This is the final top story that KGWN News Channel 5 showed about our event. This time they didn’t mention our church name but the previous two nights they did. By this point I think people knew who we were. We are grateful to the news station for such great coverage and believe God really had a hand in what coverage we got.
Following Christ,
Jeff
You ever plan things thinking it would be “fun” then realize “What were were we thinking”? We planned a huge weekend this past weekend. But MAN did it go well. Starting Saturday with the gas buy down and ending last night with an Element Memorial Day BBQ at our house we made some great connections. It was CRAZY busy but I’d do it all over again.
Grant had to work yesterday morning with his frito lay gig. He wore his Element volunteer t-shirt and headed out to deliver chips. Working actually turned out to be a blessing. People were talking all over about the gas buy down and when they saw his shirt it opened up conversations. One lady in particular at Albertson’s struck up a conversation. Don’t know exactly how it went but something to the effect of “Thank you so much for doing what you did. My granddaughter was one of the last ones you guy’s let through the line. They have had some medical issues lately and this .50 cents off meant a lot to them.” Grant said “I bet that was ’so and so’” and remembered the names of a young lady and friend who were some of the last through the line. It was this ladies granddaughter and she was blown away. WAY TO GO GRANT! Community Connections Pastor at it’s greatest. lol
Saturday Night we turned around and had a UFC fight night at our house. We had Almost 30 people here. One of the families who came turned around Sunday night and attended our Memorial Day BBQ. They are a young couple with 2 children. They filled out a connection card to start receiving info about Element.
Sunday night we had 35 people at our house for our BBQ. It was a lot of fun. People who were already connected to Element provided all the food and we invited folks who have yet to connect to attend. One young couple we have been working on literally from the day we arrived here attended last night and they said they had a great time. They are a good Christian couple from the Air Force who cannot find a church home. They said last night how great it was to be able and hang out with good Christian people. They also filled out a connection card and said after they get back from vacation next week they’d be at our events.
Church planting is a blast! And WOW is it stressful, scary and challenging. I’ve been more busy than I ever was at an established church. The gravity of the task sometimes seems overwhelming but it’s in those moments that the presence of God overwhelms as well. Grant and I have talked several times about how BIG this is and how we can’t imagine NOT doing it. I hope 10 years from now Element is still buying gas for people but instead of .50 cents at 2 hours what if we did it for an entire day, or paid $1 or gave it away? HA, that would be sweet.
We’re heading down to Denver today to go to the Cardinals vs. Rockies game with my Dad. Jonah has a b-ball game tonight here in Cheyenne. We’ll get a good day of rest and fun in today and hit the church planting trail again tomorrow.
Following Christ,
Jeff
Guy’s I can’t describe what happened today. We serve an AMAZING God! Today could not have gone better. Here is a timeline of the event:
11:45 AM we showed up at Big D Exxon gas station
12:00 PM met with Volunteers to hand out element shirts, instructions and any supplies. Our volunteers ROCKED IT OUT today. I don’t know if there would be better volunteers anywhere than the ones we had today. We had 13 come from HPCC to help us and 11 of our own Element folks.
12:15 PM first customer gets in line.
12:30 PM MAYHEM car, after car, after car began lining up. It quickly became a traffic nightmare. We didn’t have time to even prepare our trafficers to direct people so folks made up their own system. That was not good. The cops showed up quickly and we had an ex Sheriff on our volunteer team.
12:45 PM Rod Warne (ex sheriff) and Keenan Fitzgerald (student ministry) quickly formulated a plan and within minutes we were streamlined. Those 2 guy’s SAVED us today. We funneled everyone down 1 block from the station, around a corner another block and then lined up in a huge parking lot behind the gas station.
12:50 PM Opened the pumps. Because of the quick traffic organization we were able to funnel people quickly to the pumps. The traffic guy’s were informing everyone when they got up to the station not to pull up to a pump until told to by me. That was also a big deal for us. We did not let individuals just line up behind each other at the pumps. They would get to the station lot I would wait for the go from a volunteer watching for open pumps and we directed them to a pump. People were actually “amazed” at our organization. I was VERY PROUD of or team to say the least.
1:15 PM KGWN News 5 shows up. They put lapel mics on a couple of the volunteers while we worked. They interviewed people in line and some volunteers. It should be the top story again tonight which will make 3 nights in a row.
2:00 PM We had to have run over 100 cars through the first hour. We were rollin’.
3:00 PM Shut off the line so no one else gets in. At 3 PM we had 25 more cars in line and we served all of them.
Out of over 200 vehicles we only had 3 complaints. 2 were in the first 5 minutes with the traffic problem a couple of folks got mad. One guy wanted to fill his 100 gallon drum he brought in the back of a pickup. I wouldn’t let him and he felt we weren’t a good church. lol That’s putting it mildly. For over 200 cars only 3 complaints aint bad. We received praise, after praise, after praise from people who were amazed at how well the process went.
