2 Days... and the first food drive for Rock Bridge Chatsworth

We're getting ready for the launch of Rock Bridge Chatsworth in 2 days - and our first food drive! Here are some details:

• Saturday has two setup teams: 9am-12pm & 2pm-6pm If you are not already signed up and would like to help we still have open spots - email me @ gus@rockbridge.cc
• Sunday: 2 Services; 9:15am and 11:00am at North Murray High School [Across from Murray County High School]
• Sunday: After the 11:00am service we'll restore the space to North Murray High School. Feel free to hang around and help if you can.

Our First Food Drive:

• During both Sunday morning services on February 28th and March 8th we will collect non-perishable food items to support people of Murray County

CAN'T WAIT!

Launch Weekend Schedule

When I was 14 my family moved from suburban Los Angeles to suburban New York [moment of silence please] and soon after that I began my high school career. This period of my life is filled with wonderful, interesting and sometimes slightly exaggerated stories that I love to share.

That said, I remember reading the yearbooks at the end of my freshman year and was amazed at how many of the graduating seniors quoted an already aged song. The seniors were each given a half-page to insert pictures, draw, write and generally do pretty much whatever they wanted to celebrate the end of their high school career. And with all that freedom, the overwhelming favorite quote was "what a long strange trip it's been". I thought it was pretty silly; but now, a 'few' years later I find myself quoting that same line as I think about the journey to this weekend's launch of Rock Bridge Chatsworth.

Here is a quick look back at the "long strange trip" to Rock Bridge Chatsworth:

• In July of '09 I began my career as Campus Pastor of Rock Bridge Chatsworth
• That same month we began praying for an opportunity to lease the former Harris-Sutton Chevy building
• Soon after that, we were talking to the folks at Appalachian Bank and it looked like like a deal was in our future!
• Then it was clear no deal was to be had that could serve both the church and the bank. No hard feelings - keep looking!
• We looked at endless spaces and simply put - nothing seemed right.
• Then Dr. Bradley from North Murray High School called and offered a tour of the NMHS facility.
• It was just right!
  
• A few of us visited seven other churches around the southeast and developed a vision for how to transform the school to a church for Sunday mornings.
• Last week that vision came to life and we are ready for launch!

So... to the point of the email; the schedule for setup for launch weekend:

• Saturday 9:00am - 12:00pm Setup teams at NMHS - PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU CAN HELP
  
• Saturday 2pm - 6pm More setup teams at NMHS Same work, more areas. PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU CAN HELP
• Sunday LAUNCH DAY! 9:15am & 11:00am Church Services
• Sunday after church - Break-down time!
  

Our team is excited and we can use some more help. If you can join either of our setup times please email me at gus@rockbridge.cc.

Thanks for being part of this wonderful, long, strange trip.

Rock Bridge Chatsworth Schedule

Rock Bridge Chatsworth is celebrating our last preview service this Sunday at 9:30am with some pretty special stuff. Please join us for what will be a great day and if you can plan to stay after to help break-down that would be great!

Next Sunday, February 28th is our grand opening! Please invite your un-churched friends and neighbors. As of the 28th our service times will be 9:15am and 11:00am.

See you Sunday!

'Almost' Final Preparations

This coming Sunday, February 21st, at 9:30am, we'll have our final 'preview service' for Rock Bridge Chatsworth. We meet at North Murray High and we do have full children's ministry available for that service. If you can come and help we'll have our first full break-down and could use some extra folks on hand to make light work of recreating North Murray High school.

On February 28th we'll celebrate our grand-opening with our regular service times of 9:15am and 11:00am with full children's ministry available at both services. As I consider the journey we've been on I am amazed at how much work has been done by a committed group of people that are excited to see this church get launched. North Murray High is off this week and we are in the midst of our 'almost' final preparations [there will be some actual final details next week].

If you have some daytime hours available this week and can come and help - we've still got work going on - here are some details:

• Gail and I and a few others are working at the school Tues - Wed from 9am - 5pm to get ready for Sunday - and yes, we'd LOVE some more help. Please email me at gus@rockbridge.cc if you can give some time to get us started!
• The remaining work is mostly light but there's lots of it
• The transformation from school-to-church is incredible!
• We have already seen fruit of our labor - Sunday morning was absolutely incredible.
• This week's final preview service is going to be very special - don't miss it.

If you can help this week please email me at gus@rockbridge.cc

Gus

Rock Bridge Chatsworth - Valentine's Weekend Schedule

Here is the schedule for Rock Bridge Chatsworth this weekend:

Saturday February 13th:

• 9:00am - 11:00am Set-up in the Cafeteria
  
• 2:00pm - 5:00pm Technical, classroom and hall set-up

Sunday February 14th:

• 7:00am Tech team and band arrive
• 8:00am Host and kids teams arrive
• 9:00am Everyone ready for guests
  
• 9:30am AMAZING CHURCH SERVICE BEGINS!
• After Church: Minor-Breakdown - School is out next week and they have given us permission to leave our set-up in place!

Please e-mail me at gus@rockbridge.cc to get signed up to join the fun!

Grand Opening Is Set!

It is official! Rock Bridge Chatsworth has a grand opening set for February 28th.

We continue doing pre-services at 9:30am on Sundays until then. Email me at gus@rockbridge.cc to get involved with this amazing move of God!

More to follow!

Review of the preview

Last Sunday, January 31st, we held our first Rock Bridge Chatsworth 'preview service' and to sum it up... it was GREAT! Here's a look at what happened:

• A team of amazing volunteers, including several from our Dalton campus met on Saturday to begin transforming North Murray High school into a church.
  
• We moved thirty+ tables
  
• Rolled out over thirty-five hundred square feet of carpet
• We assembled and placed 100 chairs
• Hung over three-thousand square feet of drapes
• EVERYONE was amazed at how great the room looked!
  
• Ran hundreds of feet of cables
• Set up a full worship band including 2 guitars, bass player, keyboards and drummer
• We held a full[ish] service on Sunday morning
• The band - that had played together a grand total of about an hour together... was AMAZING!
• Matt's message was terrific - great for us to answer the question "Who did we do all this work for?"
• The clean-up/break-down went great. We were out by noon.
• WE GET TO DO IT ALL AGAIN THIS WEEKEND!

I am so proud of the folks that made all this happen. So much work is being put into Rock Bridge Chatsworth and all so we can make a difference in the lives of people in our own community.

I humbly honor these volunteers with words of gratitude, prayers of His grace and thanks from my heart.

We have lots to do and would love for you to join us for another weekend at North Murray High School. We'll be setting up from 2pm - 6pm on Saturday, having church at 9:30am on Sunday and doing the breakdown right after the service.