- Another great day!
- Lots of new faces and 6 more people came into a relationship with Jesus today!
- That’s now 23 in 3 weeks…I love that and made sure the crowd knew how to properly respond when lives get eternally changed at the end of the message.
- If you want to listen to what I said you can listen to both the message and words afterward here.
- I didn’t have a great night sleep last night so 6am came around waaayyyyy to soon.
- Frost on the windshield was not a welcome sight either.
- Mike Sellers and I drove around putting out the directional signs and my shoes got soaked. Also the ground was hard enough that pounding the signs into the ground was not easy.
- Can’t wait until we have some guys that attend the church that own trucks so Mike and I can pass off this early morning ritual.
- Oh well we get a work-out in before everyone else arrives at the theater.
- Not a bad day with set-up…everyone’s starting to get into a rhythm and each week we keep discovering new ways to make things faster and easier.
- We had 8-10 of our normal crew who were missing today for various reasons so it feels good that we pulled everything off as smoothly as we did.
- In fact we’re getting set-up so quickly that I’ll be giving everyone extra time next week to come in. I’m sure that’s music to their ears!
- So proud of our entire First Impressions Team…they’re doing an incredible job making everyone feel great about coming out. This is especially impressive considering all the new people that are coming through each week that aren’t quite sure what to expect coming to a movie theater for church.
- I met a guy who came today as a result of the special stuff we did the other night for trick-or-treaters. Amazing how just doing a little bit extra means so much to people and in this case convinced him to come check out the church. Really proud of everyone from Exponential who did the same type of things at their house…a true party with a purpose!
- The band rocked it today and it was fun having them do “The Monster Mash” as people filled out their Connection Cards.
- I guess because I was tired I didn’t feel I gave my best during the message time but obviously it connected enough that 6 more people are forever changed!
- I absolutely can’t wait for next week when we begin the “Mind Your Own Business” series. I’ve preached this one before and it was amazing to see and hear stories of people having their financial lives changed.
- I heard a few audible gasps from people during the commercial for the series as some of the financial statistics came on the screen. It’s true that America is hurting bad so I can’t wait to teach God’s plan for handling money.
- I again want to encourage everyone to invite as many people as possible for this series…it will be one of the most practical series you will ever hear.
- All in all another great day and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us as the weeks and months progress!
Archives for October 2010
Inside Today’s Experience
- Wow…blown away by today!
- First and most importantly, 9 more people prayed to ask Jesus to forgive them of their sins and be the leader of their lives!
- That’s now 17 people that have crossed the line of faith in just 2 weeks that we’ve been in existence.
- To put that in perspective, the average church in America has 1 conversion every 2 years…God is definitely moving in our midst!
- Most church plants see a decrease in attendance of 50% on week 2 because all the people that were there week 1 to wish you well are not there any longer.
- Today we only had a 30% decrease and most exciting was we only had a handful of well wishers this week which means most who were there are seriously checking us out to see if they want to be a part of what God is doing in and through ExponentialChurch.tv.
- So awesome to see and hear of people walking into the Experience very skeptical and walking out excited to be a part of a church for people who don’t like church.
- Not sure I’ve seen so many tears of excitement and joy as I’ve seen these past two weeks as people are experiencing God in new and fresh ways.
- From the logistical side of things we’re starting to get a routine for set-up but still have a long way to go.
- One thing we haven’t yet been able to do is a full run through with the band and all the tech in their place and running the various elements that make an Experience happen.
- As a result we’re making a lot of errors that we need to correct ASAP.
- However, all things considered, we’re still night and day ahead of where I’ve ever been before after only two weeks, so I just need to be patient and I’m sure we’ll be at the level of excellence that God wants from us sooner rather than later.
- One of my favorite parts of the two Previews and now 2 weeks of being up and running is the entire team meeting we have at 9am. It’s so neat to have everyone together, give some vision and direction, then pray together that God use us to make a difference.
- Today was especially meaningful because we laid hands on Dan and Jan Krull who left as soon as the Experience was over to head to Buffalo to be with Dan’s mom whom has just days to live. Thankfully she knows Jesus and soon her pain will be over. Please pray for the Krull’s as they travel and spend time with family.
- It was great having some new volunteers with us today who just last week came for the first time, but yet felt called already to be a part of helping.
- We started the Experience with Papa Roach’s song, “Kick in the Teeth”. It was meant to be a performance song but Bill accidentally had everyone stand so that was a bit awkward but it did give me a chance to explain why we use secular music as a part of the Experience.
