aqua-esque

Last night we "aquafied" in the warehouse. As I blogged yesterday, none of us involved had any clue whatsoever as to what to expect (turn-out wise) at the first-ever Aqua.

Overall, I think the night exceeded expectations. I know you're wondering about attendance: 65 total--which I think is a solid beginning. We totally expect momentum to build and the intensity to increase.

I met a lot of new faces. I love meeting new people. I think Aqua makes it easy to do that.

The band was flat-out awesome. Benjamin and his crew did a bang-up job of leading us into worship. The thing that I like about them is that they're not coming to Aqua to "do a show." They're coming to Aqua to worship and to lead those of us who attend into passionate, heartfelt worship of our Creator. Very cool.

Dave D'Angelo did a tremendous job setting the tone for where we want to take Aqua. He spoke from John 7:37-38 (Aqua's theme verses) and challenged us all to be the kind of people from whom living water flows. His talk was very provocative (provocative was the word of the night). His biggest scud: "I need Jesus RIGHT NOW!" (I'm going to check in to the possibility of getting the Aqua messages online...I'll keep you posted).

I'm most pleased with just the way the whole night came off. Basically without a hitch. Transitions were smooth. The music was great. And we feel like people connected to God and to each other.

The credit all goes to: #1. God. Apart from him we can do nothing. With him all things are possible. #2. Our amazing Aqua volunteers. They have taken ownership of Aqua and that makes all the difference. #3. the NewPointe staff. They're completely behind the vision of Aqua. Thanks guys.

Best of all, I feel like we were very prepared for Aqua. I just feel like we were ready to pull of a great experience...and I feel like we did. Our team didn't leave things to chance. Every detail was covered from sound to lighting to PowerPoint to greeting to the cafe to the setup and tear down and everything in between.

Everyone I talked to was glad they came. I'm already looking forward to the next one (April 10).

Man, I can't wait to see what God is going to do in and through Aqua.