So, if you've been at one of our church services lately (with the exception of the 11:00 service on Labor Day weekend) you may have noticed that we are filling up.

A few Sundays back, there were people who had to have their children sit on their laps in order to fit in. And as we grow, it will get harder and harder for families of four or more to show up and sit together. Now, to be honest, for those of you who love Jesus and are committed to the mission of Good News Church, I'm not too concerned. If you have to sit with your daughter on one row while your husband and son sit in the row behind you, that's fine - especially if it only happens every now and then, and/or because you arrive late every week. But for those of you who are inviting visitors (some of whom haven't been to a church in quite some time) I would hate for them to have to sit apart from you or each other on their first or second week. And we don't want you to stop inviting those people, so we realize that we may need to go to three services soon. So, it is our intention to go to three services (8:00am, 9:30am, and 11:00am) starting October 5!

(Note: Feel free to check out these past articles for explanations as to why we cannot expand the size of our current building, but will actually need to build a new one whenever the time comes: Good News Church Is Going To Two Services and What About A Building?)

Now, if we are going to add this third service, we will need more help! Sure, there are some teams - like, take for example, the lawn maintenance team - that won't need to add new volunteers just because we add a service. The grass will grow at about the same rate no matter how many people we have in the building on Sundays. But other teams will definitely need more volunteers. KidZone will almost certainly have the biggest need for more volunteers, because we need to staff one more BabyZone, ToddlerZone, Lower PrimaryZone, and Upper PrimaryZone. Over the next three weeks, Gary Haverdink, our Director of Ministries and Operations, and Charis Bickhart, our Children's Ministry Coordinator, will be looking for people willing to volunteer on a weekly basis (meaning people who will serve every week during one service, and then attend one of the other services) to help us out in this area. My request to you is for you to please pray about serving our church, being willing to pitch in if asked, and maybe being willing to step up and volunteer even if you are not asked.

So, in a nutshell, I am saying: If you believe in what we are doing, please help us. Help us open up more space for seats so that we can continue to grow and reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Oh yeah, and let me mention two more things real quick before I close this article out:

1. Thank you in advance for helping. You all have been a fantastic congregation for me to pastor. There are so many of you involved, giving of your time, talents, and treasure to make this particular mission successful. And I expect that that kind of behavior will likely continue. So, thank you. Thank you for serving Jesus here at Good News.
2. This will probably not be the last thing that we ask of you. You see, being a part of a church should not be like being a customer, but more like being a missionary. In the future, we may be asking some of you to come to a church service time that isn't as convenient for you for the sake of the overall mission. So, keep in mind, as we continue to grow and minister to people, we will continually need to be people who sacrifice. In fact, that is how Romans 12:1 actually defines "worship."

Thanks for letting me be your pastor.