Wonderful to Hear

Over the past 4 days, we have received countless (well, not literally, but numerous) emails and calls from people at Watermarke who are stepping up to fund our vision to move to American Heritage Academy. Even more, you seem to be encouraged by our approach and patience more than discouraged with delaying the move. We love that, and want to thank you for your support and generosity. Just wanted to pass that quick note along.

Gavin Adams
Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

God, Us, and Patience

On Sunday, we spent some time looking at patience, and we announced that we were going to delay our move to American Heritage Academy for two reasons:

1. Funding - To make this move, we need to have $110,000 in disposable margin. To date, we have raised $60,000. And while we are so excited that we have make this progress, it is clear we hvae a ways to go.

2. Lease - After the financial terms were decided, some ancillary items came to the surface that will require some additional information to ensure we create a situation that provides stability and more permanence in our next location.

And as disappointing as this is for all of us, I am please to hear the feedback I have already received about our decision and our display of faith in and patience with God. Over the next few days and weeks, we will keep everyone at Watermarke updated on our progress (giving and lease), and continue to learn and grow in our patience with God's timing.

For today, here is the thought that I continue to come back to:
Isaiah 64:4; Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

God is extremely involved in what is happening daily at Watermarke Church, and we are going to continue to allow Him to stay involved through our patience with His timing.

If you missed the message, I highly encourage you to go to www.watermarkechurch.com and click "Message Archive" to listen. And please let me know how this idea of patience is being displayed in your life.

Gavin Adams
Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

WATERMARKE MOVES TO AMERICAN HERITAGE ACADEMY!

If you missed Sunday, you missed an announcement that is going to change the future of Watermarke Church. On August 2nd, we will be moving to American Heritage Academy on Sixes Road in Canton. This move will provide us many, many opportunities to lead people into a growing relationships with Jesus Christ.

Here is a preview of what we can expect from this move:

• Permanence: We are signing a long-term lease at this location, and the facilities will allow for significant growth. Just the same, as a church, this move allows for us to plant some deep roots in a community and city.
• Better Environments: At American Heritage Academy, we have the opportunity to create environments that are more relevant and irresistible.
  
• New Environments and Events: In addition, we now have the opportunity to add new environments like Night of Worship, Christmas Eve service, KidStuf Live, MarriedLife Live, and more.
  

Of course, to get there, it will require some involvement on our part. There is a huge story taking shape at our church, and we hope that each person at Watermarke can engage in the story and have a front row seat for what God is doing in our community. Here is how we invite you to participate:

1. Invite Others: We create relevant and irresistible environments for a reason, and you are not the only reason. Our church is created for everyone in our communities, and we need to find ways to engage others at Watermarke.
2. Serve Together: Relevant and irresistible environments need to be fully staffed, and we need each of you to work together with us as we create environments.
3. Give Generously: Environments require funding, and we are going to raise $175,000 to make this move, make some initial capital improvents, and make dramatic improvements in our environments.

This is a wonderful time to be a part of Watermarke Church, and there is a lot to be excited about. Please let us know if you have any questions about our move, the funding needs...anything. And thank you in advance for being involved in what is next for our church.

Starting Point begins March 8th

Where do you go when you have questions? What about when you were exploring faith, God, or Christianity? I see too many people in churches NOT get their questions answered because they have nobody to ask.

At Watermarke, we are launching an environment called Starting Point, which is a conversational environment for people that are:
1. Seekers: people who just have questions about Christianity
2. New Believers: people who are new Christians and want to learn more about God and the Bible
3. Returners: people who are returning to church after a long period

If you are one of the people above, you need to be in Starting Point. Please be sure to attend the Starting Point orientation after either service on Sunday, March 8th. You can read more about Starting Point at www.watermarkechurch.com.

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

Starting Point: The Series and the Environment

I am very excited to announce that we are launching a new series and environment called Starting Point at Watermarke Church. More details can be seen below.

