Home Base

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Kenna

“preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…..” 2 Timothy 4:2

Josiah shies away from sports analogies like people avoid the plague. Don only tries them when it involves four wheels and a motor. So normally, references to sports around actionchurch come from my brood.

Spring is the season when my guys play baseball. The boys play numerous positions, but their strength is at the position of catcher – behind home base. It’s a great place to be for kids like mine. They are literally involved in every play.

Home base is a crowded place with lots of stuff going on. The catcher signals the pitcher which type of pitch to throw. He interacts with all the basemen on every play – signaling if someone is stealing and attempting a throw down. Sometimes the pitcher even has to run in to home plate to back up the catcher. The referee is behind the catcher watching over his shoulder on every pitch. And of course there is an opponent with a big bat – swinging it within inches of your face. In general – it’s a crazy, busy, happenin’ position to play.

And my guys love the action. But – the exceptional plays – the ESPN play of the week – those slow motion incredible leaps and dives in attempts to catch spheres hurtling in the atmosphere – the plays that bring the crowd to their feet – those plays happen in the outfield.

Now that we have a home base in North York it would be great to hang around where all the action is taking place. It’s fun to be a part of a team and I’m sure marvelous things are going to happen in our new building. There will be exciting new action groups meeting there. New crew positions are in the works. All kinds of neat things every day – coming soon to 36 W. 11^th Ave…..

BUT – the really amazing stuff – the play of the week, slow motion, can’t believe your eyes things – the God is so in this miracle things – are going to happen in the outfield…..in the community.

I love seeing actionchurch friends reaching out into areas that aren’t “normal” church things….like Bridge of Hope, the roller derby dames, Relay for Life and even our very own softball team. I love when actionchurch friends actively seek ways to reach out to the community – to minister, to love, to be a light in the dark.

THAT’S where the plays of the week are going to happen. In the outfield. Be a part of it.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

Sunday @ actionchurch

Posted on June 12, 2015 by donrecord

This Sunday we’ll be discussing another ESSENTIAL concept that we need to remember as we set out on the next phase of our journey together as a church. This week is a big one…a can’t-live-without ingredient of actionchurch. Perhaps the writer of book of Hebrews said it best when they mentioned this weeks topic:

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

Yes, this week we are going to talk about Faith…perhaps the most empowering, perplexing, misused and misunderstood teaching of Jesus. Despite all it’s mystery and power, you’ll leave with not only a clear picture of how faith works according to Jesus, and a clear idea of what actionchurch believes about it, but also an opportunity to put your faith into action as we prepare for serving those affected by cancer in our community at RELAY FOR LIFE 2015. We’ve also got the new light-weight actionchurch North York T-shirts for sale (buy one and your both LOOK and FEEL cooler at Relay :-) We’ve also got great new music planned from Josiah and Alyssa Eckart Band, along with all the “normal” food and fun that makes actionchurch ANYTHING but a normal Sunday morning at church! We’ve even freed up more parking…so go a head and invite ALL your friends and family that have been curious about actionchurch. We look forward to seeing you at…well…at the actionchurch building (that sounds really weird somehow) :-) – 10:30 am (DIRECTIONS), and as usual, the actionkidz crew has a fantastic hour of learning and fun planned for your kids (infant to 6th grade) as well.

Gear up for Relay for Life 2015!

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Kenna

I love when actionchurch gears up for Relay for Life. It is exciting. It’s hectic. It’s crazy! It’s AMAZING!! RFL is an event that literally EVERYONE….young, old and in between……can participate in. We come together as a church. We lift and lug heavy things. We sweat and we walk. We get blisters and we talk. But most importantly we love others.

This event is all about cancer survivors and their families. I don’t know of anyone who can say that they haven’t been affected by the word cancer in some way. And here is the great thing about Relay – no matter how much we give…..our time, our money, our resources, our effort – we GET even more in return. Participating in RFL2015 will be one of the most life changing moments you will ever experience.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Friday June 19^th we will gather together on the football field at the York County Vocational School on South Queen Street. We have mass quantities of gear that needs to be set up prior to the 1:00 opening lap of the official Relay for Life.

Throughout the event there are opportunities to serve in the actionkidz area, the shaved ice stand, the walking marathon and the coffee bar. And don’t forget – we need everyone to help make the survivor banquet at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening a success. Plan to stay for the very touching luminaria ceremony late Friday evening and connect with friends old and new throughout the night. In the morning get ready for the best breakfast ever on a football field as we whip up pancakes and eggs for over 400 people!

And remember – we also have to clean up, pack up and load up all our stuff – Saturday before noon.

