Graphics

15 11 2007

Can’t tell you how nice it is to have Adam, who is an AWESOME worship leader on staff. But his skills don’t stop there. Adam creates all of our graphics for sermons, mailers, web-design, etc. His job description right now goes WAY past worship. Here is the sermon graphic for our Thanks:Giving mini series coming up the next two weeks.

We are taking the two words, Thanks and Giving, for our two week mini series called “Thanks:Giving”. Here is the graphic for that series.

We are doing a five week sermon series for Christmas entitled “Believe”. John 20:30-31 says “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” So we are going to take 5 of the miracles of Jesus recorded in John and attempt to answer some questions. “Why did Jesus come?” “What did he do?” “Why should I believe?” The two graphics below are for our invite cards and we are doing a direct mail similar to those cards. I wanted a “non-traditional” approach to our Christmas series, so we aren’t really going to talk about the birth, shepherds, angels, wise men or “no room in the inn”. We’re going to look at the life of Jesus and we’ll know why he came by his actions.

We are going to be doing some fun stuff through our Believe series. Some outreach things we are doing are going to be so much fun. Adam is developing some GREAT worship sets for the series. Some creative twists on Christmas songs. And maybe even a theme song we’ll do through the whole series. We’ll be kicking off our two services with this series. Pretty fun. Have I said I love what we do? I really do.

Following Christ,

Jeff


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Categories : Marketing, Updates

Sunday Pictures

15 11 2007

We had the privilege of honoring our veterans on Sunday for Veterans Day. We planned our IT series months ago and didn’t realize our core value of Allegiance fell on Veterans Day until a few weeks ago when we sat down for our creative session for that Sunday. So we had a simple set design of some American flags and a very cool “fallen soldier” memorial we set up. We didn’t get any pictures of the fallen solider memorial, we put those on the platform after the worship set.

Here is the pictures from Sundays service. You can click on the slide show to view them in our online web album as bigger files.

Following Christ,

Jeff


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Categories : Church Planting, Pictures

Four Months Ago…

13 11 2007

Four months ago we held our first service at the theater. We did ALL that we could to make it the biggest and best worship experience we could as a young fledgling church. I watched our first service on video tonight and MAN have we come a long way. I am definitely glad we did previews cause…well, just believe me when I say it’s good we practiced. I chuckled at the set up we did and where we are at now. I think we’ll keep laughing at our progress. Check out the difference in appearance from July 1st to Oct. 28th.

What a GREAT God we serve that allows us to be creative and expand our ideas and ministry. God doesn’t want us to remain the same. I think God LOVES seeing his people create and innovate in His church. I think His heart swells when His people can try and connect the Gospel with their culture and new ways that they can relate too. The Gospel NEVER changes. The presentation and methods will ALWAYS change. And hopefully at Element Church, they will always get better. That last picture is our surfboard Sunday. (They are supposed to be stain glass windows) That’s what we get for trying to be creative.


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Categories : Church Planting

Thanksgiving, Dedications and Communion

13 11 2007

We start a two part mini-series called Thanks:Giving this weekend. It is our last two Sundays as one service. Exciting times are happening here. Again, we’ve just had wonderful response from guests, our volunteers are off the charts, and people are continuing to be connected to Element Church.

This Thanks:Giving series has been good for me. I LOVE learning. I love studying for sermons because I get challenged before I ever bring the challenge. In looking at what it means to be thankful and giving. We’re going to use two different words, grateful and generous. Anyone can say “Thank you” but not everyone is grateful. Anyone can give but not everyone is generous. Generosity has nothing to do with what is given but what it costs the giver. A grateful heart produces a generous life. There is a teaser for you.

This Sunday is going to be very cool. We are having child dedications as part of our service for the first time. We have 5 families getting kids dedicated. And check this out, they range in age from newborns to 15 years old. Yep, 15. Several of the kids being dedicated are by parents that are new to church or returned to church after a hiatus and they want to make a public declaration and commitment that they are raising their kids in the way of the Lord. I am so excited for this moment on Sunday when we as a church rally around these families to say “We are with you in raising these children for God”.

We have two people being baptized at 4 PM on Sunday afternoon at Calvary Chapel. Thanks to Pastor Shaun for opening the church doors for us to use.

Also, on Sunday we are going to be taking communion together for the first time as a church. It is going to be a very full service but one of the most memorable ones to date for me. A lot of firsts coming up for Element Church. Don’t miss it!

