Hey North Ridge!

As you can probably tell our attendance has been up quite a bit since January. In fact, we are now seeing over 100 more people each weekend than we saw at the end of 2010! This has pushed our attendance over 400 and has caused a few areas to become crowded. So here are some things we are doing immediately to create more space.

• Children- We have launched a new 2 Year Old class in the middle building. This gives us double the space for our 2 year old children and volunteers.  A big thank you to our volunteers who stepped up and made this possible!

• Parking - This past Sunday our parking lots were completely full. Guests had to park on the street and walk in. We need some of our North Ridge members to consider parking in the area where the old houses are behind our buildings, or across the street at our old location, or on Waketa Drive. 

• Seating - This past Sunday our 10:30 service was full. We are asking some of our North Ridge members to consider giving up your 10:30 seat and coming to the 9:00 service, or using the cafe as an overflow area.  We need to keep talking to a minimum in the cafe area so that those worshiping there will have the best environment possible. 

Thank you for your help in making room for others. While this isn't just about attendance numbers, every number represents an opportunity for life change, and that is what we celebrate. 

Can't wait for Easter week at North Ridge!

Boxes for Barahona update

At Christmas we sent boxes with gifts and supplies for families to Batay 9 in Barahona. We have just received this short video from the day families gathered to receive their boxes. From what we are being told, there was a considerable amount of excitement in the Batay that day!

Scandalous

We launch a new series this weekend in preparation of our Easter Celebrations. We are calling the series "Scandalous" after a book by the same title by Dr. D.A. Carson, one of the world's leading New Testament  scholars.

"Nothing is more central to the Bible than Jesus' death and resurrection. The entire Bible pivots on one weekend in Jerusalem about two thousand years ago."  D.A Carson, Scandalous


Millions have taken a look at the cross of Jesus and as they have begun to understand what it is about, they have turned and walked away calling the whole account a scandal, an untruth.

Is Jesus a living-and-dying-and-living God?

The God who stands against us in wrath and loves us any way?

Can it be true that on a cross, punishment is both given by God and borne by God?

Do you believe? Or will you dismiss the story as scandalous?

This weekend we begin to place a magnifying glass against one weekend in Jerusalem. Not just to see if these events did take place, but also to uncover what they mean.

Once Upon a Marriage

Here comes Valentines Day! It's hard to believe that the calendar has already moved that far ahead. So here at North Ridge we are already prepared for the month of love!  The truth is, when it comes to romantic love our world is very confused, isn't it? What we often teach our young girls is that one day, if you play your cards right, you are going to meet the one. Your prince charming is going to come and sweep you off of your feet, and everything is going to be perfect from that moment forward. You'll get the house and the white picket fence, and the dog, and the 2.5 kids, and you are going to live happily ever after. But the reality is, happily ever after doesn't come in so many marriages.

We are starting a brand new series of messages on February 13 called, Once Upon a Marriage. We are going to examine in detail four couples from the Old Testament and see how, for better or worse, their marriages could speak into our lives and empower our marriages to be better!

That's A Lot of Turkey!

Hey North Ridge! I just wanted to give you a quick ministry update on things around the Ridge.

• We are well on our way to filling 750 Christmas boxes for the children in Batey 9 in the Dominican Republic. Many boxes are still available if you, your family or the people you work with would like to participate. 
• The Reading for Randleman project has collected 600 books to date for Randleman Elementary School! Deadline is December 5.
• The Dream Center earned a 5 Star rating this past week! Thanks to all our Dream Center Staff and Volunteers!
• Today North Ridge delivered 440 lbs. of turkey to Randleman Elementary School to be distributed to families in need. That's a lot of turkey!

Thank you for your Radical Generosity! 

Rockin' the Batay

North Ridge showed up big today. We shoveled in all the dirt to fill the floors and then got started on mixing the concrete to finish them. In the batay you shovel in concrete one bucket at a time. We decided to rent a mixer. When we asked Pedro if that would be o.k., he said "No it too expensive". We said "How much?" He said "$30". We got the mixer.

At the end of the working day we still had half of the house floor to finish. We were told it was time to pack up and come back tomorrow. We knew that if we didn't stay, we would not finish the house on time. North Ridge put in two more hours and rocked the batay!

Shovel and Bucket Day

In order to pour concrete floors for the house we have to bring in dirt to raise the ground to the proper level. Why they like to build the walls THEN bring in dirt - we do not know:) What we do know is that the way they bring in dirt is one bucket at a time. We have two shovels and four buckets. We have to bring in enough dirt to bring up the floor 1 1/2 feet! Everyone got a chance to try it! By the way...tomorrow we bring in the cement the same way:) Here are some pictures from our day!