CIY Believe 2020

This weekend, we took 8 Jr. High students to Northern Kentucky University to participate in CIY Believe: a retreat designed specifically to help Jr. High students connect to God. The theme this weekend was “Contact”, and our focus was on prayer and contact with God.

“But what is Believe?” you may be asking?

Imagine the sights and sounds (and smells) of a basketball arena packed with a couple thousand preteens and concert grade audio-visual, talented musicians playing upbeat worship, a respected leader in the field of Jr. High ministry as the main speaker, an emcee who also happens to be a skilled rapper, and an internet famous juggler/entertainer with millions of social media followers.

Sounds awesome, right?

Trust me, it was.

Beyond all the lights and excitement, the content of the weekend is what holds the most value. Five sessions in under 24 hours helped teach our students what prayer is and why it matters. Through engaging and exciting lessons they learned that prayer is powerful and personal because God is powerful and personal, that they can talk to God at any time because He is always listening, and some methods of how to pray.

Overall, this weekend was a great way for students to learn about, or have reinforced, the fact prayer is our chance to have deep, meaningful, personal contact with God at all times – not just at church, before bed or food, or when something is going wrong. These lessons learned at a conference for Jr. High students are lessons that are valuable for us all to remember.

PS: If you know someone who went on this trip, ask them why prayer and tacos go together. You may be surprised!

Night to Shine 2020 Recap

February 7, 2020, was truly a Night To Shine. All because of…

24 team leads that lived out our mission of making disciples who make disciples.

319 volunteers that put their life into play.

Our generous donors for partnering with us.

Numerous individuals that donated supplies.

Gracious parents and caregivers for trusting us with their precious loved ones.

129 honored guests for teaching us how to have fun, enjoy life, and party!

And one loving God for granting us the opportunity and providing all we needed to succeed.

If you participated in any form or level, Thank you! It’s difficult to capture such an amazing evening, but our talented videographer and photographers did a fantastic job! Get a glimpse of Night To Shine 2020 here

Other Ways to Serve at Night to Shine

We are only sixteen days away from Night To Shine 2020!

There are currently 148 honored guests awaiting an unforgettable night. There are 257 volunteers who have put their life into play by committing to serve either as a buddy or volunteer. There are still 65 Buddies needed the night of the event to celebrate and party with our honored guests. You can register as a buddy HERE Kathy Garman and myself as directors understand that it takes an army of volunteers to make Night To Shine happen. We also understand that volunteering the night of the event is not everyone’s desire or calling. For that reason, we have provided ways for every single TCC member to put their life into play and contribute to the Night To Shine ministry.

Prayer Team- Night To Shine has and continues to be covered in prayer. The event itself is prayed over frequently, along with the 26 team leads, directors, honored guests, parents and caretakers, volunteers, and more. You can join this army of prayer warriors by signing up HERE or contacting Joyce Morrow.

Supply Donations- desserts, snacks, and bottled waters will be provided for over 600 people during the event. You can put your life into play by contributing prepared (or bought) desserts and cases of mini bottled waters. Night To Shine also provides a Respite area for parents and caretakers during the event. We desire to give a useful gift to each family participating in the Respite area. We are looking for donations of individually wrapped candy, packs of gum, and small tubes of lotion. You can commit to providing these items HERE or contacting Tammy Andrade or Mandy Beatty.

Preparations- Many individuals are gathering prior to February 7 to help with the many preparations necessary for Night To Shine. You can help with mailings and clerical tasks by signing up for Information Services HERE or by contacting Heather Miller. 

Set Up- We are thrilled to have the Night To Shine event back on our TCC campus this year. However, that demands a great deal of set up and tear down. The set-up team would love to have your assistance on Sunday, February 2, as we clear out many rooms and hallways, along with Friday, February 7, after the event to reassemble our building. You can join these efforts by signing up for the Clean Up/Tear Down team HERE or by contacting Terry Williams.

Night To Shine is genuinely an “All hands on deck” event hosted by our church family. Your contributions of time, effort, prayers, or donations are not only deeply appreciated but necessary and beneficial! 

