September 25/26, 2021 | Family Reunion: Week 3 | Wayne & Scott

[Music] [Applause] [Music] hey welcome to trinity online my name is dave and today is the third and final week of our family reunion series and as you know for those of you that are living in the kelowna area we've been meeting at the farm also known as helen's acres on sundays it's truly been a reunion getting caught up on what's happening new babies house renovations and most of all stories of how god has made himself known for our digital friends you've been sharing stories too it has been so encouraging to hear the incredible ways of how god has been using you our church to make a difference in just a moment we're going to hear another story and let me tell you this one's a game changer i had the privilege of interviewing sean swail in his experience of how alpha courses have been a force for good in our community this past year and a half and then scott and wayne are going to be talking about what's been happening in our community in the past and where we're going in the future now speaking of updates there's some big news coming for those who attend our in-person services over the past number of weeks we've been retrofitting our gym to host in-person services right here on the corner of springfield and spall wow i can't believe i just said that out loud in-person services starting next week october 3rd we will have one in-person service at 10 a.m right here trinity in the refinery trinity kids will be rocking as well as our cinnamon buns and higher grounds look for an email next week outlining all the details including our covered protocols bring a mask and how to navigate our kids check-in and much more now for those of you who are wanting an in-person experience but not quite ready for sitting in a room filled with people just yet we'll be streaming the live service to the hub and higher grounds so you can sit at a distance table have a coffee and a cinnamon bun to boot no matter what we can't wait for you to join us catching up with old friends meeting some new ones we are committed to finding a seat for everyone who comes for some of you watching us right now and for a number of reasons you feel best continuing to join us online we love you and we're so glad that you're sticking with us now if you didn't hear about it last week there's a change coming to our saturday nights and wayne and scott will mention more of that in a moment but starting next week the trinity online experience will go live sundays at 10 a.m instead of saturday nights same great experience just now available starting at 10 on sundays i know there's lots of details okay so quick recap starting next week sunday 1 10 a.m service right here trinity with the service stream to higher grounds full kids full food service and then trinity online goes live at 10 a.m on sunday now one more big change coming that you need to know as if this hasn't been enough launching on saturday october 16th yes i said saturday we're gonna be offering a saturday service with a little twist or two maybe two stay tuned for all the details in the weeks to come we appreciate your patience and grace as we continue to navigate our auditorium renovation our different meeting spaces and all these new realities we're learning as we go but we've never lost sight of the fact of what god has called us to as a faith community our mission is to love god love others and change the world through christ and that's something that we need god's help with and each other to accomplish right so as we begin today will you pray with me father there are so many factors in our world every day that change that we need to adapt to that we need to respond to and sometimes our human nature can come out in ways that maybe we're not the most proud of i know that's true for me god and so i need moments like this to come and focus my attention to be sold out again for you to be refocused on you and so right now god i pray that wherever we're watching and experiencing this service at that you would meet us that we would be open to the promptings of your spirit whatever that might be whether it's in in music whether it's in a scripture passage whether it's in a spoken word and that you would continue to do the work in us to refine our hearts so that we might be aligned with who you are so that we might be light bearers to our community and beyond amen [Music] praise god from whom all blessings flow praise him all creatures here below praise him the heavenly horse praise father son and holy ghost [Music] [Music] god we praise you god we praise you [Music] praise god for all that he has done praise him for the grave is yes [Applause] shall oh god we praised [Music] oh god we praise you [Music] me yes [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] everyone i want to introduce you to sean swail uh sean thanks for doing this no problem uh we're in this uh three-week series called family reunion where we're just we're getting the family back together we're talking about uh what's been going on the last year and a half and we're doing that digitally right here as well as when we're meeting at helen's acres and this weekend is going to be our last one of that and uh it's going to be so so good um how has the last year and a half been for you personally that's a good question i assume the same as everybody else um times of change times of uncertainty um you know there's there's with with so many things that have changed there's been so many wonderful things to come along too you know even being locked down with with my wife and you know new closest and closeness and discussions there um spending more time with kids and family and all those sort of things and then of course life's been disrupted and changed and just like everybody else i know you as the parking guy from years past and maybe if you've come to a weekend service you might have seen sean uh waving a baton and and finding your way to a stall through his help um but this last year and a half you've really expanded into a different area of service and you've been giving leadership to a thing called alpha yeah uh so first of all for those people that might not