It's Snowing and We're Adapting

We hope you and your family are staying warm and enjoying the beautiful snow across NWA. We want to give you a heads up about how we are going to adapt our Sunday worship gathering this week. The normal time and location will be different so listen up and help spread the message. On Sunday, March 1 Northwest Community Church will host our worship gathering at 11:00 am at our office building at 8250 West McNelly Rd Bentonville, AR 72712. We will have a simple but exciting worship gathering for everyone who can make it. We will have hot coffee, donuts, genuine friendships, and a refreshing time of worship and teaching for you and your family. We will revisit a passage in Hebrews 6:18 - 19 which describes the hope we have in Jesus Christ as being an anchor for our souls. Come prepared to discuss how Jesus has been the anchor in your life in recent months. Put on your flexible pants and come join us! Also, consider using this snow day as an opportunity to serve your neighbors and invite them to join you tomorrow morning at Northwest.

Finally, if you and your family decide to stay home tomorrow morning please remember to utilize the Northwest podcasts posted on iTunes and our website. You could easily gather around your computer, phone, or tablet and listen to a recent message that will help your family study God's Word together and spark great conversations.

Have a great weekend,
Will

Mud Pies

Yesterday Northwest Community Church kicked off a new teaching series entitled Mud Pies. Where did we get such an odd title like Mud Pies? Well, the inspiration for this series comes directly from a quote from a Christian apologist, author, and scholar by the name of C.S. Lewis in his sermon entitled "The Weight of Glory." Lewis writes, "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Northwest Community Church
February 22 - March 8

Lewis was making the point that God designed human beings to enjoy Him. We were created by God to enjoy fellowship with our creator, to delight in His laws, instruction, and leadership, and to reflect His character. And thankfully because of Jesus Christ, WE CAN!  Sadly, however, many people end up reducing this incredible relationship down to a set of legalistic rules and never experience the soul-satisfying enjoyment of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ.  We end up settling for mud pies.

During the Mud Pies series we will be discovering how a personal relationship with Jesus Christ leads to enjoyment in God, heartfelt obedience, hunger for God's character, and a desire to please God out of reverence and gratitude. Specifically during Mud Pies we will discover how Jesus is able shape us into generous men and women who give in a way that delights the heart of the Father.  Mud Pies will deepen your understanding of acceptable gifts to God and show you how to manage money in such a way that you actually grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Come learn with us and refuse to settle for mud pies as it relates to your finances, generosity, and walk with God.

If you missed Week 1 of Mud Pies be sure to check out the Northwest Podcast on iTunes or through our website. Then make plans to join us for our worship gathering this Sunday at Cooper Elementary in Bella Vista at 10am.      
        

Baptism, Birthday, and BBQ

On Sunday, February 15th, Northwest Community Church will celebrate 5 years since we launched in Bella Vista, AR! We will celebrate 5 years of God's faithfulness and the life-change He has provided along the way.   Our birthday bash will be include stories of life-change, baptism, and of course a ton of bbq. Come join us on Sunday at 10am at Cooper Elementary in Bella Vista.  Be sure to bring a friend and plan to stick around for a great lunch together.

Over 6 years ago God began to lead 4 families to plant a church in Northwest Arkansas that would reach unchurched people and one day plant other healthy churches. Initially we did not know much about the process of planting a church but we knew a few things about Jesus. We knew that Jesus is always trustworthy. We knew that Jesus is the anchor of our lives. And we knew that Jesus was leading us to plant Northwest Community Church.  Those simple truths were enough for us to obey and begin the journey.

Along the way, God began to clarify the vision and mission for Northwest Community Church. Our vision became to lead people to experience a new life in Christ while our mission became to produce and release leaders who are fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  Over the past 5 years Northwest has stayed focused on fulfilling our vision and our mission and we have watched as God provide the people, resources, and changed lives necessary for a healthy church.  

In addition to the 3 B's on Sunday, we will wrap up our series entitled Why We Gather as we discover what it means to truly have Jesus as the anchor of life. Come prepared to worship, celebrate, and discover what your life is capable of when it is anchored to Jesus Christ.  My prayer is that God will produce and release hundreds of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ from Northwest Community Church in the years to come…After all it's why we gather!