Christ's Place

Christmas Eve Donut Outreach

2009-01-07T12:02:00.002-06:00

On Christmas Eve, we had our 2nd annual Donut Giveaway. 200 boxes of a dozen donuts were delivered by church members to locations spread across the city: police stations, fire houses, Walgreens, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels and more. We received several notes of thanks from people who received donuts.

"On behalf of all the nursing units you visited on Christmas Eve at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, I'd like to sincerely thank you for your smiling faces and the donuts you delivered - I saw boxes everywhere!

Who who have to work the holidays think we're sometimes forgotten but you proved that theory wrong. You were truly generous to share your holiday evening with us and such a nice gesture to bring something everyone loves."

"I would like to personally thank you for donating donuts to all of our employees at Nebraska Health and Human Servies working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning. Your generosity, caring, and thoughtfulness are beyond words. The donuts were much appreciated by the staff scheduled to work over the holidays. This was a very thoughtful and generous gift. May your kindness return to you one hundred fold."

"I want to thank you for the great BIG box of donuts that was delivered to us this evening at Bryan LGH. It was a nice surprise, both because we just LOVE donuts, and because someone was thinking of us. Thanks!"

Christmas Eve at Christ's Place

2009-01-07T11:53:00.005-06:00

Christmas Eve was a beautiful service with approximately 900 people in attendance with about 60 visitors. Thank you to the many volunteers who made this special service possible!

Trunk N Treat 2008

2008-11-21T09:52:00.004-06:00

Trunk N Treat on October 31, 2008 was an awesome time! We had tons of candy, carnival games, hay rack rides, costumes, prizes, chili, pizza, cinnamon rolls and lots of people sharing the love of Jesus with anyone who came.

We had around 200 kids here having fun on our campus. We were even highlighted that evening on the 10/11 news. We could not have held this event without the support of people at CP. It's exciting to see it become an annual event - a huge chance to open our doors to kids in our neighborhood and to provide a safe place for them to come on Halloween. Thanks to the many volunteers and trunk hosts!

Project Serve Recap

2008-10-17T10:05:00.004-05:00

Wow - what an incredible weekend! Over 3200 people from churches all over Lincoln came together to serve and worship. The recap video, photos and testimonies are now posted online. Click here to visit the Project Serve website and check it out! What did you think of the weekend?

Here are a few pictures of people serving from Christ's Place:

Everett Neighborhood Festival

2008-08-28T17:44:00.020-05:00

Many people showed up last Saturday to enjoy the festivities over at 12th and E Street. We partnered with Nebraska Family Council by provided volunteers to work this free event. The goal was to bring people of th Everett neighborhood together and that certainly happened!

Here are some stats:
Over 1300 hot dogs served
1100 buns
95 gallons of drink
Gave out 2000 pieces of candy for games
900-1000 people attended
200 Volunteers from Christ's Place, Redeemer, Reach Out Christian Center, Emmanuel Lutheran and the Everett Neighborhood Association

Everett Neighborhood Festival

2008-08-01T12:45:00.012-05:00

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 FROM 5-8 PM
Sign up at the Welcome Center at Christ's Place to volunteer for this event.

By Karen Bowling, Associate Director of Nebraska Family Council
Excerpt from the summer issue of the cpmag

Recently our office doorbell rang. When I answered it, I was greeted by Paula, the newly elected president of the Everett Neighborhood Association. She asked if she could come in and visit. During our conversation, I discovered that the barbeque Christ’s Place did with Nebraska Family Council on the last fall had an impact. People are still talking about it and the association would like to partner with us to do it again.

“The morale of the neighborhood was touched in such a positive way because you brought people together and provided an opportunity for connection,” Paula said.

Paula asked if we would work with the association and do another barbeque in August. They are planning to block off E Street between 11th and 12th directly adjacent to the home where Nebraska Family Council has their offices and the Nebraska House of Prayer is located.

Many from the CP family participated with the barbeque last September and have assisted with renovation projects at the NFC house on Serve Saturdays. As we have worked on the home, people from the neighborhood have also joined in. Last week three neighbors helped replace a driveway.

