Christmas is done... or is it?

Christmas is come ... no more waiting ... no more imagining ... no more dreaming

God proved himself ever faithful, true and good again at christmas@ashgrove this year. Many prayers were answered as blue skies peered through grey skies at 4.30pm and up went all the outdoor attractions for the crowds to enjoy. Those with iPhones confidently reported from the BOM site - the rain is just going to miss us - and so it did.

christmas@ashgrove 2010 was an incredible gift to our local community, a fitting celebration of the birth of Jesus and a clear demonstration of the power and love that comes from God's people working together. We give Him the glory and praise and entrust the many seeds that were sown in people's lives will continue to develop over this holiday season as they reflect on the person of Jesus - the reason for this season!

I'm sure each person has their own highlight and we'd love to hear what it was! Send us your moment of pure joy and we'll add it to the growing list which has begun below.

Highlight 1

God's placement of people in the right place at the right time. For the first time in five years there was the need for medical treatment. God's positioned Paul Jackson (part of the welcoming team) in exactly the right time and place to be able to provide instantaneous expert medical care as needed. God raised up many people before, during and after the event to fill the numerous roles and responsibilities - it was great to work with and be served by these people. Even in the last 30 minutes before the carols kicked off, God was raising up people to fill gaps that were emerging. He did this by calling people to be in the right place at the right time and to let their gifts be used by Him.

Highlight 2

The challenge of a full house. Hiring in extra chairs did not solve the problem of standing room only for the carols! It is always a thrilling moment to see the auditorium bursting with people and the crowd pulsing with anticipation. Next year we'll need to face up to this challenge even more. Imagine if the weather was bright and sunny all day - where would we have put everyone? Ways to address this challenge: No.1 hire in even more chairs. No.2 even more creative seating arrangements. We are open to suggestions for No.3. A full house is also reflected in our BBQ team being eaten out of house and home -not a sausage left - and not an ice cream or drop of milk left after the carols! Next year we plan to cater for even more people!

Highlight 3

Our Playcentre Team were run off their feet as they met and greeted many local community Playcentre families - more than have ever come in previous years. Youth from Genesis were everywhere - even after an all-night break up RIOT on Friday. It is always a moment of joy to look into a sea of faces and realize that you hardly know any of them! Our community came, those on the fringe of ashgrovecame, our friends and family came.

Highlight 4

Kids, carols, comedy, and a tiny bit of chaos played a part in our carols program. As we wove the truth of Christmas through drama, word, and song, we loved being able to include our JAM kids (via video) and Genesis youth and Fuel kids (together in a memorable version of 'This little light of mine'). Many children will list The Skivvies as their highlight as they declared 'Joy to the World'. We see God's hand at work as kids bring their expectancy and excitement to christmas@ashgrove and we have the opportunity to declare truth into their lives in fun and relevant ways.

Highlight 5
The heart, passion, and size of the christmas@ashgrove team grows year upon year. This year over 170 people volunteered their time and resources in a myriad of ways. The appropriate response to that kind of generosity is to say 'thank you'. It is such a joy to see the ashgrove community serving together, relying on God's provision, and achieving great things for Him: God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. (1 Corinthians 12, The Message).

Christmas is come. But Christmas is never done. The message of truth and hope that we celebrate in this season is one we want to 'tell on the mountain' each and every day of the year ... and planning for celebrating christmas@ashgrove 2011 has already begun!

Have a sneek peak at some of the christmas@ashgrove photos on facebook. More to come in the following weeks!