The Venue Online Forums

Guess we should start this one up again.

I started coming about a year ago.  I felt that God was urging me to visit Grace and I found out that they had a "young adults" ministry.  I was very excited since I didn't know anyone in Houston yet.  I came and everyone was so wonderful and friendly; they invited me out to eat and I got to know everyone.  They even called me to go hang out and check up on me :)  I'd never met christians who were so genuine and truly cared about me.  I know this is starting to sound like some kind of paid advertising  :P but it's true I promise!!  God has blessed me and I love my Venue family  :-*

This is probably better off in the Venue Mondays forum ... :)

Thanks :)  I realized that after I posted it!

what brought me to Venue?


umm...my truck and about 1/4 tank of gas  (http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/heymikeramon/smilies/flail2.gif)










ok, I admit that was horrible.

Alright!  That's it!  I will be joining Mona on the "small acts of violence" campaign the next time I see you! :o (closest to crazy eye that I could get)

I ain't scurred!  Ibu's got my back!

You're on your own, buddy.

haha!! see that; Ibu does NOT have your back.  you're going down buddy....down!

(http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b329/heymikeramon/smilies/angry.gif)

 ;D  HAHAHAHAHAHA!    On your OWN buddy......and im learning so kung foo pai.....tai kwon chicken.....or just some plain kickin   ;)

Haha! ;D
You crazy people!

Well...I started coming when it first came about in 2004 & Adam Nyholt led the services on Sunday nights...then Saturday nights. Left after several months of going & came back in June 2006 to find Pastor Scott leading the services & seeing that it had grown sooo very much!
Change happened....and it was a very good change.  :)

I lived in Dallas and went on a ski trip to Colorado. While there, I met some people in Portico and got plugged in there. So, long story short, I am an exportican.

EXPORTICAN = me too :)

Hi!  How are you?

I am BLESSED!!  THANKS for asking!!  ;D

WONDERFUL!!  Have you been to Venue?  I don't think we've met but I've missed a bit lately due to school.

Actually I am there pretty much every week but I am kinda tough to spot since I sit in a little room behind the big screen on the left of the stage...lol

I help out with media/video...

 8)

haha....I'm actually surprised we haven't me then since I used to be up there all the time during the day helping with stuff :)  How long have you been with Grace or do you just volunteer for Venue?

We've never met before either!  :-\

I was invited to the Venue by a friend two weeks ago. I Loved the music, the singing and the message. its good to be surrounded by people who share the same Belief and want to be closer to Jesus. I look forward to coming back every week.
Thank you so much!
~Shaheed

you better not be talkin' about me b/c I have a pic with both of us in it at Tookies!!

OMG! That was you!

Yay!!  We're excited to have you coming and hope to meet you soon :)  Nothing like being surrounded by family.

Gotta love friends who invite you to Venue

mona's slipping  :-\
she used to be the official welcome wagon on the message boards..... :)
maybe mike will start doing it to help his post count. ;)

Michael, this had better be a joke!!  YOU SAT RIGHT NEXT TO ME, HELD A CONVERSATION WITH ME, SHARED ONION RINGS, AND TOOK A PIC WITH ME!!!  What the crap??!!!

Hehe...he does seem a bit post count crazy!

umm...in case you didn't know, I'm The Incredible Mike Ramon.  I meet a lot of people; I'm kind of a big deal  LOL




of course I remember dorkbomb!  

LOL!  This is SO a line from Talladega Nights  ;D

I'm not a Will Ferral fan.

WHAT??!!!  Oh, now YOU lost some cool points :(

Oh no...who have I missed? I thought I caught the new ppl I didnt know....if I am slipping let me know quick  ;)

Welcome to whoever I missed...its so great to have you....HUGS

Yea I know, just like the slogan, ....can't wait for Monday! Hahaha, I am the same way

So it turns out my friend who invited me to the Venue has only been coming to the Venue since Jan. I can't wait till tomorrow night

Wow..I didn't know you've been going to Grace that long or that you were at Venue! :o
You must have really been in hiding!
I'm so glad that you've been able to come back & that I've met you.
You've been such a blessing to my life, are always so caring & there when I need a helping hand.
I love you girl! :-*

Well then again I was a few pounds lighter (because I was on so many meds) and I had long hair!

Haven't you seen my myspace pics!

Oh know I miss my old hair. :'( The good thing is this time it will be nice and healthy and I won't fry it with so much hair dye. Why in the world did I get on this subject.  :D

hhmm..you have a point there.  :)
I love your new hair Jo!