In Lincoln, 12.7 percent of residents live in poverty, according to the Community Services Initiative, which was developed by a collaboration of human services agencies. That means 33,926 people live at or below the federal poverty line, which in 2007 was $10,210 for a one-person home, $20,650 for a household of four. Fifty-three percent of those rely on food stamps. Many of those struggling live in the Everett area, in the core of the city, just six blocks south of the Capitol.

Our vision doesn’t stop once the projects at the Nebraska Family Council House of Prayer are completed. We want to have a tangible presence in the Everett neighborhood, and as the people of Christ’s Place continue to serve on SERVE Saturday, we will have a part in impacting this area of the city.

When we serve our city we become God’s instruments to bless it. The external-focus principle is simple: serve yourself and die; forget yourself, be crucified with Christ, and live. Seek your life and lose it; lose your life in God’s service and find it. God can use us to be a bridge for the Kingdom of God in our community, but you can’t influence people you don’t know. Building relationships opens the door.

Traveling Lawn Care

2008-07-18T14:40:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, July 12, 15 people showed up at Christ's Place to love and serve our community through traveling lawn care. They mowed, pulled weeds, and edged 8 lawns.

Paul Firnhaber coordinated this project: One man who answered the door was thrilled that we would come to see him and offer to mow his yard. He said he really could not afford to mow it himself (and it showed). He was very grateful and open to prayer for several distressing situations in his life.

Just a little bit of time and love go a long way...

Summer Bash Recap Video

2008-07-07T11:01:00.003-05:00

Summer Bash 2008

2008-07-03T12:32:00.004-05:00

On Sunday, June 29, Christ's Place hosted a massive neighborhood party. It was a great success. Lots of people from the neighborhood as well as other guests enjoyed a fun day on the church grounds. The purpose of the Summer Bash was to love our city, to show our community that the church is in Lincoln to bless and serve it.

This is just one of many stories we're sure you'll hear about the Summer Bash.

From Ciana Cloud:
"I had the privilege to a lead a worship concert at the event with the Rock Solid team. We had such a blast. In preparing for the event, we prayed as a team that God would use the music to draw people to Himself and that He would use us and the words of the songs we played to convey His love.

At the close of the concert, as the fireworks were going, I got off stage and was stopped by a young woman and her family. She thanked me and our team for the wonderful music and went on about how great the whole day was and the concert at the end was so awesome. I asked her how she knew about the event and she said, "We rent a house across the street and we had seen the banner out front for several weeks, but I didn't know how much it was and we are on a tight budget with four kids. When the event started, we walked around the block a couple of times and then finally decided to check it out. That's when we realized it was free!" We continued in a conversation about the event, about the kind of music we played, how she and her husband wished they could've bought a CD from us and so forth. Then she told me that she and her family had thought about checking out the church. I was able to invite her to attend this Sunday, pointing out that our team would be leading worship this week. She and her husband said they'd really like to come.

At the close of a fun day, I was so impacted by the fact that God HAD used us. The event drew so many families to come have fun, but others were also drawn to the heart of God. I am so proud to serve and be a part of a church like Christ's Place, who is willing to invest time, money and energy to put on an event like the Summer Bash."

Got a story from the Summer Bash? Comment on this post or send it to ccloud@cplace.org

Photos from the Summer Bash

2008-07-03T12:10:00.018-05:00

SERVE Saturday - Car Washes for $1

2008-06-17T11:43:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, June 14 Christ's Place hosted a $1 Car Wash in the church parking lot as a part of SERVE Saturday. We have had the opportunity to bless a lot of people, but we don't often hear how people were impacted. This time it's different...

On Sunday before his sermon, Outreach Coordinator, Nathan Kroll shared a few stories about washing cars the day before. The twist with this car wash is that when people go to pay, we give them $1 instead of having them pay. The 15 people who served were able to give out $46 that morning. Nathan told the story of one woman who, during the process of having her car washed, was digging in her purse, in the seats and all over the car looking for enough change to put in a plastic baggy to pay for the wash. "It was so fun to hand her the dollar when we were done!" he said.