Following Christ,

Jeff


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Categories : Updates

Sunday Night Rumination (11-11-07)

12 11 2007

I’m posting this Monday morning following my devotions. I once again forgot to ruminate on Sunday night. (Ruminate means to think deeply about things. It’s where we get the phrase “I’ll have to chew on that for a while”) lol

What a great day Sunday was. Another GOD day. I am serious when I say that each week I wonder of anyone is going to show up. I am blown away every week that God bring people to our church. Absolutely blown away. The fact that I get to be a part of what is going on is humbling. Elementers, you are as much a part of what God is doing as I am. Way to go!

Adam has a great Sunday Afterthoughts post on his blog. Check it out.

— 202 in attendance today. We hit our ceiling for sure. We cannot put anymore people in that theater. 6 weeks old and outgrown our facility. How cool is that. We had 1 guy and his son on the very front row and I felt bad for him. For three consecutive weeks we’ve been over 200. 206, 201, 202.

— That led to our BIG ANNOUNCEMENT. Due to the fact that God has blessed us with a full house, we excitedly announced to our people that we are multiplying ourselves into two services starting Dec. 2nd, so as to enable ourselves to keep growing. We have sought the face of God on this issue, and feel we’ve exhausted all options. We love the theater and want to remain there if possible, so two services seemed to fit. We will be meeting at 9 AM and 10:30 AM starting the 2nd. This means we would love to have more volunteers. If you attend Element and do not volunteer yet, I encourage you to step up and serve. Help us connect people with the Life in Christ. There is nothing like it.

— Our offering was over $6000 today. Yes, a 6 with 3 zeros. GO GOD!

— The most important # is that 8 people raised their hand, acknowledging that had prayed to cross the line of faith and become followers of Jesus today. To have their sins forgiven, and Christ to dwell in their hearts. What a moment! That is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing we do. We try to offer some kind of invitation each week. It is amazing (as Adam says) that we just invite, and people are ready to come running. I think God is faithful to bring us ripe souls just ready to be harvested each week.

— The band I think sounded the best today. Adam is doing a GREAT job leading them. Worship seemed to be open and natural for the congregation. Not everyone worships the same way, and I wouldn’t want them to, but it just felt like there was some freedom in the room today. Check out Adam’s blog (link above) for a set list.

— We planned this sermon as a part of this series about 2 months ago. We didn’t realize at that time that it fell on Veterans Day. God worked it out though, and we talked about our core value of Allegiance. IT WAS PERFECT! We had a veterans tribute video, then played taps as lights revealed two fallen solider memorials we had placed on the platform. We also had a simple set design with 1 giant flag centered on the bag of the stage, and two small flags waving from the speakers. It was very cool to honor the veterans, and those who are currently serving.

— We are starting a “mini series” this week called Thanks:Giving. Then we launch our two services with a Christmas series called “Believe”. Looking forward to the creative planning on that. Also this week we are having a child dedication AND taking communion for the first time. It is going to be a very cool service!

— Our first baptism is coming up this Sunday as we celebrate what God is doing in the hearts of people. 4 PM at Calvary Chapel this Sunday we will have the privilege of baptizing people in the name of the Lord!

— That’s about it! I love Element Church. Thanks everyone who follows along. We have a full and exciting week of planning for the what God has next.

Following Christ,

Jeff


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Categories : Sunday Rumination, Updates

The Tour

9 11 2007

The Tour has been postponed!

Well, we had planned a great event for tomorrow following church called The Tour. We invited all the first time guests from October to come to a free lunch where we would share about the mission, vision and strategy of Element Church. We were going to provide opportunities to sign up for Life Groups and volunteering as well. Due to some BAD communication on some other parties, and some extenuating circumstances, we are not going to be able to do the event this week. We are currently in the process of re-scheduling and we may just combine October and Novembers guests into one Tour.

I believe The Tour is going to be a great tool in connecting people into Element Church and making the next step for them very clear. Anyway, don’t know if any Tour attenders read the blog, but if so, there ya go.


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Categories : Updates

It’s about us WITH Him!

9 11 2007

When God calls us to anything, ANYTHING, it’s not about us doing things. It’s not about the thing to be done. And it’s definitely not about Him needing us. Ultimately when God asks us to do something it’s about us BEING with Him because He doesn’t need us.

