Ten Years to 2000

Why set goals?  Because goals make sense.  Goals are choosing what we aim at.  You have heard it said, "Aim at nothing and you will hit it every time."  There is nothing magical about our goal and I would even say there is nothing mystical about it either.  Meaning, no one heard God say, "Reach 2000 in ten years."  Our goal is what we can see God doing through us over the next ten years.  Who knows, God may do it much sooner. There are two basic mistakes people make when setting goals. 

• They set their goals too low so they don't need God to achieve them.
• They set them so high they really don't believe they can achieve them. 

Both ways are wrong.  The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."  We have set a goal that both stretches our faith and we believe with God's help we can do it.

We can achieve this goal as a team working together, like eating an elephant, we will do it one bite at a time.

Our short term or first step goals is to reach 300 in attendance by next the fall of 2015.  That alone is a big goal.  To do it we will all need to work together to do several things:

1. Give our building a facelift.  Some might disagree saying, how our facility looks really doesn't matter as long as our heart is right.  They argue, "God does not look on the outside; 'God looks at the heart'".  I would agree with them if our goal was to reach other Christ-followers, but if we want to reach the nonbeliever we had better quote the rest of that verse which says, "Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart." The harsh reality is nonbelievers who drive by our facility judge our heart by the way our facility looks.  This project includes giving our building a new look from the street by removing the old glass enclosure and adding a covered porch made of cedar beams and a metal roof with two large double doors for the entrance.  It also includes installing a wood-grain vinyl-plank floor, repainting the entire inside of the building, and several decorator's touches.  The cost of the project is about $50,000.  We were given $16,000 shortly after mentioning this project the very first time leaving us with a remaining need of: $34,000.
2. Hire a "rock star" kind of youth pastor.  Please don't get hung up on the terminology.  We are not looking for a personality, but for someone whose skill and calling to God and our young people makes them a standout.  We have interviewed a few different candidates who are good men, but so far we have not found the man in whom we have the confidence that God has said, "This is the man."
3. Hire a worship pastor who is skillful at leading us to experience God's presence.  Currently we are looking to hire this person part time and over time transition this person into a full time position.  You may remember Austin Cope who led worship the later part of March and the first week of April.  We invited Austin to join our team and he gladly accepted the position but the following week he was called to a full time position at another church.
4. Launch small groups in a solid way.  Since our beginning we have struggled to do small groups well.  Even from the start when we had several groups we lost them one by one as groups and group leaders chose not to sign up for the next semester.  Initially we will begin doing things together hosting men's activities, and women's activities.  This summer we will pilot a few different groups and settle on a model to launch in the fall.
5. Through the growth from the new people we have reached we will have the resources to expand our children's ministry, which will begin getting the lion's share of our resources until we have a first class children's ministry.
6. Continue building excellence into every ministry team.  Whether it is "needs based" evangelism, or a Sunday serving team we will do the best we can with the resources we have.  Remember, excellence is not the same as perfection, which we will never achieve.  Excellence is doing the best we can with the resources we have.  If we can look back at our work and say, "That was my best effort", then we have succeeded. 

 

This is the plan we are following to reach 300 and as we approach this initial goal we will roll out our next goal and strategy to reach 500, then 750, then 1000, then 1500, and 2000...

What you can do right now:

• Pray for each component of the overall strategy.  Set a reminder on your phone to pray at 12:00 noon one or more days a week and ask God to give us success in each of the things mentioned above.  Pray with us on Sunday evening at 6:00.  Though you are welcome to pray out loud no one will ask you to. You can pray silently in agreement and add exponential power to our prayers.  Jesus said, "If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you."  Praying in agreement is the key.
• Give to our remodeling project.  Start praying now about your faith goal.  Don't set your goal so low you don't need God, but don't set it so high you don't believe you can do it either.  Talk it over as a family.  What can you sell - what do you have around the house you can sell and turn into cash to reach the lost?  What can you do without - how much could you save if you did not go out to eat for a month, if you did not go to Starbucks for four weeks, if you did a "stay-cation", if you didn't drive on the toll road, etc.?  What could you earn as a family or small group by washing cars, mowing yards, babysitting, petsitting, etc.?  You can give online or in your weekly offering envelop.  Note your gift as “Bold Mission Remodel”.
• Serve for the success of God's work.  The church is God's missionary strategy to reach the world.  It will not be enough the make our facility beautiful if we don't work to reach those who are far from God.  Invest in those God has put in your life and invite them to church with you. Join a LifeGroup and serve on a ministry team.