New Series: Starting Point

This Sunday, we begin a new series by Andy Stanley called "Starting Point." For the next three weeks, we will look more at our story and talk about how frustrating it can be to try and live the Christian life, how we desire to rebel, and how our life fits in God's story.

New Environment: Starting Point
Starting Point is a 10 week conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community. Starting Point groups are a safe place for people with questions about faith as well as those who want to learn about the Bible and Christianity. Groups consist of
1. People who are curious and investigating Christianity
2. Those who have recently started a relationship with God
3. Those who are reconnecting with God after being away from church for a while.

Starting Point Orientations will be held on Sunday, March 8th, following each service. If you are in any way interested in joining a Starting Point group, please plan to attend this orientation. Or, you can just skip the orientation and register online at our website.

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor, Watermarke Church

What occupies your life?

There is a place that I love. A place that had an incredible impact on my life. A place where I really first experienced God and watched God reach into others hearts. A place where I first sat with a person and led them through a prayer as they accepted God's gift of eternal life.

And now, that same place seems to have changed. The place that was so attractive to everybody and created such an amazing environment for God to do what only he can do is not the same. Now I know...everything changes. Nothing stays the same. And staying the same may be worse than changing, but the questions is HOW are we changing and to WHAT are we evolving?

This idea is extremely important to our church. As we evolve and change, I hope more than anything that we always are more preoccupied with those we can reach rather than focusing on those that we can keep. Not that I want to run the Christians off, but if we have to focus on ONLY one group, I hope we always lean towards those people not sitting in our seats on Sunday mornings. It just drives me nuts to see churches or other Christian organizations intentionally, or more often subconsciously, make decisions that revolved around making insiders happy at the expense of the outsider. And when this happens, the church can quickly become an insider focused organization, also making it an outsider irrelevant organization. I never want to lead or be associated with an organization that looks like that. That sounds like a Christian organization that is very unChristian.

I hope we never become irrelevant or incorrectly focused as a church. Who are the people not sitting at Watermarke on Sunday mornings...let's be sure we are focused on them, not us!

Gavin Adams
Lead Pastor

GroupLink at Watermarke Church

DON'T MISS GroupLink at WATERMARKE CHURCH
Saturday, February 7th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Wellesley Club House in Towne Lake (1000 Wellesley Crest Drive)

This Saturday, many Watermarkers will take a risk and attended our GroupLink event. I say it is a risk because you will show up not knowing who you will meet. For the extroverts, that's called an adventure. For the introverts, like me, that's called a risk.

I just want to thank you in advance for taking that risk. We believe it will be well worth it. And thank you small group leaders for stepping up to lead and helping us create healthy group environments all over our community.

As we just learned in the Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith series, "providential relationships" are critical catalysts for spiritual growth. We have been working and praying for these types of relationships to form this weekend. All we now need is you to take a risk.

If you have not yet decided to attend GroupLink, I hope you do, because it will be worth it. To learn more about Community Groups, GroupLink, or Watermarke Church, please visit www.watermarkechurch.com.

If you are planning to attend GroupLink, you need to first register.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR GROUPLINK.

GroupLife Milestone

I have some exciting news to share. As a lot of you know, we are a part of a larger organization and movement called North Point Ministries (NPM). We have the privilege of partnering with 17 other Churches all over the USA and Canada, with 5 more being planted this year! As an organization, we recently reached a milestone with over 31,000 people within NPM Churches connected into Community Groups. Amazing! Our goal is to see 50,000 people in groups by the end of 2010. The question is, are you experiencing the life changing dynamic of sharing life with other couples or singles in the context of a small group? If not...GroupLink is your next step.

What is GroupLink?
GroupLink is a two-hour, interactive event to connect you with others in your area of town and stage of life to form a Community Group.

After meeting with the other people and finding others like you, we will form groups. And don't worry, our staff and volunteers will walk you through the entire process. Our Lead Pastor will spend some time talking about Community Groups then time will be provided for you to get to know the people in your newly formed group.

