Celebration Church (WTC)

Welcome

Thank you so much for joining us today. (In-person, online, zoom, on demand) No matter how you are joining us, it is not by accident. We believe God brought you here and my hope is you will be encouraged, challenged, and inspired to take your next step.

Who is Celebration?

Celebration Church is 22 years old. The church stared in a small venue, Jax Country Day School, where 7 faith-filled people moved to a city they didn’t know, followed God.

Matthew 28:19 CSB

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Pastor Stovall and Kerri Weems had a vision. The vision was simple, create a culture where people could actually enjoy their relationship with God. Our walk with God should be something worth celebrating. Our theme scripture is Matthew 6:33 and for years our statement was, Leading People to Experience a God First Life! In response to that obedience, God has blessed our church to have immense impact. Locations in Jacksonville, Amelia Island, Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Washington, DC. North Carolina, Paris, France, Belgium, Amsterdam, Zimbabwe and literally so many family churches, I can’t even remember them all (Chicago, Nashville)

Pittman Story

We have literally seen peoples lives change at this church, including my own. Maegan and I met in high school, began to date a couple of years after graduation and have been together for 25 years. We have an amazing family: 3 kids; 2 grandchildren. We are tremendously blessed. Maegan and I had an amazing encounter with God about 5 years into our relationship and it changed everything. We decided then, we would do whatever God asked us to do. In the summer of 2007, we followed a job opportunity to Jacksonville. I pursued a job and career, but discovered my calling. After taking some time to get acclimated to the city, a co-worker invited me and my family to her church; Celebration Church. It was so different from the urban church I grew up in. However, we felt at home. We continued to show up then we preached a series that changed everything for us…Losing my Religion. The main thought was, religion is man’s way to God, Jesus is God’s way to man. That brought so much healing to Maegan and I.

In the years to follow, we went on to get healed, strengthened, encouraged, supported, loved, by the community. We served in parking, ushers, kids, resource center, front desk, youth, young adults… set up and breakdown, guest services, group leaders you name it, my family and I spent time there. We have been with the church for 15 years and have lived in Jacksonville, DC, and Orlando. We have had a front row seat to miracles at this church and have been blown away by the way God uses people to advance His kingdom. Team members, staff…we all play a crucial part in helping people experience Christ.

Who is Celebration?

My hope is, you’ve experienced who we are. We have these cultural statements that are meant to be a representation of who we are.

ALL ABOUT JESUS

WELCOMING

AUTHENTIC

DIVERSE

GENEROUS

INTENTIONAL 

FAITH-FILLED

OTHERS-FOCUSED

PARTICIPATORS

WE ARE FAMILY

My sincere hope is, you have experienced every aspect of what we have stated. Many you have played a part in not just receiving it, but also providing it.

Encounter

Roughly 3 years ago, we had a shift. Our Global Senior Pastor, Stovall Weems, had an eye opening encounter with Jesus. It was from this encounter, God really stirred His heart about the gaps in our church. As stated earlier, we have literally seen 10’s of thousands of people surrender their lives to Christ. Baptisms, marriages…you name it. However, we began to ask the question, where are they? What are their names? Are they being cared for? We are no longer content with having great photos for instagram but seeing people’s lives in shambles the rest of the week.

Matthew 12:9–13 CSB

9 Moving on from there, he entered their synagogue. 10 There he saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse him they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” 11 He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out? 12 A person is worth far more than a sheep; so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

It challenged us to look in the mirror and ask the question, are there other things we should be doing?

It occured to us that we didn’t want people to just experience a God First Life, we want people to pursue it. We are called to be God’s Family, Pursuing, God’s Kingdom. There is a distinction between experiencing and pursuing. One is passive, the other is aggressive. We want to a church of fired up believers that pursue the kingdom, not experience church. The church is not a cruise ship, it is a battleship.

Reach the Lost, Equip the Found

We have a mission: Reach the lost and equip the found. Think of the Matrix…the lost people get rescued, rescued people, pursue the lost. Here is how we do this:

GATHERINGS

WE WERE CREATED FOR WORSHIP.  AT CELEBRATION WE HAVE A PASSION FOR CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH JESUS CHRIST BY CREATING ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THEY CAN EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF GOD. THIS HAPPENS THROUGH…

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES

CHURCH AT HOME  (Watch Parties, Celebration Everywhere)

SISTERHOOD GATHERINGS

MEN’S GATHERINGS

MARRIAGE AND SINGLE

GROUPS

EQUIP

OUR GOAL IS TO EQUIP YOU WITH THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO PURSUE A GOD-FIRST LIFE OUTSIDE OF A SUNDAY.  WE PROVIDE FOUNDATIONAL, RELEVANT RESOURCES FOR CONTINUAL GROWTH. THIS HAPPENS THROUGH…

FOUNDATIONS

FREEDOM

CHURCHES THAT HEAL

ESSENTIALS OF THE FAITH

GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

PRAYER

MARRIAGE, RELATIONSHIPS

WHOLENESS (Shalom, Peace)

