SEND YOUR ANONYMOUS PRAYERS - Our new series of messages for July is on prayer. Our aim is to help you communicate with God more meaningfully and honestly. To succeed in that goal, it would help to know what you’re praying these days. So, would you send some of your current prayers - anonymously - to a website that we have set up for this purpose? Whether your prayers are filled with praise or anger or fear or loneliness or thanksgiving, just send some of them to www.7729.org. They are strictly anonymous, so you can be 100% honest with yourself and with God.

INCITE - SUMMER BLOWOUT
This Wednesday night, July 25th, all middle school and high school students are invited to Summer Blowout at Warren Park for food, fun, and games. Come join us from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, and don’t forget to bring your friends!

PTCC NIGHT OUT
Everyone is invited to join the fun at the PTCC NIGHT OUT on Sunday, July 29 from 5-8PM at the Lakes Tennis Academy (4000 Legacy Drive in Frisco). The evening will include catered food, fun (Lifeguard-monitored swimming, tennis, inflatables, & family games to name a few), and great fellowship! The cost is $5 per person, $15 max per family. No advance tickets sold. Pay at the door. Come out and meet hundreds of new friends from PTCC!

“LEAD TEN” - Our 1st Annual Small Group Leader Training Dinner
On Friday, August 3rd our small group leaders from women’s, men’s, life groups and youth ministry will join together for a special night of training and celebration.
Mark your calendars for 7PM at the PTCC building for this special event in which we learn the importance of “Lead Ten”. Childcare is available. Signup at the Yes! table.

WOMEN’S RETREAT IS NOW FULL!
We have hit capacity on our women’s retreat on August 17-18th. We can no longer take any additional signups, but will have a wait list at the Yes! table if anyone were to cancel. If anyone becomes aware that they cannot attend, please send an email to womens@prestontrail.org as soon as possible. This will allow us to offer the spot to another woman on the wait list.

CALLING ALL COACHES!
The kids of Aceh, Indonesia need your help! Compassion Frisco is seeking volunteers to go to Indonesia in June 2008 and we need coaches! Your level of expertise can be from novice to professional - we just need you! For more info, join us on Sunday, August 12 at 12:30 PM at the home of Ron and Paulette Beaty, 7865 Raintree Way for a potluck lunch and an informational session. Sign-up at the Yes! Table if you are interested in attending the meeting.

PARTNERSHIP
Take the next step in your commitment to God and to PTCC by becoming a partner, our membership program. Partnership focuses on five biblical principles that we call the 5Gs: Grace, Growth, Groups, Gifts and Good Stewardship. You may complete the self-directed Bible Study found on our website or you may attend our next partnership class July 15 from 9:30 AM - Noon at the PTCC building. Sign up at the Yes! Table today!

ONLINE GIVING
Make your life simpler by automating your giving. Follow the easy directions at www.prestontrail.org to setup for debit or credit card for regular giving and dream big donations. All transactions are secure and will appear on your regular statement.

LIFE GROUPS
Sign up at the Information Table or email info@prestontrail.org and get involved in a group!

A Prayerful Search

As most of you are now aware, Rod Padgett, our Director of Worship and Arts, resigned his position for personal reasons on June 30.  We were all saddened by this development, but trust that God is leading Rod and his family into the best future possible.  It is always difficult to lose a leader, a co-worker, or a friend.  Quite understandably, many of us are going through a grieving process as we get used to the idea that he will no longer be leading us in our Weekend Services.  I know that Rod, Jamie and the girls will continue to covet your prayers as do Paul and I and the Worship Team as we carry on in this transition period.

Speaking of the transition period, I wanted to bring you up to date on how we are planning to move through the interim period.  One of Rod’s strengths was his ability to gather gifted people.  As a result, we have a wonderful group of volunteers who have stepped up to fill in the gaps that his absence creates.  Cameron and Sloan Hedrick and Laura Hairston will be leading us on Sundays for the next couple of months.  Others have volunteered to work with the band and the creative planning process so that we won’t miss a beat in our effort to help people find Christ through our Weekend Services.  In the future we may even invite some guest worship leaders to join us on occasion to get a feel for how other worship leaders—well, lead.

As for finding the person who will become our next Director of Worship and the Arts, Paul and I have already begun that process.  To keep you informed I wanted to let you know the three major traits we will be looking for in our search:

1. Character—it is imperative that our worship leader be a fully devoted follower of Christ.  Every aspect of his/her character needs to be one of consistency and integrity.  In a world absent of a moral compass, we need our key leaders to be people that we can trust fully to manage their life in a Christ-like fashion.

2. Competence—we have set a high bar for excellence in music and creativity.  Our new director must have the music and creative programming skills necessary to lead our teams to create services that are engaging and relevant to our community.  We will be looking for someone who has a proven track record in both of these areas.

3. Chemistry—one of the values that we have come to appreciate more and more is the need for chemistry.  So much of what we do is done in teams.  The new director will have to fit relationally into the creative arts family we have in place.  As we have come to believe—life is too short not to work with people who give you a charge every time you are with them.

I know that many of you are already praying that God will lead us to just the right person to lead us in the future.  As you do, remember these three areas and ask that God will grace us with an incredible new leader.  He will be faithful!

Don’t miss this Sunday.  Paul concludes the series 7729: Connecting to God Whenever.  This week he’ll be helping us understand how to pray when we are lonely.  I want to thank all of you who have shared your anonymous prayer requests.  First, Paul and I have joined you in those prayers and asked God to answer them on your behalves.  Second, we have been humbled by the many struggles that our people cope with on a regular basis.  Reading them has inspired us to redouble our efforts to lead and pastor this great church with the passion and love of Christ.  We are blessed to be with you on this journey of faith!

See you Sunday!

Jim    

ONLINE GIVING
Make your life simpler by automating your giving. Follow the easy directions at www.prestontrail.org to setup for debit or credit card for regular giving and dream big donations. All transactions are secure and will appear on your regular statement.

Read previous Trail Notes here

LISTEN! Preston Trail Podcast
PTCC worship messages are available by subscription to our podcast or for listening on our website. So, if you missed a service, or want to share one with a friend go here and take a listen.
You will have the option of downloading and listening to them on your computer or even subscribe here (or press the iTunes image on the right) to have them come to your computer automatically each time one is added - then play them on your computer or your iPod while you're exercising or driving.

Calendar at a glance...

July 22 Life Group Connection 10:35 - 11:05

July 29th PTCC Night Out 5-8PM, Lakes Tennis Academy

Aug. 12 Discover Preston Trail - 11:00 Corner office

Aug. 17 - 18 Women's Retreat

September 23rd Partnership Class 9:00 AM - Noon, Corner Office