If you are planning to attend GroupLink, you need to first register.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR GROUPLINK.

Thank You!

I love having the opportunity to share what God has been brewing in my soul for weeks or months. This past Sunday, I had just that opportunity and I was so grateful to all of our Watermarke people who came out to hear from my heart. To each of you, thank you for making me feel so welcome and for the continued encouragement. I am very glad to serve along side of you and I look forward to being a part of what God is going to do through us and our church as we create environments that lead all people in our community into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

How Did God Do It

The older that I get, and the more I read and learn about God through His word, I am more and more amazed. It is just impossible that this stuff was made up.

My favorite thing to find are verses and scriptures that all relate to each other, but are found throughout the Bible. It is awesome to read something written by Solomon in Proverbs that comes through so clearly in a story of Jesus and his disciples. Just awesome stuff.

I also love it when God reveals those little nuggets of wisdom in a story that we have read many, many times. This week at Watermarke Church, I am excited to share what I have been learning in the past couple of months and how God has become more personal than I can ever remember. Join me this week as we think about this one, powerful piece of scripture that everyone would LOVE to master in our life: Proverbs 3:5-6; 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor

gadams@watermarkechurch.com

Made To Stick Book Study
Our staff is reading a great book, Made to Stick by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. We had a great discussion today about how this book applies to so many aspects of our ministry and church. The most insightful discussion for me was around one idea: The Curse of Knowledge.

In a nutshell (whatever that means), the curse of knowledge is defined as our inability to recognize or remember that others do not know everything that we know. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it.

When I think about this concept, there are many things that quickly come to mind for our church, but one jumps out more than all the others. As a follower of Jesus Christ, it is so difficult to remember what it was like when we were lost. In our community, there are thousands and thousands of people that are far from God and in need of a place and a people like Watermarke Church. If we do not keep every area of our church pointing to that as our target, then we end up forgetting what it feels like to be lost, and our church quickly ceases to stay focused on the core mission of the church.

Have you forgotten what is was like to be lost? Who is the one person or family that you are hoping to invite to Watermarke before the end of the year? We have to remember that we have the message that answers all of life's biggest problems: sin, sorrow, and death. And it is our job as a staff to create relevant and irresistible environments so that you can do your job - invest and invite and be involved. When everything is said and done, our relationship with Jesus (or lack thereof) will be the only thing that matters. Not just for us, but for everybody.

I hope is that Watermarke never becomes a church full of people that have forgotten what is feels like to live separated from Jesus Christ.

What to say???

As my first Sunday at Watermarke approaches, I continue to catch myself wondering what I should say as I walk onto our stage for the first time. There is so much I want to communicate - vision, personal passion for the unreached, where we are going as a church, what I feel God has in store for us all, ect. I could go on and on, but the tough part is I only have 3 - 4 minutes to say it all. The last thing I want is to hear the band start into the “get off the stage music” like I am at an awards show thanking everyone I have ever known!

So, in my short time on stage, here is what I hope gets communicated:
Watermarke Church is a place designed for people to grow in or establish a relationship with Jesus Christ. As a church, I hope we can always create environments that are relevant and irresistible for everyone, because God's desire is to see the separation that exist between Him and us wiped away. I want Watermarke Church to be a church where people far from God can come and hear the truth in a refreshing, helpful and relevant way. I want Watermarke Church to be a church full of people that have not forgotten what it is like to be lost. I want our church to be more concerned about those that are unreached than any other issue facing our church. I want Watermarke Church to be a place where we can all give and serve together and allow God to change our lives and our surrounding community through us. I could keep going, because that is just the beginning...

Maybe the best way to say it is simply a church where everybody’s invited, everybody’s included, and everybody’s important. I bet that would make a great message serried. This is what I want Watermarke Church to be, and I hope that Sunday is the beginning of something huge at our church.

