A Kingdom Mindset...RCC/Mosaic Church Merger

Wow, what an exciting time at RCC! As Pastor Keith finished up his series on Destiny this month, he made an exciting announcement regarding the direction and future of RCC. If you know Pastor Keith at all, you know that his desire for RCC is that we operate with a Kingdom Mindset. A mindset that isn't interested in personal glory, but in being effective at bringing glory to God in all aspects of what we do. He began seeking God's direction as he reflected on Race City Church. He asked himself, are we being as effective as possible for the Kingdom of God. His conclusion - while RCC has certainly been effective for the Kingdom, we have been and continue to be limited in the resources needed (people/finances/etc.) to have a greater impact for the Kingdom. This assessment left us with only a couple of options...stay as we are and continue even though we knew our impact was not as great as it could be or find a way to put our church body in the position to impact the Kingdom in a greater capacity. Pastor Keith began praying and seeking out opportunities. That search led him to meet with Naeem Fazal the Lead Pastor of Mosaic Church, Charlotte, NC. God showed up and through a series of meetings and much prayer, both became confident of the fact that we were to become one body working together to affect the Kingdom.

Well, It's official! Sunday, October 7th, Pastor Keith announced that RCC was merging with Mosaic Church. The response of our church family has been incredible! We have the greatest group of people with such a heart to do God's will. With the exception of a couple of families whose drive would simply be too far (and who we will miss greatly), our entire body has made the transition. God has so ordained this transition that there has not been a single negative response. While it is most certainly an emotional time for us all, we are so excited about the future and what a wonderful opportunity this will be for us to continue growing and serving together.

Our first Sunday at Mosaic was October 14th. We were so blessed by the response of the congregation at Mosaic to the merger. In a world where so many churches close their doors everyday due to financial strain, disunity in the body, and more, we pray that God will use this merger as an incredible example of Unity in the Body and a true Kingdom Mindset.

Women's Discipleship - Fall Bible Study

We are excited to announce that Thursday, September 6th, we will begin our new Women's Discipleship study for the fall. You are invited to explore the Fruit of the Spirit as we walk through Beth Moore's study, "Living Beyond Yourself". The study will end Thursday, November 15th.

Using session titles like "A Composite of Peculiar Patience," "Gentle Giants," and "The Crucible of Self Control," Beth will walk us through each trait listed in the Fruit of the Spirit passage from Galations 5:22-23 and teaches what they look like in the day-to-day challenges of life.

The study will be held from on Thursday mornings from 9:45-12:00noon at the RCC building. Childcare will be available. Cost will be $14.95+tax for your member book. If you are interested in participating in the study, please sign up in the RCC Cafe'. Money for member books is due by Sunday, August 26th. Cash and checks are accepted and should be given to Mandy Devine. Please make checks payable to Race City Church. All ladies are welcome! Feel free to invite your friends to join us!

Questions?? Contact Ashleigh Andersen, Mandy Devine, or Jen Staring...

RCC Potluck Postponed

Unfortunately, the RCC Potluck scheduled for Saturday, August 18th, at Jack and Geri Gardner's home has been postponed. It will be rescheduled as soon as possible, Jack and Geri look forward to having everyone at their home. More details to come...

It’s Party Time!!!

You are invited to participate in the RCC Pot Luck, hosted by the Tuesday night Life Group. It will be held at the home of Jack and Geri Gardner on Saturday, August 18th at 1:00pm. Bring your favorite dish to share and don’t forget your swimsuits! Everyone is welcome. Sign-up sheets will be located on the information table in the café. Hope to see you all there!

Here is our new series in Youth Group. It has been a lot of fun so far, especially with a little fire sauce from Taco Bell added!

First Wednesday - August 1st, 7:00pm

Join us this Wednesday, August 1st, for our First Wednesday celebration. First Wednesday is a journey to the heart of God through the experience of powerful music, passionate prayer, and the observance of communion. We hope to see you there!

Missions 2007 - Dominican '08 Update

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the RCC Missions Fundraising event. All donations, support and hard work are very much appreciated. We had a good turnout and there will be more opportunities to get involved in being a part of our upcoming Missions trip to the Dominican Republic.

Team Schedule for August:

August 16, Thursday ~ Team Meeting - Team Unity @ RCC, 7:00pm – 8:30pm

August 18, Saturday ~ Team Project – Habitat for Humanity, 7:00am – 5:00pm

August 30, Thursday ~ Team Meeting - Spiritual Warfare @ RCC,
7:00pm – 8:30pm

Please make note of these dates and times and we’ll see you then!

