All I can say is wow. It was an unbelievable Easter at Foothills Community Church. I don't have all the metrics of what happened, all I know is that something big happened!
* Both campuses had huge crowds and lots of people give their lives to Jesus. In Seneca we had 78 people saved and in Toccoa they had 3 salvations!
* We had over 550 kids/volunteers just in Kidzone!
* The energy level was through the roof.
* We started handing out our new first-time guest bags filled with great stuff, and they were in high demand!
* The worship team did an awesome job led by David Odom in Seneca and Kevin Robison in Toccoa. It was also great to have the praise choir doing their thing!
* The stage team did an amazing job with the new stage for our Project Reach series.
* The technical team led by Shane Smith knocked it out of the park as well. Phillip B. spent most of his Spring Break programming lights!
* I am so appreciative of all the wonderful Dream Team volunteers that served tirelessly to make Easter over-the-top.
* There were so many new faces and the response from everyone that I met was that they absolutely loved the services and plan to be back!
* We had a little Easter egg hunt in the auditorium. Most people were not real interested in playing along until we told them that whoever found the eggs could redeem them for free gas cards. After that everyone got pretty motivated!
* I can't wait to see what happens this Sunday. You don't want to miss it.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Easter countdown
A couple of quick thoughts as we head into Easter weekend:
* Don't forget to invite your friends. Use those invite cards. Better yet, go and pick someone up on Sunday morning and bring them to church with you.
* We will start a new series called, Project Reach. This series could be one of the most important series we have ever done.
* A lot of you have heard of Project Reach, but during this series, you will understand it.
* We are having 4 catered dinners (3 in Seneca, and 1 in Toccoa) during the month of May that we are inviting people to attend to hear the full details of Project Reach. We have very limited seating so you need to get your tickets ASAP. They will be available starting this Sunday at the Link, located in the back of the concourse. (If you attended the Project Reach Reveal in March, you already have your tickets.)
* We had a bunch of people show up to pray over every chair in the auditorium for this Sunday's services. We have done everything within our power to make Easter a success, we have prayed, prepared, and planned, but it is up to God to do the part that really matters!
* You may have seen our CouldThisBeChurch.com billboards around town. They are creating a lot of buzz in the community.
* I will leave you with this thought. Our services this Sunday are going to be the best services we have ever done. You will not believe some of the elements. It will be inspiring, fun, challenging, touching, and humorous.
* Don't forget to invite your friends. Use those invite cards. Better yet, go and pick someone up on Sunday morning and bring them to church with you.
* We will start a new series called, Project Reach. This series could be one of the most important series we have ever done.
* A lot of you have heard of Project Reach, but during this series, you will understand it.
* We are having 4 catered dinners (3 in Seneca, and 1 in Toccoa) during the month of May that we are inviting people to attend to hear the full details of Project Reach. We have very limited seating so you need to get your tickets ASAP. They will be available starting this Sunday at the Link, located in the back of the concourse. (If you attended the Project Reach Reveal in March, you already have your tickets.)
* We had a bunch of people show up to pray over every chair in the auditorium for this Sunday's services. We have done everything within our power to make Easter a success, we have prayed, prepared, and planned, but it is up to God to do the part that really matters!
* You may have seen our CouldThisBeChurch.com billboards around town. They are creating a lot of buzz in the community.
* I will leave you with this thought. Our services this Sunday are going to be the best services we have ever done. You will not believe some of the elements. It will be inspiring, fun, challenging, touching, and humorous.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday review
I love my church! Every Sunday I am surrounded by hundreds of passionate people that show up ready to worship God. It is awesome. Authentic worship knows no boundaries--- it transcends economic differences, racial differences, or age differences. On any given Sunday we have people that come from every conceivable background that come together for the sole purpose of lifting up the name of Jesus!
* Our worship team keeps raising the bar. If anyone can sit through a Foothills worship set and not be moved, there is something wrong with them. Seriously.
* It was the beginning of Spring Break weekend, and although the attendance was slightly down, it did not have an effect on the excitement level of the people.
* We wrapped up the Colossians series (it took a while!). What a fantastic book of the Bible for a church to study together. So solid.