GOD NEVER INTENDED FOR US TO GO THROUGH LIFE ALONE.  WHEN WE CONNECT WITH OTHER FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, WE FIND SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT THAT HELPS US IN OUR WALK WITH GOD. THIS HAPPENS THROUGH…

SABBATH (The Table)

GROUPS HELD IN SPRING, SUMMER, AND FALL SEMESTERS

SUNDAY SERVING TEAMS

SERVE

WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE OUR CITY AND WORLD BY REFLECTING THE LOVE OF GOD AND HELPING OTHERS TO FIND TRUE HOPE AND FULFILLMENT IN JESUS.  SERVING OTHERS IS THE VERY HEART AND NATURE OF JESUS.  AS WE SERVE WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY MORE WITH THE CHARACTER OF JESUS. THROUGH OUR LOCAL AND GLOBAL INITIATIVES, WE PARTNER WITH SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS, MINISTRIES, AND INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATION CHURCH CAMPUSES TO MEET THE PRACTICAL AND SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF PEOPLE IN THOSE COMMUNITIES. THIS HAPPENS THROUGH…

SUNDAY SERVING TEAMS

LOCAL OUTREACH

ANNUAL MISSIONS TRIPS

SCRIPTURE ENGAGEMENT

Many people have misunderstood the Bible as a collection of inspirational quotes or a divine instruction manual dropped from heaven. Most of us gravitate toward sections we enjoy while avoiding parts that are confusing or even disturbing.

BibleProject helps people experience the Bible in a way that is approachable, engaging, and transformative. They do this by showcasing the literary art of the Scriptures and tracing the themes found in them from beginning to end. Rather than taking the stance of a specific tradition or denomination, BibleProject creates materials to elevate the Bible for all people and draw our eyes to its unified message.

WHOLE STORY BIBLE READING PLAN

AWAKENING SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

What’s Next?

This year has been so challenging for us. Pandemic, racism, elections, transitions…it’s all here. Moments of uncertainty can rob us of peace and stability. Our focus for the rest the year is to bring stability to our church. We have work to do. We are in the process of making some amazing hires that are going to be huge for our church. (Next Gen, Ministries and Discipleship) Ps Mike is our Executive Pastor. The rest of our year is going to be great. (The Table, Thanksgiving, 5 for 5, Christmas series, Christmas Eve services) We are looking for solutions for kids ministry on Sunday. In the meantime, we will continue to have online content for our families and are exploring the idea of having a family fun day.

2021 is going to be amazing! January we will have our Awakening Fast, which sets the Spiritual tone for our church. From there, you will see some incredible things move forward. Retreats, Equip, Groups and Classes, Outreaches, etc. Just had a conversation yesterday about our permanent building. Covid messed up our plans, but we are really believing God is going to show us the perfect location so that we can move forward on this.

You play a crucial part.

Serve (parking, guest services, hospitality, photography, worship, tech, groups, equip…)

Engage: post, invite, share, give, participate, led from the front

Pray (revival): community, church, staff, pastors, the region

Stay Planted: don’t forfeit the fruit, being planted saves progress and keeps the momentum

GLOSSARY:

AWAKENING SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY:  The School of Theology will be led by Dr. Michael S. Heiser (M.A., Ancient History, University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Ph.D., Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison). He has taught at the college level for nearly twenty years. He is also a widely published author in scholarly journals and is a best-selling author

BAPTISMS:  Baptisms are an outward declaration of the decision you have made in your heart to surrender to Jesus. It provides a marker in your life that helps to anchor you when you face hard times in life. It becomes a reference point that God has saved you and is faithful to continue what he has started in your life.  If you’ve recently made a decision to follow Jesus, getting water baptized is a great next step in your journey of faith.

CHURCH AT HOME: (Celebration Everywhere)

CKIDS: At Celebration, we believe in the importance of ministering to the needs of even our littlest members. While the main sanctuary experience is designed for adults, our Nursery, Pre-School and Elementary spaces (available during all of our weekend services) have been carefully created with your children in mind. Our hope is that, no matter their age, your children will learn to LOVE GOD.  HELP OTHERS.  DO YOUR BEST.  HAVE FUN.

DEACONS: The deacons provide leadership in the service-oriented and administrative matters pertaining to the physical needs of the church (Acts 6:1-4; 1 Tim. 3:8-13). Based on the scriptural qualifications, deacons serve in areas like finances (1 Tim. 3:8), administration (1 Tim. 3:12), visitation (1 Tim. 3:11), and ministering to the needs of the church family (Acts 6:1-  Deacons are expected to lead alongside the pastoral staff in helping the church family pursue the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ through mentoring, discipling and baptizing new believers.

EQUIP:  Our equip workshops are designed to equip you with the tools that you need to pursue living a God-First life.

