DISCLAIMER: The following note is based upon my views only and they do not represent the entirety of New Life Community Church, IMPACT or the leaders in both groups.
Time passes by so quickly... I remember when I first came to IMPACT (slightly after its second birthday) and celebrated IMPACT's third birthday - which happened to be really fun. In a blink of an eye, we're already approaching IMPACT's fourth birthday.
IMPACT, while it's wonderful and all, has been through rough patches. We've had our fair share of bad scrapes, bruised feelings and much more. But if there's one thing I'm glad for, it's the culture of grace, forgiveness and acceptance that is rather rampant in IMPACT.
Anyway, with the recent church anniversary (10th birthday!) and the not-so-recent IMPACT social, I've been doing a bit of thinking.
What makes us so special?
I mean, we're just like any church. Every church has worship. Every church (probably) has a drama team. Every church has a youth group of some sort. What we have physically, other churches have. And we don't exactly have an actual church building either.
But again, the point is raised: What makes us so special?
I guess it's simply 'Passion'.
Passion for what we believe in. Passion in our belief in each other. Passion in being family. Passion in running the race for God.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not ragging other churches. I'm just typing about what (I feel) makes IMPACT special.
Coming back to NLCC's 10th Anniversary and the IMPACT social, both were truly wonderful.
For the 10th Anniversary, everything just went so well. There was the drama, the music, the worship, the skits, the food and so much more.
All those were wonderful. But that wasn't what got to me. It was the PEOPLE. Everyone was milling around, moving around and doing what they were supposed to do. Everyone was supporting each other (whether they knew it or not) in the work of the Kingdom and making sure everything ran smoothly.
When the different items were presented, the fact that so much effort was put in was evident. If you've been flitting around church and checking out the rehearsals and all, you'd understand what I mean.
The Drama team worked extremely hard. I've seen them work and rehearse past 11pm just to get a video done properly and to look professional. That was done multiple times.
(I don't have any photos after the drama in the actual event because my camera ran out of battery power.)
The IMPACT hip hop team worked extremely hard as well. I don't even remember how many times they've practiced for the event itself.
The skits were wonderful and highly innovative. I still remember the "musical". That one cracked many up.
All in all, everything was wonderful. And all in all, everyone had passion in what they did and took pride in what they did.
And with the IMPACT social. Again, there wasn't anything PARTICULARLY special about the event itself. It was a lot like hanging out with usual friends, with the inclusion of sports and barbeque.
A lot of us could have spent the time doing other stuff, such as computer games, the arcade, shopping, studying, watching TV, movies, or something else. Anything but the IMPACT social.
Honestly. The events weren't anything special. But get this. Here's what makes me want to come to every event. Here's what makes me put aside my work in spite of my busy schedule. Here's what makes me forgo the pursuit of other fun recreational activites.
IMPACT. New Life Community Church. The people. My family.
I don't know about you guys but this is where I find acceptance. This is where I find friends. This is where I find family. This is where I find peace. This is where I find hope. This is where I find love.
This is where I find God.
This is where I'm home.
With all this in mind, I'm honestly looking forward to IMPACT Praise Party 4 (marking our 4th birthday).
~Heian Edenwood, 01 August 2009