I should start this by thanking all of you for your kind greetings and well wishes last Sunday as I celebrated my birthday. It was a lot of fun seeing you enjoy the Center Point Barbecue from Hendersonville, Tennessee. Like all really good barbecue places, Center Point is in an old building with bad parking and the smoke stack going day and night. When you go inside you see pictures of country music legends, Presidents, sports legends and just about every Tennessee politician you can imagine, including some who did jail time! One thing you missed out on is the cole slaw. It is a vinegar, mustard based concoction that will set you free! Anyway, thank you so much for making me feel good on my big day, actually the day after my big day. I’m not too nostalgic about turning sixty, just continuing to do what I was doing in my fifties with a bit more wisdom and the need for a nap every day!

Have you noticed that our attendance has taken an upward turn in the past few weeks? I assume that we are ramping up for Easter and believing that we are seeing a renewed interest in our church by those looking for a church home. It is a good time to invite your friends and family to be part of our services. In addition to getting several thousand tickets out for the North Florida Passion Play, we are also making a major push for Easter Sunday. As you know we have two services on Easter, Sunrise at Culley’s Meadowwood and the main Easter Morning Worship Service at 10:00 here at the church. Working through Sunday school we are challenging ourselves to make 2010 personal invitations to our Easter Services. Please begin working today to get tickets our for both the Passion Play and Easter Sunday. On the Easter invitation we are asking that you bring the stubs back with the name of the people you have invited. Let’s all get on board and make this a really great Easter season!

We have a lot of new members at North Florida. I trust that each are finding their way around and making themselves at home here at NFBC. If you are a leader in Sunday school, it is so important to reach out to these folks and get them assimilated into the church family through Sunday school. No one can have close fellowship with the whole church but everyone can belong to a class, a small group meeting on Sunday morning for Bible study, friendship and connection. If you have a question about who might be a prospect for your class, please write Barbara Linton at barbaralinton@nflchurch.com or call her at 385-7181 extension 101. Every member belongs and we want every member to have a sense of belonging. We call it our church family for a reason.