- The band then kicked into a great worship set, capped off by Gayle’s always awesome version of “How He Loves“.
- I then preached about another spiritual Urban Legend, “You Shouldn’t Judge Other People”.
- The beginning was a lot of fun talking about the ridiculous looks that people had in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Good thing we all look normal today! 🙂
- I felt good about the message but if I’m being honest I hadn’t planned on asking people to make a decision for Jesus afterward…that was a total God thing in the moment and feeling like I needed to…glad I did…again 9 more people stepped across the line of faith!
- After seeing over 300 people do that very thing at my last church, you’d think it would get old but it doesn’t! Every single person is someone God loves and heaven celebrated when that which was lost was now found. Congratulations to the 9 today…looking forward to helping you grow now in that new relationship!
- If anybody is interested, let me know and I’ll email you the document we get into the hands of every person who prays to become a follower of Jesus. It’s called, “First Steps” and literally helps them know what’s their next step now that they know Jesus.
- All in all a very good day. Can’t wait to do it all over again next week. In the meantime we’ve got a busy week planned including the band playing at a dinner celebrating not only our plant but the 3 others going on in our region as well.
- Time for a nap and then who knows what this evening holds…hopefully not a whole lot.
- Have a great week…don’t forget to invite someone to hear next week’s Urban Legend…”Everything Happens for a Reason”.
Inside Today’s Experience (Launch Edition)
For those of you who may not know…each Sunday afternoon/evening I give some behind the scenes thoughts on that day’s worship Experience. It’s a chance to look back on the highs and lows of the day from my perspective and hopefully gives people some insight into what it takes to pull off a typical Sunday morning. With that said…here’s the first official one for ExponentialChurch.tv
- What a great day!
- 8 people during today’s Experience stepped across the line of faith and asked Jesus for His forgiveness and leadership in their lives!
- The moment people started responding to the Gospel I remembered clearly why we worked so hard this summer getting ready for this day.
- Ok, now that you know the end of the story…let’s start back at the beginning of the day.
- I’m not a morning person so a 6am start is not much fun…after a quick shower I was out the door into what was still a cold, dark night.
- Mike Sellers and I met at the trailer to get our directional signage and headed out to start setting it up all along Valley Road. I said to Mike, “Could you have imagined just a few months ago when we met for the first time at lunch that you’d be a part of something like this”? We both said it’s been quite a summer and couldn’t wait to see what God was about to do. Mike is just one of many people I didn’t know until the last few months, who have stepped up in major ways to help make today a reality. It’s these types of people that are the real hero’s of the Christian faith. Ordinary people, who volunteer countless hours at churches all over the world to make an extraordinary difference.
- As we were pulling back in, I heard a van full of people beeping at us. As I looked I realized it was a group of people from my old church. But who could it be? Imagine my surprise when I found out it was the entire band and tech team from the United Worship Experience which is the group I used to lead. 11 of them drove an hour up the road to pray with us, only to then turn right around and drive an hour back to lead 2 worship Experiences of their own this morning. I was crying then and I’m crying again now just thinking about it. I love that team and it was so hard to leave them, but I know we’re all doing what God has called us to do. Great to know how much they still love and support me. Special thanks to Brian for your leadership…God has great plans for you my friend…keep serving and leading!
- Ok now it was on to the hard work of set-up…but here’s the thing…I already have a great team here as well! By the time I was done with the group from United and walked around…much was already set-up.
- As compared with yesterday morning when we went into the theaters for another run-through, everything today with the exception of one thing set-up smoothly.
- At 9 I pulled everyone together in the Cafe for a final team meeting to remind everyone of our vision for the day. So cool to see everyone sitting there and realizing how God can use us to make a difference for Him.
- One of the first guests to walk through the door was an older lady who spotted me and came up excitedly to introduce herself. She said she had read about us in the newspaper and that although she is 70 years old she was there to “rock like a young person”.
- Obviously one of the fears you have in starting a new endeavor like this is, “Is anybody actually going to show up?” So it felt great to see people coming streaming through the doors. Some were there as well wishers but many were there because they had heard about us through one of the many ways we got the word out.
- Our “Exponential”, God-sized goal was to see 400 people on launch day. We didn’t meet that…only had about half that number but it was a great start and again the most important number to me is the 8 people who woke up this morning hell-bound but now have begun a relationship with Jesus!
