With the start of a new semester there are lots of details floating around in our heads. A reminder of the service times might be in order since they’re chaning this week.

ECC 1st service: 9am (blended worship, teaching on Hebrews)

ECC 2nd service, 10:15am (contemporary worship, topical teaching)

ECC 3rd service, 11:30am (contemporary worship, topical teaching)

Connexion, 7pm (college worship service, ‘Got Questions?’ teaching series)

Here at ConneXion we are committed to community. We really work hard at nurturing a sense of community on Sunday nights and throughout the week. In part that is because we recognize the deep longing we all have to know and be known, to love and be loved. It’s also because we believe that we can’t truly be obedient Christians who are growing in our faith apart from community. We simply can’t ignore the many commands in Scripture about ‘one anothers’. We’re called to care for one another, bear with one another, laugh with and cry with one another, encourage and admonish one another. All of those commands and many more presuppose we are in community with other Christians.

There’s lots of ways to get plugged into community. One of the most important to the ministry of ConneXion is CGroups. The ‘C’ in cgroups stands for ‘community’, not ‘connexion’. In CGroups students meet with one another in the home of an ECC family. In that place they study God’s word together, but not in a merely academic way. Because they are together in community, they can bring God’s word to bear on each others lives in meaningful ways. It’s a beautiful thing and we’re inviting you to be a part of it with us.

CGroups meet Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. There is a grad group, a group for freshman girls, another all girls group and 8 coed groups. You can sign up for a group that fits you at Connexion this week and for the next few, or you can go to the small group page on the website and fill out the form. Groups don’t start till the week of Sept 15th. Between now and then, you’ll be contacted by a cgroup leader who’ll give you all the specifics you’d need to know.

We hope for our sake and for yours that you’ll accept the invitation to join us in community.

Summer Connexion got off to a great start this past Sunday. The night was a great mix of fellowship, incredible worship and teaching that set the stage for our summer study on the New Testament book of Philippians.

As we move forward into this study we should keep two things in mind. First, the good news of Jesus brings together a diverse people and unites them into one body. Philippians calls us to a deeper experience of unity amidst our diversity. Second, if anyone can advise us about joy, it’s Paul. He rejoiced in Christ even when he was getting beaten down - literally. That’s the kind of unshakable joy we are called to in the book of Philippians.

I look forward to this Sunday. See you at 8pm for Connexion, or 6:30 for the cookout!

While everyone is enjoying their Christmas break, we’re busy here getting ready for the Spring semester, which kicks off January 6th at 7:00pm.  On Sunday nights, we’ll be studying through the much misunderstood and avoided book of Revelation. We’ll be picking up on the major themes of this incredible book - themes like Christ’s love and care for the church, God’s sovereignty, prayer, worship, spiritual warfare, suffering, the climax of history, and heaven and hell.  The book of Revelation was meant to be an encouragement to the church and these themes have immediate and profound application to our lives today. That’s what we’ll be focusing on.  We certainly won’t hit every chapter (there are twenty two chapters and only 15-16 weeks in the semester), and we most certainly won’t get ourselves bogged down in pointless speculation about current events and how they may or may not fit into the book. I’m really looking forward to it.

Beyond Sunday nights, the semester will certainly be full and exciting. CGroups will be studying the second half of Isaiah (one of the most extraordinary portions of the Old Testament).  Renovo will continue to challenge students to serve the campus and larger community of Bloomington in meaninful ways.  There are two mission trips planned for Spring Break. We’re excited about an Arts Weekend in February -  a weekend to thank God for the gift of art and think about Christian participation in the arts. n that same note, we’re putting together a drama/dance team (if you’re interested, go ahead and email us now at dlwaugh@indiana.edu).  In addition to all of this, I’m sure you’ll see more about Open Mic Nights, social events and so much more.

So now I hope you are sharing in our excitement and eager to get back to BTown. See you soon!

While everyone is enjoying their Christmas break, we’re busy here getting ready for the Spring semester, which kicks off January 6th at 7:00pm.  On Sunday nights, we’ll be studying through the much misunderstood and avoided book of Revelation. We’ll be picking up on the major themes of this incredible book - themes like Christ’s love and care for the church, God’s sovereignty, prayer, worship, spiritual warfare, suffering, the climax of history, and heaven and hell.  The book of Revelation was meant to be an encouragement to the church and these themes have immediate and profound application to our lives today. That’s what we’ll be focusing on.  We certainly won’t hit every chapter (there are twenty two chapters and only 15-16 weeks in the semester), and we most certainly won’t get ourselves bogged down in pointless speculation about current events and how they may or may not fit into the book. I’m really looking forward to it.

This Sunday night we gathered again and God certainly met with us. I am so excited about this fall because I don’t think we’ve peaked - we’re just getting started.

If you weren’t able to be with us on Sunday cause you were traveling, stuck in a mandatory dorm meeting, or whatever, don’t worry, you can still get a feel for what it was like. Check out the pictures from night one down to the right. Also, you can listen to the first message in the fall series “Identity101″. The first message, “On the Road with Jesus“, is available here and on iTunes if you subscribe to the Connexion Podcast. I wish we could post some of the music from Sunday night, but there’s that whole copyright thing. Oh well, I guess you’ll have to come and check it out for yourself this coming Sunday!

Also, if you want to sign up for a CGroup, feel free to email us with and let us know what kind of group you are looking for (grad, coed, all girl, all guy) and what night (Mon - Thurs).

See you soon. Hope the syllabus shock isn’t to awful…

We are really excited that everyone’s back in town and can’t wait to see everyone tonight at Connexion, 7pm!  The leaders of Connexion spent Saturday at a retreat worshipping, praying, planning, playing and just getting ready. We are. Are you?

This fall looks to be incredibly. We’ve got a great cadre of leaders who are committed to Christ, the church and Connexion. We’ve got a great new worship leader - you may know him as the man on keys from the last two years, Jonathan Jackson. We’ve got a great message series, Identity101, that explores who we are in relation to God, to each other, and to our world. We’ve got a lot more going on, but you’ll have to come Sunday night to hear about it.  See you in a few hours!

One of the key components of Connexion is our network of small groups we call CGroups (the stands for Community). These groups meet in the home of ECC families throughout the week for bible study in community, prayer, and supporting each other as we strive to live out our faith on the campus.

Sign ups for CGroups will be going on before and after Connexion on August 26th, September 2nd and 9th. If you’re a returning student and already know what group you’d like to be in, please feel free to shoot me off an email and I’ll get you on this list.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to walk with others and grow with others in faith, hope and love.

This Sunday night, Aug 12th, will be the last Connexion of the summer. We’ll bring the series on Hebrews 11 and Faith to a close and celebrate Communion together as well. It’s been an awesome summer and I hate to see it end….

But, after just one week off, we start up again. We kick off on Aug 26th at 7pm (note the time difference all of you who got use to coming at 8pm over the summer).  I’m looking forward to worshipping together, getting the new message series rolling, launching the CGroups, Renovo, the Josh Garrels Concert, the Retreat in October. I guess we’ll all sleep in December when the semesters over!

Help spread the word about Connexion and our schedule. Danke!

Who are we? This fall, we’ll contemplate who we are in relation to God, the church and each other. Don’t miss the beginning of the series and the opportunity to worship together on Aug 26th.