Raintree - Weekly Email

March 12, 2010

Hello Raintree Friends and Family, What a blessing it is to be a part of the Raintree family. Everywhere I look I see evidence of God working in a mighty way. I watched as Toza and some of her volunteers excelled in the ministry of giving during the weekly benevolence ministry that takes place each Thursday morning. Thursday night I watched as our ladies’ ministry prepared for another successful gathering. This past Sunday night there were 100+ at Raintree PM and 600 for the entire Sunday. By the way, we have had three Sundays with attendance over 600 in the last month. To put that in perspective, previously (in 40 years) only once has Raintree had over 600 at worship on a non-Easter Sunday. Praise God for His faithfulness!

Thanks for taking the time to check out some Raintree news and notes:

Connection Luncheon March 28th
In order to be a member of Raintree we ask you to attend the Connection Luncheon hosted by our staff, elders, and some of our small group leaders. The next installment is scheduled for Sunday, March 28th from 12:45-3:00pm in our family life center!

Even if you’re not sure that you’re ready to place membership, but you want more information to help you decide one way or the other, I encourage you to attend this luncheon. While you are not obligated to place membership if you come, it is a gathering we expect all of our new members to attend eventually. So you might as well join us for a good meal and discussion to find out who we are as a church, what we believe and what we expect of our members.

If you want to come, please RSVP by e-mailing Sheldon at sdevries@raintreechristian.org or simply write RSVP Connection Luncheon on your communication card. When you RSVP, please let us know how many adults and children will be in attendance so we can prepare enough food and have adequate childcare planned.

Groups on Spring Break
Because the spring cycle is so long and so many of our regulars are traveling during spring break, our small group leaders have been encouraged to take a break the week of the 14th through the 21st. Check with your small group leader to know for sure the plans of your group.

If you don’t yet have a group, I encourage you to find a group after the 21st. You can find addresses and phone numbers/e-mails of our group leaders and hosts on the small group board in the lobby. Our small groups generally discuss the themes from our Sunday morning messages. If you would like a deeper dive on these themes; if you would like to be encouraged; if you are looking for partners in your discipleship journey—find a group! J

There is a New Doctor in the House!
Sheldon successfully defended his doctoral dissertation/project at AbileneChristianUniversity on Thursday. Sheldon’s DMin project focused on our plans to develop better leaders here at Raintree. I look forward to watching the fruit of all of his labor. Congratulations—Dr. Devries! Be sure to congratulate him on his accomplishment this Sunday.

Viewer Discretion Advised—March 21st
We wanted to give all of our parents a heads up about sermons that will be delivered on March 21st in all four assemblies. While we normally love having the involvement of our children with their parents in the services, this may be a week you want to prayerfully reconsider depending on the age/maturity of your children. We will be watching some of the crucifixion scenes from the “Passion of the Christ” in the morning services. The entire crucifixion scene will be shown in the PM service.

As parents of a 12 and 10 year old, my wife and I have been discussing when our children will be able to handle the brutal reality of Christ’s crucifixion as depicted in this powerful movie. I think we have decided this Easter season was going to be the year. That said, every child is different and every parent must make the best decision for their own children. I just wanted everyone to have at least one week’s notice.

Information Update Again this SundayIf you didn’t last week, don’t forget to check/update your information in our directory this weekend. Toza will be in the lobby with copies of our directory.

Grace and Peace,

Brent

Brent E. McCall, Ph.D.

Senior Minister

Rain Down My Righteousness... Is. 45:8

3601 82nd Street

Lubbock, TX 79423

806-785-PRAY

www.raintreechristian.org

Welcome to our Newest Family Members
The following families have placed membership here at Raintree. When you see them, make them feel welcome. For those of you who are interested in membership, be looking for the announcements for the next installment of the Connection luncheon in a few weeks.

Evan Brown