Blog

by Lead Pastor Mark Beeson

Back in the day, when visitors came to the Houmas Plantation, they sometimes stayed for weeks. They often stayed for months. It was a big place (300,000 acres) and it was a busy place (producing 20,000,000 pounds of sugar each year).

To get to the plantation, travelers braved brutal people and brutal challenges: the turbulent Mississippi, swamps filled with gators, outlaws, poisonous snakes, impenetrable undergrowth and mosquitos carrying a deadly Yellow Fever virus. Some died trying to make the trip. There were settlers, pioneers and merchants among them. They were slaves, refugees, wholesalers and traders.

Most visitors expected something upon arrival.

Some hoped for a little food, shelter and rest. Others expected to stay with the family in the main house. They assumed they would dine at their table, drink their rum, smoke their cigars and be treated as part of the owner’s family.

It’s easy to see why expectations developed. You can imagine the expectations you would have if you were arriving at this incredible plantation after a long, grueling journey.

It’s almost Christmas. People are on their way and they’re bringing their expectations with them.

The question isn’t whether travelers will arrive at our place with expectations. The question is what we expect when they get here.

Continue reading on Mark’s Blog...

by Elkhart Campus Pastor Gene Troyer

Fall baptisms happened this weekend at Granger Community Church as we closed out the Game Plan series with 165 people taking their next step and going under the water. It was an incredible time of celebrating the work God continues to do in His people.

Here is an excerpt from my sermon:

“This life of following Jesus is a discovery of God’s holy standard, striving towards making it our own and coming to the realization that we cannot do it by our own efforts. ‘Taking up our cross daily’ is a constant reminder of the nature of Jesus’ atonement. Our belief is that the sacrifice of Jesus is the basis of our repentance and the motivation to be more like Him. As we become more like Him we have a change in mind which causes a change in behavior, and this results in a life of grace and service. But the daily taking up of our cross, this struggle against the challenges and temptations of personal sins can seem overwhelming 15baptism1at times and so, it is good for us to remember the gospel.

“Feeling proud? Remember the gospel: Jesus substituted Himself for you personally and died painfully in your place.

“Feeling discouraged? Remember the gospel: Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Law by permanently removing the cause of God’s wrath (expiation) and making you favorable to Him (propitiation).

“Feeling self-righteous? Remember the gospel: Only Jesus could redeem you by paying the judicial penalty of your sin and liberating you from its penalty.

“Feeling afflicted? Remember the gospel: Jesus cancelled your ‘certificate of debt’ and took away the force of your accuser.”

Continue reading on Gene’s Blog...

Winter is coming. And so is Christmas. We always strive to work ahead of schedule when it comes to series planning, but this year at Granger, we were planning Christmas pretty close to our printing deadlines. Hey, life happens.

Our Communications Team’s challenge? We knew that this year music would feature heavily in the series and that we were going to have a big band for some of the weekends. We wanted something that evoked the class and elegance of the big band era, and the smooth, art-deco feel of a classic like The Great Gatsby. As with every series, our graphic designers brainstormed together and then worked on several concepts to submit to the Lead Team. Since getting the green light on the one they chose, we’ve been hard at work plugging that look and feel into every media outlet and print vehicle—and at Christmas, there are a lot!

Here’s a sneak peek at a few samples of pieces we’re producing for Christmas 2014:

We hope you enjoyed a peek behind the scenes from the Communications Team here at Granger. We know all you busy elves are hard at work preparing for Christmas too, getting ready to tell a Story that gives us all reason to celebrate!

So you’re just dying to get to Granger, Indiana this summer for a workshop, but it’s not in your budget. You’ve got a few burning questions to ask and want them answered by someone in your ministry field. The answer? Webinars.

These FREE one-hour, online sessions with a Granger ministry leader will be open to up to 100 people per session. You’ll need a computer with speakers and high-speed internet access. The price is $0, but you still have to register so we can send you instructions on how to access the webinar when it’s time. The hour will fly by, but bring one or two questions you’re wanting to ask, and be prepared to enjoy some Q & A and learn from others’ questions.

Webinars that will be available, starting August 7:

  • Series Development and Programming – August 7
  • Communications (Prioritization) – August 28
  • Student Ministry – September 11
  • Kids’ Ministry – September 25
  • Developing Guest Services Culture & Training Volunteers – October 9
  • Multisite – October 23
  • Human Resources – November 6
  • Finance – November 20
Register now. See you online!

Granger Community Church is looking for a Production Director to join our Creative and Production Team. The right person for this job loves people, live production environments and teams.

The Production Director at Granger oversees our Production staff team, volunteer team leaders and works alongside the Creative Arts Pastor to implement the vision for each weekend.

This is a full-time, live in Granger, Indiana, opportunity.

Some qualifications for this job include:

  • Strong leadership skills
  • Team building experience
  • Technical intuition
  • A passion for live production
  • Great communication skills
  • An eye for details

See the full job description or apply for the Production Director role using the links at the GCC Creative Arts Blog.

And if you’d like to see more of what goes on in Creative Arts and Weekend Services at Granger, it’s not too late to register for the Arts All-Access Pass this Saturday. Sign up for this or any of Friday’s One-Day workshops today!

by Sean Bublitz, Creative Arts Director

As an organization grows, communication and alignment are two of the hardest things to maintain. Throw that into the mix of a bunch of creative people trying to stay on the same page and execute projects at the same time and you’ve got a difficult task.

Because of that we’ve developed a process to help us stay aligned with our weekend series development and planning. This system is the way that our communication, creative, production, teaching, and campus teams stay on task and aligned without having to meet every day and check in.

This is our process, the people involved, and the timeline we work to stick to. This is a guide for us, not a law. We have flexibility based on projects and pace. If it’s helpful to you, you can download the .psd for our timeline in the resources section of this site and create your own.

SeriesDevelopmentTimelineFN

10 weeks out

  • Our Lead Team (direction leadership team for our church) will agree on the series topic. The Lead Team doesn’t always come up with the topic. Our topic ideas come from many different sources. But the Lead Team will put a rubber stamp on the topic for us.
  • Our packaging team can then take the topic and start to brainstorm the branding, the series title, and the design and packaging.

Continue reading on the GCC Creative Arts Blog...

This is a great example of the kind of practical, behind-the-scenes learning we’ll be featuring at Innovate 2014. We’re finishing up the details of the elective offerings, but for now you can check out the speakers and main sessions. And if you register by September 14, we’ll reward your hustle with an early-bird discount.

Click the graphic below to see the full postcard (at a size that's easier on the eyes):

Fall 2013 Coaching Postcard

Get more information, and register for a coaching experience that could change the trajectory of your ministry at WiredChurches.com.

It's baptism weekend at GCC. Hundreds of people have come forward, publicly declaring their choice to follow Jesus. It's a beautiful display of boldness and surrender all in one moment; dying to sin, rising in Christ.

Thousands have accepted baptism over the past 25 years at GCC. That is a massive testimony to the movement of God, and the people who have answered the call and chosen to walk on the Jesus way. Each time one more person comes forward, the whole church rejoices.

Baptism weekend is a big deal at GCC. Dozens of photographers take thousands of photos to collectively capture every person, every expression, every moment of rejoicing.  It's a big celebration!

Here a look at some of the celebration so far this weekend: