Overflow Church

2010-11-28T17:56:00.005-05:00

In the month of November at Overflow (as I write this on 11/28/10) we have seen God answering prayers and opening the “flood gates” in many ways. We are so humbled and grateful to be a part of how God is touching and transforming lives, and we want to share this with you as something we can all be thankful for this year! Here is what has happened in November:

• 11 people have received Christ as their Lord and Savior (all of this has happened outside of public worship in relationships with people from Overflow leading others to Christ). God is moving on their hearts in the services and then the follow-up is where we are seeing people coming into the kingdom!
• 6 people were baptized in November at our Thanksgiving service.
• I share this next bit of information so you can see the radical nature of what God is doing here through Jesus. Out of this group of people in November are:
o 3 people that have not been in church in 10 years or more
o 2 people who were baptized Catholic who have been nominal in their faith over the past 30+ years
o 1 former life-long Muslim
•Growth is happening at Overflow numerically as well:
o October 2007: 8 people in Bible study
o October 2008: 93 people in worship
o October 2010: 146 people in worship. 55% growth since 2008 (2 short years with much difficulty, but much fruit as well)

All this has happened DESPITE the facility issues we have been facing. We are continuing to pray and wait on God for clear direction with the miraculous provision of the former Sears facility. Please be encouraged that this building is a very large miracle that God will reveal His purpose for soon....it is also a very small part of the Overflow Church story and how God is touching and transforming lives here!

Please be in prayer for us this week for the following items:
• Praise for the incredible way God is working to bring people to Himself
• Praise for Kendra Neilson receiving her R1-Visa and returning to join the Overflow Church staff January 2, 2011!
• Prayer for God to help the new believers in the first steps in following Him and in the discipleship journey
• Prayer for wisdom and clarity as we meet in the coming week regarding our former Sears facility and potential Overflow Church home. We trust God will continue to reveal Himself and His purpose, and our hope and desire is that Overflow will have a permanent home in 2011.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support....."His story, His glory"!

In Pursuit,

Pastor Brian Bennett

What is happening at Overflow...

2010-10-22T15:33:00.001-04:00

H3: Hoops, Hot Dogs, Hip-Hop July 3

2010-08-11T13:37:00.010-04:00

Friends,

Hi, it has been a very busy summer with God moving all around us! We look forward to sending out our next "Overflowing Newsletter" soon. Quick highlight from the past week: 3 people have come to Jesus, 2 more re-committed, and 21 were baptized on Sunday! We are truly in awe of God and give Him all the glory and cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support!

Here is a run-down of our H3: Hip-hop, hoops, and hot dogs" event that we did in Broadway Park in Benton Harbor on July 3, 2010.

Celebrating God's hand on H3:
People: 360+
Water Bottles: 826
Hot Dogs: 620
Volunteers: 60+
Churches Represented: 6

What an incredible God we serve!

2010-06-21T15:51:00.003-04:00

Friends,

Hi, I am in awe of who God is and all that He is capable of and want to share with you some cool highlights from the past few days:

Today the OCCDA's Harbor Shine ministry (www.harborshine.com) and Mosaic ministry (www.overflowccda.org/mosaic) through partnerships with other organizations in our community, were able to put 23 high school students to work! These students will be led by one of our youth pastors/staff leaders and one of our college interns along with receiving a one-on-one mentor from Overflow. Students will be invested in spiritually, with life skills, and with on-the-job training in lawn care, landscaping, and retail operations.
It was such a surreal moment for me today to see our leaders working with these students and to watch our interns interacting. We have been blessed to have 4 interns with Overflow and another intern with Harbor Shine. God is truly providing great help and giving us the opportunity to invest in next generation leaders!
This week one of our partner churches will be coming to Benton Harbro to paint a house, help support our backyard VBS, and will be doing work projects and prayer walks in a local basketball park. God is moving us to the community and into the streets to share Him in some very practical ways!
Thursday nights each week our Splash Children's Ministry is running a reading program called "Bedtime Stories" at a local emergency shelter. Cindy boldly shared her story and the word last week and a great time of worship happened with one woman giving her life to Christ at the end of the night!

We are so thankful for all of your prayers and support and hope that it is evident we are celebrating the hand of God and "His story, His glory" here at Overflow!

Please keep each of our students this summer in prayer --as I believe that as we pray for them, God will work mightily in their lives. If you would like a list of names to pray over please send me an email requesting the list: bbennett@overflowchurch.org

Have an awesome day!

Brian

His Story, His Glory. Look what God has done!

2010-05-23T21:50:00.002-04:00

God WE praise you today for ALL you've done:

June 2007, the Bennett’s finish their staff position at a church in Battle Creek, MI and begin officially planting Overflow Church. Within the first few weeks there is no money for bills and God miraculously provides a check in the mail the same week. God has always provided and Overflow has never missed a bill.
Fall 2007, the Overflow office/lounge opens in Orchards Mall and the first Bible study is held in the mall community center with 6 people . To help us start, the mall donates the use of the community center. Partnership with Berrien Homes begins with a Halloween outreach event that draws more than 700 people to Orchards Mall. God provides unique space for the church to begin and negotiations are underway with Celebration Cinema for future worship services.
Winter 2007, Brian and Cindy are raising support every Sunday morning. In this first year alone they speak in more than 30 churches and God uses this intense season to provide everything from computers, to finances, to a wood floor for the office, and connections to people in the community—including traveling 4 hours to Croswell (east side of the state) to learn about the Suttons who, at that time were looking for a church.
Winter 2008, the Overflow launch team meets for the first time with 40 adults in attendance and an excitement about a vision for the future. The time line for starting worship celebrations moves up six months and preview services begin in January of 2008. God has clearly gone ahead of the team and prepared the way for the start of Overflow!
March 16, 2008 the first public worship celebration is held and Overflow Church kicks off! The month leading into worship, a bus is donated to the church, a driver becomes a part of launch team, and another person donates the paint job!
Summer 2008, Overflow’s first intern arrives from Bethany Bible College in Canada, along with a few mission teams, to serve. Overflow is able to partner in developing new leaders and provide mission teams with a place to serve-- a blessing to our community. As of summer 2010, we will have had 20 teams on site and 8 interns.
Fall/Winter 2008-09, a time of growth as a church and dealing with the harsh realities of the economy at the same time. Leadership slashes 1/3 of the budget around Christmas and miraculously God blesses the decisions by the church finishing the year in the black and with money to put towards the Overflow Coffee Café.
Fall 2009, the Overflow Coffee Café is put into Orchards Mall as an outreach and is fully paid for by donations from supporters. The Café is blessed with a great volunteer team and the outreach begins in full force.
From day one, 6 families have relocated to the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area to help with Overflow. For almost 2 years now, Carolyn O’Connor, has faithfully traveled from Holland to serve as administrative assistant for Brian and the church.
Winter 2009, the former Sears facility adjacent to Orchards Mall is donated completely free of charge to the church along with 10.5 acres of land. This miraculous donation of 130,000 square feet of space provides the church with the possibility of a future home and a story to celebrate for years to come!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! (PUBLIC HEARING RESULTS)

2010-03-23T06:56:00.005-04:00

Overflow Friends and surrounding community,

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement as we have continued to walk out the necessary steps with the Overflow Center (former Sears building). We are celebrating today the first step, which was a favorable decision from the planning commission and a recommendation to the Board of Trustees for a "special use permit". We are truly grateful, and humbled, by all who attended the public hearing from our community and the words you shared. We are here for our community and we look forward to continuing to partner and work with others, including those in the marketplace, to
see our community move forward.

Thank you again. The next step will be the Board of Trustees vote in April and we will keep you posted on the details.

In the meantime, let's all continue to apply these words, "He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, NKJV)

Let's continue to walk in, and share, in a way that gives God the glory and demonstrates His incredible, and unconditional love!

In Pursuit,

Brian

www.overflowchurch.org
www.overflowccda.org

How God is working at Overflow.....2/28/10

2010-03-01T10:58:00.003-05:00

Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement! We hope this encourages you today as much as it has our leadership team. We are currently in our series on 1 John "Unconditional Love" (see above image) and here are a few of the ways in which God has been working in and through Overflow:

* A high school senior was there and it was the first time in 8 years he had been in church....he came as a result of the cafe outreach and two of our volunteer's "connecting conversations"!
* A faithful couple's persistence of inviting a friend to church (for 2 years...) During closing prayer at the end of service, their friend stood to receive Christ! I will sit down with him this week to talk more about his new decision. (God moved and a family that could have given up on inviting a friend did not and was able to see the results).
* A woman who is being used by God to reach into the Benton Harbor community on behalf of special needs children shared that while she faced blatant discrimination/racism this week in the community (towards her) she was not giving up. God has called to her to be a change agent, and while it is not easy she knows and believes that God is with her. One step at a time God is helping people to realize that with Him all things are possible....even loving others unconditionally when they are trying to hurt us.

God is truly moving among us and we need to "keep walking in faith". Faith works (Heb 11:1, 6)

In Pursuit,

Brian

Overflow Center is official and Our New Home

2009-12-30T16:54:00.003-05:00

We truly serve a very BIG God that has a plan for each of our lives and our region! See below for a press release and FAQ regarding the transition of the former Sears building in Benton Harbor to the Overflow Center. We look forward to sharing this facility with our community and those of you who pray for us and support us from a distance!

December 30, 2009

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Rose A. Hunt, Board President, OCCDA, (269) 277-7286

Brian Bennett, Lead Pastor, Overflow Church, (269) 861-4497

#####

Former Sears Building to Become Overflow Center

Overflow Christian Community Development Association (OCCDA) new owners of the Sears Building

Benton Harbor, Michigan— The Overflow Christian Community Development Association (OCCA), a 501 (c3) non-profit organization, and Overflow Church, has been given the former Sears facility, 1860 Pipestone Rd, Benton Harbor, Michigan, by a generous, anonymous donor to further the work of the OCCDA. The OCCDA is incredibly humbled by the opportunity and potential of the “Overflow Center” to assist in the fulfillment of their mission to “seek the peace and prosperity of our region through transformational initiatives and partnerships that encourages, equips, and empowers our community to reach its greatest potential.” Rose A. Hunt, Board President for the OCCDA, says “This is an extraordinary opportunity for our area. It is my hope and dream to witness the emergence of the vast, untapped potential of our communities to unprecedented levels of productivity and prosperity. God continues to smile on us!”

The Overflow Center will be a mixed-use facility, housing the OCCDA and Overflow Church (www.overflowchurch.org) with multiple tenants in the years to come. “We have believed that the God-given vision of Overflow would someday lead to these kinds of transformational partnerships, and we are humbled and in awe of what God has done with the Overflow Center and the OCCDA,” says Brian Bennett, Lead Pastor of Overflow Church. “We’re really excited to have the opportunity to move our Worship Celebrations to the new facility in 2010 and provide a great environment for all people from all walks of life to come together. Truly with God all things are possible!”

The OCCDA is a non-denominational, faith-based organization committed to partnerships in the community, the region and beyond that help generate resources and best practices to help people move forward in life. The OCCDA’s philosophy is centered on the belief that all people are created with a plan and a purpose and are valuable. We believe that lasting change happens through people that have been reconciled to themselves (emotionally/forgiveness), God (spiritual balance), and each other (socially) and that a community can be transformed through the rebuilding of relationships, leading to the equipping and empowering of all people. Overflow’s belief is that the community of Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, and the surrounding county, holds within itself incredible people and potential. As the people of this region are shown true hope and a love that transcends all perceived boundaries, we believe that the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph community will become a model for change, reconciliation, and healing for other parts of the world. We look forward to the years ahead and seeing our community change one life at a time as the bridges of division are overcome and the disadvantaged are empowered to live their life with hope, dignity, safety, and financial security.

For more information, please see www.overflowchurch.org, www.overflowccda.org or www.overflowccda.blogspot.com.

#####

Frequently Asked Questions – The Overflow Center

(former Sears Facility @ 1860 Pipe Stone Rd., Benton Harbor, MI)

1. Why is Overflow doing this?

a. Answer: God has provided this “Overflow Center” as a donation from a very generous donor. As we have done all the proper inspections it has become clear that God’s hand is on this and it will be an incredible tool to help us fulfill our vision and mission in our region and beyond.

2. How did this get started?

a. Answer: We truly believe that this is God’s plan and not ours (His Story, for His Glory). Our leadership team was not planning for a facility, but had through prayer sensed that God was asking us to talk with the owner’s of the Sears facility as it was closing. The rest of the story has been one of seeing God’s hand continually putting the pieces in place for this incredible donation to happen. The initial conversation between Overflow and the owner’s occurred in late August of this year.

3. Is the Overflow Center (former Sears Facility) a part of the Orchards Mall?

a. Answer: The Sears Facility has been privately owned for more than 31 years and is not owned by Orchards Mall. The Overflow Center is adjacent to Orchards Mall and will work in partnership with the mall in as many ways as possible to help benefit the community and the region.

4. What role has prayer played in this decision?

a. Answer: Overflow is a prayer saturated movement and church. We have been and will continue to make prayer part of what we do every day, every where, and in every place. Our leadership team has been continually praying, and even fasting, over this incredible opportunity and invites you to join us this January to start the new year with a church wide 21-day time of prayer and fasting.

5. When will the building be open? And what will be in it at first?

a. Answer: The Overflow Center is in excellent shape , but will require interior adjustments in order to accommodate Overflow Church, Mosaic, and other tenants in the near future. We will begin work projects immediately and hope to have Overflow Church and Mosaic operational in the Overflow Center by Spring 2010.

6. Where will the church offices and prayer room be?

a. Answer: Offices and Prayer Room will continue to be housed in the Overflow Warehouse (behind the Overflow Coffee Café) @ Orchards Mall at this time.

7. What exactly will be in the Overflow Center?

a. Answer: Overflow Church, Splash Children Ministries, OCCDA Offices, Mosaic, Harbor Shine, All Youth Center, and other possible partnerships and tenants to be named in the future.

8. What is the timeline for Overflow’s Worship Celebrations Moving to the Overflow Center?

a. Answer: Spring 2010.

9. Will the Overflow Coffee Café remain in the spot it is in now?

a. Answer: Yes, Overflow Coffee Café was placed where it is today due to its strategic location for outreach. It will remain there with a possible smaller extension in the Overflow Center.

10. How can I get involved with the Overflow Center?

a. Answer:

i. Prayer: Please praise God with us and ask for His guidance and provision as we move forward.

ii. Financial Support: Chairs, Tables, Projectors, Screens, Doors, Walls, Etc. are needed and will have to be purchased or donated. Your support (above and beyond normal tithes/offerings) is greatly appreciated.

iii. Volunteer Support: Many projects will need to be completed to transition Overflow Church to the Overflow Center and to open Mosaic . Please sign-up today to be on a projects team!

Still have questions? Feel free to see any of the Overflow staff or leaders or call 269.861.4497

Media: A Press release & this document is available at: www.overflowcommunity.blogspot.com

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OVERFLOW!

2009-11-22T20:33:00.004-05:00

Friends,

We have so much to be grateful for this year as we celebrate God's work in and through our lives and Overflow! I hope you are all doing well and look for our latest update letter to be in the mail in early December! Here a few quick highlights from an incredible week last week that left me with such a sense of who God is and wants to be in our lives.