know tell us just what alpha is yeah alpha is an amazing course that's been uh put on by a british gentleman by the name of nikki gumble uh it's been running for i'm not sure how many years but quite a while there's over 30 million people now that have taken the alpha course um in 118 countries and a whole bunch of languages so it's really a worldwide course that basically acknowledges the fact that it's very well documented jesus was on this earth if he was in this earth why was he here and it goes through an incredible message of hope forgiveness love um it's just an amazing program a bit of background how i got to first take it about six years ago was i had a uh a friend was asking all kinds of christian questions and i thought to myself and i was a little bit prideful i was sort of like well come along with me and i'll take you to this course i don't need this course but uh you know this course will really help you out and within the first session i was just like oh i need this course too and i learned so much from this course even you know being a christian since i was a young lad um it taught me so much and opened my eyes up to so much you know i'd recommended anybody out there it's for it's for new believers it's for seasoned veterans there's as they may think in in the christian faith and uh it's a phenomenal course so i took it was fully impressed with it yeah i've been around church for my entire life and the first time i sat down on an alpha session i was feverishly taking notes and i'm like this is spectacular just how it's packaged uh their intentionality to tell the story of god tell the story of jesus tell the story of who the holy spirit is today in in our church in us uh it's exceptional and uh and i don't know the stats and i'm gonna get that wrong but i think it's the greatest evangelistic tool to date i think more people have come to faith through alpha than any other vehicle uh and that's just that's just incredible um but what does it look like for you in the last year and a half because we haven't had alpha here right so what did that look like yeah so i uh i i originally said came to take the course was blown away by it um then i started to sort of come and see where i was inviting friends to come and see alpha with me and i had some great experiences with that and then i knew that part of the alpha program was people from addiction recovery were coming in and joining some of the tables as well um when covet hit uh those sort of centers were uh shut down and um even though i'd led many trinity alpha uh courses over the last few years i realized that those people had no ability uh very vulnerable desperate people in need of of help and god's love forgiveness and hope in their lives and i knew they didn't have access to alpha anymore so i thought why can't i just take it to them so a year and a half ago we launched our first one um in um at freedom's door in kelowna here and it was a small turnout which quickly the news spread and then the next one we had uh 14 16 people show up for the next one and since then we put about 80 people in the last year a little over a year through through the alpha program at the addiction center so many miraculous things have happened from that i'm told from the leaders of freedom's door that because of being introduced to christ um the whole atmosphere around freedom stories change we're now these guys instead of watching tv or asking questions or reading their bibles there's been spin-off little groups that are meeting um so it's been fantastic there's been over 10 10 of these individuals were baptized so it's just so exciting to see god at work in in these um facilities from just the simple action of me putting on a film and getting people talking so it's great so in the first couple of months where you're doing this and it just seemed like uh god's favor was on you there there was just this beautiful blessing that was happening through the alpha program specifically through freedom story in the first little bit um i i came out to one and we took some footage and kind of just wanted to document it because it was really exciting and sean like i i didn't know you real well before i i knew you was a great servant um but i i i had this sean the parking guy and here you were commanding this room of guys in recovery uh and leading them through with incredi now they can be a little challenging the room can get a little talkative at times and you just have this authority over them in a very positive way that just navigated a beautiful spiritual conversation and i was i was i was smacked upside the head by god going you don't know how i'm using these people in our community and it just made me come alive again to think about all the ways people are serving in our church whether it's delivering a meal hosting an alpha on the prayer team behind the scenes uh serving on our campus it's just incredible uh when you're talking about me helping out at alpha um and and you know giving something back to the community i i think of the story of tim tebow he's a great christian football player he has a great little clip where he's speaking at a conference and he talks about the story of jesus feeding the 5 000 and he focused on the little lad he calls him who just happened to be there with his lunch from his mom had a couple fish and a couple pieces of bread and they chose him and said hey can we have your your lunch basically and we're going to share it with with the the crowd and the kid obviously offered that up and made that available he said i don't have much but you can you know do what you can and to me uh when i'm leading alpha or volunteering in the community i don't have all the answers i don't know the bible uh you know start to finish i'm not a counselor i'm none of these things but all i've done is is offer up my fish which is here i can put on a film i can have some discussion with some guys and it's been amazing what god has done in this alpha program and with these these men that are are so desperate for change and uh it's a it's a beautiful thing but just offer whatever fish you have uh sean we talk a lot around here about uh how the last year