Kenny Hibbard

We will have a nice new commercial playground at Team Church this April!  It will be located next to the downstairs kids rooms and will give them easy access to play there on Sunday morning. The downstairs kids leaders and parents are very excited about this great new addition to our church campus. The playground was designed to be there from the very first plans we had drawn up four years ago.

As many of you know……we listed this playground as one of the things we would do in our Expand Campaign.

As the dream of having our 60 acre church campus be an active place that reaches and impacts thousands of people in our area materializes…. it is amazing to see! This playground is the donation of a family that loves our church and loves the One Purpose we have as a church to impact our area. Their story of giving is one that inspires me! They give a regular tithe of their income each month and have already completed their Expand Pledge. However, when some personal plans they had did not materialize they felt God asking them to give that money they had set aside for personal use to our church for a great new huge playground!  This was a sacrificial gift that they knew they could have used on themselves as they were planning, or even just put in the bank for a “rainy day.” However, they felt compelled to make a lasting difference with the money they had been saving and set aside.

As I said on Sunday…..the One Purpose and Game Plan that God has given to Team Church is larger than a few years of recession in our country. It is larger than a few years of bad economy and lost jobs.  When God gives a dream you follow in faith. You don’t bail when times seem tough, don’t go perfectly to your plan and then go searching for something easy….you trust God and press forward. In that persistence, dedication and resolve is where true joy comes from when you finally see God’s faithfulness.  I love the fact that these are attributes of many people in our church. Those are dying character traits for many people in our “ME first”, “I am entitled” and “I want it easy and my way NOW culture.”

I know that Team Church is full of people who fully believe in the One Purpose of this church and that steadfast faithfulness is inspiring to me and honors God.

In the next few weeks we will be asking for volunteers to come help prep the land for the playground and assist the playground company with the certified installation. Of course, we can save some installation cost by providing them with labor and help. Moreover, it gives more people a chance to feel like they have a part in providing this phenomenal playground. Be looking for times and dates that YOU can help make this playground a reality.

We have chosen to go with a local company Play More Design that uses all recycled materials. It will look great, be very fun and safe for our kids!

Maybe today you need to read this verse and determine to be a person of perseverance.

James 1:2-12

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

⁹The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.