ESSENTIALS OF THE FAITH: 

FOUNDATIONS: Whether you are new or you’ve been here for a while Foundations is your starting point for membership, discipleship and community at Celebration Church. At this virtual workshop, you’ll have a chance to connect personally with our pastors and team, become a member of the church, and learn the foundations of honoring God in your home and community.

FREEDOM: We know that true freedom can only be found in Jesus. In this discussion group you will learn how to gain freedom from anxiety, fear, and the burdens of your past. We will learn how to tear down unhealthy thought patterns and replace them with the truth of God’s word. You will discover a path from brokenness to blessing. For Freedom resources click here.  Due to the holidays we will not be hosting Freedom workshops for the remainder of 2020. Stay tuned for information about 2021 workshops!

CHURCHES THAT HEAL: In this workshop you will discover the skills you need to have healthy relationships that will bring emotional and relational stability to your life. You will learn how to form intimate relationships, to have healthy independence and understand how to process the good and bad in yourself and others. Applying these principles to your life will result in healing, emotional, and spiritual growth. Please visit ChurchesThatHeal.com for more info on church programs, curriculum, and resources.

GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT: The Gifts of the Spirit workshop is a great class that will unpack the 7 Gifts of the Spirit and help you dive deeper into your understanding of these gifts. You will learn how to activate them daily in your life as you walk out your God-given assignment. For more information or to sign up,

GROUPS:  One of the best things about being plugged in and a part of your local church family is you don’t have to walk through anything alone! Groups meet regularly throughout the year, and are the perfect way to take personal growth and relationship building beyond Sunday gatherings. From fitness or message-based, outreach or book study, single or married – there is a group perfect for you and your stage of life.

HEART FOR THE HOUSE: Heart for the House is a specific time of year to respond to the faithfulness that God that has shown us as a church family. Collectively, we bring our over-and-above offerings to the Lord as a church family. Each household actively prays and asks God what He would have them bring and give as a sacrificial, meaningful offering during this time. Together, as we all participate, we know that we’re able bring such an incredible offering to the Lord that will truly allow us to see many kingdom initiatives advance and many lives transformed by Jesus Christ, locally and globally!

LOCAL OUTREACH:  Through our local outreach initiatives, we partner with several organizations and ministries, working together to meet the practical and spiritual needs of the communities we serve. Our goal is to be the hands and feet of Jesus, driven by His heart to serve others, while giving people the opportunity to find true hope and fulfillment. 

PARTNERS:  We call our membership “Partnership” because we know that partners have greater rights than members.  Every partner takes ownership in the church as we work together to accomplish God’s mission.

PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER: We believe that every believer is a priest (minister) and is enabled by the Holy Spirit to fulfill his or her calling in their homes, workplaces, and community.

SHABBAT: A family or group of friends gathering in their homes to encounter Jesus around a sacred meal during a special, set-apart time was one of the foundational expressions of faith amongst members in the earliest forms of the Christian church. Today, it is still a life-changing practice that provides believers with a means of stepping into their God-given positions as the priests of their homes. In every respect, gathering together at the table with a small group of family and friends is as significant and powerful as any large gathering at a church building. When we gather in faith and love around the table on the Sabbath, it is much more than a simple meal – it is a supernatural demonstration (Ps. 133; Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:42-47).

YOUNG ADULTS:  THIS IS OUR MINISTRY FOR 18 - 30 YEAR OLDS.  EVERY MONTH ALL OF THE SUB30 COMMUNITY GROUPS COME TOGETHER FOR A MONTHLY SUB30 MID-WEEK SERVICE.

SUPER SQUAD:  Super Squad is our inclusion ministry for children with special needs. Kids with special needs overcome obstacles daily and that makes them super heroes in our book! Our Super Squad team is here to come alongside and support your child by providing a “Side Kick”, or volunteer buddy, to join them throughout the entire service.

SYMBIS WORKSHOPS:  SYMBIS (SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE BEFORE IT STARTS) PROVIDES ENGAGED COUPLES WITH A ONE DAY WORKSHOP WHERE THEY ARE MATCHED WITH A MARRIAGE COACH TO WALK THROUGH WHAT MARRIAGE WILL LOOK LIKE ACCORDING TO THAT SPECIFIC COUPLE.

TEAM MEMBERS:  We call our volunteers “Team Members” because we believe we are all one team working together to build God’s Church.  Every person who serves on a team is part of the vision of leading people to experience a God First Life.

WHOLE STORY: The Whole Story is a daily reading plan that is in partnership with the Bible project! It’s a dated plan that reads through the Bible chronologically in 1 year with daily prayers and bible project videos incorporated throughout. Make sure to add it to your daily routine as it’s an incredible resource for you and your family to discover the Bible in a whole new way.

YTH:  OUR MINISTRY FOR 6TH - 12TH GRADES.  SPECIAL YTH SERVICES ARE HELD DURING THE 9:30AM SERVICE ON SUNDAYS.  WE ALSO HOLD YTH NIGHTS REGULARLY.