Dear Parents,

                 I hope you all had a good time at the Mexican Fiesta as we celebrated our children’s academic advancement into the next grade level, I know I did!  I wanted to take a moment and send out the information letter to you about the month of September so that you will know important dates and information about what we are doing.  Please visit our website, www.cccmfamily.com for pictures and photos

 Youth Group Dates for September:

August 29^th – Normal Youth Group at the church from 5pm to 6:30pm  – RAID 6:30-8pm at McDonalds (Exit 42)
September 5^th  – No Youth Group on this night, It’s Labor Day Weekend!  I’m out of town
September 12^th  – Normal Youth Group at the church from 5pm to 6:30pm
September 19^th  – Normal Youth Group at the church from 5pm to 6:30pm
September 26^th  – Normal Youth Group at the church from 5pm to 6:30pm – RAID 6:30-8pm at Burger King (Corner of Williamson and Brawley)

Youth Sermon for September:

This month, we will be looking at 4 tools (school supplies) that are essential to making the most of their time at school and we are calling this series “Back to School”.  This series fits just as well with Middle School as it does with High School, and the students will learn to use these tools, biblically and effectively.  We will be using the movie “Back to School” starring Rodney Dangerfield from 1986 to help illustrate some points.  As we focus on the tools: Forgiveness, Acceptance, Service, Encouragement, we will see that applying these to our time at school will help us to have the best possible time and get the most out of it.  The movie “Back to School” is rated PG-13.  We will not be showing the entire movie, but only clips that are age appropriate.

For a review of the movie:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9a0de3df1e3ef930a25755c0a960948260

Youth Small Groups for September:

Both the girls and the guys small groups will continue to meet through the month of September, each Wednesday from 6:30pm to 8pm.  Doug Waldo is leading the boys group and Meg Samuels is leading the girls group.  Guys meet at Doug Waldo’s house, and girls meet at Meg Samuel’s house.  If you have any questions about locations, directions or anything else, please feel free to contact myself, Doug or Meg.  As the youth group continues to grow, we will be looking at forming more Youth Small Groups.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping, or hosting.

Youth Drive-Thru for September on Sunday mornings:

Starting August 29^th, at 9:15am, I will be leading our new Sunday Morning Series called “FUEL” at the Drive-Thru.  This is held in the youth modular and is for all youth, 6^th to 12^th grade.  This is a great way to get more “meat” from a bible study.  We will be looking at the Bible starting with the New Testament and going straight through.  This series includes incredible discussion time, videos of nationally known speakers, and Bible truths that we can apply.  This time is a more series, discussion led time for teens to really focus on worship through study.  More information to come!

Youth September Events:

This month we will have two opportunities to get together as a group.   The first time we have to get together is going to be on Friday, September 17^th.  The bowling alley here in Mooresville (close to target) has midnight bowling with blacklights and it’s a lot of fun.  We will rent a couple of lanes and have a great time together.  The cost should be about $10.00 for the shoes and game.  Extra if you want snacks.  More information will be coming out soon.

The second is going to be on Friday, September 24^th at the Mooresville High School Football Game.  Even if your student doesn’t attend MHS, we are all getting together to go and support the youth that take part in the marching band and the dance teams.  It should be a fun time to hang out and support other youth.

Please be sure to visit our family ministry website for information, pictures from all events, a calendar, and please feel free to contact me personally if you ever have any questions, comments, concerns, or would like to help out with the youth!

Thankful for YOUth!
Gary

Dear family,

I am so very excited about our promotion Sunday celebration this year!  On August 22nd, (last Sunday before school starts) we will have our annual Promotion Sunday in which we celebrate with the kids of CCCM as they move into their new classes at school and here at CCCM.

If you remember, last year was the county fair, and the year before that the Hoedown, and the Luau before that.  Well, in keeping with tradition, this fellowship is themed as well.  This year we are going to have a MEXICAN FIESTA!  We are working on some really cool activities and fun for the WHOLE family.  This is for everyone, all ages!  The WHOLE family is invited and expected!!!! Bring a lawn chair and a blanket to sit on.

