Framing in Monroe

We just finished week 2 of our up fit on the Monroe Campus and it’s very exciting to see the progress. We had a great turn out on Saturday morning and the weather was a lot better than the week before. We prayed, ate donuts and drank coffee while we waited for the lost Lowe’s truck to deliver the lumber. With lumber finally in hand and direction from Joe, everyone got to work. While some built walls, others worked with the plans figuring where the wall was supposed to go. What a team!

By noon, we had three walls up for a large storage closet and two offices so we took a lunch break, complements of one our volunteers. After lunch, everyone was back to work and in two hours we had the frame of our restrooms finished. It’s impressive to see how God sends the right people with the right gifts to do His work.

Please continue to pray for God to give direction and wisdom to all involved in every aspect of this project. Please pray for all who will be touched and the lives that will be changed when we open this campus.

Check out these pictures from our framing day:

Demo Update from Nydia

To say that God showed up on Saturday morning is an understatement. To say that Southbrook Church has been blessed with great volunteers is another understatement

When I got up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and saw the weather forecast, I prayed for guidance on what to do for the work day we had planned. To have people come out and work, stop halfway, come back another day and finish was not a good idea. So after praying and discussing it with Joe, our general contractor, and Paul, our executive pastor, we headed to the site with coffee and donuts.

Despite the drizzle and cold, we had 25 people with tools show up to work. (Didn't I say, Southbrook has the best volunteers?!?) The space is a bit more that 10,000 square feet and about 45% of it needed demo in preparation for the renovation. I saw people take down walls, light fixtures, ceiling tiles, bathroom tiles and move debris to the side to be dumped. We completed 75% of the demo before lunch! By the time we stopped for the day, we had completed about 95% of the demo.

At around 2:30 p.m., I locked up the site, got in my truck to head home, and it started snowing. I looked up at the sky and thanked God for holding off on the snow until we were done. Am I surprised? No! I serve a very big God who listens to our prayers, especially when we are in the mist of doing His work and growing His kingdom. That is what we are about at Southbrook Church.

Take a look at our progress:

Monroe Campus Service

We're starting our Monroe Campus service this weekend, but we're meeting in Weddington until the new site is ready for us. Join us at 8:30 a.m. in the Video Cafe at Southbrook:Central for the Monroe Campus worship service. Questions? Contact Nydia at npastoriza@southbrookchurch.com.

Demolition Begins on Saturday

We've signed the lease on our new site and we're ready to start the demo to prepare it for renovations! Join us at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday as we get started. Questions? Contact Nydia at npastoriza@southbrookchurch.com.

Address: 1410 Skyway Drive, Monroe, NC 28110

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Getting Closer

Please continue to keep Southbrook Monroe in your prayers as we move closer to a VERY BIG announcement regarding our Monroe campus. I'd love to tell you more about it, but I'm sworn to secrecy until October 28th when all of us gather under one GINORMOUS tent to celebrate what God has done, is doing and will continue to do through His people at Southbrook church!

To get ready for this plan on attending all four weekends of our IGNITE series! We will have big announcements throughout!

Thanks for hanging in there. Anything worth doing is worth doing right!

Pastor Rob

CD Release - September 29

You can purchase your copy of the Southbrook Worship CD beginning this weekend. Service this weekend will be an awesome time of worship - don't miss it! To hear a sample of the CD, go to www.returnworship.com.

UPDATE! Southbrook Monroe

Been wondering where in the world is Erie, Pennsylvania?

No?

Well, how about what's been going on with the actual launch of Southbrook Monroe?

Yes?

Well, here's the latest in a nutshell:

You may or may not have been noticing the filming for the Monroe site (if you regularly attend the 11:30 service you would have noticed b/c that is when we tape for Monroe) and the moving forward of at least some of the preparation for out newest campus. However, what you could not have noticed was an actual campus.

Here's why.

We have run into obstacle after obstacle at every single location we thought we could secure for meeting space. Roadblocks have included:

1. Too much money
2. School officials changing their minds
3. No one to actually work the weekend for certain schools
4. Locations that seemed too far out of our target area

and many many more.

The bottomline, however, is that we have decided to go ahead and start with a location that is, in fact, not right in the sweet spot in order to start upfitting a location that is. The thought is that we need to just get started and trust you all to stretch for a month or two while we get your new Monroe worship site all complete and ready to go.

So...Can you hang in there for a few more weeks?