Thank you TCC Family

Showing the Love of God Through the Night to Shine Boutique

This past Friday, the Night to Shine Boutique was held at TCC, and approximately 40 of our honored guests were able to come and select formal attire to wear at our Night to Shine event which is taking place on February 7th.

I had the privilege of watching a teenage boy grin over his new dress shoes and agonized over picking out just the right necktie. I watched as many young ladies twirled and proclaimed that they were “Saying YES to the dress!”. I watched as caregivers smiled and hugged the volunteers in appreciation for celebrating the ones that they love.

My favorite moment occurred toward the end of the day. A young lady walked into our church with her arms crossed, a frown on her face, and stated that she just knew that I wouldn’t have anything that she liked and that she was only there because her friends had made her come. After some time spent talking with this young girl, she decided to try on just a few outfits. As she stepped out of the dressing room, to show her friends the outfit she had chosen, her face was absolutely beaming. She smiled and laughed as she twirled around and posed. She declared to everyone within earshot that this was her outfit. She took her time picking out the perfect jewelry to go with her new outfit, all the while with a beautiful smile spread across her face. As I walked her back to her dressing room to retrieve her belongings, she turned to me still with a smile on her face, but with tears running down her cheeks and said, “Did you hear what they said to me? They said I was beautiful!”

That is why we do the Night to Shine Boutique. To help our honored guests see themselves the way that God sees them: deeply loved, cherished, and beautiful. As I reflect on the days leading up to, as well as the day of the boutique, I am truly humbled at how God orchestrated everything so skillfully that I am left without doubt that he was in every part of this event. I had the privilege of seeing tremendous generosity in people donating items to be gifted to our guests. If you were one of the people that He used in this way, thank you. I watched as people gave up their Sunday evening to iron, organize, and build dressing rooms, and then to come back and tear everything down on Friday evening. If you were one of the people that served in this way, thank you. I felt the prayers of encouragement and guidance. If you prayed for this event and for Amber and I, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I saw people celebrating, loving, hugging, high-fiving, and cheering on our guests as they searched for and found that perfect outfit. If you were one of those people, thank you.

Help for Those Who Are Hurting During the Holidays

We know that for many people, the holidays are a time of struggle. They are times of sadness for any number of reasons. There is grief from a loss that could be recent or simply ongoing, heartache from broken relationships or ones that never lived up to their expected level or significance, financial stress, job loss, personal unfulfillment, and the list could go on. Even when you find yourself in a good spot, often a song, a smell, a timeline photo, a movie, or something unexpected sabotages you and your back in a dark place. Sometimes you are simply unable to move out of the dark place.

If you are experiencing personal struggles during the holidays, perhaps the following suggestions might be helpful. If you are in a relationship with someone who is struggling and it hurts you to watch their pain, maybe these things will be helpful to you as a way to offer encouragement and hope.

Ways to bring encouragement to those who are hurting: 

  • Remove “should” from your vocabulary as it relates to telling people how to feel. While it is often difficult to deal with reality, who is to say that someone’s real feelings are not a part of their healing journey? 

  • Be comfortable where you are or where someone else is even when it is uncomfortable. Many difficult things in life must be experienced and cannot be bypassed without creating more pain. 

  • Give people who are grieving an opportunity to talk about their struggle even if it makes you uncomfortable.

  • Talk openly about the things you loved about a person who has passed, speak their name aloud in the conversations, let the grieving person know it is OK to talk to you about this person who is still so important to them

  • Don’t be afraid to say “No” to invitations that will lead you to places you are not yet ready to go socially or relationally

  • Keep safe people close enough in your life so that you can be real; people to talk to, cry with, even share difficult feelings of anger or guilt 

  • Consider grief as a tribute to the love and value of a relationship that leads to greater gratitude than feelings of loss 

  • Remember that there are those who God has given you in your life now that can be blessed by receiving your love

  • Engage people with a close friend by your side who can be there if you need someone or will help you be able to exit appropriately if the situation or feelings get too heavy to bear

  • Look for opportunities to share or receive comfort and point out joyful things even if it only brings joy to others

If you are struggling, invite God into the struggle and be real with Him about your thoughts and feelings. If you are invited to share in someone else’s struggle, just show up. There may not be any answers to give to the struggling person except for “I am here. I love you even in your pain. I’ll walk this road with you."

