What a Great Day on Sunday!!!

So we finished our "Take Me out to the Ballgame" Series on Sunday and it was an amazing day to say the least! All I can say is I hope you didn't miss it! We had over 650 people in church, in the middle of summer, which is amazing! There were several dozen 1st, 2nd and 3rd time attenders there. We had 7 people commit their lives to the Lord! Some of the highlights of the day were:

• Luke and Sandy Walters. They are two of our missionaries that we support from Sri Lanka. It was great to hear Luke share his heart for Sri Lanka and that part of the world. He also shared about a piece of property they have acquired that will become a hub for missions teams from the United States in the future! Sarah and I got to spend Sunday evening with them at our house and it was great to tell stories and laugh and connect with 2 people God is using mightily across the globe! Click here to go to their website.


• Our 1st ever NLC Tail Gate Party. We had a beautiful and sunny day for our tail gate party that was an absolute blast! It was so fun to see several hundred Next Levelites get creative for their tail gates. Everything from playstations in the back of SUV's to Baseball cakes and cookies. Swimming pools, BBQ Smokers, Tents, and a Winnabego! Are you kiddin' me? You guys pulled out all the stops! That was just awesome.


• Missy the Miracle. Yes, she was there for the give away of the prizes from our drawings! I have to admit this is the only church I've ever been in who actually had a "Baseball Mascot" on stage. Unprecedented, baby!


• Throwing out the first pitch. I got to throw out my first pitch ever. It was great! I was a bit nervous, but definitely in the zone and in the moment as I took the mound. I had one goal: Don't throw it in the dirt. So I threw a high fast ball (& when I say fast ball, I mean a straight pitch with very little arch) that was right over the plate. Yes!!!


• Lindsay singing the National Anthem. I was so proud of Lindsay as she sang the national anthem. She did a great job. (Even if she did have to look at the words that she had typed out earlier in the day!!!)


• The presence of God in our Sunday morning service. It was great to see God moving on people as I talked about being set free from "Rules" and living in a true "Relationship" with Jesus Christ! If you missed the message, you can click the link on the right of my blog and listen.

I am so thankful to the marketing team and so many dozens of faithful people who catch the vision for a series like this and are willing to sacrifice and be used by God to see lives changed for eternity. I am so proud to be a part of a church like this.

Thanks for letting me be your pastor,

Matt