We are so excited about what God is doing in Northeast Columbia! That is why we are starting Awaken Church…to join with God in the transformation of people, Northeast Columbia, and the world.
Do you want to be a part of something that is bigger than yourself? Do you want to be a part of a community of people that work together to make a lasting impact on our city? Do you love Jesus and love Columbia and want to see the two come together?
If you answered yes to one or all of those questions, then you need to consider committing to the Launch Team of Awaken Church. What’s the Launch Team? Glad you asked!
The Launch Team is a group of people committed to making the vision of Awaken Church a reality. As a team, they embody our vision by living lives that are more and more centered on Jesus, by loving each other the way Jesus has loved us, and by showing the love and grace of Jesus to our city through acts of service and blessing.
This summer, the Launch Team will pull of several community service projects as well as several events designed to give lots of people in Northeast Columbia a safe, fun, and free event to enjoy. The Launch Team will also work together to start Awaken’s Sunday morning worship service beginning September 13.
We would love for you to join with those who are already committed to the vision of Awaken Church and committed to making it reality! We will be meeting the next two Sundays, June 21 & 28, at 10:30a at Polo Road Elementary School (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223) and will be having a party of epic proportions on July 4th weekend. Much more will be happening in July and August.
If you have questions or are interested, please email us at AwakenColumbia@gmail.com.
Awaken Church will host a summer kickoff party of epic proportions on Sunday, May 31!
Join us from 12:00pm – 2:00pm at North Springs Park on Clemson Road in Northeast Columbia for Little Pigs Barbecue and some serious fun with people that want to see Northeast Columbia transformed!
And what better way to KICK off the summer than with a KICKIN’ game of KICKBALL!
It’s all FREE and we hope you’ll join us!
Last Sunday, 20 adults who are pumped up and ready to see a transforming move of God in Northeast Columbia committed to joining the Awaken Church Launch Team! Many others have said they want to help, which is awesome! God is building a strong team of people who will work together this summer to launch a powerful, gospel-centered, externally-focused church in September.
Remember…we will not have a gathering of any kind this Sunday, May 24. Celebrate Memorial Day with your family and friends.
On Sunday, May 31, we will get the summer started right with a cookout/party where the food and fun will be epic! Mark it on your calendar and invite your friends to join us!
On Sunday, June 7, we will have our first Launch Team meeting. These meetings are focused on building a strong team of people that own the vision of Awaken and know the unique part God has called them to play. As the summer moves along, we will also use this time to brainstorm and plan specifics for our launch in the Fall. Also, we are working on several incredible opportunities to engage and serve our community this summer that will build a DNA of service in our team and help people in Northeast Columbia know we’re here. If you want to help Awaken Church get up and get going, then join us on June 7!
God has given us a vision of joining Him in the transformation of people, Northeast Columbia, and the world! Now, He has brought the initial group of people that He wants to use to begin this movement! He is at work…now it’s time to join Him!
Sunday is going to be a huge day for Awaken Church and we want you to be a part of it!
It’s time for the rubber to hit the road! It’s time to make a commitment together to pray and work like crazy to see a transforming move of God sweep Northeast Columbia! It’s time to come together to do whatever it takes to join God in the transformation of people, Northeast Columbia, and the world!
On Sunday, I will ask people who are fired up about transforming our city to make a commitment to join the Launch Team of Awaken Church. What is the Launch Team?
The Launch Team will serve as the foundation of Awaken Church. The Launch Team is the group of people that will embody the culture that we want to define who we are as Awaken Church.
Practically, the Launch Team will work together to build a healthy, strong, and growing team of people who are committed to the vision for Awaken. Also, the Launch Team will lead our efforts to serve and bless our community this summer and beyond. All of this is to ensure that when Awaken Church officially launches in September, we will be the kind of church that we want to be – a gospel-centered, simple, externally-focused, powerful church that God uses to incredible things in our community!
Sound good to you? Join us on Sunday at 10:30a at Polo Road Elementary (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223) to hear more, ask questions, and if you feel compelled, to make your commitment to join our team!
See you Sunday!
More photos from Easter are on the way, but thought I’d throw out a couple of our stage set from the one and only Patrick Boatwright. Big shout out to JD Richards and the crew from Columbia Church for generously giving of their time and gifts to help create an awesome adult and kids environment on Sunday!
March 15, 22, 29, April 5
10:30 am :: Polo Road Elementary School (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223)
We had a tremendous season of vision casting and culture-building over these last few weeks! We’ve seen people become followers of Jesus, people fully surrender their lives to Jesus, new friendships formed, and the foundation of a church laid. We have been able to serve and bless our community in a few small ways and we’re working on some bigger things that are still to come.
This Sunday, we begin a transition of sorts. It’s time to move from talking about what kind of church we want to be to actually being that church. And the timing couldn’t be better.
On Sunday, March 8, we will have a very meaningful time of worship, community, and communion as we begin our journey to the cross and the empty tomb of Easter. You will not want to miss this Sunday’s worship gathering as we sing, pray, read the scriptures, preach, examine ourselves, celebrate communion, and collectively respond to God.
We will gather at 10:30a at Polo Road Elementary (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223). A clean, safe, fun, and age-appropriate environment will be provided for kids. Also, beginning this Sunday and continuing on, we will have a prayer gathering at Polo Road at 9:30a on Sundays. This will be an opportunity to pray over our worship gathering, for each other, for our church, for our city, and for the world. Please make every effort to be a part of this as we form community with each other and experience deeper communion with God. Everyone is welcome.
A few additional notes…
We are oh so close to launching our full website. We will still use this blog as a means of communication, but we will have a much improved primary web presence when the full site launches.
