We were able to celebrate your generosity at the end of 2011. It was such a privilege.

Now it’s 2012. So, what does that mean for you in terms of serving others? From New Year’s resolutions to fleeting thoughts of Hey, serving was fun, I should do that again, we recognize—and hope!—that one of your desires for 2012 is to continue to be generous toward others.

Know that we’re here to help.

Two main options stand out for ways to prioritize service any time of the year.

First, if you participated in Be Rich 2011, we encourage you to continue supporting the nonprofit with whom you worked. Contact them for ways you can serve; go deeper and build a relationship with them. Or you can use the hang tag from the Be Rich food drive to help remind you to donate food monthly. Make it a family affair or an outing with friends by shopping together and then dropping off the food at Buckhead Christian Ministry (2847 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30305, open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Thursdays until 8:00 p.m.).

Second, Buckhead Church’s Intersect Project is our year-round service outlet. We exist to make serving simple for the attendees and members of Buckhead Church. Visit the website and look for ongoing projects and additional one-time events.

When we represent the church through service, our impact on the community is magnified because our impact is collective. Join in! Be a part. Let’s continuing serving our neighbors in need in 2012.

Megan Linger ::: The Intersect Project ::: Buckhead Church

Okay, maybe it’s not January 1 anymore, but it is a new month, a new year, and an exciting time for all things new. If you’re single, why not join us for our brand new environment created just for you—our Singles Series!

Three times a year, we’ll gather hundreds of singles from all five of our Atlanta-area campuses to connect, worship, and learn together. Each series will last three weeks, meeting Tuesday nights in the Buckhead Church Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

We’ll learn about things that are relevant to the single season of life (and yes, that means more than just dating). Seth Condrey will lead us in worship. We’ll connect with other singles from around the city, and we’ll tell you about new and exciting things we have in store for you in 2012. If you’re single, it’s an environment you don’t want to miss!

Mark your calendars now for our spring series, and invite all your single friends. No registration is required, so just show up. For more information, check out our new website at http://buckheadsingles.org.

Spring Singles Series Dates:

Tuesday, January 31

Tuesday, February 7

Tuesday, February 14

Don’t miss out on the start of something new! This just might be one of the best decisions you’ll make all year.

Jamie Waddy ::: Singles Ministry ::: Buckhead Church

If you are wondering why you ever got married, if you believe that perhaps you have fallen out of love with your spouse, or if you doubt you have anything in common anymore, you won’t want to miss this!

Join us at Buckhead Church for a night of laughter, great music, and dessert. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m., so bring your special Valentine to MarriedLife . . . Oh yeah!

Why Community Group? Quite simply, we can’t imagine our life without one. It strengthens our marriage, helps us be better parents, better neighbors, better employees, and, most importantly, gradually molds us into the man/woman that God wants us to be. Additionally, we absolutely love sharing the joys (new babies, kids starting school, promotions, etc.) and sorrows (job losses, cancer, miscarriages, etc.) rather than going through those life events alone. We are both from out-of-state, so our group has become the closest thing to family that we have in the area.

Nowhere else do we have the depth of conversations that we have in our group. Having a thriving marriage (or even sustaining one) is challenging! Raising kids is challenging! It is so valuable to discuss important decisions with people that have similar values and goals. We’ve been in five groups with Buckhead Church, both as members and leaders. They’ve all been different, but each one was a perfect collection of people for what God wanted to show us during that 18- to 24-month period.

Although the price of Community Group may initially seem high, it is the best time investment we make in our faith and in our marriage. We’ll admit it can be hard to leave our girls (3- and 5-years-old) one night a week for a few hours, but the benefits are completely worth it. Plus, we like that our children see us prioritizing our marriage and our relationship with God. In fact, they play “small group” with their dolls and tell us we can’t come since it is just for kids!

To anybody considering getting into a group, we would wholeheartedly encourage you to take that step. It can be scary, but God will reward your action, and he will meet you where you are and step-by-step mold you into the man or woman he wants you to be. And you will make some great friends along the way.

Justin and Angie Barton ::: Community Group Leaders

GroupLink at Buckhead Church takes place from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. next  Thursday, January 26, for men’s groups, Friday, January 27, for women’s groups, and Saturday, January 28, for married couples.  For more information, check out www.buckheadchurch.org/grouplink.

Life is better connected.

I am finding the saying “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone” to be absolutely true. As we prepare to venture into a new city, we are realizing how great we had it and thought we’d share with you. We know there are exciting things in store. I just feel it’s good to reflect and thank the Lord for how present he was through our journey.

