With rumors of swine flu circulating our community and the potential for sever weather, we had church regardless. Zach Brown made a guest appearance in the worship band this week as they lead us into the presence of the Lord singing "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty / Who was and is and is to come / With all creation I sing / Praise to the King of Kings / You are my everything and I will adore You." My prayer is that we can always sing that song with sincerity and a heart-felt sense of awe towards God. Our subject was on Fear. Very appropriate for our day and time and I believe from the feedback that I have already received that the message hit the mark.
I was great to meet several new guests. We have new guests on a consistent basis but hearing how some found out about Journey is amazing. Some said that they had seen our billboard which has been down since the end of February. Others I met said that they received a door knocker which was delivered on February 7. Ironic, but that is how we pray - Lord help us to be the right church at the right time (1 Chron. 12:32).
I am always so thankful and humbled to see the efforts of our set up and tear down each week. Everyone makes it look so easy even though I know that there are a million other things that would be more pleasant that carrying speakers and putting down nursery floors on a Sunday morning. Glad to see new faces helping out. It gives me a pulse on the church when I see people just voluntarily jumping in and helping. At that point, Journey becomes less public and more personal. It becomes "my place of worship" not "their place of worship."
Showing posts with label Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunday. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Baptism Bash Time
It will be hard to compare subsequent baptisms to our first but I pray that baptisms can become a monthly occurrence around Journey Church. Sunday, March 29, 2009, we baptized 11 people in water as an example of their faith in Jesus Christ. You can read about some of their stories on the church website and even get the video!
It has been said that Texans sleep with their boots on. Well, they get baptized with their boots on too!
It has been said that Texans sleep with their boots on. Well, they get baptized with their boots on too!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday @ Journey
• Another great day in the early history of Journey Church. We are finding our groove. Things went up fast and came down quickly thanks to our all star team and some superb direction by Dustin.
• This Sunday we were completely on our own. No out of town help came in for support this week. I kind of thin of ourselves as a chick that is hatching. When it is time to hatch, the chick begins to peck its way from the inside out. Through the process of hatching, the babay chick gains strength – strength it needs to survive. If it receives too much outside help, if someone comes along and cracks the shell off the little chick, then it will most usually die. Why? Because it has to learn what it takes to survive.
• Journey is doing more than surviving. We are alive and kicking. Even though it was a double holiday weekend and north Texas is suffering from a flu epidemic, our numbers were solid and there were several first time guests.
• Interacting with guests is one of the highlights of my week. Every hand I shake and every hello I say, my prayer is that every person will feel the presence of God in our meeting.
• Worship was great this week. Josh did a great job for his first time leading at Journey. And a shout out to Joe for bringing Jun to rock out. Thanks Jun! I could tell that you were playing for the glory of God! As for Stephen, your talent will be missed but I know that God’s hand is on you and He is leading you on your journey!
• This Sunday we were completely on our own. No out of town help came in for support this week. I kind of thin of ourselves as a chick that is hatching. When it is time to hatch, the chick begins to peck its way from the inside out. Through the process of hatching, the babay chick gains strength – strength it needs to survive. If it receives too much outside help, if someone comes along and cracks the shell off the little chick, then it will most usually die. Why? Because it has to learn what it takes to survive.
• Journey is doing more than surviving. We are alive and kicking. Even though it was a double holiday weekend and north Texas is suffering from a flu epidemic, our numbers were solid and there were several first time guests.
• Interacting with guests is one of the highlights of my week. Every hand I shake and every hello I say, my prayer is that every person will feel the presence of God in our meeting.
• Worship was great this week. Josh did a great job for his first time leading at Journey. And a shout out to Joe for bringing Jun to rock out. Thanks Jun! I could tell that you were playing for the glory of God! As for Stephen, your talent will be missed but I know that God’s hand is on you and He is leading you on your journey!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday Journey Experience - Grand Opening
As I went to bed last night, my mind was still racing about the events of the day. Not unusual since Feb. 8, 2009 was a date that had been embedded in the back of my mind for over a year. To be honest, it arrived very quickly. For six months we have had our sights set on our Grand Opening. Yesterday we "officially" became a church. Well I guess you have to have a specific day to commemorate but we have been a "community of faith with singular purpose" for quite some time. God has brought an amazing group of people together that sincerely want to see God do something great through their life - To touch people and make a difference in our community.
