On Monday night, one of Sycamore View Church of Christ’s Life Groups had the pleasure of serving a Monday night meal to the SOMA Group. On hand to fire up the grill and get things started were Doug Davenport, Randy Bryant, and Joe Ward who cooked 80 hamburgers for the group of college students as they begin their final studies of the Spring 2012 semester. In the kitchen preparing the hamburger “fixin’s” were Ernestene Blair, Denese Bryant, Carla Ward, Justin Ardrey, Charli Byrd, and Donna Davenport. The 6:00 pm serving time found Trace, Christopher, Alan, and several hungry students falling in line to fill their plates and head out to the patio to “chow down.” It was truly a pleasure to prepare a meal and provide homemade desserts to be enjoyed by this great group of young people who are a part of the Christian Student Center on the U of M Campus. Thanks to Jonathan Woodall and Rusty Woods for all they do at SOMA to encourage and support our young people!

—Donna Davenport

Dr. David Cox, member at White Station Church of Christ, was our speaker for the evening. Dr. Cox holds the rank of Professor in the Division of Public Administration and serves as Executive Assistant to the President at The University of Memphis. His research, outreach, and publications have centered on the effect of urban governance structures on the responsiveness, equity, and effectiveness of public policies and on strategies for inter-organizational collaboration. His work has been supported by over $7,000,000 in nationally competitive grants. Some of Dr. Cox's recent achievements include the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award, the National Outstanding Community Commitment Award, and the Certificate for Superior Accomplishment from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Dr. Cox spoke of his love for the city of Memphis and his passion for seeing students reach their full potential at the University of Memphis. He also offered high-praise for organizations like Soma and the work they are doing to "seek, spread, and share" Christ on our campus. 

There were around 300 supporters in attendance and several thousand dollars were raised through the dinner to help further the work of Soma. This attendance was double that of previous dinners and is the largest to date. Jonathan Woodall, Director of Soma, spoke about the unique opportunity of Saturday's dinner to help a ministry that will "literally bless generations of churches and communities for years to come."

The fundraiser is a BIG opportunity for members of Sycamore View to live out their mission — helping SOMA see Jesus. Please help us continue to show God’s love and support to these students in the Memphis area.

—Justin Ardrey (Director of Communication)

During the day, girls were blessed by keynote speaker Kayci Ross focusing on our theme, "Decide." Classes were taught by women from several different churches, we enjoyed (way too much!) great food, and all-in-all had a perfect day of girls hanging out with each other!  We were challenged this year to think big about the story that we're living out—how are we chasing after God? What is the story He's leading us toward? What decisions can we make that will allow our story to be even better? Praise God for the work he did at the Mid South Girls Conference and for the hundreds of stories that were shared and shaped that day.

—Jenna King (Youth Minister)

I can't begin to put into words how excited I am to see the new site up and running. It's my prayer that we will have a tool that will be used to share the love of Christ to our community of believers at Sycamore View and those outside our walls. Our new website will be more than an online brochure. We plan to engage our members and our visitors through our online presence. The community we foster with our website won't be a substitute for real, tangible community, but will act as a catalyst to enhance our communication. Our ability to effectively communicate the story of Jesus through this medium will directly affect the quality of life in the community around us.

— Justin Ardrey (Director of Communication)

Our new families are excited about their Sunday class, LIFE Group, and all the opportunities that are before them. Almost everyone I have met in our “welcome sessions” go on and on about their worship experience at Sycamore View. They were welcomed warmly in the lobby and halls. Someone in their class invited them to an event off-campus. Some have felt church family for the first time at this level. I met with a family a few months ago that expressed a deep desire to “raise their kids in a church where the Bible was preached and also where the make up of the members was as diverse as heaven.” 

Sycamore View’s leaders made the decision years ago to stay put in 38134. God has blessed us over and over for this decision. The new folks coming to here have heard this and want to investigate. When they get to our building and dig around, they find a group of believers as messed up as they are—just trying to hang on. All of us working together with a common mission “ Helping People See Jesus….” are finding Christian community and serving others. I often go up in our “crows nest” in the back of the auditorium on Sundays and look down on the crowd. You can get a birds-eye-view of the crowd. The first time I did this I was amazed at all the bald headed men we had! After I got past that, I was moved by the range in ages. We have young and old side by side. No one looks the same. The diversity…our mission….our worship…our stake in the community (Shelby Oaks School, Boys and Girls Club, Celebrate Recovery, Community Clothing Sales, Etc.) are drawing so many new faces to SV to join our present family. This is exciting to watch !! I am privileged to see and hear all of this unfold right in front of me. 

I have the best job here!!!

— Mark Taylor (Involvement Minister/Community Outreach)