03.19.09
Crave Out
Well last night was our last Crave meeting here at C3 – that sounds so dramatic doesn’t it. The truth is, that’s an exciting statement, because we have now gotten to the point where we are multiplying our student experience into two separate groups. One for Middle School called “The Mix” and one for High School called “413″ after Phil. 4:13. It really is cool though to think back about Crave. I’ve been the Crave pastor now for a little over two and a half years and it has been awesome to watch the group grow and the students grow over these last couple of years. I am extremely proud of our students!!! It is so cool to see so many of them who were completely unchurched, get so plugged in and just trying to live for God the best they know how. What’s also so cool is to see how almost all of the students are now inviting their unchurched friends to come check out this student community. I’m sure there are parts of Crave I will miss, but OMGosh I am so jacked about the opportunities we will now have to continue to build relevant and safe environments. Environments where students really can connect with others their own age and develop positive influences.
12.22.08
Others First
Wow, what a Sunday! We had an absolute blast yesterday meeting so many first time visitors and adopted families. It really is hard to put it into words but, we have really just felt blessed to be a part of C3’s “Feed the Family” holiday campaign. It really has been sweet to get to know our adopted family and to be able to help meet some of their physical needs. The greatest part was that yesterday the mom of our adopted family prayed to receive Christ.
The Feed the Families campaign has also given us some amazing opportunities to talk to Caleb and Luke about giving and helping others. Ya know the idea of putting others first really does not come natural to any of us. But when we are able to put others first I think then we can really get a glimpse of the word through Jesus’ eyes.
I was so proud of Luke last week. He had an auction during school were they could use points that they had earned through the fall to buy toys and gifts. Luke had been telling us about several things he wanted to get. But then when the day came to get his stuff, instead of using his points for himself, he bought his family gifts. I know it’s kind of a small thing but as his dad it was huge. You start thinking, what if we could change the way the next generation of Church thinks. What if we had a whole generation of church stopped thinking so much about themselves and what they can get and started focusing on loving God and loving others first. What would happen? How would it change the world? How would it change the way people view the church?
12.01.08
Feed The Families
This weekend started our Feed the Families campaign at C3. This is an awesome opportunity for the family of C3 to supply food and other basic needs to 100 families who need a little extra help this holiday season. Sandi and I are just so jacked about connecting with the family that we’ve adopted. They are such an awesome family and it is so cool to not only be able to drop off the food and supplies, but to be able to pray for them and get to know them on a personal level. What a sweet chance to connect our community to Christ.
As any other awesome opportunity, there are always some bumps in the road. Today, as folks are trying to get info about Feed the Families and report back, our site; c3orlando.com has completely gone down (I love technology). If you are looking for more info on FTF or if you are trying to report back from delivering your food, please visit www.byronbledsoe.com for more info. Specifically you can go to http://byronbledsoeblog.com/2008/12/01/urgent-feed-the-families-update/ to get all the info.
Thanks to everyone who is participating in FTF!!! You are making an eternal difference for Christ.
11.19.08
Hap’n
What an awesome weekend! I’ve have really been love’n this Google series. This weekend Pastor Byron talked about Great Sex. If you missed it you can check out the message archives on c3orlando.com or check out the new pod casts at byronbledsoe.com.
We also had a great Discovering C3 with 4 more folks who are ready to be baptized. I also was able to get some more Crew volunteers from DC3 as well – yeah. Huge thanks to everyone who currently serves on The Crew, you guys do such an awesome job every Sunday to create a welcoming and irresistible environment. Thank you for investing in lives!!!
Tonight, we are having a special Crave where Pastor Byron will be coming out to hang with the students. I can’t wait!!! Josh has some awesome music planned and with what Pastor will be talking about, it is going one seriously sweet night!!! If you are in High School or Middle School and you haven’t checked out Crave yet, ya gotta come join us on a Wednesday night. You can get all the latest Crave happenings at www.myspace.com/cravestudents.
11.12.08
Pro Duct
I love productions meetings. We usually get all the pastors together once a week to talk through this coming week’s message and future messages as well. This week we actually had two separate production meetings to talk about the “Great Sex” message for this Sunday and our next series starting after Google. All I’m gona say is ya don’t want to miss this Sunday and there is some seriously awesome stuff coming up this winter!!!
Also don’t forget this Sunday is when we will be signing up to adopt a family for our 100 families food drive. We as a church are partnering with Feed the Children and several local area schools to help feed and meet some of the basic necessities for over 100 families in our church’s primary zip code.
Also this weekend is Discovering C3. If you are new to C3 or would love to get a behind the scenes look and what makes C3, C3 then you need to check out Discovering C3. Just give the church office a call today or tomorrow and Peggy will get you all signed up.
10.16.08
Roll’n C3 Style
Have I every said how much I love being a part of C3?! 
I get so jacked about a church that will truly do whatever it takes to show love to others, especially the un-churched and those far from God. I talked to a few of our first time guests this week and one just stood out in my mind. Their family was one that has been out of church for a very long time and they were really hesitant to give church a try. Which I can completely understand, because you starting thinking; “will I know what to do or where to go,” “will people judge me because I look a little different and have been far from God?” But with all the questions aside, they decided to give C3 a try, and what was so cool is that she said not only did they feel very welcomed, but they can’t wait to come back next week. Huge thanks to everyone who makes C3 all it can be every Sunday, you guys are making an eternal difference!!!
Huge props to our students as well. You guys are doing an awesome job of investing in relationships at school and inviting your unchurched friends. Last night I heard a conversation with one of our first time students as someone asked them what they thought about the night. I loved the reply; they said: “this is freak’n great!” You guys are doing an awesome job!!! Don’t forget to check the Crave Spam page for all the stuff we have happening in November.
