Dreams Taking Shape

This past Sunday (6/15) at Real Life, we took another step forward in pursuing God's Dream for a safe place for community teens to play, study, express themselves and experience the care and support of Christian peers and adults. The Northbridge Student Center is beginning to take shape--in hearts and minds, and on paper.

We split up into a handful of "think tanks" and began imagining what our space will look like, what kinds of resources we'll make available and how we can provide value and support to the teens in our community. You came up with incredible ideas that have been recorded and compiled. Now it's time to get to work!

Twenty six of you have already committed to helping make God's dream a reality by contributing your time, talent and expertise throughout the summer. Over the next two weeks we'll be identifying projects and project leaders to get the ball rolling on some of the larger tasks. One of you has already come forward with mural ideas and a desire to draft more ideas on a floor plan. Others have expressed a strong desire to help with everything from A/V and computer set-up to fund raising.

And this just in: our first donation came through the mail this morning: $200 towards the new Student Center. Praise God!

Here's what we need in the immediate future:

• A team leader to gather ideas for paint colors and murals (someone with an eye for style and creating space that's warm and welcoming)
• A team leader to work with Leo Audette and others on the media cart (someone who has a passion for audio and video who work within space and budget constraints)
• A team leader who can assemble a group to take a pool table apart, transport it to the church and put it back together

If you're interested in serving as a team leader, or helping in any of these tasks, let me know by e-mailing me at pastorbill@pscrc.org or calling 508-234-0596.

And the word moving forward is VIRAL! There is a lot of passion and energy in the group now for this ministry, and we need to make sure that we're constantly inviting others to join the work. It's up to you to track down the members of our group who missed the last meeting and fill them in! And invite other students and adults along for the ride, too!

For this dream to become a reality, we need the whole church (and perhaps more) to get behind it. So keep talking, keep dreaming and keep praying!

Peace,

Pastor Bill

God's Dream

Last night's Real Life meeting was a powerful time!

If you missed it--let me bring you up to speed:
The first half of our discussion was spent looking back. We answered the question: when you think about this past year, and all our times together, what are you most thankful for? How has God blessed your life through this group and our experiences together? We spent a lot of time giving thanks and honoring and celebrating each other and what God has done in and through. The message students kept saying over and over was that God has created truly unique community where people are valued, accepted, encouraged and loved. AMEN!

The second half of our discussion was spent looking forward. We answered the question: what's next? What's the next challenge? What's God calling us to do now? What's God's dream? We talked about a few ideas, but the idea that really gathered a lot of excitement and momentum was the idea of building a STUDENT CENTER in the basement of the church (in the Activity Room and two neighboring classrooms). The Student Center would serve as a safe place for community kids to hang out at after school. It would be both a gift we give to our community, and a bridge we build to the unchurched kids in the community. It became evident during the conversation that 1) this is going to be hard work 2) that it will require the whole youth group and the whole church to get behind this 3) everyone's gifts and expertise will be vital in making this dream a reality and 4) it is SO WORTH it because we believe this is God's dream, and we believe He'll help us make His dream come true. Why do we think it's God's dream?

a) A number of Real Life students came up with this idea within days of some students in the community telling Pastor Bill "You know what this church could do for us? Create a safe place where we can hang out after school."
b) Since the idea has been pitched, countless people have responded to it favorably, including: the elders, the members of Real Life and many in the congregation. Already people have come forward offering their ping-pong table, pool table, Media Cart, TV, DVD-player, speakers, computers, furnishings and time.
c) There was a ground swell of energy, joy, passion, creativity and prayer when we began to discuss the idea around the Bonfire on Sunday night--and we're itching to get started.

So...here's the plan:

At our last Real Life meeting of the year: Sunday, June 15th, we're gong to meet at Pleasant Street, down in the Activity Room, and continue the process of dreaming God's Dream for this Student Center. We'll divide up into teams, sketch ideas, and even work toward assigning some tasks and scheduling some work days throughout the summer. Because it's the last Real Life meeting of the school year we'll also honor our Seniors: Katie, Kristen, Katelyn, Camille and Doug. Should be a special time! Plan on being there on the 15th!

Have a great week everyone. Feel free to click the pencil below to post your own ideas, dreams and reactions to this post.

Pastor Bill