Blueprint: There is never going to be a better time to check out Life Church

I wanted to tell you all about some things that are happening at Life Church Woodstock. We are going to start a 3 week series on Sunday mornings called Blueprint. During the Blueprint series I'm going to discuss our vision, mission, and core values. Blueprint is designed to be an opportunity for people who are interested in learning more about Life Church. The atmosphere for the first 2 weeks of blueprint will be more of a relaxed setting where people are welcome to ask questions and process material. The 3rd week of blueprint will be a full blown worship service. This will give you a chance to get a feel for the church. This series starts August 12th. If you are not plugged into to a church, are looking for a church, or know someone that is, there is never going to be a better time to come check things out. I hope to see you there!

Small groups: The week of August 19th we are going to be launching 2 new small groups. The small groups are going to be open. You don't have to be on our launch team, or even attend the church to participate in a small group. Though we would encourage you if you like the small group to come check out what the church is all about. 

Be looking for our website to lunch in August. Our goal is to have it up and ready by the 19th! This will be an excellent place to learn about serving, getting involved in a small group, etc. etc. For now, be sure to check out our Facebook page for updates. If you see something you like or have a question about don't hesitate to comment. I'll respond as fast as I can. Blessings to you, and I hope you have a great week.

Pastor Matt

It's been too long! But here's an update for Life Church!

***Year 1 recap video coming soon***

This past year has been without a doubt the most exciting year of my life. I feel like I blinked and it was over! Life Church has taken quite the journey! I'm going to be working on a recap video for you soon, but I want to let you know what were doing right now.

We are still meeting at the World of Cheer/gymnastics building in Woodstock. We have moved our meeting time to 11:00am. Many people have asked "why did you take down the sign?" Well we haven't gone anywhere but for the summer we have gone to a small group format. Since most people would be expecting a worship service with an offering, announcements etc we didn't want to be misleading. The reality is that we are still meeting as a launch team

What's a launch team? It's a group of people who have committed to being the leadership of Life Church. They serve, teach, give, pray, haul gear, and anything else I need them to do :) There are several people who simply attend Life Church (which is awesome and completely ok), but the majority are committed to being on the launch team.

Our Current Season: We are looking to add to our launch team. We've done a number of public services and they have been incredible, but our leadership is simply stretched too far with our current numbers. There are about 20 adults serving on the launch team, and were looking to double that before we start doing public services again. So our next big "win" will be adding 20 adults to our launch team. This will allow a break every now and then to our nursery workers, set up and tear down crew, and even our band. Anyone who's looking to get involved in a new church would be joining at an exciting time! It would be a chance to see the growth of a church on the front side. It would mean getting to know all the core leadership of the church and experiencing the joy of watching people come to Christ. Were also launching 2 new small groups this summer so look for detail coming soon! So if you've been thinking about checking things out this summer is a prime opportunity!

What's to come: Were not setting a specific date when were going to do a public launch. But, we are working hard to make that possible as fast as we can. Once God brings the right people who are called to Life Church we will be ramping up for a grand opening. God has provided so much equipment and talent, and we intend to use it to serve the people of Woodstock in a huge way. We are going to pour our time, money, and creativity into promoting the grand opening in such a way that would draw those far from God to a church that's burdened for reaching people. These are exciting days at Life Church. Don't miss your opportunity to be apart of it.

If you haven't already: Like our Facebook page, and please pass it along to anyone who you think we might be a great fit for them.

If you have any questions feel free to email pastorbeers@yahoo.com
Follow me on twitter @mattbeers77

This week is a big deal !

So this week has already been awesome and is only going to get better. First, our Life Group was incredible. We have great people with great discussion and insight to God's word and His church. Then when I took the offering we actually had people who tithed. (last week I called for commitment) It was awesome to see God's people giving sacrificially and obediently to His church. Even though our people are awesome we are small so money is of course coming in, in much less increments than at a big church. Well, we needed to pay our bill to start church. They are a company were using to handle all of our legal stuff. After last week we were short a couple hundred dollars of what we needed...Then God provided! A check was handed to me on Monday for enough to cover our bills, and then some! God knew our need and met it. That is the awesome God we serve!

