Great Surprises and God Moments

We had a weekend to remember around PCC - a truly historic weekend. It was fascinating to see how God worked through our people and some very unusual circumstances. Just a quick overview.

We were gearing up for our Saturday evening service when a terrible storm came across our Powhatan location at about 5 o'clock. I was standing in the Atrium watching the swirling rain when all 4 doors blew open. They were literally sucked out! I was concerned about a tornado at that point. Cars started to pour into the parking lot because (we later learned) one of our huge oaks had fallen into the road, completely blocking route 60. Folks traveling down the road had nowhere to go except PCC. We had an opportunity to show them good hospitality and care. We invited them to come in, out of the storm, and have some coffee, comfort and conversation. I was so proud of our people, who just loved on these folks who weren't trying to come to church but were just looking for a safe place to land for a while.

Of course, with the power out, we couldn't have a normal service. We had no air conditioner, no lights, and we couldn't flush the toilets!

Sometime that evening, I called Dennis Green, who was on his way back to Richmond from northern Virginia. He had GRADUATED from seminary on Saturday.

I guess he thought I was calling to congratulate him, which I did, just before telling him we'd have no DVD for our Westchester campus and the he or Sammy would need to download the message, stay up all night so they could know it really well, and deliver it at WC the next morning! Dennis returned the bad-news favor by telling me that so much rain would make a literal mess of parking cars in the field at the baptism and we might have to shuttle 300-400 people from somewhere up the hill.

When we finally get power back at Powhatan, we learned the lightening had fried part of our lighting system in the big room.

Oh yea...and MORE storms were forecast to come at 4pm Sunday - the exact moment of our baptism!

The bad news was stacking up. But underneath it all was something...Divine. God was reminding us that the great things that happen aren't about how good we are, but about how GREAT HE IS! Our job is to follow, and this is one weekend where I think we did that well. Here's what happened...

Saturday evening, Beth and her team ditched our normal service and quickly developed Plan B - a completely unplugged service...in the Atrium. No lights. Not mics. No hype. Just us, unfiltered, unprojected, unassisted by technology.

And it was very good! I said a few words - 5 minutes of something uninspiring, to be honest, and we thanked God for His power when we had none of our own. We prayed for the people about to be baptized and something mysterious and mighty happened. It's hard to explain, but it was a genuine moment for PCC. Some of our stranded traveler friends stayed and some said they loved our church, felt welcomed, and would come back.

Beth was on a roll with good ideas, too. Earlier in the week, Sammy Frame introduced to us the notion of being live one Sunday (just to do something different) at Westchester AND Powhatan, driving back and forth, instead of being on video at Westchester. (For the record, I thought was a very good idea for sometime down the road. I had no idea we'd be doing it a few days later. That's how God works!) I asked Beth for her opinion about the message for Westchester. We could take the camera and I could film it remotely, or a Campus Pastor could deliver it live while I remained in Powhatan (which is what I told Dennis we would do). She suggested that this was the moment to try Sammy's idea. We had to make a few small adjustments and plan for me being held up in traffic, but it was a great time to try the experiment - and it was so great to be at Westchester AND Powhatan in the same day!

Of course, people wanted to know about the baptism and the predicted storms. I told them we'd figure it out, but I wasn't sure what that meant. By 3:45, we were standing on the banks of the river, keenly aware that we were about to get hammered. Sammy checked the radar on his phone, there was a warning issued with 60 mph winds and hail expected. We sent everyone back to their cars to wait it out. 4:20 was our new target time, and with a little rumble still happening to the south of us, we began.

It was overwhelming, as person after person; family after family; changed life after changed life came into the water to tell the whole world that Jesus is Lord. Several people - like Anna Holland, Chauncey Starkey and Delores Moss - were performing that sacred act for the first time. Angie Frame was my partner when families were baptized, something I count as an honored part of our long ministry together.

I haven't actually gotten a final count, but it was around 80 people - by FAR the largest baptism we've ever done. In fact, it was more people than we've ever seen baptized in an entire year. And yesterday, PCC baptized the 500th person in less than 9 years.

Lots of people worked really hard to make the baptism happen. It would add pages to this post for me to name them all. So I'm only going to name one. Rachel Huff is the most skilled care team leader I can possibly imagine. She has a unique set of gifts, and I'm so thankful she's on our team. You made a real difference yesterday, Rachel, and I thank God for your commitment to the people of our church.

God is always Good. If church had been cancelled and the baptism had been delayed to another day, He would still be Good. But this weekend, He poured His favor on us...just heaped it until it was overflowing. And I am exceedingly grateful to be a part of what He is doing and to be on the unbelievably dedicated team that God has brought to PCC.

A really Great Weekend

I tend to think that pretty much every weekend is good. God always shows up and great things always happen. But some weekends are exceptional, and while I occasionally can see a great weekend coming, normally it's a surprise when it happens. This past weekend was one of those. Let me share with you some of the great things that happened this weekend.

Saturday. When we launched our Saturday evening services, there was truly unbelievable attendance. 265...245...it was shocking. Now we've settled down to something more...predictable - around 100. What's great about that? A few things, actually. In the beginning, we had some 'missionaries'. These were solid PCC'ers who wanted to come on Saturday just to support what we were doing. I can't tell you how critical this was (and still is to some extent), and how grateful I am. But now many of these folks have said, "OK, I came for a while and now I'm going back to Sundays." That means that now we have a pretty good bead on how effective Saturday evenings are. Something like 80-100 adults (plus around 25 kids) are coming fairly regularly on Saturdays who would not or could not come on Sundays. That is incredible. If we can make it through the historically low month of July, we'll be home free.

