In this week’s webisode, director Shane Sooter shares his personal insights on the directing process.

Our goal is to now to host small groups a couple times a month and have more tours where we can begin to pour into people lives on a personal level.

If you would like more information on how your small group can have a personalized tour of our studios please call Cibby at 245.2425.

We are thrilled to exclusively offer The Easter Experience on our own online store. The series will not be available in stores for a few weeks, but you can get it here NOW! The Easter Experience is a DVD-driven small group study that makes Easter more than a holiday at your church. It is a spiritual experience that has the power to change ever member in your small group. The Easter Experience brings the passion and resurrection of Jesus to life through dramatic storytelling and challenging teaching.

The Church Kit is $99.99. This kit includes…

~6 Easter Experience Episodes
~Church service materials (such as, a Good Friday service, 3 music videos for worship, a 3 minute countdown & sermon bumpers)
~Hardcopy of Leaders Guide, Participants Guide & Ministry Devotional
~Bonus How To Videos
~Promotional Trailers
~Data Disk for Promotional Materials and Rewritable Files Publicity
~Sermons
~And MORE!!!

If you are an individual who wants the video for your personal use the Bible Study Kit is for you. This kit provides great materials for old groups as well as those just formed for this experience. Seasoned leaders and those new to leading a group will be aided by these pieces:

The Bible Study Kit is $39.99. This kit includes…

~6 Easter Experience Episodes
~Hardcopy of Leaders Guide
~Bonus Videos
~Trailers
~How to run a small group video
~3 worship videos
~Behind the scenes video.
~And MORE!!!

Be sure to visit the new www.easterexperience.com to learn more about the series and how you can begin the journey!

The much anticipated release of The Easter Experience is finally here. It has brought with it several new and exciting ventures for the series. One of these ventures is the debut of the series on the Trinity Broadcasting Network set for February 18th, 2009 at 9:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. H2O has already had a very successful run on TBN since May of 2008 and we hope The Easter Experience will have as great of impact as its predecessor. The series has already proved itself to be a powerful experience, not only as a dramatic depiction of the last days of Jesus, but also as challenging lessons in every-day questions such as “Does my life have a purpose?” and “Can my life change?”
TBN will also be showing a “Making of the Easter Experience” episode on April 15th which should be especially entertaining for everyone who helped us on this project. We hope that both the quality of the film as well as the moving content of the series truly make an impression on those watching it air on TBN – so tune in!

If you are interested in more information about The Easter Experience or if you would like to purchase the series, please visit www.easterexperience.com

We are thrilled to announce the premiere of The Easter Experience on February 8th, 2008 at The Grand Convention Center in New Albany, Indiana from 2:00-6:00pm. Everyone is welcome to come and go as they please and enjoy free food. The Easter Experience is a unique, video-driven small group study that brings the passion and resurrection of Jesus to life through dramatic storytelling and challenging teaching. This special DVD study project and the corresponding participant’s guide were created to help families and their communities experience the resurrection message that is celebrated each Easter holiday, in a fresh new way.

The Easter Experience consists of six 20-minute episodes, with leader’s guides, participant’s guides, and leader training resources. Each episode touches on topics such as how people are searching for a purpose, how everyone can have a fresh start in Christ, how Jesus identifies with people in their times of suffering, how God has a plan for every person’s life, how the redemption story applies to everyone, and how hope is alive now that Jesus is resurrected.

“It is our prayer that The Easter Experience will do for families, small groups and churches everywhere, what ‘The Passion of the Christ’ did for moviegoers,” says Shane Sooter, the artistic director and president of City on a Hill Productions. Sooter, who comes from an acting background and portrays Jesus Christ in the video experience, goes on to say that “with passionate acting, high quality video presentations, and impactful teachings and messages The Easter Experience can’t help but inspire you. And it’s not only for Easter as the resurrection message of Christ’s love for us is one we should celebrate year-round.”

Outside of offering a visually engaging experience of the resurrection story, key components to the episodes are powerful lessons lead by Kyle Idleman, the teaching minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY.

“The teaching segments basically guide users through each episode’s overall message. These sessions help them to delve deeper into the personal application of: what if what happened then changes everything now?”, notes Idleman. “Plus although geared towards small groups and families, the material is so engaging and easy to follow that it can work for personal study too.”