After that quick praise, on to the BIG DEAL:
This week Life Church Canton is heading up to Life Church Rome. We are going to worship with our extended family up in Rome this week. They are going to be able to put faces with their prayers, and we are going to get to see the bigger picture. Life Church Rome has been used to win over 300 to Christ in less than 3 years...That's the kind of church I want to be hanging out with!

Then if that wasn't cool enough Pastor Jason is going to come and join our Life Group Sunday night. I'll be teaching on Simple Church, and he'll be talking about how his church grew from just a few families to a church over 400. He'll also be challenging us, and encouraging us. It will be an incredible Sunday for Life Church.

It's not too late to get involved! If you are interested in being a part of the launch team for Life Church you should come Sunday night. Contact me if interested.

The 1000 lbs gorilla

So this was the week that we talked about it. He's been lingering in the room for a while now, but I've chosen to ignore him for a while...last night was the time to address him.

1,000 Gorilla ='s money if you weren't sure...

We've had 3 amazing weeks with Life Church. Our life group has already bonded really well together, and we've tackled some tough biblical issues together, but last night was the night I outlined some expectations. See anyone is welcome to attend life group time. In fact anyone is welcome to attend our launch meeting sessions, but from now on things are going to change. Up until this point nobody was officially on the launch time. I wanted to give everyone ample time to feel me out, and see if the Holy Spirit was leading them to our church. This past Life Group I ask for 3 things:

1. Commit to help launch for a year (...ish)
2. Commit to serve in a ministry of the church
3. And...dun, dun, DUN!!!!....Tithe The reality is that ministry takes money, luckily God has an awesome plan for that! Man get's to keep 90% of what is really God's anyway, as long as he or she gives back to God 10%. Though the church needs money to do things like rent space, pay pastors, keep the lights on etc. The tithe is more about the faith position of the believer. The believer will receive much more from tithing than the church does (though this is a tough concept because money seems more tangable). However, God talks A LOT about money in the Bible. In fact in Malachi He actually asks us to test Him. Jesus and Paul visit the issue as well. The reality is that God promises to take care of us if were obedient to Him. So that's what I did last night. I addressed the 1000 lbs gorilla, and asked for those who are committing to be on a launch team to tithe starting next week. What's even crazier is that some people already started tithing! While were starting small God is already using our people to BE the church. People in the early days of Life Church will very much understand the tangable applications of their tithes. They will see God use their sacrifice to transform lives! They will see it turn into supplies to do church with, they will see a space transformed into a worship center with their sacrifice...So the reality is that the church isn't just after your money. The church is here to help you stay in good standing with God. His economy is very different from man's economy, and reguarless how our economy is doing he can bless with out condition...though I often only witness him blessing those who are faithful to Him...

So whether or not you're a part of Life Church, or some other church. See your tithe as what it is. A tangable way of telling God "I trust you". If you're simply tipping God. STOP! you heard me...whatever church you're at stop tipping them. God wants your best, not your left overs. In fact your pastor would probably advise you to do the same. See the scriptures say that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (modern day translations God has more money than Bill Gates X McDonalds X Coke, he doesn't need your money, he WANTS your heart. We also talked about Biblical community and we discussed how we've lost some of that in America, and what the church can do to get that back. So whether or not your being led to our church or not. Please pray for us. Even if you're coming but aren't sure whether or not your in, please still keep coming. Our group isn't closed. And if your not going to be on our launch team it's ok...REALLY I love you and love just having you there :) and it's ok if you haven't decided yet. No cheesy sales pitch here, I only want you to commit if you've been led by the spirit. Thanks for all of you who are supporting us,and praying for us. YOU ROCK!

Life Group (sorry for the format today, blogspot won't let he hit enter)

