This past Sunday (Oct 2), I spent my afternoon wearing a crazy costume, and hauling a couch all over Omaha. Approximately 200 students, 35 teams participated in the annual Couch-O-Rama event. I thought my teams costume was pretty fantastic, however I was blown away when I saw the creativity of the other teams. We had cows, potatoes, footy pajamas, and princess costumes. One of my favorites was Amy Gerhart’s group; they dressed up as the Duggar girls.

When the scavenger hunt officially began, it was mad dash to the door. I’m surprised that no one got injured in all the excitement. My team ran for our truck and scanned the list of locations. Alex Ehly definitely came up with some interesting ideas. For example, take a picture with a donkey, with two female police officers, with Mayor Suttle, and with a life size cut out of the one and only Justin Bieber. Our strategy for attacking this list was to start out west, and head back towards the church. Having Amy Anderson as our leader, we of course had to get a picture with her bulldog, Bruce. We also found ourselves at a cornfield, Village Pointe, Bennington High, on a trampoline, etc. Hauling a couch in and out of the truck was definitely exhausting, but we captured some great pictures and had a blast!

During that whole action packed day, what astounded me the most was the number of students who participated. Couch is a fun event where students can grow closer to their fellow journey group members. The purpose of Couch-O-Rama is also to expand our journey groups, and embrace new students into the community. I believe we accomplished this, because there were many new faces that day. I encourage those of you who invited friends to keep investing in their lives. That ultimately is the goal of Couch-O-Rama, inviting our friends, and opening the door to Jesus.

-Tabitha Barth

(Senior in the CCC HSM)

Series Overview

A Creed is defined as a set of beliefs that guides someone’s actions. The fall 2011 Creed series is all about God the Father and Jesus Christ. This series will take us much deeper than a focus on behavior modification, because when we begin to understand the why behind the actions, it helps us develop those actions with greater passion. We’ll discuss what we believe, and then give opportunity to apply it to the world we live in.

Session One: God is… (October 2)

There are many views about God out there – and even though many in our world would suggest they are all valid, this logically cannot be true. Even many Christians are confused about who God really is. We’ll kick off the Creed series by taking a good look at who God is according to the Bible.

Session Two: God is not… (October 9)

A lot of people view God as a distant but all powerful being. This God is there to give them what they want, when they want it, and then to hang out waiting for us to ask him for something else the next time we need it. It is possible that God is active and present in our everyday lives, and that he wants more from us than just to talk to him when we need something? Could God really want a relationship with us; and more?

Session Three: Jesus: Fully God (October 16)

There really is not much debate about the historical fact that Jesus existed as a man, but what about the claim people try to make about Him being God? Did Jesus Himself even claim to be God? If so, how could He possibly prove it? And honestly, what difference does it make anyway? This week we will examine the evidence that Jesus is really who He claimed to be… God

Session Four: Jesus: Fully Man (October 23)

It’s amazing to think that we have a God who became a man. Over 2000 years ago, Jesus entered the scene on planet earth. He became flesh and lived, moved, and breathed among us. He walked in our shoes, dealt with temptation, was rejected and ridiculed, and unjustly accused. So, what does this mean for us in our relationship with God? Does it change the way we relate to our Maker & Creator?