As I reflect on our 12+ years of attending North Point and then Buckhead Church, I am so grateful that God used so many people and so many environments to change us forever.

Let me take you on a quick walk through the “chapters” of our time in this amazing church:

PERSPECTIVE (2001–2002): Our first experience with North Point was as a dating, and then engaged couple. What blew our minds the most was that church and God could be relevant to our daily lives, that God’s Word and his teachings could be practical and useful. We fell in love with Jesus again in a personal way.

COMMUNITY (2003+): Just before our wedding, we joined our first married small group. We instantly had “our friends,” not “his friends” verses “her friends.” We went through rough pregnancies, newborns, toddlers, second children, marriage issues, deaths, deeply sad family situations, and financial struggles. We prayed, cried, laughed, and even roller-skated together! God taught us more together than we would have ever learned separately.

COURAGE (2003+): Through messages and God working in my heart, I found the courage to take two trips to Ukraine with Chick-fil-A (my full-time job at the time). I experienced what it was like to be in the center of God’s will. Later, I was given the courage to leave the greatest job in the world to be a stay-at-home mom and transfer my identity from my career to my identity in Christ.

AWAKENING (2006): I was baptized at Buckhead Church in the days when it met in the Roswell Road (“grocery store”) location. I felt like I was growing at lightning speed and that my heart was going to burst with love for my Savior. I was seeing things for the first time, which was pretty cool for a girl who had been a Christian since she was five years old. Baptism was one of the best experiences of my life. We also had a chance to serve with KidStuf and Guest Services. It was such a joy to greet new faces and to be a part of the grander vision of the church.

GUIDANCE (2006+): Waumba Land has inspired me to be a better mom. Each week, the same faces show up faithfully and serve with smiles to show my children that there is a God who loves them so much. My kids go in happy and come out happy. They come home singing about Jesus and spouting Scripture. I have no idea how to ever thank this group adequately. I encourage any new folks to trust Waumba’s system, and to use those Parent Cards to keep the conversation going at home. Those little hearts are sponges.

MOTIVATION (2008–Now): I feel in the last four years that the messages and the church have really motivated Ron and me to go bigger with everything, from how much we give of our time and resources, to how we follow God’s Word and do great things for his glory. Buckhead Church has been a major reason I started my own business based on biblical principles.

I feel there should be “no regrets” in life . . . so as we prepare to leave Buckhead Church, I made an “I WISH” list (with hopes that maybe you can learn from it):

I WISH . . . I had served MORE! I kept thinking there would be a better time.

I WISH . . . I had written more thank-you notes “just because” to the volunteers who care for my kids and make Buckhead Church happen.

I WISH . . . I had led more than one Community Group with my husband. The church needs good leaders, not perfect ones. Leading is hard, but God can use us and work through us.

I WISH . . . I had taken my Bible and my journal to church every week. I had over 12 years of teachings, and I’m constantly trying to remember that “point” or that “verse” that really hit me. It would be nice to have written it down.

I WISH . . . I had invited more people. Seriously, it is the easiest place ever to invite a new person.

I WISH . . . it had not taken me so long to focus on worship instead of being entertained by the band. Worship has been so meaningful in recent years and is my favorite part of Sunday morning.

When I look back, it’s amazing to think I got to be a part of a church that continues to remain true to its mission—to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Buckhead Church.

Sincerely and with all my gratitude,

Courtney DeFeo

That’s why we want you to take the step this year to join a Community Group.

Every year in January and August, we host GroupLink, a two-hour event where you can connect with other people in your stage of life and area of town to form a Community Group.

We hope you’ll join us later this month at one of the three GroupLink events here at Buckhead Church:

• Men’s GroupLink is Thursday, January 26, at 7:30 p.m.
  The groups formed at Men’s GroupLink are for single men or a mix of men at different stages of life: married, single, divorced, and those who are widowers.
• Women’s GroupLink is Friday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m.
  The groups formed at Women’s GroupLink are for single women or a mix of women at different stages of life: married, single, divorced, and widowed.
• Married Couples’ GroupLink is Saturday, January 28, at 7:30 p.m.

Registration is now open at http://www.buckheadchurch.org/grouplink. Sign up and mark your calendar.

See you at GroupLink!

Jill Roberts & Misti Mancini ::: Groups Assimilation ::: Buckhead Church

Emily Rahm is one example. Emily has been a faithful student in our college ministry since she first came to our Tuesday night environment, The Living Room, 18 months ago. Emily quickly joined a small group, started serving on our host team, and most recently has been training to be the lighting director for The Living Room. This coming spring she will return to Haiti for the second time with our Georgia Tech spring break mission trip through globalX.

