Entries Tagged 'Changed Lives' ↓

God is using Celebration Church to make a difference in the World. Thanks to your IMAGINE giving, YOU are making it possible to reach the lost in regions that until now have been untouched and seemingly forgotten.

Ten percent of all IMAGINE giving goes toward the support of Celebration Church’s International church plants in Africa, Costa Rica, and the future plant in Greece. We have been able to provide places of worship in countries where Christianity is not widely accepted and provide food, shelter, and hope for thousands of children. In the near future we will provide an avenue for social justice in places where human trafficking is an overwhelming reality.

YOU have made a difference in the lives of thousands. Countless more can be reached if we all choose to participate in what God is doing here in our church. Our impact cannot stop here. There is so much more work to be done.

Can you IMAGINE?

At Celebration Church we hear a lot about how God calls us to sacrifice our time, our talent and our finances for the benefit of others.

While we all understand this concept, it can become easy to forget how God can use our sacrifices to impact those in need. We can find ourselves asking the question, “Does my sacrifice really matter?”

Here are just a few personal examples of how God has used the sacrifices of Celebration Church to make a huge difference in the lives of others:

“Steve” at Jax Beach

A gentleman named Steve, who was toothless, was part of those served at Celebration’s Jax Beach Homeless Outreach. Steve had an alcohol addiction and would often cause disturbance during the outreach. Pastor Wade and the team referred him to Gateway Community Services for rehab. Steve has since returned and is sober, has a full-time job, and his own place to live. With help of I.M. Sulzbacher Center, Steve also has a full set of new teeth! He is now comes back regularly to help the team serve and give back to the homeless.

“Sharon” in North Jacksonville

A team of more than 100 volunteers from Celebration Church, in partnership with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, spent a Saturday morning painting and repairing Sharon’s home, along with three other North Jacksonville neighborhood houses. The outreach team also painted over graffiti in the area and picked up trash along the streets. The outreach and beautification effort renewed hope for Sharon and the Eugene Butler community.

“It takes a good-hearted person to volunteer their time, even on a Saturday, to come help someone else,” Sharon said. “It’s a blessing.”

“Jorge” in Costa Rica

Celebration Mission team members were able to bless Jorge and his family by helping them move into a new house, thoroughly cleaning it, and purchasing supplies. They found out later that it was a fulfilled promise the Lord had given Jorge several years ago. Jorge and his wife lived with their 4 children in a 2-bedroom house where dirt and water often came through the ceiling from the house above them. All of their housing supplies were old and worn out including 22-year-old mattresses that were bug-infested.

The team pitched in and purchased the family new kitchen supplies, a bed frame, and new mattresses for their 4 children. The team was also able to thoroughly clean the very dirty house. Jorge works as an associate pastor for a church but earns his living through a struggling internet café. God told him to stay faithful and that he would bring them out the situation and that people from North America would come bearing gifts. Little did the team know that they would be a part of this promise’s fulfillment.

So does our sacrifice really matter? It certainly mattered to Steve, Sharon and Jorge.

These stories are just 3 of the thousands of examples of how God is using the time, talents and finances of Celebration Church members to make life changing impacts to our community and even around the world.

In Mark 9:41 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”

Thank you so much for your sacrifice! God is using it to make a difference in our hurting world!

It’s no secret that raising a child or teenager in today’s world can be a real challenge. One of the biggest obstacles to youth ministry is actually getting young people in the door of the church.

This is why a big emphasis of our new Celebration home at Baymeadows and 9a will be the incredible Student Ministries Environments. Simply put, we are moving into one of the premiere facilities in the Nation!

We will have after school tutoring, games, sports, a skate park, and tons of other resources to attract kids to church. Once here, they will meet Jesus, and we know their lives will never be the same!

A big part of the IMAGINE Campaign has always been about “those who are not yet here.” Our new facility will allow us to reach so many more people, including young people, who have not yet experienced the love of Christ.

Thank you for your support! Let’s all believe God for thousands of future young people to be impacted by the sacrifices that you are making today and in 2009.

At its core, The IMAGINE Campaign is about changing lives. Our new building at Baymeadows and 9A will serve as a place where tens of thousands of people in Northeast Florida can experience the love of Christ.

From the beginning, IMAGINE has been about impacting not just our community, but also the world. Ten percent of your IMAGINE giving goes to support the ministries in Africa that we partner with.

There are now over 1400 people attending Celebration Church Zimbabwe on a weekly basis. This is a direct result of your giving and generosity.

Additionally, almost 1700 African children are fed on a daily basis at the Care Points that Celebration Church supports directly through your giving. A total of 10,000 children are fed every day because of the work of Children’s Cup, which our church also supports and partners with.

But we are meeting more than just these children’s physical needs. Beyond the nutritional and medical assistance they receive, these children also learn about God’s love for them and the hope that He provides. The vision of this ministry is to transform these young people into “God First” adults.

So just how far do your dollars go in Africa?

Well, with a contribution to IMAGINE of $150, $15 (ten percent) goes directly to support these children. That $15 provides one child with food, medical treatment, education, and teaching about God’s love for an entire month!

Where else can so little money provide so much? Most of us could easily spend that much money on a single meal for ourselves.

In a land of extreme poverty and the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the world, your giving is providing the transformation that only comes through the local church.

I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Mathew 25:40:

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Earlier in the same chapter Jesus ties helping those in need with eternal rewards in Heaven. The IMAGINE Campaign represents our opportunity to use the resources that God has given us to help change the lives of those who need help, both physically and spiritually.

Thank you for your continued faithfulness in this area of giving.

Throughout the New Testament, we are challenged to take our brief life on earth and use it to make the maximum eternal difference. Over the last four years God has used Celebration Church in a very big way. Here are just some of the highlights of what God has done:

• Celebration Church has grown from 2 to 9 campuses.

• We’ve grown from an average of 2,000 people in weekend attendance to an average of over 8,000 in weekend attendance. (With over 14,000 active members and attendees)

• There have been 14,642 decisions for Christ (conservatively speaking)

• We currently have almost 100 church services every week -including all locations, extension gatherings and extension services.

• Over 40,000 different people have experienced a Celebration Church service in the last 4 years.

• Number of Volunteer and Staff service hours: 887,850.

• Additionally, over 45,000 hours of missions and outreach has been done.

• Through our partnership with Children’s Cup, nearly 5 million meals have been served to orphans in Africa in the last 4 years.

• Through our partnership with ARC, we have helped plant 66 churches which has resulted in over 100,000 people in attendance. Those churches have now given over $40 million to missions and outreach.

• Through our partnership with Equip, we have helped train more than 16 million leaders in 113 nations through the Million Leaders Mandate.

• Through our television ministry, there are now over 20 million households around the globe that have access to our services.

These are just some of the highlights of the amazing work God has done through Celebration Church in the last 4 years. In addition to this, each week our church ministers the love of God to people in seasons of life where they need it most. We reach deep into our communities regularly to help people at their place of need in hospitals, nursing homes, challenged schools, orphanages, rehabilitation centers, prisons, children’s homes, halfway houses, special needs facilities, street ministry and homeless facilities, schools for the deaf and blind and help rescue girls from sex trafficking. Each one of the lives we touch represents a life imprinted with the love of Jesus.

Through your continued giving, we can help impact our world for eternity. The IMAGINE campaign represents the opportunity to reach even more people in our community, our nation and around the globe for Jesus Christ.