Kenny Hibbard

Why do we call ourselves Charlotte South Fellowship?

Because the word Fellowship denotes the idea that we are all in this thing together. That we all discover our gifts and passions and then use them to achieve our God given Purpose and Game Plan as a local Church or Fellowship. (The Bible uses both words in speaking about the local body of believers who have a passionate commitment to Christ and radical commitment to each other).

I love the fact that at CSF, we pastors lead and then equip others who in turn accomplish the vast amount of life-changing ministry that takes place here. I love the fact that our band is awesome and non of them are paid professionals just playing here on Sunday as a musical gig. I love the fact that we have trained, committed and certified nursery workers that minister every week…and none are hired guns looking to make a few bucks on the weekend. Same is true with our elementary age, middle and high school volunteers.

I think it is revolutionary that our new building and our offices gets cleaned and ready for ministry every day by non-paid volunteers! Moreover, because our clean team calls this place home…they clean it like it is something special to them, not just a job.

I love the fact that right now in our office, as it is every day, there are “skilled” office volunteers that do administration and secretarial work as volunteers. I was told that when we went over a 1000 people we would no longer be able to survive with volunteers doing a bulk of the office work…..not true!

I love the fact our drama team, stage design team and other Sunday morning tech people are all volunteers!

The list could go on and on……

The reason CSF does not have to pay for hired help in so many of these areas is because of the high percentage of people at CSF who serve and do their part. I love the fact that people can serve here without feeling like they have to do everything. Everyone plays a role and no one has to get burned out by doing too much!

As we get set for another great weekend here at CSF….I want you to know:

I love this place and I love the Fellowship we have built that is radically changing the lives of so many people. I am thankful for you and the passion you have for Christ. I am honored to be a part of this dream, a place we call CSF!

Because of the people who call this place home our future is brighter than ever!

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at WORK within US, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through out all generations.”

The temperature dipped below freezing last night. About 6pm last night I made sure the upstairs and downstairs heaters were turned on and ready to go. Our daughter, Ellie, is the only one who has a bedroom downstairs. So….knowing that we would not be aware if it was cold downstairs, I made sure the heater turned on and was blowing. After “hearing” it kick on and “hearing” the air coming out the vents, I tucked her in, turned off the lights, shut her door and scurried upstairs feeling good about my daddy duties.

This morning when I woke up, it was a toasting 70 degrees up-stairs, a cold 30 degrees outside and an alarmingly frigid 57 degrees downstairs. Poor Ellie was chilled and not real happy with her daddy!

I soon discovered that the heater was still on and blowing air….just not HOT air.
Even though I had “heard” the heater…it was not “doing” what it was suppose to.

The Bible says that one of the worst things we can do as Christians is to be people who “hear” the truth but don’t “do” anything about it. We know the truth but don’t do it. We know what we should be doing…we just don’t do it. At CSF we have taken the basic things that a Christ follower should be “doing” and called them our six S’s. Read through these six basic qualities that should mark every believers life and see if you are blowing hot…or just blowing.

The Salvation of Christ has been accepted personally. (one time event)
We Serve at our local Fellowship.
We are Stewards of our resources.
We are growing Spiritually in our knowledge of God and His ways.
We are involved in Significant Relationships with others.
We Share our faith with other who are not Christians.

(This list is defined and clarified more with Bible verses on our website)

James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” Be doers of the Word not hearers only!

Anyone who has ever raised a child or has worked with children knows one important thing. To really help a child grow and learn takes consistency by an adult in their life in whatever setting they are experiencing. Parents, teachers, coaches and even mentors need to be there and help them to navigate the challenges they face on a regular basis. There has to be a relational consistency in their life.

This fact is very true for the purpose and vision we have for each of our kids in our All-Stars children’s ministry. This is especially true in the 1-5th graders who meet upstairs. They need their Home Team leaders and other volunteers to be consistent in their attendance as leaders.

Our new dynamic All-Star Team team of Stacey Sutton, Leah Prasse and Clint Newton have made our children’s ministry a wonderful place for our kids to learn and have fun. However, our 1st-5th grades are in need of adult volunteers who will make a weekly commitment to a specific service.

Having a new adult Home Team leader each week leading their group is not the BEST for our kids. Plain and simple, we need more people to step up and volunteer upstairs. Last week we had our highest attendance in 1st-5th grade. The kids are loving the exciting teaching gifts and high energy presentation of Mr. Clint. They love breaking into smaller groups…however, we don’t have enough adults who are willing to be trained and then prepare each week to lead a group. The Home Team groups have too many kids for them to be the BEST they can be.

Will you pray about serving on a consistent basis in our All-Star Children’s ministry?

Also, Parents, I can’t stress this enough….YOU need to have YOUR child here on a consistent basis. Coming on Sunday once a month and or even twice a month…is not the BEST for you or your family. The kid’s lessons build on each other and your child learns more and grows more when they are here each week. What would happen to your child’s reading, math or language art skills if they only went to school 50% of the time?

Is their spiritual life any different? The Bible says we are to train our kids in the things of God on a daily basis. It can’t be just a Sunday thing….it it really can’t be just a two times a month deal.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord you God with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.