* We handed out invite cards for Easter Sunday. One person asked if they could have 300 to give out! I got a text today from someone who said that the invite cards were all over the plant that they worked at!
* We gave out tons of free Easter tickets. The 8:00am service still has plenty of room, so if you are scheduled to serve next Sunday, it would be helpful if you could attend that service. The reason is, that the 9:30am and 11:15am are nearly full, and we KNOW that there will be lots of people that will show up that do not have a ticket, so let's make sure we have extra room.
* Our staff has been preparing for months for the Easter services and they will be the best services that we have ever done. You do not want to miss!
* The worship team tells me that there will be something for everyone. There is a rumor that we will have everything from Classic rock to rap. Yes, this will be Foothills at its best. Could This Be Church?
* Please bring your friends that do not know Jesus. My message will focus on 3 post-resurrection events that will change our lives!
* Come prepared to CELEBRATE! After all Easter is the reason to celebrate.
* One last thing. I want to invite you to come to the church Tuesday through Thursday any time from 9:00am until 6:00pm to pray for our Easter services. Just stop by the office and someone will make sure the auditorium will be unlocked. All of our staff will be praying over every seat in the auditorium on Thursday from 9:00am until 9:30am. We would love to have you join us then.
* Our worship team keeps raising the bar. If anyone can sit through a Foothills worship set and not be moved, there is something wrong with them. Seriously.
* It was the beginning of Spring Break weekend, and although the attendance was slightly down, it did not have an effect on the excitement level of the people.
* We wrapped up the Colossians series (it took a while!). What a fantastic book of the Bible for a church to study together. So solid.
* We handed out invite cards for Easter Sunday. One person asked if they could have 300 to give out! I got a text today from someone who said that the invite cards were all over the plant that they worked at!
* We gave out tons of free Easter tickets. The 8:00am service still has plenty of room, so if you are scheduled to serve next Sunday, it would be helpful if you could attend that service. The reason is, that the 9:30am and 11:15am are nearly full, and we KNOW that there will be lots of people that will show up that do not have a ticket, so let's make sure we have extra room.
* Our staff has been preparing for months for the Easter services and they will be the best services that we have ever done. You do not want to miss!
* The worship team tells me that there will be something for everyone. There is a rumor that we will have everything from Classic rock to rap. Yes, this will be Foothills at its best. Could This Be Church?
* Please bring your friends that do not know Jesus. My message will focus on 3 post-resurrection events that will change our lives!
* Come prepared to CELEBRATE! After all Easter is the reason to celebrate.
* One last thing. I want to invite you to come to the church Tuesday through Thursday any time from 9:00am until 6:00pm to pray for our Easter services. Just stop by the office and someone will make sure the auditorium will be unlocked. All of our staff will be praying over every seat in the auditorium on Thursday from 9:00am until 9:30am. We would love to have you join us then.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday review
I had a different, but wonderful Sunday. It was different, because I didn't preach, but also because I got to spend the morning at our Toccoa, Ga campus.
* I started the morning by driving to our Seneca campus. I showed up at 9:25am for the 9:30am service. I noticed immediately that apparently that's what most people do. There was a steady stream of traffic coming in then.
* I knew that I had to leave by 10:00am to make it in time to get to Toccoa, so I stood up against the back wall of the auditorium during the worship set and the intro of Brian Rhodes message. I noticed that the auditorium fills up from the back to the front. I'm one of those people that likes to sit near the front, so I really don't understand why anyone wants to sit so far back, but apparently these are the premium seats!
* I heard a lot of great things about Brian Rhodes message. I can't wait to watch it online this week.
* The worship set was incredible. I love working with David Odom and the rest of the team. There is another team that most people don't think about too much that play a major role, and that is the technical team led by Shane Smith. They are phenomenal. they are responsible for audio, video, graphics, cameras, lyrics and probably a whole lot more that I don't know about.
* I then drove to Ga and hung out with the Toccoa campus. As usual, they were a lot of fun. Other than most of them wearing clothes emblazoned with Georgia Bulldogs emblems, they are a great group of people :-)
* Campus Pastor Brian Marshall and Worship Pastor Kevin Robison make a great team. I know I have said this already, but God is up to something big in T-Town!