When I ask Jonah to help me mow the lawn, it has nothing to do with his lawn mowing ability. He’s 6. The lawn looks horrible when he helps to mow it. But why do I ask him? To be with him. When Sabrina paints, why does she allow the kids to help? Because of their superior painting ability? No, to be with them. Why do I take them to the dump with me…get oil changed…to fix things around the house? Because I want to be with them.

God does the same. Yes, He wants things accomplished, and as I said in my previous post He chooses us to do those things, but His ultimate goal is to be with His children. Do we want to be with Him? That is the ultimate goal of working for God. But do we just want to “accomplish” things? Anyway. I love the fact that God wants to be with us, and I hope that my main goal is to be with Him.

To close, here is a quote from Oswald Chambers: “A man with the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted to God himself.”


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Categories : Discipleship

It’s about us WITH Him!

9 11 2007

When God calls us to anything, ANYTHING, it’s not about us doing things. It’s not about the thing to be done. And it’s definitely not about Him needing us. Ultimately when God asks us to do something it’s about us BEING with Him because He doesn’t need us.

When I ask Jonah to help me mow the lawn, it has nothing to do with his lawn mowing ability. He’s 6. The lawn looks horrible when he helps to mow it. But why do I ask him? To be with him. When Sabrina paints, why does she allow the kids to help? Because of their superior painting ability? No, to be with them. Why do I take them to the dump with me…get oil changed…to fix things around the house? Because I want to be with them.

God does the same. Yes, He wants things accomplished, and as I said in my previous post He chooses us to do those things, but His ultimate goal is to be with His children. Do we want to be with Him? That is the ultimate goal of working for God. But do we just want to “accomplish” things? Anyway. I love the fact that God wants to be with us, and I hope that my main goal is to be with Him.

To close, here is a quote from Oswald Chambers: “A man with the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted to God himself.”


Comments : Leave a Comment »

Categories : Discipleship

It’s about us WITH Him!

9 11 2007

When God calls us to anything, ANYTHING, it’s not about us doing things. It’s not about the thing to be done. And it’s definitely not about Him needing us. Ultimately when God asks us to do something it’s about us BEING with Him because He doesn’t need us.

When I ask Jonah to help me mow the lawn, it has nothing to do with his lawn mowing ability. He’s 6. The lawn looks horrible when he helps to mow it. But why do I ask him? To be with him. When Sabrina paints, why does she allow the kids to help? Because of their superior painting ability? No, to be with them. Why do I take them to the dump with me…get oil changed…to fix things around the house? Because I want to be with them.

God does the same. Yes, He wants things accomplished, and as I said in my previous post He chooses us to do those things, but His ultimate goal is to be with His children. Do we want to be with Him? That is the ultimate goal of working for God. But do we just want to “accomplish” things? Anyway. I love the fact that God wants to be with us, and I hope that my main goal is to be with Him.

To close, here is a quote from Oswald Chambers: “A man with the vision of God is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is devoted to God himself.”


Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : Discipleship

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT COMING! and a few random thoughts.

8 11 2007

The biggest announcement in the young life of Element Church is coming this Sunday. You don’t want to miss it. If you are a part of Element Church you will want to be there for it. PLUS, we are really doing some cool stuff to go along with this weekends holiday and our core value of Allegiance. This weekends holiday is Veterans day.

I’ve said this before (and heard it from someone else) that being a leader is as simple as listening to God and doing what he says. The decision we made to announce this week wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. There are lots of decisions like that.

Doing church isn’t easy but its necessary. I firmly believe that the local church is the hope of the world. God, in His sovereignty, has chosen us, US, as frail, imperfect, human beings to carry the message of Jesus Christ to the world. It isn’t easy, but it’s necessary.

Serving at church isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary.
Loving your spouse isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary.
Giving isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary.
Sacrifice isn’t always easy but it’s necessary.
Doing things with excellence isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary.
Giving up a habit, starting a new one…reading the Bible…praying…discipline…confrontation…going to work…I could go on, those things aren’t easy yet they’re necessary.

At Element Church we are ALWAYS going to make decisions, do things, spend money on things, challenge things AND people, challenge the status quo, advance, move forward, and storm the stinkin‘ gates of HELL. Why? NOT because its easy but because its NECESSARY.

This will mean that people sometimes won’t like what we do. Some people will resist what’s done. Some may get angry. Hmm, its not easy, but it’s necessary.


Comments : 2 Comments »

Categories : Church Planting, Updates

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