Family Birthday Celebration

Family Birthday Celebration is one of my favorite days all year. While getting all the details for the day taken care of can be a daunting task, the reward at the end of the day far outweighs the effort expended to make it possible. I love Family Birthday Celebration because it is the day where we are able to see some of the steps that our children and students have taken in pursuit of their relationships with God.

In Family Ministry, our goal is to help our children/students to take the next steps in their relationships with God, As we talk with leaders and parents, we often use phrases, such as: “Our goal is to partner with parents” – “Every child needs another adult in their lives who is saying the same things that the parents are saying” – “Life change happens in the context of small groups.” During Family Birthday Celebration on May 18th, I watched 5 elementary-aged students, a middle school student, and a parent celebrate their relationships with Jesus Christ through baptism. As Andy Jones, our student pastor, baptized each person, I thought of their stories and realized that these phrases are not just things that we say because they sound nice, but they are becoming an integral part of the Family Ministry at Watermarke Church. These are a few of the memories that brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

• Celebrating as a mother and her son shared the special memory of being baptized together.
• Watching one of the boys run into the arms of his waiting father after he had changed into some dry clothes.
• Seeing a child standing on the porch waiting for his small group leader to arrive because it was important to him for her to see him get baptized.
• Hearing a mother say how special that day was for herself and for her children who were baptized.
• Praying with the family of one of the girls in my small group following her baptism.
• Knowing the personal anxieties of the students/children about making their videos or being in front of people and seeing them overcome those anxieties on the day of their baptisms.

Though week in and week out it’s difficult to measure the impact that we’re having on the lives of our children and students, Family Birthday Celebration reminded me that we are having an impact. It reminded me that it is a tremendous privilege to be able to influence the hearts and lives of the children/families who attend Watermarke Church. ~ Wyndi Beck, Family Ministry Director

What Does It Look Like?

What does it look like to give what you have? How about giving some time on a Saturday morning to clean up a property that was trashed by the storm last week?


Here's what it looked like for some adults and students from Watermarke to give what they had:

Gee, I Didn't Know About The 'G'

Andy Stanley is an amazing communicator and he has such a talent for explaining things in the Bible so clearly. Surely, you've had the experience of hearing one of his sermons and thinking, "Wow, that makes sense and I see how I can apply that to my life right now"!

But, maybe you've left a service on Sunday wishing you could dive into that thought or principle a little bit further. Great news! We have a tool that will help you with that. Just go to our website and click on Media Library at the bottom in the middle. Then, simply click the orange block with a 'G' on it which is located to the right of the message you choose. This will provide you with some discussion questions (which are great to use in your small group when you're in between a study), Bible verses, and a challenge for you to apply what was taught.

If you're an introvert like me, take the questions to a nice quiet spot in a park and think through the answers to the questions and challenges. If you're an extrovert, get together with your small group or some friends and talk about them together.

Hope you enjoy the 'G'!

Steve Mazac
Lead Pastor

SPOTLIGHT ON: Andy Jones

We thought you might like to know a little more about the staff here at Watermarke.  So each week we will spotlight a different staff member.  This week we will begin with Andy Jones.  

Tara Bruce:  What are you passionate about?

Andy Jones:  My family, loving people, experiencing community the way God created it to be experienced, and seeing people connect with Jesus like never before.  

Tara Bruce:  What are you learning right now?

Andy Jones:  There's more to life that the American Dream, and once you taste what God has to offer everything else pales in comparison.  

Tara Bruce:  What is something unusual about you? 

Andy Jones:  I'm 6'5" and left handed.  I also secretly aspire to be a ninja.  

Tara Bruce:  What is the one thing that has made your job worth it this year?

Andy Jones:  Well, there are many things that have made my job worth it this year.  But, if I had to name just one it would be realizing that God used me to impact a group of teenagers to follow Jesus in a fresh, tangible way that will change the rest of their lives.  

Tara Bruce:  If you could tell Watermarke Church one thing what would it be?

Andy Jones:  Don't ask God to feed someone if you have plenty of food.  

