A meal of abundance

What a blessed Thanksgiving tradition we have at Christ The Rock.  Ever since we’ve been a church (26 years), we’ve served some sort of meal in our community. And for the past 15 of those years, we’ve done it in a very big way.

This year our Thanksgiving Meal chairman Dave Lemke personally cooked 200 turkeys in our CTR kitchens and organized a team of 500 volunteers. In all, 3,200 meals were prepared and served.

The turkeys and all of the side dishes are donated. With 5,000 servings of potatoes and stuffing, 2,500 servings of green bean casserole and cranberries, and about 400 pies and various donated pastry and bread items, everyone had enough.

Volunteers served about 1,200 of those meals at Monarch Gardens in Appleton, and the remainder were delivered to people’s homes. For many on those routes, our delivery people were the only human contacts they had for the holiday traditionally spent with family and friends.

As the need continues to rise in this down economy, we are very thankful that the donations of time, money and food has not fallen off. God is great!

Check out our photo gallery of Thanksgiving 2008:

Feeding the need

What a blessing! It looks like we’ve got all the servers we need to feed the thousand or so people who’ll come to Monarch Gardens this Thursday. On a day when the county social services offices, senior centers and Meals on Wheels are all closed to give thanks,  CTR is celebrating 15 years of serving up the Thanksgiving Day Meal. Last year, we served over 3,000 meals, 2,000 of which were delivered to homes.

So yes, we have our servers for the feast, but there is still a need. Twice as many people are needing meals brought to their homes. They’re looking for nourishment and in many cases human contact that they long for. Those who make these home deliveries part of their Thanksgiving tradition say that bringing food to those who can’t get out is even more satisfying than the meals they share with family and friends.

The Re-Birth of OAKS

From raking leaves to giving rides to church to helping people move in an emergency situation, Christ The Rock volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to help those in the Fox Valley when they’ve called.  Two years ago we decided to call this ministry OAKS, which stands for Organized Acts of Kindness and Sacrifice.

Pastor John Slotten and volunteer Dean Roddy organized the OAKS volunteer base to answer the many calls for painting walls, fixing broken plumbing and any number of requests for help.  Since that time, the volunteer pool has grown almost as huge as the needs that are called in.  But within the past several months the need has become so tremendous that it was time to fortify OAKS and plan for this ministry’s growth into the future.

How is it working? Check out this story about an ex-convict who called for help:

Since his release from jail, this man has struggled to put his life back on track

Here am I, Send Me

I want to introduce you to our newest staff member, Patty Dempsey. Patty is our Community Outreach Developer. Patty recently wrote a note to our staff team that I want to share with you because it is so good and it reflects a bit of who she is and I believe the heart of God for us as a team.

Hi Team,
I just wanted to say to everyone I was so blessed by our last meeting and strongly sensed the Lord touching on the pulse of what He has for us for 2009.  It is exciting to consider opening our eyes to the world around us, our world; the world the Lord is calling each one of us to, whether it is our immediate family, our neighborhood, women, men, children, widows.  I agree with everyone in sensing the Lord’s leading to prepare and equip our body to first of all seek first the Lord.  As we keep Him squarely before us in thought and action, He will show Himself faithful to define to us to whom shall we go, with what message, with what mission.

Food for the Soup Kitchen

Crossing was invited to make a meal for 120 people that attend a soup kitchen 3x a week in Menasha.  We had a great time preparing, and ended up making double what they needed for one meal!  So now they’re set for another lunch of chilli!  check out some more photo’s here.

To check out details on the soup kitchen, and how to volunteer, go here.

Community Vision

The Ave

Our dream is to see every one connected in a caring family where they can grow in loving God and others, living out the truth of God’s word and reaching others for Christ. We desire to see people loving, living and reaching where they live and work. We long to see the kingdom of God come to peoples homes and neighborhoods as well as where they work and play.

Imagine if every one in our community had someone praying for them and close enough to know the needs so that no one in our community would go hungry, no one in our community would go on being abused, no one would suffer alone. Imagine strong and healthy families growing in the love of God, the word of God and the heart of God; reaching out to others with Grace and Truth. Imagine marriages and families being supported in the homes with resources that would help them love, live and reach.

Imagine if every follower of Jesus saw their workplace as a mission and ministry. What can we as a church do to encourage and equip you to love, live and reach better at work? How can we better inspire and empower you to bring God’s kingdom to your place of employment. Most people spend 70% of their time at work. We want to resource you and give direction that would enable you to serve God through your employment or business.

Imagine downtown outreach centers in our cities that provide food, shelter and clothing the the under resourced. Imagine every assisted living facility in our community with a visiting team that comes to bring faith, hope and love to the residents and staff. Imagine neighbors reaching out to neighbors with the love of Jesus by offering help, bringing cookies or praying for their needs. Imagine the homeless shelter with too many volunteers. Imagine our schools and teachers being supported with love and help to make our schools the safest and best places for our children to learn.

In the community we will have a community elder lead team made up of former and existing governing elders who will mentor and provide oversight and support for the community elders serving in each city and village. The community elders will be providing care and support for the coaches, ministry and small group leaders in each community.

We believe this new structure of care and support will equip and enable people to love, live and reach more in the home and at work. We want to do everything we can to see God’s will accomplished in our neighborhoods and work places. We are incredibly excited about the possibilities of people being more intentional about bringing Christ to community.

The ship is going back out to sea! Are you onboard? Have you found your place to serve? We strongly encourage you to get on board and put your heart and hands to work. Find your place to connect and do your part in advancing His kingdom by loving, living and reaching.