- Another great day!
- 3 more first time professions of faith!
- One of our highest attendance days ever!
- Some cool stories of how people are applying this series to their lives and getting margin!
- Got to meet the 3 interns we’ll be working with this summer!
- Mike Smith was in the house!
- Lisa, my parents and myself were unexpectedly treated to a free lunch when a great couple from ECTV spotted us and had one of our “You Matter” cards delivered to the table! Problem was the waitress didn’t speak English very well (Japanese restaurant) so we didn’t fully understand what was happening until we went to pay and a waiter finally explained they had picked-up our bill!
- We convinced the theater to turn the AC on which made for a lot cooler Experience!
- Ok I think I’m out of statements that end with an exclamation point. Seriously!
- Ok seriously this time…it was a good day.
- Nothing too out of the ordinary except we again have equipment starting to feel the effects of the wear and tear of getting set-up and torn down each week.
- It was weird…last week I was looking forward to the message but didn’t feel good about it. Today was the opposite…I wasn’t feeling good about it going in but felt really good about it at the end,
- Guess you’ll have to listen for yourself.
- Essentially the message was about the practical steps to achieving financial margin. I think what I liked though were two specific illustrations that I used that when it finally dawned on people where I was going with them, I could audibly hear the “ah-ha” moments coming out of people’s mouths in a variety of ways.
- At the end I was able to share some of the awesome things we’ve been able to do in just 7 short months.
- Things like now 86 first time professions, over $20000 given in a variety of ways to help the community, incredible stories of lives being changed and transformed, etc.
- However, as I said, there are many other things that God has called us to do that we simply can’t yet because of finances.
- We’re not in trouble in any way, but I know God has so much more He wants us to do.
- So if you’d like to contribute financially, we’d greatly appreciate your support.
- I continue to be blown away by the incredible team God has assembled in such a short time and the things He’s allowed us to experience together as a church in only 7 short months…however…listen to me and listen carefully…
- The Best is Yet to Come!
Inside Today’s Experience
- Think we’ll call this the “Water and Fire” edition.
- First the water…more specifically, the rain.
- Amazingly in the 4+ months we’ve been meeting, this is the first Sunday we’ve had rain or snow on a Sunday morning as we set-up.
- Needless to say, putting out signs was not fun…although it was better than the mornings doing it in the bitter cold.
- We had the team come in earlier than normal for set-up to try to fix some of the sound issues from the previous week.
- Andy was pretty sure he knew what it was, but it turned out not to be the case.
- Thankfully within a few minutes he thought of something else and that ended up fixing it.
- As always after set-up, the band did a warm-up, then a full run through of the mornings music.
- When we do this, we use all the video’s, transitions, lights, music, welcome remarks, etc. Basically the only thing that doesn’t get practiced in the run through is my sermon. So in a lot of ways it feels like the real thing.
- Our opener for the day was B.o.B.’s song “Airplanes”. Instead of having me rap again, we brought in a real rapper.
- After the run-through was over, everyone was wondering what happened to him…
- Turns out he was in his car on his way home…he thought the run through was the real thing and he was done.
- When he got back he said he thought it was weird that only a few people had shown up!
- In any case he did a great job when we did it for real…click this link to watch he and the band cover the song. Great job Mark!
- The theater was really hot today…guess as the weather is starting to change we’ll have to adjust…my solution today was to take off the long sleeve shirt I had on and just going with my ECTV t-shirt I had on.
- A friend of mine once said he thinks it’s weird to see a pastor wearing his own churches t-shirt during an Experience because it’s almost like watching a rock band wear their own t-shirt during a concert.
- Not sure I agree fully with him, but I think of it anytime I wear one during the Experience.
- As if though there aren’t other things to think about. :)
- The Experience itself went well.
- Great to see Pastor Pat and Beth Kelly from Caring Community Church with us today. They and their church were a big part of helping us get launched….thank you , thank you, thank you! Enjoy your vacation.
- Also had Justin and Laura Beth Meier with us today as well for what will probably be the final time for awhile.
- The entire Meier family travels the country in an RV helping churches get launched...they soon move to Nashville to help Ed Stetzer with his new plant.
- Really excited about the new series we began today called ME*TRADE.
- Today we talked about how beliefs lead to the decisions we make and how decisions impact the outcomes of our life.
- Here’s the link to today’s message called, Renewing Your Mind.
- As as reminder, everyday starting tomorrow we’ll be reading through the book of John together as a church.
- Once you read that days chapter then go to our Facebook page to share your SOAP for the day.
