Year End Giving

To all those who receive our blog...Could I ask you to prayerfully consider something for me? Would you please pray about God leading you to contribute to the launch of Northwest Community Church with a year-end gift this Christmas? Also, would you consider others in your life who might be drawn to give to a new church plant and be willing to share our story with them?

We believe God has given us a compelling vision and we have diligently developed a clear plan for fulfilling that vision. Our plan, however, is heavily dependent upon God raising up kingdom-minded men and women who believe in the local church and have a generous spirit towards things that will make a lasting impact. It is with a totally pure conscience that we ask people to give to the launch of Northwest Community Church because we are 100% convinced that the local church is the hope of the world. In fact, the ultimate mission of Northwest Community Church is to plant a church that will one day turn around and help plant other healthy churches.

For the remainder of 2009, all contributions to NCC should be sent to:

Grand Ave. Baptist Church

3900 Grand Ave.

Fort Smith, AR 72904

Be sure to add "NWA Church Plant" in the memo line of each check.

Merry Christmas!

All Our Equipment Arrived

This past weekend was a major milestone in the life of Northwest Community Church as Church on Wheels delivered all of our church equipment at the Boys and Girls Club in Bella Vista. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning as we unpacked all the hospitality, sound, staging, and children's equipment that will allow us to reach unchurched families in the NWA community. Sarah and I were completely humbled by the weekend for two main reasons:

1. God has provided so much. I literally stand in awe of how God has provided the resources we need to launch His church in Bella Vista. I am not even sure how to explain all of this. All I know to do is continue to cast the vision of Northwest Community Church to the people God places in my path and give Him thanks along the way.
2. We have been blessed with the greatest launch team ever. Again, I can't explain it. I wish I could say it was because of my incredible leadership ability, but we all know that would be a joke. The reality is that God has called some of the most talented people I have ever met to serve on the launch team of NCC...men and women who believe that the local church is the hope of the world and want to see the our local church reach its redemptive potential. Sarah and I just feel blessed we get to serve on that launch team. They encourage us at every step.

God is so good.

The Trailer Is Ready For Church Planting

Today I picked up our trailer from Beaver Lake Distribution outside of Garfield, AR. It arrived from the manufacturer around Thanksgiving, but we needed a few modifications made to it. The guys at BLD (Curt, Richard, Taylor, and James) did an outstanding job. Our trailer will be the most efficient church haulin' trailer you've ever seen.

Remember this Sunday (12/20) 10:00 a.m. at the Bella Vista Boy's & Girls Club is our December preview worship service. Come serve and join the launch team of Northwest Community Church.

Second Half of November

Over the past several weeks, I have determined that people who update their blog on a daily basis must not be very busy. Actually, I have wanted to send an update out to all the supporters of NCC and just simply have not sat down and made it happen. Things are going well with the church plant. There are a million plates spinning in the air and our team is trying to keep them all balanced. Here is a list of exciting things happening in the life of Northwest Community Church.

1. God has led us to some incredible, healthy individuals and churches who are helping Northwest Community Church in Christ-honoring ways. I attribute these relationships to God because there is no way on a human level I could have worked some of these details out. I have got to give a shout out to New Heights Church in Fayetteville and First Baptist Church of Springdale. If you ever get a chance to worship, serve, or be involved in these churches you should jump at the opportunity. They are kingdom-minded and have hearts that want to see people come to know Christ.
2. On Saturday, December 19th 99% of our equipment is set to arrive at the Boys and Girls Club in Bella Vista. Over the past several weeks, I have felt more like a project manager than a pastor. It is amazing all the logistics that go into launching a portable church that can be easily set up and torn down each week. Besides Church on Wheels Inc, I've gotten to work with welders, trailer manufacturers, equipment suppliers, banner companies, storage facilities, insurance agents, the Boys and Girls Club, a funeral home director (to negotiate extra parking), and a dozen other contacts who are helping make this whole thing possible.
3. In the meantime, our launch team continues to grow. I am amazed at the talented people God is assembling to launch Northwest Community Church. I feel completely privileged to even be on the team and watch what God is going to do in the Northwest Arkansas area.
4. We got word a few weeks ago that the Forum and Project 648 (young adults ministry groups at MPFBC) are going to sponsor 200 chairs for NCC by not only paying for them but also praying for the people who will sit in those chairs on launch Sunday. The cool thing is that when people come to NCC for the first time on February 21, 2010 they will have no idea that people in Georgia are praying that they will connect with Christ and his local church in NWA.

