The Well News

First Round of eWay Auctions Ending Soon!

2010-04-13T09:23:00.001-07:00

Check out our eWay items by finding our ebay seller account. It's easy to find:

Follow this link: thewellmission

OR search for us manually using these steps.

Go to ebay.com, Click on "Advanced Search", then
Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Seach page and under SELLER, check the "only show items from:" box
Enter our seller account name, "thewellmission" in the box and click search at the bottom.

You will then be shown all of the items we currently have listed. If you have donated something you don't see listed, it's just not been put up yet. More auctions will be up soon, so check back often, and shop with us!

Thanks, and God bless!

Sean Butler's Testimony @ Easter service

2010-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

This is Sean Butler's testimony video we showed prior to his baptism at the end of the Easter Service. Pretty awesome stuff!

seanbutlerbaptism from The Well on Vimeo.

2010-03-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

"It is FINISHED"
John 19:30

In the Greek New Testament it is only one word (tetelestai), but the word is packed with meaning. It was the last word uttered by Jesus from the cross. These are some of the ways secular writers used the word in and around the time of Jesus.

One wrote of a task which was accomplished.
Another, of a dangerous feat that was performed.
A plan was put into effect.
Someone’s will was carried out.
A promise was fulfilled.
Orders to a soldier were executed.
An oath was made effective.
A legal document was formally executed.
A prayer was brought to pass.
A given time period came to an end.
A sickness reached its end.
A debt was paid. (In fact, as the papyrus scraps of ancient legal documents were studied, the word “tetelestai” was repeatedly found at the top of receipts or bills of sale. It was the everyday way of saying “Paid in full.”

Each of these uses can be applied to what Jesus did on the cross. He obediently carried out His father’s will, putting into effect the plan of salvation. The time of the Old Testament reached its end, and the New Covenant became effective. Most of all, the legal debt we had incurred by our sins was paid in full.

The hope we have in Christ!!

2010-03-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

*****This is one of the coolest passages in scripture, and I hope it encourages you no matter what is going on in your life right now--- that those who know Christ have a reason to celebrate and be glad...

12.

Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection?
13.

If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ.
14.

And face it - if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors.
15.

Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ - sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.
16.

If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead.
17.

And if Christ wasn't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever.
18.

It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves.
19.

If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot.
20.

But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.
21.

There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man.
22.

Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ.
23.

But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming,
24.

the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father.
25.

He won't let up until the last enemy is down -
26.

and the very last enemy is death!
27.

As the psalmist said, "He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them." When Scripture says that "he walked all over them," it's obvious that he couldn't at the same time be walked on.
28.

When everything and everyone is finally under God's rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God's rule is absolutely comprehensive - a perfect ending!
1 Corinthians 15:12-28 The Message

Reflect upon this passage this week, and you may find yourself saying like the Psalmist:

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever! Psalm 30:11-12

(If you need a visual as to what this may have looked like... enjoy video below-- pretty cool stuff)

Daylight Savings Time.... Spring Forward!!!

2010-03-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to set your clock forward an hour tonight... See you all in the morning!!

Remember to Pray for Haiti....

2010-03-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

This past week we received an update email from Compassion on our Child Survival Program:

We have received a letter from Pastor Ronaldo Etienne at Redeemed Christian Church (Eglise Chretienne) – your CSP church partner. Praise God that he has survived and that it appears the children were protected during the earthquake. Apparently he wrote the letter at the end of January, so we are trying to confirm if the details he included are still accurate. It appears as though their church building did receive significant damage and there were several injuries, but minimal fatalities.

Please continue to be in prayer for all of Haiti, and specifically the children in our CSP program, Pastor Etienne, and our CSP church partner Redeemed Christian Church. Take a moment and read about what the Child Survivor Program does and some more details about our specific project...

HAITI CHILD SURVIVAL PROGRAM

The Well's monthly support enables Compassion's local church partner (Redeemed Christian Church) to meet these basic needs:

1) Prenatal Care

2)Nutritious Food and Supplements

3)Ongoing Health Care and Vaccinations

4)Infant Survival Training

5)Education and Encouragement

6)Spiritual Nurturing and Faith Community

7)Income Generating Opportunities

Our CSP Project Information
The Child Development Center HA-751 is an important project in the Nazon vicinity of Port-au-Prince where nearly 300 children are receiving an education in spiritual, social-emotional, intellectual, and physical aspects. For six years, the Haiti Redeemed Christian Church project has partnered with Compassion and has touched assisted children through school tuition and holistic child development: spiritual, cognitive, socio-emotional, and economical.

The Needs
Children in this community suffer from malnutrition, typhoid, malaria, respiratory diseases, and other types of illnesses. Also, some children are involved in gangs and lead a dangerous life.

The community is urban but underdeveloped. Most roads are unpaved and heavy with dust and trash. Homes are mostly one-room shanties that share common toilet and water areas. Unemployment is severe. Security has been a problem in the past but has improved in recent years with increased police presence.

The church took a census in the area and discovered how great the needs of mothers were. The under-five mortality rate was very high, as was the morbidity rate. Teenage pregnancies were very common. Only half of all births were occurring at licensed medical facilities. Only 22.6% of adults in the community were literate.

The Opportunity

In August 2006 Compassion partnered with Haiti Redeemed Christian Church to implement a Child Survival Program. Through the Child Survival Program, mothers are learning how to better raise their children, receiving good nutrition and hygiene care, given literacy training, and instructed in sewing and other vocational training. They receive spiritual care and instruction. They also receive medical care during and post pregnancy and ongoing medical treatment for their children.