The Night to Shine Boutique Needs your Help

The 2020 Night to Shine season is off to a great start with behind-the-scenes planning! Thanks to many of you, volunteer spots have started to fill for the Boutique, and the formal wear donations are pouring in. Thank you so very much. I've said it so many times, but in my opinion, the Boutique is second to none. It's nearly impossible for me to articulate why that's the case. Suffice to say, this experience brings so much profound joy to each of the participants, that it just oozes over to all the volunteers as well! It is just such a peaceful, grounding, beautiful place to be: serving others who are genuinely grateful to the depth of their core.

We are trusting God to provide all the needs--it's a list we can't possibly anticipate and prepare for in advance of the day. But what we need first and foremost is the prayers of each of you. Pray for decent weather that day, pray that each participant will feel loved, for safety, and that each person will walk out feeling lovely, unique, and confident. The Lord has answered these prayers every year, and I am blown away anew each time.

If you're interested in donating, drop off is best in the church lobby (there is a rack set up). If that doesn't work for you, please reach out to me or Morgan Wellspring. If you're interested in volunteering (we still have more spots to fill), the requirements are simple: come with a servant's heart and willingness to be flexible with our guests. We are asking for a 3 or 4-hour work shift, but we understand this won't suit everyone's schedule. If you'd love to serve but have any questions or issues at all, please grab either one of us for a quick chat, or reach us by phone, text or email. Thank you all for your support!

For more information about donations or to volunteer check out troycc.org/boutique

Giving Tree 2019 Update

TCC had a stage full of Christmas cheer this year!!! Our church family was able to gift a grand total of 135 gifts to our community! Behind the scenes, we could see God at work in the details! Any bumps presented to us were seamlessly worked out to the bigger goal God had for us as a family to LOVE BIG!!! He was showing us that this giving of ourselves matters and what we couldn’t do, He would do for us!!! Every gift has been prayed over and delivered and will be a reflection of a God who loves each of the people who receives those gifts for Christmas. What a gift that is to each of us. I hope that we as a body will continue to look for ways this Christmas to continue loving and giving to those around us this Christmas!

Merry Christmas TCC!!!

 
 

Behold the Lamb of God

20 years ago, Andrew Peterson released a Christmas album called “Behold the Lamb of God.” It pulled together friends and fellow Nashville artists to create a set of songs that told the story of the birth of Christ, beginning all the way back at the start of Israel’s history. Beginning in 1999, Peterson and friends began performing that album, in its entirety, on a tour that took them to churches and venues all over the country, ending up with a December performance at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It’s a tradition that has continued each year for the last 20, and this set of story-songs has developed a loyal following of fans of Christmas, of good story-telling, of JESUS.

As many at TCC know, my family and I moved here from Nashville almost 5 years ago, and we wanted to bring a little bit of Nashville to TCC this Christmas. Nearly the entire TCC Worship Team, musicians, singers, and tech team have been working for weeks to prepare OUR rendition of “Behold the Lamb of God”, in the hopes of introducing you to the story of Jesus in a way you may not have heard before. This Sunday, December 8 (ironically, the same day as the final BTLOG Performance at the Ryman this year) in both morning services, we invite you to come and hear the story of God’s love for us, told in songs, art, and story-telling.

“Gather ‘round ye children, come, listen to the old, old story of the power of death undone, of an infant born in glory. Son of God, Son of Man.“

(If you’re interested in “listening ahead,” the 20th Anniversary edition of “Behold the Lamb of God” by Andrew Peterson is available for purchase or streaming on most services.)

Commitment Sunday and the Harvest Banquet at TCC

Sunday was an amazing day as we watched God express His call on the lives of six people. Samantha, Tom, Teresa, Mike, Ally, and Steve all followed God’s command to be baptized. Only one of them had communicated to us ahead of time, all the others were moved by the words of Scripture and the Spirit of God to faithfully follow God’s plan.