Baptism. Off the top of my head, I think we baptized 63 people in our biggest year (both baptisms combined). Next Sunday, it looks like we'll baptize OVER 70 PEOPLE in ONE baptism!!! I met several folks yesterday who want to go public with their commitment to Jesus Christ next Sunday with their baptism. It's truly incredible what is happening.

101. We had a PCC 101 yesterday (part 1) and I got to meet a dozen or so people who love our church and what we do. These folks remind me that what we do matters and is effective. For the record, almost everyone in the room was someone who was not going to church when they came to PCC. Some had very little exposure to church at all. (I was also in that category as an adult, as we didn't really ever go to church when I was growing up). We are uniquely equipped and called to make a non-threatening environment for these folks, and the conversation in 101 today reinforced that in me again.

Transformational Moments. God really touched some people this weekend.

- One person told me that there was someone she had struggled to forgive for many years. That person, she said, was on the bottom of her 'list'. God used the message to help her see that she was in the same boat - neither got 100, both needed Jesus, and she finally forgave.

- Another told me that he had prayed today for the first time to accept God's grace through Jesus Christ and offer Him his life.

- One of our staff pastors had an opportunity to pray today with someone as they also committed their life to Jesus.

- I met two people today (independent and unconnected to each other) from European countries, both of whom raved about PCC and how there is nothing like what we do in their hometown across the Atlantic.

- A couple approached me last night to excitedly ask me for the scripture reference I quoted in the message. "Philippians 3:4-11," I said. Then I noticed the lady flipping through the Bible we had given to her a few minutes before. She began in Genesis and flipped, trying to find Philippians. I helped her get there, and she pulled out a highlighter and marked the scripture. It was obvious that God was really working in them both.

- Jim Mustian, our PCC Bookstore Manager, told me today that we have given out 1690 Bibles...before yesterday's services.

The bottom line is this: God is at work at our church, people's lives are changing, and it is a great privilege to be a part of it!

Don't miss the historic baptism next Sunday. See you there!

Baptism is Coming - You Can Help!

by Rachel Huff, Team Leader for PCC Care Ministries and today's guest Blogger

Has there been a time in your life when God reached out to you through another person?

Has there been a time in your life when you longed for an expression of God’s love but didn’t receive it?

These experiences should motivate you to do something! And you have that opportunity right now to one of the many people considering baptism this June.

I promise: if you step out on faith, you will make a difference, and you will be blessed. Send an e-mail to care@pccwired.net for more information.

3 Events You Don't Want to Miss

• Lots of folks are asking lots of great questions about where PCC is headed. Whether you are a committed member of our church or someone who is still checking us out, I would strongly encourage you to come to the Powhatan Campus on Sunday, September 26, at 6pm. We'll have a great time of worship, share communion together, and we'll hear about where God is leading PCC. I'll also do some question and answer time. It will be a GREAT evening that you don't want to miss!

• This Coming Sunday (Sept 19), we will have our September Baptism. 4pm at the James River at Cartersville. If you would like to be baptized, it's not too late to get on the list. Please call the church office at 598-1174 or contact me or Sammy Frame at sammy@pccwired.net. This is an event that the entire church is encouraged to attend, and there is a sizable group that is going to be baptized. Come celebrate with us!

• Finally, there are still 2 spots available for the Marriage Retreat. You can find more info by clicking HERE. But we need a commitment and a deposit asap if you want to go.

Thoughts about last Sunday...

At the beginning of most weddings I say this: "Days come and go, but this is a GREAT day for..." Well, most Sundays are really good. And good Sundays come and go...But last Sunday was a GREAT day for PCC. We baptized 34 people - each one proclaiming their faith in the reality that Jesus is Lord.

For me, this baptism was special on several front, but none more meaningful than in the baptism of my youngest, Joshua, who will be 9 in a few days. All three of my children have now been baptized as followers of Jesus Christ. I had the privilege of personally baptizing 2 of them.

Angie and Sammy Frame were such critical members of the baptism team...anchors who always play a huge part in putting it together. Angie and I have been baptizing people together now for a long, long time. It's an honor to partner with her. Sammy is such a great organizer and helps us all be prepared. Susan talked with a lot of kids and their parents. Chauncey maintained a good pace and did introductions, John, Jon and Mattias worked magic with the sound. Cathy, Lori and friends set up and organized the party, Wesley organized the cars, Tom and others took pictures... I could go on and on, but the point is that many, many people work to make the day special. I'm grateful for all of them.

Yet, the real honor is in knowing that God has been moving among us, changing lives, moving in hearts, repairing brokenness...and He is working through us. Sometimes, it just blows my mind that God would use us - as messed up as we all are (including me) to do something so incredible.

And there was a first on Sunday. Beth Brawley Stoddard did her first baptism - of her good friend Lindsay Harris. Lindsay and Lenny have become integral parts of PCC, especially at the Westchester campus. It was such a great moment to see Lindsay baptized, but also very special to see Beth do the baptizing.

And then there was one other new thing this year. We've always done a decent job of helping introduce people to Jesus Christ...but we've not done such a great job with following up. This year, Rachel Huff helped led in the formation of a new team with will do just that. They were there early, made some connections with the people being baptized, and will follow up in the coming weeks to help these folks keep their faith growing and strong.

Days come and go, but Sunday was a great day for PCC!