Glory to God

I am not sure what to say. It's almost surreal. We had our first service in our building tonight. I was blown away! God is just awesome. It's only by His Grace that we were even able to be in that building tonight.

The band, the drama, the sound, the production...everything went without a hitch. We even had working heat :)

Here are some pictures:


























































Well - Merry Christmas Ya'll!

Monroe Inspection

Hello one and all,

I just finished talking with the fire marshal and the building inspector. We have Temporary Occupancy - praise God!

We have a short list of minor issues to resolve - we will have our services tomorrow night as planned.

Thanks to everyone who played a part in making this a reality!

Merry Christmas

Geoffrey

Christmas Eve in Monroe

Here it is! The day before Christmas Eve.

It's hard to believe we are having our first service in our new location TOMORROW night! I want to invite one and all to one of our Christmas Eve services. Services will be held on Wednesday, December 24 at 3:30 and 5:30.

We have a great evening planned, with great music, some drama, and we will also celebrate communion as a part of our candlelight service.

I hope you can make it - and don't forget to invite a friend!

See you tomorrow!

Geoffrey

Sunday @ Southbrook:Monroe - 12.21.08

Despite being back in the school auditorium for one more week, our service yesterday turned out to be pretty amazing. I told Nancy I think it is one of the best services we've had since I've been serving as the campus pastor in Monroe. Here are some highlights:

• The band rocked! Way to go Zach - you guys did an amazing job!
• There was a buzz of excitement in the room. You can feel it all around. Everyone is pumped about what is coming next.
• Thanks Alan & Alan & Mike, our production crew! The projector we've been using, along with the 100ft cable, are already installed in the new building...but you guys were able to improvise and really came through despite several roadblocks.

So Close - Yet...

It's been a whirlwind of a week for me. I was reminded Friday night that I have failed to keep you up to date on the latest in Monroe! I left you hanging! I apologize.

We were supposed to have inspections on Wed, which we moved to Thursday. We had two inspectors walk through the building and point out a couple of very minor issues (which we have already taken care of). We were unable to have the fire inspection because our friendly HVAC company dropped the ball and failed to install the duct sensor smoke detectors (which they insisted had been done weeks ago). Finally on Thursday they admitted their failure and fixed the problem.

Now all we are waiting on is the Fire Alarm company to come back and finish testing their system - and for the electricians to finish their work.

We are scheduled to have our final inspections on Monday. Please be in prayer for this. And I will do my best to update you with the good news!

It's Coming

Well, it's coming! We are days away from our first service in our Monroe campus location. We packed up gear in the school for the last time. This week we will be setting up things for our first service which will be held on December 21st - and then our Christmas eve services at 3:30 and 5:30.

Pray for us - the inspectors will come in on Wednesday. If all goes well we will have a certificate of occupancy.

I will update you when I have more information - for now here is the plan for this week:

Monday & Tuesday: work will begin on the floors, it is supposed to take two days.
Monday eve: carpet in the children's rooms will be laid
Wednesday: inspections...pray all goes well
Wednesday & Thursday: production install (lights, projectors, and sound)

I feel like a kid at Christmas...

Peace on Earth

We've kicked off the Christmas season at Southbrook:Monroe. Here's a recacp:

• We had several first time guests - Praise God!
• Our worship team is growing - we were up to three yesterday. They sounded great!
• I charged our leaders to start thinking about what the 'next level' looks like - we need to be at the top of our game, ready to welcome and serve new guests as we transition into our new location.
  
• I gave the message yesterday - Christmas is about reconciliation. Jesus came at Christmas so we could have peace with God. Jesus came at Christmas so we could have the peace of God. And Jesus came at Christmas so we could have peace with others.

I am pumped at what God is doing. We are going to have our Christmas Eve services in the new building (3:30 & 5:30). Grab a friend and join us!

Signs Of Progress

Check it out!
















This past Saturday we had another amazing workday in the Monroe building. The sign is up on the front - looks official!

Here are some pics of progress on the inside: