The Big Idea:

"What A Ride!" If you have ever said that it's usually because you have just stepped off a mind altering roller coaster and are amped up on the experience or you're getting wound up looking at one and thinking about what it will be like to experience it. At some point in the ride your anticipation and expectation crossed momentarily into apprehension or fear - if even for a moment. It probably didn't happen on the smooth ride out of the station or the slow climb to the top of the first hill - those are easy. It probably came at the apex of the first hill when you were wondering, even for a split second - if this was a good idea and if it will turn out alright! And then came the fleeting moments of exhilarating panic at the careening corners and the lurches as you approached that next curve and were launched upward or outward in your seat. Those are a little harder to anticipate. But when it was all over - most likely you wanted to ride again because it was a thrill. It was an adventure. This year we're taking a thrill ride as we consider what it means to live with Jesus on His mission. We'd like it to be as gentle as the White Swan ride but following Jesus isn't like that. This year we're talking radical adventure together! And as one fellow rider said – when it's all said and done – I want enough breath in my lungs to say "What A Ride!"