Desperate and Committed

This past Sunday was the final preview worship service before the official launch of Northwest Community Church. We had a great service as our worship planning system starts to gain some serious momentum. I continue to be amazed at the team God has assembled.

During the teaching time this past Sunday we saw how Moses responded to an impossible task by doing two very simple things. When Moses was fighting against all odds, he got desperate to hear from God and he chose the health and well-being of the community over his own. Moses' example has church planting application written all over it. The launch of a new church from scratch would be an impossible task if it depended solely on human ingenuity and effort. For Northwest Community Church to succeed, we must remain willing to submit to God's vision for the church and be committed to the long-term growth of the entire body. True spiritual health/growth does not happen in isolation, nor does it fully occur in lives that are only half-way committed. Rather God works the most through people who are desperate (for him) and committed (to his local church). Please pray that Northwest Community Church will become the type of church that leads people to become desperate and committed.

Serve the Teachers

God continues to open up in-roads into the community of Bella Vista. It seems that almost every day I am able to either have breakfast, lunch, or coffee with someone new. Along the way, God has confirmed the fact that Bella Vista is the perfect place to launch Northwest Community Church. I am so grateful for how far we have gotten over the past 4 months. Sometimes I am amazed as I look back on the milestones God has allowed us to achieve in such a short time period: moving to AR, Sarah starting a new job, signing a lease on the BGC, finding a house to rent, hosting our practice services, meeting helpful churches in the area, forming a committed launch team, raising financial support, purchasing portable church equipment, and building key relationships in the community.

As you pray for NCC this week, please pray specifically for this Friday morning. We have been given the opportunity to serve breakfast to the 75 teachers at Cooper Elementary School in Bella Vista. We want to show the teachers our gratitude as we invite them to be apart of our very first official worship service on February 21st. Pray that God will give us favor with the teachers, that He will allow genuine friendships to be established, and that the teachers will be drawn to not only attend our church but to also tell others about us too.

Oh and don't forget that this Sunday (1/17) at 10 a.m. is our last preview service before our launch in February. We're pumped about the service especially since Greg and Cassi Luka will be here for good.

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.