ArkAlmighty: Evan plays backup at concert

Evan took time out of his busy schedule on Friday night to play backup for a concert we had at the church. This is him before the show. He wanted to make sure he wasn't overdressed.






Here he is rocking out during the show. Look how much he is getting into it. I did start wondering if his guitar was even plugged in. But either way, he had a great stage presence.





Another picture of Even at the end of the show. I don't think he even helped tear down any of the equipment.

ArkAlmighty: a thank you

As part of our ARK day, we went to the local grocery store and paid for people's groceries. Not just $20, but the whole bill. Last week, we received a thank you at the church from one of the people who was there at the store that day.

"Blessed are the givers and grateful are the receivers. I was one of the receivers at IGA last Saturday. Thanks so much! May God bless you."

I shared it with the students during Sunday School yesterday as an encouragement. It is always nice to get a note sharing how someone was helped. Most of the people we helped will probably never let us know what it meant to them (and that's ok).

ArkAlmighty: ARK recap

(Here's a picture of Evan watching the van while we walked around town)

Saturday we held our ARK Day (Acts of Random Kindness). As I mentioned here and here, we went around town performing kind deeds. It was planned, but there randomness involved. The random part was about who we helped. We didn't plan on helping "so and so", but rather on doing certain things for whoever might be there.

Here's what we ended up doing:
1. picked up trash around town
2. hung doorknob hangers (from the ARK Kit)
3. gave away water and popsicles (around town & at the ballfields)
4. bought flowers for residents at nursing home
5. put quarters in laundry machines at laundry mat
6. bought boxes of detergent & fabric softener for people
7. paid for people's groceries
8. paid for people's gas

It was a great day. There were a few people who would not let us buy their gas and a few who didn't want us to pay for their groceries. But the majority of people were surprised and appreciative. One lady, whom I had never met, even gave me a hug after we paid for her gas.

I think all of us who participated were blessed by being involved. We made some contacts with people. More people know we want to help and are wanting to make a difference in our community. I'm praying people will remember our church when they have a problem or need some help.

Here are a few more pictures:

ArkAlmighty: Random Acts of Kindness

Tomorrow is our Community Service Day. In connection with ArkAlmighty, we're having an "Evan Free Day." Our goal is to serve the community and let people know about our desire to help them fulfill their needs.

Pending weather & amount of help, we will be:
- doing yard work
- washing cars
- randomly paying people's bills at stores around town (ie. McDonald's, Dollar General, the gas station - that's about all we have here)
- handing out water and popsicles at the park, ball fields & pool
- picking up trash around town
- anything else we might think of
- and asking everyone if they have a need we can try to help them take care of

I'm pretty excited about it. Though I'm nervous, too. I don't know what kind of turnout we'll have. But I know whatever we do, it will be more than we usually do and therefore a great step toward impacting our community.

Evan Almighty: my thoughts

I went to see Evan Almighty yesterday with my sr. pastor. We've been using the ArkAlmighty material and are thinking about using some clips from the movie for an upcoming series. So we thought we'd finally go see it, so we could talk to people who ask about it or who keep hearing all this "negative" stuff about it from "christian media sources."

Evan Almighty is the sequel to Bruce Almighty, but it is a different type of movie. Bruce Almighty is about a man who gets the power of God for a day. Evan Almighty is about a man who gets a task from God (but doesn't get any special powers). Evan Almighty asks and answers many questions about God and how He interacts with people. Or to put it another way, Evan Almighty discusses how we interact with God (and how that affects our relationships with others).

As a minister, I am very encouraged by this movie. I was encouraged because it is a hollywood movie (with notable actors) which discusses Christian topics without being overly obnoxious. I enjoyed watching the progression of the characters, as they dealt with this "task" of ark building. Watching Evan move from reluctance to fully embracing his call. (At one point a reporter asks Evan how he can be sure God called him to build the ark and Evan responds that God wants to use all of us) As you watch Joan (Evan's wife) struggle to deal with the changes taking place you see a little of yourself in her. She wants to be supportive, but has a tough time getting past the fact that Evan is "different" and changing.

Evan Almighty is a great movie that can be used to spark discussion. Discussion about God, His interaction with us, our response to Him, and how we treat people who are following God. Ultimately this movie is about love and kindness. Loving your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, supporters, and your critics.

ArkAlmighty: new skills

This week marked a small victory. There were two new skills added to our ArkAlmighty website. This may not seem like much, but it is a big step for me. I've been fighting an uphill battle to get people to actually post stuff on the site. They'll go and check it out, but won't do anything. I've been trying to show them that without their participation, the "program" is worthless.

This saturday is one of our Evan Days. I'm praying it will be a great day to reach out to the community and maybe get some "needs" from the community that we can fulfill.

ArkAlmighty: Evan Free Day - Random Acts of Kindness

We've got one Evan Day coming up on June 30th.

We are planning on doing some random acts of kindness around town. There will be different teams designated to take care of certain aspects of our kindness.

