Dan Gould

Tag: Grace Community Church Plano

  • ONE Retreat – this Weekend & we NEED YOUR HELP!

    As you know, ONE Retreat is this weekend!!!!  We have a great weekend planned for our students, but we also have some very urgent needs as we head into the weekend.  Because we take registration up to the last minute, we are in need of some Host Homes for Friday and Saturday Night. 

    If you would be willing to let students sleep on your living-room floor, have spiritual conversations in your home, as they draw closer to God, and some even surrender their life to Jesus, then we need your help!!!! We will do everything we can to make this a positive experience for you! If you can help by opening your home, please e-mail Helene Millsap ASAP!

    Secondly, Steve Adkins is looking for some help providing Breakfast on Sunday Morning for all the students that will attend this weekend. He has it down to an art and would love to have you help and participate in what God will do in Big Ways this weekend.  If you can help cook on Sunday Morning please e-mail Steve Adkins ASAP!

    Lastly, because this is such a big weekend, will you join me in praying that God would convict, correct, challenge, & change our students and adults from the inside out!?! We want this weekend to be life changing as we focus on different aspects living in an “Unstoppable” way!

     

  • Weekend Rewind – 12-20-09

    Well this morning marked the last Fusion Worship Service for the year and the conclusion of our CHRISTmas series.  I thought today went well.  It was good seeing some of our former students, who have graduated and now in college, back leading and attending today! Here is the outline and the songs we sang today!

    CHRISTmas
    God becomes Man …
    12.20.09

    To be our SACRIFICE!

    Have you ever sacrificed something for someone else?  I am not talking about killing the neighbors cat, (show picture of cat) we’re not talking about animal sacrifices here, we are talking about you giving up something for someone else?

    Isaiah 53 (NLT)

    CHRIST BECAME HUMAN BECAUSE …

    • We NEEDED HELP!

    “No one is righteous — not even one.” Romans 3:10 (NLT)

    * One of the joys of being a dad is when Josiah says “Daddy can you …”

    • We needed a PERFECT SACRIFICE!

    Will you circle that word “PERFECT”, Have you ever tried to be perfect?  It’s pretty tough … think about it …

    * We try to look perfect

    * We try to talk perfect

    * We try to have a perfect game

    The fact is, no matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to be perfect ALL THE TIME!

    ”For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”  Hebrews 10:10 (NLT)

    • We need a MEDIATOR!

    * If we break the law and have to appear in court we have an option to represent our self or have someone else represent us and plead our case.

    * Old Testament High Pries

    “Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. 2 And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses.” Hebrews 5:1-2 (NLT)

    * Jesus is now our High Priest

    “There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.” Hebrews 7:23-25 (NLT)

    WE SHOULD …

    • Admit we NEED HELP!
    • Believe Jesus CAN HELP!
    • Confess we AREN’T PERFECT!
    • Don’t try to do it ON YOUR OWN!

    SONGS FROM TODAY

  • Staff Outing and Christmas Eve Invite!!!!

    I have to be honest … I was very skeptical about this staff outing.  I love inviting people to church and even sharing with others about Christ, but for some reason, I felt this had a Rob Bell “bullhorn” video written all over it from the first time I heard about the idea for a staff outing.  However, much to my surprise, our team had a great time!  We got to pass out some Starbucks gift-cards, invite people to our Christmas Eve Service and ask some random Christmas questions.  I feel like the morning went well and we avoided the turn or burn approach that pushes people away from church instead of inviting them to it!  Here is just a quick video of some of the things that went down this morning!  Enjoy!

  • Ignatius the Ultimate Youth Pastor

    Saw this awhile ago but saw it on a friends twitter and it’s relevant to what we are talking about this weekend in Fusion.  Enjoy!!

  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 4: Obedience

    “I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,[e] that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles. 14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world,[f] to the educated and uneducated alike. 15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.

    16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[g]17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’” Romans 12:13-16 (NLT)

    Today we took most of the group to the construction site and sent the rest to VBS. At the site, half of the group worked on painting the house while the other half worked on the fence.   However, we didn’t get the all clear for digging until late afternoon.  We took a volunteer team and worked until 8:45 to dig holes and set post so we could finish the fence Wednesday and Thursday.
    At VBS they doubled their number of kids, which created some excitement.  After VBS that crew worked with the University Baptist Church and cleaned a yard in the community.