- CBS21 came and did a feature about us which I just watched in the 6PM edition. I’ll try to get a link or post it sometime soon. The funniest part is my wife Lisa in the background walking through, not realizing she’s on camera…then realizing she is…and having a look on her face of “OOOOOOOO”. UPDATE: Here’s the transcript…video to come later. UPDATE: Here’s the video.
- Once the actual Experience started, we had some minor glitches that are very fixable, but for the most part things went smoothly considering everything that can go wrong when you’re as technology dependent as we are.
- Could tell the worship team was a bit nervous but that will ease as they get used to the environment and all the emotions of launch day are behind.
- With that said though, they still did an amazing job…and from my vantage point, many people were really into the music. Great job by Bill and the team.
- One thing that I know caught people by surprise was that we covered Maroon 5’s new hit song, “Misery” right before the message. The reason we do things like this is simple. Studies have shown that music is one of the top influencers on how people think, act and feel. Our goal is to take popular music which people are listening to anyway and put a new association in people’s minds. In the case of Misery, instead of people just listening to it and thinking, “Oh this is a good song”, we want them to associate the lyrics which are about unforgiveness back to today’s message which was about forgiveness. In other words, we want people to now when they hear that song think about what they heard today and hopefully apply it to their lives. This is no different than what the Apostle Paul did in Acts 17 when he quoted two different popular poets of his day. Instead of ignoring pop culture or trying to fight the people involved in it, he instead chooses to redeem it. That’s what we attempt to do. Now to be honest I forgot a small portion of the message that would have tied the song in stronger to the message so that’s why I included a bit of it later in the call for commitment…hopefully though this helps further clarify one of our core values which is, “To be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure”.
- For the most part I was pleased with the message and felt like God’s Word was clearly presented. Afterward I had a few conversations with people that were pleased that in such a contemporary Experience, God’s Word wasn’t watered down and a clear explanation of our sinfulness and need for forgiveness was presented without downplaying not just our need for forgiveness but also the necessity of repentance.
- Again I heard that what Chelsea is doing in children’s ministry is awesome…wish I were a kid!
- Awesome to see and hear so many people pumped up afterward and can’t wait to do it all again next week!
Random Thoughts Before We Launch
Been awhile since I’ve done a random thoughts post. In fact, it’s been awhile since I’ve done much blogging…seems like there’s been something going on keeping me busy…oh yeah getting a new church started! With that said, I thought I’d give some thoughts on what this whole experience has been like getting ready for this Sunday’s launch. For some of you this will just be a unique perspective…for others of you that are considering planting your own church in the future, hopefully there will be some things to learn in here. I’m sure I’ll forget a lot but there’s always other posts for that. This will be long but I think worth the read…
- Hard to believe that it was 51 weeks ago today that God gave me the vision to start ExponentialChurch.tv.
- I had always said that church planting was for stupid people. Not sure I’ve changed my mind on that…if you can do something else then do it. I started two businesses and have had the opportunity to be a part of some cool ministry stuff in the past and nothing was harder or more stressful than this journey.
- So with that said, if you’re considering planting, make sure it’s something that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has called you to. If you’re married, that would include 100% support and confirmation from your wife. The one thing Lisa and I were able to cling to time and time again through this whole process has been knowing that we were doing exactly what God wanted us to do
- I’m extremely proud of the love and support my previous church gave me and is still giving. For months only a handful of people knew that God was potentially calling me elsewhere. Having the blessing of the leadership to do and go where God was calling was extremely helpful. Thanks Earl and CFCOG for everything…I think we navigated what could have been disastrous territory about as well we could.
- The lesson for planter’s (or for church staff for that matter) is that as soon as you sense God is leading you away from your current assignment, let your senior leadership know ASAP. I’ve done this now twice and while it’s scary at the time, looking back it’s the best way to go instead of sneaking around behind their back. If God is really calling you elsewhere, then the leadership which provides your spiritual covering and protection will know it as well and will send you out with their blessing.
- The best time during this past year was the week that Lisa and I went out to San Diego for our assessment. Now some of you may be thinking…January in San Diego…yeah I can see how that would be a good thing. But it had nothing to do with the weather (ok maybe a little bit). It was perhaps the most intense time in the past year but we wouldn’t trade it for anything. If you’re considering planting then you NEED to be assessed. And not just a 1 or 2 day assessment either. I’ve heard about some of these and there is no way they can accomplish everything that a week long one does. If after reading that you’re interested, email Chuck Frank to get the conversation rolling.
- Telling the people at United and CFCOG that I was leaving was hard but again the love and support even to this day has been incredible.
