Post Christmas Eve - Part 2

There's a lot of things that I could think back to about Christmas Eve this year at The Orchard.

I could tell you about all the people who brought family and friends (more than 1200 people attended). I could celebrate the generosity of those who gave toward Advent Conspiracy (clean water wells in Liberia and local food pantry's) and I do... I was blown away by the response (more than $21,000 donated toward Advent Conspiracy).

I could share with you about the candlelights - how the entire auditorium was filled with them at one point. I could go on and on about the videos we showed... those that were funny, those that were tearful and all that showed lives impacted by the coming of Jesus into this world. I could rattle off all the lighting equipment we used this year and how the moving lights, Christmas lights and hazer really rocked!

I could recall and tell you about all of those things, but the part I will never forget is my team.

The Orchard is home to some of the most talented vocalists and musicians I've ever worked with. We have a pretty high bar set for excellence on the team and yet the team continues to grow toward the next level. Every one of them gave their very best and I am proud of each of them.

Are there things we could have improved or done better? Of course... there always will be. We sing, play, mix, and present for the Creator of the universe and He deserves the very best.

Our lighting console tripped out the day before Christmas Eve and we lost 10 hours worth of programming. Our lighting tech spent another 8-hours reprogramming the board so that the lights would be ready for Christmas Eve. I had three vocalists who worked for several hours over a couple of weeks to prepare for their lead and support roles on 7 different songs. Nine musicians spent countless hours preparing and rehearsing arrangements to 8 songs that moved those who were there, including me (TSO has nothing on you guys)! I had 5 audio, multimedia and stage techs that helped create an amazing canvas of sound and visual art.

Not to mention the staff I work with, our video guru, our welcome teams, our parking teams and Pam (our volunteer 'green room' was fabulous - thank you)!

I hope you were there and got to appreciate the environment that was created for you to experience God. You may never know how big that night really was, nor the amount of time, talent, energy and effort that went in to planning that one experience. Every single bit of it was worth it.

Thank you team! You guys inspire me and I can't wait to see what God does through you and in you this next year!

Peace.