    Here are some pictures from the Construction site:

  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 3: Humble

    “About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’

    2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

    5 And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf[a] is welcoming me. 6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.’” Matthew 18:1-6 (NLT)

    Today was our first day on the work-site and doing VBS in the park.  Both places had challenges.  At VBS, the students and leaders only had 3 kids show up.  This is much different than the VBS we were able to do in Mexico and it left some of the team feeling discouraged.  In that came the question, “Why go if no-one is going to show up?”  Great question!  I think it is easy sometimes to want to pull out of something when it doesn’t go the way we thought it should, or if kids don’t show up.  But we lead by example, if we pull out after 1 day, disgaurding all the work we did to pass out fliers, and talk it up with our students, I think we teach them that when things don;t go the way we thought, or when things get hard, its ok to give up.  There’s a word that I am sure will surface this week as a word called perseverance!  Maybe the lesson was never meant to be for anyone other than our group and our students to learn that sometimes when you work for the Lord you don’t see the results immediately, but you serve out of obedience, sacrifice, and perseverance.

    We had some challenges at the work-site also. We arrived and demolished the rest of the fence to get ready to put the new one up in the next 2 days.  We will dig 28 holes for new fence posts to a 8ft privacy fence.  While several crews do that we will have another crew stripping/scrapping the trim and soffets as well as the front entry so it can be repainted.  The homeowner is a widowed lady’s who’s husband died 5 years ago.

    In our worship time, Penelope shared the word of the day HUMBLE, and Josh led us in musical worship.  What a sweet time we had, the Spirit moved in a mighty way breaking students and adults challenging us to surrender all of us for all of Him.

    It’s been a good trip!  We have had some challenges, 1 sick, 2 students stepped on nails, and 1 students stepped on a rock
    and caused her foot to swell and toe to feel numb, and lots of sunburns!  Please continue to pray for our group!

    Here are some pics from today!


  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 2: Self-Control (update)

    “‘So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.’[c]” v. 13-16

    Today was very busy, Church, VBS and Work-site planning, the beach, and a lot of people moving in. The space has become very crowded and someone tried to break into our trailer. They put a hole in it and broke all the lights. God is going to do some awesome things this week because Satan is doing so much to distract us.

    On a side note, the Internet isn’t the greatest here, so it’s really hard to blog! Please make sure to follow the twitters for the best updates. Our group is going to crash early! Got a big day tomorrow! Pray with us!

    This morning, Day 3, we will challenge our students with yesterdays word – Self-Control.  We will typically do this in the evening from 8-9.  At this time we will worship through song, Bible Study (word for the day) and prayer.  Please pray for these times as we share with each other the things God is doing in us and through us!

    Here are some pics from yesterday:

    Don’t forget, follow my Twitter for the latest updates at http://www.twitter.com/dgould77 it also links to my FaceBook so add me as a friend nd you can follow there also!

  • Galveston Mission Trip – Day 1: BE AN EXAMPLE

    “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” 1st Timothy 4:12

    We have arrived in Galveston. Alamo Elementary is a great facility that we are lucky to be able to stay in. The showers are small, but we are thankful for them. I believe that this week is going to be very impactful for our group. Each night we will be meeting from 8:00-9:00 to sing, learn, and pray. Each night a different student will share a word and a verse that encourages or challenges us in our walk. Tonight, our word was EXAMPLE. We were challenged to BE AN EXAMPLE. Everywhere we go people are watching. Let’s stop making excuses and start living like we Jesus called us to live. It’s a challenge for all of us, young and old. What a great reminder and Challenge as we begin this week! Let be examples in the words we use, in our action, in our love, in our faith, and by our PURE lives!

