The Lord really blessed our socks off 
last night at the Neighborhood Block Party. As the rain let up people showed up and the party began. Crowds chowed on great BBQ, bounced on gigantic animal shaped inflatables, petted miniature ponies, got their faces painted as dogs, cats and who knows what and watched kids dunk the pastors. The water was cold. Kids climbed on fire engines and explored an ambulance. The Kitchen crew was phenomenal serving pink cotton candy, blueberry and cherry snow cones, popcorn, burgers and hot dogs to an estimated 750 people. The Voetberg family from Centralia spun their blue grass gospel tunes on fiddles, guitars, piano and bass to a packed house. 
Our hope in having the party was to let the neighborhood know we exist and that we’re for them. Judging from the fact that most of the people there were people we had never seen before and were smiling, then maybe God helped us do that.
I’m so proud of and want to thank John Roy and Lisa Hall who led the 110 Northlake volunteers who planned, prayed for good weather, and served. You should thank them too! As things were winding down one new family who have recently started coming to church stayed around to clean up. Way to go church family!
This event like Vacation Bible Camp last week and the upcoming Harvest Festival, etc are simply effort to show Christ’s love in ways that meet the practical, social and spiritual needs of people in our neighborhoods.
Let’s see: last week we had a horse in the sanctuary during Vacation Bible Camp. Last night we had a Harley Hog in the Lobby. What's going to happen next week?
Montana Middle School Trip
Saturday July 21-27th 2007
Saturday morning Northlake’s Middle School Director Caleb Visser with 6 adults leaders are taking 19 MS’ers to Plains, Montana to serve at Lone Ram Ranch for one week. Their service activities include fence building, mowing and weed eating, staining fences, tables, mucking out barns and any other chores that need to be done. The trip’s purpose is to honor God by doing maintenance work in a two-year-old camp to help get the camp up and running. Lone Ram is related to Big Horn Camp. This is their second year to go. Sunday mornings have been packed and we haven’t mentioned the trip but we need to remember them in prayer. Here are some specifics:
PRAYER
safety
heat issues
each kid will be challenged to grow closer to grow the Lord
this is group that needs to bond together
learn how to serve the camp and
get a lot of work and be a blessing.
