Keep Pointing in Waterloo

Our first weekend at First Lutheran... I mean PLC Waterloo!

Prairie Lakes Waterloo!  Welcome to your new home!

We had a great first weekend at our new home over at First Lutheran Church.  Sure, there were a few hiccups here and there (let's not even talk about how the whole Skype thing went!), but all in all, it felt great.  

We had plenty of folks on hand to help us set up in the short amount of time we had from the time First Lutheran's service ended to the time our began - including our monstrocity of a screen!

It really all came together nicely.  We had to set up the sceen, drums, keys, and one of the lighting trees before we could start running through the service.  Here's what it looked like from the balcony during the worship service:

Our kids areas both came together nicely as well.  While both are awaiting carpet, we still were able to set up our gear and make an inviting space.  Take a look at how Weekids looked:

All in all, it was a great kickoff to a new season of ministry at PLC Waterloo.  Special thanks to Dan Phillips, our brand new Communications staffer at PLC, and his wife for the pics.  

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday.  For those of you who were away and missed last weekend's worship service, or for those of you who were serving our kids, check out Pastor Carl's message as he kicked off our Advent series entitled "With Us."  He did a great job!

See you this weekend!

thankful.

The picture above is one of the many things we have to be thankful for, Prairie Lakes Waterloo (and a special thanks to Steve Dunbar for capturing this image during our first music rehearsal at our new home!). 

This weekend will mark our very first service at First Lutheran Church.  It promises to be a weekend that is full - full of joy, of questions, of opportunities, and of new challenges. 

God has been incredibly faithful to us.  He's brought us through times of transition, change, and uncertainty.  He's nudged us along the way towards a more multiethnic, missional identity.  He's opened up new doors at the Boys and Girls Club and the Waterloo Community Schools.  And He's forming a community of people who, more and more, want to be the church, rather than just come to church.

This weekend, come with your spiritual eyes open.  Give thanks for where God has brought us, and enjoy the gift of a more permanent location.  But let's keep our eyes on Him, and continue to follow Him where he leads.  Let's remember that He is the one who got us here thus far, and by His grace alone we will continue.

Happy Thanksgiving, Prairie Lakes Church Waterloo.  See you Sunday, 11:00 a.m., at our new home.

need to know [really!]

Just a few things that you need to know over these next few days:

Community Day - East High School

We are going to be supporting the East High men's basketball team and their Community Day this Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., over at East High School.  Plan on making a donation at the door, helping out at concessions or security, or simply sitting in the bleachers and watching the scrimmage and other events.  Proceeds will go towards team shoes, warm ups, and other needs for the men's basketball team.

Go: Becoming a Missional Church

Last week, Pastor Carl and I began our live series at Waterloo called Go: Becoming a Multiethnic and Missional Church (you can watch the first week here in case you missed it).  Join us this weekend for our last week at Hoover Middle School and the conclusion of this series when we take a look at what God says about being a church on a mission.

Setting Up @ First Lutheran

This Monday, 7:00 p.m., we'd like to invite any of our set up/tear down teams to join us over at First Lutheran to start setting up for the weekend service prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.  We'd like to also brief you on what we'll be needing from you on the weekends, as there will be some minimal but time-sensitive setting up and tearing down after First Lutheran holds their services.

Volunteering @ First Lutheran

Finally, we'd like to invite all of you who volunteer at PLC Waterloo to join us over at First Lutheran on Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., to walk through the building, talk a little bit about how some of our jobs will change at First Lutheran, and most importantly, to pray.  All are welcome to attend.

So, there ya go!  Hope to see you at some of those events here in the next few days!

the new location and you

For all of you who may have missed our Town Hall meeting this past Monday night, I'd like to provide you with an update of what we talked about and your part in getting us ready to move:

• The board and congregation of First Lutheran Church voted 41-1 in favor of leasing their building to us.  They will still continue to hold their Sunday services at 8:30 a.m.  We'll still hold ours at 11:00.
  
  
• We are aiming for our first Sunday at First Lutheran to be November 27th.  
  
  
• In the meantime, we have submitted for their approval several maintenance projects to get the space ready for our arrival: electrical, plumbing, painting, carpet, etc.
  
  
• We passed out volunteer sign up sheets detailing what jobs are available to do over the next few weeks, and requesting times that you'd be available.  You'll be able to sign up this weekend as well at the Connection Desk.
  
  
• Carl and I will be team teaching a live, unique-to-Waterloo, 2-week series called "Go: Becoming a Multiethnic, Missional Church."  We'll be video taping it and uploading it to the web in case you miss it due to serving or absence.  

One final thing: be in prayer over these next few weeks.  Prayer is how God led us to First Lutheran.  And prayer is what we'll take us to our next steps.

See you all this weekend!

we are moving. [for real.]

This past Sunday morning, the pastor, board, and congregation of First Lutheran Church in downtown Waterloo voted 41-1 in favor of entering into an agreement with Prairie Lakes Church Waterloo to lease their campus.

Yep.  We're moving!

Pastors Carl Carey and Chris Rygh were on hand at their worship service and meeting to hear the results and receive our key to the building, along with the nice gift you see above.

Carl was, let's say, a little excited.

So:

Come on over to the Waterloo Offices tonite, 7:00 p.m.  We'll tell you the story, talk next steps, and give you our start date for our first worship service in our new home.