My First Sunday

Let me first say, I am very excited and humbled to be a part of Watermarke Church and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for all of us and for our community.  Over the next few weeks, I am hoping to meet many of you and let you get to know me, too.  And I am glad to have this blog space to help communicate where we are going as a church and what we are thinking about each week.  Be sure to check back often.

As the next few weeks go by, we are all going to be very busy.  Busy with Thanksgiving, Christmas, family, parties, and such.  Some times will be joyous, and others will be stressful.  One thing I want to be sure we don't lose site of during this season is the huge number of people in our community, neighborhoods and schools that far from God and need a place exactly like Watermarke.  A church that has not forgotten what it was like to be lost or far from God. 

In fact, this week we begin new series by Andy Stanley called, "It's Personal."  This series is directed to men and women who desire a personal connection with God, but who have genuine questions, doubts, and concerns.  Andy makes a case for the fact that adults don't become followers of Christ by getting all their questions answered.  In most instances, something happens that shrinks those questions.  And that something is always personal.  You don't have to understand everything to believe in something.  If you or anyone you know has some genuine questions about having a personal connection with God, this is a great 4-week series to attend.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday, and as always, if you have any questions or concerns about Watermarke Church, please don't hesitate to ask.

Gavin Adams, Lead Pastor

gadams@watermarkechurch.com

Hey there Watermarke Family!

We are so excited to be able to finally introduce you to the new Lead Pastor of Watermarke Church. Just last week Gavin Adams accepted an offer from the Elders of Watermarke for the position of Lead Pastor.

For those not familiar with the beginning of this transition process, please see the details at the very bottom of this email that were sent out to all volunteers earlier in the year.

Gavin comes to us from Southside Church, another North Point Strategic Partner, in Peachtree City, Georgia. He has been on staff there for the past three years, most recently as the Family Ministry Director. Gavin has done an incredible job growing the Family Ministry environments at Southside. Southside Church is one of the most successful Strategic Partner churches, so Gavin is bringing some great experience to generate excitement and momentum at Watermarke.

Gavin's first day at Watermarke will be Sunday, November 16. However, he would love the opportunity to meet many of you prior to that. So you are invited to come to an open house at the Watermarke NEW office location (see below for address and directions) on Tuesday, November 11, between 7 pm and 9 pm. If you don't get the opportunity to attend the open house, then plan on seeing and hearing from Gavin on Sunday, November 16.

This is a very exciting time for Watermarke. The Staff, Elders, members of the Advisory Group and I are all extremely confident that Gavin is going to help Watermarke reach the tremendous potential that it currently has.

Next Sunday (11/9) will be my last Sunday as a part of Watermarke staff. It's been an honor and a privilege to have been a part of Watermarke the last three years. My next steps are not completely clear yet, but I am currently pursuing a couple of opportunities that God has placed in front of me. Sabina and I would appreciate your prayers as we seek to follow God through this transition.

Thanks so much for your patience through this process. God's timing does not usually align with our timing, but His timing is always perfect. Praise God for answered prayer and an amazing new leader for Watermarke Church!

Steve Mazac
Lead Pastor

Watermarke NEW office address and directions:

303 Hickory Ridge Trail
Ste 160
Woodstock, GA 30188

From 575, head east toward Roswell on Hwy 92 (exit 7) for about 2 miles
Make a u-turn at the light by the Jeep/Chrysler/Dodge dealership
Turn right into Hickory Ridge (immediately before the Shell station)
Make your first left, and we're in suite 160 down on the left


*** Previously sent email to all Watermarke volunteers on May 22, 2008 ***

Last fall we began analyzing each staff person to discover their strengths and then try to reposition them into those areas in order to be the best stewards of each person's skills. This led to Wyndi being promoted to Family Ministry Director, leveraging Andy Jones' communication skills in Xtreme and the main service, and using Tara's creative abilities in the Service Programming Department.