This is an INVITE event because we want you to feel free to reach out to that neighbor across the street that you’ve been meaning to invite, or perhaps it’s one of your relatives that lives close by.  In any case, we would love for you to invite them to this event so that we can celebrate as a church, and as a family!

This is also an EMPOWER event because to make something like this happen for 200 people, it takes a few people willing to help.  This year we have a few specific needs and if you want to be a part of something incredible, let me know, I will list some items below.

We are asking each family to bring one Mexican dish.  We will provide a taco bar and a nacho bar (yeah! No hotdogs and hamburgers!), so we are relying on each family to bring something else to go with those.  Perhaps you could bring some refried beans, or some Mexican rice, or maybe you have some other enchilada dish you like to make?  But each family is asked to bring one dish to share.

This year we will be having two specific contests.  The first is a salsa making contest.   We will be judging on hottest, best tasting, and most original.  Each winner will receive a prize!  The second contest we will have is a pepper eating contest.  We will start with very mild peppers and each round increase the heat.  Who ever goes the distance will also win a prize.

We are planning on several activities for ALL ages.  There are just too many to list, but please consider being a helper this year!  The list below is just a start, but I’m sure there will be other items that come up.  Please let me know if you can help!

We need:

Families/people that will make taco meat for the taco and nacho bar, meat and taco mix provided.

Families/people that have crock pots to keep the meat warm in during the fiesta

Families/People that will help prepare the taco/nacho fixings (lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, etc)

Families/People that will help to give out snow cones to people.

Families/People that will help watch bouncies.

Families/People that will help run the Pinata area.

Families/People that will help setup before hand

Families/People that will help tear down/cleanup afterwards.

Our church family is so awesome!

Gary

This coming Monday is our annual Youth Day at the Lake from 10am to 8pm.  We will have a cookout, and some awesome water activities for the youth.  This is a youth event, but the youth’s whole family is invited, even siblings!  Check out the downloads section up top for the family permission form, and there is more info below. 

WHO:  All Youth and their families
WHAT:  Youth Day at the Lake
WHEN:  August 2nd, 10am to 8pm (Monday)
WHERE:  3662 Gordon St, Terrell, NC  The Gooding’s House
WHY:  INVITE!
COST:  FREE!!!!

Please join us for our annual “Day at the lake” for the Youth and their families.  We will have boats, rope swings, swimming, and bunches more for everyone’s enjoyment and we will finish out the day by having a family cookout together.  Everything is provided, just bring a swimsuit, sunscreen, towel and a great attitude!

Hello everyone!

     We are getting all prepared for camp next week.  We are taking 31 teenagers and 8 adults to Lifeway’s Centrifuge camp at North Greenville College in Greenville, SC.  This is going to be our 3 trip to this particular location and our 5 camp as a church.  Can you believe that our first year we took just 6 teens and 4 years later we are taking 31!!!!  I can’t wait to see how God moves in their lives and what He’s going to teach all of us!

     Also, we just finished an incredible weekend for the Family Ministry here at CCCM.  On Saturday we had between 30 and 40 kids show up for our annual Kid’s Day at the Pool!  Pics are posted under the “Kid’s Photos” gallery at the top!  On Sunday, 23 of the teens got together to learn about messy lives, and finished the night with an all out food fight.  If you have a strong stomach, check out the pics above under “Youth Photos” album.

May God Bless you this week, and speak to you individually!
Gary

Welcome to the new and improved CCCM Family Website.  Over the next couple of weeks, we will be adding a lot of information, re-designing the site and updating the information already available.  While this process is happening, parts of the site may become unavailable.  If you need any information or would like to speak with someone, please contact our church offices.

Gary Griffin, Family Pastor
CCCM 704-663-2946

      This event is absolutely free to all children who have graduated kindergarten up to graduated fifth graders.  We strongly suggest pre-registering your child because we can only hold a certain number of spots and we don’t want your child to miss out on this exciting adventure.  You can register by calling our church office at 704-663-2946. 

For more information about Christ Community Church, visit our home website at http://www.cccmooresville.com

The Winning Team is the RED TEAM!

