Dan Gould

Tag: Grace Community Church

  • Galveston Mission Trip – post #1

    Well, in less than 24 hours Fusion Students and Leaders will load some vans and head to Galveston TX.  We are working with Good News Galveston helping the community rebuild from hurricane Ike.  We will be one of the first teams reaching out to the children through VBS/Back Yard Bible Clubs.  Along with this we will have some of our team members doing construction projects.  As we have prayed and planned, we have purposely left some open spaces so we could be flexible and meet a need as a need comes up. Sometimes we schedule so much that we schedule out the opportunity to meet needs on the fly.  As you pray, would you remember our students, and leaders as we embark on this mission tomorrow.  Here is what I would ask that you would pray for:

    * Pray for Safety
    * Pray for Brokenness
    * Pray for Salvation’s
    * Pray for Repentance
    * Pray for Spiritual Growth
    * Pray for Unity
    * Pray for Attitudes
    * Pray for Surrendered Hearts

    I believe God is going to use this team greatly.  I know personally for me, mission trip is always a impactful and a highlight to see students do things they don’t normally do and experience God in ways they don’t normally allow themselves to experience Him.

    If you want to follow the latest and greatest details, I will be twittering the trip and posting updates daily to the blog.  You can follow me on twitter here:

    www.twitter.com/dgould77

  • NO SMALL GROUPS TONIGHT FOR FUSION

    Since School is Canceled today we are canceling small groups tonight!!!  Enjoy the break and we will see you Saturday at the Grace Fusion Bowl or Sunday for Weekend Worship!!!

  • 2008 Rewind – Retreats and Events

    Last night we brought in the New Year in a big way!  We had so much fun hanging out.  I have never seen so many cameras at onetime until Austin started shaving my head.  It’s sad that this would be the thing that got everyone excited.  So yes, 2008 we said goodbye to some great retreats!  Student Life, Planet Wisdom, and the Back 2 School Retreat were off the chain.  I also said goodbye to my hair (hope it grows back).  I am sure some picks will be posted later at which time I will post some of the sad moments on here so you can insert random pocks at my expense!  I am not bitter I promise!

    Enjoy these two video that highlight some of the things we were able to experience as a ministry together in 2008.  We do have two retreats coming in February.  You will be sad if you miss them so get the info here!

  • 2008 Rewind – Mexico Mission Trip

    What an experience!!! We saw God move in our group and in the kids and adults we were blessed to hang out with.  We are already working on this years trip, adding a puppet show and a couple of teen services to the format.  If you went last year you know what to expect and are probably planning on returning.  If you didn’t go last year, check out the video and make plans to join us June 13-22, 2009.  You will be so glad you did!

  • 2008 Rewind – Small Groups

    If you haven’t connected with a small group yet . . . you are missing out!  This year we have moved all of our small groups to homes and they are awesome!  We have great leaders that would love to get to know you and encourage you.  We are only halfway through the year so its not to late to get connected.  They will start again Wednesday January 7th 2009.  Click here for more info. Check out the video to see what has happened so far . . .

  • 2008 Rewind – Wild Week

    What a great week, the beach, Lambert’s, the ocean (with jelly fish . . . boooo) sand volleyball, condos, awesome worship, Ken Freeman, Kacy Benson, Nick Thurmond, Baptisms in the Ocean, and a 13 hour bus ride.  Wild Week 08 at Orange Beach has to be one of the best camp experiences I have ever had.  Our group grew closer to God and each other.  God did awesome things in each persons life that week.  If you did get to go to Wild Week last year, make plans to go this year when we invade camp wow in Oklahoma for Wild Week 09 July 7th-11th.  For more info click here!

    Here’s a video of some snap shots from last years experience!

  • Christmas Eve at Grace

    As Christmas winds down, the kids are sleeping and it’s the first time I have had a chance to write in the last 48 hours.  Christmas is always a busy time for us, but this year, adding 5 days of rehearsals because I was asked to play Joseph for the Nativity at Grace Community Church and then 8 hours on Christmas Eve, with 3 services,  made it even busier.  However, this Christmas will definitely be one I will never forget!  It truly was humbling to play the role of Joseph, and really brought a different perspective to Christmas for me this year.  Even though the rehearsals seemed long, and I tended to get in trouble, or be a distraction, and I had to grow the beard and hair out, I had a great time.  I pray that God was able to use it to bless all that attended the services on Christmas Eve!  Here are some pics from the 6:00 service

  • A Sad Celebration

    Today was Josiah’s Christmas Party at Grace.  This year has been a hard year for him given all the things that have been happening around him.  The party was filled with Cake, juice, presents and parents.  The kids had such a good time.  Afterward, Mrs. Janet passed out gifts, I expected a little gift but Josiah walked away with a little Bible, a transformer, and a snow globe Manger.  Mrs. Janet and Mrs. Erin really went out of their way to make this party special for each kid.  Thank you so much!!!!

    However, today marked the last day that Josiah will have Mrs. Janet as his teacher.  He has taken it really well so far, and even though she was dying on the inside she held her composure today.  It had to be hard for her because her love for these kids oozes out of her.  As a parent, I have seen Josiah learn so much just from Mrs. Janet’s way of teaching, especially the Bible Stories!  The next teacher has some big shoes to fill.  Mrs. Janet will be greatly missed!

    Thank you Mrs. Janet for your faithful service to Grace Community Church and the “Funky Frogs”!!!

  • Weekend Review – Dec. 7th

    give

    This week was week 3 of the Big Give!!  God has really been doing some neat things in our time.  This last week concluded our Gifts of Grace for East Plano kids, it was awesome seeing our students come into church with gifts for kids.  I really look forward to worshiping with our students each week.  Our student worship team does such a great job.

    This week we encouraged students to get involved in a couple of mission projects.  One is teaching ESL to kids at Meadows Elementary and the other is helping raise funds to build schools in Uganda, in partnership with Invisible Children (invisiblechildren.com).  Note – the second opportunity in Uganda was inspired by one of our students who shared how she was getting involved in a project called schools for schools.  She did a great job and her story fit so well with the talk.  Here is the outline with pictures we used to drive home the point that you have to stay focused.

    THE BIG GIVE
    How to Give!
    December 7TH, 2008

    “‘So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.’” John 13:34-35 (NLT)

    HOW TO GET INVOLVED

    1.    It takes FOCUS!

    “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

    What do you see?  Look at the pictures very closely!

    “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:14 (NLT)

    2.    It takes SACRIFICE!

    “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16 (NLT)

    3.    It takes COMMITMENT!

    “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37 (NIV)

    4.    It takes FOLLOW-THROUGH!

    “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NLT)

    Excited to see what happens this week as we talk about Where to Give Big.

  • Illuminate – Be Our Guest This Christmas Eve

    christmas-eve-08

    Make plans to join us at Grace Community Church in Plano, Texas for Christmas Eve.  We have four different services you can attend:

    2:00 pm – Celebration Service with Nativity

    4:00 pm – Celebration Service with Nativity

    6:00 pm – Celebration Service with Nativity

    11:00 pm – Celebration Service with Candles, Choruses and Communion

    We would love to have you as our special guest this Christmas Eve as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Here is a glimpse of what you could experience.