This led me to the discovery that I was not playing to my strengths as the Lead Pastor. I brought it up to the staff and mentioned that I felt that Watermarke needs another person as Lead Pastor. Someone who would be playing to their strengths would be much better for the organization. This led to a meeting with the Elders and ultimately the formation of the Watermarke Advisory Group which is made up of the following people:
David McDaniel - Watermarke Elder
Scott Tanksley - Watermarke Elder
Steve Miller - Watermarke Elder
Steve Mazac - Lead Pastor/Watermarke Elder
Donald Wise - Strategic Partnership Director for Watermarke at North Point
Wyndi Beck – Family Ministry Director
Mark Fernandez – Lay leader - Stewardship Team member and Community Group leader
Wes Mitcham – Lay leader - Community Group leader
Aron Schatz – Lay leader - Xtreme small group coach

So far, the Advisory Group has met to determine what the next Lead Pastor should look like as far as characteristics. Here are some of them:
- Vision caster, inspirational
- Connected/invested in Cherokee County
- Strategic thinker/planner
- Ability to challenge staff and leaders
- Clearly decisive

We then created a list of potential candidates from within Watermarke Church, the other Strategic Partnerships, North Point Ministries, and those outside of these organizations. In the last few weeks we have been talking with each candidate to see if they would be interested in being considered for the position of Lead Pastor at Watermarke Church. On May 29, the Advisory Group will be meeting again to see who the candidates are who will begin the screening process. At that point, we will begin the screening/interviewing process. We would like to have the next leader in place by the beginning of August which is typically a time of regrouping for Watermarke and a great time to build momentum. Of course, we realize that as we seek God in this process, His timeline could be different from ours and it could take longer.

Once the interview process is completed, the Advisory Group will make recommendations to the Elders and the Elders will ultimately make the decision on who the next Lead Pastor will be for Watermarke.

A few important points about this process:
* I am not going anywhere until this process is complete and the new Lead Pastor is up to speed in the position. I don’t have a specific end date so I will be here as long as it takes to make sure everything goes well.
* This is a process initiated by me as I looked at what is best for Watermarke Church as an organization.
* This is a great church model to weather this kind of transition as we are not a personality-driven church. We have been through this before and it was quite smooth.
* During the transition and after the new Lead Pastor is in place, we will continue to follow the same model for all our ministry environments because we are still a Strategic Partner of North Point. So, Andy Stanley will continue to be our primary teaching pastor.
* We will still be pursuing the building in Woodstock as a potential home for Watermarke.

The Elders, staff, and leaders involved in the process are very excited about the positive momentum this will create for Watermarke and how it will set us up to lead even more people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

A Guaranteed Investment

Some of our staff and volunteers attended the Catalyst Conference a couple weeks ago. During one of the sessions, they interviewed a former Compassion child who is now living in the United States working on her Master's Degree in Communication.  Compassion International clearly depends upon donations to sponsor children, and the interviewer asked her what she would say to those who might be hesitant to commit to $32/month now because of tough economic times.  I thought her answer had great application for us too:

"Changed lives and raising up future leaders with integrity who know God, and creating environments where children and adults can come to know how much God loves them is a guaranteed investment in all economic times."

Steve Mazac
Lead Pastor

Africa Mission Trip Summary 2 - Small Groups

One of the most exciting things we did on this trip was develop relationships with the men and women of the community.

As we worked side by side planting trees, moving heavy timber (as well as our mud stuck bus), visited their homes, learned how to cook over their open fire...friendships were born. We helped peel and chop carrots and potatoes with a rather dull knife doing it all "free hand" without a cutting board. They did it with such ease :-)

And then there was our "small" group which consisted of approx. 30 - 35 women from the community as well as nine women from our group as well as an interpreter. We had been told that the women may not feel comfortable sharing at first. Any concerns about that were quickly eliminated after our prayers and introductions when the women immediately began asking questions and a great time of discussion ensued. The women enjoyed sharing so much, we actually stayed an hour or more over the allotted time and decided we needed to schedule another meeting in a few days. Many of the questions involved the difficulties they faced as women in Kwambekenya, especially childbearing. They were surprised to hear that we also faced challenges in America. We encouraged them through scripture, our own testimonies and a commitment to pray for each other. We encouraged them to start small groups that would study God's word together, pray together and support each other. We shared what small groups meant to us and how important they were.

