UPDATE: The simulcast event at Christ Community has been cancelled. We encourage anyone interested to visit another location in Gainesville: www.multiplymovement.com

From Jonathan Berry:

“Jesus’ command to make disciples in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) was not intended solely for the early disciples, nor is disciple-making the responsibility of a special class of Christians.  Rather, all followers of Christ are called to make disciples, to fish for men (Matt. 4:19).  Many don’t actively make disciples simply because they don’t know what it means to be a disciple.” – David Platt

We want to invite you into an opportunity to connect with Christians from around America and around the world in hopes of exploring the depths of what it means to make disciples on a daily basis.  In the process of unveiling the practical ramifications of the Great Commission in our own personal spheres of influence, we will join David Platt and Francis Chan, at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL, via webcast to seek God’s direction for us through His Word, prayer, and communion with fellow believers.  The Multiply Gathering is a new event for Christ Community Church, but one that falls right in line with the 360 Apprentices program – as we desire to know better what it means for us to follow Christ as a disciple and apprentice, we naturally desire to share that knowledge with others and so share in God’s joy in calling people to a greater knowledge of Him.

We will be meeting in the office complex on Friday, November 9, with the webcast starting at 8 P.M. and would love to know if you will be joining us.  If you’re planning to attend, you can let us know with a brief registration form at http://tinyurl.com/CCCmultiply.  If you have any questions about specifics of the event or would like more information, the website for the Multiply Movement (out of which the Multiply Gathering comes) is http://www.multiplymovement.com/.  Alternatively, or for CCC-specific information, you can email Jonathan Berry at jberry.09@gmail.com. We will meet in the church Multi-Purpose room adjacent to the offices.

We hope that this will be a great opportunity for our church to come together and achieve a better understanding of what disciple-making is, and that through this night, we will be spurred onward to joyfully live this is out in our daily lives.

Sandy continues to spread destruction across the northeast, moving more wind and rain inland and expanding its reach to more than 50 million people. Officials are certain that the losses of life and property in this country as a result of Sandy will exceed projections. At least 26 are confirmed dead, according to the New York Times, and early estimates of economic damage in the region total $20 billion.

Let us remember those who are in harm’s way in our prayers and seek the Lord’s provision for the roughly 6 million people currently without power. We are investigating opportunities to serve those affected by the storm through our own contacts and via Mission to the North America (MNA), our denomination’s disaster relief organization. We will provide updates on those opportunities on this page as they become available.

We are communicating with MNA and will seek to partner with our sister churches from around the country in meeting physical needs. It will be several days before we know the extent of the damage and learn exactly how we can help. If you are interested in participating in any relief efforts, please check back here for updates and contact the office at (352) 379-4949. In the meantime, a special donation center was just set up to receive emergency aid. We are assured that 100% of monies donated here will go directly to relief work on the ground.

For real-time updates from MNA: MNA Storm Response.

                But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

(Jeremiah 29:7 ESV)

From Todd Best:

Perhaps you’ve seen the announcement recently in the church bulletin about the Opus Project launch event to be held on Friday, Nov. 16 from 7:00 to 8:30pm. We hope that you plan to join us for this important evening of conversation, and I wanted to take a few minutes to explain what the Opus Project is all about and what you can expect from the event.

The Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture, out of love for God and neighbor, nurtures reflection and conversation about our shared contribution to the flourishing of society and the renewal of all things.

Opus will include classes, reading groups, and special events in which we read, hear, view and take in various forms of culture, discuss the significance of such things, and consider how we might take steps in cultivating cultural activity for the common good. All this is rooted in the foundational theological vision of God’s grand mission to renew all things through the work of Christ. Some concepts that help us ground this project include: faithful presence, shalom and cultural renewal. We will be unpacking these in the coming weeks.

We’ve been referring to Nov. 16 as a launch event because it is the official unveiling of this new initiative of Christ Community that will have an ongoing presence in the life of our church. The Opus Project has been steadily developing for the last year or so, and there is a good chance you have been involved with it in some capacity. If the term Opus has a familiar ring to it, that’s because our Vision Night last fall was called the Opus Event. That night we had a congregational conversation about our collective callings and work. In many ways, the Opus Project has grown directly out of that event. In the spring of this year, we offered a class on finding meaning in work. Then this summer we hosted the Opus Reading group which met monthly. And this fall’s class on the church and the common good brings us to the present. But until now, the Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture has mostly been on the down-low. Now it’s time to launch the larger, fuller version of this project that will include one-time events as well as regularly occurring discussions.

The event on Nov. 16 will include a brief presentation by Rob Pendley and me that will serve as an introduction to the Opus Project, followed by four breakout sessions on our four focus areas: work, arts and culture, social justice and the neighborhood. In order to lay some groundwork and to help us all start thinking in this direction, Richard Horner will be preaching the next two Sundays.

We hope you can make it to this event as we expand our concepts and begin thinking of how we might work for the good of our community. Please check your calendars and RSVP your intent.

Note to families: childcare will be provided at $3 per child, but we need your RSVP.
To RSVP or for more details, email me at toddbest@gmail.com or see Chris Hiatt or Stephen Addcox.