https://carolinespromise.myetap.org/fundraiser/guatemala2012/team.do?participationRef=3848.0.151071778

When I stop and think about all of the volunteering hands it takes to pull off a successful Sunday service, it makes me grateful to the Lord for all of the servants that He has brought to Wilson Community Church. Sunday services simply cannot be pulled off by church staff alone; we depend on lots and lots of hard-working people who are sacrificing their time and energy for a cause that is greater than them, myself, and our church. They don’t do it for the praise of men but for the praise of our heavenly Father, and not to our glory but to the glory of His Kingdom.

Our church praise band, known by the name of “StedFast”, has recently started a new tradition to recognize extraordinary volunteers. We are calling them the “MVP” (Most Valuable Player). The MVP in the setting of our band is somebody who is not just meeting the requirements of a band member but is surpassing those qualities and leading the rest of the band to do so.

The StedFast MVP for the Fall 2011 semester is without a single doubt the new and exciting member to our church and band, Jim Daniels. Jim originally joined the band in June as a back-up drummer and when he filled in on drums we lost absolutely no quality in our sound. In fact, we saw improvement.

In August this year, both of our rotating drummers (Chandler Bryant and Mark Mueller) came to me needing some time off for various reasons. I had little choice but to ask Jim to not only come on full-time with us, but to play every single week with us, as the only other optional player on drums is myself, and I consider that a last resort. Here is one of the reasons Jim Daniels is our MVP: When I asked him to step up to this monumental task, he very nonchalantly said “Of course”, as if the request didn’t phase him in the slightest.

Since then, Jim has only had one Sunday off, and he has been there every single week 15-30 minutes early (that’s around 7:30am for those who don’t know how early we arrive on Sundays). Without saying it in words, his actions challenge me to step it up and be extra early with him! It doesn’t stop there. Jim comes in a joyful mood every single week and he comes with his parts totally nailed. In order to be that prepared he has to put in hours of practice each week, studying the recordings I give the band members to learn the songs by. So while the rest of the band has every other week off to practice and prepare, Jim has to work twice as hard to produce an excellent sound every single Sunday.

Jim has taken it upon himself to care for the drum set, coming in and tuning it during the week and making sure everything is perfect for Sunday morning worship. He takes great care to make sure that he understands exactly what I want from him on every song and he communicates with me throughout the week to make sure that we’re on the same page.

When it comes to Jim, I can honestly tell the band with the utmost confidence, “Do as Jim does”. And the best reason Jim Daniels is our MVP: Jim does it all for the glory of God. In fact, he has no idea that I am writing this letter and will probably blush in embarrassment that I am calling so much attention to his actions. So in agreement with his heart for the Kingdom, I say that God is truly our MVP, but Jim Daniels, an ordinary guy who works at BB&T, is the next best thing.

Stephen Combs

Wilson Community Church

Minister of Worship & Youth

• The PMT and Trustees met this week with the builder and the architect. We received cost estimates on different pieces of the Master Plan. We are now working to decide what will be built in phase one and what we will need to wait on for future development. This is a 24,000 square foot building and we will be growing into it.
 
• The electrician has repaired the damaged wiring. The city has connected temporary power for the construction. The building is still not approved for occupancy, so we won't be able to meet inside until the remodel is complete. But we will have power in the parking lot for our Trunk or Treat event!
 
• The WCC volunteer clean-up team continues to work hard. They will have the front ready for the Trunk or Treat event this Sunday. They will resume clean-up of the borders and parking lot at a work day on November 13th.
 
• The ground-breaking ceremony will be scheduled as soon as we get all the participants confirmed. Stay tuned.
• The next Volunteer workday is scheduled for Saturday, November 13th at 9:00 AM until 5 PM. We've invited some other churches to help that day.
• We  have put up a new 4' x 40' banner that says "wilsoncommunitychurch.org" this week, along with a "Coming Soon" sign on our building. We also have a 4' x 12' Trunk or Treat banner up. Drive by and check it out!

...worshiped, watched videos remembering the baptisms, picnics, retreats, and other blessings of God in our church family in 2010.

The worship was awesome, with Stephen Combs and StedFast leading. Special music was offered by Mike Wheeler and Jonathan Minter. We had guest musicians from the Christian Connection Choir. They were all amazing.

We packed 138 shoeboxes to be donated to children in need through Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. We also donated $853.00 to help with shipping.

What a great night of ThanksGIVING!

... WCC's Whirligig Booth Team Leader, presented a check to Mr. Linwood Boykin, the Hope Station Director for $1,451.26 on Wednesday, November 23, 2011. Mr. Boykin said that the gift was just in time to help them during the holidays.

The Hope Station offers a food pantry and a clothes closet for those in need. WCC has supported the Hope Station for 20 years as a way to help those in our community.

We raised the money for this donation at our Whirligig Booth. We gave every penny away, not keeping anything back for our expenses. We do this because we love our city and want to be generous with what God has given us. We do this because salvation is free and we freely give!

Thanks to everyone who volunteered at the Whirligig Booth. WCCers, you are making a difference!

... cotton candy and raffle tickets. Mr. Linwood Boykin, Director of Hope Station, was very pleased to receive the gift. He said that they really needed the help, especially going into the holiday season.

Abby Propst went with Pastor Gary to deliver the check as our WCC Whirligig Team representative. Her team, led by Sonny Allen, worked very hard in running a very successful booth this year. In spite of less than favorable weather compared to last year, we still increased our money raised for Hope Station.

The Whirligig raffle winners were Melodie Horne of Wilson, who won the Toshiba laptop computer and Jeremy Walsh of Wilson, who won the Cracker Barrel rocker.

