Archive for March, 2008

Off to Barnwell…

March 28, 2008 at 7:03 am · Filed under Intentional Churches, Ministry Moments

Well I’m heading out this morning to make the trip down to the thriving metropolis of Barnwell, SC for a very exciting D-Now Weekend.

I always love hanging out with Lee and his students because they have such an amazing story of God’s vision for (and now blessing on) their ministry. If you aren’t familiar with their story then all you really need to know is that Barnwell is a town with a population close to 1000 people (on a good day!) and now this student ministry has miraculously grown to over 500 students (THAT’S HALF THE TOWN PEOPLE!!!).

No, I’m really not exactly sure of all the numbers but regardless of how the statistics fall it is just really cool to see how this ministry is letting God use them to impact the largest numbers of their community, if not all ready reaching the entire community all together! I mean look, they just built this brand new multi million dollar state of the art student facility…  in BARNWELL, SC!!!

This is the town located between Kalamazoo and Bumfuckle. I mean you have to go to the middle of nowhere, take a sharp right, and pray to God in Heaven that you will actually get there! They have ONE stop light and the closest Walmart (what I call a necessary requirement for qualifying as a part of civilization) is over 20 miles away.

And the closest facility I can compare it to in this state is the one sitting up in Anderson with the name NEWSPRING across the front of it.

Anyway, I guess its time to stop being a Pastor and letting my stories get away from me. But at any rate, it is still amazing to see how God is using this ministry to change the lives of people who do happen to live in this area. They totally have this “DOMINATE” your city idea down pat.

And if you don’t believe me, then just check out what Furtick had to say about it when he took off down there.

Whatever the case, it should be a great weekend so please pray for us as we travel up and down the interstate during the next several days. And pray for the life change of the students we will be working with during the next several days as well.

It is really very humbling to know that I get the opportunity to play a just a very small part in continuing this ALL OUT REVIVAL that has broken lose in Barnwell, SC which just goes to show God can use you ANYWHERE to do ANYTHING at ANYTIME if only you will let Him do WHAT HE WANTS to do!!!

Have a great weekend everybody.

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Great Post Perry!

March 27, 2008 at 1:43 pm · Filed under Intentional Churches, Leadership 101, People of Influence

If ever you’ve questioned HOW NewSpring Church is growing at such a rapid rate, or perhaps even WHY God has chosen to bless this church in such a powerful way, well then you need to look no further than Perry Noble, their Senior Pastor.

And if ever you’ve wondered what it is that makes Perry… well, Perry; then you need to look no further than his heart which he shares every single day in posts like this.

If you haven’t read this yet then I’m telling you to go read it RIGHT NOW because, guys, he absolutely nails it!

It is a vision like this that absolutely drives a leader to do whatever God ask him to do in order to see that this vision is fulfilled and Perry Noble is just that leader who does whatever it takes to keep this vision entacked. And this is the REASON God is growing His church right here in Anderson, SC.

Thank you Perry for what you do. Thank you for being an uncompromising leader. Thank you for always keeping the vision God has given you at the forefront of everything you do. Thank you being audacious in your willingness to always take the necessary steps in making sure this vision is fulfilled. And thank you for always setting the example for young leaders like me looking to follow after men who have a vision just like you.

It is Pastors like you who are paving the way for new vision casters to lead their churches and it is Pastors like you who are Kingdom minded enough to keep pouring into Pastors coming behind you even when you have never personally met them yet.

Perry, I just want to say “Thank You.”

Thank you for being you. And thank you for being man enough to let God use you in such a mighty and powerful way! 

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People of Influence

March 27, 2008 at 9:13 am · Filed under Church Planting, Intentional Churches, Leadership 101, People of Influence

I have decided to start a new series of posts where I will be publicly sharing the people who are influencing me in incedible ways right now, especially when it comes to church planting and church leadership. I promise you, it will be very inspiring to learn of the ways that each of these men are stretching my thoughts and ideas for what the church can really do in order to reach the world for Christ. 

 Just a quick teaser, here are a few of the men who are challenging me each and every day, both in the church planting world and in the established church world.

Church Planting World:

JR Lee – Freedom Church. Acworth, GA

Chris Elrod – Compass Point Church. Lakeland, FL 

Tadd Grandstaff – Pine Ridge Church. Burlington, NC

Gary Lamb – Revolution Church. Canton, GA

Greg Oraham – Foothills Community Church. Seneca, SC

Shawn Lovejoy – Mountain Lake Church. Cumming, GA

Steven Furtick – Elevation Church. Charlotte, NC

Bil Cornelius – Bay Area Fellowship Church. Corpus Christi, TX

Mark Batterson - National Community Church. Washington, DC 

Perry Noble – NewSpring Church. Anderson, SC

Established Church World:

Chad Carroll – Clearmont Baptist Church. Westminster, SC

Matt Rogers – Cross Point Church. Clemson, SC 

Donnie Williams – First Wesleyan Church. Kings Mountain, NC

Randy Keasler – Westminster Baptist Church. Westminster, SC

Richard Ross – Southwestern Theological Seminary. Fort Worth, TX

Again, make sure to check back through the course of this series of posts to discover what I am learning through each of these leaders. I believe we can all learn something from each of these men that Jesus is using to impact their communities and the Kingdom of God!

As you well know, or hopefully will soon discover, all of these men are very different in their personalities, skill sets, approaches to ministry, and overall church environments. But it just goes to prove that God uses all different types of people to reach HIS world in all different types of ways. And I am learning from EVERY one of them! 

Also if you just so happen to be one of these men listed above, please know that I count it a TREMENDOUS honor and GREAT privilege to serve in ministry with you (and it is also very cool just to know you are reading this blog). So it is my goal to now honor you as we all continue to serve Christ in everything He calls us to do.

Thank you for the impact you are making in my life!

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Great Day Yesterday

March 26, 2008 at 12:41 pm · Filed under Church Planting, Ministry Moments

The meetings we had yesterday were AMAZING. God really showed up and He really showed out. We walked away totally blown away by what God is doing in our very midst and the potential of people He is showing us to reach.

As for the next couple of weeks… Well, they are going to absolutely INSANE as we continue to prepare for the mission God has given us to fulfill the vision He has placed in our hearts. So PLEASE continue to PRAY for us as keep making plans for the future!

We can’t wait to see what God is going to do next, and all we are trying to do right now is hold on for the ride of our lifetime…

 I promise more details to come later as we nail down specifics and as decisions become absolutely official. But what I can tell you is that we are completely sold out to the power and promise of this verse!

And let me be the 1st to tell you, IT IS A GREAT PLACE TO BE!!!

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Pray For Us Today

March 25, 2008 at 6:55 am · Filed under Church Planting, Ministry Moments, Upcoming Events

God is doing something very BIG in our lives today!

Please pray for us as we have a very important meeting in an area where we believe God is opening some really BIG doors for the future site of this new church…

I promise to deliver more details in the very NEAR future as God continues to show us His exact will for our lives and His church. We thank you for your love and support all the way through.

And we are so excited about the potential for this meeting that we can’t wait to get back so we can tell you ALL about it!!! 

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