Independence Day

Never have I felt the sacrifice that so many people make for my freedom than since I moved to Clarksville. There is almost never a day that goes by when I don’t see someone in their Army gear driving around town or even showing up at church. In fact, some of my closest friends are often in and out due to their military career.

Last Sunday, we had the privilege of hosting a deployment send-off for some of America’s finest who attend Awaken Church. We had many families (military and non-military) who braved the 103-degree heat to show their support. We prayed for them, encouraged them, collected donations for their care boxes, and snapped some pictures. It was a very memorable day.

2 years ago, Clarksville felt the impact of a big deployment. Awaken Church really felt it, since the majority of our church deployed! One Wednesday night, I taught with 3 women in our service and 4 women watching 18 kids in Kids Ministry!

This time, although the church won’t shrink to a small women’s ministry, we will still feel the weight of a large deployment. Half of our worship team is deploying, as well as members of our Greeting Crew, Cleaning Crew, Awaken Kids team, and more. And although we hate to say goodbye for the next few months, I am happy to know that those who leave have a strong church family behind them.

To our military families: you fight for us, and we fight for you! Thanks for continuing our independence by sacrificing your safety and time with your family. You are in our prayers and will never be forgotten!

For me, July 4th has never been full of so much meaning and patriotism as the last 3 have been, since I moved to this great city! We love you all! Thanks for your service!

LIFT: Military Ministry

On Sunday, we launched a ministry that has been in our minds and hearts for years.

2 years ago, when we had first moved here and were preparing to start Awaken, we realized that military ministry would be a big need. We had a few problems though: inexperience and numbers. There were only a few of us and the task at hand was huge. We did our best, prayed a lot, and we’re still praying, but the time has come to take it to the next level.

A few months ago, I approached Jeremy Edler, a soldier from Awaken, about my desire to see a ministry like this take off. Jeremy & Julie were 1 of 2 couples we met at our very first park outreach 2 years ago. We held our first Wednesday night Bible studies in their living room, and they’ve been with us from day 1. Jeremy deployed for a year about 8 months after we met, as did about half of our church!

He just returned in April and we began talking and brainstorming about this new initiative. Jeremy & Julie took the idea and ran with it! We landed on the name LIFT, because it describes what we want to do: lift up our soldiers, their spouses, and their families.

This isn’t a ministry run just by the Edlers, though. It’s for everyone. Here’s how you can help…

> PRAY: Commit to pray for our military, their families, and their spouses.

> DONATE: Buy/create some things to go in a care package that will be sent out each week to a deployed soldier. Anything will help, but if you need some ideas, download a list HERE. You can also donate financially to this ministry by putting “LIFT” in the memo section of your checks or in the comments section when giving online. Whether you’re in Clarksville or not, you can help in this way.

> SERVE: During deployments, there are often needs that need to be met back home. If you’d like us to contact you when a need arises (yard work, appliance repair, vehicle repair, etc.), please email us and let us know. Also, during the summer, LIFT will be hosting 3 “Spouses’ Night Out” events. If your spouse is not deployed or you’re not in the military and would like to help, we could use your help! The first one is THIS Saturday, June 11!

I love how the body of Christ is able to come together to meet huge needs in such a hands-on way. I hope you’ll be involved with LIFT.

Make sure to spread the word. You can find out more about LIFT at awakenchurch.org. Click on the “LIFT” tab at the top!

Awaken Groups: ARMY Edition

Last Wednesday night, I announced the kick-off of our first-ever in-home small groups called Awaken Groups! We’re so excited about this new direction we’re headed with the church and really believe that this will bring a new depth to the relationships that have already formed at Awaken.

In addition to the 3 “core” groups that we’re starting out with, we’ll also have a military extension of these groups meeting in Afghanistan! We see this as a practical way to minister to our military guys while they’re gone.

Adjusting to ARMY culture has been a process for us. I’ve never felt the military presence like we do out here. During the most recent deployment, the town was visibly much emptier than it had been since we arrived! Awaken is made up of a majority of military families, so we’re excited to offer this branch of Awaken Groups to deployed soldiers.

Alex Cruz will be leading our first-ever Army Edition of Awaken Groups. After our first trimester is over, we’ll ship him an Awaken Groups leader box that will contain everything he needs to run a small group in Afghanistan: DVDs of the messages, discussion questions, communion supplies, and more!

Since this is our first edition of Awaken Groups, we’re starting small, but we’d love to see not only our core groups grow here in Clarksville, but we’d love to see the military branch of Awaken Groups take off as well! If you are deploying soon and interested in leading a group overseas, leave a comment below and I’ll get in touch with you.