Just as Nathan finished the story, a voice from within the crowd on Sunday could be heard saying, "Excuse me...can I say something?" From the platform, Nathan looked out, saw the woman who was speaking and gave her the go ahead. She spoke up. "I was that woman with the change at the car wash yesterday." The sanctuary erupted with applause. She continued.

"When I pulled up yesterday to get my car washed, I knew I had money in my wallet. I was going to go to pay when I pulled in but someone told me they would take the money until the end. So, as they washed my car, I realized I had no cash. That's when I started digging for change. I handed them the baggy, realizing I didn't have enough money and that's when they handed ME a dollar instead. I was shocked. I cried the whole way home. In a world that takes and takes and takes, it was so touching to have something given to me."

The second service crowd sitting in their seats in the sanctuary were stunned, touched and many were moved to tears. To think that one car wash could impact her and others so greatly and draw them to the church the next Sunday. Nathan followed up with the woman after the service who told him she and her husband had not been going to church recently, but that she had driven by Christ's Place a few times, wondering what the church was like. As she drove home in her freshly washed car, dollar in hand, she felt that this was God directing her and her family to a church home.

Serving is so much more than washing cars. It's touching lives with the love of Christ.

Spa Day for Single Moms

2008-05-16T10:18:00.009-05:00

On Saturday, May 10, we hosted over 25 women at Christ's Place for the first ever Single Moms' Spa Day. Professionals and volunteers from CP spent the morning cutting and styling hair, massaging feet, necks and hands, giving manicures and facials, putting on make-up and babysitting kids. Others baked treats and donated food to complete a morning of pampering for moms.

Here's what a few of the moms had to say:

"This is awesome! It's the best Mother's Day gift ever and I want to thank everyone for offering their services to pamper us single moms because we don't get it very much. I feel very blessed today."

"I appreciate you watching my kids - I never get away and I feel relaxed and beautiful. Thank you so much."

Thank you so much to those who served

All of the women who did hair cuts and styles, as well as several others, are professionals who moved their schedules around to serve. Others just volunteered to do something they knew could pamper moms. You don't have to be a pro to show love in a tangible way. Ginger Colton served by washing and massaging feet. "It's an opportunity to be a blessing to somebody else and I was blessed to do it. This is something I love to do and it's a way I can share, be with other women and just have fun. This is a great way to share in the experience of being a mom."

Terri Roth was just one of the women who volunteered at the Spa Day by being a hostess - talking to ladies when they arrived, showing them around and helping them find a place to start in the pampering process. "I got to thinking about what life would be life trying to raise kids on my own and I think it would be really difficult to do. And so, what a cool way to try and help moms, just to give them a time of relaxation, away from their kids and just pamper them. They really deserve it and I think they loved their time here this morning."

All Church Dodgeball

2008-04-17T15:08:00.010-05:00

The 2nd Annual All Church Dodgeball Tournament was Friday, April 4. It was a fun time together as a church, as well as a great way to collect food for the Christ's Place Food Pantry. Thanks to all the teams who played and the people who came to watch, we will be able to provide to families and individuals who need it!

Lots of teams played hard, but only one team collected the prize for winning the tournament. Congratulations to Aaron Cornwell and his team, The Clock Cleaners. Not only did they win the tournament, but they beat the pastoral staff in the final round and won the chance to pie them in the face. Thanks to our pastors for being such great sports.

Enjoy the photos...

SERVE Saturday in January

2008-01-31T11:14:00.001-06:00

30 people from Christ's Place showed up to SERVE on January 12. We were able to help Nebraska Family Council finish interior work. Their house located at 11th & E will be a House of Prayer and they are praying that their presence in the neighborhood would really make an impact. For February's SERVE Saturday, we will be partnering with them to host a brunch for the neighborhood. This is possible because we have helped them get the house ready. So, thank you to the many volunteers who have cleaned, painted, stained, laid tile and so much more! You can still volunteer for SERVE Saturday on February 9 and be a part of the neighborhood brunch.

