New Service at TLC Mishref

Last year, I was invited to go to out with friends to a very special dinner.  There was a new Texas Roadhouse restaurant opening up in Kuwait relatively close to my house, and my friends had tickets for themselves and for us.  The best part about this dinner was that it was free, which is one of my favorite words in the dictionary!  Because the restaurant was brand new, they wanted to try out the food, the staff, and the service on people before it went to the public.  They wanted to take care of any issues or problems that might occur before in a smaller, more contained environment.  This is what is called a "soft opening." I can't really get that angry about my steak being overcooked if I'm not paying for it, right?  Actually, everything went really well that evening, I had a lot of fun with my friends, and we had so much extra food that we had to take some home.

In much the same way, we have been having some "soft openings" for a new service at TLC Mishref.  Thankfully, the main service at the Mishref campus has grown a lot over the summer and has gotten even bigger with the return of many people from summer holidays and the recent outreach that we had.  So, now we are nearly reaching the capacity of our service each week, and the leadership has been talking for a while about opening another service at 8am. 

The leadership team decided to open the new service on October 3, but also wanted to have several soft openings to make sure all the bugs and glitches were worked out before we announced it to the entire church and the public.  We also started these soft openings so that if people from our 10:30 service wanted to come to the 8am, it would relieve pressure on the amount of people who are attending our main service and will allow more and more visitors to attend.

Our first soft opening for the 8am was on September 12th, and we didn't have any one running the sound or worship in the beginning, so I had to learn very quickly how to use a sound board and some of the controls.  It was also quite small, with about 10 people not including the worship team and other people who were serving in the service.  It was strange looking at all those empty chairs, but all new services have to start somewhere.  The original Mishref service also started at around 10 people over five years ago, and it stayed that way for a long time before it began to grow. 

The second soft opening was the next week on September 19, and it was a significantly improved church service.  There were plenty of people to run sound and media, a great worship experience, and pastor Mark, the primary pastor at both services, preached a really good sermon. We also had nearly 40 people that attended the service, not including volunteers.  It was a much improved crowd and I was surprised that so many people came.

We have one more soft opening on the 26th of September, and then we have our official opening of the service on October 3rd.  We plan on having breakfast cakes and snacks on the 3rd as a way of blessing the people who come to the official opening, and it should be a lot of fun.  Please pray that this new service would be blessed by Jesus and that we would have new growth.  We would prefer that new people come to this service who don't go to church, rather than people who are merely switching services out of preference.  It should be a very exciting event! 

Tips for Coming (back) to Kuwait

  For many people, the the end of August is when many people come back to Kuwait or start their first job.  The summers in the Middle East are extremely hot, often rising above 120 degrees, so people save up their vacation to go back to their own countries or to travel, and many teachers in Kuwait naturally get the summers off.  It can be difficult coming back to work and to the rigors of life in Kuwait, especially if you, like me, have been living out of a suitcase for the last couple months, or have shirked most professional and spiritual activities.  Also, if you are new to Kuwait, it can be a strange and disorienting experience as a Christian being totally immersed in a radically different world view.  Here are some tips to help people coming (back) to Kuwait.

1.  Go to church.  This cannot be stressed enough.  Getting involved in a bible-believing, God-glorifying church is critical to your spiritual health in Kuwait.  You will be blasted with radically different beliefs about God, Jesus, heaven and hell upon entry or re-entry into the country.  You will also generally be confronted with things that are just culturally or linguistically different, which can be unnerving.  Finally, there will be a host of activities to get involved with, all pulling you in different directions.  Going to church will allow you to be with other Christians, receive some teaching, have your spiritual gas tank refilled, and meet others who are feeling similarly to you.  And don't just go occasionally, but make it something you are committed to, because that is how you will benefit the most from it.

2.  Get in a small group.  Personally, this is as big as going to church.  Going to church is ground zero for getting spiritual revitalization, but it's rarely enough.  Many of the churches in the Arabian Gulf and Kuwait are at a minimum of 50 people or more, and there is no way you can connect to those people in an hour and a half meeting outside a general greeting, handshake or hug.  A small group allows you to go deeper with other Christians, and to get to know their passions and struggles, and they will get to know you, as you pray, study the bible, and apply that the sermon each week to your life.  This has made what could have been a terrible experience in Kuwait into a wonderful one for my wife and I. 

3.  Get to know people.  Yes, this was partially covered in the point above, but it's good to make friends and see people outside of church and life group.  Try to pick at least one other night of the week where you are hanging out with the people that you love and enjoy.  That will bring a lot of stability and peace to your life, and will allow you to build some roots in this country.  Befriend some of the people in your life group or church, and invite them to dinner, lunch or even a cup of tea at your or their place.  Kuwait can be a lonely place, but if you make the effort, you can develop lifelong friends here.

4.  Get in a routine.  This one is just as important.  For those of us who are still getting over jet-lag, we know how insane it is to be out of a normal sleeping routine.  This is true for all aspects of living internationally.  I try to make sure I am consistent when I get enough sleep and go to bed at the same time, when I work out, when I spend time with friends, when I have date night, and even when I take time to relax and read a book.  Of course there are things that interrupt that routine, which is completely normal and acceptable at times, but it's good to have the routine so you can at least have a sense of control over that aspect of your life.

5.  Don't overdo it.  Don't do too much.  I had a friend my first year in Kuwait who tutored for 4-5 hours every day, 5 days a week.  He made a lot of extra money.  Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack that summer, and I believe part of that was contributed to his hectic work schedule.  I'm not saying it's wrong to work hard or even to tutor a little bit, but make sure you have a balance in your life.  Even if you came here to make money, don't let that be the idol you serve, because you'll never get enough and you'll run yourself ragged pursuing it.  God has you here not just for yourself or your family, but to advance God's kingdom, and maintaining a balance of God, family, work, church and ministry is critical to being able to realize it.