Imagine how fast we could reach our goals if we all did a combination of these things.  Imagine how much fun we would have and how much pleasure we would bring to God if we prayed and worked together in community of other friends and families. 

Let's do it!

By his grace and for his glory!

Craig

Click to give now.

WHOEVER IS KIND TO THE POOR

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Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17 (NIV2011)

Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble. Psalm 41:1 (NLT)

In Acts 10 we read...

He [Cornelius] was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. ³ One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. ⁴ Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Acts 10:2-4 (NLT)

Some times serving the poor can seem pretty thankless.  You get up and go down to the soup kitchen, or as in my area, to the Grace Bridge food pantry, or to Frisco for Clothe A Child and you see little results.  People are fed or clothed, needs are met and sometimes someone gets saved, but you rarely see anyone turn their life around.  The miraculous rarely happens and angels don’t show up every day – they didn’t for Cornelius either. But then we catch a glimmer of God at work and we go back again or perhaps we just go back because we should.

The blessings of God are like the kiss of an angel.  They often go unnoticed. You, or someone you love, comes into contact with a deadly disease you never get.  You lose your keys and leave five minutes later than you planned and avoid a fatal or life altering crash.  A faithful follower of Christ befriends your rebellious child.  You make it to the gas station when you thought your car would run out of gas along the highway. Your pushy creditor suddenly agrees to a generous payoff.  You get a promotion and a raise you weren’t expecting or a surprise check comes in the mail . . . and so often we never connect the dots, but somewhere in heaven an angel flashes a smile and a wink that says, “You are blessed!  God has received your prayers and kindness to the poor as an offering!”

Paul’s counsel to the Galatians is good for us, too!

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)

Make The Most of Your Time

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I was thinking about my recent reading from the classic time management booklet, Tyranny of the Urgent, and this verse came to mind.  "...be careful how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time for the days are evil."  Then Paul quickly adds the how to: "So then don't be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" Eph. 5:15-16 (NASB).  This is the key making any wise investment of time - understanding God's will.  That's how Jesus knew it was not time to heal every illness or cast out every demon.  That's how he knew when it was time to head to Jerusalem.  He understood what the will of the Lord is. 

If we hope to avoid using our time foolishly in this life - in our home, our church, our work, and our community we will have to make time daily to understand the will of the Lord.  I thought about this - the only person who can best tell you how to use your time is you.  And the only way you can know how is to give the first part of our time back to God and spend time alone with Him.  

This is my prayer: Father, as we each make decisions with how to use our time I pray we are found faithfully seeking your will.  And with that understanding we will say and do or don't say and do as you would have us to.  Amen.

Charles Hummel outline for making wise decisions regarding the use of our time:

1. Make a plan through meditation and prayer before you start the day.
2. Resist making on the spot commitments.
3. Evalute regularly - one hour weekly and one day monthly

"The only alternative to frustration is to be sure that we are doing what God wants." 

                                                                                        - Charles E. Hummel -

BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING

I was just thinking this morning about God's command to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray, giving thanks..." God's blessings have been falling like rain in my life and ministry lately increasing my work load dramatically. I was feeling more than a little anxious until I thought about God's command. I realized with greater clarity why God said, don't be anxious for anything, but pray with thanksgiving for everything. When I am anxious it is because I am feeling the pressure of what I must do and fearing (anxiety is a form of fear) I'm not enough for the task. But when I stop and pray, with thanksgiving, I put the burden back where it belongs, on God. Then the most amazing thing happens. Peace returns. In fact, the peace Jesus gives actually forms a guard protecting my heart and mind. Who would'a thunk it?! God, you are amazing! Thank you. 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV2011)