and a half has uh either been really challenging for people or actually pretty good and we talk about it being a magnifying glass in that if your life prior to covid uh had some challenges some fractures and you put that magnifying glass over top of it those fractures became valleys and just it it was a lot harder but when things are good when your marriage is good when your job's decent your relationships are good or whatever put the the category uh in play you put that magnifying glass over top of it it seems that those things potentially got better and i see how you serve in the past and even the analogy as humble as you are right now just saying yeah it's the little thing that i had well you used it so well that the magnifying glass when god put it over top of you used it in exponential ways okay so in the last year and a half as you've been working with guys in recovery and taking alpha to them um is there has there been anything where you can look at and go man god surprised me uh and showed up in a way that i just was not expecting a couple cool stories i can tell you is um one of the gentlemen came up to me uh in the middle of elephant he said i see how passionate and how much joy leading this course uh means to you i want that joy he said can you teach me to lead alpha too oh wow and so actually we i went through and now he's doing courses on his own and doing a phenomenal job right there at freedom store so that that was a great story another one is um one of the sessions on alpha is like praying for people that are sick and or hurting or um so i actually get the guys to get the end and i say is anybody that would like some prayer and i get the guys together and we'll say we'll pray for you and so one of the guys had said he'd for decades had had a problem raising his shoulders and all this sort of stuff so we gathered around to pray for him the funny thing is my little pug dog was there and he she actually came and sat in his foot while we're all pranked one as well so she wanted to be part of it too and um we prayed for him and the next morning he phoned all excited he said he was lifting his arms up above so um it's just i can't explain how many exciting things are going on again for me just taking this little thing and saying here's my fish god thank you for not only representing trinity but representing jesus uh so well to these guys uh we're excited about what alpha might look like in the future for us here and the continued work that you're doing um and i know that we're still talking about what it might look like in person here uh but we know that it's an important thing for our community and we are uh i i'm aware we're in discussions right now there may be a couple uh home groups opening up to start alpha real soon so if there's anybody out there that is interested in taking this amazing course again uh new to christ uh or long time a person that is a christ follower um there may be some opportunities to tap in in the next couple weeks so touch base with trinity office and they might be able to put you in touch with a group this meeting always a leader always an evangelist i love it i just absolutely love it sean thanks so much and thank you for just being so into our community and being a light wherever you go thank you [Music] how faintly i remember your love song over me but the further that [Music] now the only thing i feel is how far you are away this distance now between us is driving me insane [Music] father i'm you my heart is ready now to follow the sound the sound of your voice that echoes inside the father i'm desperate i lost my way somehow i follow the truth the truth of your love back into the light [Music] lead me back home lead me back home [Music] i traded trust for pleasure in diamonds for full scores i made the world my treasure but i underpriced my soul in her whisper through the numbness [Music] that love song i remember he's leading me back home father i miss you my heart is ready now to follow the sound the sound of your voice that goes inside [Music] the truth of your love back [Music] lead me back home [Music] but i never reached the gates before you come running to me all the words i've rehearsed for days they just fall at your feet [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] could is your place you were the first and you'll be the last love of my soul [Music] [Music] lead me back home [Music] lead me back home [Music] [Applause] lead me back home [Music] [Music] father i've missed you my heart is overwhelmed here in your arms it's where i belong forever at home [Music] father i love you nothing could take your place you were the first and you'll be the last love of my soul [Music] oh yes you were the first you'll be the last love of my soul yes you were [Music] oh yes yes you were you were the first you'll be the last [Music] [Music] my [Music] is [Music] love of my soul [Music] lead me back home lead me back home lead me back home [Music] [Music] hey welcome here everyone it is so great to have you join us here on our last weekend of our series family reunion well a few weeks ago we gathered as a trinity team all our volunteers on a saturday and had a great time together one of those things we did was have a little faq with wayne and myself around things that have been going on around here it was met with such positive feedback we said hey we should do that again why don't we do it right in this moment so wayne welcome here nice to meet you why not do it thank you so much scott great to be here although i think i see you more often than not so it's true that's great well hey uh let's just jump right into it you know i think there's been a lot that has been going on in our community and specifically here at trinity what's kind of the latest yeah so you know people are wondering are we getting through to a new normal oh yeah things gonna settle down well not just yet see our adventure it is going to continue for our faith community we are still learning adapting creating uh even as we slowly emerge from the past 20 months because you know we're in this land between right now between where we are today and our newly renovated auditorium which will