Please remember to pray for our next preview service which is set for Sunday, December 20th at 10:00 a.m. If you are in NWA that weekend, please stop by and join us.

November Service

This past Sunday we hosted our second preview service at the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club. It was a great day of fellowship, worship, and teaching. Here are a few random thoughts that went through my head that morning:

1. It's weird/ridiculous how easy it is for Satan to cause doubt in our life. Here we are in the middle of planting a church, moving across the country, quitting our jobs, totally trusting God to do a miracle and yet for brief moments I get these ideas that this whole thing is stupid. On Sunday as I was pulling into the BG Club it hit me for the first time how stupid this whole thing is if you look at it from purely a logical, human perspective. And yet, I know those thoughts are not from God. Man we are fragile. We are like little kids who need constant reassurance from their parents.
2. During our preview services we are working our way through our vision statement: Leading people to experience a new life in Christ. It is the statement that summarizes what our launch team is all about. So far we have studied two passages in Mark where Jesus called the first 4 disciples and then called Matthew as well. In the first account Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James, and John that he is going to make them into fishers of men. Think for a moment how crazy that sounds. And yet, that was (and is) Jesus' main agenda...To produce followers who fish. Or in today's context...to produce followers who lead other people to Christ.
3. One final random thought from Sunday. God is putting together an incredible launch team for Northwest Community Church. I find myself wishing I could hang out with these people every day of the week. I feel like hidden talents are really starting to come out of the background as people step up to solve problems and make good things happen.

God is good so we are trusting him every step of the way.

This Sunday

Don't forget that this Sunday at 10 a.m. is our November worship service at the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club at 2260 Forest Hills Blvd. If you are anywhere near Northwest Arkansas this weekend you should join us and bring some friends too. If you happen to have the lame excuse of living 10+ hours away, then please be praying for us.

For those of you who have followed NCC for the last several months, you know that part our launch strategy consists of monthly worship services leading up to our official launch date. We are hosting monthly worship services from October - January on the third Sunday of each month. Our launch date has been set for Sunday February 21, 2010 when we will officially begin hosting our weekly worship services. Please be praying for the entire launch team who is working very hard to plan and prepare for the launch of NCC.

Great New Network

Last weekend, Sarah and I had the privilege of spending Friday and Saturday at the Arkansas Baptist State Convention in Little Rock, AR for some church planting training. We met some great people who have a passion for reaching the unchurched and seeing healthy churches planted. We also learned of the ABSC's efforts to connect church plants with some of the more established churches in Arkansas. Be sure to check out www.ABSCchurchplanting.blogspot.com. At the top of the page you will see a brief video of Sarah and me along with a link to Northwest Community Church's blog and website.

I am so encouraged by this type of project by the ABSC because it goes right along with our conviction that all healthy churches should be reproducing themselves spiritually in the life of new church plants. You can never have too many healthy churches.

Northwest is on Facebook

Join the Northwest Community Church Group on Facebook to see pics, updates, and upcoming service times.

Church on Wheels

This past week we received our bid from Church on Wheels to provide us with the equipment necessary for Northwest Community Church to host our worship services and children's ministry in the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club on Sunday mornings. At this point in the process, Church on Wheels, has been great to work with. They have been super prompt, courteous, and seem to really take pride in what they do. As promised their bid came in slightly higher than the final package we will be able to afford. Our task this week has been to pare the equipment list down to fit our budget.