    Pics from today

  • Packing Round 1

    Well it’s that busy time of the year for me, long days and week long trips with students.  This Saturday we will leave Grace Community Church for a week long mission trip to Galveston TX.  However, my wife and boys are leaving for MO tomorrow.  As I put Josiah down for bed tonight he said in his sad voice that he was going to miss me.  I tried to encourage him with all the fun stuff they were going to do while they were in MO, but he said it didn’t matter because he was still going to  miss me.  It makes me feel good, but sad at the same time.  Josiah is getting old enough where he really wants to be with Daddy.  It will definitely be a quiet lonely house for the next three days.  But I know that they will have fun and that God is going to use our team in a special way next week in Galveston.  I will be posting daily happenings and testimonies from our students.

  • The Pulse – April Week 4

    This Weekend Announcements

    SURVIVOR HAS BEGUN

    Here are the Scores after Week 1:
    6th Grade – 3,350 points
    7th Grade – 1,350 points
    8th Grade – 3,100 points
    9th Grade – 1,200 points
    10th Grade – 500 points
    11th & 12th Grade – 600 points

    Remember you only get points for checking in and turning in your stuff before the weekend Worship Service.  Please make sure you sign in to help you grade gain the points they need to win and be the Soul Survivor.

    Here is whats going down

    Let’s face it, being a Christian isn’t always easy. In fact, sometimes it’s very difficult.  In this series, we are going to talk about how we can be Survivors in this thing called “The Christian Life”. Here is what we will talk about each week:

    Week 1 – The Battle                       Week 4 – Hanging on to your Head
    Week 2 – Staying on Your Feet         Week 5 – Battling with your Sword
    Week 3 – Fireproof Faith                 Week 6 – Battling with your Mouth

    Here are the details:

    • This is a battle of the Grades in which each of the students in small group lead the charge for their Grade.
    • Each Grade will compete for points that are awarded at the Weekend Worship Service. Points are awarded through attendance, bringing visitors, and donating canned goods.  The final challenge consists of each team competing in CRUD WAR.

    POINT SYSTEM

    • Personal Attendance Points – 100 points each time you are at the Service
    • Visitor Attendance Points – 200 points for each visitor you bring every time they attend the Service! (yes, if they come more than once, that’s 200 points each time the attend for your team)
    • Canned Goods – 50 points awarded for each canned good you bring to Service
    • Game Points – 500 points will be awarded to the representative from your team that wins the game each week.
    • CRUD WAR – all of the points above apply to CRUD WAR with these two additional point values added
      • Participation Points – 100 points given to each student participant in each game
      • Leader Participation Points – 200 points given to each adult participant in the game
        • Each team needs to wear their team color for CRUD WAR.
    We will keep track of points and update the Survivor Wall each week with the new scores.  We will announce the Survivor Winners at the Weekend Worship Service on May 31st.  Make sure you plan to attend and invite others to participate . . . It’s going to be dirty, but life changing!

    Team Colors for CRUD WAR
     6th grade team – Orange         9th grade team – Red
    7th grade team – Blue             10th grade team – Pink
    8th grade team – Green           11th & 12th grade team – Purple


    WILD WEEK MANDATORY MEETING
    If you missed it, that means we don’t have your paperwork.  If you haven’t already heard from us please contact us to make sure we get all your forms in on time.

    GALVESTON MISSION TRIP – We are not going to Mexico
    Happens June 13th – 20th register online or at Seeds Book Store
    Reg – $400 after May 17th with completed registration and $100 deposit.
    Late – $425 after May 17th can only happen if space is available.

    SMALL GROUPS
    Wednesdays 7-8:30pm for 6th- 10th grades
    Sundays 7-8:30 for 11th – 12th grades

    Galveston Mission Trip Update

    Because of the conditions in Mexico, we have changed locations.  We will go to Galveston instead and do the same thing there that we would have done in Mexico.  Since the trip is right around the corner.   We will hold an important Galveston Mission Trip meeting on May 17th. Here are the details:

    Galveston Mission Trip Meeting (Please Note the Change)

    • Sunday, May 17th at 12:30 in the Student Center (for anyone interested in going)

    Who Should Attend?

    • Students wanting to go
    • Parents wanting to go
    • Volunteers wanting to go
    • Parents of teenagers that want to go

    At the meeting we will give info on what we will be doing the week we are there and answer questions that you may have!

    This was an awesome trip last year and God did an amazing work in us and through us.  We are so excited to be a part of this new adventure this year and hope that you will join us!