• The PMT (Pastor's Management Team) will be overseeing the management of the project. They have been meeting with the general contractor and architect. Their next meeting is on Monday, Oct. 11^th. We have not signed a contract with them yet and we have not gotten a final master plan yet. But we’re working on it. When we sign a contract with the GC, he will be the one who manages the approved project for us. All sub contractors will have to submit bids to him.

• The Trustees have been active in the financial side of this project. They just signed the closing papers. They will continue to have financial advisory and oversight. The PMT will be asking advice from the Trustees on the contracts. We will be scheduling a meeting soon to look at the impact of the building on the budget and planning for 2011.

• Current approved actions:

- We have hired a local electrician to repair the electric and get temporary power for construction. This work began Monday, October 4th.

- We've ordered a banner with our name and website to put on the building to be seen from the road. Should be installed by late next week.

- We’ve appointed Tim Jenkins to lead the volunteer workforce on exterior cleanup. He is working towards a deadline of Oct. 30^th(So that it’s clean before TrunkRTreat) for the front area. He will finish the rest during November. He will manage the following:

 - Cut grass, trim hedges, cut down trees, etc.

 - Roundup vegetation in parking lot and fill pot holes

 - Paint over graffiti with matching paint.

Sign-ups for these projects will be in the foyer on Sunday. Please see Tim or one of his team (Scott Monaghan, Jeff Jones, Sandy Blake) for more details.

Wilson's Largest Egg Hunt! - 10,000 Eggs!

For children ages 0 to 10. Fun for the whole family!

2301 Montgomery Drive (behind the Taco Bell on Tarboro Street)

11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on the Wilson Community Church campus. Live music, 10,000 egg hunt, prizes, games, free hotdogs and drinks, Wilson Fire Dept. Ladder Truck, Inflated jumpers, Wilson Police Child ID Trailer, crafts, and much more!!!

Local groups and vendors also on hand are: The Boy Scouts, Toe to Toe Dance, The Arc of Wilson County, The Spot – youth after school care and sports, Heaven’s Foot Prints Performing Arts. Youth of Wilson, Boys and Girls Club, Hunter’s Dance, Carolina Cheese and more.

... the closing representing our church and signing the closing documents. Our trustees, Daniel Jernigan, Mike McKinley and David Apple, have been working hard all summer, along with the Pastor's Management Team, to get ready for this day. WCCers and their friends and family have given nearly $75,000 in 40 days in order to close on this property.

Also, present at the signing, was the Director of the North Carolina Baptist Foundation, Russell Jones, who helped us with the loan. He drove from Charlotte to be present with us at the signing.

Please join us in thanking and praising God for His faithfulness!

Also, watch for future updates. Now, it's time to get to work remodeling the property! 

... packing party for Operation Christmas Child. Parents and children spread out all over the auditorium to pack the gifts they brought with them in the plastic shoe boxes the church had placed under each seat. 

This year we packed 170 shoeboxes and received $1295.00 in offerings for the Samaritan's Purse mission to touch children with the love of Christ around the world. Last year, we packed 138 shoes boxes and raised $853.00, so we're growing in the art of giving!

Speaking of giving, a special thanks to Stephen and Caroline Combs for the hard work they put into this night of celebration. Stephen and StedFast and the WCC Tech Team planned and rehearsed diligently to provide this program. Caroline edited all the videos that helped us remember our year, plus her OCC team prepared the boxes and got them ready to ship too.

And let's not forget the Visual Arts Team under Amanda Manuel. The stage looked fabulous!

We also raised $859.00 for the Benevolence Fund, that we use to help those in need in our church and community.

Now that's how to celebrate ThanksGIVING!

raffled off at the Whirligig Festival. Her name is JoAnn Hickman of Wilson. She was delighted to have won. Congratulations JoAnn!

 ... Leigh Ann Robbins of Wilson. The winner of the rocking chair hasn't replied yet, so we may have to draw another name. We'll announce that winner when they pick up the rocker.

All in all, it was a great weekend. The band played a great one-hour concert downtown at the Wells Fargo stage and we spent the weekend serving our city. 

Check out some of the photos from the weekend at our WCC Fan Page.

Brian Apple, 23 year old son of WCC church member David Apple, died this past Thursday, January 12, 2012. The family visitation will be held in the WCC Worship Center at 11 AM on Saturday, January 14, 2012. The Celebration of Life will be held at 12 Noon. We are preparing a meal for the Apple family at 1 PM in the church foyer. Pastor Gary Combs will be officiating.

Please be in prayer for the Apple family.

... only. We are thankful to God for trusting us with so many new friends!

The "Guess the Candy Corn in the Jar" winner was Riley Roberts. This young nine year old came closest with her guess of 1,826 (There were 1,862 pieces.). She came by the church office this week with her grandmother to pick up the candy corn and the Target gift card.

Tori Jones won the iPod Shuffle raffle that the Dub Youth were sponsoring. And let's not forget what all the members really want to know. Who won the best costume and trunk?

First place - The Addams Family

Second place - The Tron 

Third place - The Avengers 

Overall, we served our community, gave children a safe and dry place to have fun and we invited a lot of people to join us for church this Sunday!

If the rain persists, we'll set up in the church lobby. So, get your costumes on, bring out your candy and let's serve our community!

WCCers have you put the following on your calendar and invited your friends and family?

• Maundy Thursday Service - At CCS 6:30 PM, Thursday, April 21st.
• Easter EGGstravaganza - At 2301 Montgomery Drive at 11 AM - 1 PM on Saturday, April 23rd.
• Easter Sunday - At CCS - Last portable service - Baptism Day - Sunday, April 24th
• Celebration Parade & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Saturday, April 30th at 10 AM.

We've got a lot to be thankful for these days, so don't miss out! Join us!