- Just click the discussions link on the left side of the page then click that days chapter/date.
- If you don’t know how to use SOAP for your devotions, click the message link above and you can download the insert which explains what to do.
- Briefly, SOAP stands for… Scripture Observations Application Prayer
- Ok, so I started this post by saying today was about water and fire…so what’s the fire part?
- Well after the Experience was done, I’m in the lobby talking when…the fire alarm goes off.
- It was a false alarm but the fire trucks and firemen still showed up regardless.
- Made for an exciting end to the day.
- Here’s the scary part though, along with a spiritual application.
- Most people even though the alarm was going off just continued in their normal conversations as if everything was ok. This was before we knew it was a false alarm.
- Unfortunately that’s the state of America and modern day Christianity. The alarm bells are going off but most of us just keep on keeping on.
- In other words people are lost and going to hell but either they don’t respond to Jesus offer of forgiveness or if they are already a follower of Jesus, they seem to care less that other are in the same predicament that they themselves used to be in.
- That’s why every week we encourage you to “Show and tell” your faith. Show it by getting involved with our You Matter ministry.
- Tell is by inviting someone every single week to come to church with you on Sunday.
- Here’s the link to the promo video we showed today that can help you do that.
- Ok, this has been a long post so I’ll stop…looking forward to hearing everyone’s SOAP tomorrow about John Chapter 1.
Inside Today’s Experience
- Pretty good day.
- Started out in the dark with all the wind and cold getting our big signs out. We have 3 of them that are called Wind Master signs.
- Ummm…today they were mastered…2 of the 3 actually sheared off it was so windy.
- Set up went pretty smoothly and we had another batch of new people serving so that’s always exciting.
- Last week my preaching bible never made it home so I spent quite a bit of time looking for it. Finally found it in the lost and found at the theater.
- Was glad to find it but it made me again realize how fortunate we are as Americans. Many people around the world would do anything for a Bible. Here, not only do I have a bible, but actually multiple ones, one of which only gets used for sermon delivery.
- Maybe we’ll do a bible collection this year as a part of our You Matter Ministry this year.
- Really proud of our entire team…from set-up to actual execution of everything that needs to be done on a Sunday, things are going great.
- That includes the band who had another great day.
- It’s weird…even though I’m not a parent, I looked forward to today’s message about raising up the next generation more so than I have any in a long time.
- I’m praying that people, especially parents, will take seriously the new goal I gave them for raising up a generation of world-changers.
- Perhaps I was also excited because I knew my little buddy, Chase Bricker was going to being helping me in the sermon.
- If you want to hear the story of how at age 3 (he’s now 6) he became a Mighty Man of God, fast forward to about the 14 minute mark in the message.
- His parent’s Galen and Jill said that he’s been so excited since he found out a couple of weeks ago that he was going to get to help with the message.
- They said this morning he was up earlier than normal and even was volunteering to have his hair done, teeth brushed, etc because he couldn’t wait to make the drive up.
- He also told his mom that she wasn’t allowed to have her morning cup of coffee because he didn’t want to be late and on the hour long drive up from Chambersburg, he kept telling his dad to pass cars so they could make sure they got there.
- The entire Bricker family were short-term missionaries with us for the first 3 months to help get us launched and Chase multiple times said that he wanted to be our drummer. I knew that would be the perfect way to end his time on stage with me…and again who knows what that may spark in him.
- Big thanks to Steve Kurtz (our drummer) for spending some time answering Chase’s questions this morning and for also giving him his very own set of drum sticks.
- Chase was told that they best way to practice was on a pillow which I’m sure Galen and Jill will appreciate.
- Chase wanted his own drum set though and thought his sister’s room would be the perfect place to set it up.
- Anyway I was pleased with the message even if I did run longer than normal.
- I hope everyone saw that investing in the lives of kids doesn’t take a seminary education or great bible knowledge.
- It’s just taking the time to speak words of encouragement and being there for them.
- So please consider doing a first serve in the ECTV Kids Ministry. Again as I said…”It’s not a baby-sitting job, but rather a chance to invest in the next generation”.
- If you’re interested in trying it for one week, email our Director of Children’s Ministry, Chelsea Miller chelsea@ExponentialChurch.tv
- Also as I mentioned one of the best ways to make sure your kids have some other people speaking into their lives is by joining a Life Group. For more info on that email our Pastor of Community and Connection, Chad Chute chad@ExponentialChurch.tv
- If you’re interested in the Parent’s Dinner we’re having, click here for more info and to register online. This is an event you’re not going to want to miss.
