Sunday, August 30, 2009 36 Parables Discussion on September 1: The Music Box

Our Encounter Discussions are about getting out into public spaces and creating a dialogue. They are an intentional way to meet new friends, build relationship, and engage our community in a casual environment. More than that, you'll have some great conversation about life and faith.

ABOUT 36 PARABLES

This discussion series is based on a selection of 36 short films depicting Jesus' parables in real life and modern settings. Considering that Jesus told these stories so that we could relate them to our everyday lives, we believe that Jesus reveals himself through such common experiences, and we can encounter Him in the most unlikely places.

We challenge you to step beyond safe and routine faith and discover for yourself the deep spiritual truths of these often ordinary stories.

THIS WEEK: THE MUSIC BOX

Have you ever stumbled upon a great "treasure"? What would you be willing to pay or do to obtain this "treasure"? What is more valuable to you than your money or comfort?

This week we're examining the short film "The Music Box" based on the Parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13:44. Don't miss this week's discussion at the Staggering Ox this Tuesday, September 1 @ 6:30pm.

JOIN US AND BRING A FRIEND

Each of the five discussions in this series stands on it's own. So even if you're just curious, drop by and bring a friend. Arrive early at 6:00pm and grab a sandwich with us.

Check out the 36 Parables Discussion introduction here.
Check out the Facebook event here.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Giving Ourselves Away In Our Community

An Encounter, we believe that we are most like Jesus when we serve others by giving ourselves away. We can give of our time, our talents, our treasure, but most importantly we must give of ourselves. Giving that does not cost us in some way is not a true sacrifice.

When we stop seeing people as evangelistic targets, when we stop expecting something in return for helping them — it is only then that we can serve people and meet the needs in our community the way Jesus did.

We feel this is one way to be a burning bush — something that catches the attention of a city so they can not only hear the voice of God, but also encounter firsthand His crazy love through us.

ENGAGING CULTURE

Building these types of relationships with individuals and our community is something we call "Engaging Our Culture." We know that once people come in contact with Jesus, they are forever changed. We are not just doing community service, we are serving our community. And that is a big difference. When we serve our community we are pursuing the transformation of a community.

Engaging Culture by building true relationships with others is a lifestyle, not an event. It is something we do in our homes, workplaces, classrooms, pubs, tattoo parlors, and more. We must first live out this lifestyle as individuals, but we also know that there is great value in gathered efforts as well. And that is what Encounter's Community Impact efforts are all about.

A GATHERED IMPACT

Our Community Impact relies partly upon an intentional and coordinated effort of service with others in order to accomplish something significant to change peoples' lives in a positive way. We want to see Encounter Church not as a place we only attend on the weekend, but something we ARE throughout the week.

We have come to understand that we are not "bring Jesus" to people, but that that Jesus is already alive and active in our culture and we want to join Him in what He is doing. While Encounter does initiate some community impact efforts of our own, we are very interested in partnering with other organizations that are already successfully meeting needs in our community. And then we can join in and help make an even deeper impact.

Some of the community organizations we have already served or partnered with are the Helena YWCA, Youth Connections, Helena School System, Elkhorn Rehabilitation Center, St. Peter's Medical Center, Staples, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana. We are continually looking to strategically expand such partnerships.

A CHALLENGE TO YOU

We challenge you to join with us in a monthly gathered effort to change the face of Helena one life at a time. We challenge you to help us fund some of these Community Impact efforts by giving financially to the work Encounter is doing. And finally, we challenge you to sacrifice, to give freely of yourself, and to truly "Be The Change" in Helena.

Monday, August 24, 2009 Awesome, Unboring, Unsucky, Dream Team Meeting - Aug 28

If you are a part of the Encounter Church movement, want to be, or just want to find out more...you need to be here this Friday, August 28!

Momentum is building and we need to gather together to be on the same page. If you want to see a faith community like Encounter in Helena — it's important for every single person to be prepared to serve God in some very real and practical ways. On this Friday from 6:30-8:30pm you will:

• Hear directly about some exciting upcoming news
• Discover How We Can Make A Difference in Helena Together
• Identify Some Immediate Ways You Can Serve
• Sing Some of Your Favorite Songs
• Eat Some Free Pizza

We're holding an awesome, unboring, unsucky, Dream Team Meeting and we want you to be there. If you are on the Launch Team, if you want to find out what that means, or if you just want to check us out, you can join us for some discussion, training, worship, and pizza. Also, we'll have games and videos for the kids during the meeting. We hope to see you this Friday!