Monday, November 16: We had the opportunity to partner with Hungry for Christ ministries (Hamilton, MI) and be the recipients of the incredible generosity of Request Foods, Inc (Holland, MI) who provided as a donation 272 turkey dinners/dressing for our local community! It was truly amazing to see how in just a few short days our leaders rallied to find homes in need, organizations in need, and even a local school in need in order to share generously the meals that were provided. What a reminder of God's power to provide when we are simply open to be a vessel (2 Cor 4:7).
Wednesday, November 18: We have been partnering with the local Emergency Shelter in the past year and were asked to bring volunteers, our bus, teaching, and music for their program called "Friends Night". We have done this a number of times and truly enjoy the sense of community and friendship the night provides across all economic and racial "barriers" as God's love is shared and experienced. This past Wednesday was truly a moving experience as we shared food, music, stories, and the teaching of the word. What a reminder for all of us that we need to be ready and willing to share Christ and His love anywhere and everywhere we are asked and find ourselves....we are His witnesses (Acts 1:8).
Friday, November 20: Our Overflow Coffee Cafe outreach (www.overflowcafe.org) continues to grow as more and more people hear about it in the community. As I was getting my hair cut the hair dresser shared that she had heard from a number of her clients about the cafe and how much they liked it. It was so encouraging to hear that our staff is doing such an awesome job with those that come into the cafe and that the word is spreading in the community. Thank you for your prayers and support as we have launched this outreach. I also had the opportunity this Sunday at our service to: 1) pray with a woman from Benton Harbor who had connected with us in the cafe and heard about the church, and 2) to talk with a family after service who had heard about the cafe through an article in the local paper. God is already confirming that this Coffee Cafe is His and is a "well" where thirsty people will find Jesus (John 4).
Sunday, November 22: Today we had the opportunity to see 6 beautiful children dedicated and to celebrate the 3 families that took a stance for Christ and for their children. While I would love to share pictures with you I am going to instead share that this group included 5 African-American children. It is truly a picture of the kind of vision and heart for all people that God has given Overflow. It is such an incredible thing to see how God is drawing people together here and to know that our Splash Children's Ministry is growing and doing an incredible job (they have had as many as 43 children on a Sunday). Please keep Cindy and her leadership team in your prayers as they remind us each week how important it is to reach the next generation and to love and welcome the children as Jesus did (Matthew 19:14).

So, this is just a glimpse of how God is working here and I pray that you, too, are seeing the hand of God and His movement in your lives as well! Thank you for continuing to journey with us and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
In Pursuit,

Brian

Overflow Cafe is Now Open @ Orchards Mall!

2009-10-28T14:58:00.003-04:00

www.overflowcafe.org

October Overflow Events & Happenings

2009-09-30T15:41:00.006-04:00

Be sure to click "play" on the video below for a funny look at our new coffee cafe!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Overflow Summer 2009 Baptism Video!

2009-09-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

Please click on play below to view video....thank you for your prayers and support!

Baptism Pictures from today (08.09.09)!!!

2009-08-09T21:52:00.004-04:00

Friends,

What an incredible day today! We had awesome weather for our 2nd Annual Lake MI Baptisms and picnic. Above is a group shot of those Baptized today (also pictured Pastor Todd Johns and myself). Thank you for your prayers and continuing to believe in the work and ministry that God has called us (and Overflow) to in Benton Harbor/St. Joe! Look for the August Bently Update Letter soon as well and have a great week!

In Pursuit,
Brian
John 6:28-29

Baptism this Sunday, August 2nd!

2009-08-04T12:26:00.005-04:00

Friends,

Can you believe July is already gone! It is hard to believe how fast summer is moving and I hope yours has been one that has been full of life and life to the full (John 10:10)! We have had an incredible summer (difficult at times, but well worth the lessons learned) and one that has left us an awe of all that God is continuing to do here in Benton Harbor/St. Joe and with Overflow!

We want to invite you to join us this Sunday for:

Worship Celebration @ 10:31am (Celebration Cinema)
Picnic & Baptisms @ 12:30pm (Lion's Beach in St. Joe)

We have a great group of people taking their next steps with Baptism this Sunday and they would love it if you can celebrate with them and encourage them in their journey!

God Bless and thank you for your prayers and support.

In Pursuit,

Brian

Here is a video of last year's Baptisms at the Lake (pray it is a littler warmer this year!).

Overflow Summer Community Events!

2009-07-02T16:07:00.006-04:00

Coffee Cafe Project Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj940P4wfdM

"Summer Sunshine, Blue Skies"

Summer sunshine and blue skies have finally burst on the scene here in southwest Michigan and in a lot of ways this is what’s been happening in the life of Overflow. As summer is now upon us with the warmth of the sun beating down on us and the cool breeze coming off the lake and as people gather at the beaches, picnic areas and recreational hot spots, we find ourselves becoming more and more the beautiful community and bride that Christ has called and commissioned us to be in our world!

There are many wonderful things going on this summer in the life of the church and wanted to give you all a sneak peak at “the happenings” that are taking place over the next couple of months.

• July 12: Overflow Community Picnic and Worship Concert at Riverview Park
• July 31- Aug. 1: Local Camping Trip; Bonfire, Camp food and Good Times!
• Aug. 8: World Pulse Music Festival; Free Concert! Come one, Come all!
• Aug. 9: Summer Baptisms and Picnic at Lake Michigan.
• All Summer: Tidal Wave of Serving (call 269.861.4497 for details)

Even in the midst of all that is taking place this summer, it’s so very important that we remember that in everything that takes place and in all the things that we do, it never equates for who we are in Christ, individually and collectively as the body. We are His bride, his workmanship, his spotless unblemished bride, because of who He is and His righteousness that has been bestowed upon us through the cross. So as the sun shines this summer and as the warmth of the days and the cool breeze of the air refreshes our bodies and mind, let us not forget the one and only true source that brings forth light and refreshing airs to each one of us and those around us, the one and only true Son who radiates his love from the throne room of Heaven at the right hand of God, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

In Christ,
Todd Johns (Community Life Pastor)

Video: Backyard VBS & Neighborhood Serving

2009-06-17T22:30:00.002-04:00

Summer Serving Tidal Wave 2009!!!

2009-06-08T13:36:00.005-04:00

Overflow Friends,
Hi, hope you all are doing well and enjoying a great start to summer! Pictured above is the brochure we produced for our summer of outreach and serving (for an email copy: bbennett@overflowchurch.org). We are pretty excited about what is ahead this summer as we continue to grow as a local church and seek to really meet the needs of our community in practical ways. We have the privilege this summer of partnering with a number of youth groups and mission organizations that are coming to join us in helping to paint houses, clean, landscape, build fences, do 4 vacation bible schools, etc. and wanted to ask that you consider any of the following as ways of joining this "tidal wave of serving" this summer:

Pray for us
Serve with us (contact us for more information)
Donate towards a project

I have continued to be amazed at how God works through partnerships and the understanding of the larger "Kingdom" picture of life and ministry. It is such a beautiful thing to see people banding together for a common cause and purpose and to know that there are more than enough resources to do the work....when we work together!

God Bless and thank you again for journeying with Overflow and our family! We look forward to sharing our next "Bently" newsletter with you soon and all that God is doing here in our community!

In Pursuit,

Brian

Unstoppable Joy! May sermon series wraps up this Sunday, May 31.

2009-05-26T23:36:00.005-04:00

Unstoppable Joy: "Peace and Generosity"
Join us as we finish our study of the book of Philippians.
Sunday's @ 10:31am in Celebration Cinema (1468 Cinema Way, Benton Harbor)
www.overflowchurch.org

A Tribute Video for all of Overflow's Volunteers: Thank you!!!

2009-04-28T20:59:00.004-04:00

The following video was produced by our very own Dan Page-Wood and was shown on Sunday, 4/26 as a part of our volunteer appreciate Sunday. We are so blessed and thankful for all the many people who help make the outreach and ministry of Overflow possible!

*Just click play below on the black screen to see the video

Thank you again!

In Pursuit,
Brian

Jesus Prayed for You and Me!

2009-04-21T16:21:00.004-04:00

Overflow Friends,

Hello, I want to take a moment to share something from the word really impacting me today. So I am reading John 17 today and trying to let it really sink in and marinade within me. If your not familiar with John 17 it is Jesus prayer where He prays for Himself, His Disciples, and future believers (you and me). It is amazing to hear the simplicity of this prayer and the cry of Jesus' heart that God would get the glory, that His followers would be full of JOY in the face of trials, would be ONE in their interactions, and would be set apart by God's WORD in order to stand against a world bent on destruction and evil.

As I think about this I cannot shake the idea that Christ prayed that we would be in His word, full of joy, and unified in our interactions with each other in the bod

y of Christ. It seems like all 3 of these are a real challenge for me as I live in a world that is fallen and doing its best to make sure I miss out on the great plan God has for me and it.

I wonder what would happen if I focused more on Christ and the things He wanted for more life and less on the things I want, or even the things I don't want in my life?

Think of how simple it is when we focus on what Christ prayed for us...

Eat His word (so I spend more time with Him)
Be filled with Joy (so I enjoy Him and what He has given me)
Be one with those around you (so I love others and strive for unity)

Simple, but profound. May Jesus prayer for you and me become a reality as we focus on Him and what He has

for us!

Hope to see you soon and thanks for sharing this journey with Overflow!

In Pursuit,

Brian

HAPPY EASTER! JESUS IS ALIVE!!!!

2009-04-10T09:15:00.000-04:00

Final Bennett House Update!!! 04.02.09

2009-04-01T18:28:00.006-04:00

Please click on the box below to play the video from our family sharing how God has worked over the past 2 years to miraculously sell our house on 3/27/09! Thank you for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Love, the Bennett's!

Overflow is ONE & Baptism Pictures!

2009-03-24T21:44:00.008-04:00

Here are a few pictures from an incredible celebration on 3/15/09 of our first year at Overflow Church!

The 1 Year Birthday night included a potluck, worship, testimonials from the first year (laughs and tears), and 5 people "taking the plunge" and being Baptized! We also had the awesome opportunity to see one woman in her twenties pray to receive Christ as a part of the night and were once again amazed at how God works in the most mysterious ways!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support this first year and know that God is "flowing" through them into the Benton Harbor/St. Joe region!

In Pursuit,

Brian

Spiritual Gifts Class 03.25.09

2009-03-18T23:15:00.002-04:00

Sign-up for this great class by calling: 269.861.4497 or email: bbennett@overflowchurch.org

OVERFLOW 1-YEAR BIRTHDAY PARTY: 03.15.09

2009-03-09T18:18:00.003-04:00

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 269.861.4497
South Shore Health Club (for address and location): www.sshrc.biz

New Sermon Series & New Bently Posted

2009-02-23T10:22:00.005-05:00

Friends,

We have just posted our new Bently for February, 2009 as a PDF file.
There are many updates on what is happening here with Overflow and how God is transforming lives here in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph region! God has done so much in the past couple of months that we are celebrating and we want to invite you to save the date for our 1 year Birthday Party and Baptisms on Sunday, March 15 @ 6:30pm! All praise is His!

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

*The image at the top is our new sermon series that starts next week and explores who Jesus is....please pray that people will discover more about Jesus and take their next steps forward with Him! Thank you for everything.

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

Here is a powerful video and song by Todd Agnew called "My Jesus" and reminds us who are Lord is and what He was about:

Turning the World Upside Down.....God at Work!

2009-02-16T11:45:00.014-05:00

Acts 17:6-"Paul and Silas have turned the rest of the world upside down, and now they are here disturbing our city"

The past week was one of the most difficult weeks that Cindy and I have experienced personally, and at Overflow, in our time planting the church. There were many things that went seemingly wrong last week, and in ways that we did not expect, and yet through it all we did have a peace that God was still at work. We know that many of you were praying for us, and Overflow, and we cannot thank you enough! While some of those issues from last week are still on the table I wanted to share with you how God worked over the weekend as we are celebrating God "turning our world and city" upside down one life at a time here in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph region!

Here are 4 Quick Stories of "How God has been at Work" the past couple of days:

1) Saturday we partnered with 2 of our sister churches (Allendale Wesleyan Church and Light House Community Church-Kalamazoo) to do Valentine's Party Outreaches at Berrien Homes (our friends at a local housing project) and Benton Harbor St. Ministry. Amazingly, we had 46 volunteers come from these 2 churches to spend the day with us here in Benton Harbor serving and they brought everything with them. The parties were for students and their families and included a meal, cookies, and other activities that centered the kids on the message of God's love. It was an amazing picture of a group of people banding together to flip a world upside with God's love! We were able to serve more than 50 kids between the 2 parties and drop off a couple hundred extra valentine cookies to our local emergency shelter afterward! A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALLENDALE WESLEYAN, LIGHT HOUSE, AND RANDY WILLIS for coordinating this great event. The girl picture here shared with us that this was the first time she had ever decorated cookies in her life and she now felt like a pro (notice the cool designs)! Seeds of love were planted!

2) After we returned from the parties we heard this great story from Carolyn O'Connor (one of our Overflow leaders) who was in charge of our office/lounge outreach in Orchards Mall while we were gone. Here is what she shared in her words:

"A young woman stopped in the entry to the mall office, looking at the flyer on the table. She looked kind of upset about something, so I greeted her and asked her how she was doing. Her reply was "As OK as I am likely to be". When I asked if she wanted to talk, tears began to flow down her cheeks, and she came and sat down at the desk where I was working. As she began to share her story, I could sense the pain and hurt that she was carrying and the desperation she was feeling. I asked her "Do you know Jesus?". She replied that she did because she had gone to church, etc. I replied that I didn't ask if she knew of Jesus, but if she knew him personally. As she cried and replied she really didn't, I invited her to accept Christ as He is willing and waiting for her. A couple minutes later, she repeated the Sinner's Prayer and accepted Christ. While I sense there is still a lot of healing that must occur from past hurts, she left with a smile on her face."

3) Sunday during our Overflow Worship Celebration in the cinema I shared a message on working through the bitterness and resentments in our life and used an analogy of how we tend to put duct tape over our heart in an effort to heal ourselves of hurt. At the end I asked people to consider that Christ in fact wanted to help release them from this and to help them to forgive those that had hurt them in the past (Heb 12:12-15; Eph 4:31-32). People were able to come forward to get rid of their duct tape (each person had a piece) in prayer and to pick up a handout that guided them through a "Prayer of Forgiveness" by Dr. Neil Anderson. Here is a picture of the amazing response (that is a lot of duct tape...please pray for each of these people and the hurt that is represented):

4) At the close of Worship on Sunday we invited people to come to a separate movie theater (we worship in Celebration Cinema) that we had set aside for prayer and communion. It was a very moving time of renewal, healing, and refreshing for many. A young man that had come for the first time through our outreach to Berrien Homes and our bus ministry came in for prayer and communion with the others. Our Community Life Pastor Todd Johns was able to connect with him and lead Him to the Lord right then and there as God worked in his life! It was an awesome moment as we have known this young man and been investing in him for more than a year now!

God is so good and we are so thankful for this incredible weekend at the end of a very hard and draining week and to chance to welcome two new members of God's family!

It was just a reminder that although we may not see it just yet...God is always at work and He is over everything!

In Pursuit,

Brian
Phil 1:21

*God is the God of our City. If you have time here is the worship song by Chris Tomlin that is one of our anthems here at Overflow:

The Power of "Constant" Prayer....

2009-02-03T06:43:00.005-05:00

Overflow Friends,

Thank you for your many prayers and for continuing to stay involved in what God is doing here in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph! As a church this year we are focused on "prayer saturation" in all we do and we are continuing to see God move in amazing ways. Recently, we have seen attendance increasing, and more importantly the new families and individuals are truly connecting as they are jumping into Life Groups and other areas of service. We have had a number of people enter into discipleship for the first time and have had a few more decide to enter into a personal relationship with Christ! It is awesome to be a part of what God is doing!

The I3 image above was just shared 2 Sundays ago as we have asked people to identify 5 people that they will do I3 with in 2009: Intercede (pray for them regularly), Invest (spend time loving and serving them), Inviting (share Christ and/or invite to Overflow).

As I was reading in my quiet time this morning I came across Acts 12 and Psalm 3. I would like to just briefly share a couple of thoughts as I think these passage show us what is possible through prayer and hopefully encourage us to continue praying for those in our lives (I3)!

Acts 12:1-4: Peter is thrown in prison as King Herod attacks and kills individuals in the early church and attempts to make a scene of them during a busy Passover scene in Jerusalem.

Acts 12:5-11: The early church/believers were in "constant prayer" for Peter and God sends an angel to literally walk Peter out of bondage and out of prison! He can still do this today in answering our prayers for friends and family that are still in bondage to sin!

Acts 12:12-17:: Interesting here as Peter goes to find those that were praying and they do not believe it is Him at first! God answered their prayer, even though, they would have trouble believing it was possible. We know God answers prayer and he does it even when we may not feel it can happen....the point is to persist in "constant prayer" trusting that God will do it in His way and in His timing!

