We Love Those Kids!

There are some exciting things happening next month in Family Ministry at Longleaf Church! Our Children's Leadership Team (Amy and Julie) are working towards building our first Family Ministry environments!

On Sunday, September 13 we are launching Waumba Land (Birth -K4) and UpStreet (K5 - 5th). In preparation for this monumental day in the life of Longleaf Church, we are taking a Strategic Service Road Trip for Family Ministry Volunteers on Sunday, August 30. We will travel to Southside Church in Peachtree City to see Waumba Land and UpStreet in action. Southside was one of the first North Point Strategic Partner Churches and they have tremendous momentum in Family Ministry. Details to follow on this trip! Contact Amy or Julie with any questions.

Check out these updates from our Children's Leadership Team:

Our approach to Family Ministry for preschoolers begins by keeping the end in mind. We start by asking ourselves what we want our High School kids to know when they leave our student ministry. What are the truths that we want impressed upon their hearts? With this in mind, we simply work backwards through our middle school, children, and preschool environments to align each of those ministry areas with our end goal. This mindset helps us stay focused on what we want preschoolers to learn about their Heavenly Father in those early years of wonder and discovery.

Waumba Land is designed to teach preschoolers God’s Word so that it sticks with them, to apply the Truths of His Word in their lives, to worship their Creator, and to connect with others and learn early in life the value of relationships. While we work hard to make these things happen in our fun and creative environments, equipping families is at the top of our to-do list!

Julie Jarrard
Waumba Land Director

juliejarrard@cox.net

Down on UpStreet, kids are challenged and equipped to; MAKE THE WISE CHOICE, to TRUST GOD NO MATTER WHAT and to TREAT OTHERS THEY WAY THEY WANT TO BE TREATED.

This is such a pivotal time of life for kids (K5 - 5th Grade) as they really begin to understand who their Savior is. They also start asking great questions about applying biblical truth to their lives. We are super excited about the UpStreet environment but we know that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church. That's our philosophy about Family Ministry at Longleaf Church. We will seek to partner with parents and empower families through three main ingredients:

• Intentional Relationships (Small Groups!)
  
• Memorable Experiences
  
• Relevant Teaching
  

Please contact me anytime with questions about UpStreet.

Amy Jeffords

UpStreet Director

amyjeffords@gmail.com

RATCHETING things up a notch....

Church Planting is more about unleashing a movement than simply launching church programs. It's about developing a healthy culture of people who rally around a shared mission and vision. It's not about constructing a building. Our Heavenly Father directs our steps. He inspires our hearts. He grants us strength and leads us on a journey of purpose. This journey is not a solo flight. Each one of us have been designed and called to do amazing things TOGETHER. A growing relationship with Jesus Christ propels individuals along an inevitable collision course with a community of people pursuing this same vital relationship. We call this relationship movement the Church. I am thankful for God's Providence upon Longleaf Church and I am flat out fired up that we are ready to ratchet things up a notch!

It's our vision to create relevant environments which move people into community and empower families. Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
There is much on the horizon this fall including Longleaf Live (a preview service) on Friday, October 9. We're launching Family Ministry environments on Sunday mornings beginning September 13th. More immediately, the next Community Experience is set for Friday, August 28. For up-to-date details, we have published a Longleaf Church calendar that's linked in the newsletter and posted on our blog. You can also click HERE to access it. As always, let's continue focusing on our pivotal FOUR THINGS:

1. Small Groups (Connect to a Community Group)
2. Intentional Giving (Give online through our site)
3. Invest & Invite (Community Experience August 28th)
4. Serve Strategically (Family Ministry Volunteer Training August 30th)
   

Rock and Roll!!!

surRGING!

Last night's Community Experience was a great event! More people are connecting with our vision to create relevant environments that move people into community and empower families. The mission and vision of Longleaf Church is compelling and our plans are taking shape! Let's leverage our momentum and challenge one another to invest and invite more people to our next event! Let's SURGE forward! Let's pray for 100 people to take part in our next Community Experience on August 28th!

Additionally, we need to surge forward financially. We need more individuals and families to GIVE INTENTIONALLY to our vision. INTENTIONAL GIVING is such a pivotal ingredient for Longleaf Church to maintain traction and to realize our vision. From a financial perspective, here is our goal before we host the next Community Experience on August 28th:

• To add $4500 to our average monthly giving.
  
• To generate $10,000 in one-time giving.

If you are committed to the mission and vision of Longleaf Church, we ask that you engage with us through PRAYER and by GIVING INTENTIONALLY to our shared vision. We encourage everyone to give electronically through our website. We partner with an organization called eGive for electronic giving. It's a simple, secure and flexible option for giving. Click HERE to start giving to Longleaf Church through eGive. There are three easy steps; 1) establish an account with them, 2) select Longleaf Church from the list of churches and 3) set up your giving plan. Email Jeffrey for instructions on writing a check to Longleaf Church.

An inspiring group of people are emerging to plant a revolutionary church in Houston County! These are the days when people have the opportunity to fuel a movement that's a larger than any of us and to dream of the day when our church launches and lives are changed as people are led into growing relationships with Jesus Christ......

the energy of GRACE and the power of TRUTH

The people who followed Jesus when he walked the earth as man created a remarkably magnetic culture. Something about following Jesus was irresistible to those who opened their hearts and minds to His Grace and Truth. This magnetic Jesus culture was a supernatural force that invaded hearts and dramatically changed thinking. People have always searched for greater truth and higher purpose in their lives. Quite simply, Jesus was AND is the answer to this age old quest of truth and purpose and church culture should reflect that.

All things were made through Jesus, his life is light (John 1:3-4). Jesus came from the Father full of Grace and Truth (John 1:14). After his resurrection, Jesus granted power and authority to his followers (the church) to carry the gospel message through the ages. The greatest movement in history is fueled by the grace and truth of Jesus. What if outsiders walked into a church environment today and could feel the energy of GRACE and the power of TRUTH? What if church was simply irresistible?

The Vision of Longleaf Church is; to create relevant environments that move people into community and empower families. Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We are looking forward to the Community Experience on Friday, July 24 in Warner Robins. We are re-branding the 2/42 as the Longleaf Community Experience. The Community Experience is a monthly environment with three objectives:

1. To move people into community by connecting them to a small group.
   
2. To share detail and practical realities around our vision.
   
3. To celebrate the providential energy of our movement.
   

The Community Experience begins at 7PM and it will be held at the Central Georgia Board of Realtors office located on Osigian Blvd in Warner Robins. Click HERE for directions. Bring your peeps and join us!