when Jesus spoke of fasting it was not an if type thing. Jesus said when you fast. Matthew 6:17-18 says: "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

By devoting ourselves to a time of prayer and fasting we will truly see God speak to us and give us the energy to complete his tasks. I challenge each and every one of you to spend time in prayer while fasting. I know that God will truly bless us and our efforts in we can devote this to him

I have included a link to the Campus Crusade for Christ International that talks about fasting. It talks about 7 basic steps to prayer and fasting. Please prayerfully go to the website and take up the charge to devote time to Prayer and fasting. I promise that not only will we not regret it, but realize how much we need it!

God Bless you all!

http://www.ccci.org/growth/growing-closer-to-god/7-steps-to-fasting-and-prayer/index.aspx

What is missing

As we look to our past, present and future we tend to see how church's are missing the boat when it come to bringing in people who are un-churched. We need to start asking ourselves what is missing in the church today. What is it that is stopping people from coming into the church and experiencing God in a real and powerful way? If there was something about church that would be more inviting that would bring the lost to know God what would that be? Please share your thoughts as to what would make the future church more inviting to people who are searching for truth. What would make someone who has stopped coming to church come, or people who have never come attend for the first time. Please be honest and real with yourself. Thank you.