Changes this fall with CT meeting times, Blow Out, Xenos News and Weekly Update.

by John Rue

When did we change the Sunday morning Central Teaching times?

New Sunday morning meeting times went into effect on October 6. We shifted the times back 15 minutes to 9:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to make the earlier meeting a more attractive time slot and to balance attendance as we enter our busy fall and winter seasons.

When will the new Sunday morning Junior High JAM meeting begin?

We’ll add another Junior High JAM meeting at 9:45 a.m. beginning January 5.
If your home group is considering switching from the 11:30 a.m meeting to the 9:45 a.m., please talk with your home group consultant first. We need to monitor the number of groups making the change and coordinate the transition of volunteers in Oasis. Most requests are approved on a first-come, first-serve basis.

What did we learn from the September CT survey?

The weekend of September 21-22, we asked everyone attending CT at our Main Campus to answer an anonymous survey. We learned that 21 percent
of the responders were not in a home group, versus 19 percent two years ago.

This result was surprising since our home group attendance has increased more rapidly than our CT attendance the past two years. Of those not in a home group, 21 percent reported not making new friends yet but wanting to, versus 24 percent two years ago. Our Sunday morning CTs have both the smallest percentage of people in home groups and the greatest number of lonely people wanting to make new friends.

Home groups are the way people got connected in the early churches described in the book of Acts, and today we feel it’s still the most natural setting for building friendships and real community with each other.
The survey is a reminder for those of us in home groups to initiate new conversations at CT.

If you’re not in a home group, consider stopping by the home group counter in the lobby, or e-mail Home Group Connection. We’ll help introduce you to new friends and a home group in your area.

Why is the Xenos News becoming quarterly?

After two years of monthly production, we’re moving to a quarterly format in 2003. This change will save thousands of dollars and free up tremendous hours of staff time to focus more on our Web site. Also, a quarterly News will still be able to paint the big picture of upcoming events and ministry developments, in place of multiple mailings.

What happened to the space for taking notes on the Weekly Update?

We were pleased to see the many favorable comments on the expanded design format for the Weekly Update. This change will fill the void for current announcements that couldn’t be met by a monthly publication. Kudos to Chris Kavinsky, our Communications Art Director!

Besides improving readability, the new design eliminates the need for double-sided copying. Single-sided, in-house production now goes much smoother, and avoids copying thousands of images each month to help extend the life of our copy machine.

Unfortunately, this meant eliminating the space on the Weekly Update for taking notes. As an alternative, consider keeping a 5”x8” pad of paper in your Bible for notes, which will fit nicely in the Weekly Update. The lobby Bookstore now sells these pads. Or better yet, our CT teachers strongly recommend taking your notes directly in your Bible, providing quick reference for years to come.