Dream Team Dinner Party Winter 2024

Honor team leaders.

Dustin and Caitlin!

Stepped up so huge in our absence over the last five months.

Britt and Caleb

The utility pieces that have served in so many capacities and have really helped us make connect groups great

Cody and Mandi

Mandi has done a phenomenal job leading our kids ministry and is blossoming into an even greater role in that area

Jazmin

has been serving our kids ministry with excellence and keeping scheduling up to date!

Chris and Teresa…

thank you for helping us give birth to the prayer team, Chris has led the mens group with patience and wisdom

Cece

has done such a good job leading our womens group

Evan and Lauren

They have stepped up to lead our youth group and I look forward to even more to come from them in the new year.

Kayla

MY ROCK…THE SECRET SAUCE OF OUR CHURCH!

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Growing our teams is our number one objective

This night is all about celebrating the greatest growth tool we have at Awaken Church…our teams.

The growth of our church is not dependent upon my preaching…it is dependent upon an expansion of those serving.

We grow our church when we grow our teams.

If you wonder why we push Party with The Pastors

If you wonder why we push Serve 101

IT’S BECAUSE YOU CAN’T ADD MORE WEIGHT WITHOUT STABALIZING THE STRUCTURE.

God will only send growth to the level that we are able to steward it.

We are adding strength to our structure. (I’ll talk more about that in a few minutes.)

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Our culture is what has caused us to grow...

There is a phrase that we use around here that characterizes who we are as a church.

We are an AUTHENTIC, SPIRIT-FILLED, COMMUNITY

Authentic: We are not trying to present ourselves as perfect.

Spirit-filled: We are a church that is heavily dependent on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

Community: We don’t want you simply to come to church…we want you to find your family.

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Our culture has grown our church as much as my preaching has…people have found a place to call home.

I WANT TO PROTECT OUR CULTURE!

Tonight I want to speak into our culture and create a sense of awareness and protectiveness on all of our parts when it comes to cultural dangers.

A good culture is a bad season away from decline.

I want to talk for a few minutes about some cultural dangers to be aware of and protective about .

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Beware the easy entanglement of entitlement.

STORY OF ABBY HATFIELD AND THE CLEANING DAY

Entitlement doesn’t look good on anyone.

One of the coolest aspects of planting a church from scratch is that there were no power struggles…there really weren’t job descriptions...

We all just did what as necessary to accomplish the goal.

But as time goes on we all find our niche…{THIS IS A GOOD THING}

The problem arrives when our niche becomes our notch.

I won’t do anything that is “beneath me.”

When we begin to see the value in our gift…our perspective begins to shift out of an attitude of gratitude.

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When we are all walking as we ought to…anything we do for the kingdom is seen as a “divine opportunity.”

The first time I got to preach…WOW

The first time I led worship at New Life…WOW

We are blown away by the fact that God would allow us to be a part of what he is doing on the earth.

We lose that sense of awe as time goes on.

AS PEOPLE WHO SERVE WE NEED TO KNOW THE TACTICS OF THE ENEMY.

He will try to get you to sin…but some of us have learned how to beat him there.

He will try to get you to slack…but some of us have learned the value of being involved.

If he can’t get you to sin…and he can’t get you to slack…he will make you self focused.

Our gifts lose their appeal when we become obsessed with their value...

Entitlement causes us to see what we once labeled a “divine opportunity” as a “deserved opportunity.”

It’s hard to have a bad attitude when I believe God gave me this chance…

but if I believe i deserve it…I can do it half…hearted.

Oh that we would see every Sunday as a divine opportunity.

Don’t go green on planning center because of who your team leader is.

Don’t go green on planning center because of your pastor...

GO GREEN ON PLANNING CENTER BECAUSE EVERY WEEK IS A DIVINE OPPORTUNITY.

Colossians 3:23 KJV (WS)

23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

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Beware a mood motivated mentality.

Sometimes we just aren’t in the “mood” to do what were called to do.

I’m not in the mood to worship

I’m not in the mood to greet

I’m not in the mood for kids.

I’ve got a challenge for you…

FIND THE WORD MOOD IN THE BIBLE...

FIND THE WORD PERSONALITY IN THE BIBLE...

The closest word that you will find is…SPIRIT....

Your mood is a SPIRITUAL thing.

What we do is Spiritual. {Saturday night bed time}

Your mood is simply which spirit you are choosing to come into agreement with.

We protect our culture by protecting our mood.

We protect our mood by protecting our mind.

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV

5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

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Authenticity is not an excuse to let our emotions rule.

We don’t want to be fake

I’m not asking you to walk in fake…I’m asking you to walk in faith.

Putting a smile on and exuding joy in the midst of depression is not being fake…it’s being faith

Treating people with respect instead of letting them know how we feel.

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Our Sunday Morning mood is a Saturday night investment...

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We can battle entitlement and remember that my spirit is my choice by keeping the why always in front of us.

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE WORSHIP DOESN’T MATTER

WHEN YOU WONDER WHY YOUR PUTTING CARDS IN CHAIRS

WHEN YOU THINK MAKING COFFEE IS INSIGNIFICANT..

Remember why we do it...

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2024 Numbers that matter

143 salvations

30 Water baptisms

42 NEW DREAM TEAMERS

We don’t deserve to be experiencing this…but we are...

We don’t deserve to be used by God like this…but we are...

SO LET’S GIVE IT ALL WE HAVE AND SEE WHAT GOD CAN DO IN THE REMAINDER OF THIS YEAR AND THE BEGINNING OF NEXT.

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My goal for December 15 is that everyone is serving somewhere.

If you aren’t scheduled on December 15…there’s a form on your table to make sure you get scheduled

__________ We can’t stay here! We are going up!

Something I’m excited to announce to you tonight is that we are making preparations to go to another level as a church!

In the book of Acts…the apostles quickly discovered that they could not see to all of the affairs of the church and give themselves to study of the Word.

So they practiced a principle that was laid out by Moses when Jethro said you can’t handle all of the problems of the people

You need to appoint elders.

1 Timothy 3 as well as Titus 1 give us qualifications for the men who will serve as elders in the body of believers.