Dozens of great conversations. Many MANY people saying they want to check out our church. Several people were so grateful saying things like “You don’t know how much this helps for you to do this.” “We’re blown away at your acts of kindness.” etc.
We prayed as a group afterword that God would be seen in our service. We hope this moves people closer to Him. If that means the come to Element, praise God. If they go to another Bible believing church and find Him, praise God. It’s not about us!
I did a video recap. Check it out below. Thanks for all your prayers. My mind can’t even contain right now what all happened today. If you have any questions please ask me.
Filling up,
Jeff
Friday night we were once again the top story on News Channel 5’s 10 PM news cast. Bob Geha came to the gas station and did a live interview with me at the top of the show and then we ended the show with a 1 minute recap. Again, Bob and the news station have been great to pick this up as a newsworthy story. Today at 1 PM the news station again will be covering the event and we expect to be on the news tonight as a story again. I was able to share on the news about why we are doing this. That we want to be servants to the community and that it’s a practical way to show God’s love. Our team prayed last evening at the gas station for God’s safety, to help with connnections and for things to run as smoothly as possible. We really hope this makes an impact to the people we come across today. Below is the video of last nights news cast. The first segment they were having some video trouble but the audio worked.
Following Christ,
Jeff
HOLY COW…We were the TOP STORY on the only local news station here in Cheyenne tonight. KGWN News 5 picked up our gas buy down story as soon as I shared the info with them. Robert Geha spearheaded the coverage for us and has been great getting us exposure. Today we had a walk through with the GM of Big D Exxon. News 5 sent a videographer out to get some shots of us for the story. I had no clue they were going to interview me on the spot there and air it tonight. Well, we sat down to watch the news that we set to record and what was the top story?…ELEMENT CHURCH. I couldn’t stop laughing. I’ve been nervous all day about not being a total DORK on tv. Gas prices have been THE top story every night this week, so for us to be doing this on Saturday it made a natural top story on the news. I couldn’t believe it. Tomorrow morning in the paper we have a simple ad running, tomorrow night we will be doing a live interview on the news then on Saturday I believe they will be covering the actual MAYHEM that ensues. LOL, this is gonna be crazy. Watch the video and I put the ad we are running in the paper as well. Pray for us. We think we have enough volunteers. The gas station has been PHENOMENAL and the news station has been more than gracious. Like I said before, I think God is all over this for us. We (I) feel TOTALLY unprepared for this…I wouldn’t have it any other way! We need God to be prepared and I believe he is.
Being Stretched!
Jeff
I preached Sunday at HPCC and my sermon was titled “So, Who’s It All About Anyway?” We journeyed our way through some of the stories in the Gospels of Jesus and the disciples and how He was constantly trying to show them Who it’s all about. I believe if we can figure out who it’s all about our life changes. Christ was always trying to show them “Guy’s, it’s NOT about you. If you get who it’s about it will revolutionize your life.” Well, a follow up sermon to that could be “So, What Is It All About Anyway?” If I really figure out who it’s about then I’ll also know what it’s about. I am reading in the prophets right now for my quiet time (as quiet as it can be with 4 kids running around). I just finished Amos and came across a passage where God was chastising Israel for NOT knowing WHAT it’s all about, and they didn’t know WHAT it’s about because they abandoned the WHO (not the band). lol Amos 5:21-24 says “I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.” (bold and italics added) So, what is it all about anyway? Is it about what songs are sung? Is it about what traditions we hold dear? Is it about our preference and our desire? According to God that is NOT what it is all about. I understand those things CAN be important and we do all have preferences, but GOD IS NOT CONCERNED WITH MY PREFERENCE, he’s concerned with my heart. God uses some strong words here “I hate…” “I WILL NOT accept…” “I won’t notice…” “Away with your…” “I will not listen…” Instead…a mighty flood of justice and an endless river of righteous living. A mighty flood is not a one time missions offering. A mighty flood means I continue, and continue, and continue to do good and to offer justice and mercy to my community. A flood builds momentum and gets bigger. It doesn’t stop doing good to those around me. An endless river is not a one time right decision. It is a daily, consistent, perpetual living in the power of the Holy Spirit to do what is right. Guy’s, when I figure out WHO it’s all about I can live out WHAT it’s all about! Now that dog will hunt. (or that would be a good sermon)
Following Christ,
Jeff
Sabrina, the family and I had the privilege of heading up to Gillette this weekend for the graduation of the some of the seniors we pastored in the youth ministry at HPCC. We attended the parties that were held on Saturday and then I had the opportunity to preach on Sunday. The opportunity to preach came out of a sad situation where Pastor Dan’s mother in law passed away this past week so he was going to be out of town with his wife and family preparing and attending the funeral arrangements. Pastor Dan was and is a HUGE part of who I am today. His teaching and preaching on the plain Truth of God’s Word and it’s core doctrines drove me to a life of full surrender to Jesus Christ. HPCC was and is a HUGE part of who I am AND who our church is today. Element couldn’t exist without our HPCC. I was reminded again as I spoke and helped out in the service how amazing the people are there. I don’t know of another church that gives like HPCC. Two MAJOR financial things they did for us we could never repay with a thank you. The finance committee and church council agreed early on that they would pay my salary at the same rate for the first year of Element Church’s existence. Then this past December a $100,000 donation was made to HPCC to use as they saw fit and they immediately turned around and voted to give it to Element. One more thing, so three major financial things. We then offered the opportunity for folks to give above and beyond their normal tithe to Element Church. If I remember correctly another $20k was given in pledges and one time gifts (It may have been more than that). I couldn’t think of planting this church without HPCC and Pastor Dan behind us. Dan doesn’t always think of himself as a good mentor or leader but God has used him and HPCC more than he will ever know I think. Anyway, it was a great weekend to be back at HPCC. Only makes me want more to get going here.
