I LOVE MY CHURCH!

Yep, that's right.   I do!  It's taken me a LONG time to feel totally at home at WEC but now that I do, I can't imagine going to church anywhere else.  I struggled for a while to find my own niche, my own set of friends.  So, here are the many reasons I love my church:

1. It meets people where they are!  There's no need to get spiffied up to go to WEC.  There's no need to pretend you're something you're not either.  You simply GO and have a great time.  And, hopefully, you're heart is open and you hear something that might apply to you and make you want to come back.

2. It rocks.  Plain and simple, there is NO other praise band better than Phil Poteat and the Waters Edge Band.  Yep, I've seen some pretty big names in terms of praise bands, and WEC could take them on any day.  I kid you not. 

Waters Edge Presents "Get This Party Started" from Waters Edge Church on Vimeo.

That's just a SAMPLE! 

3. Um, it's FUN.  Yeah, I said it.  It's fun to go to my church.  Shouldn't church be fun?  I don't think many churches think of themselves as FUN but WEC is FUN.  Where else would you see this?


Yeah, I know that dude.  I might be related to him.  But, isn't he funny?  Stu Doggy Dog?  A white Stu rapping is HI-LAR-EEEEE-OUS!  Sometimes, I just have to shake my  head at the things they come up with...or Stu's jokes.  Sometimes they're a hit.  Usually, they're a miss.  Even the sermons are funny.  More importantly, they're engaging and applicable.  When was the last time you saw a sermon that was a) funny b) kept  you from falling asleep and c) was applicable to your life?  This just isn't something that happens in many churches today.

4. I love my "job" at WEC.  I get to watch kids praise God on a weekly basis.   I get to work with some AWESOME people.  My Kid Kraze team is AMAZING and I love them ALL.  But, my favorite thing to do is to stand in the back and watch these kids, grades K-5th, with their arms raised high and sing to God.  And, WOW, do they learn a lot every Sunday! 

5. Back to WEC being funny...I don't think it's so funny because I'm a fan...quite honestly, I think it makes my church rock even more... but they've been known to pull out some NKOTB.  Let me break that down for you...that's NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK for those of you not alive during the late 80's/early 90's.  Awww yeah... Here's a little Step By Step for ya!



So maybe Stu's dancing is a little funny.  I'll give you that!  But, here's one that's even better!



That's our very own  Rob Shepherd rapping and wearing a HOME BOY t-shirt with his pants tight rolled. 

6.  We're opening a second location in HPT!  WOOT!  And, it's in the old Riverdale Theater.  I have tons of memories growing up there.  It was the closest theater to my house.  I saw Dirty Dancing there.  I saw Steel Magnolias there.  I went on a date there.  I loved it when movies were $1.  Now, I get to go back there and go to church there!  I'm so excited!

7. My daughter came to know Christ at this church.  She's had amazing people teaching her about God.  People like David Ferrell, Bethany Poteat and Carlyn Menser (who now works at WEC) have taught her so much and really and truly love and care for her!   There is NOTHING in this world more precious than the moment your child comes to know God.  We had talked about it off and on but Anna accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior one night after I'd already tucked her in and prayed with her.  She had learned in Kid Kraze that you pray and ask God into your heart and that's just what she did!  She was baptized by her uncle, who towards the end of his sermon, started taking off his shoes and socks and hopped into our "pool" so that he could baptize Anna.  Tomorrow is her 1 year BIRTHDAY!  She was baptized 1 year ago and has continued to learn and grow in Christ.

8. I've made some really awesome friends.  These are friends who have become FAMILY!  There are some women who are very dear to me and they know who they are.  Like I said, making friends at WEC was a little hard for me.  But, now, I can't imagine my life without them.  I don't want to list them because I don't want to leave someone out but they know who they are!

9. They serve Krispy Kreme donuts and Starbucks in the morning and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies on Sunday night.  Is that important in the grand scheme of things?  Nope, but I do love my cookie on Sunday night.  Or my cup o' joe in the morning. 

10. As a whole, we have a heart for the unsaved and un-churched.  That should be obvious to you by the videos.  They will do just about anything to get you to become a Christ Follower.  We have a heart to reach the Peninsula and for the Peninsula to change the world.  We've set out to change the way that people think about church.  I think this song by Chris Tomlin says it well...

We used this as our "theme" song for quite a while when we were in the building phase and moving on from the YMCA (our old home).  I think this song says it quite well... There is NO ONE like our God.  And, we want the world to know that.  To experience that.  And, we'll break the rules to get it done.  We won't be that church that sits back and becomes complacent.  Our "Get 'er done!" attitude WILL change the way the Peninsula thinks about church because that's who we are. 

And that, my friends, is why I love my church.