We will have a team to:
- mow yards and do yardwork
- wash cars
- pay people's bills at local stores
- pass out water & popsicles at the park/ball fields

We're mainly doing it with the youth ministry, but have opened it up to the entire church. We are hoping for no rain and a big turnout. I will post pics/video and a recap afterward.

ArkAlmighty: Evan Almighty and our info table

This past week, we got a really cool addition to our already packed ArkKit supplies. We got this Evan Almighty Standee.



He now mans our new ArkAlmighty information table.




He really is such a great guy!

ArkAlmighty: update

Well, its been long enough to get things going with ArkAlmighty. There is just one problem, no one is signing up.

Recap of what we've done:
1. Banner is up.
2. Info in our bulletin and newsletter. (weekly)
3. Bulletin inserts have been used.
4. Forms available for people without internet access.
5. Talked to local "community help" center to see if they had any needs we could try to help take care of.
6. Mentioned from "stage" just about every week.
7. Senior Pastor wore the t-shirt, with sports coat, one Sunday, as a walking billboard. (should have gotten a picture)

This Sunday, we are
-showing the promo clip (available with the ArkKit).
-putting the Evan Standee in the foyer (picture coming)

I know people are going to the site, because they are telling me they are. But no one is posting anything. I'm trying to encourage people to understand that if they don't post, it won't be successful. I've even made that point in the newsletter. I'm hoping (in vain?) that showing the promo clip will help people see that there is more to ArkAlmighty than the "typical" needs.

The staff/leadership is on board, so I'm sure we'll get it going. Just waiting for that "tipping point" to happen.

ArkAlmighty: video promo & update

So, I've talked to people who have actually been to our site. BUT haven't posted a need or a skill. We've put forms at the welcome center for people to use if they don't have internet access. It seems like people are getting to know about AA, but not becoming a part of it yet.

So this Sunday we are showing the DVD clip (sent in the ArkKit) that explains the program. I'm hoping this will help people understand what AA is all about and realize they do have a need or skill that needs to be posted.

I ran into a little disappointment last week after talking to a few people about helping us out. There are a few people who feel having something like ArkAlmighty on the internet is an informal way to help fill people's needs. But, I've talked with other people who think it is a great idea, they just haven't put anything on the site yet.

I spoke with the missions chair about working with the missions team on our Evan Free Days. Part of me thinks that once we do our first Evan Fee Day, it will kickstart the rest of the program (well, I'm hoping that at least).

ArkAlmighty: ArkKit

I've posted about the ArkKit before, but I wanted to post some pictures and give you an idea of what you get. First off, isn't that just great packaging?

What you get:
150 Door Hangers
200 Impact Mailers (w/ARK ideas)
200 Bulletin Inserts
1 Banner (See it here)
ArkAlmighty Instruction Manual
Conspiracy of Kindness by Steve Sjogren

Instructional DVD
4-week curriculum from YS
4 T-Shirts
4 Hats (I personal would have loved a visor instead)
20 mini buttons

ArkAlmighty: banner & bulletins

This was the second Sunday since I mentioned ArkAlmighty during a message. Yesterday we launched full steam. We put the banner, which was provided in the ArkKit, up. We put the color bulletin inserts in the bulletins. There is really no reason why people don't know about it now.

I'm just not sure how quickly people will go to the site. Nothing seems to be done quickly around here :) There is some info up on the site already, which is good. And to make sure people know how to get to our site, we will put info in our newsletter this week.

Here are a couple pictures of the banner we put up this week.

ArkAlmighty: Getting Started

It has been stated from the stage. We have officially kicked off our campaign. The congregation is aware of the site now. Now, we must start getting invovlement and encourage people to post needs and skills.

We've started thinking/planning some Evan Free Days for summer. This has the potential to make a huge impact in our community. I pray we're ready for the opportunities we'll encounter.

I received the ArkKit today. It has some great resources inside. I can't wait to start using this stuff. The banner looks awesome, btw. One of the other resources is a 4 week curriculum to use with the youth. This will help the students jump on board and be a catalyst for the rest of the congregation.

ArkAlmighty

My church is now officially on board. There is not much up about our church yet, but we are a part of ArkAlmighty.

Ark ALMIGHTY is a good deeds program that matches up the needs in your congregation with the talents and skills of the members of your church. Gathering the needs of your attendees, these requests are compiled on a Craigslist–type website administered by your church. Then, the members of your church can easily search through the needs and find ways they can help.

This is a campaign connected with the upcoming movie EvanAlmighty, starring Steve Carell (from NBC's The Office).

Our youth ministry will play a huge part in our efforts, but it will be much more than a "youth" event/program. I'm hoping this will encourage more interaction between the generations and spur people to start doing more. I'm really excited about the kinds of things that will be done across the country on behalf of this "campaign." Not to mention, the impact it will have in this community.

I'll post more in the next few days.