Saturday, January 30, 2010 Encounter LifeGroup @ The Powells - February 5 @ 7pm

Join us for our next Encounter LifeGroup. Our next meeting will be at the Powell home this Friday, February 5 @ 7pm.

An Encounter LifeGroup is a small group of six to eight people who gather regularly for spiritual growth, life encouragement, and support. It's a safe place to ask tough questions and build lasting friendships in an environment with others like you.

THE PURPLE BOOK

We are going through The Purple Book to form a foundation that no storm can demolish, and a heart that is formed and guided by truly knowing and following Jesus.

This time, we are discussing the first chapter The Purple Book — Sin & Salvation. It takes just 15 minutes a day to cover those first five lessons. If you haven't picked up the book, you should soon. They are $6.99 at Cornerstone Christian Bookstore.

If you just want to check out the LifeGroup, don't worry. Come join us, participate in the conversation. You can always get the book later.

WHAT: Encounter LifeGroup @ The Powells
WHEN: Friday, February 5, 2010 @ 7pm
WHERE: Powell Home [map/directions]

Snacks will be provided. There will be Wii and board games for the kids. So kids are welcome, but there will be no child care.

Please RSVP on Facebook here

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 Awesome & Unsucky Big Game Party! Super Bowl Sunday

Come join us on Super Bowl Sunday for an amazingly unsucky and unboring party. We'll all bring our favorite snacks, video games, board games, and card games to work up the competitive spirit for the Big Game!

It'll be a time to relax, get together with friends, and make new ones. And when it's time for the big game, we'll watch it in 1080p HD on a 42" LCD screen. Right on! Cool! Groovy! Sweet! Bodacious!

So consider yourself invited to a day of fun and friends. Whether you are a die hard fan or not, there will be a good time 
for all ages. Bring a friends and snacks/pop to share.

WHAT: Big Game Party!
WHEN: Sunday, February 7, 2010 @ 2:30pm+
WHERE: Powell Home [map/directions]
BRING: Snacks/Pop to Share, Games. Friends

RSVP at the Facebook event here.

Friday Night FWD: 01-29 Afterburn

Last Friday's Friday Night FWD was off the hook! It was great to connect with friends and make new ones in an atmosphere where people can just be themselves.

About The Evening

We just topped last time's attendance breaking the 30 number! Including a bunch of kids enjoying the worship time.

This was the band's first time playing Starfield's Remain and the upbeat Encounter favorite I Will Go was also a favorite. If you would like to get involved as a musician or artist, let us know if you want to get involved.

We are continuing the "Follow" series trying to better understand who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. This week we looked at Matthew 4:18-23 and how Jesus invited four disciples to drop everything and follow Him. He invited them to join Him in God's purpose and He still invites us today to follow. It was a great discussion with lots of insightful input from the group.

The Excitement Builds

We are so excited about the momentum that is forming and are getting closer to announcing an official public launch date soon. If you want to be involved in something bigger than yourself, if you want to help create a movement to connect people with Jesus in a tangible way, if you want to make a significant impact in Helena helping create a place for those who do not connect with traditional church — now is the time to get involved in our core launch team or use your gifts as part of a volunteer team.

Don't Miss Out!

Our next gathering will be Friday, February 12 @ 7pm, but we have a number of other events going on between now and then. Check out the calendar for more.

We played around with shooting some video footage this time and most of it turned out too dark. But we did pull a couple of frames as photos below.

Monday, January 25, 2010 Friday Night FWD - Friday, January 29 @ 7pm

Friday Night FWD, has been awesome! And here is your opportunity to check it out! Come join us Friday, January 29 at 7pm.

What Is It About?

FWD is an opportunity to connect with friends in a casual atmosphere where you can be yourself. There's some great music and real, authentic group discussion about life and faith.

What's Gonna Happen?

We start by getting acquainted over coffee and snacks. Then we continue with a great band; a little edgy and a little loud. Finally, we get into a great spiritual discussion. We'll continue in our first series about "Following Jesus". This time we'll look at Jesus' invitation for people to take on His mission and purpose in "Invited: Drop & Go." How does Jesus invite people to follow Him today? How do we know Him better and hang tighter with Him?

You Can Help

Help us keep on the lookout for different musicians who might want to get involved one or more weeks. We want to keep it fresh with some variety. And of course, it would be sweet if you would invite some friends, let people know about it, and personally you don't wanna miss it yourself! You can click on the image for a JPG or download a PDF flyer here.