It was beautiful to see a son baptize his father and a dad, his daughter. It was beautiful to watch the people who were witnessing these decisions be moved to tears as they watched the fruit of their own lives and relationships unfold right before their eyes. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” Every time we see a life changed, surrendered to Jesus, we know that God has used different people over time to bring about that decision. Thank you for your faithfulness if you played a part in any of these lives being changed. Make sure you watch the video that was created to celebrate these changed lives.

Based on additional conversations that were initiated on Sunday, we anticipate more decisions in the weeks to follow. God’s Spirit is still active, and His Word is still speaking to people about their obedience in this area of baptism.

Thank you as well if you participated in our membership commitment Sunday. We added 50 new members on Sunday and had many more recommit to their membership here at Troy Christian Church. Those numbers will only increase in the coming weeks as people finish listening to messages in the series and complete their forms. Each one of those decisions represents an individual who is committed to putting their life into play for the sake of God’s Kingdom; that is exciting! We anticipate great things ahead for our church as we move forward into God’s future!

Sunday evening was a great finale to a Lord’s Day! Over 200 people gathered to enjoy sweet fellowship and good food. Melony Harman and her team had the worship center and lobby decorated beautifully for Christmas. Many people helped turn the worship center into a great setting for our Harvest Banquet, including Melissa Goad and her team of decorators. Becky Perry and Melony Harman prepared, in conjunction with our friends at Riverside, so that we could launch our 2019 Giving Tree Project. We ask our church family to engage in this event each year to bless people who have very real needs in the name of Jesus. There are still several tags available, make sure to grab one this Sunday if you would like to participate.

Uploaded by Becky Perry on 2019-11-20.

Bennett Send-Off

It is with mixed emotions that we say farewell for now to Mike and Pam Bennett. We celebrated Mike and Pam on stage, with a scrapbook containing memories of Pam's worship leading, through many conversations, in words on a canvas signifying their journey from Ohio to North Carolina and with a gift card to help in making the new home their own.

Mike's journey at TCC from onlooker to Ministry Team lead for our security team has been a joy to watch. He has truly become a part of our church body through both his service and his friendships. His good work will bear fruit for years to come.

Pam has been an integral part of TCC for over four decades! She has served in many capacities from our Church Secretary to the Ministry Team lead for our drama ministry to a Children's worship leader and has also served on many different ministry teams. She has done more than anyone knows behind the scenes as not only a servant but as an encourager to many.

We rejoice with Mike and Pam for this new opportunity they have to be near to their children and grandchildren. We pray God leads them to a new church that will be blessed through their lives and their ministry and will bless them in return. We also pray for their opportunity to be a loving and godly influence to their family.

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Harvest Banquet 2019

Our annual Harvest Banquet will be held on our campus on Sunday, November 17. This banquet provides us with an atmosphere to not only share a meal together but have community and simply enjoy each other’s company. It will be a carry-in/potluck style. We need individuals to carry in specific dishes and prepare turkeys. Visit troycc.org/harvestbanquet to sign up today.

The Harvest Banquet will also be the start of a very impactful project well. The Giving Tree project will begin after our meal together. TCC has adopted 30 individuals for Christmas. You can help in providing a brighter Christmas for each of those individuals through this project and fulfilling a Gift Wish Tag. Gift Wish Tags will be available during the Harvest Banquet. I hope you and your family will take hold of the opportunity to gather together, eat together, and serve together as a church family.

Trunk or Treat 2019 Recap

Trunk or Treat was amazing! When trying to recap the event, I’m having a difficult time knowing where to start. The event itself was a huge success, but that’s all due to the heartfelt prep that went into it the weeks prior. Several weeks earlier, the students in Kids Church began praying. They prayed for perfect weather and that God would bring us many many people to serve during Trunk or Treat. With an estimated 800 guests, beautiful and perfect weather, we can confidently declare God’s provision and blessing for Trunk or Treat.