be kind of available come the new year so between october and like say february we're in this unusual and temporary season of transition uh it's not gonna last forever but it is here for now and it may be a little bumpy yeah maybe a little bumpy yeah i think it passed but hey even in the middle of the bumps uh we've actually discovered some pretty incredible things and i know uh one thing in particular has kind of come to the top yeah you know what something did something happened that needs to be named because it impacts our plans going forward it is a blessing from god and it is filled with complexity uh pre-covet we had three weekend services and we just simply hit live stream for those services and invited others to join us by watching and maybe giving a bit and if they're in the neighborhood to come in but that's about all we did then covet arrived and we were forced to go fully online over the past 20 months we have adapted experimented and improved this whole online experience we've recognized it as a mission field of opportunity and our vision and our core values have demanded that we step it up and do our best to reach engage and inspire people online with the good news of the gospel and this seems to be working as online viewership and retention have broadened and deepened and even as hundreds of us met at helen's acres last week you know what our virtual engagement remained literally unchanged our gatherings are happening and so we got to realize this we have birthed another campus we have an online campus consistently journeying with us trinity church is now multi-site physical and digital that's awesome and i know it's a thousands of people that have tuned in over the last 20 months and not only that we've realized that as we've kind of analyzed some of that data over like 70 is right here in the okanagan general area and then another 30 is around the world yeah you know it's so great and with with this opportunity there is complexity oh yeah i mean we're now facing some big questions filled with unique challenges for example how do we steward both kingdom opportunities physical and digital well in a god honoring people-inspiring way that is aligned with our vision and core values i we we want to fully embrace all that god has for us in this next season that said how do we do both with one team of staff and volunteers while god is unlimited we are not we have limited resources how do we ensure that what we do is sustainable over the next few months until we are in our new auditorium the possibility of burned out it's quite high how do we ensure that there are plenty of seats for all who are eager to return to springfield and spa and ensure that they come back and it's safe for them to do so and how do we continue to capture all elements of our services so that the digital community continues to engage and encounter god that's the questions we're facing scott no kidding and that was a lot of questions when i know i'm not gonna say i fell asleep during that but that was no those are all critical and so i guess the question is what's what's the plan like how's that gonna play out yeah so so here's the plan our plan for the next few months looks like this and it may or will change so thanks in advance for you just like everything in this season yeah so first let's talk about in-person gatherings we know people are eager to gather again on campus and we can't wait to be together we have been working around the clock to refit our refinery gym so that it is suitable to host a worship service and things are looking good although we will be learning and adjusting as we go beginning sunday october 3rd we will have one in-person service at 10 o'clock am there will be 600 plus seats set up in the gym additionally we will have two other venues set up on campus to receive a live feed from the gym first we will invite people to the hub in our main building where 200 more seats will be set up second we will have about 150 seats in the family room which is on the upper floor of the refinery so 950 seats are available sundays at 10 o'clock in talking with other churches the return rate varies from 20 to 40 percent of pre-covet attendance figures therefore we are in the ballpark with this initial seating capacity and truthfully scott we just don't know and we'll adjust as we go so thank you trinity for your patience you know in addition trinity kids will be fully operational and higher grounds will once again be open so you can enjoy a beverage and snack with others before or after the service that's awesome and uh especially for those that have been missing cinnamon buns and of course a lot of you over there well hey you know i think one of the reasons people hesitate perhaps to get back into a a large group setting is nerves and and wondering about safety or what's it going to be like how does that look like for trinity when it comes to ensuring people feel comfortable and safe in this environment yeah such a great question scott we have been careful and have aligned ourselves with important health guidelines from the beginning of the pandemic as you return to the campus know that places will have been cleaned up and prepared for you sanitizing stations visible of course the following protocols will be posted in a clever and friendly manner and we ask you to read them and follow them you know if you are ill please stay home and self-monitor if you are uncomfortable in a larger crowd choose one of the two smaller on-campus venues or continue to engage digitally and we would like everyone to mask everyone over the age of 12 that is all the time everywhere unless you are eating or drinking can i eat and drink a lot today no and that makes sense because we want to make sure everybody feels comfortable now hey some people may still choose to stay and stick with our online campus what's going on for that yeah so true for trinity online there is a significant shift coming your way as we're changing the times our online experience is released you know throughout the pandemic we have captured elements of the service in different locations and at different times throughout the week thanks for your feedback and