LCCT Important Update 8.26.2020 - ALL WEDNESDAY EVENING ACTIVITIES CANCELLED

 Hello Life Change Tullahoma Friends and Family,

2020 started out as an excellent year for Life Change Church Tullahoma. On Sunday, January 5th, LCCT had over 200 people in attendance for the very first time. And by the beginning of March, LCCT was averaging almost 300 people in attendance and it looked as if adding a second worship service would be an absolute necessity.

Then Covid-19 hit.

Being a church that will not turn three years old until October 25th of this year, Covid-19 could have been a fatal blow to a new church. But praise be to God, God held His church called Life Change Tullahoma up in the midst of the storm. And God continues to do so as His Church (you and I) continue to put our faith and trust in Him.

The nine weeks that LCCT did not meet corporately were agonizing for me, the staff, and for many of you. However we made the decision that it was best not to meet knowing that it was in the best interest of those who attend LCCT. We also knew that the same God that had been faithful in the past, would be faithful as we moved forward.

This morning we learned that one of our attendees tested positive for Covid-19. As a result, all activities for this evening (Wednesday, August 26) have been cancelled.

We as a staff feel it is better to be proactive rather than reactive. With this in mind, we want to take the time and the necessary steps to make sure we are providing the safest environment possible. Our proactive steps include...

1. Making sure this was an isolated case.
2. Making sure that anyone who may have come in contact with this person is monitoring their health.
3. Encouraging anyone who is having any symptoms of Covid-19 to be tested.
4. Making sure the building is cleaned and sanitized before we gather again.

We are working to contact anyone that may have come in contact with this person to let them know of the possible exposure. This person was not in an active volunteer role on Sunday.

As was stated when LCCT reopened, if you have come in contact with someone with Covid-19, or feel that you may be having Covid-19 symptoms, it is best to stay home and isolate yourself until you get tested and know the results of your test.

Know that the staff at LCCT love you, and are praying for you. Truthfully, it's a real bummer when we have to cancel a service or activities. None-the-less, know that we will always strive to do what is best for you and our entire church family.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at lifechangetullahoma@gmail.com.

May God bless and keep you! Know that we will send out another update on Saturday.

In His Service,

Pastor Christian Watts

LCCT Update 8.5.2020 - A note from Pastor Christian - Steps of Faith - Welcome our newest Staff Members - It's time to get back in the habit

Hello Life Change Tullahoma Friends and Family!

I wanted to take a few minutes of your time to share some information and updates with you regarding Life Change Church Tullahoma.

First and foremost, I want you to know that I am here for you. Really, I mean that! However, I readily admit that I do not always know when you might need me, or how I might be able to serve or help you. So, here is what I ask... Please call me, email me, text me, or come by the church office and let me know how I can help you or serve you. You have 110% permission to do so! I want to be here for you as a pastor as much as I possibly can be. So again, I give you full permission to bug me, remind me, or let me know how I can help or serve you. Please find my contact information at the bottom of this letter. Thank you!

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.”

Throughout Life Change Tullahoma’s short history, we have taken huge steps of faith. And each step of faith has been bathed in prayer and God ordained. And although this year has been a difficult one, we continue to step out in faith as God directs us. 

Here are some of the steps of faith we have taken in 2020....

·      In January of 2020 we acquired office space and additional meeting space at 410 Wilson Avenue. We also began a new budget year with a weekly budget need that was twice the amount of our weekly budget needs in 2019.

·      In February of 2020 we hired Jermaine Johnson to be our Youth Pastor. Little did we know at the time, but two weeks after he was hired, we would spend the next two months having no public gatherings. Over the last several weeks we have resumed Wednesday evening youth group with an average of 50+ students that attend weekly.

·      Before the Covid-19 pandemic, our weekly broadcast was sketchy at best. Therefore, we knew that if we were going to be effective, we would have to make some major upgrades to our video equipment. Again, we stepped out in faith and made some major purchases in order to improve the quality of our broadcast. And although it is still a work in progress, the difference between our broadcast pre-Covid-19 and now are night and day. God supplied our every need!

·      In July of 2020, we added two paid part-time Children’s Ministry leaders to our staff. Those leaders are Tonya Reffner and Alisha Johnson. Tonya is the Director of our Preschool Ministry which includes babies through Kindergarten. Alisha is our grades 1-5 Children’s Ministry Director. We are excited to have both ladies officially on our staff leadership team!

·      One area of need that we felt we needed to address sooner rather than later was hiring an Administrative Assistant. Someone that would be in the office daily, and someone that had the ability to meet several areas of need as LCCT moves forward. I am excited to share with you that we have hired Katelyn Lawson as our administrative assistant! Katelyn will be overseeing our church database (Planning Center), and she will also be overseeing and making sure we are keeping accurate records of both our incoming and outgoing finances via Planning Center and QuickBooks. Katelyn will also be answering phones, creating and implementing our multi-media, assisting us as we move towards fellowship groups this fall, helping us with our social media and text-in-church ministries (including response times), and assisting our pastoral staff as needed. Katelyn will officially join the LCCT Staff on Thursday, August 20^th.   

It is my prayer that our new staff hires will allow Life Change Tullahoma to function with excellence! Why? Because God expects our best! I also believe that the addition of an Administrative Assistant will allow Noah and I to be all the more available to you, and to do the ministry both at LCCT and within our community that God has called us to.

Over the past year and a half, Elizabeth Duke has done an excellent job creating and implementing our multi-media. Elizabeth isn’t leaving LCCT, but she will be stepping down from her multi-media role as she continues to work on her nursing degree. We want to thank Elizabeth for her commitment and efforts over the past year and a half.

I want to encourage you to stay tuned to our website, the LCCT App, and our Social Media outlets as we are ramping up for some exciting things in the days and weeks ahead. 

Finally, I know that many folks have not been able to gather at LCCT for corporate worship due to Covid-19 concerns. I also realize that the pandemic has led to many people simply falling out of the habit of attending Life Change Tullahoma. Let me encourage you to get back in the habit! Watching on YouTube or Facebook is just not the same as gathering corporately to worship. Know that we have missed those of you that have not been with us, and we hope to see you soon!

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I hope it encourages you and excites you for what God has in store for LCCT in the days ahead!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Pastor Christian Watts

lifechangetullahoma@gmail.com

931-563-5544 (office)

931-321-0900 (after hours)

931-488-8200 (text-in-church)