10.02.08
Baptism
Last Sunday night we had another awesome baptism service at Pastor Byron’s home. I really like having the baptisms at his home; it really makes it much more personal and fun. This week was extra cool because we got to see a really close friend from our Community Group and one of our youth get baptized. Great job Teresa and Lacey, I am so proud of you guys!!! It’s really cool, Sandi and I were talking and during each baptism that we’ve had since Luke’s baptism, we’ve had a close personal connection with at least one person that was being baptized. Since I get the privilege of talking with everyone before they get baptized, I feel like I have a personal connection with everyone. But, there is something extra special when you have walked through part of life together. I really am proud of you guys and I’m praying for ya.
09.25.08
Interesting
So Sandi was talking to her mom last night and the topic of church came up. What I found so interesting is that Sandi’s mom lives and always has lived is a small northern town that is steeped in tradition and the Greek Orthodox Church. So, pretty much all the churches including the protestant ones are very old, stuffy and dying.
Last night though, Sandi’s mom had mentioned that she went to a church that was actually growing and in her words; “busting at the seems.” What was so interesting is that this church is the same style and flow of C3. Now remember Sandi’s mom has always lived in little traditional towns and has grown up in churches that do church for church people. So, when she hit this new fangled church thing she about freaked out. The first thing out of her mouth was “no one came dressed for church.” To which Sandi commented back; “you mean everyone was naked?” Of course that’s not what her mom meant, but it was fun to poke at her a little. Sandi’s mom just couldn’t believe that people would actually come to church in shorts and Ts. Oh the horror! J
Anyway to make a long story short, after getting over the “naked” thing, Sandi was really able to explain in detail why that church in PA and C3 do what we do. Now Sandi’s mom is not about to head out and join a contemporary, progressive church. But, what was so cool is that by the end of their conversation Sandi’s mom “got it” and understood the importance of our style of church. Even though it’s not her style she loved the idea of churches that actually go after those, who are disenfranchised with church and God. I thought that was really cool. I also just kept thinking; if a sixty something year old, who has been indoctrinated with tradition ever since she was a girl, can “get it” then why can’t certain others (God tells us that we’re to love those far from Him) get it? I mean really, how hard is it to understand that we’re all different and not every church is for everyone. So instead of being scared of and slamming churches like C3 and the one in PA, why not just understand that we’re reaching our culture and that’s a good thing. Just interesting.
09.05.08
Next Generation
What an awesome week it’s been. We had our very first Crave meeting at Boardwalk Bowl this past Wednesday. It kind of reminded me of when our church first moved out into the theaters. I was totally pumped and excited, but at the same time I had no idea what to really expect. But, just like the theaters, Boardwalk Bowl is an awesome place to meet. The staff at Boardwalk made us feel extremely welcome and the environment (including an arcade and snack bar) was perfect for our group. There are still a few hurdles to overcome, but all and all it was an awesome night in an awesome new room.
I also want to say a huge thanks to all the Crave staff!!! You guys did a phenomenal job creating a cool environment and connecting with the students.
You know the same day that we had our first Crave-Live at Boardwalk, I was asked the question; “what do I see in this next generation as far as their spiritual appetite. I have to say; I love the movement that I see in our student ministry right now. I see a group of students, many of which were not brought up in the church, who when they fall in love with Christ they follow Him with all their hearts. Even when all their friends at school and for some even their parents at home, don’t support or model being a Christ Follower, these students stand up for what they believe. They are also a group of students who are not afraid to ask questions. Questions about their faith, about church and they are not afraid to make changes. I love this next generation, I truly believe that our students will be one of the first generations of church leaders who will stop pointing out all the faults of everyone else and will truly love their neighbor as themselves.
Well I guess that sums up my thoughts for today. We’re off to the Timber Creek football game tonight. See you on Sunday.
08.02.08
Crave Stuf
Well, we made it back from Student Camp. We spent this past week in Daytona Beach with some of our Crave students for Big Stuf Student Camps and I have to say the week was absolutely nothing short of amazing. I am so proud of each and every one of our Crave students and what they personally accomplished over this past week. My mind is just racing with all the stuff that happened this week. So, let me try to get a few things down.
Worship was absolutely awesome!!! The Steve Fee band did a phenomenal job leading the students in worship and helping point them to God. I loved watching our students really get into worshiping our God. What I loved the most is by the end of the week our students weren’t concerned about what anyone thought or said, they were just going to worship God in their own way, in freedom.
The messages were through the roof. Every night I would have at least one student telling me how much God used the messages from the day to challenge and begin to change their lives. Each speaker and message was just what we all needed to hear (students and leaders alike).
The beach was pretty much a bust. Every day when we would have our free time to hit the beach and play some games it would rain. We did get one seriously awesome game of ultimate Frisbee in and then on Thursday we decided to just go play in the rain anyway.
Our small group times with the students were amazing. The students really seemed to enjoy the time and opened up a ton. My favorite was Wednesday when we combined our small group time with our night games on the beach. We talked about all the different paths that life offers us and how each path has it’s own destination and how if we travel down those paths together as a group, then we can get through the bumps and detours on the path so much easier. We then did several team building exercises that I think really helped the students trust and understand each other. Of course, one of the best parts of small group time was when one of our girls gave her life to Christ – I’m so proud of you!!!
I still have so much to say, but I know this blog is getting a little long and I have to go pack again for a couple days of family time at the beach. But, let me end by saying; parents, I want to thank you for the awesome privilege of entrusting your students to us this week, for they have taught me a ton. Students, thank you for being so open to what God wanted and wants to do through you. You are the next generation of church leaders. I really believe from the heart that you showed this week that the future of God’s church will be powerful and exciting. I am proud of you all!!!