Have I actually shared with you my testimony?

No I haven't.
Would love to hear it though.
We should get lunch or something sometime...I don't think I spend as much time with you as I should!
You're awesome!

wow, you really must have been hiding!  I am so happy to have met you now though!  You seem to be a really sweet, genuine person :)  with an awesome testimony.

i <3 my johanna  ;)

I think we should get together. But let me check my schedule  ;)
If your not doing anything next Monday I don't work and we can hang out prior to Venue

No one brought me to Venue, Venue was brought to me.

All joking aside, I've been there since the very beggining.  I have pictures of the very very very first venue EVER.  In the gym...with the couches... and the 30 or so people.

I'm not going to say that I like the New Venue better... they each served their purpose.  I loved the chill Venue but I also love the hyped-up Venue.  Sometimes, I wish, we would have a chill service though.  It's so easy to get wrapped up and miss what the message and the music is trying to say.

once again....I will take this moment to remind everyone of Sam's suggestion almost a year ago.

Old school revival complete with tent and 1 amp ;P.....member leash?

well.....God has put on my heart to plan a gospel night....so if we dont have it at venue...hey...maybe we will just go back under the bridge....I miss tent revivals......

What would a gospel night look like? It sounds like a great way to reach people.

well...its been a long time since i have participated in one but....people who want to sing pick their song or two or whatever and get em ready.....then we just sing...and its also fun cause you are getting wide variety of people instead of the same praise team. I went to one once that was held under a tent and they had big fans in the back and there were no screens just the singers and the guys with their guitars or the soundtrack to the song playing....but I have also sang with BAGMA before and thats usually a bigger deal. Either way....God moves and its wonderful.
Plus its some of the older songs that a lot of us grew up on as well as some new gospel music and not really as much of the contemporary new stuff.

Ooh...get me a piano and let's get our praise on!

amen!!!

I cant wait to be there. Piano eh, i really wish i was talented to play a musical instrument.

do re mi fa ti la .....la ..... la...... ???
i still cant hit that note  :P
but i am ready to get my sing on  8)

I like that attitude :)

tent revivals?
huh?

I remember when I was younger and my mom would take me to the tent revivals at our church. It was definetly an experience. You could definetly feel the presence of God.

Ya'llllll    Im getting excited!!!!  I am praying Gods favor and this thing will be put together  :)

Hopefully you can make it to Venue one of these Mondays.  :)

YES!!! Me too ;P

I've found myself there so many times.  Usually, it's me trying to handle everything instead of giving it to Him or slacking on my prayer time.  You find that your spirit just gets dry and thirsty like a desert.  Thank goodness He is always there to welcome us back when we come to ourselves!  I love my Jesus :)

I think we all feel like this sometimes. I have found myself feeling this way and it is great to know that he is alway there waiting for me with open arms.  :)

cant be a venue function without food!   :P

 ;D ;D

we should never have to feel alone when we have such an awesome GOD that has supplied us with his sons and daughters to share our pains, to laugh at our jokes, to comfort our sorrows, and to embrace our joy.   8)

the venue maybe too far to come on a monday night for you, but keep an open eye.  you never know when we may be at a function near you.  we love to add to the family   :)

Anybody who is reading this and thinks they live too far.....................

Post a thread asking if anyone in your area goes to Venue.............carpooling rocks!
We have ppl from as far south and Galv county.....

And north as far as Spring/Humble...

now Im dyslexic so dont which direction these towns are but we have
Katy....Sugarland......Woodlands.....Mem City......

and those are just a few.....

TJ threatened me with bodily harm, after spamming my e-mail box to death, if I didn't go to Venue to meet the Venue 500 goal.

I actually hadn't planned on going to Venue (even though TJ can be very persuasive) but Mona was the person who made me curious about it.
Thanks Mona! I went last week and get something really good out of it. I needed it. :)

That is SO awesome!!  We are glad to have you  :)

Ditto.   :D

Yay!!!! I did??!??!!  When where and how did that happen? Im guessing it was online...LOL

i am one of the original members of the venue i have been going since clint an emily start this  3 years ago in a house that they lived in to tell you the truth the venue start of as a small group .
bart

I started coming to the Venue back in March. My friend invited me to come with her. The first couple of times she invited me I wasn't able to go because for some reason  every time she invited I had to babysit on Mondays, which i don't normally do. Anyhow, FINALLY I was able to come with her. I'm not gonna lie I was a little overwhelmed the first time I went and wasn't sure how I felt about Venue. I was raised Catholic all my life and wasn't use to all that worship and praise that we do at Venue.  A few weeks later my friend invited me back for my birthday. So we went and I loved it. I came home and downloaded all the podcasts I could find on I-Tunes and I think I've only missed 2 Mondays since April...one due to the rain and one because I had planned a vacation before I started going to Venue and chose one of my days away as a Monday. Next year I'll make sure I'm not gone on a Monday. I now love Venue and the things that happen there. You people are awesome. I am so blessed to have met so many wonderful people!