Following Christ,
Jeff
Sunday, May 13th was our daughter Mariah’s birthday. She turned 4. She REALLY wanted a Leapster. It’s an educational electronic game thing. Kinda like a gameboy only all the games are educational and it’s not really as cool as a gameboy. But for a 4 year old it’s GREAT. Sabrina and I agreed that if we got her one it would be the only thing we got her. It’s been a crazy month with MAJOR car trouble for us, a trip to Oklahoma and back, doctor bills, etc. God has wonderfully provided for us some amazing things but if we were going to get the Leapster this month we’d have to be careful what we did financially. We dipped into our small savings and got the Leapster. We couldn’t wait to see her get it. We knew from one of the Grandma’s she had got a leapster game to go in the Leapster. So I devised a plan to let her open the game and then tell her how sorry we were she didn’t have the Leapster to play it. I strategically hid the Leapster we bought behind the couch and after all the things were opened I played the dumb dad and said “Oh, Mariah you missed a present back here!” She came around the corner and yelled “MY LEAPSTER, MY LEAPSTER!” She hugged it, kissed it, jumped up and down. We’ve all had those moments as kids that we remember. Immediately my thoughts went to what I read in Luke that morning for my quiet time. In Luke 11 Jesus says: If your child asks for a fish, do you give a snake? If they ask for an egg, do you give a scorpion? NO! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your heavenly Father give the HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask him. My heart leaped in that moment. If I get this much joy out of giving a stinkin‘ Leapster, what must our Father feel when we ask for His Spirit. Not when we ask for more money. Not when we ask for health. Not when we ask for a better job, better home, better friends, better possessions. FOR HIS SPIRIT! That’s all that matters. And Jesus said HOW MUCH MORE will your Heavenly Father give it. He’s saying as much as we LOVE to give to our children, GOD WANTS TO GIVE SO MUCH MORE!! I don’t think we get it. We want all the possessions and God’s waiting to give His own Spirit. THEN the possessions won’t matter. And notice how Mariah responded to the Leapster. SHE WAS THRILLED! What’s our response to what God gives? I know at times for me it hasn’t been what it should. Anyway, another moment taught from a child.
Following Christ,
Jeff
I need to get on here and update more. There are a ton of things to share about what God is doing. This one is cool. We are doing the .50 cent gas buy down coming up on Memorial Day weekend. We don’t really have the money to do the buy down PLUS promote it with advertising. One of my sphere of influence interviews was with the GM of KGWN CBS news station here in town (Joan Turner Doyle). I thought “What’s the worst that could happen if I email her with our event and ask if they could cover it.” The next day she emailed me back (knowing who I was cause I interviewed her) wished us luck with the church and said she had forwarded the info on to the news director. Wednesday on our way back from Minneapolis (another post for another day) I got a call from Robert Geha who about a news story they want to do with the gas buy down. From what I understand I will be going in to the studio next week for an interview then they will come live on Saturday to cover our event. That same day the newspaper called and wanted info on the gas buy down. On Monday of this week, Grant, Terri and I met with the GM of Big Oil that will be hosting our event. She was amazing. They are so excited to partner with us in this and she wants to do it again sometime. We made business size invite cards and people are handing those out. God just seems to be all over this event and we can’t wait to see what he does as a result of it. No one here has heard of anyone doing something like this, LET ALONE a church! That’s why we are here. Pray for DIVINE connections at the event. I can’t imagine doing anything else than this right now.
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