Thursday, April 30, 2009 All Are Invited to a Game Night Social!

ABOUT THE GAME NIGHT
Everyone is invited this Tuesday, May 5 @ 6:45pm to a social gathering and game night (i.e. Killer Bunnies, Apples to Apples, etc.) Bring a game and a friend, as well as some pop or snacks to share.

It doesn't matter if you have attended the discussions or not, you and your friends are invited. We'll be meeting at the Powell Home on Tuesday, May 5 @ 6:45pm. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments or visit the Facebook event listing here.

ABOUT THE DISCUSSION
We capped off the They Like Jesus But Not The Church discussion nights last week, so no discussion this week. We're already planning a new series of discussions so stay tuned for more info.

Monday, April 27, 2009 Discussion 6 on April 28: Are Christians Fundamentalists Who Take the Whole Bible Literally?

Join us this Tuesday, April 28 @ 6:30pm at the Staggering Ox for our sixth discussion night. Come early at 6:00pm if you want to enjoy a sandwich with us before the discussion.

To review, we've been going through six of the most common objections and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church. See our previous posts for more.

We are intentionally getting out into a public space — among those with whom we hope to create a dialogue — and using the opportunity to create a forum of open and honest communication and dialogue. You don't have to attend every session to get something out of the discussion. So even if you're just curious, feel free to drop by and bring a friend.

This Tuesday, we will take in two DVD segments and discuss "Are Christians Fundamentalists Who Take the Whole Bible Literally?"

Contact us if you want to know more.

Also, we will talk a little more tonight about our new discussion series and will be planning another game night for next Tuesday. W00-hoo!

Monday, April 20, 2009 How to Avoid Social Encounters With Church People

We've been getting some search engine hits at encounterhelena.org from people trying to find out "How to Avoid Social Encounters With Church People."

I typed it into Google myself and the Encounter Helena blog came up second. Who would have thought?

I'm not surprised, really. One major obstacle to people encountering Jesus is Christians themselves (see They Like Jesus But Not The Church).

At Encounter, we want to free people to encounter Jesus instead of building walls and creating obstacles. We want to be a "burning bush" — something extraordinary that catches peoples' attention and draws them in — so that they can hear the voice of God.

We believe that in order to reach people that no one is reaching, you have to do something that no one is doing. Yes, it's dangerous. But Jesus didn't die to make us safe, He died to make us dangerous!

So just as we seek to engage our culture by developing real, authentic, and trusting friendships with others — I am pleased that when people are trying to "avoid social encounters with church people" they might find us.

Discussion 5 on April 21: Do Christians Arrogantly Think All Other Religions Are Wrong?

Join us this Tuesday, April 21 @ 6:30pm at the Staggering Ox for our fifth discussion night. Come early at 6:00pm if you want to enjoy a sandwich with us before the discussion.

To review, we've been going through six of the most common objections and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church. See our previous posts for more.

We are intentionally getting out into a public space — among those with whom we hope to create a dialogue — and using the opportunity to create a forum of open and honest communication and dialogue. You don't have to attend every session to get something out of the discussion. So even if you're just curious, feel free to drop by and bring a friend.

This next Tuesday, we will take in two DVD segments and discuss "Do Christians Arrogantly Think All Other Religions Are Wrong?"

Contact us if you want to know more.

Sunday, April 12, 2009 Servolution in Helena on CBS News

On Good Friday, April 10, KXLH aired our interview about Servolution in Helena on the local CBS News. You can find the online CBS article and photos here. While I was originally disappointed with the interview, I have come to realize that the main idea of "Servolution" came across. We are very grateful to KXLH for helping us get the word out.

There were just a couple of details we wanted to clarify:

• Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the originator of the global Servolution.
• Encounter Church organized the effort here in Helena, Montana.
  
• We collected donations and assembled gift baskets for the workers and volunteers of Elhorn, St. Peter's Hospital, and Broadwater Elementary. We didn't exactly volunteer at these organizations as mentioned in the report.
• I'm also pretty sure I never used the phrase "Pay It Forward" :-)

Thursday, April 9, 2009 The 7 Days of Servolution Story In Helena

Thousands and thousands of people all over the world been reached through Servolution this past week. At Encounter Church, we are proud that we were are part of it, by organizing the effort here in Helena.

CHANGING THE WORLD — ONE PERSON AT A TIME
Whether we handed out free lollipops, delivered gift baskets, or washed storefronts downtown, the response was often the same — disbelief. It was hard for people to grasp that we were serving them for free with no strings attached. At the same time, once people understood and heard about the idea behind Servolution, they were receptive.

SERVOLUTION ON CBS IN HELENA
One business owner was so excited, she called the local TV news. As a result, we were interviewed about the 7 Days of Servolution in Helena today at the walking mall. You can look for the news cast this Good Friday, April 10 at 5:30 and 10:00pm on the CBS News in Helena.

WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS?
While numbers are not the goal of the Servolution in Helena, they certainly do tell a story. We had 21 volunteers participate in Servolution and directly reached a minimum of 212 people, but I suspect we reached many more indirectly — all while sharing God's love through simple acts of kindness.

There were 5 organized efforts. Three gift baskets were delivered to workers and volunteers who serve our community. Downtown, we served our community as windows were washed, trash was cleaned up, and 115 Tootsie Pops were given out for free.

All in all, we gave away nearly 800 free items that were donated by Servolution volunteers. What an awesome way to bless individuals in our community! We just want to say thank you to all who donated and served this week.

THE HEART OF JESUS
As you may know, we at Encounter Church want to free people to encounter Jesus. The most important way people can do that is through us as we reflect His heart and passion in our own lives. As my friend David Timms recently wrote, Jesus has a passion for serving others and encouraging them to do the same...

In the middle of that first Holy Week — as the cross loomed — Jesus gathered His disciples together, took up a towel and basin, and washed their feet. Then he urged them to do likewise, not just for each other but for the blistered, bruised, deformed, and dirty feet of the world. They would serve the broken and the beaten, the disillusioned and the defeated, the hurt and the humbled, not to demonstrate obedience but to define their life’s vocation and purpose.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS
View a slideshow of Servolution photos here.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Discussion 4 on April 14: Is The Church Homophobic?

Join us this Tuesday, April 14 @ 6:30pm at the Staggering Ox for our fourth discussion night – and probably our most controversial. Come early if you want to enjoy a sandwich with us before the discussion.

To review, we've been going through six of the most common objections and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church. See our previous posts for more.

Too often, the responses Christians communicate to others actually end dialogue and close our opportunity to learn from each other. Our ultimate goal here is to create a forum of open and honest communication and dialogue.

Again, we're pretty excited about getting out of our homes and out into the public – among those with whom we hope to create a dialogue. This next Tuesday, we will take in two DVD segments and discuss "Is The Church Homophobic?"

So even if you're just curious, feel free to drop by and bring a friend. You don't have to attend every session to get something out of the discussion.

Contact us if you want to know more.