- The New Year is off to a great start…so many things are going on that excite me about our future.
- Check back here and on our Facebook page for other info about events you’ll want to be a part of.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Another great day!
- What a lot of fun this series has been and today was no exception.
- From a behind the scenes perspective, we couldn’t have asked for a smoother day.
- I really love the new song the team did today called, “Arms Open Wide”…a good mix of slow worshipful reflection and driving rock.
- Brian is doing an awesome job with the stage sets and this particular one has made his lighting go to another level.
- So cool to have Dustin Swartz as our guest guitarist for “Don’t Stop Believing”…only 14 years old…wow!
- For those that missed the story, he played it as his audition song for Aaron just a matter of minutes after the creative team meeting in which we decided to use it as a part of this series.
- There’s coincidence and then there is God…we definitely thought this was a God thing and so we used him.
- Awesome job Dustin…keep using your gift to glorify God!
- Even after the wild outfits the last few weeks, today’s made me feel incredibly self conscious.
- Maybe because some people still dress like that today and I was embarrassed to be seen like that.
- I had a lot of fun with today’s message…talking about video games and the Gospel…does it get any better?
- Had 8 more first time professions of faith…that will never get old!
- Can’t wait for the Next Steps ministry to start in September.
- Speaking of new ministries…in case you missed it, last week we started the “You Matter” ministry and the first task was to provide a week’s worth of food for the Boys and Girls Club of Chambersburg.
- Not only did we do that, but we far exceeded it. We gave…
- Enough drinks to last them through November…
- Enough food to last through the winter…
- Enough cash and gift cards to get them to next summer!
- This week’s task is to fill backpacks for needy kids and already about a dozen have been filled and turned in…wow! Keep it up.
- I met some great new people today and all of them just couldn’t get over how different United was than what they expected from a church.
- If I haven’t mentioned it for awhile, let me remind you that I love getting to be your pastor. You guys rock!
- I’m really excited about next week…not only will there be a 1990’s medley but I’ll be preaching based on the Beck’s song, Loser.
- I’m really, really looking forward to this message…make sure you invite a lot of people.
Inside Today’s Experiences
- Had a good day today!
- Ok any day where 6 people come into a relationship with Christ qualifies as not just a good day, but a great day!
- What a fun series as we look back at the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.
- Again the band did a fantastic job of putting a medley together.
- That I got to help by rapping, Parent’s Just Don’t Understand was not only fun, but nerve-wracking.
- I didn’t have in-ear monitors, so I had to go off the sound from the house,
but you guys were cheering so loud that I couldn’t hear the beat…got off a
few times, but all in all it was fun to participate. - I’m thinking Andrea was born to do covers of other bands…she again
killed her parts! - Had two new people on the team today and for the first time out, we
threw a lot of stuff at them and they came through…thanks Dan and
Cressa! - I again think that the medley wound people up and by the worship set
you guys were raring to go. - I loved that during the 9:45, there was one point where all our vocalists
dropped out and for about 1 minute it was nothing but the sound of your
voices…and LOUD! - I thought Brian did an awesome job with the song, Everybody Hurts. What a great intro into the message.
- I know today’s message wasn’t all touchy-feely, but it was something we all need to be reminded of from time to time.
- If Jesus brand was “love” and “compassion”, what makes us think ours should be anything different?
- I’m really excited about the new You Matter ministry.
- If you want to practically apply today’s message by getting involved helping the hurting in our community, You Matter is definitely the ministry for you to get involved with.
- Big props to Scott McCurley for dressing in his best 1980’s costume…wow that was impressive. Don’t forget you can dress the part each week as well.
- Next week we’ll again look at the 80’s, this time with the song, Don’t Stop Believing.
- Almost hard to believe, but today marks the 1-year anniversary since we expanded to 2 Experiences.
- What’s amazing is that one year ago we were blown away by the attendance. In fact we set a record that day.
- Today even though we had higher attendance than 1 year ago, it felt like a let down because people are still in full vacation mode.
- I’m excited about this series, but can’t wait for the next one when everyone is back and in inviting mode and we see dozens come to Christ each week, not just 1/2 dozen.
- You say. “Gilbert can’t you just be content with what we’ve got”?
- And the answer is a big fat NO. As long as there are people in our community that don’t yet know Jesus, our mission is not complete.
- Join me in making a difference…you won’t regret it!
- Invite someone to church with you next week.
- Help “You Matter” to feed children in the Boys and Girls Club this week.
- Wear your “You Matter” wristband all week and use it to share the good news with others.
- YOU MATTER and you can make a difference!