We had our second official meeting last night, and it was awesome. We had some new faces, and very importantly most of the original ones. The statistics aren't great when studying church planting. Life Church is already breaking some of those! God has given us some incredibly talented people! It's awesome to see them already using gifts. Last night we had some technical difficulties, and 3 of my (self proclaimed) geeks got right on it. There are people who can teach, people who have the gift of service, etc. etc. God has already brought us such an amazing group. If you're reading this and you're wondering if it's too late to get involved...It's not! There are so many ways people can be a part of Life Church. 1. You can join us for our Life Group meeting on Sunday night's @ 6:00pm at Steve Williams house. 2. You can help support us; This can be an number of things. It could mean financial support, it could mean prayer support, it can mean helping us promote Life Church. 3. The main thing is it's never too late to get involved; our group isn't closed, we eagerly welcome new people, and are excited for people to "catch" the vision and jump on board. The other important thing to know is that we understand Life Church won't be for everyone. If it's not for you, it's OK...really :) Here's a quick recap of last nights topic: The Church "Giving God your best" We looked at the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7, and saw how Jesus addressed religious people and issues in his day. We learned: -Giving God your best has nothing to do with wearing the fanciest clothes you can afford to church, but rather in every aspect of your life giving God your best. As Paul teaches us in Romans true worship isn't compartmentalized, but it's every single aspect of your life. -Jesus spoke against the outside appearance. Over and over again we can read Jesus saying "you have heard that it was said..." Then he challenged what the religious leaders of his day were teaching. He taught radical things likes committing adultery isn't a physical act, but you can do it in your heart. Jesus is concerned with our hearts, not just how we look. If we reduce Christianity to how good we are at "appearing Christian", then we have missed the whole point. During our Launch Team time I covered: Mission: Living a changed life to see lives changed Vision: To reach 20% of our unchurched community DNA: 1. People matter (you matter to God, and you matter to us) 2. Make Bold moves (Jesus was bold and changed the world, we want to be like Jesus so were gong to be bold) 3. Exercising audacious faith (God says to trust him in all things, so we are...with audacity) 4. Volunteer driven (there are too many churches who rely only on the pastors to get anything done...it's not biblical so were not going to do it) 5.Excellence in Everything (giving God our best won't be compartmentalized, we are going to strive for excellence in everything, I'm never willing to settle for good, when we can do great for God) 6.Developing leaders (in order for Matthew 28:19 to happen we need to always be equipping leaders, so that's what were about)

It's officially started

March 20th 2011 was an exciting day for Life Church Canton. We had our first official small group. I had only told a handful of people, and put a teaser trailer on facebook, and we had 13 families show up for our first meeting. I had been praying for 7. Honestly there's no real spiritual reason for that, but simply that Elevation church had 7 families that started them. So I thought, we'll that would be awesome to start with what they had. Instead God exceeded my expectations, and almost doubled the number I was praying about. Were going to meet again next week, and I'll continue talking about the Church. This past week we saw 3 main things:

1. The church is not a building, it's the people.
2. Traditions don't ever supersede scripture.
3. Removing the focus from Jesus to our morals is idolatry.

Next week were going to look at the Sabbath, and what giving God your best looks like. Our launch information will be on the "what":
1. Mission
2. Vision
3. DNA (core values)

You won't want to miss! If I don't see you there, please be praying for us.

Matt

Negativity. Are Christians the experts?

If there's something I've learned in the ministry it's that Christians are negative. More than just the "average" Christian, but lots of ministers are negative. "our building is too small", "our worship band isn't cool enough", "our church is never going to grow", etc. etc.



I've heard it said that the Christian army is the only army on the planet that shoots it's wounded. Ministers are often the ones taking aim. Pastor's bash other pastors from their pulpit. Minister's judge other churches ministries from their office, and neither are afraid to share their opinion on why they are a better leader, preacher, minister than you.



One thing I've come in contact with while starting this church plant is negativity. I've already addressed it in a previous post, but sure enough it has surfaced. It's actually kind of funny (but sad at the same time) the things people will say to you to discourage you from planting a church. I read in Steven Furtick's book that one pastor said "welcome to the neighborhood kid"...I'm guessing he wishes that conversation went a little bit different. Because I've never had a tenure anywhere I've been told "I need more time following before I lead". The reality is as practical as that sounds, biblically most leaders don't fit that mold. Our Biblical patriarchs were called by God and they followed. That's why God blessed them, not because of their resumes but because of their hearts. Imagine what the world would be like if Timothy didn't lead simply because he was young, or Paul because of the criticism he received about the issue of apostleship, or even Jesus (he after had to obey the will of the Father). I'm glad these men all chose to obey their calling.

Pastors, ministers, and Christians I want to encourage you today to be an encouragement to others in ministry, and to your congregations! The church has enough work to do, we don't need to be occupied by civil wars. Let's preach like their are lives at stake! And love people like Christ did!

