Do you ever feel like you don't belong? Maybe you feel you have gifts and talents that have not been used yet; or are interested in making new friends and being a part of a family.

Touchstone Christian Fellowship is a new church located in Carmichael, off Auburn Boulevard, a few exits past the Arden Fair Mall. Just six years into their journey, and they have already made a huge impact on the community. From their Sunday morning family services, to kids puppet shows at the California State Fair, and new Saturday night college student-focused worship services; they are reaching the Sacramento area in a whole new way.

Last Thursday, Touchstone had one of their smaller board meetings involving some of the leaders in the church: Jeff Miles; Head Pastor, Steve Bunnell; Youth Pastor, Sharon Miles; Womens Ministry Coordinator and Shirley Bunnell; Worship Leader. The church holds large board meetings that include seven members, four times a year. They also hold smaller board meetings that are weekly to help organize, facilitate and run things during the time in between. These members have been extensively prayed over, have high career expertise, good people skills, and represent the church family as a whole said Steve Bunnell.

One of the main focuses of the most recent meeting held, was how to get people invited to the new service on Saturday nights. The group discussed media for displaying the songs, fliers and how to portray a more laid back atmosphere.

“The goal is not to win people over, its to show people love. Its that plain and simple, and its easy to lose sight of that in all the planning and stress sometimes” said Sharon Miles, as they discussed the upcoming event.

“We want this service focused mainly on a younger crowd, but we don't want anyone to feel unwelcome either,” said Jeff Miles regarding their efforts to make the night more focused on college-age students.

Shirley Bunnell also said that because of the more contemporary sounding music, that will be played much louder then usual, will bring in a younger crowd on its own. Many of their meetings are spent this way, figuring out how to make people excited about new ideas.

Another issue talked about, was getting together more craft tender volunteers for the next puppet show that Touchstone Tales Theater will be having at Gibbins Park.

“I think both the adults and the kids get a good laugh at the shows you know? The people watching enjoy it, and the people working it enjoy it too,” said Steve Bunnell.

The point of these meetings are to discuss areas that need to be worked on, where teamwork needs to be highlighted more and to really figure out what it is that will touch the community most effectively, according to Jeff Miles.

Currently, the two main services offered by the church are Sunday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m. They try to have a focus age group and different overall vibe for each one. There are also extra volunteer opportunities or fun activities, such as: camps, movie nights, book studies, bike rides and picnic days that the church plans frequently.

As the meeting came to a close in prayer Sharon Miles said, “I just hope that when people arrive on Saturday or whatever thing we are doing, they see how much we care about our jobs, but that even more then that, we just care about them.”

More info @ touchstonecf.org

Disclosure: Taylor Miles is daughter of Head Pastor, Jeff Miles & Womens Ministry Coordinator, Sharon Miles and a worship leader at Touchstone Christian Fellowship