encouragement while good for that season it simply is not sustainable for our team to do it that way as we now begin an in-person service so beginning saturday october 2nd at 5 00 p.m we will be capturing all or most of the service elements in the refinery gym think of it as a large studio our plan is to work on this for a couple of weeks because we know there will be much to learn and if all goes well we will then open this opportunity saturdays at five for any of you to attend beginning on october the 16th if you choose to attend know that yes there will be live hosting singing praying and teaching that you will be able to fully enjoy and know that the purpose of this time slot will be to capture our weekend service elements in a manner that will serve our online campus so it will look and feel a little different than sundays at 10 o'clock for example teachers will be focusing and addressing the online community through the camera that is recording worship leaders will speak to the people in their living rooms not necessarily those in the physical room the language we will use on saturday may seem strange at first but you will quickly discover that your presence in the room is contributing to a much larger digital mission that we are on as a church after this capturing session our team will begin editing and preparing the content well into the evening so it is ready for our release at 10 o'clock a.m on sunday morning on all of our digital platforms wow that i think we need to recap so first that uh apparently we're still in a pandemic uh number two that has influenced every type of sector possible including church which means we've had to recalibrate how we do what we do including the fact that we had to retrofit our refinery for a gathering space so starting sunday october 3rd we're going to be meeting there at 10 a.m there's trinity kids there's cinnamon buns and all the delights that come with it that people can have additionally we have covered protocols in place so people feel comfortable and safe in this environment starting october the 16th at 5 00 p.m on saturday individuals can join us as we capture the video content and it's all going to be an incredible experience as we look to the day when our auditorium will reopen again you have nailed it pretty much scott really took several takes there but you did get there well done thank you so much so excited uh that's great wayne and i think so important for us to remember this information and uh any kind of last things you want to kind of let us know you know what you know me of course i have a last word uh you know next weekend we will begin a new series called unstuck it is very safe to assume that everyone watching and listening to this right now knows that our world our nation our city and yes even our church is a tad cranky to put it mildly let's be honest tempers fire up quickly on almost any topic polarization occurs on practically every issue demands are intense opinions rage expectations are all over the place even right now scott as you and i are doing our best to navigate this unusual season and communicate a plan for the next few months opinions are being developed and narratives are already taking shape and some of them will not be that healthy we are stuck in some very unhealthy and destructive behaviors frankly some unchristian behaviors and we need to get unstuck so i ask you to allow the holy spirit to grow the fruit of the spirit in you right now we studied this all summer and we need it more than ever this fall love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control yes we have exciting days ahead and we will see you next week on campus or online and i'm just thinking scott could you close our time in prayer right now i'd love to uh hey would you pray with me god we're so grateful that you are still god the same yesterday today and forever and that this last 20 months has not caught you surprised today doesn't shock you you are with us and you are for us so in this season may we be open to your holy spirit's leading in our lives and in our church and god would you remind us of who you are and the message that we have to proclaim to those around us that need to hear the message and hope of jesus today it changes lives and it needs to change their life so god help us never to forget the mission you've called us to and thank you that we can be alive in 2021 that we can be called by you that we can use our gifts and talents for you so god we're grateful for this day and grateful that we can have this conversation god we love you and we pray this in jesus name amen amen our team here at trinity believes that the church is more important today than it perhaps has ever been a few weeks back bex shared a thought that i'd like to revisit during the deepest season of this past year and a half our team had these words projected night and day in our empty auditorium it's a paraphrase of isaiah 60 verse 2 and it says this god will release the greatest revival in the church in the greatest time of escalating darkness you don't have to look very far to see dark narratives in our world today do you and we so desperately want jesus to invade our church invade our community and our city and beyond and we fully recognize that revival compassion reconciliation joy hope it all starts with us and if you're partnering with us in the mission and the vision of trinity church today your generosity helps us collectively bring that light of the gospel to a world that so desperately needs it and like wayne and scott said don't miss next week as we'll begin our new series called unstuck join us in person right here at 10 a.m in the refinery at trinity or anytime after 10 a.m sunday morning right here at trinity online we'll see you then you

Channel: Trinity Church Kelowna

Views: 420

Rating: 4.1999998 out of 5

Keywords: Trinity Church, Trinity Church Kelowna, Trinity Kelowna, Trinity Baptist Church, Okanagan Church, Kelowna, Kelowna Church, BC Church, British Columbia Church, Wayne Alguire, Scott Lanigan, Trinity Worship, Trinity Creative

Id: aefal-0aGq0

Length: 46min 52sec (2812 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 25 2021