Jamie Wells, Missions Coordinator
Matthew 28:19-20

What Part Do I Have?

Have you ever felt as though you weren’t good enough? Like you have absolutely nothing to add to those around you or to life in general? As believers, we learn that we are all many members of just one Body. Sounds a little strange doesn’t it? It’s easy to want to be the “important” part of the body. But what are the important parts? The eyes or the arms or maybe the legs. Have you ever tried to imagine your arms without hands, or your hands without fingers, or your fingers without nails? What about the ligaments, muscles and bones that enable us to move? What about our eyes? Not having eyelids would dry your eyes up and there would be no use for them. Eyelashes help keep your eyes safe from dust and things that may damage them as well. You see, these may seem like tiny things, but they are the parts that hold us together, they make us who we are.

Take a car for instance. You can have this beautiful, fully loaded, top of the line car of your dreams. There’s one problem; you can’t drive it. It’s missing a fuse. Or, you’re driving on the highway and all of a sudden your tires go flying off the road. Why? You were missing a couple of lug nuts. You may be wondering, how could this happen to such a great car? It has everything it takes to make the perfect vehicle. How could such small, insignificant parts cause it to not start or run properly? Well, it’s simple; it’s missing a very important element. It is what completes the car. The whole car suffers because it lacks those “small” components.

The same is true for us. We may feel that just because we’re not teaching, preaching, or singing, we have nothing to offer. That is completely untrue. It’s the small parts that keep us together. No one is unimportant or insignificant in the Body of Christ.

There are three things that are taught in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30:

1. God has set each member in the body as He pleases…(v.18)
2. We need each other…(v.21)
3. If one member suffers, we all suffer, if one is honored, we all rejoice…(v.26)

So, yes, we are all very different, but we all need each other to function just as God intended. It takes us “small” folks to make sure the “big” things are accomplished.

A Huge Thank You!

Thank you so much for the thoughts, prayers, and blessings that have been poured out on our family over the last couple weeks. We can't say thank you enough for the calls, visits, meals, and help we have received since Pastor Keith's accident. We are so blessed to be part of such a caring family here at RCC. You guys are great and we love and appreciate each of you so much!

Please continue to pray for Pastor Keith's full recovery as we move forward with doctors regarding his injuries.

See you all Sunday! All our Love - Pastor Keith, Mandy, & Ella Grace

Sunday Night at the Visulite

After having the opportunity to hear Pastor Naeem Fazal share his personal testimony at RCC May 20th, we decided to take a group to visit Mosaic Church for their Sunday night service at the Visulite Theatre in uptown Charlotte. Mosaic is currently doing a sermon series called "Religion for Dummies" exploring the world's top three religions (Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity). In this series, Pastor Naeem answers the questions: How are they alike? How are they different? and How do we know which one is THE ONE? Sunday Night he taught on the religion of Islam and Pastor Naeem and his sister shared about their experience growing up as a Muslim family in Pakistan. We had a great time , enjoyed the service, and certainly walked away with a better understanding of Islam.

If you did not have the opportunity ot join us and would like to hear Pastor Naeem's teaching on Islam, check out Mosaic here...the podcast should be available soon.

If you attended the service, we would love to hear your comments!

Habitat for Humanity Missions Project

A huge shout out to the 16 volunteers who traveled to Monroe for a Habitat for Humanity Project today! It was a great day filled with small projects for the retail store and then heading out to a homesite to help with the construction of a new home. Paint, foam board, Tyvek, plastic sheeting, trusses, nails, staple guns, knives, hammers...all part of the day. It was a blast and everyone did an awesome job! Thanks for giving of your time and reprensenting Christ and RCC so well!

By the way, if you couldn't make it this time, make plans to join us for our next missions project! And don't forget to ask about the dirty RCC t-shirt contest...be sure to wear yours!

TRACK 301 - Discovering My Ministry

God didn't design ministry for just the few with seminary degrees. We believe that every member of our church is a minister. In TRACK 301, you'll learn how God can use your SHAPE (Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experience) to minister to others.

From what I'm hearing, our current TRACK 301 seminar ROCKS! I've heard rumors it's giving TRACK 201 a run for it's money...If you haven't attended the 301 seminar, don't miss it next time it's offered. Come discover what God has for you!

If you are currently attending TRACK 301, we'd love to hear your comments!