That's AWESOME Ida!!  We are so happy to have you join the family :)  And I'm sure a number of people can relate to your story if they have come from a "quieter" faith or none at all.  Hopefully that will encourage people to try out a different kind of worship style.  I always enjoy visiting other churches and learning something new from them  ;)

what brought us to the venue?

we are members of Grace and always heard them talking about the young adult ministry on mondays.  every time we looked at inserts about the venue, it said for 20 somethings.

one day while online, i noticed that it said up to mid 30's.   i figured that we would go before they came to their senses and started carding the old people at the door.  that was somewhere around summer/fall 06 during the jack series.  we have only missed 2 services since then and we are constantly bringing family members to enjoy the worship and the message that the venue does like no one else 8)

I was looking for a new church home.  I really like the band style of music and I really need a pastor who preaches with passion.  I also wanted a church that wasn't afraid to offend people by preaching the word of God and talking about Jesus.  So many churches are going the 'seeker' route and trying not to offend new comers with talking less about the deep stuff, not having crosses, not taking out your Bibles, etc...and I am tired of that.  I am all for seekers coming to church but I want them to stand up for Christ.

Anyway, part of my job as a fire chaplain is working with the families and departments after a firefighter dies in the line of duty.  Almost three years ago, Baytown Fire Department lost a firefighter in a bad fire during Christmas week.  The family wanted to have his funeral on Christmas Eve and we were really worried about finding a church that would 1) be able to hold the number of firefighters that would come and 2) be willing to have the funeral on Christmas Eve which is a busy time for churches. So I contacted Grace and they were so awesome and just opened their arms wide open to us.  They were willing to do so much for this family and the firefighters.  I was always impressed by their graciousness and I knew one day I would come back to check them out.

It's taken me awhile to start breaking away from my other church but the timing has been perfect.  We started looking at Grace over the past couple of months and decide The Venue was the place for us to start.  I listened to one of Scott's messages online and knew he was the type of pastor I was looking for.

So far I have been coming for 4 weeks and my husband 2 weeks.  We both love it!

Thank u Jesus

m and my wife started at the venue about a year ago, the peolpe at the venue are welcoming and the message is truthful.  i mostly like the way that everything is centered around the bible.

we are happy to have you and your husband join us and we look forward to benefit of your strength in CHRIST

How long has the Venue been taking place?  Or should I say, how long have I been missing out on this great service? 

the venue been around for about three years to tell you the truth wendy . it start of as a home group which adam an kasey start an to tell you the truth God opened a door in the church for a college an single group an that when clint an emily took over as the head leaders they left the church an adam an kasey still where the backup leaders . today the venu is one of houston biggest college an single hang out an it all God baby.
bart
P.s i have been going since venue start an a little hint an how Scott came about it has to do with some ppl like me an Vic an adam asking Scott alot of time through out the years to come an be a guest speacker at Grace . An God lead Scott to Grace.

My older brother (Jeremy Foster) invited my younger brother (Stephen) and me about three or four weeks ago. Since we didn't have a church that we were yet satisfied with, we decided to attend. Stephen is so taken with the church that he decided to join a couple weeks ago. I'm also considering joining, as well.

Yeah that was indeed something God allowed, because we Porticans sure weren't going to let Scott go :P

Well I had been hearing great things of The Venue and two Monday’s ago I said to myself I am going, dragged a friend of mines with me and I do not plan to miss any more Mondays unless I really really have to.  My predicament now, is that I get out of class right at 7 and driving from downtown to church takes me about 20 mins :( so that means that I will be coming late and partially missing the worship, but I am praying that the teacher lets us out earlier at least on Monday's hehehe ;D (is it bad to pray for that?? )

- Claudia

we will pray with you 0:)

I don't think that's bad to pray for...lol. God knows that you are praying not to get out of class for any other reason than to be able to worship Him.

i say invite the teacher O0  if that doesnt work   :-)_|!