During January's SERVE Saturday, we also painted two rooms for a woman referred to us by the F Street Community Center. Florene was a delight and really appreciated the help members of Christ's Place offered to her free of charge.

Monthly, we are serving single moms and widows because a little love goes a long way. In January, people served women by doing some small fix it projects in their homes. In February, we're offering a morning of free babysitting at Christ's Place. To sign up to serve or nominate a mom, click here.

Can donuts change the world?

2007-12-28T16:03:00.001-06:00

At Christ's Place during December we've been talking about how Christmas is supposed to change the world and we've been doing some things that we hoped would have an impact on people's lives. On Christmas Eve, we challenged everyone who attended the services to take a box of donuts to someone working that evening. The donuts were provided, it was just a matter of stopping by and giving them away.

We've heard some great feedback. All the donuts we had were taken and given away. Seven boxes made their way to the fire department. One family gave their box to a cop who had pulled someone over:

"As soon as we pulled out of CP we were jacked up. "Who will we give our donuts to!!? Soon after crossing over 27th and Old Cheney, we spotted a patrol car that had a car pulled into an apartment complex. We pulled in behind and waited until they were done with their business. As soon as the officer headed to his car and tried to pull away, we tooted our horn and the kids started hanging out the windows. Mom jumped out with the donut box in hand and explained to the nice man that we were from Christ's Place and would like to bless him with a box of donuts because he was working on Christmas Eve. He was very appreciative and my kids were ecstatic! "We got a police man!!!" My kids are starting to understand how GOOD it feels to bless people. Thanks!"

We even received this thank you note in the mail today from Crestview Care Center in Milford:

Dear People,
Just a short note of thanks for thinking of us. Your kindness of bringing donuts brightened the day and night. This small gesture made a huge impact. My staff found it hard to believe that people who didn't know them would be so kind. You have shown them a bit of Christ's love.

Thank you!

A pillowcase for every child...

2007-12-27T14:01:00.000-06:00

Last year, Nancy Gerdes had a dream to give every child living at the People's City Mission a personalized pillow case - something that would make them feel special.

Just before Christmas, Nancy, mentor moms and other women from MOPS made that dream a reality. They purchased fabric in all kinds of designs, patterns and colors and sewed together funky pillow cases for 39 children. Then they had each case embroidered with the child's first name. Over 90 books were donated, so MOPS moms stuffed the pillow cases with age appropriate books and tied them together with rafia.

Nancy got together a group of families who took the gifts down to the PCM for delivery the week before Christmas. Kids lined up to receive their personalized pillow case gift. Some moms were there to pick up their child's case and commented that this was so nice..."to think someone took the time to put each child's name on this. That was very sweet. Thank you!"

Nancy was thrilled to see her dream unfold. "I prayed over each pillow case that each child would know they were special when they saw their name on it. And somehow, they'd find out there were precious to God."

There are so many ways each of us can use our skills and talents to bless others in Jesus' name. Nancy used her passion to ignite other women to join with with her in this great ministry. A little love goes a long way...

Thank you from F Street...

2007-12-21T10:31:00.000-06:00

Nathan & all of the members of Christ's Place,
Thank you for the two times you helped us at F St. The neighborhood looked great and the center on the outside was amazing. The inside of the center looks wonderful now. It's awesome what can be accomplished in about 2 hours! I had a lot of fun and hope you all did too. The kids loved the cookies as well as our senior citizens. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

Dorothy & The F Street Staff

SERVE Saturday in December

2007-12-12T15:29:00.001-06:00

December 8 was another successful SERVE Saturday. The snow made it a little difficult to do yard work for single moms and widows, but the rest of the projects went on as planned.

A crew of people worked at Nebraska Family Council's House of Prayer. They cleaned, washed windows, painted, laid tile, installed a sink, scraped old paint and much more. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard.

NFC was blessed by the people of Christ's Place. We look forward to working with them more in the future to bless the whole neighborhood.