From the get go, the atmosphere was electric as everyone and everything began to fall into place. Everyone knew th e greatness of the day. Our greeters, Jacob, Al, Julie, Dustin, were amazing as they began to welcome our guest even as early as 9:30 we had visitors arriving. On man said he was at the movies Saturday night and saw our sign and decided to come. Gotta love the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit! From all the feedback I've had, everyone bragged on our they felt so welcome and comfortable. One welcome and one smile is worth more to a guest than 1000 sermons.
Our amazing JKidz team lead by Jaclyn did an amazing job with the kids. A lot of people were really curious what kids church would look like in a theater. I think most were really surprised to see the set up and the fun that was in the room. About 25 kids banged out rhythms during worship while Jaclyn, Meg, Bree, and Viv led the kids to better understand their "Rock Solid Foundation." Shout out too a fellow Chica Laca for hooking us up with great kids programming!
Brandy stepped up huge and took charge in the nursery to allow my wife to be a part of our main worship experience. After I had finished my message I walked toward the lobby area and stopped by the room where I nursery and preschoolers were. It was a buzz of little 3 footers. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the little guys: Bev, Leslie, Allison, and Victoria!
Some of our team like Guy, Blair, Dustin, Marianne, Anita and Aundrea worked in the background this week but are so vital for Journey to impact others. Tech crew - you guys are top shelf. Thank you for serving behind the lights! Your attitude is that of our Lord Jesus.
As our Journey worship experience began I was floored by our sound. Man that band is great! Proud of how you guys have made it come together like a bunch of legos. You set the bar high and as you began to sing, "I need you Jesus to come to my rescue..." my eyes filled with tears and I thought, "man that is what we are all about - Jesus." Worship yesterday was incredible. The randomness of how God brought our music team together is truly mind blowing. So to all you church planters out there my advice would be this: concern yourself with making disciples and God will build a team of talent that will amaze you.
As I finished speaking we all bowed our heads and four people raised their hands to make a decision for Christ. Can you say, "that's what it is about." So far we are batting 1000. Every time we have gathered as a body (two previews and launch), there has been someone make a decision to follow the Lord. As one man said - I can give my life for something like that. Setting up, tearing down, pushing your life to the max, working more than you've ever worked, sacrificing - a person coming to Jesus - we are giving our life for that...
From the get go, the atmosphere was electric as everyone and everything began to fall into place. Everyone knew th e greatness of the day. Our greeters, Jacob, Al, Julie, Dustin, were amazing as they began to welcome our guest even as early as 9:30 we had visitors arriving. On man said he was at the movies Saturday night and saw our sign and decided to come. Gotta love the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit! From all the feedback I've had, everyone bragged on our they felt so welcome and comfortable. One welcome and one smile is worth more to a guest than 1000 sermons.
Our amazing JKidz team lead by Jaclyn did an amazing job with the kids. A lot of people were really curious what kids church would look like in a theater. I think most were really surprised to see the set up and the fun that was in the room. About 25 kids banged out rhythms during worship while Jaclyn, Meg, Bree, and Viv led the kids to better understand their "Rock Solid Foundation." Shout out too a fellow Chica Laca for hooking us up with great kids programming!
Brandy stepped up huge and took charge in the nursery to allow my wife to be a part of our main worship experience. After I had finished my message I walked toward the lobby area and stopped by the room where I nursery and preschoolers were. It was a buzz of little 3 footers. Thanks to everyone who helped out with the little guys: Bev, Leslie, Allison, and Victoria!
Some of our team like Guy, Blair, Dustin, Marianne, Anita and Aundrea worked in the background this week but are so vital for Journey to impact others. Tech crew - you guys are top shelf. Thank you for serving behind the lights! Your attitude is that of our Lord Jesus.
As our Journey worship experience began I was floored by our sound. Man that band is great! Proud of how you guys have made it come together like a bunch of legos. You set the bar high and as you began to sing, "I need you Jesus to come to my rescue..." my eyes filled with tears and I thought, "man that is what we are all about - Jesus." Worship yesterday was incredible. The randomness of how God brought our music team together is truly mind blowing. So to all you church planters out there my advice would be this: concern yourself with making disciples and God will build a team of talent that will amaze you.
As I finished speaking we all bowed our heads and four people raised their hands to make a decision for Christ. Can you say, "that's what it is about." So far we are batting 1000. Every time we have gathered as a body (two previews and launch), there has been someone make a decision to follow the Lord. As one man said - I can give my life for something like that. Setting up, tearing down, pushing your life to the max, working more than you've ever worked, sacrificing - a person coming to Jesus - we are giving our life for that...
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