The weeks prior were also filled with diligent work and preparation from fantastic Team Leads. The Team Leads for Trunk or Treat are the most organized, passionate, and hard-working people. Each Team Lead was responsible for casting vision to others, then empowering and encouraging a team. In addition to God’s provision, it was because of these individual’s dedication that Trunk or Treat was a success. Thank you to Mandy Beatty, Bob Bright, Josh Harman, Melissa Goad, Barbara Guerra, Morgan Wellspring, Jimmy Morlan, Danny Miller, Cathy Lucente and Diana Morlan for your hard work and leadership!

I’m thankful for God’s provision of perfect weather and guest attendance. I’m thankful for the dedication of each Team Lead. But TCC Family, I am incredibly thankful, humbled, and impressed by YOU! Throughout the entire Trunk or Treat event, I noticed each of you shining a bright light before our community guests. To the willing parking lot attendants, you welcomed guests to our home with such enjoyable interactions. To the greeting team, you engaged in friendly conversations and provided helpful information to many families. Those of you that decorated trunks, you not only poured effort into your masterpiece trunk decorations, but you provided a pleasant and joyful experience with each child and family you interacted with. The brave individuals that supervised inflatable games, you served with a cheerful disposition, your patience has not gone unnoticed. Our hard-working kitchen team, thank you for prepping hot dogs the whole night, along with delivering them to our serving team. To the team serving food and popcorn, thank you for not only serving and completing a task but doing so with joy and patience. To all of you that attended the event with your family, thank you! You made your family a priority. While it may appear you were simply enjoying a fall activity together, you were also shining a bright light for all our guests to experience. The joy and patience you displayed for your family was a ministry! Thank you!

Throughout the night, TCCKids intentionally interacted and invited individuals to visit us for Sunday services. When a family returns to TCC for worship, they will not find inflatable games, free hot dogs, popcorn, decorated trunks, or most of what they experienced at Trunk or Treat. But TCC Family, I am confident they will find the same friendly interactions with each of you that they did Friday night.

TCC, I am proud to be part of this family. You are a group of passionate, loving, and hospitable people.

Trunk or Treat Needs You!

Trunk or Treat is just nine days away. We are preparing for over 350 guests to join us on the evening of October 18. It's our goal and desire to place our people in positions throughout the event that allows you to interact and serve our community in a simple way. Here are the positions still available, please visit troycc.org/trunkortreat to sign up. Don't let the opportunity to put your life into play pass by. 


15-20 volunteers to decorate their trunk

26 individuals to man an inflatable game for a 30-minute time slot

4 volunteers to greet our many guests

2 more people to help serve hot dogs

4 people to help set up and decorate this coming week

10 individuals to help tear down and clean up after the event

6 volunteers to help cook and prepare over 700 hot dogs

unlimited number of prayer partners

3 more people in the parking lot helping direct traffic

4 volunteers to help apply temporary tattoos for a 30-minute time slot

1 more individual to help make and serve popcorn for a 30-minute time slot


There are close to 100 spots still open. Please help fill at least one of them! 

troycc.org/trunkortreat

Trunk or Treat is Coming! October 18th

TCC is inviting the community to join us for a free, fun, and safe event during the Trick or Treat season. The past several year’s Trunk or Treat has been well attended, with over 350 people attending each year. It’s been my prayer that God will allow us to reach out and serve even more families this year. For this community event to succeed, it needs your help! There are many different capacities that you and your family can get plugged in and serve!

Pray: for high attendance and participation along with perfect weather for the evening.

Invite: Take hold of the opportunity to invite a friend and their family. Postcards are available at the Info Desk, grab a few, and help spread the word! 

Donate Candy: Candy is necessary for this event, and we need a bunch of it! We’ll need at least 12,000 individually pieces of candy. Please drop off donations at the info desk. 

Serve: The evening will consist of a free meal, trunk or treat, inflatable games, temporary tattoo station, and popcorn station. There are still many open spots to fill. 

Attend: Make plans for you and your family to attend Trunk or Treat 2019! Your participation in and of itself is an opportunity to shine a light and be “billboard” for God’s love, and the part TCC plays in that. 

 Want to know more? We would love to share more with you about this event! Join us Sunday, October 13 at 10 am in Room 206. 

