If you happen to miss it...

If you happen to miss the Sports Camp video or if you want to see all the pictures from all 5 days, then head on over to discoverthecommons.com to catch up with the recap.

~Cham

The Commons Lake-Out

This past Wednesday was our "Lake-out". We really didn't know how many to expect, and boy were we surprised! Below is The Commons e-letter that Tim sent out to describe the event.

Unexpected but Awesome!

This summer we have been meeting in different parks around Arlington to create the opportunity to invite friends to come and get acquainted with us before coming to our Worship Gathering or a Community Group. It has been a success as we have brought in several new people and have been averaging 70-80 people in the park.

Yesterday, however, was very unexpected, but awesome! From our connections generated through sports camp, block parties, and flyers, we invited everyone to meet us at a park on a lake. WE HAD OVER 120 PEOPLE COME!!! This is the most by far we have ever had come to one of our gatherings. We have had several at Sports Camp, but to have them come to an "official church gathering" was remarkable!

It was like a wave of excitement and overwhelmingness all at the same time. We worked frantically to get around and talk with everyone since there were so many new faces and families! It was amazing to hear how one mother had heard about our church from so many of her unchurched friends, so she met us at sports camp and a block party last week. She felt strongly to visit church on Sunday, and shared with us that she loved it so much that she invited two completely new families to come with her to our Wednesday Gathering yesterday! Visitors inviting visitors!

I wanted to quickly share this excitement with you, and ask that you pray fervently for us as we figure out what in the world God wants us to do specifically with these people.

Rockin' it out at the Commons!

Cham

Sports Camp Recap...

Below was taking from the Commons monthly E-Letter (written by Tim Cobrin ::pastor::)

Sports Camp Was Awesome!
This past week was an incredible time to reach out to our community with our 3rd annual ALL STARS SPORTS CAMP. What a success!

This year we had 213 kids for the week, and 430 people at our Friday Night Family Celebration. That is up from 160 kids last year, and 70 kids the year before.

We are truly grateful for the opportunity to connect with so many families in our community. We are amazed at how many unchurched people attend our sports camp. I would say less than 15% of the kids come from a Christian home, and yet it blows my mind to watch them jump up and down and sing songs about being on "God's Team" and learn how God wants us to live life. It is likely that this is the only event where they will hear the truth about God through out the year.

Sunday Morning Guests
Sunday morning was exciting to see many new people visit our Worship Gathering. We had 6 new families totaling 17 new people on Sunday. That is over a fifth of the people who came Sunday. Again what makes this remarkable is the percentage of unchurched people visiting church for the first time.

Thank You Mission Teams
I would certainly like to thank the following for helping with this year's sports camp:
FBC Carrollton, TX
Colonial Hills, Southaven, MS
Broadway Baptist Church, Southaven, MS
And friends from Gardendale, AL

I give you....Sports Camp:: Highlights

Sports Camp Day #5

Sports Camp Day #4

Sports Camp Day #3 - 209 Kids...

A few more pics from Sports Camp...