All of our efforts take time, volunteers and donations. YOU make it happen. If you’d like to be involved and need more information contact info@actionchurch.com

DONATIONS NEEDED:

Cases of soda

Cases of juice boxes

Pancake syrup

Pancake mix (water only)

Sausage patties

Dozens and dozens of eggs

Individually wrapped Danish

Hamburg and hotdog rolls

Hamburg patties

Hotdogs

Flavor pouches for water

Snack size chip/pretzel packs

Let’s Eat

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Kenna

“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil…..” Ecclesiastes 2:24

Friday the 5^th of June was National Donut Day! Most of us in York County have it marked on our calendars. I think the bargaining unit at work might have gotten it in their contract as a holiday. And there is a rumor that a committee is forming to organize a parade…..but THAT is just speculation.

Here is a fact. At actionchurch – we do love donuts. (And coffee) Since the very beginning, when people began gathering for “church” there have been donuts. In the early days of actionchurch we weren’t sure how we were going to afford the rent each week – let alone a dozen donuts. But each week we managed to somehow find a way to purchase the donuts. There has never been a week at actionchurch when we didn’t GIVE someone food.

The donut theme carried over to Relay for Life. I remember the first Relay my family attended. We were pretty “green behind the ears” – clueless really. We didn’t bring jackets, or chairs or a tent. My kids ended up sound asleep under the deflated bounce house trying to stay warm. Michelle Record (a.k.a The Preacher’s Wife) was the lone walker on the track. As the sun peaked above the horizon on Saturday morning Don began taking orders for a donut run. I thought (and still do think) we had the coolest preacher in the world. Donut delivery!

So, when Michelle approached me with the idea to provide breakfast for the attendees who had walked throughout the night – I thought it was a great idea. I figured she meant we would buy donuts in mass quantities, throw them on some pretty plates and pour some coffee. Clueless – really.

What Michelle meant – was a full out, multicourse, hot breakfast for ALL the RFL participants……at 7:00 in the morning……in the middle of a football field…….after walking for 18+ hours…….And I can tell you for another fact that I dropped the ball that year. Clueless doesn’t begin to define my attempts at giving people food (not donuts). The gravy was lumpy, the omelet bar was a bigger flop than the soggy green peppers, there was mass confusion and mayhem. I tried to string miles of electric cords for 20 bazillion hot plates, blew breakers left and right – Don was ready to kill me and I was ready to quit.

BUT – here is the good news! We DIDN’T give up. We DIDN’T throw in the towel. (Obviously we didn’t kill each other) And each year that we serve others breakfast at Relay for Life we find ways to improve and enjoy what we do. Even last year the torrential rain didn’t daunt our efforts. We just found a way to make it better and more funner-er…..

And that is what we intend to do as a church. We aren’t going to give up or quit. We are going to examine what we do and find ways to improve. We are going to continue to serve others in REALLY big ways. We are going to actively search for opportunities.

And knowing actionchurch – it will probably involve food.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42

Be Kind, Rewind.

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Kenna

Back in the day – before Hulu and Netflix……back before there were Red Boxes at every convenience store……waaaaay back before DVD players – there was a phenomenon called BLOCKBUSTER. You could walk into a store with aisles and aisles of rectangular black boxes – about 7” X 4” X 1” – with colorful pictures and descriptions on the front. When you opened the box there was another black rectangle inside with two round circles and a crinkled up wad of movie reel.

Somewhere in a time capsule there is a VHS tape with a little label that says “Please be kind. Rewind.”

I like to look at the history of actionchurch in rewind. It’s an AMAZING story and I hope Don shares more of it in the weeks to come.

Back in the day – before volunteers spent countless hours to refurbish and repurpose a building in North York……back before the cushy (rocking) red seats at Frank Theater…….waaaaaay back before Club 19 and – get this! – even BEFORE Fat Daddy’s – there was actionchurch.

There was a black (of course) EZ-up and there was a (very) small group of like-minded people. Actively meeting together. Actively praising God. Actively serving others. They set the tent up at the York Fair and served coffee to carnival vendors from the back of a kid’s wagon (in the rain). They installed the EZ-up at Relay for Life and served cancer survivors year in and year out (in the rain, blazing heat and tornados).

And, just like we have morphed and grown and changed as a church over the years – our participation in Relay has changed and grown each year as well. From the days of one black EZ-up we actively strove to serve others better each year. I remember the year we added a teeny tiny bounce house to our site – and we thought that was great. As the number of believers grew we began serving dinner. Then as a group we collected $5.00 at a time and ended up contributing the entire cost of the dinner. That was an amazing feat. Then we brought an even bigger bounce house. After that we added a hot breakfast to the menu.

Our goal as a church has always been to do better, stretch farther, give more……..and actively give the praise to God.

Fast forward to 2015 and envision – about 100 volunteers with two bounce houses, multiple tarps and canopies and tents, a shaved ice stand, a full course sit down dinner for almost 500 cancer survivors, complimentary coffee bar AND a hot breakfast for 400 or so more people………all because – as a group of like-minded people – we continued to actively meet together – and eat together – and actively praise God together.

PRAISE GOD

46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47