Cool then keep the prayers coming lol

hehe  you know what that is not a bad Idea !!! thanks for the suggestion ! you are so silly ! lol

Hope to meet you at Venue Claudia!  O0

I know johanna !! i hope to meet u soon, too, i have been on the lookout to see if i recognize u lol but then again i am pretty blind lol so yea :P

wellcome claudia an hope you enjoyed the venue.
bartman an to tell u the truth invite the whole class a a field trip

A friend told me about the Venue a while back.  And I haven't been there to visit in months because I've been so caught up in my own little church- lots to do in little churches, ya know.:)  But I miss the atmosphere and I'll be coming around soon, I'm sure.

hopin' you guys are wonderful!
-martha

wellcome martha ,
an hope to meet you soon may God bless you in all you do.
Bart

Wanting to be in the company of other young adults who were desperate to see the move of God.

welcome shanta! hope to meet you some time. i'm a greeter at venue, i usually greet by the door so if you see me come by and say hi. =)

Ida you have met me already. We meet every Monday that I am there. If I knew how to put up my picture at this forum you would know who I am.  :grin:

What brought me here? Well thats a good question. I'm Carlos and I just moved to Pasadena and well I dont have any friends. I use to attend church but I started to lose interest and well its one of thoes things that you get use to it. I hope I can make it out next monday and hopefully meet yall.

 Carlos, we look forward to having you come out to Venue. I'm one of the greeters so if you see me feel free to say hi. God does great things at Venue and I hope that you will enjoy Venue.

No friends?  Well you've come to the right place  :)  We can't wait to meet you!

Can't wait to meet you Carlos! You came to the right place for friends.

hope to see you soon Carlos.

the Venue is a great place to hear awesone worship music (http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/cantinabandf.gif) (http://www.millan.net), a great message from Pastor Scott (http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/yoda1.gif) (http://www.millan.net) and get a chance to meet some GODLY friends after service over dinner (http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/mocantina.gif) (http://www.millan.net).  all this before you gas up and go home (http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/gaspump.gif) (http://www.millan.net)


as you can tell, i havent had a chance to use the star wars icons lately :P

lol....j, you're too funny.

That was one of the best services I have ever been too. Last night has changed my life  :)When I said I didnt have any friends I do but not on this side of town. LOL Talk to yall later God Bless

My wife Toni and I & two close friends all attended the Big Daddy Weave consert in League City. That's where I ran in to Patrick Jones. I met patrick only one time at the SCCA autocross. We both had to pick up cones from the same corner. So as we worked we talked for about an hour. I reconized him at the concert and walked up to him and re-introduced myself to him and his wife. They asked us what church we go to and my wife and I just looked at each other. It had been a long time since we went to church together. So they invited us to The Venue. We just got married in September and I have been trying to get close to God and be a good husband. I wanted to start things off right. I thank Patrick every time I see him for inviting us. We have been attending every Monday for the last five weeks. As well as the two close friends that were at the concert with us. I have to say, I have found my home. I can't wait till Monday!

Praise God Jason!  So glad you and your wife are coming!  God is doing big things here!! :)

Welcome Jason!  we are always happy to hear that a simple invitation can help someone get closer to GOD.  we look forward to hearing how the HOLY SPIRIRT will work in your life.

that is awesome Jason..welcome  :grin: continue to seek God!!

Thanks everyone! You people are too kind and I can't wait to meet yall in person. Please, if you see me and my wife stop me and introduce yourself.

I've been going to Grace on and off for about 2 years now. Always interested in The Venue, but never quite ready to attend. I finally went last Monday. It was great! I've been seeking companionship for quite a while. Unfortunately, I usually look in the wrong places. So, for once, I decided to look in the right place. Looking forward to next Monday, and, I'm hoping I'll be brave enough to go to dinner tomorrow night.

heather we are glad that you were able to conquer your fear and join us at D48.  it was nice to meet you and we hope to see you around more frequently.  we look forward to learning some things from you and we hope that we are able to enlighten you also. O0

Hi Heather! Hope you've been back to Venue since this post. I'm one of the greeters there, so if you come please introduce yourself if I do not catch you. My name is Ida & I'd be glad to meet you. I love it when Venue gets new people!

whoa... :o the purple lady has surfaced

yes, yes i have and i'm still writing in purple whenever possible  O0 :grin: