Busy, busy, busy...

Busy, busy, busy...

Things are moving a long here at the Commons at a fast pace. Things are going great, new families are checking us out, and we are seeing more and more lives being impacted. I do apologize for not updating sooner, it has definitely been one of those busy weeks. One thing I am learning is to prioritize my time and my life.

The Commons::..

This week we announced to our Wednesday Bible Study that in the near future we will be changing the look (which is a great thing). Since the Commons began, Wednesday nights consisted of people meeting at Tim's house for food, community, and a bible study. Over the course of months, this bible study grew leaps and bounds. This presented a challenge..., we have no more room to house all the people coming the the bible study. So as leadership, we felt that it was time to look for the best way of reconstructing this in a way to meet the needs of our people and to still hold to our vision for community and spiritual growth. We all agreed that having new small groups over the area is the best for the Commons and for our people. So please keep us in prayer as we iron out the details.

Students::..

The student ministry is going great. I feel that through building relationships I am making more and more headway in to their lives. God is definitely molding me in to how to reach these students here in Seattle. Relationships is the biggest key in ministering to students. The majority of the events I am planning for the students now have the element of "intentional" relationship building. I will say out of 10 years of serving in student ministries, this is the most challenging and rewarding. One of the coolest privileges I have had is handing my students their very own Bible. This moment alone is so overwhelming at times because most of them have never owned a Bible.

On a cool note concerning future vision, I am seeing God a passion in me for reaching and meeting the needs for families of my students. Call it family ministry or whatever, I have a desire to impact my student's family as well. So who knows where that will go, but I'm stoked.

Personal Change::..

On a personal level, God is teaching me how His love works and where it takes you and how it impacts others. I spent a majority of my Christian life explaining to people why they shouldn't "do this or do that", which is not necessarily bad if a person is just being stubborn or rebellious. I am just not sure if I really taught others how to truly love like Jesus. I think the real impact is loving people with the Love of Christ. I am not suggesting "o.k.'ing" peoples sin, but I am saying that God's Love throttles you forward beyond the "extremities and the muck" to the core of the person where you can impact them and introduce them to who Jesus is and the life He brings. It definitely takes us out of our comfort zone, but then again "FAITH and LOVE" tend to do that (or so I have experienced).

C.S. Lewis said, " To love is to be vulnerable."

I think this is so true when it comes to community, ministry, and just being a follower of Christ. To truly love others with the Love of Christ doesn't mean trying to "fix" them, it means showing them the most valuable treasure in this world...Jesus. Through Him, He does the changing, growing, & "fixin". Sorry, I feel like I'm about to get on a soap box. :)

Men's Retreat::..

I am totally pumped about the 1st annual Commons Men's retreat. I have been given the responsibility of setting this up. I am pumped and things are coming together. I think the biggest thing I am pumped about is that it is a time of "guys...to be....guys". It will be an over night retreat, but I really feel that it will be a catalyst for the guys in the Commons. My prayer is that the guys grow closer together, but furthermore they begin to spark that "leadership" element that is in every man. So I am definitely excited!

Prayer & Possibilities::..

A passion of mine is to connect other believers from the South to this area. Whether it is through a mission trip, a family mission trip, finances, prayer, or __________(fill in the blank). I have been praying that God will open up a door for me to rent a house. The reason I am praying for a house is twofold:

1) to use it totally for the Commons & the Student Ministry.

2) to provide a free place for someone to stay as they do missions here.

In saying this, I recently was presented with a house to rent that is with in a reasonable price. In renting this house, I would be sharing the rent with Matt Giles (friend/former student I discipled in Gardendale) who moved up here to serve as well. Splitting the rent would be cheaper than trying to rent an apartment. So in saying all this, the renter offered to lower their renting price by $500 a month (to get it in our range) because she likes what we are trying to do in this community. I ask myself, "God...is this from you?" Please keep me in prayer on this. The house would be perfect, but the catch is we are still looking for part-time jobs and raising money. I would hate to get in there and move out in a few months. So who knows...I am just being transparent at this point on this potential opportunity.

Thank you for keeping the Commons and I in your prayers. Thank you so much for you encourage, support, financial support, and love. Truly WE (You and I) are impacting this community, region, and nation through our love for Jesus and others. Please take me up on my invitation, I would love for you to come visit and experience what the Commons is doing. Let's change the world by impacting our nation with the Love of Christ.

Love and miss you all,

Cham

cham.i.am@gmail.com

P.S. - Be looking for the March E-Newsletter to hit your inbox the first week of March. It will have more specific info, stories, & news than this blog. If you would like to sign-up for this letter, please e-mail me at cham.i.am@gmail.com.