Thanks to all who participated in our 3rd annual Digital Photo Scavenger Hunt this past Sunday. Thanks especially to the adult drivers! The winning team with exactly 800 points from 28 different photos is the RED TEAM as seen above! They each get $10 bucks for putting in such a great effort. I can tell you that it was definitely NOT a shut out! The other teams did great too and all photos will be posted very soon here in the galleries!

Yellow Team – 25 Photos – 740 Points
Blue Team – 22 Photos – 680 Points
Green Team – 19 Photos – 660 Points
Orange Team – 24 Photos – 650 Points

Everyone should be extremely proud of the job they accomplished! This was a hard hunt and you guys all didi FANTASTIC! Plus, you made new friends and had a great time!

Gary

Yep, that’s what I was asking at the Steak n Shake on South Blvd on Friday night. We took a group of teens to the Pineville Ice House and we stopped by the Steak n Shake for a quick milkshake. I took a bunch of pictures of the teens eating and put my camera back in my camera bag. This bag contains three cameras, several rechargable batteries for the video camera and some memory cards.

So at the end of dinner we all went up front. I set my camera bag on the counter right beside the register and helped get all the teens checked out. I paid the remainder of the bill and we left for the Ice House. OH NO! When we got to the ice house (5 minutes away), I realized I left the camera bag at the Steak n Shake on the counter beside the manager. One of the adults hopped into the van and took off.

Too late, evidently. 15 minutes since i walked out the door, the camera bag had been stolen. I even went back, walked all around the outside, in the trash cans, talked to the manager, and employees and even asked several of the people eating. The best I could get from the manager was a group came up and paid right after we left and they could have taken it. They were the only group to have paid and left since we were there.

At first I was angry, thinking, whoever took this KNEW that we were a church group. They saw me take the pictures of the youth, and they probably saw me put the bag down and leave it. Then I felt guilty because it was honestly my fault for leaving the bag. Had I been more responsible, I would have remembered and taken the bag. Then I felt anxious. That bag held about $350.00 worth of camera equipment in it and now it’s GONE, G – O – N – E, GONE!

As I gave my devotion, it was on Jesus having expensive perfume rubbed on his feet and the “price” that it was worth. The disciples argued that it was a complete waste. As I started to explain to the youth that our relationships are so very valuable, especially our relationship with Christ, it started to dawn on me that maybe there is a message in there for this situation.

Am I bummed that our cameras are gone? YES Did I learn to hold on to things better? YES Do I regret going on this event and taking the teens? NO Although it cost more than I had expected, and it seems like we lost out in the long run, friendships were forged, relationships were built, and the Word of God was heard by over 20 teens. If I had to lose my cameras for that to happen again, would I do it? YES, In a heartbeat.

Gary

Hello Parents!

     You will be happy to know that we are adding new security policies and procedures to our children’s areas on Sunday morning.  Your child’s safety is one of our top priorities and as we get ready to move into a new facility we want all families to feel safe and comfortable leaving their children with us. 

     Starting February 7th, each worker in children’s ministry will wear a name badge lanyard indicating who they are and which area they work in.  This should help you to identify who to ask for assistance and to help know who is investing in your child’s spiritual growth.

     In addition to the name badges, we are also starting a new check in policy.  In each of the three areas, there will be a new nametag sticker.  This sticker allows you to put your name, your child’s name, allergies, or any other important information that we need to know.  The sticker goes on the back of your child and the rest stays with you.  Your stub will match a number on the sticker.  You must present your stub in order to get your child.

     We really appreciate your help as we continually stive to improve your child’s safety and the overall experience.  if you have any questiones, please do not hesitate to ask!

Gary

Well, today was an awesome day.  I got to hang out with both kids and youth during out annual Drop-n-Shop.  The families of CCCM had the opportunity to bring their kids in and have the youth provide childcare.

What an incredible time that the youth could invest in the younger kids lives and it’s safe to say that eveyrone had a great time.  Thanks to all the teen volunteers that gave their Saturday to help out!

Gary

PS, Pictures have been posted under the “Kids Photo Album” at the top.