- I didn’t leave staff there until the last day of May. This meant we were on a “short fuse” to launch. Most planters take 9-12 months to live in the community and prepare. Lisa and I never moved to Harrisburg until July. The lesson is that it can be done but I’d still recommend a longer process if you can do it.
- What made this even tougher is we’re going for what’s called “Large Scale Launch”. That simply means that instead of starting with a handful of people and growing from that, we’re looking to launch (in our case) with at least 400 people from day 1. I can’t speak for other strategies but here’s what I do know…
- You’d be foolish not to start with multiple staff. We’ve taken some heat for this but statistically plants with 2 staff do better than plants with just 1…and plants with 3 do even better than plants with 2. More than 3 doesn’t significantly change things. In our case we have 2 full-time (myself and our Pastor of Community and Connection), 1 part-time (Children’s Director), 1 volunteer staff (Worship) and 1 paid 6 week consultant leading up to launch. The funny thing about this is our combined salaries are in the window of some Senior Pastors salaries that I know. That’s not a knock on those Senior Pastors (they deserve every penny) what it does tell you is we have a team that was willing to sacrifice greatly from a personal standpoint to be a part of something with the potential to make a huge impact here in Harrisburg and beyond.
- So a staff team is essential as is a group of dedicated launch team members. This is where our short fuse hurt us most. I was hoping to have 100+ on the launch team when in reality we only have 63. As with anything…out of those then, about half do the majority of the work. I’m proud and grateful for everyone but especially of the 30 some people who have worked 4-5 nights a week all summer long getting ready for this Sunday.
- From May 31st to now seems like an eternity looking back, but we needed every minute of it. Here are some things we did…
- Visited and preached at other churches to raise support and get ideas.
- Held 6 block parties/community events where we provided free food, drinks, popcorn, games, bounce houses, prizes, The Game Truck and more. In prep for each of these the team would go door-to-door to at least 1000 households per event to hand out fliers. Each event got progressively bigger from 40 some at the first one to 400-600 at the last one. Big lesson here was to find a business on a busy road and ask them to use their parking lot…HUGE!
- We handed about 5500 business card size invites to people we’d run into in our daily lives, plus periodically just stand in parking lots and hand them out (until the business owner kicks you out 🙂 )
- Did 4 separate mailers to 20000 households and 1 last mailer to 40000 households (it hits mailboxes today). These mailers where WAY OUTSIDE THE BOX. We got nasty calls, emails and letters about them (mostly from other Christians) but they certainly created a buzz that has the community talking about us. In fact it was because of these that we got the attention and coverage from ABC27 News and The Patriot News.
- We ran ads on Google and our ad which is on Facebook from Wednesday through Saturday this week has already had over 2.5 million impressions and has generated over 1000 new unique visitors to our web-site.
- We are running daily ads in the Patriot News this week.
- We held 2 Preview Experiences to work out all the bugs.
- We held 12 Launch Team Meetings over the last 12 weeks in various parts of the city.
- Most importantly we have prayed and asked God to take our feeble efforts and bless them in ways that we could only dream about. One of my stops this summer was preaching and teaching at 2 churches up in the Boston, MA area. I stayed at the home of a family that lives on a lake and Sunday morning I woke up and did my devotions out on the dock. As I was praying I sensed God wanting me to open my eyes. When I did He said to me, “Gilbert do you see how big that lake is?” “Yes.” “Well all you are doing is like taking an eyedropper and putting a single drop in the lake. I’m responsible for the rest”. Two points from that…God has much more to do with our churches than what we do. 2nd though notice there was still something for me/us to do.
- I have been blown away by the churches that have been helping us from many different denominations and various parts of the country. We currently have over 35 churches who have helped us in a variety of ways.
- That leads to my next point…”The Big Ask”. Don’t be afraid to ask for things that seem crazy. My favorite example is what I asked from CrossPoint United Methodist Church which happens to be the closest church to us in proximity. Their property just happens to be where we needed to have one of our big directional signs on Sunday mornings. I met with their staff one day for lunch and worked up the courage to ask their Senior Pastor, Dave Biser, about putting one of our signs on their property. When he didn’t blow chucks of sushi out of his nose, I knew that was at least a great start. Long story short, Dave and his team were Kingdom minded enough to say yes! By the way, Lisa and I have visited there twice and they have so much to offer if Exponential is not for you.
- At some point I’ll list all the churches that have helped us, but my point is…work together with the other churches in your area…and not just to see what’s in it for you…genuinely try to help others even when you’re still small or in our case haven’t even started. Be about the capital “C” Church and building God’s Kingdom not your own.
