H7 Story: Excitement at Christmas Eve Service
by Scott Wakefield
Over the Christmas weekend we had 700 show up for 3 all-church Christmas Candlelight worship gatherings at our Afton campus! Thanks to so many of you who not only made a point to invite friends and family to join us but who also showed up on Christmas Sunday (~225). We had a wonderful time being together to celebrate the coming of our King and Savior!
Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Turned out some water pipes burst and put a damper on things at our Christmas Eve service. Immediately after our Tech Team Producer counted down from 3-2-1, right on cue an alarm began blaring and water could be seen pouring down from the ceiling onstage! Uh oh. Not good.
Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Turned out some water pipes burst and put a damper on things at our Christmas Eve service. Immediately after our Tech Team Producer counted down from 3-2-1, right on cue an alarm began blaring and water could be seen pouring down from the ceiling onstage! Uh oh. Not good.
However, by the time Afton Campus Pastor Tommy Staggs began letting folks know the situation about 20 seconds in, numerous FCCers had already begun springing into action. By the time the Police and Fire Departments were on scene, a bunch of our folks had already been cleaning, moving equipment, pushing out water, and helping maintain sanity among what temporarily felt like a bit of chaos!
While the temporary confusion about the nature of the situation meant canceling the service, it became an opportunity to serve our community, even if in a small way. Not only did it end up being a good thing we were there to save what could’ve easily been many thousands of dollars of loss and damage to our portable equipment and Chuckey-Doak High School’s musical and theater facilities and equipment, but it became a moment of encouragement that God is indeed using our outreach efforts to bless our community! While the County Schools Director of Building and Maintenance was making his way to the building, he called the Director of Schools, worried that he wouldn’t have enough help when he got there. But the Director of Schools said, “If FCC is there, you’ll have people to help.” How cool is that?! Our reputation preceded us and was further validated by so many who jumped in to help!
Here’s how Tommy reported this later that night in a message to our Elders, Deacons, Staff, Residents, and Key Leaders:
While the temporary confusion about the nature of the situation meant canceling the service, it became an opportunity to serve our community, even if in a small way. Not only did it end up being a good thing we were there to save what could’ve easily been many thousands of dollars of loss and damage to our portable equipment and Chuckey-Doak High School’s musical and theater facilities and equipment, but it became a moment of encouragement that God is indeed using our outreach efforts to bless our community! While the County Schools Director of Building and Maintenance was making his way to the building, he called the Director of Schools, worried that he wouldn’t have enough help when he got there. But the Director of Schools said, “If FCC is there, you’ll have people to help.” How cool is that?! Our reputation preceded us and was further validated by so many who jumped in to help!
Here’s how Tommy reported this later that night in a message to our Elders, Deacons, Staff, Residents, and Key Leaders:
“I heard nearly a dozen times how glad they were that we were there because it could have been so much worse. There was some really good discussion about how much value FCC is adding to our schools and tonight was one of those times when a unique group of people got to see our heart #ForGreene. What was special was also seeing their heart for coming out on Christmas Eve even when they don’t get paid extra. This was a night to remember for sure—and God was glorified. Your light was shining to the community.”
Well done, y’all. Thank you for being ready to step up when needed! I love this church.