Please pray that God will provide the funds necessary for us to purchase the equipment we need from Church on Wheels. We have estimated that we need an additional, $20,000 during the month of November in order for us to justify moving forward with the purchasing process. At this particular point, we do not know how God will provide the additional funding. At the same time, (this is the part that might sound foolish to some people) we are confident of God's leadership up to this point so we are just going to continue to trust him.

In other developments, we are excited at the lease we secured for the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club. The staff at the club are some of the nicest people I have ever met and have offered to help with the church plant. Plus, I was able to meet with the business owner next door who is going to allow us to use his parking lot on Sunday mornings as we out grow the Boys and Girls Club lot...it never hurts to be looking down the road. We certainly serve a big God so why not dream big dreams of what He can accomplish if we make ourselves available to him?

First Monthly Service

Yesterday Northwest Community Church hosted her first monthly worship service in the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club as we prepare for our launch on February 21, 2010. We had a great time of prayer, worship, teaching, bagel eating, coffee drinking, and even a few rounds of ping-pong thrown in the mix. Afterwards, the launch team got down to business as we continued our discussion of vision, process, systems, and strategies.

Here is a graphic that illustrates the relationship of these important items:

Currently the launch team is working on the Worship Planning System which will define who we plan, implement, and evaluate our weekend worship services.

This week, we also brought in a consultant from Church on Wheels (Eric) to help us determine our equipment needs and facility layout options to convert the Boys and Girls Club into a church on a weekly basis. Eric was super helpful and gave us lots of good ideas/possibilities. We are looking forward to receiving the final bid from Church on Wheels in the days ahead. As we take each step along this journey, we are trusting God to give us the wisdom we need to move forward.

A Crazy Fun Week

A lot is going to be happening in the prenatal life of Northwest this week. For those of you who are lifting this church plant up in prayer, please pray specifically for the following:

1. Greg and Cassi Luka. They are flying in from Louisville, KY this week to help serve, get to know the area better, and attend our first monthly worship service. They will eventually be moving here prior to the official launch to serve as our small groups pastor.
2. On Thursday and Friday we are meeting with a consultant, Eric, from Church on Wheels who will help us develop a plan for being a portable church. If you have never heard of Church on Wheels, check them out at www.churchonwheels.com
3. On Sunday, October 18 at 10 am we will be hosting our very first monthly worship service in the Bella Vista Boys and Girls Club! It will be very simple with no equipment. We will have a time of singing, worship, prayer and teaching as we focus our attention on Christ and the task he has given us to plant a new church. Afterwards, we will have a launch team meeting followed by some lunch.

Vision, Process, Systems, Strategies

Over the past two Sunday afternoons, the launch team of Northwest Community Church has been exploring the relationship between vision, process, systems, and strategies. Obviously these 4 words do not spark tons of inspiration in most people, but they are crucial concepts for us to grasp if we are going to launch large and prepare for growth. Here are the key principles we are learning:

1. Our vision (leading people to experience a new life in Christ) determines our process.
2. Our process (connect with God, live in community, serve people, grow in Christ) is supported by the 8 systems of the church.
3. Our systems will operate smoothly by implementing clear strategies.
4. Our strategies will allow us to fulfill our vision.

This certainly is not rocket science. In fact, the beauty of it is that it is quite simple. And that is what we hope to become...a simple church that leads people who are unchurched and possibly far from Christ towards experiencing a new life in Christ.

Website is Live

You can now check Northwest Community Church out online. Take a look. www.lifeatnorthwest.org

Be sure to use the "Tell someone about Northwest" button at the top right of each page.

Check us out. Read our story. Join the launch team.

Process and Systems

On October 4th the launch team of Northwest Community Church will begin meeting weekly on Sunday afternoons to develop the process and systems that will support our vision of leading people to experience a new life in Christ. Allow me to explain...

