Category: 20th Anniversary

Here’s to another 20!

On By MarkIn 20th Anniversary, GRACE1 Comment

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“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it”  Ps 127:1

A couple of weeks ago on September 28th, we celebrated our 20th anniversary at Grace Community Church. It was an amazing day of worship, communion, teaching and some good memories. Our goal for the day was to lift up the name of Jesus and thank God for allowing us the blessing of being a faithful body of Christ in Flagstaff.  I heard it more than once, “our work isn’t done here”. It’s great to stop and look back and give thanks to the Lord. And it’s great to look ahead, pressing on to what the Lord would have us do as a church here in Flagstaff and throughout Northern Arizona. members-18 members-17 The on and off again rain didn’t seem to bother anyone.  And sure enough, about the time we said “amen”, it cleared up for a beautiful afternoon while everyone enjoyed some Bigfoot BBQ.  Thanks so much to our church family for working together to make Grace the very special place that it is.

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We were so blessed to see many friends that had been at Grace during some of the early years.

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Time to Celebrate

On By MarkIn 20th Anniversary, Community, FlagstaffLeave a comment

“Every week at Grace is important”

I really do believe this. Every week matters. Gathering together with our church family is a sacred and honored tradition taught to us in the New Testament and modeled through 2000 years of history.

In just under two weeks, Grace will have a special Sunday. It’s our 20th Anniversary.

On that day we’ve rented the beautiful outdoor Pepsi Amphitheater at Ft. Tuthill.  This is a great venue for a celebration like this. Truth is, the actual church service will be very much like every other Sunday at Grace over the past 20 years.  We’ll lift high the name of Jesus and show our love for God through Worship and teaching. The big difference is we’re meeting outdoors.  It’s a celebration!

We’ve been talking this up a bit lately, mainly so our church knows when and where to meet and what to expect. But yesterday morning I caught a whole new vision of what this celebration could look like.

On Sunday, I finished up a few messages emphasizing the core of our Community. We finished with “Love Your Neighbor”. I challenged the church to look for and jump on LYN Ops.  Opportunities to Love Your Neighbor! As I was considering my neighbors, it dawned on me that this upcoming celebration is the ideal opportunity to invite them to attend Grace.  Anniversaries are great, and I really do believe the Lord would have us stop, remember and give Him praise for our past. But what excites me even more is this – continuing to love our neighbors, welcoming people in our church and sharing with them the love of God through the Gospel story!

Think about it, what a great atmosphere to invite people that you’re praying for, people that you know don’t have a church home and people that may not easily come to a church service in a traditional setting.  Simply invite them to a “special outdoor service our church is having at the amphitheater with lunch included”.  Truth is, I’m not sure my neighbors care about an ‘anniversary’, why should they? But they may like the casual setting and gorgeous fall day in Flagstaff.

So, yes! It is a time to celebrate and invite!

20 People for 20th Year

On By MarkIn 20th Anniversary, PrayLeave a comment

As Grace Community Church celebrates our 20th anniversary later this year, the challenge has been made to pray for 20 people. Let’s pray for people that need Jesus as Savior, let’s also pray for those who need to return to the Lord.

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Instead of coming up with a ‘top ten’ list to pray for, pair up with someone and the two of you combine your lists to come up with 20 people. Maybe you can only think of a few and your partner has more.  Either way, the beauty of pairing up is that you are encouraging and reminding each other to pray.  And remember, prayer is near the heart of God. He loves to hear us come to him in worship, adoration and dependency. We’re asking Him to do His work of saving people.  Let’s ask.