simple church

Today, Gary and I went to talk the "Simple Church" model for discipleship with 9 other leaders in Canton. We shared our story and how it is working for us. I hope the others were able to glean a couple things from what we shared. Driving home, Gary and I talked about what it does to ignite the passion within us just to talk about what God is doing. If you have not read the book "Simple Church", I would say it is a must read for anyone desiring to see people discipled.

Tomorrow bright and early, my Keri and I fly out for a speaking engagement in Seattle. She has never seen the city and we have a few extra hours to tour the city. The goal is to find the "Mother Starbucks" and maybe the space needle. Time will tell.
We will be ministering at a youth retreat in the mountains. I spoke out there last year and am excited to bring my Keri this year. I hope to post a picture or two. Also, we get to attend my buddy Troy Jones church in Renton Washington before catching a flight. He is a great leader whom I hope to grab a few minutes with Sunday. The only bummer of the whole thing is, we are flying during the Super Bowl! Oh well, I'll live.

securely fastened

Last night we had crazy wind blow through Columbus. It was loud and overnight the temperature went from 50's to 15 degrees. When I pulled up to C3 this morning, I noticed one our our downspouts was ripped off and our entry way mat was in the parking lot frozen to the asphalt. Anything that was not fastened down was blown away.....like my grill cover...gone. Anyway, the same is true for life. Whatever in you that is not fastened to the rock of Christ, can and usually will be blown away. Also, all the stuff we have done in life, will some day be tested and shown for what it is. Everything we do, must be fastened to HIM or released to be blown away. What is your wind speed test rating at and what changes need to be made?

interview process

Tonight, we are in our 3rd level of interviewing for kids pastors with 2 candidates. Our first level is with Gary and myself and if we feel good, they then sit before our advisory board. From there, if all systems are go, they are then interviewed by those who will be directly working with them, our class coordinators. I feel that if we interview them well, it will hopefully help us hire better. It is an exciting process as we are praying for God's Will.

bullet points

- We got thumped in dodgeball yesterday. C3 did not repeat in the city wide tourny.....bummer!
- We did have our largest attendance ever, for the month and the week!
- Had an incredible meeting with our new church growth consultant.
* We could build up to a 1,200 - 1,500 seat auditorium on our property with parking to match.
- That is our ceiling of growth on our current property.

- Tuesday is our 3rd level of interviews for kids pastor.
* We have some great candidates who have made it to this level.
* Our hope is to have them here and running by Easter.

- Getting the modular here is progressing well. We are seeing, full time kids space in this space. We are going to do our best to have the sharpest kids ministry this side of the Mississippi.

- Thursday, Gary and I are traveling up to Canton (Faith Fellowship Chapel 6282 Nave Street SW Canton, 44700) to talk through the book "Simple Church" with right now 7 pastors in that area. If you want in, email my dad at kstephens14@yahoo.com to RSVP. We will meet this Thursday (31st) at 12 noon, do lunch, talk through some things we have learned in this process and then some great discussion on a "simple" discipleship process.

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coffee and a vision from God

Tomorrow morning Gary and I are meeting with a church expansion consultant to talk about options of what we can do in our current building, on our site and when to look to purchase more land to build. It is amazing how God sent this guy to our church who does this for a living and he is willing to give us his services free of charge. We will grab some coffee and then dream of what could be.....or what we are believing WILL be. It's like I get glimpses of what is coming. God shows me just enough to keep this burning vision raging inside me. The word God dropped in my heart was "DENT". That is my passion, my dream, my purpose. To put a dent in the world for the cause of Jesus Christ! I will pursue Him and His plan for me and C3 full tilt, relentlessly with every fiber of my body, soul, mind and spirit............I'm screaming FREEDOM (Braveheart reference) in my living room right now!!......Ok....I can go to sleep now....Good night.

"The Apprentice" church planting style

Today, we have 9 interns coming in for the 1st time. We have them for 12 weeks and are going to break them up into 2 teams and do an "Apprentice" style competition throughout the time with us. We are using our new Sunday night service as the pilot. Each team must layout a plan of how they would plant/target/advertise/launch/structure/grow their new church plant. They have a budget and can get as creative as they want. We may actually even use some or part of their plans for the Sunday night service. Time will tell how it plays out.

Also, I'm in talking with the guys from the city and sharing vision of where are church is and where we are going and how we will need a bigger piece of land to accomplish the vision. The one guy looks at me and says "Where did you come from?" I began to answer and he says "No, why did you choose Pickerington?" I looked him square in the eye with a smile and said, "You may not fully understand this, but God told me to come here and plant this church." Looking back in his eyes, although not being a follower of Christ himself, I think he actually believed me. The meeting went on and we got a really good location out of it that I had already been eyeing. The both of them could not figure out why that nice piece of land had not been bought yet? I was thinking to myself.......I think I may know why!

forecasting

I feel that as leaders we must constantly be forecasting. Just as a weather man makes an educated guess from the information he has, in the same way we must continue to plan for the future. When I knew I was newly called to be in ministry, I began to ask myself, "What do I need to be effective in ministry?" I came up with a few things and started growing in those areas. Still, I'm constantly asking myself those kind of questions. I look at where I think I and the the ministry God has entrusted to me is going, and then try to be one step ahead. Today, I'm going to meet with our city planners to talk about where Pickerington is projected to expand and where we could buy land as to be right in the middle of the action for the future. We currently have 10 acres...........but I'm forecasting that it won't be enough! What do you feel is in God's forecast for you?