A great 1st service/Christmas Eve Service!

  • John Alwood
  • Dec 29, 2008
  • Series: Infusion News

We had planned on having our first annual Christmas Eve service outdoors in our amphitheater, but the closer we got to Christmas Eve, the worse the weather report got. We had to adjust and move inside, which turned out to be a good decision. According to one of our team members, it was raining at 6:15pm, so I guess it all worked out. Despite being indoors, the entire evening was incredible!

The launch team was awesome not only leading up to the evening, but also duirng. They spent countless hours getting things all decorated and prepared so we could throw an awesome party for the people of Escondido to celebrate the birth/incarnation of Jesus. Hugemongous "thanks" to all who helped out.

The existing congregation (the 50+ people who attend what is currently called "The Traditional Service") have also been incredible. While I know some of them gritted their teeth through the volume of the service, they have been nothing but encouraging and supportive. Many brought their kids, grandkids, and greatgrandkids so they could all see what kind of changes we've made and what kind of church family we hope to become.

Just as the service was starting, people kept coming, and coming, and coming, and coming. Our motto is: It isn't a party unless you're past fire code capacity! Things got so tight that while we were well past fire code capacity and had only a small bit of standing room packed in the back, we hope it didn't turn too many folks away. Next year, hopefully we'll either have 2 services, or be in the amphitheater where we can seat a lot more people.

The service, itself, was very moving. The band did a great job, and it was awesome to see people at the first service of a brand new church worshiping, raising hands, singing out, and all to centuries-old Christmas Hymns (played in a new way, of course)! Many folks I saw said they've never before seen a church band rock like that. Way to go band. Many people were moved to tears, and even better, some were moved to faith in Christ. I talked with 4 people afterward who indicated they had come to faith in Jesus at this service, or it was a monumental point in their life where they realized some important truths about Jesus that led them to faith.

Pastor Chuck and Matt Ortiz joined me in giving "thoughts" on Christmas from a gospel-centered perspective. It is amazing to see the gospel at work, especially in a holiday that has been hijacked by consumerism. Chuck started things off in his friendly way and brought home the idea that God can work through any situation to bring about his plan. Matt came in firing on all cylinders as usual. Everytime I hear that guy speak, I either want to start cheering or go beat somebody up or something. His preaching just invokes a great emotional response in my heart. If you live in the vacinity of Matt's church, Crossroads, in National City, you must get into the life of that church. Matt is great, and so is that church.

After the service, I was pelted by a few icy snowballs in the parking lot and met a ton of people (whos names I'll try to remember). As people filed out and the crowd thinned, an older gentleman who has been attending the church we are replanting for many years. He came out of the building with his walker and tears streaming down his face saying "thank you, thank you, thank you," then learched out of his walker and hugged me for probably 30 seconds straight. I don't cry a lot, but I did this time because this man (and others like him) have been praying for years that God would move the church in a different direction and begin reaching their kids and grandkids generations, and now they're seeing it. I told him to keep on praying. I don't take credit for any of this. Without God and his intervention, believe me (and ask my friends!) I am a huge failure. God has started something special. A transformation is taking place. A new birth is happening in the life of this church as old CRC becomes Infusion. This is the message of the Gospel, that God continually makes things new to accomplish His glorious work.

We have a lot of work to do as we lead up to launch, but things seem to be falling into place. The cool thing is, a community is forming, and a vision is unfolding. God is definitely doing his work, and Jesus is building his church. I'm so thrilled to be a part of it all.