Each enrolled mother has an average of three visits to her home per month. She receives supplemental food such as milk, cereal, eggs, rice, corn, oil and sugar. Age appropriate toys are distributed quarterly. She also receives group instruction and encouragement at the church project.

Thank you for your partnership with Haiti Redeemed Christian Church. In the words of Pastor Ronaldo Etienne: “Let me express my deepest gratitude to them in the name of the community. They would never imagine how many lives they help us save through this ministry. God will bless them over and over.”

For more details on the Child Survival Program go to: http://rescuebabiesnow.org/rescue-babies/

The hole in our Gospel...

2010-03-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

This is the book I referenced yesterday.... The hole in our Gospel

In his book, The Hole in Our Gospel, Richard Stearns writes, “There is so much at stake. The world we live in is under siege—three billion are desperately poor, one billion hungry, millions are trafficked in human slavery, ten million children die needlessly each year, wars and conflict are wreaking havoc, pandemic diseases are spreading, ethnic hatred is flaming, and terrorism is growing. Most of our brothers and sisters in Christ in the developing world live in grinding poverty. And in the midst of this stands the church of Jesus Christ in America, with resources, knowledge, and tools unequaled in the history of Christendom. I believe that we stand on the brink of a defining moment. We have a choice to make. When historians look back in one hundred years, what will they write about the nation with 340,000 churches? What will they say of the Church’s response to the greatest challenges of our time—AIDS, poverty, hunger, terrorism, and war? Will they say that these authentic Christians rose up courageously and responded to the tide of human suffering, that they rushed to the front lines to comfort the afflicted and to douse the flames of hatred? Will they write of an unprecedented outpouring of generosity to meet the urgent needs of the world’s poor? Will they speak of the moral leadership and compelling vision of our leaders? Will they write that this, the beginning of the 21^st century, was the Church’s finest hour? Or will they look back and see a church too comfortable, insulated from the pain of the rest of the world, empty of compassion, and devoid of deeds? Will they write about the people who stood by and watched while a hundred million people died of AIDS and fifty million children were orphaned, of Christians who lived in luxury and self-indulgence while millions died for lack of food and water? Will schoolchildren read in disgust about a Church that had the wealth to build great sanctuaries but lacked the will to build schools, hospitals, and clinics? In short, will we be remembered as the Church with a gaping hole in our gospel? More is at risk than the lives of the poor and orphaned. The heart and soul of the Church of Jesus Christ, the very integrity of our faith and our relevance in the world, hang in the balance.”

Awareness Test Video...

2010-03-08T09:55:00.001-08:00

It makes no sense not to do this.... Affinity!

2010-03-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

We have opened an account with BBVA Compass for the funding of the homeless mission we do out of the church. Each week, the mission takes 100+ meals to a waiting group of hungry men and women in Linn Park in downtown Birmingham. We opened the funding account under The Well's 501(c)3 nonprofit status, and that made it eligible for a new program the bank has, called "Compass for Your Cause". Existing customers can either call or email our guy at Compass or call someone at their branch and tell them to add our "Affinity Code" to their accounts with Compass. This costs nothing, does not change your account number or anything, but after doing this, Compass will donate 0.25% of every debit card transaction to our homeless account. Again, this is a donation from Compass and does not come from the customer's account or affect their balance in any way, ever.

Here's what you do in 3 easy steps:

1. Call Compass and tell them you want to add our Affinity Code to your account to support The Church At The Well's homeless mission.
2. Tell them our Affinity Code: 77983
3. There is no step 3. You're done. You don't have to do anything else. You will never be charged or have any money deducted from your account. Compass makes the donation, you only have to have them add the Affinity Code 77983 to your account.

Don't be surprised if your person at Compass is not tatally aware of this program since it is brand new. Our guy had to do a little research on how to open the account itself, and probably a lot of other bankers have not done the Affinity Code before. It would probably be easiest to call our guy since he knows what the deal is. His contact info is:

Steven Howland
BBVA Compass - Lee Branch
Senior Financial Sales Advisor
105 Doug Baker Blvd
Birmingham, AL 35242
Branch 205-297-4610
Direct 205-524-5669
Fax 205-297-4625
steven.howland@bbvacompass.com

Additionally, for anyone who opens a new account and mentions "The Church at The Well's homeless mission", Compass will donate $20 to our homeless mission account.

0.25% is not much, but if enough people have Affinity with us, it will begin to add up. Do it today, and tell your friends how they can do this, too! Copy this post to an email and send it to them, post it on your Facebook page, etc.

Thanks!

Glory To God Forever, from the Feb 28 Night of Worship

2010-03-03T01:25:00.000-08:00

It's alive.....

2010-03-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

The Well News is back from the dead!
We are bringing this blog back as a way of communicating upcoming events and happenings @ The Well. This blog will be your all-in-one stop for church info, as well as, humor, human interest and inspirational posts (see video from Night of Worship in post below).

We'll do our best to keep a nice steady flow of posts coming through, and I only ask that you do your best to check in with this blog.... every single day.... multiple times! We really will do our best to keep this blog up-to-date and interesting, so I hope you will make it a part of your normal browsing routine (Bookmark it-- Do it! :)

GAME NIGHT this Friday @ 6:30 PM @ The Well

Come test your gaming skills (taboo, scene it, etc) against some of the finest minds in Shelby County. If you need childcare for the night please email brent@churchatthewell.com so we can know how many to plan for. It should be a great night to unwind at the end of the week and get to know some others in the church at a level you can only go to when "gaming".

Night of Worship... everything glorious

2010-03-01T20:57:00.000-08:00

This is the live audio of "Everything Glorious" from the night of worship last night. Thanks Jason for putting the video together to put it all in perspective!!