It is a new year and with it comes a renewed desire to be part of the blogging world. One of my goals for 2009 is to consistently update this blog. For my first post of the new year I want to look back one last time at 2008 and lay out some of the highlights and answered prayers. We expereinced God’s hand in many ways last year at Cedarcrest Church. It is definatley a year that I will never forget.
2008 Highlights
- Easter Weekend - We hosted our first ever community Easter Egg hunt on Easter weekend and had over 1000 people show up to find 10,000 eggs. They were collected in a matter of minutes! We had our largest attendence ever at the time on Easter weekend as we saw over 570 people attend our three services.
- South Bay - We began our first church planting partnership by helping launch South Bay Church in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is exciting to see how God is already using South Bay to reach people with the Gospel!
- The Big Move - Moving to Allatoona High School! In August God opened the door for us to move into this incredible new space. We had over 700 people attend worship at our opening weekend in the new location!
- “The Kingdom”- We partnered with 8 other churches in our area to do a sermon series on the Kingdom of God. It was so exciting to see God work through the efforts of these unified Churches seeking to build up the Kingdom of God. It was a series I will never forget.
- Spontaneous Baptism - On Septemeber 14th we had a baptism service unlike anything we have ever done at Cedarcrest. We gave everyone in attendance the opportunity to step out on faith and be baptized on the spot. We provided the clothes, towels, and pools and God did the rest. 54 people stepped out on faith and were baptized in one Sunday! What an amazing movement of God!
- DNOW - In Novemeber we saw our largest student event as over 80 students attended disciple now weekend at Cedarcrest. The 11:00 service was rocking!
- The Giving Tree - In our final series of 2008 I was blown away to see the generousity of the church as so many people stepped up to make a difference in the lives of people in need this Christmas season. A trailer full of clothes and toys was given to families living in the South Texas border region. Two truckloads of food were given to Must Ministries and Fresh Hope. Over 70 kids were sponsored from North Paulding High School so they could experience the joy of Christmas. It was an incredible end to a great year.
- Christmas Eve - Christmas Eve was the largest attendance we have ever experienced at Cedarcrest Church. Over 730 people attended our three worship services. Over $17,000 was given to help families in need for our special benevolence offering. It was a great night of worship!
What a year it has been! These are just a few of the highlights I won’t forget from 2008. God is doing amazing things in the life of Cedarcrest Church. I am overwhelmed at the number of lives that have changed as God moves in our midst. To Him be the glory! Great things He has done! I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in 2009!