Another group of people went to the F Street Community Center. Some ladies and teenagers baked cookies that kids decorated and took home to their families. Some of the kids had never decorated cookies before - they had a GREAT time.

Some other ladies decorated the inside of the center for Christmas. It looked great.

Christmas Can Change the World...

2007-11-30T10:54:00.000-06:00

Christ tends to get overlooked at Christmas. Somewhere in the bustle of wrapping paper, shopping malls and endless shopping lists, there is a story we long to connect with. It's a story of a Savior who came to Earth wrapped in nothing more than human skin who would one day redeem the world one person at a time.

What if this year, was different? What if you could usher in a Christmas that put Christ's story at the center of our family's celebration? What if you could see beyond the presents and hustle and bustle to the manger and cooperate with the Lord at Christmas to help change the world in a real way, one person at a time?

The Christmas series begins this Sunday at Christ's Place. And you can be a part of changing the world this year. To help you, we have several local and global outreach projects you can be a part of. From giving away free donuts to people on Christmas Eve, to buying gifts and giving money to people in need, to helping purchase a well in Darfur, Sudan so people can have clean water.

What if this year, Christmas changed the world?

SERVE Saturday

2007-11-15T13:34:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday we served in three locations in this city: F Street Community Center, People's City Mission Distribution Center and in our very own parking lot. From 9 am until noon, 31 single moms and widows pulled their cars into our lot to be washed, dried, cleaned and vacuumed, as well as have their oil changed and fluids topped off. Some cars had burnt out headlights replaced, tires filled up and more.

One car even received a new tire. Outreach Coordinator, Nathan Kroll, was afraid the woman's car would not even make it out of our lot, due to the shape of one of her tires. She had no spare and no ability to purchase a new tire. We were able to bless that woman last Saturday by paying for a new tire for her car!

We have received several notes of thanks by mail and email this week. One woman said that her car had never been cleaner. Another women expressed their extreme thankfulness and gratitude that people from our church would do something so nice.

A big thanks to everyone who volunteered last Saturday! A little love goes a long way...

Stretch the Benjamin Videos

2007-11-08T15:35:00.002-06:00

Thank you from the Friendship Home

2007-11-08T14:55:00.000-06:00

One of the Stretch the Benjamin projects was a makeover night at the Friendship Home, Lincoln's only shelter for battered women and their children. This was just one of the thank you's that was received from the Friendship Home.

Thank you so much for all of your work to help the women and children at the Friendship Home. The women had a great time being pampered and the products will be very useful for everyone in the shelter. It is only with the help of groups like yours that we can provide services in Lincoln. All the volunteers really made a difference with the women and boosted morale in the shelter.

Trunk N Treat - a success!

2007-11-01T12:10:00.001-05:00

The Journal Star highlighted Trunk N Treat and Pastor John was featured on Channel 8 news the night before inviting people from the community to join us. Because of media coverage and your help inviting friends and neighbors, there were tons of people at Trunk N Treat - many who were visitors to the church.

We put on fun events and activities, praying that God would use them to draw people to Himself and that they would be open to the idea of church and inviting Christ into their lives. We know seeds planted that we often never get to hear about. But...we received an email from a woman thanking us for what we did.

She said she has been praying for her daughter, her husband and their kids - that God would send Christians into their lives because she doesn't think they know any and they have never gone to church. She called her daughter yesterday - who informed her that she was at a "Halloween thing" in a church parking lot that she had read about in the paper. The mother was in shock and really felt that this was an answer to prayer.

She says, "Keep reaching out to your community, because I know for a fact God used your church with my family. Pray they keep hearing the draw of God to know more Christians. Thank you for your outreach."

A Day to Serve Recap

2007-10-30T12:04:00.000-05:00

Another short thank you...

2007-10-30T11:32:00.000-05:00

There are so many good ones from the students at Park, so we decided to post another.

Dear Christ's Place Church,
Everyone loves what you did. I just want to say thank you. When they gave dollars at the car wash away, I couldn't believe it. You guys are the nicest people that I know of!

Sincerely,
Sean