WHAT: Encounter Dream Team Meeting
WHO: Those who dare to dream
WHEN: Friday, August 30 @ 6:30pm
WHERE: Powell Home [map/directions]

If you are tired of a dried out "version of Christianity," if you share a desire to see people far from God encounter Jesus in a real life-giving way, if you want to explore a creative, innovative, and fresh way of experiencing authentic relationships with others on your same journey of faith, please join us.

Please RSVP or attend the Facebook Event to let us know how much pizza to order.

Friday, August 21, 2009 EncounterCast 8.21.09: Beyond Beautiful

We're switching things up this week! This week's EncounterCast is coming from the bath and beauty section of a local store here in Helena. This time Andrea talks about the opportunity to make a difference through gift baskets of bath and beauty products for women staying at the YWCA. Read more about it here.

Also join us for the next 36 Parables Discussion at the Staggering Ox where we're examining the short film "Beyond Beautiful." See you at 6:30pm on Tuesday, August 25. Find out more about the discussion here.

View the video above or on YouTube here.

36 Parables Discussion on August 25: Beyond Beautiful

Our Encounter Discussions are about getting out into public spaces and creating a dialogue — a forum of honest communication. They are an intentional way to meet new friends, build relationship, and engage our community in a casual environment. More than that, you'll have some great conversation about life and faith.

ABOUT 36 PARABLES

This discussion series is based on a selection of 36 short films depicting Jesus' parables in real life and modern settings. Considering that Jesus told these stories so that we could relate them to our everyday lives, we believe that Jesus reveals himself through such common experiences, and we can encounter Him in the most unlikely places.

We challenge you to step beyond safe and routine faith and discover for yourself the deep spiritual truths of these often ordinary stories.

THIS WEEK: BEYOND BEAUTIFUL

Have you ever been on a blind date? How could going on a blind date be an exercise of faith and obedience? How common is it that people claim faith, but fail to live it out?

This week we're examining the short film "Beyond Beautiful" based on the Parable of the Two Sons in Matthew 21:28-32. Don't miss this week's discussion at the Staggering Ox this Tuesday, August 25 @ 6:30pm.

JOIN US AND BRING A FRIEND

Each of the five discussions in this series stands on it's own. So even if you're just curious, drop by and bring a friend. Arrive early at 6:00pm and grab a sandwich with us.

Check out the 36 Parables Discussion introduction here.
Check out the Facebook event here.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 YWCA Hospitality Baskets: Another Way to Be The Change

We have all been in a new, unfamiliar place at some time in our lives and it seems that even a small or simple act of kindness from another can make us feel more at home.

Encounter is partnering with the Helena YWCA to help make each new woman's stay at the YWCA easier by giving her a hospitality basket.

We would love to make a difference in the lives of these women by providing materials and assembling these baskets — it's just another tangible way to share the love of Jesus, one life at a time.

We're starting with just 25 baskets. Would you consider "being the change" by contributing items from the following list:

• Shampoo	• Hand or Body Lotions
• Conditioner	• Journal or Daily Planner
• Soap	• Gift Cards ($5, $10)
• Body Wash or Bath Gel	• Taxi Vouchers
• Deodorant

Contact us soon and let us know how you can help.

Sunday, August 16, 2009 36 Parables Discussion on August 18: New Wine in Old Wineskins

Our Encounter Discussions are about getting out into public spaces and creating a dialogue — a forum of honest communication. It is an intentional way to meet new friends, build relationship, and engage our community in a casual environment. More than that, you'll have some great conversation about life and faith.

ABOUT 36 PARABLES

This discussion series is based on a selection of 36 short films depicting Jesus' parables in real life and modern settings. Considering that Jesus told these stories so that we could relate them to our everyday lives, we believe that Jesus reveals himself through such common experiences, and we can encounter Him in the most unlikely places.

We challenge you to step beyond safe and routine faith and discover for yourselve the deep spiritual truths of these often ordinary stories.

THIS WEEK: SPILT MILK

What things do we hang onto in our lives today? In our churches? How do we distinguish the wine from its wineskin?