- Another key for us was something I stumbled upon not knowing how valuable it would end up being. One of the first people to say yes to being on the launch team was Bill Butler. Bill is the aforementioned worship pastor who was so captured by the vision that he said, “I’ll do staff level work but do it for free”. Bill is local and so he knew a lot of musicians locally whom he knew would love to be a part of what we’re doing. I didn’t realize how important having a local guy would be in forming this team. I mean it makes sense now, but his wealth of contacts has enabled us to have a pretty solid band from day 1. In fact, after one of the Previews I had a lady express disappointment that the “band you hired” wouldn’t be there every week. When I explained that, “No that’s our band” she was ecstatic.
- Speaking of staff. As the senior leader you have to know where you’re strong and where you’re weak and then staff to your weakness (yet another reason to go to Assessment). I knew that for the vision God gave us, that I needed someone as passionate about the Monday-Saturday aspects of the church as I am about creating relevant Sunday worship experiences for people. So grateful that God brought us Chad Chute to fill that role. Chad originally interviewed to take my position in Chambersburg, but when that didn’t work out, I jumped at the chance to have him on our team because God has given him the gifts and passions to do what it is we’re asking him to do. Without him I’d give verbal assent to the missional side of things but probably not really accomplish it. With him it’s truly a case of being better together…were I’m weak he’s strong an vice versa. So thankful for Chad and his family!
- That leads to connections. When you talk to someone you need to also ask them who they know. It was through Chad that we found the perfect person to be our Children’s Ministry Director. Her name is Chelsea Miller and she just graduated with a degree in Children’s Ministry and was looking for someone to give her a shot. She was an intern at Chad’s church out in OH a couple of years back and the rest as they say is history. Imagine how proud I’ve been after the two previews to see kids running up to their parents and telling them how excited they were by the unique and fun ministry Chelsea and her team have provided.
- While I’m handing out personal accolades, again I’m proud of everyone, but perhaps the biggest risk was taken by my best friends, Andy and Gayle Krull. Unlike the rest of us who were coming from out of the area who were getting some compensation from the church, the Krull’s came giving up home, schools, jobs, etc. They put in incredible amounts of hours to Exponential above and beyond everyone else and I’m so fortunate to have friends that will follow God’s call no matter where their crazy friend goes. Gayle is a gifted musician and teacher so if you live locally and are looking for someone to teach your kids, she offers multiple things.
- And of course the biggest thanks goes to Lisa. 15 years now of wild adventures…there is no other person I’d rather do this life and journey with…I love you and I’m proud of the many unique ways you allow God to use you to further His Kingdom! Pretty amazing considering you don’t play the piano, cook or teach kids like every others pastors wife is expected to 🙂 Lesson here guys…allow your wife to be who God has created her to be and don’t bend to the expectations of others.
As I’m getting ready to post this we are now less than 44 hours to launch. I wanted to get this all out beforehand so it’s unfiltered by the success or failure of the day. To be honest I don’t know how big our launch will be. Regardless though if it’s 4, 40, 400 or 4000 we are going to rejoice about all that God has allowed us to do and be a part of this summer. We know this Sunday is just the beginning and not the end…pray for us that God will be glorified in all that we do!
You’re Invited to Our Launch!!!
As I looked through my notes today, I realized that it is almost 1 year to the date that God called me to start a new church in Harrisburg. At the time I thought I must have had some bad pepperoni pizza for lunch, because why in the world would He ask me to move to a strange city, give up pastoring a church we loved, leave behind a house we had just purchased and as I would eventually discover, even take a huge pay cut? Now looking back, I know why!
Harrisburg is an awesome place, we have met and made many new friends but most of all “A Church for People Who Don’t Like Church” is exactly what we keep hearing over and over the area needs. Now don’t get me wrong there are many wonderful churches in the area but we definitely know that so many people are craving the “Come as you are”, “No perfect people allowed” environment that we offer. We haven’t even officially started yet and we’ve already been featured on the front page of the Patriot News and ABC27 News did a story about us. Even the media realizes God is up to something different and special right here in Harrisburg.
Now the day has finally come. This Sunday, October 17th at 10am in the Regal Cinemas we launch ExponentialChurch.tv. I’m looking forward to seeing you there…even if it’s just for the opening day to wish us well as we start on this new adventure. Again hope to see you there and while you’re at it, why not bring a friend or two along with you to share in the excitment of what God is doing here in our midst.