* It's always weird watching yourself on video, but once I got past that, it was a very enjoyable service.
* Tickets for our Easter services were available yesterday at our Seneca campus. If you forgot to get yours, go online and print some out or pick them up on Sunday. Only about 400 tickets remain available for the 9:30am and the 11:15am services. There are plenty left for the 8:00am service.
The Toccoa campus Easter service will be at 11:00am
* I started the morning by driving to our Seneca campus. I showed up at 9:25am for the 9:30am service. I noticed immediately that apparently that's what most people do. There was a steady stream of traffic coming in then.
* I knew that I had to leave by 10:00am to make it in time to get to Toccoa, so I stood up against the back wall of the auditorium during the worship set and the intro of Brian Rhodes message. I noticed that the auditorium fills up from the back to the front. I'm one of those people that likes to sit near the front, so I really don't understand why anyone wants to sit so far back, but apparently these are the premium seats!
* I heard a lot of great things about Brian Rhodes message. I can't wait to watch it online this week.
* The worship set was incredible. I love working with David Odom and the rest of the team. There is another team that most people don't think about too much that play a major role, and that is the technical team led by Shane Smith. They are phenomenal. they are responsible for audio, video, graphics, cameras, lyrics and probably a whole lot more that I don't know about.
* I then drove to Ga and hung out with the Toccoa campus. As usual, they were a lot of fun. Other than most of them wearing clothes emblazoned with Georgia Bulldogs emblems, they are a great group of people :-)
* Campus Pastor Brian Marshall and Worship Pastor Kevin Robison make a great team. I know I have said this already, but God is up to something big in T-Town!
* It's always weird watching yourself on video, but once I got past that, it was a very enjoyable service.
* Tickets for our Easter services were available yesterday at our Seneca campus. If you forgot to get yours, go online and print some out or pick them up on Sunday. Only about 400 tickets remain available for the 9:30am and the 11:15am services. There are plenty left for the 8:00am service.
The Toccoa campus Easter service will be at 11:00am
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Foothills Toccoa and some lessons I've learned
About two and a half years ago we launched our second campus in Toccoa, Ga. We felt that although Stephens County had a bunch of great churches that possibly a church like Foothills Community Church could help reach some of the people who were not being reached by the existing churches.
For the first year and a half we met in a gymnasium at Osborne Wood products and then, a little over a year ago we moved into a more permanent location, as we leased a former furniture store and converted it into a church facility.
Like any new church, there are challenges, and obstacles. In fact, it was the same way at our Seneca, SC campus when we first started. I believe we are on the verge of some incredible things happening there. As many of you know, our campus pastor is Brian Marshall who has served at our Seneca campus for many years, but what many of you don't know is that we recently hired Kevin Robison as our new campus worship pastor. I believe that these men will help us reach that community for Christ!
Some of the lessons I have learned about becoming a multi-site church (especially in small towns) is that it takes patience and perseverance. It takes time for the community to get to know you, and trust you.
It takes a heart for your community. Deep-down the people who attend the church have to have a burden for their community to know Christ. They must build relationships with people who don't know Christ, and invite them to church.
It's hard work. There are no short cuts. You reach a community, the same way you eat an elephant, a bite at a time. One person at a time, that's the key.
It takes unselfishness. The church has to be willing to set aside their own personal desires for the sake of the people they are trying to reach. They must be willing to do whatever it takes to reach people.
They have to prepare for guests. There needs to always be an expectation that there will be guests, and therefore they need to make sure that they feel at home. In fact everything must be viewed and evaluated constantly through the eyes of a first-time guest.
As Foothills Toccoa moves forward, they do so with purpose. I am so pumped about the future of our Toccoa campus. Every time I go there I just love the environment that they have created. It is an incredible group of people that love Jesus. If you know anyone in that area that doesn't have a church home, let them know about our Toccoa campus!
For the first year and a half we met in a gymnasium at Osborne Wood products and then, a little over a year ago we moved into a more permanent location, as we leased a former furniture store and converted it into a church facility.