Here are two convictions that are shaping my perspective in the launch of NCC:

1) All of life is a journey. We were meant for movement, growth, and discovery. In our spiritual life, we are either moving closer to God or further away based upon our relationship and obedience to Christ. As a result, one of the best ways a church can serve people is by giving them a crystal clear process for spiritual growth...to actually show them how they can experience a new life in Christ.

2) The Church is a body. A healthy body exists when all of its systems are working properly. Therefore, a healthy church has healthy systems.

As a result the #1 goal of the launch team over the next four months will be to develop a clear process along with the healthy systems needed to support the vision of NCC. Please be praying that God will give the launch team wisdom in these areas. Ultimately we want to develop the type of process and systems that bring God a lot of happiness.

Careful Planning

"Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run;

hurry and scurry puts you further behind."

Proverbs 21:5, The Message

Over the past 10 months, we have been preparing a plan/strategy for how to launch a new church that would connect with unchurched people in a NWA community. So far, the plan is on track and moving along. While the launch team continues to move forward, we intend to turn our sites towards developing a plan that will take us through the next 18 months...launch and beyond (sounds like a line from Star Wars). In other words, we need to develop a unique church strategy for how Northwest Community Church is going to fulfill the vision God has given us of leading people to experience a new life in Christ. In order to do so, our launch team will begin meeting as a team on a weekly basis during the next several months leading up to the February launch. Before our first launch team meeting, I have asked everyone to read two things:

1. Simple Church by Thom Rainer http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Church-Returning-Process-Disciples/dp/0805443908/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253645813&sr=8-1
2. Healthy Systems Healthy Church by Nelson Searcy

In addition, please be praying for our entire launch team as we seek out God's unique strategy for Northwest Community Church. One thing I have noticed is that everyone and their mom has an opinion about how we should "do church." While I will always be willing to respectfully listen to people's opinions on things, I am not interested in taking polls on what people are looking for in a church or trying to even become a church that pleases every single person. On the other hand, I am highly interested in prayerfully seeking God's strategy for NCC and remaining true to the vision of leading people to experience a new life in Christ. More to come...

We are in the Natural State

Sarah and I are officially back in Arkansas! Last week we packed up the POD, loaded down the truck and a U-Haul trailer, and headed west. On Sunday we moved in with our good friends Kevin and Kayla Crow who are helping us launch the church. Sarah started her new job and I was able to get started on the 1,000 things I have to do before we can launch the church.

Also, I got an encouraging call this week from Soddy-Daisy First Baptist Church (near Chattanooga, TN) saying they will be a church sponsor of Northwest Community Church. We are excited to partner with them as we show people that healthy churches help plant other healthy churches. Just like we as believers should be investing and sowing into the lives of other people, so too should healthy churches invest in the life of other local, New Testament churches. It really sounds like a simple process, but it is one that is only brought about when we fully submit our lives to Christ and allow him to work in and through us. Less of us and more of Him.

This weekend, we will be down in Fort Smith with Grand Ave Baptist Church as she celebrates her 75th anniversary.

Exodus 33:14

Yesterday, I got a very encouraging voicemail and email from my grandmother in Chattanooga. She quoted Exodus 33:14 when God told Moses "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. As I thought about it, I was reminded that God was promising Moses that he would go with him and use him for his purposes as long as Moses was obedient to God's leadership in his life. God was calling Moses to step out on faith and do something he could not do on his own. During his leadership journey, Moses would face problems, frustrations, and he even made some major mistakes along the way, but God continued to lead Moses and use him to accomplish His purposes.

Now, I know none of us on the launch team are Moses and we are not even in that same leadership league. I doubt very seriously if any of us have the experience or ability to lead thousands of people through the wilderness. In fact, I can't even lead myself and 3 others in an adventure race without getting lost. At the same time, God has called us to do something significant in our own generation...that is to plant a church that will reach unchurched people for Christ. Like Moses we can have the confidence that God will lead us and go with us because he is the one who called us to this mission. And, like Moses, we can expect some obstacles and disappointments along the way. However, no matter what happens we must never take our eyes off of Christ. This is His church. His mission. His calling.