Emily is making the most of her opportunities in college and is fully engaged in our mission to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. She was baptized this fall, as you will see in the video below.

Brad Horton ::: Director of College Ministry ::: Buckhead Church

Since it’s almost the New Year (and time for resolutions, fresh starts, and/or recommitments to disciplines that have faded), we wanted to give you some tools that will help you “resolve” to do a better job of reading the Bible in 2012. As a church, this is assuredly one of the most vital practices we can do together. Psalm 119:105 reminds us that “[God's] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Simply said, if we’re not reading our Bibles this year, we’ll be walking in the dark.

The Bible is a collection of ancient manuscripts—66 to be exact—not a book. Several dozen authors wrote these manuscripts. Readers who approach it like a book—beginning with page one and proceeding to the end—can find themselves lost in a bewildering maze of ancient history and lists. Not to mention, busy schedules and limited confidence can end up discouraging us from spending time in these amazing words from God. A good Bible-reading plan will help overcome obstacles like these.

We’d love for you to adopt one of the plans below and use it to structure some of your reading this year. Each approach offers an effective strategy for pushing beyond a limited understanding of the Bible—including how to read the Bible topically (to get a concentrated view of a certain theme or subject), to see a “bird’s eye view” of the high points of the biblical story, or to read through all the manuscripts. See the links below for reading plans we have found to be especially helpful.

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Two-Week Topical Study Plan: Use this link to download a reading plan that contains two-week sections that each concentrate on a different topic. Content includes: the life of Jesus, the life and teachings of Paul, the Old Testament, on becoming a Christian, and many more.

• Two-Week Topical Studies (PDF)

30-Day Plans featuring important biblical topics and stories:

• 30 Days with Jesus (PDF): Thirty days of readings about the life and ministry of Christ.
• 30 Days for New Christians (PDF): Thirty days of passages for those new to the faith.
• 30 Days in the Psalms and Proverbs (PDF): Thirty days of Psalms and Proverbs for worship and wisdom.

“Bird’s Eye Overview” Plans: The following plans offer a bird’s eye view of the biblical story at three different levels—60, 90, and 180 days. The daily readings consist of selected passages that make up a “guided tour” of the Bible’s high points. This arrangement will convey the Bible’s “plot” without reading all of it.

• 60-Day Plan: Read an overview of the Bible in 60 days (PDF).
• 90-Day Plan: Read an overview of the Bible in 90 days (PDF).
• 180-Day Plan: Read an overview of the Bible in 180 days (PDF).

New Testament Study Plans: These plans help you study the New Testament.

• New Testament in a Year: Get the PDF here.
• New Testament (five minutes a day/five days a week): Get the PDF here.

Read Through the Bible in a Year: The link below will give you a PDF that will help you navigate the Bible in a year.

• Straight through the Bible in a year from Genesis to Revelation. Get the PDF here.
• Old and New Testaments together to read the whole Bible, with something from each Testament every day. Get the PDF here.
• Read from four places each day, with passages from two books, Psalms, and Proverbs. Get the PDF here.

Read Online: Lastly, if you haven’t already discovered www.youversion.com, you need to. This is an online Bible (in many translations) with a ton of online reading plans (http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/all). What’s great about this approach is that you check off your reading each day online. Also, it syncs with many different mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Android). So, whether you read online or on your phone, it keeps them in sync as to where you are in the plan.

Again, Happy New Year! We are excited about walking together this year using God’s Word as a “lamp to our feet.”

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(Note that the links above are all presented as downloadable PDFs, so you might need to save them in a way that works for your computer. Some of you may be able to download with a simple click of the link and others might need to “right click” and “save as.”)

Thank you to every family that grabbed a shoebox, took their kids to the store, collected items to bring to the packing party in Transit, and made it a priority to have a family night using the KidStuf Takeout. While it can be difficult to keep kids focused on what this season is REALLY is all about, your generosity proves that many of you are helping your kids understand that because God gave his Son to us, we are to give generously to those in need. Way to go Buckhead families! Looking forward to what God has in store in 2012.

Emily Meredith ::: Children’s Ministry Director ::: Buckhead Church

In case you missed our big celebration of Be Rich this Sunday, you can check it out below.

Be Rich 2011 Celebration from North Point Media on Vimeo.

All of the thank you’s in the video belong to you. Thank you, Buckhead Church, for your impact on our city and our world.

So incredibly humbled by your generosity,

Billy