 Visit troycc.org/trunkortreat for more information and to sign up! 

Starting Point

We as a church are moving forward into the exciting future that God is creating for us. We are committed to doing so as a group of people who are dedicated to Him, His Word, and His mission.
As a leadership team of elders and staff, we believe it is time in the life of the church to gather everyone together around the core things that we believe as a church which are outlined for us in the Bible. This seven-week series will unfold for us what we believe about the Bible, sin, salvation, the Church, church membership, our mission, church leadership, communion, and baptism. The priority and clarification of these concepts will be rooted in the Bible.
This Starting Point material will later become an introductory discipleship class at TCC that we will ask everyone who wants to become a member to attend. Because we think that unity and an understanding of these issues are so important, we will be presenting it to the whole church through our messages during the Sunday morning worship. At the end of the series, we will be offering those who are not yet members the opportunity to join TCC. We will also be asking those who are members to commit their lives to membership once again as a part of accomplishing God’s purpose and mission for TCC.
Please plan on being here for all of these important messages, or, if for some reason you are unable to attend one of the weeks, commit to listening to them online

TCCServes: Teacher Appreciation Baskets

As most of you know, our church family at TCC donated supplies to the teachers and other staff members at Hook Elementary. I truly believe that teachers are to be honored, encouraged, and given thanks for all they do in the lives of every child they teach. They work very long hours and often purchase supplies from their own income.  So what a blessing it was to have Becky Perry allow us to serve the teachers through the Teacher Appreciation Baskets. Our church family donated supplies, assembled the baskets, and then delivered them to each teacher and prayed over their school year and the students they impact. So thank you to our Prayer Team, all who donated the supplies, and to those who assembled and delivered the baskets. What a privilege and an honor to serve our local teachers at Hook Elementary in the name of Christ. After all, we are called to be a light unto the world and to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

We would like to thank everyone who donated supplies for the Hook Elementary teacher baskets. Thank you to Tammy Gass, Karen Heiss, Courtney Weger, Jesse Weger, and McKenzie Weger for helping assemble the baskets.  Thanks also to the Dodd family, Sandy Lensch, Joyce Morrow, Bradyn Weger, Courtney Weger, McKenzie Weger, and the TCC Staff for delivering the baskets to the school.

 



Back to School

As the new school year starts, it’s easy to get caught up in questions and worries – it’s what happens to all of us when something new is happening. Unfamiliarity brings insecurity. It’s just a fact of life.
When it comes to school and our kids, those worries can be magnified to even higher levels!
That’s why, as a church, we are committed to praying for our children, students, teachers, and parents! We follow the example set by Paul in Philippians 4, where he tells us – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
We are praying for peace, and thanking God for all that He has done in our lives as well as what He will do this upcoming year!
It would be a shame if we only prayed about our worries and for protection, though. If we believe what Jesus said, our children are some of our greatest examples of what it means to follow Him! They have a faith unencumbered by doubts and a boldness to share the truth and love of Jesus that we should all aspire to!
In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
So while we are praying for our worries about what we are experiencing and what our children might encounter, let’s not forget to pray for boldness for our children, teachers, and parents! Let’s pray that they would be beautiful examples of Christ to their schools and everyone that they will interact with every day.

TCCServes: School Supply Donations

The school year is rapidly approaching. Teachers, students, and (mostly relieved) parents are preparing for the next year and all the excitement that comes along with it. Our church family is preparing, and so is the community around us.
With all of the preparation, comes an opportunity to shine the light of Christ in the community around us as well! We are partnering with Hook elementary school to provide school supplies and encourage the teachers and staff of the school. We’ve been able to do this for a few years, and we’re excited to see this partnership continue to grow as we find ways to serve others.
This is a chance for us as a church to love others with our actions, to do good works, to carry other’s burdens and to do good to all people!
Take some time to stop by the information desk and take the responsibility of donating a specific item, writing encouraging letters to the teachers and staff of the school, or volunteering your time to come and prepare all the donations to be delivered to the school. Let’s come together and have an outpouring of love on this school so that all who receive or even know about this would get a better picture and a fuller understanding of God’s love for them.