Moving Week

The real journey is about to begin. Sarah and I started packing up our house this past week. The POD is being delivered today and we are set to arrive in Arkansas next week. It is so easy for us to take our eyes off of Christ and go into panic mode if we start to think about all the loose ends in our life right now. The only thing we keep reminding ourselves is that we truly feel Christ calling us to plant Northwest Community Church. As a result, it is Christ who is responsible for working out the details. Our job is to be obedient and work hard....we are trying to do both.

Would you please pray for the following events/people this week:

• Mountain Park First Baptist Church...specifically the Forum and Project 648
• Kevin and Kayla Crow as we move in with them
• The sale of our house in Stone Mountain
• Financial contributors who need to step up and give to the church launch
• Strength and patience for Will and Sarah

By the way, these prayer requests are not meant to sound like downers. We are not nervous or fearful about these things. Rather, we are excited and enthused at the opportunity to be a part of something significant. What could be more exciting than planting a church that is going to reconnect people to their Heavenly Father?

Relearning It's Not About You

Here's a play-by-play of the last two weeks:

• Went to Arkansas for Andrew and Laine's totally fun wedding
• Sarah had a job interview/friendly chat with David Lee...This was a huge answer to prayer and Sarah is excited to start working at Beale, Lee, and Associates in the Bella Vista Town Center in September.
  
• Went to church at Grace Point Church in Bentonville
• Had some important church planting meetings
  
• Drove around Bella Vista...looked at housing, schools, neighborhoods
• Returned to Atlanta, showed our house a few times, preparing to pack up

In addition, I want to share with you something I was reminded of while worshiping at Grace Point Church last Sunday. This was our first time to attend Grace Point and we loved it. GP seems to be a very missional, friendly, vibrant church. But, here is what God reminded me of in my first 10 minutes after walking in the door at GP: It's Not About You. Let me explain.

Last Sunday morning, as Sarah and I walked through the door at GP, I began wondering who is going to be friendly to me? Who is going to tell me they are glad I am here? Who is going to lead me to worship? Who is going to teach me the Scripture? And then, it dawned on me...This is not about me. I am a believer and I should walk into every church with an attitude of service. As I thought about it, I almost couldn't believe I had come to church with any other mindset. Here I am a church planter and yet I was walking into a church thinking it was all about me.

So, let's get this straight right from the beginning. Northwest Community Church is not going to be about you and it's not about me. For those of us who are members of the launch team we might have to constantly remind ourselves of this lesson over and over again...We are planting a church that is all about Christ and is all about serving others. The amazing thing about this kind of attitude is that when unchurched people encounter Northwest Community Church they should get the feeling that it's all about them because we will have such a radical atmosphere of serving. Let's change each other to relearn the lesson that "It is not about you."

Cast and Trust

The church plant fund is finally starting to make some traction. This week we crossed the 30K mark which was a huge encouragement to the entire launch team. As most of you know, Grand Avenue Baptist Church is serving as a partner with us by temporarily receiving all of the donations for NCC and helping us file as a non-profit corporation. When I spoke to Don Lehman (Business Administrator at Grand) this week he gave me an update on the fund total which included a private/anonymous gift from someone for $7,500. I am truly grateful for the generosity of people as they give to the launch of a new church which has the potential to impact hundreds for Christ.

Obviously we still have more money to raise, but I do not intend to change my approach one bit...and that is to keep casting the vision for Northwest Community Church and trust God to prompt the right individuals to give. Likewise, this week I had the opportunity to meet with my good friend and mentor, Eddie Mayfield, who gave me some advice on how to approach influential businessmen with request for money. Eddie's advice:

1. Be direct. Get to the point.
2. Show them you've got a clear plan/strategy, but realize that they don't want to know every single detail of the plan.
3. Explain the need and ask them if they can help meet that need.

