Super Cool Volunteer of the Week: Michelle Edwards

The super cool volunteer of the week is Michelle Edwards. Every week you are handed her volunteer work when you walk into worship. Michele is one part publisher, one part administrative genius and one part evangelist. She designs the worship folder, types in the info, copies it off and assembles it together so that all of us get the scoop and connect at Epic Events every week.

She is also the master of the database. Yes, we actually do something with those Connection Cards each week. She enters and updates all contact info for everyone at Epic. And last but not least, she connects people to ministry and leaders, by contacting the appropriate people for follow up when someone checks a next step box on the Connection Card.

Michelle faithfully does this every week. Her quiet “behind the scenes” dedication assists people take spiritual next steps and grow in their relationship with Christ. She’s got some serious admin skills too. She keeps every publication creative, accurate and engaging. And personally, she keeps one off the wall unstructured pastor on the ball to complete tasks.

She is a joy to work with and always brings energy to each task she does. We are blessed to have her serving God with us at Epic. Michelle, thank you for being an excellent example of a servant heart. You really live out the words of Paul…“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Ephesians 6:7

Michelle came to faith in Christ at Epic and will be baptized at our adult baptism service on Sept 16th at Stoney Creek. Come on out, show your support and join the celebration.

Epic: September Outreach Opportunities

1. Arts and Apples Festival
Epic Church will be exhibiting all weekend at the 42nd annual Arts and Apples Festival at Paint Creek Park in Rochester. Volunteers will man the booth, sell T-shirts, take pictures and pass out free water bottles. Pick both a day and time.

• Fri, Sept 7 3:30-5:30, 5:30-7:45
• Sat, Sept 8 8:30-11:30, 11:30-1:30, 3:30-5:30, 5:30-8
• Sun, Sept 9 9-12:00, 12-2:30, 2-5:00

2. Community Outreach
It’s a great opportunity to have a blast as we get out in the community and to let people know about us. We’ll walk together through the subdivisions around Hart and leave door hangers inviting people to the Fall Festival. We’ll finish up at the Dairy Queen in Shelby for some great community time.

• Sat, Sept 15, 10am–Noon
• Wed, Sept 19, 6:30–8:00 pm

3. Epic Kick-Off Karnival
We’ll be serving the community at the fall carnival. There will be great food, inflatable games for the kids, face painting, activities for all ages, and the Epic band playing live. It’s a great event to invite a friend to. Volunteer Opportunities: set up, tear down, greet people, serve food, prepare food, run games, face painting, any way needed.

• Sunday, Sept 23, 12:00 –3 pm, Hart Parking Lot

To volunteer, contact brandon.kennedy@agedwards.com

Gone. Part 2

A few weeks back, I attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit which was an incredible three days of motivation, inspiration and insight to becoming an more effective leader. Talk about being pumped up! I really needed the recharge. One of the highlights was Kirk Franklin leading us in an incredibly moving song, “Imagine Me.”

I was upset when I thought all my files were gone and deleted on my computer, but we serve a God who specializes in deleting our sinful past. He delights in wiping the slate clean and forgiving our sins. I desires to show you that your self worth is defined NOT by what you’ve done or what others may say about you, your value comes from what God says about you. All the junk from the past doesn’t determine your future, in Christ it’s GONE! Every sin, GONE! Every failure, GONE!

I can’t say it better than Kirk:

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalms 102:11-12

Imagine Me…

Gone. Part 1

I was sitting at Starbucks for my Saturday morning ritual of finishing the Sunday message. It was a great morning with God and I was looking forward to a great new series at Epic “just walk across the room.” As I went to pack up my bag, my laptop computer slipped off the table. Crash! A small dent in the corner. After realizing the computer wasn’t running and I couldn’t access any of my files, one of my worst nightmares became a reality. Everything I’ve worked on for the past two years…GONE.

After a few anxious days, the Mac Genius said “all was not lost”as diagnosed it not as the broken hard-drive, but some other broken chip in the computer. He showed my how to access the files from another computer. Until I get get a new computer, I am using the kids very slow Mac Mini which limits my work to home.