This week we're watching the short film "Spilt Milk" and then discussing the illustration of putting new wine into old wineskins from Luke 5:36-39. Don't miss this week's discussion at the Staggering Ox this Tuesday, August 18 @ 6:30pm.

JOIN US AND BRING A FRIEND

Each of the five discussions in this series stands on it's own. So even if you're just curious, drop by and bring a friend. Arrive early at 6:00pm and grab a sandwich with us.

Check out the 36 Parables Discussion introduction here.
Check out the Facebook event here.

Thursday, August 13, 2009 Introducing EncounterHelena 2.0

It's been over a year now since we first introduced the Encounter Helena blog. We are excited to unveil the new EncounterHelena 2.0 — a new look and feel for encounterchurchelena.blogspot.com.

WHY THE CHANGE?

With all the momentum Encounter Church has been gaining lately, the amount of news updates and information on the blog has increased two-fold. It's been getting more difficult to find the information you needed.

WHAT'S NEW?

The front page of encounterchurchelena.blogspot.com now highlights some of our featured news with a revolving image gallery, our new introduction video, a number of key article teasers, and a series of great pull-down menus to find out everything you need to know about Encounter.

You can still find the blog under the "Latest News" menu link at the top. All the old articles from the very beginning are still there, but now they have the brand new look.

TELL US, TELL THE WORLD

We would love to hear how you like the new site. Just make a comment to this article, or on tell the world on Facebook and Twitter (there are new fancy links at the bottom of every article to make this easier). Also, we are still taking the plastic wrap off this thing so if you find any glitches, please let us know.

Oh yeah, if you've been going to the old legacy site at encounterhelena.blogspot.com, please switch over to the new URL at encounterchurchelena.blogspot.com today!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Serving Friends at Memorial Park

This last Friday, August 7, we had the opportunity to serve our friends from Blue Cross Blue Shield at Memorial Park.

We hosted employees' families by providing and operating a rock wall, two kids inflatable bouncers, as well as a cotton candy and snow cone booth.

The volunteer team of about ten people from Encounter did an awesome job as well as some volunteers from our Helena sponsor church Big Sky Fellowship.

We see it as just another way to share God's love in tangible way by "being the change" in Helena.

What an awesome way to make a difference, demonstrate God's crazy love in action, and engage our culture! We invite you to to Be The Change in Helena and join us in our next project at Encounter Church.

You can also find some great photos of the effort on Facebook here.

Saturday, August 8, 2009 EncounterCast 8.8.09: Introducing 36 Parables

From the Journey Block in Helena's Great Northern Town Center, this week's EncounterCast introduces the new Encounter Discussion series '36 Parables.' Come join us at 6:30pm on August 11 (and every Tuesday) at the Staggering Ox. More here.

View the video above or on YouTube here.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 New Discussion Series: Introducing '36 Parables' on August 11

Our Encounter Discussions are about getting out into public spaces and creating a dialogue. The weekly discussion is an intentional way to meet new friends, build relationship, and engage our community. More than that, you'll have some great conversation about life and faith.

ABOUT THE NEW SERIES: 36 PARABLES
Parables make us think. They cause us to engage and ask questions. We can look at these stories and determine how we ourselves are changed by them.

Of the 36 parables that Jesus told, we will examine and discuss five of these which have been adapted into short films depicting real life in a modern setting. Consider that Jesus told these stories so that we could relate them to our everyday lives. Jesus reveals himself through such common experiences, and we can encounter Him in the most unlikely places.

So join us. Step beyond safe and routine faith. And discover for yourself the deep spiritual truths in these often ordinary stories.

THE FIRST WEEK: FOUND
Have you ever lost something that, perhaps had little value to others, but had great value to you? What things do we value and why? We'll look at the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic value and why it matters.

Our first week, we will start with the short film "Found" which is an adaptation of the Parable of the Lost Coin in Luke 15:8-10. Don't miss this week's discussion at the Staggering Ox this Tuesday, August 11 @ 6:30pm. You're invited to join us for a weekly short film and discussion response — a forum of honest interaction and exploration.

JOIN US AND BRING A FRIEND
Each week's discussion stands on it's own. So even if you're just curious, drop by and bring a friend. Arrive early at 6:00pm and grab a sandwich with us.

Check out the 36 Parables short film series here.
Check out the Facebook event here.