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