So let's keep praying and know that God will move in our lives! What are you praying for? Share your prayer requests and have our prayer team join you in praying by sending your requests to: bbennett@overflowchurch.org

A closing prayer from Psalm 3 (NLT):

O LORD, I have so many enemies;
so many are against me.
2 So many are saying,
“God will never rescue him!”
Interlude ◙
3 But you, O LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts my head high.
4 I cried out to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy mountain.
Interlude
5 I lay down and slept.
I woke up in safety,
for the LORD was watching over me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
who surround me on every side.
7 Arise, O LORD!
Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
8 Victory comes from you, O LORD.
May your blessings rest on your people.
Interlude

In Pursuit,

Brian

How is He at work in and around you?

2009-01-15T15:45:00.003-05:00

Friends,

I have been wanting to get a new blog up for the past few days and things have just not slowed down, but thank you to a massive MI snowstorm things here at the Overflow Office/Lounge are a little slower today and I have a few minutes to share.

Over the past few weeks we have seen God doing so much in and around us and we are continuing to learn what it means to see Him at work and to simply join in! This principle comes from the "Experiencing God" study by Henry Blackaby (great study by the way) and is so foundational in all that is happening here. Last night, in fact, despite the storm we had 15 adults gather in our mall community center to start the study with us. It is exciting to see as we also have 4 other life groups launching next week and there seems to be a growing hunger/thirst for more of God and to spend time in prayer. God is truly on the move.

We are truly celebrating two specific things that we have seen God do lately:

1) Our house is moving quickly towards a close next Friday, 1/23. We are in need of approximately $13,000 (initially, estimate was $16,000 but thankfully that number has come down!) at close and God has answered prayer already with $10,000 coming in. To see our house selling in this market, after all this time, is such an amazing testimony to what God can do....He is truly a miracle worker!

2) I had the awesome opportunity last week to have dinner with a man (now a friend) who was completely un-churched in his 40s and had many questions. By the end of our dinner (2.5 hours later!) I was blessed to be able to pray with him right there in the restaurant/bar as He received Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior! We had lunch together yesterday (we are now doing this weekly) and it is so awesome to share this new journey with him as He learns more and more about who Christ is and what it means for him now that He is a Christ follower.

I want to encourage you to ask the same question we are learning to ask here at Overflow: "How is He at work in and around you?".

The answer to that question points us to what we can celebrate, how we need to change and obey Christ, and where He wants us to JUMP IN AND JOIN HIM!!!

Thank you for you prayers, partnership, and generosity! God is truly working through all of you to help fulfill the vision He has given us here with Overflow: "To live as a Christ centered movement for all people that overflows boundaries-- transforming lives in our region and beyond.”

He is an AWESOME God!

In Pursuit,

Brian

Overflow January Sermons Series: 2009

2009-01-06T14:10:00.001-05:00

Free Showing of "The Nativity Story" Wed, 12/24 @ 1:30pm

2008-12-24T11:25:00.003-05:00

Go to Celebration Cinema in Benton Harbor @ 1:30pm for this great family movie! Merry Christmas!

God's presence in the most unlikely places.....

2008-12-18T14:46:00.008-05:00

The past few weeks I have had the awesome opportunity to teach on Sunday's at Overflow on how Jesus was the Son of God and became flesh....dwelling among us! John 1:14 (NLT) says, "So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father."
It is an amazing truth of the Christmas story and one that challenges us to the core of our being as to how radical God's love for all of humanity is. It also brings up the fact that He has left us to continue to allow His presence (and love) to shine through us to the world! What a challenge.

In the past few weeks I have had the awesome opportunity to be a part of four outreaches in the community and have been praying every step of the way and asking myself "what does it mean to share God's presence with these people?". It has been a fun, humbling, and very stretching journey as we have reached out in the community to: Berrien Homes (our partner housing project), Benton Harbor St. Ministry (twice), and provided transportation for a Christmas party for pregnant teens.

It is amazing how each of these has placed me among teens, and teens that are the least likely according to the world's standards, but isn't that who God chose to be His disciples? Are not the least likely exactly who God came to reach and how He came to reach us (Matt 9:10-13, Matt 1-2)?

My favorite moment in the past week came on Tuesday when I was able (along with a couple of volunteers from Overflow) to see a group of 11 teens at the St. Ministry plan and run a Christmas Party for 22 younger children. We have been running a program called "Boost" (see below for a description) on Tuesdays with them and this was there first chance to really step-up as leaders and they did in a big way! It was awesome to see how proud they were and how much fun the younger ones had. They even had fun sharing the "Christmas story" from the Bible over bingo cards with one youth yelling the character's name (hilarious moment that had to be experienced). God is so good when we simply trust Him, dwell in Him, and go to the places He wants us too!

God does so much with so little....total cost of the party ($15), the memories, the smiles on their faces, and the chance to be a leader....(you got it)...priceless! I hope this encourages you to share His presence and to be His presence with others this coming week.

So where is He asking you to share His presence this Christmas?

In Pursuit,

Brian

“BOOST” PROGRAM FOR GRADES 6+
“Giving Students a Boost in life”
Who: This program is designed to serve those students that are a regular part of the BHSM and to help them through direct mentoring, equipping, and empowerment to move forward in life. Students grade six and up are allowed into the classroom format program.
• The program is a partnership between Overflow and BHSM and is directed and implemented by Overflow in collaboration with BHSM.
What: The program is new and will be shaped and re-shaped over time to be as effective as possible and reflect the student’s interests and strengths. Currently, the program has been designed (with input from students) to consist of:
• 4:00-4:30pm
o Homework/Reading (tutors/mentors needed)
o BHSM serves a meal to the students
• 4:30-5:00pm
o Games/Activities/Bible Study
• 5:00-5:30pm
o Leadership Development and Job Readiness through Service and Experience
• *A field trip reward will be planned every 6-8 weeks for students with regular attendance and achievement in school
When: Every Tuesday, 4:00-5:30pm
• No Boost Dec 30 or any other Tuesday that BHSM is closed
Where: BENTON HARBOR ST. MINISTRY, Empire Ave., Benton Harbor, MI
Needed: Volunteers age 18+ to work with students one-on-one with homework, reading, and life skills. Training Available if Needed.
Contact: Brian Bennett, 269 861 4497 for more information or to get involved today!

New Overflow "Bently" Update Letter is Posted!

2008-12-06T20:11:00.003-05:00

Friends,

We have just posted our new Bently for December, 2008 as a PDF file.
There are many end of the year updates for 2008 and a summary of where things currently stand with Overflow. God has done so much in the past year that we are celebrating (with 21 people making decisions for Christ and 17 people being Baptized)! All praise is His!

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

December Sermon Series: Collide

2008-12-04T01:23:00.003-05:00

This December we are looking at the Christmas story and what happens, and what it means for our lives, when God collides with our world. As John says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14, NKJV).

Please keep this series in your prayers and if your local invite a friend! Merry Christmas and thank you for visiting our site.

In Pursuit,

Brian

Overflow in the Community Serving

2008-11-23T20:24:00.003-05:00

Hi, hope you are all doing well! Thought I would post this video of our Overflow community in action to give you a glimpse of how God has moving us to "passionately follow Jesus and joyfully serve others"! This video was played Sunday, Nov 2nd as our Community Life Pastor Todd Johns shared a message titled "We are the Body".

You can listen here:
www.overflowchurch.org/audio/Overflow_110208.mp3

Here is the video....thank you for all of your prayers and support!

In Pursuit,
Brian

Overflow Baptisms Nov 02, 2008

2008-11-10T21:11:00.003-05:00

Hope you enjoy this video and celebrate with us what God has done in the lives of these individuals! Just click on the video box below to play the video. We serve an Awesome God!

In Pursuit,
Brian

Veggie Event Video-- Outreach Night 10/24/08

2008-10-31T13:32:00.002-04:00

We hope you enjoy the video (you can read Cindy's previous blog with details on the event)! What an incredible God we serve who does far beyond all we can hope for and imagine!

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy

VeggieTales FREE MOVIE Night at the mall!

2008-10-27T19:30:00.015-04:00

We (Splash Children's Ministry) hosted our first VeggieTales Movie Night at the Orchards Mall and it was amazing!

Close to 200 kids and their families attended the event. Go God! The kids had so much fun and many of the adults wore huge grins throughout the night. The snack crew did a stupendous job with homemade snacks (candy molds & pretzels, popcorn balls, leaf cookies…..). It was great seeing everyone's passion in different areas come alive!

The creative arts team did a tremendous job with creating the harvest VeggieTales environment (including a huge painting of Larry & Bob on the community center wall mirror) and setting up 6 stations for the kids: face painting, glow-in-the-dark tattoos, photo area, paint & pumpkin/gourd area, pumpkin patch for kids and families to sit while watching the movie, “Where’s God When I’m Scared?” , ending with a stop at the Overflow Office where we handed out VeggieTales activity sheets, a ton of candy, cute leaf bags put together by a crafty cousin of Martha Stewart (no, not really but really could be... ).
Roughly, 70% of the people at the event were not a part of Overflow and that was exciting for us! We were truly reaching families beyond our church family. The night was about bringing God’s light into a dark and scary world and that GOD IS BIGGER THAN THE BOOGIE MAN! He is bigger than any fear ; He is bigger than anything!

We closed the event with several door prizes and a word of prayer.

A word of appreciation...

Thank you to several local orchards for their donations for this event! Thank you to Berrien Homes for lending us your popcorn machine; we went through 10 pounds of kernels!!! Thank you to a grandma and grandpa who donated over 400 donut holes! Thank you McDonalds for donating punch… we served over 400 cups! Thank you to Amanda Sutton’s mom who traveled via train from the east side of the state to donate her time, talent, and fall decorations for our event! Thank you SW Michigan Tourist Council for your donation of bags. And thank you... Overflow family & friends for digging in on Friday night to serve our community in love.

You planted seeds this weekend, and I’m not talking about pumpkin seeds.

Bennett Housing Update: Follow Me

2008-10-17T22:41:00.007-04:00

Friends,

OK, so this will not be our typical blog regarding Overflow and the updates, but rather a glimpse into what it has and continues to mean for myself and our family to follow God's calling to plant Overflow. As many of you know we have had our house for sale in Battle Creek since April, 2007 and have asked God every way we know how to sell our house (and many of you have as well). While the prayer for our house to sell has not yet been answered we have seen Him answer prayers in other ways as He has provided along the way, deepened our trust in Him, helped us to understand what many others are experiencing, and challenged us in what it means to follow Jesus.

http://www.pprmi.com/SWMRICRETS_2820182

Currently, we still have many questions and continue to pray about the situation. Here is where things are at with our house:

We moved to the Benton Harbor region in October 2007 and began making two payments (mortgage and rent) and by summer 2007 had incurred significant debt in trying to manage both.
During the 18months our house has been for sale the market in Battle Creek has dropped so dramatically that the only 2 offers on our home have been for $30,000 less than we paid or owe on our mortgage.
We began working with our bank in July 2007 and currently have a short sale offer submitted that is pending approval by the bank. This offer on our home is for much less than we owe and we are praying that they will release us from the house and mortgage through a short sale.
We have had to also face the possibility of losing the home should this short sale not go through. As people with excellent credit history this has been very difficult and we have had many ups and downs through this time. Through it all we continue to sense God asking us to "follow Him" and trust Him through this and that is what we are doing.

Let me share with you what we have been learning and what those words "follow me" are coming to mean to us. A few weeks ago the following came up in my devotions:

Matthew 8:18-22
18And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. 19Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
20And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Jesus helped this man to see that He did not have a home and that to follow Him "wherever you go" would mean that He may not have a home either. While this is not easy to swallow, we realize that we are serving something and someone greater than this world and He will see us through this tough time. The bottom line is that we know where He has led us and we trust the results, the process, and the house to Him!

21Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
22But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus addressed this man's own need for security (in that culture burying his father would have meant also receiving an inheritance that he could have trusted in) and his sense of timing. The man most likely was saying that he would like to return to bury his father, because his father had a number of years left to live. Jesus responded by clearly helping Him to see that he needed to follow Jesus right then and there. While we know we could have waited till the house sold we also realize that God has opened many unique doors for Overflow, and touched many lives in the past 18 months and this was His time for the church to be planted. As we answer His call, in His timing, we are learning to trust our security to Him.

So, there is a little of what we have been learning, a lot of what we have been going through personally, and hopefully even more encouragement for you to trust Jesus as He asks you to "follow Him" in a difficult economy and time in our country.

Please keep us in your prayers and especially pray for favor with our case agent on the short sale (his name is Tony). Pray that if this is God's will the short sale will go through quickly and free us from the stress and financial burden of the house.

Thank you for everything and continuing to walk with us!

In Pursuit,
Brian
Romans 15:13

Fall Teaching Series: Got Hope?

2008-10-04T00:20:00.004-04:00

Overflow Friends,
I thought I would take a minute this evening to share with you a verse that is our theme for Overflow this year as we pray and look at how we can be a community of "Grace".

Ephesians 1:7-8 says, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence" (NKJV).

This challenges us to recognize that grace is the only reason that we can count ourselves Christ followers and grace is the only way to move forward in showing others who Jesus is. Please join us in exploring what grace means for us personally and praying that Overflow will be a community that is "abounding" with the richness of God's grace!

We start a new teaching series this Sunday (Oct 5, 2008) called "Got Hope" and we will be taking 9 weeks to study the book of Ephesians. I could not be more excited about how God has led us into this study and truly believe that many Americans are desperately looking for hope right now and we pray that we are able to help as many as possible to see that Christ is our only source of real hope!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for prayerfully supporting Overflow and asking God to help make us a place of Grace and Hope! Look for the October Bently Newsletter to arrive soon!

In Pursuit,
Brian

Meet the Overflow Team!

2008-09-22T08:53:00.003-04:00

Meet the Overflow Team! We have been so blessed to see God put together an incredible leadership team in the past 9 months with Overflow and I wanted to be sure that everyone that is journeying with us from a distance and got a glimpse at this awesome group of people! It is truly amazing to see how each of these people over the past 9 months has stepped into a leadership role that clearly fits their spiritual gifts and that God has been preparing them for over the years. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Truly God has prepared each of them for the good works they are doing and we are all learning to enjoy the process of learning to "walk" in the works He has for us! We all tend to be a little impatient, so it is awesome to have a group of people that are discovering how to let God work in us first, and then through us, as we walk with Him.

My prayer is that each of us will continue to walk in Him and into the works He has for us today! Below is the listing of each person, their area of leadership, and their contact if you would like to send them a word of encouragement.

In Pursuit, Brian Eph. 2:10

Brian Bennett
Lead Pastor
(269) 861-4497
bbennett@overflowchurch.org

Carolyn O'Connor
Administrative Specialist
admin@overflowchurch.org

Todd Johns
Community Life Pastor
tjohns528@gmail.com

Cindy Bennett
Splash: Childrens Ministry Director
cindybennett33@gmail.com

Mark Ficks
Music Director
mficks@overflowchurch.org

Melanie Page-Wood
Life Groups Director
mpagewood@overflowchurch.org

Rose Hunt-Redd
Prayer Ministry Director
therose8549@aol.com

Randy Willis
Serving & Outreach Director
randy_willis_1@yahoo.com

Amanda Sutton
Hospitality Director
sutton_amanda@sbcglobal.net

Scott Sutton
Technology Director
scottdsutton@gmail.com

Cathy Ficks
Treasurer/Accounting
ficks4@yahoo.com

A STORY FROM THE LAST 24 HOURS: My Toes are in!!!

2008-09-08T13:53:00.008-04:00

Overflow Friends,

This may be one of the most encouraging emails/blog posts I have received! I share this with you to encourage you that God is at work here through your prayers and support and that we are truly seeing Him "transform" lives this month (see previous post for information on our "30 Days of Transformation").

Last February I met Lana and her 3 daughters here at our mall office/lounge. At the time she was searching in life and was not settled in her faith or with a church community. She has been attending Overflow with her family over the past few months and more recently has started to become more involved with our community. It has been exciting to see true friendships developing and to see how all of that is working in her life as God continues to move and work.

Here is the email she sent me today (shared with her permission):

"Hi guys, I'm getting ready for today, my thoughts already on my prayer hour and I wanted to share my appreciation for what you've already inspired in me. I am excited to better know the Bible & improve my conscious contact with God through prayer. As you know, I'm a crafty cat, so last night made this wall hanging for an everyday reminder of where I am, & where I want to go
http://probleminmyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/09/finally-inspired-from-my-heart.html
Sharing this with you is a "Thank you" from me to you."

