exciting news from the Sticks!

A lot of very cool things have been happening lately with the Sticks conference. Here is the latest news that is mind-blowing. A church has just donated 200 registrations for THE STICKS...100% free! That is a value of $20,000. So you need to act NOW. The first 200 people to enter the code, "ok", score these free registrations.

All you have to do is go to www.thesticks.tv and register with the code "OK"

If you have been considering coming to the conference, now you have no excuse!

Sunday highlights

Sunday was a great day at Foothills in spite of the rain. (We sure needed the rain though)

** Our umbrella team was all set to make sure our guests stayed dry while walking up to the church, but right around 9:15 the rain stopped. (I think they were disappointed!)

** We started our new mini-series called, Dream Team. It is a challenge for everyone that is part of Foothills to use their God-given gifts and abilities to serve God and others.

** We have over 600 people that serve at Foothills, but we could use hundreds more.

** Serving is one of the best ways to get connected at a church.

** Serving makes your church experience complete.

** Serving is NOT optional for the believer!

** A non-serving Christian is an oxymoron.

** Serving is a step towards spiritual growth.

** Serving makes me more like Jesus.

** This Thursday we are having a Dream team volunteer appreciation party. I can't wait.

** This Sunday we will be having a SERVELINK. In our concourse there will be tables representing the ministry opportunities at Foothills. You can pick up information, ask questions, and sign-up to serve.

** In other news, we are preparing for our Friend 10-10 services. All I can tell you is that you NEED to invite your friends. I believe that this will be the best service that we've ever had at Foothills! I'll be sharing more details in another post.

Sunday highlights

Yesterday was one of my favorite services at Foothills ever!

** Talked about how to make an impact with our lives. One of the greatest ways to do that is by investing our lives to reach others for Christ

** It's so easy to find ourselves in our little Christian bubbles, totally insulated and isolated from lost people. We must live our lives on mission.

** Jesus spent the majority of His time hanging out with lost, helpless, hurting, lonely, marginalized people. The lost people loved Him, the religious people hated Him!

** I'm excited about Friend 10-10 coming up on October 10th in Seneca, and October 17th in Toccoa. This is a chance to invite friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and everyone else to come to church with you.

** WE WILL HAVE DONUTS!!!!

** The closest we have come to having a revival was when I mentioned the possibility of bringing the donuts back. Hmmmm.

** We gave out 4 invite cards to everyone and challenged them to pass them out between now and October 10th.

** One person wanted an extra 50 to hand out!! That's what I'm talking about!

** On Friend 10-10 we will begin a new message series called, That's What HE Said!. Totally can't wait for that one.

** The worship team an praise choir knocked it out of the park. I could have literally walked up and said "amen" and dismissed everyone after that!

** 10 more people gave their lives to Jesus yesterday!!

** This Sunday we will begin a new mini-series called, Dream Team.

I love our church!

The Sticks

There are a lot of church conferences out there, but there are not many designed especially for churches in small to mid-sized communities. That's what The Sticks conference is all about-- helping churches in the sticks have maximum impact.
I am honored to be one of the speakers at the conference, along with a phenomenal line-up of great speakers in both the main sessions as well as the break-out sessions. These guys understand the nuances of doing ministry in hard to reach places.
The event will take place November 9-10 in the booming metropolis of Orangeburg, South Carolina.
If you are in a church in a small to mid-sized community, you owe it to yourself to come and connect with others that are in the trenches with you.
They are also giving away a new iPad, so check that out too.

busy week

It has been a crazy week for me. Lots of cool things going on right now at Foothills Community Church!

Here are a few things that have me extremely excited:

** Tons of new people signed up for a LIFE group this semester!

** This Sunday at Foothills is going to be amazing--Do Not Miss It!

** We have people coming to Christ every single week!

** Archery season opens tomorrow. Unfortunately I can't go until Friday.

** I will be leading the Get In The Game class tomorrow night (which is why I will not be bow hunting!) This is kind of a membership class that is jam packed with information about Foothills, as well as steps to take for spiritual growth. It begins at 6:15pm. You can still sign-up here.

** The Dream Team (volunteer appreciation) Party is coming up on September 30th. Hundreds of people have RSVP'ed. It's going to be outrageous!

** We have a couple of new series that are coming up that are going to be some of the best we have ever done.

** Friend 10-10 is coming on October 10th in Seneca, and October 17th in Toccoa. You will be hearing a LOT more about this.

** Got a chance to talk to a few Pastor friends. I love hearing how God is at work in Churches across America!

you've got what it takes

A Recent Gallup Poll revealed that only 10% of American church members were active in any type of personal ministry ---- 50 % had no interest--- 40% were interested but had never been asked or didn’t know how.

I want to address this blog post to the 40% that had never been asked or didn't know how.

You've got what it takes!
That's right. God has given you gifts and talents and abilities, that He can leverage to bring glory to himself and benefit others.

It can be a little intimidating to sign-up to serve for the first time.

Here's a good rule of thumb: Start somewhere!
I have told the story many times of my first experience of serving. I signed up to help with recreation at a church picnic. I had no prior church experience up to that point, but I had a desire to serve, I just didn't know what I could contribute. So on that Sunday afternoon I organized a few games for the kids. It wasn't much, but it was something. And you know what---- It felt great! I felt like I was a part of something bigger than myself.

Some time later, I tried serving in areas that didn't work for me (ie.. Children's ministry) and I tried some areas that did work.

Here's what I discovered. The more I served, the more connected I became to my church, and the more connected I felt to God.

We have over 600 people that serve at Foothills Community Church, which is great, but there are so many people that are just waiting for someone to ask them. So let me ask you, "would you be willing to serve?"

We'll help you figure out where you will fit best. We'll help you develop your gifts and abilities. We want you to thrive in your relationship with Christ, and I believe one of the most rewarding experiences of your life will be when you are serving Christ on a regular basis.

On October 3rd we will be having a ServeLink, where you will be able to see all of the opportunities and ask questions.

Sunday review

What a phenomenal Labor Day weekend. I love what God is doing at Foothills right now. There is a real sense of anticipation. Week after week people are making decisions to follow Jesus---that's what it's all about!

** I didn't preach Sunday, so I got to see things from a different perspective. That's a great thing to do now and then. By the way, my goal is to preach around 40 Sundays a year, that way I can stay creative, and work ahead, and it also allows the congregation to hear from other communicators---that's healthy!

** Brian Rhodes delivered the message this past Sunday and did an excellent job! We had a power surge which knocked the power out for a second, which means the microphone, lights, and screens went out, then had to reset. It happened just as Brian stepped on the platform at the 9:30am service. He handled himself like a pro, and kept on trucking! Nice job Brian.

** Eric Peters and team led worship. It was awesome! It sounded like people were really singing loud.

** The Questions Uncensored series is almost done. I wll be answering questions about gambling, birth control, and cremation this Sunday. You do not want to miss it.

** Don't forget to sign-up for a LIFE group! You will be glad that you did.

** We had a big baptism party on Sunday afternoon. It was so much fun to meet so many people. I can't believe how smooth things ran. Thanks to all of our staff and volunteers that made the day a huge success. We WILL do that again

** By the way, the best part about the party was that 31 more people were baptized in Lake Keowee! We have baptized over 130 people so far this year. Our next baptism is scheduled for December 5th!

** I love that College football is here again!

** Got a chance to go dove hunting on Saturday. That was a blast. I even managed to shoot a few!

** If you have volunteered at Foothills during the last year, please make sure to attend our Dream Team Celebration coming up on September 30th. This is a chance for our staff to serve YOU, and to thank you for making Foothills such a wonderful place. Why don't you sign-up now?