23 SEPTEMBER 07
GRAND OPENING!!!
Dear Friends of Kensington,
Cupcakes at church! What a great celebration we had this weekend as we marked the 17th birthday of Kensington Troy, the 4th birthday of Kensington Rochester Hills, the first birthday of Kensington Clinton Twp., and celebrated the new birth of Kensington Birmingham (more than 1,300 people witnessed the new arrival at Groves High School. Lead pastor, Steve Andrews, who was there, shared his thoughts with me this morning:
"The kickoff of the Kensington Birmingham location was a tremendous thrill Sunday! The atmosphere was Super Bowl like and the team was so superb! They were ready--- to greet, serve, lead Treasure island small groups, to sing, to act, to teach, to direct, and to play. I wasn't sure about the level of support we would have on Opening Day, but I was overwhelmed by the fantastic response and the joy surrounding everything.Clint Dupin did a great job teaching, and Gina Petherick and her team did a fantastic job of getting everything ready. Two years in the waiting, and this baby was ready to be born!"
It was appropriate that our weekend services focused on the simple, yet powerful message that has marked Kensington from the beginning - that God loves us more than we could ever fully realize.
Craig Mayes
Teaching Pastor
Dear Birmingham Campus Team:
Wow. What happened Sunday could not have happened 10 or 20 years ago. God has been turning over the soil and fertilizing the ground for many years now, and finally the glory was his for our west-side communities. As I looked around at all the faces in our new auditorium, I could not help but see the joy and celebration over what God has done through all of us. And what is even more amazing is that we are all just very ordinary people. We are not holy-rollers or bible-thumpers or in-your-face evangelists. We are ordinary people living ordinary lives and dealing with the same pressures and worries that characterize life on earth. But here is where we are different---we share a deep and authentic love for God and his people. That was so evident in everyone. From Steve and Clint who have forged their hearts with Christ to be his mouthpiece, to all the servants throughout the campus, there was a love for God that permeated every one’s being and poured out onto the people who came to see why Kensington was different. So while we lead ordinary lives, God is doing extraordinary things through us. I know we are simply his instrument and he wants to use us in the way he sees fit. When we allow him to do just that, therein lies the power. The power that he says is available to us all through his son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. With that power, his work to transform a community one life at a time has begun.
The celebration of love and joy was evident, but the numbers also help to tell the story. We had 1382 people, kids and adults come through our doors on Sunday. While we had many friends from the main campus join us, there were some 400 new people who had only been to Kensington once or twice or never before. Please pray that these people God loves so dearly will feel the tug on their heart to return and hear what they have probably never heard or understood before. Know that there will be a fall-off in attendance in the next several weeks, and that some people may have been scared by what they felt on Sunday. They might have realized that God really does want their lives, and they may be nowhere near ready to do that now. But also know that a seed has been planted, and God will do the watering, using each of us as the watering can to pour out his love and his word on those that thirst for something more.
While in many ways yesterday felt like the culmination of three-year dream, in reality it was just the beginning of a new adventure in our communities. We have only seen a glimpse of the fruit God wants to produce from our plot of land. And of course, there is still much fruit he wants for us all---that we can fully understand the abundant life he desires for us. To help all of us on our journey, we have a great training night coming up on October 10 at 7:00 pm at the Troy Campus. It’s called Leadership Essentials and the wonderful teachers from the KCC leadership will offer many topics that will interest you. Check it out at www.Kensingtonchurch.org/leader.
So let’s keep praying for the soil to be turned, for the ground to be fertilized, for seeds to be planted and for God’s rain to pour down on each and every person. God is about to do extraordinary things before our eyes, and guess what---he's using you, the ordinary people, to accomplish his purposes. Isn’t that cool? Doesn’t that make you feel like a disciple?
It’s awesome to watch God at work, but even better to be used by him for his greater purpose in life. Thanks for making yourself available to him on this journey.
With God’s love,
Gina and Jeff Petherick
Birmingham Campus Directors
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