Can’t wait to see you there!!!

www.easterexperience.com

And so it is with me! Being moved (literally – across states) by the Spirit was new to me, yet a year ago that is exactly what I did. I set off on this journey to follow a call to work at City on a Hill, and it has been quite the adventure. It was during this time, when I thought I had made this huge “leap of faith” that I began to sense God opening me up to even more faith-filled ideas, potentials, and possibilities that I would have never considered before. He has shown me the value of taking risks, as well as creating within me a discontent for staying with the safe choices.

While this past year continually pulled me out of my comfort zone as far as relocating, depending on Him and His plan for my provision, and stepping out to make new friends, I have stayed safe in my career choice of being an administrative assistant. No doubt, He has gifted me administratively, but this year He has also built in me a desire to be more hands on as I work. Therefore, at the end of this year I will be leaving City on a Hill, heading back to Texas (destination Dallas), and earning an alternative teaching certificate. Can’t get much more hands on than teaching! It all feels very crazy to me, as I am not one to change jobs (much less careers!) in just a year’s time. And yet it feels like it’s the next step in God’s adventure for me. City on a Hill still holds a very special place in my heart and life, and I will continue to be an avid supporter and cheerleader for them as they continue to grow. Even so, I continue to covet your prayers. I’m sure becoming a teacher will stretch me in ways that I can only imagine now!

Kristy Rundle

There is a desperate need for Christian young people today to know that they are called not to a quiet, well-behaved faith, but to a bold, lifelong adventure with God.  So many people today don’t feel any sense of calling on their lives at all – let alone know to what they are being called. Why is that?  Perhaps we as parents, ministers, and youth leaders have not effectively cast that vision for them.  This generation of youth spend their lives surrounded by music, movies, television, and internet.  If we are going to give them a  call to action, perhaps it should come in the language to which they are most attuned  – visual media.

So what would it look like for this generation to hear the calling of God on their lives, and follow it into deep adventure in Christ?  What would the impact be if they all realized that they are missionaries to a hurting world?  This is the vision that Patrick, Caleb and Shepherd are pursuing. As they follow Jesus around the world in a remarkable faith journey, City on a Hill will be share their story by creating a film series with study materials designed to shed a compelling light on the call to divine adventure.  In this 6-episode series, youth will be able to see a first-hand account of lives fully lived for Christ, and be challenged to trust God for the same calling in their own lives.

While still under development, we believe the series may be structured like this:

Episode 1 / Journey

This episode introduces the three travelers, and explores their individual callings and perceptions about the upcoming adventure.

Episode 2 / “Guest equals God”

This episode, named after a popular Nepali phrase, exposes the obsessive self-focus of our society, compared to the others-centered society of Nepal and the early church.

Episode 3 / Consumerism

This episode finds us between two vastly different ways of life. Would you be willing to give up your comfort for the sake of being the gospel?

Episode 4 / Pani

Pani means water in Nepali. Here we discuss the most basic of issues in a country full of poverty, and see in contrast the dangers of complacency we face in the midst of our comfort.

Episode 5 / Trafficked

In this episode the travelers confront the darkest of issues: the horrors of human trafficking.  In doing so, they come face to face with the reality of evil, the depth of human suffering, and the need for people of God to ACT.

Episode 6 / Epilogue

In this episode the travelers debrief and depart. Returning to an ordinary life is surprisingly extraordinary.

I believe this series will be incredible tool, inspiring young people to live boldly for God, to trust him with the adventure that is the life of faith.  You can learn more and get involved by visiting: journeynepal.org

Shane Sooter
Artistic Director/President

The evening was truly wonderful.  Full with great food, silent & live auctions as well as a presentation that truly spoke of our ministry in a powerful way.  Thank you to everyone who participated and made the evening memorable and fantastic!
Here is a small sample of the FUN!!!…

Wrangling together silent and live auction items, as well as producing a fun, seamless evening with a great presentation is tough.  But each year, God makes the event better than the year before…and I believe that He will do this yet again.

This my 4th year doing the event and I’m especially excited and grateful for this party.  It has honestly been a group effort.  We have talked and toiled over the presentation, program and decor.  We are all excited, all hopeful, and mostly we are grateful.

I know that for some, 5 years hardly seems like a long time…but to us, it has been a miracle to see God move and shake in this ministry every single day.  To see us expand in numbers and grow in heart is truly miraculous.
God is good and for some reason His favor continues to bless us and keep us close to His heart and his beautifully creative spirit.  We are so humbled to celebrate this miracle tomorrow.
If you haven’t reserved your tickets, please CLICK HERE now, or call 502.245.2425.

5 Year Birthday Party!
The Olmsted
3701 Frankfort Ave.
Louisville, KY  40206