Praise God for His work!

Please take the time to go to her blog and see her artwork (based on the message yesterday at Overflow about "letting God flow in our life") and her words (Just cut and paste the red text above into your address bar). It is very inspiring!

Note: The phrase "my toes are in" came from the idea of getting into relationship with God and the flow of His work in our lives and world. I shared from Ezekiel 47 and mentioned how many of us just need to put our toes into the water and let God begin to flow in our lives. We had passed out Styrofoam cups and had people hold them as an example of how we can ask God to fill us in the same way. If you are interested the message will be available for download later this week on our website: www.overflowchurch.org

Thank you for your prayers and support. We thank and praise God for what He is doing here and through it all!

In Pursuit, Brian and Cindy

*The picture at the top of the page is Lana's artwork mentioned in the email and blog*

Transformation Story and our 30 Day Initiative!

2008-08-31T20:28:00.008-04:00

Friends,

Transformation Story: A new sister in Christ!
Hey, a "God Moment" and Transformation story happened this Saturday (8/30) in the Overflow office/lounge and I wanted to share it with you as an encouragement to know that God is truly at work in and around us right now!

I received a call yesterday from someone who needed some counseling in regards to a new relationship (she has been previously married) and how to work through some of her past. Long story short....she has been attending Overflow for a few months now and had never made a personal decision for Jesus Christ (she was de-churched). She did on Saturday! We were sitting at the tables in the warehouse and she prayed to receive Christ right then and there and I was able to give her a brand new Bible (provided by a mall store--Factor Brand Shoes--whose staff provides a Bible each month for those in need)! God is AWESOME! Be encouraged today that He is at work and is FLOWING here in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph! Praise God for His work and your prayers!

30 Days of Transformation: Our September Initiative!

Overflow is embarking on a 30-day journey as a church that is asking each person that is a part of Overflow to take their next step forward with Christ. We are seeking to create "space" for God to invade and transform our lives in the next 30 days. Please consider joining us in this journey and/or praying for transformation to occur as we seek more of Him individually and corporately this month. We know that as He pours into our lives, transforming us, it will lead to the "overflow" into our community that brings a lasting transformation to this region. Keep us in your prayers and please consider joining us and let me know if you have any questions or need more information.

The 30 Day Brochure is posted below and can be downloaded here.

Enjoy your day and long weekend and thank you for serving Him and praying for His movement among us and being a part of the Overflow "team"!!!

In Pursuit,

Brian and Cindy

Christ in a Coffee Shop & Baptisms in 4 foot waves!

2008-08-11T15:37:00.003-04:00

What a week we have had here at Overflow! If there was ever a question to how much of this was God and how much was us then last week answered it loud and clear....it is all Him! Here is a short version of how God worked last week in a couple of pretty incredible stories that we are celebrating today:

Last week we took 10 leaders to the Leadership Summit in order to learn how we could all grow and become more effective leaders. It is amazing to see how God is creating and building His team here!
Ryan Anderson's story: I met Ryan six months ago at the mall when he wandered in to the office in a state of brokenness over a series of bad decisions he had made and that he was now paying for. We talked, prayed together, and agreed to stay in touch. Jump ahead five months and Ryan decided to come visit the church with his family a month ago and has been coming ever since. He is a drummer and joined our band and last Thursday night we decided to ask him to fill in for one of our leaders that could not go to the conference's last on Friday. He was excited and was able to go and it gave us plenty of time to talk about life and God. We ran into each other later in the day in the coffee shop at the host site and he prayed right there to received Jesus Christ for the first time. I happened to have my laptop with me with our Baptism class on it and asked him if he wanted to go through it right then and there. He did and so I took him through our class and he was Baptized yesterday in Lake Michigan! Doesn't God work in mysterious and amazing ways?
Yesterday we had our Picnic & Baptism (look for pictures on the blog soon) service after Overflow on a Lake Michigan beach and it was incredible and very memorable! The wind was strong and led to 2-4 foot waves rolling in throughout. With the help of Todd Johns (our Community Life Pastor) we Baptized six people in the lake and celebrated how God has tranformed their lives! We had people from Coloma, Benton Harbor, and Stevensville and ages 16-50! It is so exciting to see the vision for a church for all people forming! Although, we were all soaked from the waves it was a true "overflow" moment!

Thank you for continued prayers and support and please continue to keep our house in your prayers as we wait to see if our counter offer is accepted (they have till Tuesday @ 5pm to respond).

In Pursuit, Brian

Bennett's Backyard Bible Adventure

2008-07-20T20:11:00.018-04:00

Last week was an incredible ministry week here in Benton Harbor! Thank you for your prayers and support and know that God is truly on the move here. Last Wednesday a 17 year old student who has been attending Overflow since Easter (he said he was dragged their by his mom and has never really attended church before) came into the mall office/lounge to talk. Within a few minutes it was apparent God was up to something and he ended up praying to receive Jesus right then and there. We talked about what it meant and he committed to be baptized in August! It was pretty amazing and to add to the story was the fact that we are in a mall so I was able to walk down to the bookstore to get him a good Bible that he could understand!

Here is an AWESOME update from Cindy:

We had a “Bible Backyard Adventure” in our backyard last Monday through Thursday and it was incredible. We had a ton of help from Overflow leaders to make this happen and a special THANKS goes out to Kim Hooper who helped coordinate the entire week and spent a ton of time with planning the week, setting up each day, etc.

We spent each day from 3-5 pm with the children. A typical day looked like this: snack & drink, Bible teaching & craft, sharing a song (Amazing Grace and Jesus Loves Me some days), then hang time with the kids. The first day Kim taught on creation and that God is King! She had each child (and adult) decorate a crown before proudly displaying it on their heads. The coolest thing for me personally from this day was seeing one of the girls wearing her crown the next day as I drove by her house. :0) I almost yelled I was so excited. What a blessing!!!

Mel Page-Wood taught on day 2 and talked about Jesus! We set up a cupcake bar and the kids decorated their own cupcake before singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was awesome. We ended the day with a game of musical chairs! Check out the video to see who won!

I taught on day 3. I shared the story of the lost sheep that went astray and how the shepherd searched carefully for him until he was found. The leaders painted little sheep noses on all the kids before the message and they all looked so cute. I then told the story of the lost coin and had the kids go on a scavenger hunt to find goodies. It was great.

Brian talked about Christ, the Cross and Resurrection on day 4 and 13 children stepped forward to ask Jesus into their hearts!!! The entire week was very moving and God was working. Thank you to all of you who made this happen!!!! Mom, Marguerite (who graciously let us borrow her 3 tables and 2 tents!), Mary T., Ashley (who created the neighborhood flyer), Rose, Sherry, Mel, Kim, Brian, Matthew, Nikki, Georgia, Malita….. You are all a blessing!!!!

The same evening the “Backyard Adventure Week” ended, I brewed some decaf and headed out to the patio for some downtime when three of the boys (just saved!) poked their heads around the gate and asked to come in. I told them sure and they sat down and asked when I could read more stories out of that book. (The book is the Bible!!!!) I told them anytime…. just come on over and I will read you more stories out of that book. J

Thanks for reading. We’re headed to the mountains for our family vacation. God bless and have a great week.

Why are we in a mall and a movie theater?

2008-06-30T11:24:00.002-04:00

Overflow Friends,

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support and please know that God is doing much as a result here in the area. I have never experienced anything as stretching as this, but at the same time as rewarding and as strengthening to my faith as we see God on the move and at work.

I wanted to answer the question why we are in a mall and a movie theater in this post with a simple statement and story:

The reason we have located in a mall and movie theater first and foremost is because that is truly where we believe God has led us and we can see so clearly why. We know that these two locations are the most neutral and integrated in the area and that they are also frequented by many who do not know Jesus. As Christ went to people throughout the gospels and engaged them right where they are we see the same happening here. Every day we have the opportunity to share a smile and God's love with people that may not know Jesus or have been estranged from him for some time. Here is an excerpt from an email (with permission) I received in the last couple of weeks:

"thanks for replying to my email and yes it was fate and the god's work that brought me to the church via you being at the mall. how funny, the motto is the church for the thirsty and I was thirsty for water that day and didn't even know that I was thirsty for jesus to come back in my life." (Amy Adams through email 6/19/08)
What an answer to prayer and the question why are we in a mall and movie theater! We also had a new family attend our Worship Celebration this past Sunday that heard about us from the movie theater and decided to come visit......God is on the move and doing it in a way that engages people right where they are at.

It is the church being the church and taking Jesus beyond the walls.....Overflowing into our community and world.

Please continue to pray for God's work to continue and for:

Praise: we now have a prayer director (Rose Hunt-Redd) and look forward to this new prayer ministry developing. May we be a prayer saturated church!
Our staff and leadership: wisdom, unity, balance in life and family
Our mall space: God's presence, peace, and power to be evident and to continue to reach new people
Our Worship Celebrations: growth and life change through God's spirit

Thank you for continuing to pray, support, and journey with us! In Pursuit, Brian
Phil 1:21

6/10/08: Welcome to the Family!

2008-06-10T23:23:00.002-04:00

What an incredible night we had tonight as God brought a 20-year-old female into His family at the Health Club where I work part-time. It was truly an awesome experience to be a part of and once again showed me how incredible God is and how capable He is of doing so much more than we can ever imagine!

Here is the story: This young lady (she is 20 and a college student home on break for the summer) started attending Overflow with her family about a month ago. Recently they stopped into the mall over the weekend and I discovered that she was a college tennis player and taking lessons with my brother in law Mark at the Health Club and that she was also interested in working on her fitness. We set up a first meeting for tonight at the club after her tennis lesson and that is where the story really begins.

We sat down outside at a picnic table to talk about her fitness goals, but before we really got started we talked about church music, Overflow, and her story with God. It became very clear that God was, and had been, moving in her life for some time and that she was in fact ready to receive and follow Jesus. We prayed together right there at the picnic table and she turned her life over to Christ! It was truly an awesome moment and one in which we will never forget and all of heaven was celebrating with us!

I hope this encourages you that God is at work through your prayers and support and that God is very much on the move here in Benton Harbor/St. Joseph! Please continue to keep this young lady in your prayers during the days to come. She has already indicated an interest in Baptism this summer and joining a college age life group. It is exciting to see how on fire she is!

I am so thankful for each and everyone of you and praise God for our team that continues to journey with Overflow!

In Pursuit,

Brian

The Month of May...

2008-05-26T22:14:00.008-04:00

Where did May go? It is hard to believe how fast time is moving and how quickly the "tidal wave" that is Overflow is expanding in the region here.

Here are just a few snapshots from the month of May:

We celebrated our 11th week of public worship this past Sunday and continue to see visitors each week, along with a great diversity economically and racially, that truly represents the surrounding region.
The Bennett family is officially residing in Benton Harbor, while still waiting and praying for the sale of our home in Battle Creek
Our Women's Ministry held their first annual "ladies tea" the day before mother's day at the mall (see picture)
Overflow celebrated mother's day by holding our first child dedication service with 5 children being dedicated (see pictures)
The Overflow Bus is officially painted and ran its first route 5/25. Please pray for God to fill this bus with those we are intended to reach.
We had a "Serving" project, under the leadership of Randy Willis, to prepare an apartment to receive our first intern on 5/31. Matthew Hooper and his new wife Kim will join us from Bethany Bible College as he completes his major in church planting with this 6 month internship.

Sunday, May 25 was the wrap-up of our "Tidal Wave" series our first Sunday with our guest worship leader Nellie Blue-Bolenbacker that will be joining Mark Ficks (our music director) the first Sunday of each month.
Our Men's & Women's ministries both finished the small group material "Outflow" and were led in various ways to impact our community with Christ's love.
On Monday, May 11 we ran our children's program at Berrien Homes and received over 50 children and a number of parents as this program continues to grow under the incredible leadership of Mark and Mary Thomas.
This coming Thursday-Friday (May 29-30) we are traveling to Chicago with a group 0f 12 to visit Lawndale Community Church, Willow Creek, and Urban Ministries as we continue to ask God what He has for Overflow in the form of outreach and community development by learning from others.

Prayer Requests:

Sunday's continue to be a true Worship Celebration and a continuing journey for many of the un-churched and de-churched people that are attending. Please continue to pray that God will work in and among their hearts to draw them to Himself.
Please pray for our influence to expand into new territories and for the diversity of our leadership team to continue to grow and reflect the vision of Overflow.

Thank you for your continued prayers & support!

In Pursuit,

Brian
Romans 15:13

Our Sunday Series:

2008-05-13T06:55:00.001-04:00

The power of love and a few bucks

2008-05-01T09:16:00.001-04:00

This week is an exciting week for us at Overflow and I wanted to be sure to share an incredible God story with you that happened today and with a challenge for you to also “pour out” this week.
Last Sunday I finished our “Rhyme and Reason” series (by the way podcasts are now up and running at: www.overflowchurch.org) on the book of Galatians by teaching Galatians 6 and the legacy we are leaving. We talked about how we can sow seeds of love in others lives and what it might look like to do that with our: family & friends, our community, and our world. We asked people to consider this while watching the following video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvqwHGH3Tlw&feature=related) and as our band played the song “The 21st Time” live. It was an awesome to see how people responded by writing on post it notes during the song the legacy they would like to leave and coming forward to place it on a large “O” we had made to put in our mall window and share with others.
This is just where it started to get cool, though; as we then were able to share with them that we had received a donation that week and that we were going to use part of it for “Overflow Pours Out”. We were able to give every adult $5 and every child $1 to go and share God’s love with someone as they felt led and then to share the story with us during the week. Look for more stories to come, but here is one from today.

I had a little extra money leftover from Sunday that I have been praying about and looking to bless others with. Today, I saw a mall store manager walk by and I said “hi” and asked her if I could buy lunch for her and her other 2 employees today. She was really excited and said sure. Less than a minute after she left the store one of the workers came running in very excited and gave me a hug and asked me if God talked to me through my thoughts or something. I said that “yes, I think he does sometimes” and she said that if she wasn’t a believer before she was now. She said that her and her co-worker had just been talking about how hungry they were, but that neither of them had any money. Just then her boss came in with the lunch money! God’s timing was amazing. Right after she shared with me the other employee came in and gave me a hug and shared the same story and then how just last night she decided to start reading her Bible again for the first time in years and prayed that morning to live her life more for God and for him to provide for her. I was able to share with her how God was already blessing her and showing that he was right there and loved and cared for her that much!

It was truly an amazing experience to see how when we follow God’s leading, even in something so simple and non-expensive, how God can use it to impact others with His love!
So your challenge…..pour out this week! Share God’s love however He leads and if you need the $5 to do it let me know and we will see how we can help. Enjoy pouring out and I would love to hear the story!

In Pursuit,
Brian
Romans 15:13

You are invited: this Sunday, May 4!!!

2008-04-29T12:20:00.002-04:00

April Bently Update Letter is Posted...look to the right!

2008-04-08T10:34:00.003-04:00

Overflow Church is LAUNCHED!

2008-03-17T22:24:00.005-04:00

Overflow is LAUNCHED (BOURNE)!!!

Well, I am finally able to sit down and post this blog regarding the launch of Overflow yesterday (Sunday, 3/16/08)! It was truly an awesome, and humbling, sight on launch Sunday as we were able to share a morning of worship and teaching with 141 adults and children from all backgrounds, races, ages, and economic classes! We truly saw the vision of Overflow (as a “Christ centered movement for all people”) being birthed and launched yesterday and were very excited that the majority of the people present were directly from the surrounding community of St. Joseph/Benton Harbor.

One of the highlights of the morning was the failure of the combination of our sound equipment, which provided many laughs as we passed a faulty mic back and forth during a portion of the message. It was definitely a morning that helped us to all remember the true reason we are gathering (every Sunday now)!

We continued the launch celebration with an evening Fiesta with our launch team family & friends.

I want to personally thank all of those involved in praying, networking, and financially supporting Overflow who have helped make the launch of this new church possible. We are truly grateful for all that you have done, and continue to do, and ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our first Easter Worship Celebration this coming Sunday.

How God has provided and you can be praying:

We have been given a bus and a licensed bus driver and need prayer now for this incredible opportunity to impact Berrien Homes (160 unit apartment complex near the mall and cinema). Pray God opens doors to the residents and builds new relationships.

We have an amazing leadership team of 40 adults (divided into multiple ministry teams) and every team finds itself a little short handed right now. Please pray for an increase in those that would be willing to serve on our teams (especially children’s, music, and technology)

We have a tremendous amount of momentum in the community right now and need prayer for the growth to occur not just numerically, but also spiritually as “un-churched and de-churched” people find their way to Jesus Christ through Overflow.

We have been given the opportunity to move into a home in Benton Harbor next month and look forward to bringing all of our possessions together in one place and settling into a home now as a family in the community. Please continue to pray for our home in Battle Creek to sell.

Thank you for everything and for joining us in this journey! Below is a run down of everything that went into the preceding months before launch. I read this as a part of our welcome on Sunday and we finished with the advertising line “priceless!”.

Your support is truly “PRICELESS”!

In Pursuit,
Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

Overflow Church Launch “Priceless”
· 383 Days Ago we were given the call & vision
· 13 Months ago we started to pray and plan
·
· 30,000 miles of travel on our vehicles
· 300+ of trips through the Drive Thru
· 20 pounds on Brian
· 3 months with my office in my car
· 50+ nights on my in-law couch (but who is counting!)
·
· 3,000 emails
· 1,000 phone calls
· 10,000 cell phone minutes
· 22 church presentations
· 100s of Supporters
· Thousands of Prayers

· 1 Prayer Walk in September
· 4 Bible Study Groups
· 10 Outreach Projects
· 5 Baptisms
· 2 Vision Parties
· 1 Launch Team
· 1 Incredible Wife and Family to support us!

· Countless Thank You’s
· The Launch of Overflow Church: Priceless (everyone together)!

Over 2500 Minutes of Prayer....Launch is Near!

2008-03-03T17:42:00.003-05:00

“Flooding” our Launch & Easter with 2500 minutes of Prayer

*If we all COMMIT to praying 21 minutes per week (3 minutes per day--with at least 40 committed adults) that is over 2500 minutes of prayer towards Launch & Easter!
Prayer emphasis for each week:

March 2-8:
• Please pray for our launch team, community, and preview on 3/9
• Pray for SPLASH volunteers to “flow” into Overflow!
• Pray for those that you are inviting to the preview on 3/9

• Optional Overflow Fasting Day (no solid foods): Monday, 3/3

March 9-15:
• Please pray for our launch team, community, and launch on 3/16
• Pray for those that you are inviting to our launch Sunday on 3/16
• Pray for our Berrien Homes Outreach Program on 3/10
• Pray for our bus ministry that is going to be bringing families and kids from Berrien Homes and the mall to Overflow!

• Optional Overflow Fasting Day (no solid foods): Monday, 3/10

March 16-22:
• Praise God for last week and all He has done
• Pray for each of our directors to have clear vision and the ability to build a team in their area
• Pray for SPLASH volunteers to “flow” into Overflow!
• Pray for our Easter Service on 3/23 and everyone who comes

• Optional Overflow Fasting Days (no solid foods):
Monday, 3/17 & Good Friday, 3/21
March 23: Easter Worship Celebration
• Pray for God to work mightily to bring people to Himself and to change lives…may each person that comes take their next step towards Jesus Christ!

Thank you for helping to pray for Overflow and all that is to come!

We are thankful for those of you that are a part of this incredible journey...

In Pursuit,

Brian

February 2008 Bently Posted!

2008-02-11T11:54:00.000-05:00

We have just posted our new Bently for February, 2008 as a PDF file.
Please take the time to read all that has been happening as God continues to work in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, MI. We are truly praising Him for you and for His work in this area! Thank you for being involved with us.

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

The Last 48 Hours...an Overflow Update!

2008-01-28T12:27:00.000-05:00

The last 48 Hours:

Due to the popularity of the last blog post I did, I thought I'd continue that format for another blog and give you a glimpse at the last 48 hours and the incredible way things are unfolding here with Overflow! God truly has his hand on Overflow and we really appreciate all of your prayers and support…the last 48 has really been challenging and encouraging that we are heading in the right direction under His direction!

Saturday, 1/26: I arrived at the mall around 10 am and spent a couple of hours running errands in the area and setting up things for the weekend and serving project scheduled from 3-7pm. At 3 pm, 7 people from Overflow and 7 youth and adult leaders from New Carlisle Wesleyan Church in Indiana join us to serve here at Overflow and The Orchards Mall. I gave the group a short tour and shared the vision for Overflow and then we set them "loose" on the mall serving our stores and shoppers. Randy Willis (our serving director) did a great job coordinating the event and communicated with the store managers who were very excited to have the help. The serving team washed windows, cleaned jewelry cases, swept floors, cleaned rooms, labeled 600 water bottles with our launch and Overflow information, and passed out free water bottles to shoppers in the mall! It was a great night and afterwards, Randy and I enjoyed Chan's Garden, a local Chinese restaurant, that is top notch! After returning home just after 8pm, I realized that we had our first "rehearsal" Worship Celebration at Celebration Cinema the next morning! In all honesty, no worries consumed me in that moment because of the incredible team God is assembling here! I then reviewed my message and slept well Saturday night.

Sunday, 1/27: I arrived at our Overflow Office at 7:30 am to spend some time in prayer and then met with some of our team at 8 am to discuss the morning and move all of our equipment from the mall to the cinema. At 8:56 am, we arrived at Celebration Cinema and it was a moment of pure joy as I pulled into the parking lot to see cars parked representing our Overflow team members already in the cinema setting up and getting ready for the morning. We currently have 9 directors for our serving teams and almost 40 adults that are on our launch team (God has truly gone ahead of us and prepared people in advance to jump on board for this—Eph 2:10)! We experienced an incredible amount of technology difficulties throughout the morning, but our amazing tech director, Don Martin, and his team were able to get us started by 10:41 am (we normally start at 10:31) and the worship was excellent! Mark Ficks, our Music Director, and the band did an awesome job of leading us into worship before teaching on the DNA of Overflow and what it means to be a "church for the thirsty". Because of filling up a smaller theater we started in, we will be moving to a larger one for our first preview service on 2/10/08. It was exciting (and emotional) for all of us to see everything come together and to know we can start inviting friends and family to our previews (see below) and our public launch on 3/16/08. After service, we moved everything from the cinema to the mall (everyone pitched in and we were done by 12:30 pm with the transitions). I grabbed lunch with Mark and we celebrated the morning and then went home for a bit with our families. Our launch team came back together at 4 pm (directors at 3:30 pm) and shared a meal, received some training, and then split into serving teams until 6 pm. I left the mall at 7 pm and was ready for some down time at home!

Monday, 1/28: This morning, I arrived in the mall office around 8 am and will continue to work on administrative tasks, sermon prep, etc. Looking forward to a night of pizza and a game of Settler's of Catan with my family and a couple from our Overflow team.

I hope this gives you an idea of how God is working here and thank you so much for your prayers...we are going to be sure to slip away this coming weekend as a family and get some much needed "down time".

In Pursuit, Brian

Celebration Cinema Worship Celebrations
• Sundays @ 10:31 am
• SPLASH Children's Ministry available & concessions will be open (with a discount for Overflow)
• Our Preview Dates: 2/10, 2/24, 3/9
• Our Every Sunday Launch Date: 3/16 (and every Sunday after that)

An incredible 72 hours…

2008-01-15T09:50:00.000-05:00

Friends,

Well, I am not sure where to begin with explaining all that has happened in the last 72 hours, but it has really felt like jumping on “Top Thrill Dragster” (my favorite 0 to 120mph roller coaster at Cedar Point) and strapping into all that comes with being a part of Overflow! Here is a snapshot of the last 3 days and all that has happened:

• Saturday, 1/12/08: 27 members of our launch team packed into our Overflow Office/Lounge and went through a 9am-4pm “Boot Camp” together. It was a great day of building community, learning more about Overflow and our core beliefs, and creating quite the “buzz” in the mall as people walked by and saw our group filling up the office/lounge area. Even the way in which we ended up in the office/lounge rather than in the community center had God’s hand and direction on it and really made for a great day. At the end of teaching all day I had a vicious migraine that only “El Rodeo” (a local authentic Mexican restaurant could handle) and a whole lot of playoff football could cure!
• Sunday, 1/13/08: We traveled to Muskegon to share a morning with one of our sister church plants, “The Deep”, and enjoyed their prayer for us, the worship, and the teaching with our friends Rob and Bethany Patterson. Afterwards we were able to grab lunch with them (thanks guys!) and head back to our Overflow Launch Team meeting at the mall at 4pm. Our launch team meeting was great and the best part was seeing our team move into our ministry teams for the first time. We had completed spiritual gifts testing and then moved into teams based on this and so watching all of these new teams in actions was awesome (and a bit overwhelming at the same time)! God has truly blessed us with over 35 leaders and 8 ministry teams that are working together to help us launch Overflow Worship Celebrations on 3/16/08. ON A PERSONAL NOTE: we also had someone tour our house in Battle Creek on Sunday and will let everyone know what happens when we hear…in the meantime, thank you for your prayers!
• Monday, 1/14/08: Today I had 3 big meetings by lunch and then was able to volunteer at the Opportunity Center (a local GED, job skills, and mentoring organization) for a short time and made a few great connections with some of their students and staff. Afterwards, myself and 7 Overflow team members ran a family and children’s program at Berrien Homes (see pictures below) and had a great time with the 30 children, 8 teens, and 4 mothers that attended and joined us for Sloppy Joes, games, and a God centered movie. The biggest hit of the night, though, had to have been the 13lbs of Sloppy Joes we went thru and the mini-dance party the kids had to our music!

So there you go…. every day is a new and exciting day with all that his happening right now with Overflow! Thank you so much for continuing to follow this journey and joining us in prayer and support! We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on 3/16/08 for the LAUNCH of our Worship Celebrations!

May your next 72 hours “Overflow” with God’s love and mercy, Brian

Overflow Photos

2008-01-04T11:38:00.000-05:00

Overflow Photos are now viewable. Check 'em out here or use the navigation icons located above and on the side.

Overflow Christmas Party...what a night!

2007-12-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

A VERY MERRY OVERFLOW CHRISTMAS PARTY!!!

Last night we had our first Overflow Christmas Party, in our Mall Community Center, and we were amazed at the night, the turnout, and the vision of Overflow unfolding before our very eyes. We had planned a very simple night with some of your typical Christmas festivities with a Christmas party...we decorated, we enjoyed a potluck, we had a fun Christmas quiz, watched a short video on the real meaning of Christmas, and then had a "white elephant" (if you are unfamiliar with this see below) gift exchange.

There was nothing unusual about what WE had planned, but what transpired was so much more than we had planned. We had 3 new families and a couple of other visitors from the mall stop in and join us for the party! What was so incredible, though, was the level of hospitality and community that we saw throughout the room as new people were welcomed with open arms and friendships were formed and even deepened among everyone. Within the room was a great diversity of people from all walks of life. It made my night to see our vision for unfolding in the form of: authentic community & diversity and all centered on a celebration of the real reason for Christmas....the birth of His son Jesus!

Overflow has also had the opportunity to "sponsor" and help 7 families and 18 children this Christmas and have begun to form real, and hopefully life transforming, relationships with most of these families. Please pray that God will continue to work in and through these relationships and bless these families in need during the Christmas season.

We are truly thankful this year for the birth of His son and the birthing of Overflow in the SJ/BH area and the unfolding of something that can only be described as "the work of the Lord". Thank you for continuing to pray for Overflow and the Bennett's and know that your prayers are effective (James 5:17) and bringing results!

On a personal note...we are continuing to celebrate the fact that we are together in the SJ/BH area as a family and that God has provided us with an apartment to enjoy. At the same time, we could still use prayers for the sale of our home in Battle Creek and the release from that financial and emotional burden.

Thank you for sharing the journey with us and HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

In Pursuit,

Brian

*The December Bently is posted as a PDF on the right side if you missed it

*What is a "white elephant gift exchange": (from---http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange)

White elephant gift exchange (also called Yankee Swap, "Red Sox Swap", Thieving Secret Santa, Dirty Santa, Chinese Gift Exchange, or Thieving Elves) is a popular party game usually played during the Christmas season in the United States and Canada. The premise of the game is that each guest contributes one gift to the game, and ultimately each guest walks away with one different gift from the game. The type of gift is sometimes decided ahead of time (e.g., "something less than $10," "a used item from home," "a gag gift," etc.).

Gameplay

All participants bring their gift to “the pile.” Gifts are wrapped, but are not labeled to reflect a sender or recipient. All participants draw a number (from a hat, perhaps) to determine their order. The participant with #1 unwraps any gift from the pile and then shows it to everyone. Each successive participant, in the order determined from the drawing, can either 1) "steal" an already opened gift (if there's one they really like) or 2) be adventurous and go for a wrapped gift from the pile. If the participant chooses to steal, the person whose gift is stolen now repeats their turn and either 1) steals another person's gift or 2) unwraps a new gift. This cycle of stealing can sometimes continue for a long time, until a new gift is chosen, at which point the turn is passed to the participant with the next number from the drawing. (An alternative to the drawing is to sit in a circle and take turns in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.)

Since items can be stolen, the item in your possession is not yours until the game is over (i.e. a food item cannot be eaten until the game is over). However, this is often amended with a rule declaring a gift "dead" or "safe" after it has been stolen a certain number of times (usually two or three). This helps the process go more smoothly (avoiding, for example, the hypothetical scenario of the same gift being stolen by every successive participant) and limits the disadvantage of being among the first to choose gifts.

December Bently Newsletter Is Posted...

2007-12-13T15:23:00.000-05:00

We have just posted our new Bently for December, 2007 as a PDF file.

Please take the time to read all that has been happening as God continues to work in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, MI. We are truly praising Him for you and for His work in this area! Thank you for being involved with us.

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog and the PDF file link above. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

The December Bently 12.07.07

2007-12-07T17:01:00.001-05:00

THE BENTLY: Issue 12.07.07

(also in sweet PDF format on the right side of this blog's home pg.)

"Overflow exists to reach the un-churched and de-churched in our world, journeying together as we learn to passionately follow Jesus and joyfully serve others."

December 2007

It has been an awesome couple of months! God is sending people with a shared vision to be a part of our launch team – we’re almost up to 30 people now. We are continuing to meet mall staff and consider Orchards Mall staff as part of our family. The Office & Lounge has truly been a gift and we never know what to expect from one day to the next. We are thoroughly enjoying the area and know that God has gone out before us.

Bible studies are going very well. We currently have the following small groups in place:

o Wednesdays @ 7 pm & Sundays @ 4 pm Bible Studies (identical studies), Orchards Mall Community Center
o Thursday Morning Men’s @ 7 am, Fireside Restaurant in Stevensville
o Friday Morning Women’s @ 8:30 am, Overflow Office & Lounge

Prayer Requests:

· That God will continue to provide us with people who share our burden and vision in the areas of: prayer, financial support, and involvement with Overflow
· God’s protection and wisdom for all families involved
· That God will continue to guide our steps and help us to develop relationships and friendships within the community
· The sale of our home in Battle Creek

Getting Involved:

· Please pray for us & consider joining our “Intercessory Prayer Team”
· Consider hosting an informational and support raising dessert time with friends and family (scheduled at your convenience)
· We are still moving towards our goal of $30,000 in additional support. Please prayerfully consider a year end gift towards this goal.

12 Tidings of Overflow
(November-December Updates)

12 families (plus) part of Overflow’s launch team

11 weeks until our launch date of March 16, 2008 (counting from January 1)

10th of December we celebrated our Kid’s Christmas program in BH

9-person band for our December 23rd Christmas Concert at the mall

8th of December we hosted a Dessert Vision Party for the community

7th of November marked our Office & Lounge Grand Opening

6 months of Overflow activities, conversations, and realities

5 baptisms at South Shore Tennis & Racquet Club this month

4 theatres at Celebration Cinema have been contracted for March services

3 staff hired (Family Pastor, Music Director, and Administrative Assistant) so Brian is no longer a lone ranger

2 babies (families from our launch team) born this month

1 new website at www.overflowchurch.org

Merry Christmas & thank you for all of your prayers & support!

The Bennett's

You are invited: Overflow Vision Party 12/8/07

2007-11-29T09:02:00.000-05:00

Wild Ride

2007-11-17T14:44:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Cindy here. I want to briefly share with you what's been going on with Overflow since our move to the BH/SJ area a few weeks ago.

The last week of October we visited a 160-unit apartment complex and personally invited each family to the Orchard's Mall BooFest on October 31st. Overflow and the mall donated dial-a-ride transportation FREE to all families from this complex. While going from door-to-door offering the invitations, a group of little girls followed closely behind with big grins and big giggles. Each of them asked for a flyer and a church business card. It was too cute! I asked them if they wanted to help us out and with big eyes and big grins, they exclaimed, "YES!" It was very cool. Fast forward... the BooFest turned out to be an awesome event. We passed out candy at the office and had a ton of little ones come through. We met many families that night. The mall had a handful of events set up for the children, including a cookie assembly line. They had 750 cookies and ran out! It was an amazing night of bringing light into darkness. (BooFest photo below)
The Overflow Office & Lounge has turned out to be an amazing ministry space. Mall walkers, mall employees, shoppers, and precious little ones are drawn to this place. We've been told, "this place is just so peaceful". Twice, Brian had to wake up a store manager who had fallen asleep on the couch while taking a work break. There is a homeless man who comes in almost weekly and enjoys a hot cup of coffee. He came in recently and told everyone that it was his birthday.

This made my week!

Our Grand Opening took place last week and it was amazing. Many people came through the door to meet Brian and enjoy a cupcake or two. A huge THANKS to Mary Thomas who baked over 100 cupcakes (probably more like 150+) for the grand opening! Thank you to Kathleen Brecht who brought the juice!

The cupcakes were wonderful conversation starters and so simple... they opened doors!

My sister and I, along with our four children, walked through the mall offering cupcakes while Madison, Cathy's 5-year-old, handed out Overflow business cards. Shoppers, children, and staff were extremely receptive and the cupcakes brought smiles to everyone's faces. One shopper stopped us and asked if she could meet the pastor, so we walked her down to the office where Brian prayed for her.

Our Overflow Dessert Vision Party went wonderfully!! Carl & Kathleen Brecht hosted the party at their Benton Harbor Gallery of Fine Art located at 124 Water Street. We met a lot of people and over 90% of the guests were local! The group welcomed us with open arms and one man in particular stated, "I welcome Overflow into my city." What a blessing!

(Dessert Vision Party photo below)

Brian continues to hold a Men's Breakfast every Thursday morning in Stevensville and it is going great! He is really enjoying it. I cannot give you an update as to what they've been conversing about since it's confidential. Shucks!! What I DO know is that I have noticed a change in a few of the men I run into who attend the study.... there is a new hunger for God and peace...(no names since some of you men might be reading this blog). :0)

Cindy just started a Women's "Captivating" study this past Friday at the mall. It was very good. There were 8 women at the first study and we all had a blast sharing our stories. The study takes place weekly on Fridays at 8:30 am at the Overflow Office & Lounge, so if you're local and would like to check it out, you are welcome!

Thank you for your faithful support!!!! Overflow is moving forward because of God and people like you!!!!! Thank you!!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Our Mall Grand Opening....

2007-11-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

This week is our "Grand Opening" of our Office & Lounge in Orchards Mall and our first day (Wed) was very exciting! We had over 80 people come through and receive free punch, coffee, cupcakes, and to get information about Overflow. It was an awesome first day (we are running the grand opening through this Sat, Nov 10) and we even had the opportunity to minister to a person who has been out of church for quite some time. She was open to talking about Christ and interested in Overflow and I was able to pray for her before she left....and it all started through Cindy offering her a cupcake! How simple it is sometimes to reach those around us!

Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for our first Overflow Vision Party this Friday (see above invite) as we share about Overflow and look to begin assembling our "launch team".

We also launched our new website last week: www.overflowchurch.org
A BIG THANKS goes out to my brother Jason Bennett who has put this blog site and our new website together for us! Thank you Jason for all of your time, energy, and creativity...its awesome to have you share this journey with us!

Have a great week and please don't hesitate to call us or send me an email with your prayers requests....we truly value each of you who are investing in the vision of Overflow with your prayers, time, talents/gifts, and resources!

In Pursuit,

Brian

The Last "24"...

2007-10-30T11:24:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I have to admit I am not a fan of "24" (I stay away from shows that require a weekly commitment to stay with them), but I understand that each episode is a based on an action packed 24 hours in the life of Agent Jack Bauer.

Well, consider this a report on an action packed 24 hours in Overflow's life....it has been awesome to see all that has happened in the past 24 hours. Myself, Cindy, and two others from our launch team traveled to Berrien Homes (a 160 unit Apartment Complex that is very close to the mall and our hearts and that we have been praying for since July) and spent a couple of hours passing out fliers for our Halloween Outreach and meeting residents. It was such a great experience as we made new friends, were very well received, and had the chance to interact with many of the children. In fact, we had a group of girls (ages 6-12) following us around and helping Cindy put fliers and cards in people's hands and the doors of the homes. They were so excited about helping and were full of smiles and kept saying, "2 more days till Halloween" (when we would see them again). Afterwards, our group just shared what a difference our time there had made in our lives as we were able to connect with people and really serve in a different way than we were used to. We are going to continue to spend time at Berrien Homes and will be prayerfully putting together an outreach program (during the after school time slot in their community center) for the children and would ask you to pray for us and them!

That was last night...this morning I had someone come into our office/lounge and tearfully ask for someone to pray with them because of the rough day they were having. It was such a blessing to be able to be here, in a mall, and available to pray for someone and see their spirits lifted up. I was able to share some Scripture with them and they took a cup of coffee with them and seemed to be in a much better frame of mind for their day ahead...it is a ministry center here in the mall! They even asked us to create a prayer request box and we are now going to have that ready as another avenue for us to connect people with God. Thank you for praying for us and continuing to support what God is doing with Overflow!

May your next "24" be blessed and may you too see God overflowing in your life!

In Pursuit,

Brian

So much to share.....

2007-10-22T17:39:00.000-04:00

There is so much to share this week I really don't know where to begin. I have continually been amazed lately at how things are unfolding here in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area. I am sitting in our mall office/lounge right now and have had so many people come through and ask questions in the last few days. Our location really is amazing as one person said the other day "you are in a mall!" We really do have a great opportunity to meet people in the community. Just the other day I had the chance to pray with a young man who is considering ministry and in the same week talked with someone who just need some extra perspective on their life and situation right now. It has been great and as two people said in the last twenty four hours..."this place is so peaceful". Thank you for praying for God's peace and presence to be with us in this ministry space "in the mall"!

We also were able to move to Stevensville to a small apartment this week as a family. It is a small place that we are renting in addition to still praying for our house in Battle Creek to sell. We are so thankful to be back together (I have been living with family in the Stevensville area 4-5 days a week and have been apart from Cindy and the kids), especially since I found out that Hannah had started drawing me out of the family....that was hard to take and definitely showed us it was time to get us all together! We had a great night last night and little Hannah fell asleep in my arms watching The Land Before Time.

We are also celebrating the fact that we have 5 people ready for Baptism and will be planning a Baptism service for December 2nd at 6pm! It has been so encouraging to see each of these people growing in their relationship with Christ and ready to take this public step of celebrating their new life in Christ. Please keep them and our Sun/Wed Life Group Bible Studies in your prayers.

Here are the upcoming Overflow Events and a few ways you can continue to pray for us:

Prayer Requests:

Pray for guidance with our proposed Worship Celebration launch of March 16, 2008
Pray for God to continue to lead us as we prayerfully seek a Worship Arts Pastor
Pray for continued development of our launch team and that God would strengthen and diversify us
Pray for our October 31st Halloween outreach at Orchards Mall that God would help us to bring light to this holiday

Events

October 31st, Halloween Service Project at Orchards Mall (5:30-9:00pm)
November 4th, Life Groups Celebration (Bowling) 5:00pm
November 9th, Overflow Vision Party @ 7pm (see flyer above)
December 2nd, Baptism Celebration Night @ 6pm
Every Wed @ 7pm/Sun @ 4pm Life Group Bible Studies at Orchards Mall Community Center

Thank you for sharing in our vision "To live as a Christ centered movement for all people that transforms our region and beyond".

In Pursuit,

Brian

October Bently Newsletter Is Posted....

2007-10-12T09:59:00.000-04:00

We have just posted our new Bently for October, 2007 as a PDF file.
Please take the time to read all that has been happening as God continues to work in Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, MI. We are truly praising Him for you and for His work in this area! Thank you for being involved with us.

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

We are open!!!

2007-10-05T19:46:00.000-04:00

It is official....the Overflow Office & Lounge is open! This past Wednesday I opened the doors for the first time and in just under 8 hours had close to 25 people stop in. Many were curious and had many questions about what we were up to and what the space was for. Everyone seemed to be encouraged by it and I had the opportunity to share our vision, get into discussions about the God and the community, share a cup of coffee/tea with a few people, provide directions for those that were lost within the mall, and even lend our bathroom to someone in need :)

It was a great start and showed me the potential that is there and a glimpse of why God has so clearly led us into the mall and where the people are. Throughout the week I was also able to hold a few meetings with community leaders in our office/lounge and could not believe the response and how things just continue to fall into place for Overflow. We are very blessed and humbled by all that is happening.

Currently, we have the following upcoming and on-going events and would love to have your prayers, support, and know that everyone is always welcome:

Overflow Life Group Bible Studies (Orchards Mall Community Center)
Wednesdays @ 7pm
Sundays @ 4pm

Overflow Vision Dessert Parties (Benton Harbor Art Gallery)....SAVE THE DATE
Friday, Nov 9 @ 7pm
Saturday, Dec 8 @ 7pm
Live music, desserts, Overflow Vision Chat, etc.

Overflow Serving Projects
October 31, 5:30-9:30pm at Orchards Mall
December 23, 4-6pm at Orchards Mall (Live Music on Main Stage, Gift Wrapping in Office, Refreshments/Photos in Community Center)

Overflow Celebration Events
Sunday November 4 @ 4pm (details TBA)
Wednesday December 19 @ 7pm (details TBA)

On a personal and family level we are continuing to ask God to show us what to do with our housing situation. We are trusting that God is going to provide a way for us to be in the community as a family and would ask that you pray with us in this way and ask God to clearly show us what to do. We are exploring other options at this point, because the buyer for our home is still at large....

Look for the newest Bently Newsletter to be posted and sent out this week and have a great weekend!

In Pursuit,

Brian
John 3:30

Thank you for your support on Sunday

2007-09-26T13:59:00.000-04:00

Hello family and friends.

I thought I'd blog this entry to give my hubby a break.

Here's a photo of our new office space at the Orchards Mall in Benton Harbor. A special thank you to those who donated 2 computers and printers, TV, 3 cafe tables with chairs, hardwood flooring, plants, mini fridge, and hours of labor getting the office (and bathroom) ready. Brian is working in the office this very minute and maybe, just maybe if you look really hard, you can see him working diligently at one of the desks, returning a voicemail, or enjoying a beverage with individuals waiting for the bus (the bus stop is directly outside our office).

We extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone for their participation with Overflow's first event on Sunday. A special thank you to Jon and Lacey Valentine and Carl and Kathleen Brecht for bringing all the food. We ran out. We could not have done it without everyone's prayers, support, and shared vision that God is doing a great work in the Benton Harbor and St. Joe area. It was awesome to see so many familiar faces. We know that many of you were lifting the event up in prayer, so thank you. The preparation of the event looked something like this... we looked at a calendar, chose a date, and thought, "Let's invite people to the area so they get a feel of the area". We did not know what to expect and were overwhelmed (in a good way) with how everything turned out -- with or without the projector. Nellie and Mark, Steve and gang did an awesome job with worship. There were many tears, conversations, hugs, and much laughter. The event was a huge encouragement for everyone involved. The children had a ball. Pictured to the right is Tristan, son of Mark (the worship guy).

Thank you again for your physical support... just being there standing beside us meant the world to us. Thank you for helping us with our children and thank you to our parents for taking care of Dawson who was not feeling so hot during the event. He had a fever of 102.7 early Sunday a.m. And I personally want to extend a warm thanks to the men who (at different times) approached me, looked me straight in my eyes and thanked me for "holding down the fort at home" while Brian's working in Benton Harbor. That left a forever impression on my heart.

And lastly, I'd like to share with you Overflow's 1st Birthday Celebration that took place just after the Prayer and Praise event on Sunday. A few of the launch team members told the servers at El Rodeo, a great Mexican restaurant in Benton Harbor, that we had a birthday celebration, Overflow's 1st Birthday. What a surreal moment for us all. Yeah..... Cindy

You are Invited: Day of Prayer & Praise this Sunday, Sept 23!

2007-09-16T20:47:00.000-04:00

We are hosting a Day of Prayer and Praise this coming Sunday, September 23rd from 3-5pm at the Orchards Mall (Exit 29 off I-94) in Benton Harbor. We would like to invite as many people as possible to join us as we lay a foundation of prayer and praise (celebration) for Overflow Church. We will be asking that God works in an incredible way in this region and ask that you join us in this. There will also be an opportunity to see much of the local area and our new "Office and Lounge" area in the mall.

Here are the details:

When: September 23, 3-5pm
Where: Orchards Mall Community Center (Exit 29 off I-94) in Benton Harbor
What: A time of prayer throughout the community and a time of praise/celebration at Orchards Mall
More information: Contact Brian
Email: brianbennett121@gmail.com
Phone: 269 861 4497

We hope to see you next Sunday!

In Pursuit,

Brian
Phil 1:21

A GREAT WEEK....new beginnings!

2007-09-10T19:32:00.000-04:00

Well, we had a very exciting week last week and I am so thankful for each of you that continues to faithfully pray for God to work in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph region. Here is a quick snapshot of our week last week in the BHSJ area:

*We started our "Life of Christ" Bible Studies on Wed/Sun night at the Orchards Mall and were blessed with 16 people (from Stevensville, Benton Harbor, & St. Joseph)! We had a great time getting to know each other, studying the birth of Christ, and beginning to process the vision for Overflow as a group/team.

*I started a men's breakfast group on Thursday's at 7am and a handful of men have joined me to begin sharing a meal, studying the workbook "Discipleship Essentials", and sharing life together.

*We were able to start working on our "Office & Lounge" space at the mall and will continue this week to clean, repair, paint, and put in the flooring. Cool story to go with this space: we found out last week that the new community center (where we hold our Bible studies) will be moved right around the corner from our space AND the 1 and only armed services recruiting station in Berrien County will be locating 100 feet from our space. This will give us an awesome opportunity to talk with many men and women as they pass by our space.

So as you can see, last week truly was a week of "new beginnings" and an exciting week as Overflow truly began to unfold in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area.

REMINDER: You are invited to join us SUNDAY, SEPT 23 FROM 3-5PM FOR OUR DAY OF PRAYER AND PRAISE EVENT (at the Orchards Mall Community Center in Benton Harbor). This is a foundational day of prayer and worship as we ask God to move mightily in this area.

Please email me (brianbennett121@gmail.com) if you need more information on this event or would like directions.

Thank you again for joining us in this journey and for your prayers and support!

In Pursuit,

Brian
Phil 1:21

Top 5 Updates & Top 5 Prayer Requests...08.31.07

2007-08-31T10:15:00.000-04:00

Well, if you are like me you are probably asking how in the world did Labor Day get here so fast this year? This summer has FLOWN by and there is so much that has happened and so much to celebrate! My prayer is that each of you is able to really enjoy your family and friends this weekend and celebrate the goodness of God and the life He gives us, while also.....getting some REST (it is Labor Day afterall)!!!!

Here are quick updates for you on things we are celebrating and things we are still praying for:

Top 5 Updates:

1) Holland Central has agreed to partner with us for the coming year and we are so excited to share this journey with such an incredible church that has a real heart for the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph region!

2) We have signed the contract with the Orchards mall this past week and will have
the 800 square foot ministry space/office available for set-up in Sept and opening as completed.

3) We start Bible studies in the mall on Wed, Sept 5th and will be meeting Sundays at 4pm and Weds at 7pm and I will be beginning a men's breakfast group Thur, Sept 6th.

4) God has continued to supply for Overflow's budget and needs an incredible ways as more support and resources have continued to come in...our God is able and we continue to prayerfully trust Him to provide the remaining 30% of our budget need for this upcoming year.

5) I started part-time at South Shore athletic club two weeks ago and was blessed with 8 clients in the first two weeks! I will be doing tennis and strength and conditioning to meet people and get into the community more

Top 5 Prayer Requests:

1) Our house has still not sold so please continue to pray for this to happen so we can move permantently to Benton Harbor.

2) For the start of our Bible Studies in the mall to bring people together around the vision for Overflow and to deepen people's walks with the Lord

3) For our upcoming Day of Prayer and Praise (Sept 23, 3-5pm at Orchards Mall) to be a great time for our supporters to join us in laying the foundation of prayer for Overflow

4) For God to continue to open doors in the community as we seek to get to know people and develop a launch team and the Overflow community

5) For God to provide a diverse leadership team and launch team for Overflow that clearly reflects our vision for Overflow

Have a great Labor Day weekend and REST! We truly value and appreciate each and everyone of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian

When Heaven seems quiet….08.19.07

2007-08-19T16:44:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered why God just seemed to be silent on something you had really been asking God for or waiting for? It makes me think about the movie “Bruce Almighty” and how towards the beginning Bruce is driving down the road talking to God. He is frustrated and crying out to God for some kind of sign, anything. The funny thing about the whole scene is that throughout the scene there are literal signs all around that Bruce that he is missing. I have been personally going through a “quiet time” in regards to the sale of our home. Our house has been for sale for 120 days now and I have experienced the ups and downs emotionally of trusting God’s timing and dealing with the reality of a house that has yet to sell and a church plant that is moving quickly in another region.

It’s funny how Bruce misses all the signs in the movie, but I don’t want to be like that. In fact, my hope and prayer is that I will see and hear God’s leading in my life daily. I want to know Christ better and live more fully for Him. Yet at times it still feels as if heaven is quiet. I am sure you can relate, because we all have times, maybe even our whole life, where it seems that God is silent. Let me tell what has been running through my mind today and how all though the sale of our house has yet to happen, I know that heaven is not silent concerning the situation.

I am rediscovering today what it means to praise and worship God for who He is and not for what is happening in our life. I am rediscovering that God always was, always is, and always will be and what it means to worship and praise Him for this. This is such an awesome day for me as I realize that although our house has not sold, our God has not sold me out, He is still there and is the same and will work in His timing.

I am become more and more convinced that life presents us with endless opportunities to look to God and to praise Him despite all that we don’t understand or get about it. Today I have heard heaven speak to me in a very unexpected way and I am speaking back with praise and worship of God. It isn’t because of what He has done that I praise God today, it’s because of who He is.

I wonder, if heaven seems silent to you right now, are you able to still praise God for who He is? How might a little time of remembering who God is in our life today help to change the way you see your circumstances? I know it has helped me this week and today to remember He is SO MUCH BIGGER than what is in front of me today!

Have a great week and thank you for being a part of our lives and Overflow....

In Pursuit,

Brian

Overflow: A church for the thirsty....

2007-08-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

A church for the thirsty…

A couple of weeks ago I had a great lunch meeting with another Pastor who really helped me to process and begin to pray about WHO exactly Overflow was being called to reach. This pastor helped me to see something new in regards to who God is calling Overflow to be in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area. Up until that point, just the idea that there is a specific group of people, as opposed to all people, was something that bothered me and was causing me to really ask God “aren’t we for all people”? The answer to that question came through a great time in the Scriptures, especially because this was a time next to Lake Michigan on the beach, I never complain about that!

As I was reading and praying, I found myself in John 4:1-30, and discovering new insight in one of my favorite passages. To give you a quick snapshot of the story in this passage here is low down:
Jesus is resting, near the end of the day at a time when workers would be moving in, next to a well. As he rested, a Samaritan woman (Samaritan’s were despised by the Jewish people and did not associate, and women were even less likely to be able to communicate with a Jewish man) came to the well and Jesus asked her for a drink of water. This simple exchange would lead to the woman discovering that Jesus was the true source of living water, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14). She would go on to learn in fact Jesus would give her mercy, found in relationship to Him, and that despite her extreme sinfulness (she was an adulteress that had gone through many men), Christ would grant her new life. The story finishes with her still trying to avoid a true worship of Him and Jesus patiently redirecting her to who He was and could be in her life. As He does this she leaves Jesus and goes into the city on a mission to bring her friends, family, and city to know and meet Christ. She essentially hears God’s call and becomes one of the first missionaries.

As I read through this I realized that God is calling OVERFLOW to be a “CHURCH FOR THE THIRSTY”. Our goal then is to meet people in our community right where they are at, to respect their humanity, to extend grace and mercy, to challenge their sin, to speak truth in love, to meet their need, to encourage them to move forward in life, and to most importantly help them to find the spring of true and new life in Jesus Christ.
What would a church for the thirsty look like in action (from John 4:1-26):
• Embracing all people regardless of race, economic status, social status, and background (John 4:1-10)
• Meeting people right where they are in life, taking the message of Christ’s love and goodness to the streets (John 4:11-13)
• To help people see that Jesus is the true source of life now and eternally (John 4:13-14)
• To extend grace and mercy to people regardless of their lifestyle (John 4:15-18)
• To speak the truth in love and challenge them to move forward in life with Christ and to live their sins behind (John 4:18)
• To celebrate God and life through a true spirit of worship (John 4:21-24)
• To have patience with others, and ourselves, as we all develop and discover what it means to follow Jesus (John 4:25-26)
• To mobilize people to live on mission and share the good news with their friends, families, co-workers, and communities (John 4:27-30)

OVERFLOW IS A CHURCH FOR THE THIRSTY. How this develops and looks in action will be up to each of us as we live our lives for Jesus and embrace the idea of sharing Him with others.
• Have you personally allowed Jesus to meet your thirst and give you new life?
• Who do you know that is thirsty and how can you share Christ with them?
• Will you help make Overflow a church for the thirsty through your prayers, support, and actions?

“From me, as a living fountain the small and the great, the poor and the rich, do draw the water of life; and they that willingly and freely serve me, shall receive grace for grace” (From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis).

More scripture on this: Isaiah 55:1-2

----------------------

Thank you again for all of your prayers & support...it means more to our family than you will ever know!

In Pursuit,

Brian

The New August Bently Support Update is Posted!

2007-08-07T12:15:00.000-04:00

We have just posted our new Bently for August, 2007 as a PDF file.
There are many updates this month as God has continued to move things
forward with Overflow. We keep joking that it feels like an Overflow
tidal wave already and we are just trying to catch up to what God is
doing!

The Bently is posted on right side of our blog. Enjoy and
thank you so much for your support, prayers, and sharing in this
journey with us! We are so blessed by all of you....

In Pursuit,

Brian & Cindy (Hannah & Dawson, too)

Divinity Detectives....07.28.07

2007-07-28T10:22:00.000-04:00

Have you ever met someone, or maybe it was you, that really started walking with Christ? You know the kind of thing where all of sudden things click and they/we become passionately involved in growing with Christ and following Him. If you ever have experienced this, or seen this in someone, you probably have not forgot it. It is amazing during those initial few weeks, months, years of following Christ how we are able to see and hear God at work in our life on what seems to be a minute by minute basis. I can recall in my life, and in the life of others, how throughout the day there were moments where you just knew God has said something to you...even if it came through a sign on the road or song on the radio...you knew it was just for you.

I have always wondered what changes for us as we continue to live and follow Jesus? Why does it seem that we don't see or hear God at work as much? Has God changed or has His work in our life changed? Of course not. I think there are many reasons for why our relationship with God changes (some good, some not so good), but could one of them be that we just forget to keep looking for His activity and work around us? Could it be that we fail to see, or fail to give Him the credit, for what He is so clearly doing in and around us?

The term divinity according to Webster's means, "1 a : of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God or a god". You see "divinity" simply means that it has come directly from God. As we know God is still ALIVE and ACTIVE in our world today and I believe as a result we can see his "divinity" in those things that come from and relate to Him. In order to do so, though, we have to be on the lookout, we need to act like "Divinity Detectives".

Divinity detectives are constantly on the lookout for where God is at work in the world, in communities, and in individuals. It is a posture of seeking to see the fingerprints of God on all of creation, saved and unsaved, realizing that all have been created by Him and for Him. As I interact with people, I am looking for God’s work in their lives and attempting to see both their potential and how God might be leading them into relationship and service with Him. As Brother Lawrence, a monk from centuries ago, said, "God alone is capable of making Himself known as He really is. We search in reasoning and in sciences, as in a poor copy. What we neglect to see is God's painting Himself in the depth of our soul."

So how is God working in your soul and in the world around you today? I have seen so much in me changing lately, things that needed to be removed, and things that needed to be added. May we all open ourselves up to God in this process and begin to act as a "Divinity Detectives" looking for His work in us and in others.

Look for the next Bently to be posted and sent soon and to include many updates on how God has been at work already with Overflow Church. Thank you for continuing to share in this journey with us and know that God is at work in you and in our world as these scriptures remind us...

Psalm 19:1-5-
"1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. [a]

4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course."

1 Chronicles 16:31-- "Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"

In Pursuit,

Brian

Overflow Videos

2007-07-18T12:19:00.003-04:00

Fall 2008 Update

Summer 2007 Vision

Who is writing your story? (7/17/07)

2007-07-17T23:56:00.000-04:00

So I had one of those days today that was pretty typical in most ways until this evening. You see, tonight a skunk and a rabbit visited our family in our back yard. Yes, a skunk and a rabbit decided to descend on our back yard to play what appeared to be a game of tag for 15 minutes as they slowly chased each other around Hannah’s small kiddy pool. Finally, after the skunk had enough, it sprayed the rabbit. The party ended as they both fled our yard, leaving behind the wonderful aroma of a night we won’t soon forget.

So what does that have to do with my post tonight? Honestly, not a whole lot other than I thought that was a really cool and unique story to share. And that is precisely the thought that has led to this blog tonight. You see, shortly before our fun with the skunk and the rabbit, I had become pretty frustrated with our house having not sold yet and was asking God “what is going on?” Right at that moment I had one of those thoughts that I knew was not my own and it was simply this…”will you let me write your story?”

The question has been with me all night and has continued to remind me that too often we tend to take control of our story and to do what makes sense, seems easier, or keeps things within our ability to control it. There are so many times I have done this in my life that I cannot even begin to tell you, but there have been a few times where I have given God the space to speak and lead the story that He had chosen for myself and my family. Tonight is one of those nights. You see, as weird as tonight was with our little visitors, it is a night that we could not have created or controlled and in the same way I believe God wants us to live our lives in a way that we could not have created or controlled. That instead, we live in such a way that God writes our story and our life unfolds in such a unique and creative way that people take notice and are able to say…”that had to be God that did that”.

This reminds me of Christ’s teaching and His life. Remember, Jesus was the one who said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). After teaching this to His disciples, He then went on to the garden of Gethsemane and saw these words lived out as He faced the unfolding of God’s story in His earthly life “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

So tonight I have decided once again to turn over my story to God and to remember that He is the one that is orchestrating His plan and purpose in our lives (Romans 8:28).

So who is writing your story as you read this? May we all continue in each and every area to say, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” As we do that, I pray that God blesses each of us with unique experiences (hopefully yours doesn’t involve a skunk, though) and opportunities to see His kingdom expand.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support…we are so thankful for each of you.

In Pursuit,

Brian

God's Designing of Overflow...07.12.07

2007-07-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

As I write this I am currently still in awe of God and the week I have had both with Him and with Overflow. Personally, I have had one of those weeks where you just sense that God is right there beside you, guiding your steps and pointing you in His direction. I intentionally set aside time this week to really seek God in solitude and found, as Scripture states, that when we seek Him we will find Him. As I spent time in Benton Harbor & St. Joseph I was seeking God in regards to His heart, mission, and plan for Overflow.

It was during this time that I read through Isaiah 41:17-20 which says, ""The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.

19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,

20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Here is how this spoke to me in regards to Overflow:
*Verse 17: God will hear the cry of the poor and oppressed and will meet them in their need. As we look at the poverty level in Benton Harbor we trust and pray that God will poor out His blessing and meet the needs of those that are without.
*Verse 18: God causes water to FLOW where there is none and will do the same with Overflow as He pours out His spirit and blessing on this region.
*Verse 19: The Overflow of water that God created led to the planting of many diverse trees that were placed TOGETHER. Our prayer is that God uses Overflow to bring various people groups together in this area and establishes His peace.
*Verse 20: My favorite verse because the work that God is doing will bring Him and Him alone glory, because it will be so apparent that His hand created and accomplished it. May God get all the glory for Overflow and the movement that is being birthed.

I hope this encourages you as much as it did me and that you too will continue to ask God the same question, "What is your heart, mission, and plan for my life?".

Have a great weekend and thank you for your continued support and prayers!

In Pursuit,

Brian
Phil 1:21

Fresh Starts....06.26.07

2007-06-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

Thank you for your prayers over the past couple of weeks as Cindy, Hannah, Dawson and myself have taken some time to rest, relax, recover, and recharge for the mission ahead. We have had a great couple of weeks as we have spent time with family, friends, and trying best to detach and reconnect with Christ and each other. During this time off, we've had the opportunity to spend extended time seeking the Lord and having fun as a family.

Hannah has been going through a season of loving the water (so we went to the beach and
bought a kiddie pool) and loving horses (she had the chance to ride a pony and take a wagon ride as a "special treat"). It was so much fun watching her enthusiasm as she passionately took that first step into the pool and then later making that first first step riding the lil' fat pony (that's what the ranch referred to them as!).

In the same way, Cindy and I feel as if we are now taking that first step towards Overflow and that God is giving us a fresh start with Him. We see this "fresh start" as the next step in our walks with Christ and in ministry and can see so clearly how the previous season was an incredible time of preparation for what is next. As we seek to follow Him, He doesn't
waste any experiences or steps we take (Ro 8:28), but rather uses them
to develop us for the future. I am continually humbled as I see not
only how God leads us, (Prov 16:9; 19:21) but how everything always
seems to connect.

For example, our first step on vacation was to meet up with a few of
our fellow church planting friends in Lowell and Grand Rapids and
amazingly, both services provided us with a chance to take communion.
Immediately, Cindy and I sensed that God was leading us into a new
season and that our walks with Christ and our communion with Him
through the Holy Spirit would now need to be even greater. I have
been reading through the book of Isaiah and the Gospels lately and
have been amazed at how God is continually seeking to restore
relationships and communion with His creation (you and me) and to give us fresh
starts. As I look ahead toward Overflow Community Church and
the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor area, I know that we will need to receive
more and more from God as "He pours in and we pour out" to those
around us. My prayer is that each of us who share in this journey
will be strengthened and able to see this as a new season with the
Lord and will truly participate with Him as He pours new life into our
relationship with Him and with those around us.

Our June Bently is posted (see the right side of this page) and so is
information on how you can get involved with Overflow and what God is
beginning to do. Look for weekly updates as this journey unfolds and
feel free to email me your prayer requests at:
brianbennett121@gmail.com

We are thankful for each and everyone of you!

In Pursuit,
Brian & the Bennett Family :)
Phil 1:21

Our Update & The New Bently 06/07/07

2007-06-07T13:34:00.000-04:00

6/7/07

This just a quick post to let you all know that my last day as a staff member at First Wes is Friday, June 8th and with that our family is going to a take a vacation to rest, relax, recover, and recharge for the upcoming mission ahead. I am so thankful for each of you and appreciate all of your prayers and support. The new "Bently" is posted as a PDF on this site (right hand side) and we hope that is continues to allow each of you to catch our heart and vision for this new church plant "Overflow Community Church". Have a great day and know that "God is good and He is for you" (quote from Fuller professor Ray Anderson).

In Pursuit,
Brian

The Latest....05.21.07

2007-05-21T22:31:00.000-04:00

5/21/07:

Tonight, I want to briefly share from my quiet time this morning and hope that it encourages you and help you to see God’s hand and continued leading in this new movement in our life.

I have been reading through the book of Isaiah this month. As I share how a certain chapter spoke to me this morning, please keep in mind that this is not meant to be an interpretation of this text, but rather how the word (which is living and active, Heb 4:12) spoke to me and applied to our situation TODAY.

Last week as our Church Planting Boot Camp finished, we were challenged to express what God has put into our hearts and what we hope to see happen in the area he called us to. This was difficult for us to do because in so many ways it feels beyond the “norm” and outside our grasp. For this reason alone, we have come to recognize that it truly is from God and with Him, it will be possible as we trust each step of the way. As we have come to this place of faith, we have found the courage to truly express our vision to see “a movement for ALL people that OVERFLOWS boundaries and transforms our region and beyond”. The boundaries prevalent in the Saint Joseph/Benton Harbor area are years of “polarization” economically and racially that has left the cities once known as “twin cities” as distant strangers.

Isaiah 19:23-25 says, “23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25 whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

As I read this, I dug a little deeper and realized that the Egyptians and Assyrians were “polarized” and enemies at this time in history. God, in fact, was saying through Isaiah that there would be a “highway” that would come to CONNECT these two nations and that they would serve (or “worship” in another translation) TOGETHER. Not only that, but that God’s people (Israel) would be in the MIDST of the land and would be BLESSED.

If you have been following our story, you know that God has called us to dwell in the MIDST of SJ/BH and to live in an area known as “Fairplain”. As I read these verses this morning, I could not help but feel as if God was confirming our call to this area and His heart to OVERFLOW and connect these two cities once again and to do so through people who are willing to live, worship, and serve together.

Will you pray with us that God will work through this new church plant and the people involved and truly overflow these long standing boundaries, bringing people together in worship and in service to this region? We know this is only possible through Christ and the work of His spirit and look forward to seeing How God works in this region. We value each of you and trust that God in the same way desires to speak into your life and work through you to transform your family, friends, workplace, community, etc. May we all continue to labor in this together? As 1 Thessalonians 3:12 says, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

In Pursuit,
Brian

Church Planting Boot Camp....day 3

2007-05-16T08:23:00.000-04:00

This week we are at church planting boot camp at Trinity University in Chicago, Illinois. It is Wednesday morning and we have been through two days of sprints, long hill runs, push-ups, sit-ups, and obstacle courses.....OK, so not really, but in many ways it has felt that way. We have had an incredible two days and have been saturated with so many great thoughts and ideas. Throughout it all, we have been doing our best to prayerfully listen to God and are asking for His help in preparing us and the SJBH area for this new church plant (MOVEMENT of people). It has been exciting and we thank each and everyone of you for your prayers and continued support. Yesterday, it was especially helpful as we spent the afternoon looking at demographics, people groups, and the difficulty of a cross-cultural ministry. We felt overwhelmed asking God is this what you have for us? God responded through a fellow church planter, the trainers, and scripture, and as a result, were given a crystal clear vision of what God's desire for us and OVERFLOW (the name of our church plant) is.

Here are our vision and mission statements:

Vision: “Overflow is a church community for all peoples that exists to be a movement that crosses boundaries-- transforming lives in our region and beyond.”

Mission: “Overflow exists to reach the un-churched and de-churched in our world, journeying together as we learn how to passionately follow Christ and serve others.”

What was so helpful for us yesterday was the encouragement to allow our burden and what is in our DNA to come out in our vision/mission. As we did this, we realized that a large part of our burden and the DNA for OVERFLOW involves crossing the economic, social, and racial boundaries that are so prevalent in the SJ/BH region that God has called us to. Our hope is to reach those who don't know Christ and MOBILIZE them to join us in following and serving Him in our world and working to see true transformation.

As we have talked about this, we have become even more excited about God's call to this area and look forward to see God work in this region and beyond. Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may OVERFLOW with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit". This is our prayer and our request for you to continue to pray that God fills us while we are here at boot camp, protects us from those things that are not from Him, and prepares us to OVERFLOW with Him.

We are truly thankful for each of you and appreciate your prayers,

Brian & Cindy

"Love God. Love People. Join the Movement."

Jeremiah 29:7

2007-04-22T14:26:00.000-04:00

Also, seek
the peace and prosperity of the city

to which I have carried you into exile.

Pray to the LORD for it,

because if it prospers,

you too will prosper.

Questions that lead to greater faith....

2007-04-21T14:20:00.000-04:00

I am writing this blog as I sit in our "blue room" in our home on 29th St. As I type this, I am hosting an "open house" for our home which went on the market last Sunday. Our home went on the market last Sunday? I have asked myself and Cindy that question so many times the past few days as we have begun to walk out this new journey that God has us on. I find myself asking all kinds of questions... I have been asking myself: when will the house sell? when will we move? where will we live? how will things transition with our high school ministry? what will it be like living somewhere else? how will our kids handle everything? how will we handle everything? how is this church plant going to get started? what people will be involved? You get the idea. That is just the surface of how many questions are running through our minds right now. And the funny thing is, there seems to be only one answer for us right now..."follow me".

Cindy and I were talking last night with some of you and sharing how there has never been a time in our lives where we truly had to depend on God for TODAY. It's not that we are in a desperate situation, it's that we are so used to understanding what today, tomorrow, and even the next day might look like. The reality is, we have entered into a dimension of faith and growth in the past few weeks that is stretching us beyond anything we have been used to in the past. At times, I resent this position and want to give it up, but I also know that without this position, I (we) will not move forward and grow to depend on the one who holds the world in his hands...Jesus Christ! So with that thought, I sit here waiting TODAY in the "blue room" waiting for a potential buyer to come tour our home, moving us to the next step in this journey. I can't help but think of how the disciples must have felt when Christ first called them.

In Mark 1:16-18 the text says, "16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him."

We are all familiar with this story, but has this become OUR story? You see, I think we know human nature well enough to say that those simple fisherman had a lot of questions. Maybe they went something like this: where is he leading us? how will we live? what about our families and our work? can we really trust him? can I really live up to being his disciple? and why would I want to fish for men? You see they, like us, probably questioned the call to "come, follow me" in so many ways. Yet, something inside of them said "GO" and they did. I find this helpful today as I look ahead with so many questions and the only answer that matters is in front of me..."follow me".

Hope this encourages you and lets you know how you can pray for us as we begin to put one foot in the front of the other and follow, one step at a time, where Jesus is leading us.

In Pursuit,
Brian

*I have toured one really interested person today and who knows....maybe that is all it will take when it is in God's hands!

The First "Bently" (our prayer-support letter)

2007-04-15T15:42:00.000-04:00

The Story and Our first Prayer-Support Letter.....

brianbennett121@gmail.com · cindybennett33@gmail.com · overflowcommunity.blogspot.com

Issue 407
The Bently
The Bennett’s Bi-Monthly Newsletter: Detailing the Move of God in Our Lives

“We experienced a sleepless night of prayer, conversation, and celebration as God gave us an overwhelming burden and vision for the St. Joseph/ Benton Harbor area. We knew the following morning God was calling us to plant a church.”April 14, 2007

“God has given us a passion to seek the peace of the twin-cities. We believe in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to bring transformation as we take up our cross in faith and ‘Go!’”We have been attending First Wesleyan Church in Battle Creek since 2000. First Wes has served to grow us in our relationships with the Lord, relationships with others, ministry experience, and formation as a family. We have had an incredible time serving together with the young adult and high school ministries that are filled with true Christ followers, leaders, and warriors that will be carrying the good news of Christ to future generations and who have forever impacted us. In light of all of this, we find this sudden move of God in our lives bittersweet as we have officially submitted our resignation at First Wes in order to step out in faith and start a new church in the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor (SJ/BH) area. We hope the words that follow will accurately express how God has led us to this point of surrender.

Behind the Scenes
The story behind our calling to start a new church in the SJ/BH area climaxed during a recent church planter’s assessment we attended February 26-28, 2007. However, the plot leading up to this climax has been unfolding in our lives for some time.

Bently by Request
To continue receiving The Bently, our bi-monthly newsletter, please email us with “The Bently Please” in the subject line.

It is by request only so please be sure to email if interested.

brianbennett121@gmail.com

cindybennett33@gmail.com

Brian’s Story
In the fall of 2003, during a time of prayer and seeking God, I wrote in my journal…

Lord, show us what we should labor for, what culture we are to commit to in order that the word is given to others. My burden for the city has grown into a vision for (church planting) ---I am scared and really feel foolish to dream so big---to have a vision for a real church that affects a city, a country, and a world… a springboard for change, a vehicle for the gospel, and advance for the kingdom. My heart’s desire is to pursue you and know your heart.

These words were the first step in my journey of setting aside the comfort of my plans and being willing to start a new church. Three years and many details later, we were led to the two-day church planter’s assessment this past February (more on this later).
Cindy’s Story
God radically changed my life at First Wes on February 6, 2000 when once and for all, I surrendered my will to Christ; it has never been the same. Since then, I’ve continued to grow, serve, and learn what it means to look to the church as your family. I’ve met amazing people and value the close circle of friends God has blessed me with. The students will forever have a piece of my heart. Over the last 4 years, God has placed two awesome groups of girls in my path and I am thankful for that, as is Hannah who has named most of her Polly Pockets and baby dolls after them! I want to thank Pastor Phillip for one of the first messages he gave at First Wes. On a Wednesday evening Phillip walked off the platform, pulled up a stool, (and in a vulnerable state I’m assuming) opened up his personal journal and began sharing… I will never forget that. How awesome.

So please join me as I share a few of my journal entries as I believe this is the best way of explaining how God’s been speaking to me these past few months.

January 9, 2007
I awakened to “I will set eternity in the hearts of men.” [A divinely implanted sense of a purpose…which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy].
I then heard, “Adonai!” (Hebrew for Lord, Lord, Lord, master, or owner)

February 5, 2007
Mark 10:32 “… and those who followed were afraid. They were on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a new city…”

“They set out for Jerusalem. Jesus had a head start on them, and they were following, puzzled and not just a little afraid. (The Message)

February 17, 2007
I woke up to El-Shaddai (Almighty God & All-sufficiency) this morning.

February 25, 2007
Psalm 84:5 “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” What is pilgrimage, Lord? Can you simply tell me what this word means? Pilgrimage is a way of life, a heart change, to go out and do My work, to obey My voice the minute I ask and set forth the plan I have for you.

John 12:24-26
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me…”

Church Planter’s Assessment - February 26-28, 2007

February 28, 2007
Yesterday, Brian and I talked about where we might feel called to plant a church. We talked about and researched the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor area among others. No passion, no vision, simply researched the area out of curiosity. That night I had a dream. I saw an almost vacant mall, a stage, and a Jo-Ann Fabrics store in my dream with all peoples, a multicultural community, coming together in worship. I woke up early this morning and began praying for the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor area, asking the Lord to soften hearts and break off strongholds. I was praying so loudly that I woke Brian up. In his ‘love your wife as Christ loves the church’ voice, he asked me what I was doing up at 3am. After telling him, he shared in my excitement. I had another dream that included a beach and driving over a bridge to a neighboring town… Today, Brian and I share a burden for the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor area. These are adjacent beach cities separated by a bridge.

Brian and I drove over to the BH/SJ area today. We found a mall, Orchards Mall, in the area and it is suffering with many vacant storefronts. The main entrance has a Jo-Ann Fabrics store that just opened! There was a stage inside the mall as well. We have no idea what all this means, just putting one step in front of the other. Not looking behind us, not sprinting ahead of ourselves either, tempted to join Jonah in the big fish.

March 1, 2007
I awakened to “El Shaddai” for a second time. Psalm 132:15 “I will shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here, and give supper to those who arrive hungry.” (The Message)
Psalm 133:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” (NIV)

March 25, 2007
I had another dream about Benton Harbor. Lord, I just want to take the time right now to thank you. We are afraid, anxious, doubtful, and excited all at the same time. We desire to do Your will, please plan our steps. BLOCK all things not of you.

April 12, 2007
I felt like we were resting quietly and happily on this nice comfortable rug when suddenly God pulled it out from under us and said, “Go!”

Church Planter’s Assessment
Through the assessment, Cindy and I thought, “Maybe this church planting thing could be for us, just not yet. We’re very content right where we are at.” On the last night of the assessment we experienced a sleepless night of prayer, conversation, and celebration as God gave us an overwhelming burden and vision for the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor area. We knew the following morning that God was calling us to plant a church there. Just hours later this was affirmed by the church planting assessment team during our exit interview. After much hesitation, waves of emotion, and prayer, we’ve surrendered.

The St. Joseph – Benton Harbor Community
The St. Joseph River runs north and west between St. Joseph and Benton Harbor and in many ways serves as a symbol of the division between these two places that is so painfully obvious with a look at the demographics. Benton Harbor is the poorest city in Michigan. Although these two cities are called the “twin-cities” there is very little that is similar about them and in 2003 a riot insued in Benton Harbor driven by racial issues demonstrated that these communities need more much than a physical bridge across the St. Joseph River.
St. Joseph
Pop. 8,789
Median Income $37,032
Unemployment Rate 2%
Benton Harbor
Pop. 11,182
Median Income $17,471
Unemployment Rate 25%
Statistics from wikipedia.com

Our Burden
The communities are literally in need of a movement in the region that both unfies and mobilizes people to know and follow Christ (CONNECT), seek Christ and grow in the Word (GROW), and serve those around them with Christ’s love (SERVE). It is with this intent and understanding that Cindy and I have sensed a burden for this area. Jeremiah 29:7 says, “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Another translation says that we are to seek the “peace of the city we have been called to.

Our Next Steps
Pray, Pray, Pray
Downtown Benton HarborSelling our home & relocating to the SJ/BH area
Church Planter’s Boot Camp, Chicago, IL, May 14-18, 2007
Finding work, support raising, networking, and starting Bible Studies

How You Can Pray
That God would continue to give us His peace and clear leading with each step
That God would watch over the transition in our high school ministry and continue to bring growth to the students
That our home would sell quickly and at a fair price
That we would find the right home in the SJ/BH area

How You Can Be Involved
Check in periodically to our blog: overflowcommunity.blogspot.com
Help us to network with those you know in the area
Prayerfully consider joining us in 2008, either through commuting or relocation
Prayerfully consider supporting the ministry with physical and/or financial resources

Thank you to all first for sharing your lives with us and secondly for your continued support and encouragement in this new step in our journey!

This letter was mailed to everyone in our community of friends and family. In the future, we will mail the letter at your request. If you would like to be included on our mailing list and receive future bi-monthly letters, please send us an email with “The Bently Please” in the subject line.

Thank you and God Bless!
Brian, Cindy, Hannah, and Dawson Bennett

brianbennett121@gmail.com · cindybennett33@gmail.com · overflowcommunity.blogspot.com

Getting Involved

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Prayer Team

Prayer Team: a team of individuals committed to praying purposefully on a daily basis for Overflow and the region.

Join Prayer Team

Launch Team

Launch Team: a team of individuals committed to serving in various volunteer roles in order to help Overflow Community Church physically get started.

Join Launch Team

Financial Support

Checks Payable to Overflow Community Church
(Tax deductible receipts are mailed upon reception of gift)

Mail to:

Overflow Community Church
PO Box 732
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Contact Information

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Overflow Community Church
PO Box 732
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

269 861 4497

bbennett@overflowchurch.org

Donations: send check made out to Overflow Community Church to the above adress. Tax deductible receipts are mailed upon reception of gift.

Vision

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Our Heart
“God pours in, we pour out”

Our Vision
“To live as a Christ centered movement for all people that overflows boundaries-- transforming lives in our region and beyond.”

Our Mission
“Overflow exists to reach the un-churched and de-churched in our world, journeying together as we learn how to passionately follow Jesus and joyfully serve others.”

Bio

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Pastor Brian Bennett has served as a public school teacher and coach, as a youth pastor, and now as the lead pastor for Overflow Church in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He has been married to his beautiful wife Cindy since 2001 and they are blessed to be the proud parents of Hannah (3 years) and Dawson (1 year). As a family the Bennett’s enjoy spending time outdoors, walking, swimming, good movies, good books, cookouts, and spending time with extended family and friends.

Brian and Cindy are both graduates of Western Michigan University. Brian has since pursued ordination in the Wesleyan church and a Master’s of Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary. Brian heard the call to be a part of a church planting movement in the fall of 2003 and developed a heart for diversity and helping those with economic challenges while serving as a teacher in Battle Creek, Michigan. Cindy shares this call and together they are excited to see how God’s heart and plan for Overflow Church unfolds in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph region. More of their personal story, and call to church planting, is available in the April 2007 Bently (see archives).