This Time's Location

We will meet again at at the Big Sky facilities at 8181 Avocet Drive. Don't know where that is? Go North on Montana Avenue PAST Bob's Valley Market at Lincoln. Then go about two more miles North and TURN LEFT on Avian Road. Make one more quick left and you are there. Look for the signs at Bob's and Avian.

View the video above or on YouTube here.

More about Friday Night FWD here
RSVP on Facebook here

Serving at God's Love - Afterburn

What a great turnout yesterday at God's Love Homeless Shelter! About 12 people arrived to help prepare a Scalloped Macaroni & Ham dish for those staying at God's Love.

It was crowded — a real case of "too many cooks in the kitchen." So several of us found ways to talk to and encourage those stating at the shelter as well as root on our favorite football team (insert Colts or Jets here).

As usual for God's Love, a line began to form about 4pm and we prayed for the meal as a group. We served up around 80 helpings of the Scalloped Macaroni dish and still have some left over to serve another lunch meal this week.

We just want to thank those who came out to help and to make a difference in our community. Thanks to Aaron McNay for heading up the "chef" duties and those that purchased items for the day. We also want to thank Vann's Thriftway for donating near half the food items for the recipe.

We invite you to Be The Change in Helena and join us at Encounter in our next project to serve the Helena community.

You can find all the great photos on Facebook here.
Check out a Picasa slideshow here.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 Serving at God's Love: Can You Donate?

I mentioned earlier this week about serving at God's Love Homeless Shelter (read here). We'll be preparing a meal and serving from 80 to 100 people this Sunday, January 24 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. You are welcome to join us.

CAN YOU DONATE?

We are now collecting donations for the needed food items. I've divided the ingredients into $15 to $25 packages. If you can donate either money or a package listed, please contact us immediately.

PACKAGE 1 - About $15
125 oz (7.8 lbs) - Dried Elbow Macaroni

PACKAGE 2 - About $13
6.5 cups (6 onions) - Chopped Onions
75 tablespoons (3 packages of 16 oz each) – Butter

PACKAGE 3 - About $15
50 tablespoons (2 lbs or 3.5 cups) - All-purpose Flour
6.5 cups - Crushed Basil
3 teaspoons - Pepper

PACKAGE 4 - About $13
37.5 cups (2.5 gallons) - Milk
12.5 cups - Soft Bread Crumbs

PACKAGE 5 - About $15
12.5 cups - Frozen Corn

PACKAGE 6 - About $25
5 lbs - Cubed Ham

UPDATE 1-22: Looks like everything is covered. A huge shout out to Van's Thriftway for a great donation of food for Sunday's effort. Also, a couple of individuals really stepped up. Thanks so much!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Update on Haiti

Wanted to give you a quick update on the Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts. Right now, the most urgent need for organizations is money. And there are a number of great organizations out there that are taking donations. One such organization brought to my attention is BGR. You can read more about them here.

Again, our choice to partner with Samaritan's Purse rests upon the desire of a quick response. Samaritan’s Purse has been on the ground and meeting the needs of people since the beginning.

To find out all they are already doing (as of last Friday), download their PDF update here.




If you have not already donated at least $5 or $10, we urge you to help by skipping your Starbucks this morning. The devastation and chaos is heartbreaking and you can make a difference.

To donate to Samaritan's Purse, click the button below.

Monday, January 18, 2010 Be The Change! Serve at God's Love this Sunday

We've mentioned before that we believe it is important to give ourselves away in our community. We want to be the change by sharing God's crazy love in real and tangible ways. So this Sunday, January 24, a group from Encounter will be serving a free meal to residents of God’s Love Homeless Shelter here in downtown Helena.

VOLUNTEER TO HELP

On Sunday, we need people to prepare food, serve food, and just be an encouragement to those receiving assistance from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. During this week, we'll need people to pick up some of the materials and food we need. Here is a preliminary list, but it will be updated when more details are known.

• Cooks	• Beverages
• Food Preparers	• Foam Plates / Bowls
• Food Servers	• Plastic Silverware
• Encouragers	• Napkins
• Recipe Ingredients	• Napkins
• Side Veggies	• Cups

MORE DETAILS TO COME

If you can help with this effort, or even financially, let us know soon. I will be sending more details to those who contact me and from the discussion at Friday Night FWD. (UPDATE: Check out what we need here.)

WHAT: Serving @ God's Love Homeless Shelter
WHEN: Sunday, January 24, 2010 @ 2:30-5:30pm
WHERE: God's Love [map/directions]

RSVP on Facebook here

Announcing our First Encounter LifeGroup

Join us at the Powell home for our new Encounter LifeGroup. Our first meeting will be this Friday, January 22 @ 7pm.

