Dave's Blog
Wow, what a day!
Wow, what a day! Labor Day ended up being a great time of fellowship for our community. I’d never been to a FamilyPalooza. This was the second year of this incredible outreach event. While it’s difficult to count a moving target, our best guesstimate would be around 9-10,000 people! Hats off to the Children’s ministry who was in charge of the event. Wise decision to move to a larger parking lot! But like every sizable event at Southeast it ends up being a team effort with a lot of departments: Facility Care, Events, Volunteer Service Ministries, Security, Guest Services and plenty of others! You all are amazing at how you organize and pull off large events with excellence and friendliness.
At one point in the afternoon I was asking some “soaking” kids where they had gotten wet and they pointed west and these were their exact words, “Go past the Dunking Booth, past the King of the Mountain, and there are three water slides to choose from!” (In my mind, I was thinking, “No wonder we get called Six Flags over Jesus.”)
Our family had a blast. Beth enjoyed visiting with so many people and kids whom she teaches at church, Sadie did clean up, and Sam filled up helium balloons for kids. Afterwards he said, “Dad, the kids were great but the grandparents were so demanding on which color balloon they wanted for their grandchild!” (That will probably be me some day I’m sure.)
I spent my time going up and down the lines shaking hands and meeting people. Many of our Southeast folks jokingly mentioned how appropriate Kyle’s sermon was for what they were experiencing! (His topic was: When You Have to Wait.)
My favorite part of visiting with people was this—about half of them didn’t have a clue who I was... and they still don’t! (They had to be thinking, “What office is this nut running for?!”) But what that tells me is that FamilyPalooza was successful. It was a gift to our community and an outreach to our neighbors. The Children’s ministry has a great follow-up strategy to encourage people to visit the next KidWay program. I’m so glad that I’m a part of a church that provides us with a variety of ways to connect people to Jesus and one another. After all, if they come to a fun family event then perhaps the next time they come to the campus they may just come inside for a visit where they can learn and grow spiritually. The way I see it, hopefully, for many of those kids it could be just a matter of time before they will move from the water slide to the baptistery!
Erich wrote:
That is so awesome to hear that there were so many people who didn’t know who you were. It makes a great image to see people who don’t go to the church to see what the church can do for the community.
September 8, 2009 @ 3:46 pm
Adam wrote:
It has to be refreshing to be able to talk to some folks as a “normal person.” I sometimes wonder what it must feel like to have ‘that face’ where you can’t walk down any street and not see hands cup to ears whispering “Hey! Isn’t that Dave Stone?!? The Six-Flags over Jesus Guy?” Hehe! I couldn’t help it saying that. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend this year, though I worked Familypalooza last year. Though I have no intense sunburn to mark the day, I neither have the fond memories of seeing families have good, clean fun. God honors that, I think .
September 10, 2009 @ 5:32 pm
Sandy Chandler wrote:
What a great day for our community, our church and especially our Lord. Thank you for the opportunity to serve so many happy faces.
September 10, 2009 @ 7:11 pm
Crystal wrote:
What a blessing Family Palooza was to our family. There were so many activities that we only made it 1/2 way through, and we got there at 11!
I love how the Holy Spirit moves this church to reach out to our community in unconventional ways.
September 11, 2009 @ 6:59 am
Lori Lucas wrote:
This was the first time I attended Family Palooza as well and I was amazed! I don’t have little kids at home anymore, but I volunteered with “food service” and was excited to see such a great turn-out! I found myself thinking ” I wish my kids were little again”! This is, by far, the best family-friendly event to have on Labor Day and such a wonderful way to reach out to the community!! I’m so glad I was part of it!!
September 11, 2009 @ 9:11 am
Trisha Lozier wrote:
I completely agree..what an AMAZING event!! We have three children, ages 2, 5, 13 and 16 and they all loved it! I think it’s great to be able to do such an amazing event. It’s so refreshing to be at a church event, I mean being in a crowd that size and people were patient, welcoming and friendly to everyone. I said hi all day to complete stangers and felt like I was at a HUGE family get-together! It makes me so proud to be part of such an awesome church glorying God! I love doing events and serving our community, it’s such an awesome thing!
A BIG WOO-HOO TO EVERYONE!!
September 11, 2009 @ 10:11 am
Beth Jacobs wrote:
Labor Day was an amazing day for our family. Our new baby slept through most of the day, but our 2 1/2 year old loved it. We got to meet some people who were not members while we stood in line for the pony ride. It was a really great opportunity to witness to our community with the chance to have some fun, and with a chance to meet and get to know our church family.
A big thanks to all who volunteered.
September 11, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
Veda McClain wrote:
This was my first Family Palooza, and like always, I was amazed at the magnitude of the event as well as the organization of it. Those who plan and put together these events continue to demonstrate their love for Christ by the thoughtfulness and attention to detail that’s displayed through their efforts. This event was truly a blessing to those attending.
September 11, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
Sherry Ebertshauser wrote:
I had the blessing of serving in one of the booths…... WAS GREAT FUN!!!!..
The phase Six Flags over Jesus also crossed my mind… and I had to smile… and even laughed out loud…... Jesus was with us having a wonderful day sharing…..and seeing the little ones have such a great day….
Thank you to all who worked so hard to put this event together..all I can say was WOW….. this was my first time also…. and I am a grandmother and had a wonderful day..
this is also my first time blogging..lolol more fun…lolol
THANK YOU !!!!!
September 14, 2009 @ 9:42 am