We came to work Tuesday morning and the guys were here starting on the new kids’ building!  We have been waiting for this day for a long time.  Mark sent out a fantastic email Tuesday. If you didn’t get a chance to read it here it is:

I’m so excited to give you the news that construction on our new KidSpace started about two hours ago! We are underway on the building that will allow us to effectively double the size of the environments where we engage kids with the most powerful message in the world. And it’s not just that we’re doubling the size, the innovative nature of each of the themed settings is going to be absolutely mind-blowing! Even as I write, I can hear the equipment working outside and the sound is totally musical.
The fact that we’ve been able to get started makes this weekend’s offering even more critical. Just to refresh, I’ve asked NewSpringers to bring a one-time offering to help us get started, (this offering at this stage could make a HUGE difference as to what’s possible) and to make a weekly commitment for these crucial next twelve months of construction.
I wouldn’t begin to suggest an amount to you, I’m just encouraging you to ask the Lord what He would want you to do. Call me naïve, but I believe if each one of us will respond to His impulse, everything we need will be there. Would you be willing to talk to God about this? Would you place your heart within his reach?
The best part is that God has promised that He will take our gifts and make His work happen, and then turn around and bless us with more than we gave. I love to remember that God’s not a charity case looking for donors, He’s an entrepreneur looking for partners!
God bless,
Mark

Exciting days are ahead and I am just happy to be along for this outstanding ride!  See you this weekend!

We had a great time being part of the RiverFest Parade this year.  Last Friday over 40,000 people showed up downtown to see a parade.  We decorated our bus with the theme of “Get your groove on” and we had puppets hanging out the bus windows talking to the kids along the street.  It was so cool to see how the crowd reacted to the puppets.

Then we went back on Saturday morning to the Kid’s Corner and put on a couple of puppet shows for families that were enjoying the festival.  It was awesome just to see how excited people got when the puppets came out. We had a long line for our famous animal balloons as well.  Thanks to all who helped with this project. I know it was extra work for everyone but well worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night we had an awesome time outside after our First Wednesday service and breaking ground on our 20,000 sq ft preschool building.  Hundreds showed up to watch as we took the first scoop of dirt. (special thanks to Travis from Murphy John Deere and father of a 3-yr-old here at NewSpring for running the shovel.)  It was a joyful celebration as we take the next step in our journey to reach more kids in our area.  My wife Debbie and Mark’s wife MaryAlice had delays in their flight back from Atlanta but I called Debbie on the phone so she could speak to the crowd and be a part of it.  Debbie is a big part of what I do at NewSpring and I wanted to have her there in some sort of way.  I asked her to write a letter to put inside the  time caspule that we will bury in the walls of the new building.  Here is what she wrote:

Dear Friends,
On May 6, 2009, the family of NewSpring Church buried this time capsule in celebration of the beginning of a brand new preschool children’s building. God has blessed NewSpring with tremendous growth in our KidzWorld (infant through 5th grade) ministry. We have remodeled every available space into children’s space–from our gymnasium to Senior Pastor Mark Hoover’s office. We have filled every nook and cranny and now God has given us the green light to build additional space. The truly exciting thing about this space is that it is being designed specifically as children’s space. We have taken every consideration in mind to make this space joyful, relevant and irresistible for the kids and their families who will come through our doors.
 
In KidzWorld we believe that since God isn’t boring, learning about Him shouldn’t be boring either. We strive to make KidzWorld the BEST hour of a child’s week. When kids are so excited to come to KidzWorld that they wake their parents up on Sunday morning or invite so many friends to come with them that the family has to bring two cars or cry when they pass the church on a weekday and find out that KidzWorld isn’t open, we know that God is at work.
 
We aren’t taking this step JUST because we are out of space or JUST because we love kids. We are taking this next step in the journey of NewSpring Church because we want to allow more people to hear the life-changing message of God’s love. It’s just who we are!

After I read the letter from Debbie we turned it back over to Mark to lead the crowd in the countdown to digging that first scoop of dirt.  It was electric and emotions were running high and the excitement was over the top!  People started snapping pictures and cheers went up.  What a moment for NewSpring Church and the kids in Southcentral Kansas that will be using this building, along with our first rate volunteers who have the passion to reach more boys and girls.

Coming up on May 16 & 17 will be the kick-off of our UsX2 campaign.  Pray what God will have you do towards this wonderful project.

This Monday the crews will be showing up to starting building this tremendous tool for reaching young families in our community.  Keep praying for the ministry of NewSpring Church.

We had an outstanding Easter at NewSpring Church.  Over 5000 people come out in the cold rain to celebrate.  We had a blast with the kids as we told the story of Jesus.  We had four services with KidzWorld in full operation and we saw 27 kids accept Christ as their Savior!  How cool is that?  This picture is of EZ Goinz with some friends.  EZ showed up for the party and we did some celebrating with the kids.  Thanks to all who helped us pull off  5 total services. We couldn’t have done it without you.

OK, if you missed the kids singing in the Worship Center today with the praise team you missed out on one big blessing.  What a joy it was to see hundreds of kids praising the Lord by singing “O Happy Day.”  We have been looking forward to it for months.  The kids even had some cool actions to go along with the song.  Pastor Mark took this opportunity to invite everyone to sign up to attend a “Full Access” meeting with him and some key leaders. The purpose of the Full Access meetings is to give information and answer questions about our new children’s building that is on target to start this spring.  You can go to our web site www.newspring.org/fullaccess and sign up for one of these special meetings.  This is a very exciting time to be part of a great church like NewSpring.  I was blown away by the number of adults who expressed to me how much they enjoyed seeing the kids singing and also that they had no idea that many kids come to NewSpring.  By the way, we had 62 kids checked into Adventure Avenue 4 at the 11 a.m. hour.  Might need some more space….it is coming and we are looking forward to it!

With snow flying outside, my preschool director Karla Stinson,decided to take advantage of it and do some family bonding.  She sent me these pictures of their special project.  I never thought the Cosmo tattoos would work on an egg.  By the way, we did cancel the Saturday night service for this evening.