An Encounter LifeGroup is a small group of six to eight people who gather regularly for spiritual growth, life encouragement, and support. It's a safe place to ask tough questions and build lasting friendships in an environment with others like you.

This week we'll be discussing some of the ongoing progress of Encounter as well as kicking off a study of the basics of what it means to follow Jesus.

WHAT: Encounter LifeGroup @ The Powells
WHEN: Friday, January 22, 2010 @ 7pm
WHERE: Powell Home [map/directions]

Snacks will be provided. There will be video and board games for the kids. So kids are welcome, but there will be no child care.

Please RSVP on Facebook here

Friday Night FWD: 01-15 Afterburn

Last Friday's Friday Night FWD was another great opportunity to connect with new friends in a casual atmosphere with great worship and real discussion about life and faith.

This week we had another great crowd — even more for our second gathering - almost 30! We'd love to see you here next time if you didn't make it.

We had some great worship again — a little edgy and a little loud. My personal favorite was Hillsong United's From The Inside Out. We are looking for a variety of different musicians and leaders from time to time, so let us know if you want to get involved.

As we're going through what it means to follow Jesus, we've realized that we must better know who He is. So this week we talked about what Jesus announced His purpose would be from Luke 4:16-21. We also talked about what it means to us. Are we tied into His vision and purpose? And why?

We didn't get a lot of good photos this time, but you can check out the photos from last time here.

Our next gathering will be Friday, January 29 @ 7pm, but we have a number of other events going on between now and then. Check out the calendar for more.

Friday, January 15, 2010 Help for Haiti Earthquake Victims

You can't have missed that a massive, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, January 12th. While we have been watcing this story unfold, I cannot fathom the destruction and chaos that has ensued.

The damage to buildings is extensive and the number of injured or dead is estimated to be in the hundreds, even thousands - over two million people live in and have been affected in Pot-au-Prince alone.

Check out some of these photos coming out of Haiti. WARNING: they are heartbreaking and graphic.

Nearly three days later some organizations are still assessing the situation and some are implying how God's wrath brought this on. We at Encounter believe that action is required because — simply, love is a verb.

This is why I have been impressed with organizations like Samaritan's Purse and World Vision. It is also why Encounter will be partnering with Samaritan's Purse taking our part in helping the quake victims. Samaritan's Purse workers and volunteers are already on the ground and making a difference in Haiti. And that makes all the difference.



Watch the video above or on YouTube here.

Right now, the best we can do is to pray and help financially. I personally encourage you to make a difference and to remember that sometimes, love is measured in dollars. Click the button below to go to the Samaritan's Purse donation page.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 EncounterCast 1.12.10: Friday Night FWD

This EncounterCast, Eric invites you to Friday Night FWD on January 15 @ 7pm. Go North on Montana Ave and turn left on Avian (1.5 miles North of Bob's Market). Look for the banner. You don't want to miss it!

View the video above or on YouTube here.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 Friday Night FWD - Friday, January 15 @ 7pm

You may have missed our last Friday Night FWD, but here is your opportunity to check it out! Come join us Friday, January 15 at 7pm.

You've seen the posters around town. Maybe even a friend told you or gave you a flyer. Or maybe you came last time and want more awesome music and spiritual growth.

What Is It About?

It's an opportunity to connect with friends in a casual atmosphere where you can be yourself. There's some great music and real, authentic group discussion about life and faith.

What's Gonna Happen?

We start by getting acquainted over coffee and snacks. Then we continue with a great band; a little edgy and a little loud. Finally, we get into a great spiritual discussion. Now at Encounter, we're just a group of people who are struggling and learning together what it means to follow Jesus, so that's what our first series of topics revolve around: "Walking in the Rhythm."

This time we'll focus on "The Opening Promise & Purpose of Jesus?" We'll look at what Jesus said His purpose was - how it translates into both a promise for us and a challenge for all seeking to follow Him.

You Can Help

We need your helping in getting the word out about Friday Night FWD. You can also help us keep on the lookout for different musicians who might want to get involved one or more weeks. We want to keep it fresh with some variety. And of course, it would be sweet if you would invite some friends, let people know about it, and personally you don't wanna miss it yourself! You can click on the image for a JPG or download a PDF flyer here.

This Time's Location

We will meet again at at the Big Sky facilities at 8181 Avocet Drive. Don't know where that is? Go North on Montana Avenue PAST Bob's Valley Market at Lincoln. Then go about two more miles North and TURN LEFT on Avian Road. Make one more quick left and you are there. Look for the signs at Bob's and Avian.

More about Friday Night FWD here
RSVP on Facebook here