Like any new church, there are challenges, and obstacles. In fact, it was the same way at our Seneca, SC campus when we first started. I believe we are on the verge of some incredible things happening there. As many of you know, our campus pastor is Brian Marshall who has served at our Seneca campus for many years, but what many of you don't know is that we recently hired Kevin Robison as our new campus worship pastor. I believe that these men will help us reach that community for Christ!
Some of the lessons I have learned about becoming a multi-site church (especially in small towns) is that it takes patience and perseverance. It takes time for the community to get to know you, and trust you.
It takes a heart for your community. Deep-down the people who attend the church have to have a burden for their community to know Christ. They must build relationships with people who don't know Christ, and invite them to church.
It's hard work. There are no short cuts. You reach a community, the same way you eat an elephant, a bite at a time. One person at a time, that's the key.
It takes unselfishness. The church has to be willing to set aside their own personal desires for the sake of the people they are trying to reach. They must be willing to do whatever it takes to reach people.
They have to prepare for guests. There needs to always be an expectation that there will be guests, and therefore they need to make sure that they feel at home. In fact everything must be viewed and evaluated constantly through the eyes of a first-time guest.
As Foothills Toccoa moves forward, they do so with purpose. I am so pumped about the future of our Toccoa campus. Every time I go there I just love the environment that they have created. It is an incredible group of people that love Jesus. If you know anyone in that area that doesn't have a church home, let them know about our Toccoa campus!
Monday, April 04, 2011
Project Reach Reveal & Sunday review
Last Thursday evening we held the sneak peak of Project Reach. Here are a few of my thoughts:
* We had a great attendance for a Thursday night. Several hundred people showed up to hear about Project Reach
* It was an honor to have my friend pastor Toby Slough come and share with our staff and then our congregation about some of what god is doing at Cross Timbers Church. He knocked it out of the park!
* Our people are hungry to see the world reached for Christ, and to help people who are homeless, hungry, hurting, and feel hopeless.
* We will be starting a new message series called, Project Reach starting on Easter Sunday.
* We will also be having a series of informational dinners on May 5th, 12th and 19th. The tickets will be available on Easter Sunday. (Those people who came to the reveal on Thursday night got to pick their tickets up already). There are a limited number of seats available, so be ready to pick yours up.
Sunday review:
* Spoke on Colossians 3:22-25 about making Christ supreme in the work place. It was a challenging topic for many
* Lots of people have a huge disconnect between Sunday and Monday. They view Sunday as God's day, but then separate Monday-Friday as their work days. We can't compartmentalize our lives that way. Christ needs to be supreme over everything we do.
* 85% of American workers say that they could work harder. 50% say they could double their output at work. As Christ-followers we should be the hardest working employees at our jobs.
* Ultimately we work for God. "Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.." Col. 3:17a
* Our Toccoa campus welcomed Kevin Robison as their new worship leader!
* Easter is right around the corner. Who will you invite?
* We had a great attendance for a Thursday night. Several hundred people showed up to hear about Project Reach
* It was an honor to have my friend pastor Toby Slough come and share with our staff and then our congregation about some of what god is doing at Cross Timbers Church. He knocked it out of the park!
* Our people are hungry to see the world reached for Christ, and to help people who are homeless, hungry, hurting, and feel hopeless.
* We will be starting a new message series called, Project Reach starting on Easter Sunday.
* We will also be having a series of informational dinners on May 5th, 12th and 19th. The tickets will be available on Easter Sunday. (Those people who came to the reveal on Thursday night got to pick their tickets up already). There are a limited number of seats available, so be ready to pick yours up.
Sunday review:
* Spoke on Colossians 3:22-25 about making Christ supreme in the work place. It was a challenging topic for many
* Lots of people have a huge disconnect between Sunday and Monday. They view Sunday as God's day, but then separate Monday-Friday as their work days. We can't compartmentalize our lives that way. Christ needs to be supreme over everything we do.
* 85% of American workers say that they could work harder. 50% say they could double their output at work. As Christ-followers we should be the hardest working employees at our jobs.
* Ultimately we work for God. "Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.." Col. 3:17a
* Our Toccoa campus welcomed Kevin Robison as their new worship leader!
* Easter is right around the corner. Who will you invite?
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