We want to do this right, and getting the cart before the horse would definitely not be right.

Hmm, that sounds formiliar. Read this and you'll see that this principle applies in a lot of areas.

I hope so, because all those who do will find that it was well worth the wait!



For Such a Time as This,

Pastor Rob

Encounter Q&A with Rob Owens

The Encounter Retreat has been postponed for now.

Why?

Not because we don't believe in it, but because we believe so much in it!

We want to have a bigger, better, blowout encounter because we have seen the transformation that happens at these events.

So, stay tuned as we gear up for a ginormous encounter.

And, if you need more motivation, read below...

Maybe you've been considering attending but don't know what the Encounter Retreat is. We asked Rob Owens, an Encounter Retreat volunteer, a few questions about the retreat and why you should consider attending.

When did you attend an Encounter retreat?
Rob: I attended the encounter
last January during a time of great mental and spiritual struggle in my life.

Without giving away any surprises, what was the best part of the
Encounter for you?
Rob: The best part of the encounter for me was truly
opening my heart to understand God's grace and forgiveness. I was able to see
that spiritual warfare was going on in my life and I was letting the wrong side
win. The encounter allowed me to renew my relationship with God and my life has
been amazing ever since.

Why are you/do you go back to Encounter as
volunteer?
Rob: I go back because I see it as a ministry to others. So
many people helped me that weekend with my relationship and were ministers to
me. I feel God has laid it on my heart to give the same opportunity to others.

Who do you think should attend Encounter? Why?
Rob: I feel
that anyone who is stagnant in their walk with God or is not walking with God
should attend this encounter. God will work in so many ways if you attend with
an open heart and an open mind and your life will never be the same.

Curious about Encounter and what God might have for you? Want to go? Contact Jay Foreman at jforeman@southbrookchurch.com.

Baptism and BBQ

Come celebrate with those being baptized this weekend! The baptism will take place after the 11:30am service on Sunday. BBQ lunch will be available for purchase.

If you're interested in being baptized, come to the orientation at 11:30am under the trees down by the pool. Questions? Contact Amanda Pelser at apelser@southbrookchurch.com. Children 5th grade and under need to meet with a children's pastor before the baptism. Contact Mary Padgett at mpadgett@southbrookchurch.com.

Parenting Seminar

Only one more week until the Parenting Seminar with Jim Burns. If you have teenagers, don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to learn from this nationally known speaker.

Parenting Seminar with Jim Burns

August 23, 2007

7pm

Main Auditorium

Register for the seminar

Questions? Contact Lisa Carter.

iBelieve - Do you?

This is the weekend that we've been waiting for. We're approaching the final weekend of the "iTunes" series and Clayton King will be with us. His message is titled "iBelieve". Over 650 names of people have been written on CD's. Who are you bringing? Keep praying. Keep inviting. "iBelieve" that God is going to do amazing things in the lives of many people this weekend. Do you?

Get ready for the iTunes series!

Wow. Last night Pastor Rob gave us some insight into the direction of our next sermon series, "iTunes".

We're excited to see how God's going to continue to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." All of the first time decisions made for Christ (several hundred) and the great baptism services we've seen (over 200) are just the top of the iceberg of what we believe God's going to do this year.

So start inviting your friends, neighbors, co-workers, school friends....man, even the folks you might not get along with.....to Southbrook. It's an easy way to share your faith with your friends. You do the invite and God will do the rest. If you don't, you might find yourself missing out on the great things God's doing here and beyond.

Over the next two weekends Pastor Rob is going to speak on "iCare" and "iLove" and Clayton King will end the series with "iBelieve".

Hold on to your hats....we're gonna see God move mightily once again...

The Leadership Summit

Hosted by Mecklenburg Community Church

August 9 — 10am to 6pm
August 10 — 10am to 6pm
August 11— 10am to 1:30pm

Group Price—$165 per person
Register online

More info about the conference

Questions? Contact Amanda Pelser at
apelser@southbrookchurch.com or 704-814-7372 x110.

Celebration Service

Southbrook:Monroe Info Meetings

Interested in our Monroe Campus? Come hear the latest info on our search for a meeting place and the opening of our new campus from Pastor Rob and our Multi-Site Director, Nydia.

Saturday, July 21 and July 28

8:00pm, following the service

Southbrook:Central Auditorium

Take a moment to let us know that you plan to attend or that you'd like more info about the Monroe campus by completing this quick RSVP form.