At this point, I plan to pursue my leads with some businessmen in the Atlanta and Chattanooga areas, but please don't hesitate to send me the name/contact info of other businessmen who could potentially be used by God to help launch NCC.

Launch Team Updates

Things are moving along. This past week I had the chance to listen in on a tele-seminar with Nelson Searcy (pastor of the Journey in NYC) as he spent an hour talking about church systems. I know for most normal people that sounds like an hour of torture, but it was very beneficial. And remember, church systems are not going to go away. Rather, I intend for NCC to become a breeding ground for efficient church systems so that Christ can work through us and maximize life-change in our lives as well as the new people God sends our way. More to come on that later.

Meanwhile, Greg has become a guru of technology as he attended the Gurus of Tech Conference in Louisville, KY a few weeks ago. This was a free conference for techie church guys. I was excited to hear that Greg attended an event like this because someone (probably several of us) on our team is going to have to step up in order for us to become even a semi-tech savvy church. For those of you who don't know Greg very well, let me explain something about Greg. Probably the main reason Greg and I became such good friends is because Greg is completely comfortable trying something even when he has absolutely no idea what he is doing. The wonderful thing about Greg is that he always figures out the solution along the way. Plus, onlookers think he knew what he was doing the whole time...but don't be fooled. Seriously, we need people with this kind of attitude especially on a church plant team.

Do you remember a few weeks ago in a newsletter I mentioned that I had some exciting news? Well I got a call last week to confirm that an organization in Chattanooga, Souls for Christ Inc, is donating $10,000 to help launch Northwest Community Church! Two of their board members said that we have put together a great "business plan." This news was extremely encouraging to me and affirms the fact that we just need to keep plugging away. All it will take is for a few more businessmen, churches, or organizations to feel called to make a similar commitment and NCC will be ready to launch.

Finally, Sarah and I are planning to attend the Catalyst Conference October 8-9 in Atlanta. Any of the launch team members are invited/encouraged to come with us. It will be a super affordable trip. We can ride together, have free places to stay/eat in Atlanta, and through the generosity of some great people we can get a killer rate on the conference fees. Check out http://www.catalystconference.com/ for more info on this leadership development event. Be sure to let me know this week if you are interested in attending with us because I have to order our tickets this week as a group.

No Hateful People Allowed

A few years ago, a pastor named John Burke wrote a book entitled "No Perfect People Allowed." Burke pastors Gateway Church in Austin, TX which has done an excellent job of building a culture that accepts people just as they are and then allows Christ to transform them. It is a great book about a great church. Well, this past week I thought of a similar title of a book which could examine a different aspect of healthy church culture..."No Hateful People Allowed." Let me explain.

Without naming names and being hateful myself, here is something I learned this week...Christ followers have no excuse for ever being hateful to each other. There literally should be a sign in churches that says "No hateful people allowed." The sad thing is that in some churches that would cause half the people to stay home. I reflected on this idea for a while this week and I have a theory as to why there are hateful people in churches. Ready? Here it is: No one ever told them to stop being hateful.

Recently I heard a talk by Bill Hybels which I think applies to the idea of telling hateful people to "STOP IT!" Hybels said, "It is a leader's job to call fouls." In other words, a leader cannot sit idly when someone is being hateful, disrespectful, or un-Christ like to another person, especially in a public gathering where their behavior is a model for lots of other people. So, I have decided that even before we launch Northwest Community Church that we are not going to allow people in the church to be hateful to each other. Also, I am asking every member of the launch team to help eradicate hateful people as well. If you see a hateful person, just explain to them that this is not how we act, give them a do-over, and let them try again. I know this sounds like a joke, but I am dead serious. I will put a whistle around my neck if I have to and call fouls.

By the way, this is not directed at anyone on our launch team...you guys are the least hateful people I know. I am just preparing for the fact that in an environment of imperfect people (which I am certainly one of) people are bound to be hateful from time to time. But, that doesn't mean we just let it slide. Christ did not die for his Church so we would act like a bunch of hateful people.