With the upcoming adoption of another church, we’ve spent the majority of time talking about HOW we do church. We’ve been entrenched in conversations that are very important about how our systems work, what our kids and youth programs look like, how we go about church discipline, and the myriad of structure stuff that is vital, but not life-giving. So, to give myself some reprieve from the trenches, this blog is dedicated to WHY I give my life for His Church.

People in our church are from all types of life, perspective, and cultures, which constantly grows my life, perspective, and culture.
Multiple families in our church have been restored from affairs, financial disaster, and division by the grace of God.
Teenagers in our church see past status and love their peers. I believe that students aren’t committing suicide, aren’t doing drugs, and are living out their dreams because of Jesus.
Hunter is a toddler and his favorite saying is, “I love the Coffee Church.” His early childhood memories will be ENJOYING God’s House. He will find it easy to love Jesus if he loves Jesus’ bride.
People feel welcome in our church no matter what they wear, what they look like, and how much ink they are sporting.
Men in our church have started reading their Bibles and are leading their families.
We’ve baptized over twenty people in the last year.
We have strong, empowered women who love the Lord with all of their hearts. They are not gossipers, but they are life-givers.
Last week I got to teach someone in our church how to pray. (There’s no wrong way!)
We’ve had people miraculously healed from pain and sickness in our midst.
Our team would literally do anything for Christ and are willing to try new things at every turn.
We hand out people’s first Bibles like Halloween candy. There’s LIFE in those pages and we are changing history every time we equip someone with His Word.
Many people fasted for the first time ever last month.
I love to see people laugh and smile at church. I know that people come in with real pain and problems, but I always want our church to be full of joy and a respite from it all.
People are happy and blessed to volunteer and thank us all of the time for “letting” them serve. No, really, thank YOU!
My kids LOVE ministry and being the pastor’s kids. They live a life that is full of friends and fun.

So, that’s WHY we do what we do! It’s like a breath of fresh air to my busy brain! Now back to that “other” business! 😉

Before all of this excitement began with our new multisite situation, Mark and I scheduled our family vacation to begin tomorrow. On one hand, it feels very strange to disconnect for 7 days at this juncture, but on the other hand, I think it was a divine appointment.

Over the next two months we will undertake not only leading our current church plant, but also to turnaround and relaunch another church in time to provide 4 services and one deaf service for Easter on April 8, 2012. We are up for the challenge, we get clearer everyday on the plan and strategy, and we will not falter. That being said, I think the next week of resting, relaxing, playing with our kids, and breathing for a bit is a gift from God.

Our plan is to limit our facebook, emails, phone calls, etc. and just enjoy our family. I have pre-written blogs that will post automatically, but other than that, we are going off of the grid for the most part. When we get done playing, we’ll be ready to move mountains with you! Until then, rest up! We’ve got plans…

My daughter was sitting beside me one evening last week, painstakingly creating the PERFECT Valentine’s card. She drew, colored, wrote the words that would best express her love, and spent a great deal of time with her work of art. I took note of her detail and, with a grin, asked, “Are you making me a Valentine’s Day card?”
“Nope.”
“Is it for your dad?”
“No.”
“How about your sister?”
“Uh…not really.”
“Grandma and Grandpa?”
“No.”
“Well, OK, is it for a boy in your class?”
“MOM! Of course not!”
“Sorry, how about your best friend?”
“Not this card.”
“OK, well, I’m all out of guesses.”

Delaney didn’t offer up any details at that point, so I went back to my magazine, not wanting to push her to give me an answer. A few minutes later her big brown eyes looked up at me and said, “Mom, how do I get my Valentine to Jesus?”

As my heart melted inside of my chest, I was reminded that the root of love, the perfecter of love, and the One who is jealous for our love is Jesus. Today, on Valentine’s Day, my prayer is that you will express all the love you can to both Him and the amazing people that He has surrounded your life with. We can’t even begin to understand His great love for us!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Where do I start with this weekend?!?!? One of our families yesterday said, “Man, alot goes on around here in a week at North Creek!” Yeah…that’s what I’m thinking. Here goes the summary:

Goodbye to the Wisecarvers! Scott and Tiffany (and girls!) had their last service with us yesterday before they move to Nashville to pursue their dreams. We love you!

Hello to Kingston! Our newest baby graced us with his presence yesterday. Marc and Amy look great!

We had four baptisms at our church this week. They were all teenage girls! Congrats to Devyn, Lydia, Artresa, and Sarah! It was great to see them publicly say, “I’m all in for Jesus!” (Although I think the microphone scared the Jesus right out of them for a minute!) Funny moment…apparently I had too much coffee yesterday and couldn’t keep the video camera still, so I asked the person next to me to hold it for me. Less coffee on baptism morning next time!

Some of you may not have even been aware, but Maple Grove’s congregation needed to vote last night to transition their corporation to ours for the upcoming merge. Maple Grove voted UNANIMOUSLY to merge last night. We found out in the midst of our board meeting, so it was a surreal moment for all of us to sit there and realize what God had just done. I am really not sure if we will EVER be able to grasp how God orchestrated this whole thing and how He will use this to multiply our effectiveness in Clark County. We will look back on Feb. 12, 2012 as a date that changed everything.

Some families from Maple Grove came to visit us yesterday and spoke at their church business meeting about what an incredible time they had in our service. Thank you for making them feel welcome and loved!

Mark spoke yesterday on character and integrity. If there was ever a man who constantly tries to do the right thing, it’s my husband. It’s an honor to serve alongside him. Great sermon on Paul’s life, but it’s also a reflection of his life!

Great job to Matt for leading worship yesterday! We have incredible people on our worship team who serve SO faithfully and beautifully. And now we need more…hint, hint, wink, wink! We’ll be asking for more volunteers than ever for our expanding ministries, so begin to pray about what God would have you do! It’s coming!

Mark got to answer a 2nd Graders questions about baptism in the foyer yesterday. It’s those sweet moments that make the day important.

Lots of new faces yesterday! Our challenge to you is to meet someone you don’t know EVERY Sunday. That same principle applies whether you have attended our church for 5 years or one week!

I will be blogging much more about the second campus details as the next few weeks unravel, but for now would you put it on your prayer list?

Have a great week!

Perry Noble is one of my favorite bloggers in ministry. I thought I would share his recent post as I am sure you will identify with something on this list. It’s a challenging one! Find Perry’s Blog at www.perrynoble.com.

You Cannot Go To The Next Level If…
February 9, 2012

One of the things I always hear in regards to leadership is that we should always desire to “go to the next level!” However, there are several things that will hold us back from doing this. Reality is that you and I cannot go to the next level if…
■You absolutely are in love with the way things are
■You are increasingly obsessed with the people who hate and criticize you the most.
■You are not hungry for wisdom. (Proverbs 4:5-7)
■You are not willing to make uncomfortable decisions. (Galatians 1:10)
■You are a people pleaser. (Proverbs 29:25)
■You are not willing to accept responsibility for where you are right now. (The person who always has to blame is always lame!)
■You are not willing to speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:25)
■You are using people rather than valuing them.
■You are more in love with comfort than carrying your cross. (Luke 9:23)
■You never allow yourself to be exposed to new ideas and methods. (Isaiah 42:9, Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah 48:6)
■You take shortcuts (see Exodus 13:17-18)
■You expect people to read your mind and then hold them accountable for things you never actually said but rather just assumed they knew. (Great leaders will leave you if you do this.)
■You do not hold people accountable to what they have said they will do.
■You are always looking for a fight instead of a solution. (II timothy 2:23)
■You are not begging God to reveal more of Himself to you.