Tara Bruce:  What is your fave TV show?

Andy Jones:  The office is the funniest show on TV, period.  

Tara Bruce:  What do you do when your not working?

Andy Jones:  I spend time with my family, chase my daughter Peyton around the house, chill in the hammock with my son Eli, and talk about what God is up to with my wife Christina.  

Tara Bruce:  What are your hobbies?

Andy Jones:  Discovering how God wants to use me, spending time with the greatest friends a man can ask for, getting in the best shape, reading books that leave me with more questions than answers, mountain biking and playing Rock Band.  

Tara Bruce:  What book are you currently reading?  And, what is your favorite book?

Andy Jones:  Book I'm reading now, Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne.  Favorite book, The Irresistible Revolution by the same author.  

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about Andy Jones.  Please leave a comment!  

New Series This Sunday - Destinations

Did you have dreams of where you wanted to end up in life?

I dreamed that I would be running a surf camp in Costa Rica one day. I also dreamed that I would be a travel writer seeing different places all over the world and then writing about the experiences. What about you? What dreams did you have?

In this new series, Andy Stanley will be talking about our dreams and the paths we take to reach them. What determines whether we reach our destination or not?

See you Sunday!
Steve Mazac
Lead Pastor

Volunteering and Community Groups

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd add a word about connecting into community groups, and how that relates to volunteering at Watermarke. Even though summer gets pretty busy, many folks ask how they can connect into a group in the spring or summer. The two best ways we know of to connect into a group are attending GroupLink (www.watermarkechurch.com/grouplink) and to start a group organically with folks you know who also wish to be in a group. The main trouble with the latter method is that, if you don't know many people at Watermarke, it can be tricky to get to know people. This is where volunteering comes in. The best way to get to know others at our church is to spend some time volunteering in one of the church environments. This is always the first thing I recommend to group seekers when GroupLink is still a few months away. For instance, our next GroupLink is August 24. Lots of people have asked recently about getting into a group. Several have taken me up on the invitation to come and serve. We have folks who have begun to lead small groups for our students, others are new to the parking team and still others are greeting you as you walk into the auditorium on Sundays. In every case, these new volunteers are getting to know the folks they serve with. Several have already made connections with others who want to be in a group and are planning to begin groups together soon. The bottom line is, serving really works! It is a blessing to those you serve, a great way to meet others at church, and an amazing way to see God bless you as you give.

If you have questions about this or anything else (I don't know much about financial investing, but I can at least fake it with most other topics...) then please email me. Can't wait to hear from you!

Brett

Brett Sharp
Director of Groups and Host Team
bsharp@watermarkechurch.com

Building Update

Are we planning to stay at Palmer Middle School?

Even though the facilities at Palmer Middle School have been amazing, we are planning on finding a building where Watermarke can put down some roots. The search has actually been going on for a while and we really hadn't had any promising leads until recently.

We are currently looking at a building just a short walk from Downtown Woodstock. It's 202 Rope Mill Rd. and is just about in the center of our "search zone." We definitely want to come back to Cherokee county and felt that being close to 575 at either exits 7 or 8 would bring us closer to where we were originally. Also, it would not be too far away from all the new people who joined us from Kennesaw, Acworth, Marietta and other surrounding areas.

Imagine being in a location where we'd have a permanent building and would be well positioned to reach people in Canton, Woodstock, Holly Springs, Kennesaw, Marietta, Acworth, Cartersville, Waleska and Ball Ground who don't have a potential relationship with Jesus! Yes, we already have people coming to Watermarke from all of those areas. And, how great would it be to be in a small group with people in your neighborhood and to have your children in small groups with their friends?

So far the building in Woodstock is looking good and we're moving forward with talking to the property manager about price and terms. We are looking to lease for a number of years so that we can grow to the point where we could afford to buy land and build our own building. There are still more questions to be answered to determine if this is the place God will allow us to settle for a while.

Please join us in praying for God's will in this whole process and that He would lead us to the best building for Watermarke.

Thanks!

Steve Mazac
Lead Pastor