Nick during this time was able to build relationships with some of the men of the community. Especially two young men named David and Aaron who represent the next generation of men in Kwambekenya. It is always an encouragement to have another brother in the Lord to share with.....especially one who came from so far away to help. Nick was called "my brother from another mother" :-). "Bravo" as the children would say...for being brave enough to follow the Lord's calling on this trip even though you were the only male with nine other women!




Please join us in praying for the men and women of Kwambekenya.

Sue Shook

Africa Mission Trip Summary 1 - Preschool Work

I'm finally getting over the jet lag and missing the precious children and people of Kwambekenya even more. You've seen part of our work at the clinic (No one thought we could move that lumber!) and I've included the latest picture of the clinic's progress. Unfortunately, because of the rain, dead batteries and work, we have few pictures of what we did. Not that it matters..........it's the combination of everyone's work past and future that will bring wonderful changes to the community!

First of all, thank you once again for your support and prayers. The community was amazed and blessed when they heard how the money was raised. They had been praying for our arrival and the amazing answer to prayer encouraged them.

Working side by side with them means a lot to the people of Kwambekenya. "Most people who come to Kenya", they said, "come to see the animals.....but not you.....you came to work with the people and that means so much." Many said when they saw us, our work and our smiles, they saw Christ and His love for them. That joy we had came from the Lord and each of you who helped financially and prayerfully for us to go........each and every one of you were a part of our journey!

So....here's the first entry of one of the great opportunities we had.....working with the preschool!
We came equipped and ready to share the wonderful bible story of Christ feeding the multitude with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Their memory verse was "God can do anything". Through scripture, balloons, bubbles, face paint and pipe cleaners (and an interpreter), we showed them how even the smallest thing can be made into something special........and God can do the same with them. They heard Mandi play the violin while learning hand motions to "Jesus Loves Me". They had a great time repeating their memory verse while running under a parachute...we even attempted to teach them the game of baseball! After three days and three different preschools, we left with an understanding of Christ's words in Mark 10 15: "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Oh....and let me not forget to mention that some people of the community were so excited to see us work with the children, they even sat in on our lessons!

To be continued..............

Sue Shook

Andy Stanley's Leadership Podcast

Andy Stanley now has a podcast focusing specifically on the subject of leadership. As you know, Andy is an incredible communicator. He has so much to share on the topic of leadership so I'm sure you'll find this podcast to be valuable and very practical whether you lead in your family, at school, at work, or at church.

Steve

Night For Africa

Check out this video about a fun event taking place on October 10, 2008 at 8:00 pm at the Gwinnett Arena.





The 410 Bridge is the organization we partner with when we send teams to our international partner in the community of Kwambekenya in Kenya.

Night For Africa will be a great opportunity to have fun, learn about the needs in Africa, and a chance for you to be a part of the solution. Tickets are only $24 and the proceeds from the night will go towards helping the various communities that 410 Bridge sponsors. Click here to buy tickets.

Hope you can make it!

Steve Mazac
Lead Pastor

Africa Mission Trip Update #5

Everyone arrived safely home Sunday, thank you for your prayers Watermarke church! Below is a note from our trip coordinator, Sue Shook:

"The trip was fantastic.....it will be hard to put into words.
One of the Kenyan staff from 410 Bridge said he felt we had the most impact on the community then any other team they have had so far! That is truly the Lord. We also received a gift of 2 dozen eggs from the women before we left (quite a gift for them), which was never done before! The preschool classes and small groups were beyond what we expected. It was so great seeing the expressions of children who never heard a violin before or who never saw bubbles......you should have seen them chasing the bubbles!"

More on the trip to come, stay tuned!