Next Steps

Jason (lead pastor of Life Church in Rome, GA) and I had another great meeting today. We put an action plan in order. I'm going to start the process of gathering my launch team. Were simply going to start a life group so that we can begin to build stronger relationships, and so I can pour vision into them. I've had lots of verbal commitments, now it's time to see where the rubber meets the road. I'm looking for my committed core...I'm praying God gives me an awesome team!

Holding Pattern

Being a Type "A" or "Choleric" it's not in my nature to slow down...ever. I've always been the guy who dares you to tell me I can't, or the one who will put in twice the work you do to meet the goal. My 5 greatest strengths according to Tom Rath's Strengths Finder 2.0 are: Maximizer, Activator, Futuristic, Input, and Self Assurance. Basically they mean I'm gifted get the maximum results from a person or team, put thoughts into action, catching a vision and selling it, crave more information with the intent to archive it for practical use, and completely believe in myself. As you can guess I don't do well without a plan, I don't like entering into things without proper research, I can't stand slow moving organizations or people, and I'm not one to hang around if the vision is weak. I often identify with 2 Timothy chapter 2. Timothy is was after all a young preacher, and Paul titles the chapter "A Good Solider of Jesus Christ" which I like the thought of a minister acting like a solider. I'm a charge Hell with a water pistol type, and right now God has got me in a Abrahamic position of Faith. Abraham was given a directive: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you." Gen 12:1. That's it. God told him to go, and that He would provide that location at an undisclosed time. I don't do well with stuff like that. Which is probably why God isn't revealing every step of this church plant clearly to me. I'm in this place where God has told me to plant, but isn't ready to give me all (or even most) of the details. Typically God has to tell us things that are contrary to our nature. The Lord is giving my patience by building it into me. He's teaching me to move in His time. I'm good at doing things and simply asking God to bless it. I'm interested in doing God things and in turn being blessed.

Which is why Life Church in Rome getting involved is a big deal. They've walked through some trials that I might not have to. I'm excited about our partnership in this church plant. I don't know what every step is going to look like, but I'm willing and ready to take it on. I'm meeting again with lead pastor Jason tomorrow, and were going to talk about some of the next steps. My prayer is we will accurately discern one another in this process so that God gets the glory, and His church can be built.

On a tangible level. I spoke with startchurch.com today and they are ready and willing to make changes needed to assist our partnership with Life Church, and we are well on our way in our process to become legal. Our next step is fleshing out what this combination of vision will look like so that we can get to work on planting this church.

Building momentum

This was a week of ups and downs. (more ups than downs) I had 3 meetings this week. The first one was very discouraging. I went to meet from someone who's been a spiritual advisor to me in the past. My intent was to find a strategic partner, and instead I received some unsolicited advise on why I shouldn't plant a church. What was worse was I spoke with another person who wanted to assure me that my spiritual advisor was correct. By the end of our conversation I felt like I just had a professional debate. This was discouraging to say the least. Not that I all the sudden was going to forfeit God's call for a couple of opinions, but coming from guys I know and trust I effected my mood more than I anticipated.

Later that week I went to meet with my pastor, and former boss. I think it was the most encouraging conversation we've ever had. He shared his heart on ministry in general. He told me about when he quit a job paying $50,000 in the early 80's to serve in full-time ministry. I shared my vision, and he was excited to hear it. He told me things I already knew, but in that moment I really needed to hear. He told me if God's called you to do something don't ever worry about the people who think you're crazy. He said people are always going to doubt you in ministry, and you can't let that effect the call. He told me he would help as much as possible. Just to have his support morally was refreshing, but to have some financial help, and some assistance with with the legal side of establishing the church is key.

Today I met with one of my key leaders. We sat at Starbucks for close to 3 hours talking vision, mission, and strategy. It was awesome. It pumped me up talking to someone else who "gets it". Even though I'm only on step 3 of about a 700 item list I actually feel like a church planter. The call to plant a church reminds me of my call to ministry. I knew what I was suppose to do long before I actually admitted it. Responding to this call is about as scary as surrendering to full-time Christian ministry. The reality is setting in. Today was another one of those day's where I said to myself this is really going to happen. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do in the next year of my life. It really feels like were starting to build momentum.