In order to help people in the Awaken community get to know each other better, we will be hosting several “Family Dinners” next Thursday night, March 12. Simply, you will have the opportunity to gather with a a few other couples and individuals for a meal and conversation in someone’s home. If you are interested, email Jamie Brewer (kjamiebrewer@gmail.com).
We will begin our first official teaching series next Sunday, March 15. This series will take us up to Easter Sunday.
We will have our first baptism service on Easter Sunday morning, April 12, at Polo Road! If you’re interested in being baptized, email Jay Hardwick (jay.hardwick@gmail.com).
We look forward to seeing you on Sunday! If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Grace and Peace to you and yours.
THIS Sunday, February 8, Awaken Church will gather for our fifth vision casting/culture building gathering at Polo Road Elementary School at 10:30a.
Awaken Church is committed to joining God in the transformation of people, our city, and the world. Each week, we are focusing on what it looks like for this mission to become reality.
This Sunday will be the most practical gathering we have had to date. We’re going to put together all the pieces we’ve discussed so far and begin to answer the questions, “What’s next?” Over the last week, we’ve heard that question enough to know that it’s time to answer it. Frankly, we didn’t know what to expect when we began these gatherings in early January, but with new faces each week and a growing number of people eager to be a part of Awaken Church, it’s time to prepare for next steps!
We want you to come prepared to meet with God, meet some other people that are hungry for God, and discover together what it will look like for us to join God and see things change in our city. We’re not looking for perfect people, we’re looking for hungry people…people who are hungry for God, hungry for life-giving relationships with others, and people who are hungry to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
If that’s you, then join us on Sunday at 10:30a at Polo Road Elementary (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223). There will be signs directing you to parking and the entrance to use. Childcare is provided for kids 5 and under. Feel free to invite others to come with you – all are welcome!
Email us at awakencolumbia@gmail.com if you have questions.
THIS Sunday, February 1, Awaken Church will gather for our fourth vision casting/culture building gathering at Polo Road Elementary School at 10:30a.
Awaken is committed to joining God in the transformation of people, our city, and the world. Each week, we are focusing on what it looks like for this mission to become reality.
On Sunday, we’ll take another step as we gather again to look at another distinctive of the culture that God has called us to be as Awaken Church. As we’ve said each week, this is not a sales meeting where we are going to try to sell you on a model of church or tell you why we’re better than the other guys.
Rather, we want you to come and meet with God, meet some other people that are hungry for God, and discover together what it will look like for us to join God and see things change in our city. We’re not looking for perfect people, we’re looking for hungry people…people who are hungry for God, hungry for life-giving relationships with others, and people who are hungry to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
If that’s you, then join us on Sunday at 10:30a at Polo Road Elementary (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223). There will be signs directing you to parking and the entrance to use. Childcare is provided for kids 5 and under.
Email us at awakencolumbia@gmail.com if you have questions.
Also, Sunday night, we are throwing a Super Bowl party at Justin & Brooke Turner’s house. All are welcome! The party starts at 5:30 and will last until…Justin & Brooke kick everyone out! 
Email us at awakencolumbia@gmail.com for directions.
See you Sunday!
Our 3rd culture-building gathering this past Sunday took on extreme importance as we talked about the foundational investment of one who wants to follow Jesus and be used by Him to make an eternal difference in the people around us, our city, and the world.
Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
He didn’t say that we could do nothing good. The context of the verse captures the metaphor of a branch producing fruit. A branch that is securely implanted in the vine will produce fruit…the very best fruit. In His metaphor, Jesus tells us that we are like that branch. If we want to produce the very best fruit, we must abide in Him. And the fruit that Jesus speaks of is eternal fruit. Fruit that lasts.
But it all starts with abiding in Jesus. Conforming to His likeness. Allowing Him to shape us through His word and in prayer. So, we challenged the people of Awaken Church to abide in Jesus through bible reading, journaling, and prayer.
Over the next 30 days, we’re going to read through the book of John. Each week, we’ll have 5 readings, with 1 day dedicated to reflection over the past week’s reading, and 1 day dedicated to resting and practicing the discipline of Sabbath.
To help us hear the voice of God more clearly and to make immediate application of His word to us, we gave out Wayne Cordeiro’s journaling plan called SOAP. Here’s the simple breakdown:
Each day of reading, we’ll read 1 chapter. Before you read an as you read, ask God to speak to you. After you have read and sense God is speaking, get out your journal and reflect on what God is saying:
S = Scripture. Write out the key verse(s) God used to speak to you.
o = Observation. What is going on in the context of the verse? Descirbe the events, circumstances, facts, people, etc.
A = Application. What are you going to do with what you have read? What will you do differently today, and tomorrow, and the next, and so on as a result of what you have read? Be specific.
p = Prayer. Write out a prayer of gratitude and dedication. Thank God for speaking to you and commit yourself to honor Him by obeying His voice. Ask Him to produce fruit through you and make you more like Jesus.
It’s really quite simple. And what you’ll find after some time is that you have a catalogue of God’s Word spoken into your life. You have your story down on paper. What a great piece of encouragement and heritage you and I will have if we faithfully journal our journey through the Scriptures and in relationship with Jesus!
So, Awaken Church…let’s do this! If you weren’t there Sunday, we’ll have reading plans, Bibles, and journals available at our next culture-building gathering this Sunday. And, you can go ahead and jump in now. We read John 1 yesterday (Monday) and will read John 2 today (Tuesday).
If you have questions, feel free to comment here or email us at awakencolumbia@gmail.com.
May God speak to you clearly, powerfully, and intimately. May we reflect His love, grace, truth, and heart to people, our city, and the world!