Super Cool Volunteer of the Week: Melissa Krolewski

Every week in Epic Explorers, incredible volunteers give their time and energy so children learn there is…

• A Really Big God they can trust no matter what
• Someone Else who believes what they believe
• Another Voice that says the same thing their parents say

Melissa serves the 1st – 5th graders as a high octane Host of Epic Explorers. When I was a kid in Sunday School, I remember being bored out of my mind and couldn’t wait for time to end. That’s not what the kids receive each Sunday in Epic Explorers. As a Host, Melissa brings high energy fun and excitement so the kids can meet Jesus in an environment that’s relevant to their lives.

She enthusiastically leads the kids in worship and practically applies God’s Word to the lives of the kids. Melissa is a great example of what it means to to be a follower of Christ. Followership is not just about receiving from Christ; it’s about giving your life, your passion and your energy to serve others. It’s walking across the room to share Jesus with others. The lives of the Epic Kids will forever be impacted in their spiritual journey because of her ministry.

Melissa’s commitment goes way beyond Sunday morning. She multiplies the ministry by mentoring new Co-Hosts with patience and encouragement. She buys and organizes materials for other hosts. She not only comes up with great new ideas to enhance the kid’s experience, but she’s willing to follow through and implement the improvements. Epic Explorers wouldn’t be what it is today without her.

Dependable. Creative. Faithful. Melissa thank you for your commitment to Christ and your care for kids of Epic. You are an inspiration to us all. “Well Done Good and Faithful Servant!” Matthew 25:21

New Series @ Epic

Boil down anyone’s journey to faith, and it typically began with a simple walk across a room.

Someone reached out a hand of friendship…
Spoke a kind word …
Asked a good question …
And the rest was history.

The stakes are high. The implications are eternal. And you may be only a conversation from pointing someone to faith…if you just walk across the room.

Aug. 19 The Single Greatest Gift
Aug. 26 Living in 3D
Sept. 2 The Power of Story
Sept. 9 Everybody Invited
Sept 16 Grander Vision Living

This is why the church exists. To be a community of people that’s willing to take courageous steps out of our comfort zone to help people searching for God…find the God who is searching for them. It’s going to be an exciting and transformational five weeks at Epic. Expect the unexpected.

Ouch!

I always enjoy the X Games, but this is incredible. Jake Brown bruised his liver and lung, but walked away from the 45 foot fall.

Chapter #6, Advance: Go Unless You Get a No

After spending a week in New York, here’s a couple of observations:

1. There are a lot of people in Manhattan. 1.5 million in 22 square miles. That’s 67,000 people every square mile. That’s more people than everyone in Oakland County packed into an area 10 square miles smaller than Rochester Hills. Or twice as many as Macomb County living in an area 30% smaller than Shelby Twp.

Chapter 5: Risk, Live Before You Die, Die Before You Live

Well the “unplugging deal” has me behind schedule. Chapter 5 is one of my favorite subjects…Risk. It also which brings me to “Tim’s Critical Event #5: Africa by way of Baltimore”

Unplugged in NYC

Our family had the joy of spending our vacation in New York City. The hotel we stayed at didn’t have free WiFi. Did you ever notice that the more expensive the hotel is the less likely they are to have free internet? Well, I am too frugal to pay $10 a day, so I had to unplug for a week. After I made it through the tech withdrawals, it was actually a blessing from God.

I believe technology is a great gift, but to experience real relaxation on vacation, unplugging is essential. Life is more than work, even church work. We often make unimportant things an emergency which we need to contacted for. The world doesn’t crash when you log off or power down your phone. Do I really need to know every know every detail of what’s happening on the news? Or sports scores? Or at work? Is that one sale going to make or break your life?

Our lives are so noisy, we’ve forgotten what it is like to be unplugged. Undivided attention is essential to really listening, not just hearing, those who are seated right in front of us. Slowing down is essential to fully engaging the people in our lives. Silence and quiet is an essential ingredient for us to hear the voice of God. The psalmist said it this way, “Be still and know that I am God” (psalm 46:10)

Sometimes we are so busy living that we miss life.