Life Point Blog

So Much Happening !!!

I can't believe how swamped I have been. Its been awesome. We had alot of new people on Sunday. It was just too cool. Tammy is doing a really good job getting the children's ministry going. If there was ever anyone who is gifted in children's ministry its her and we are so blessed to have her on board as our Children's Pastor.

We are now gearing up for Easter. We will be starting a new sermon series and the Saturday before on March 22 we will be having a HUGE Community event. It will be like nothing this area has seen. HUGE!!

We just ordered new invite cards, postcards, and yard signs. This will give us a boost for the upcoming Easter season. We are getting a lot of people inviting others now and before you know it we will have to go to the 400 seat theater. Then 2 services. Wont be long.

Our next site is on our second campus. We got a place we have been praying about. We have felt from day one that God has called us to be a multi-site church from the get-go. Be in prayer as this could be a HUGE announcement in a few weeks.

Right now I cant believe its the middle of January. Wow. I love Life Point Church I love church planting and I love our staff. It is a real God thing!!!

The Preview Week

This is the week. First preview service. After almost 1 year Life Point takes life at the Muvico Theater at Coconut Point Mall. I am SO freaked out. Our team has risen above and beyond all that I have asked. God has definitely brought the right team together.

Mitch and Scott have the music down pat. What a band we are going to have. Scott has been brought on as our Praise and Worship Pastor. He has experience in church planting, has led a praise and worship team for 7 years, and has one incredible voice. Mitch has pulled a band together that rocks. For the first service Sunday we will be doing some incredible songs that everyone will know but will set the stage for excitement and worship. AWESOME!

I can't say enough about Todd and Tammy. Both are so gifted and giving and have an incredible heart. Todd has worked his butt off and will be in the trenches all this week helping with the little things. Todd you rock!

The children's ministry is ready and it will be AWESOME! Angelia is the most talented Children's Pastor I have ever seen. Her and her team have everything ready for Berry Blast which is part of the Elevate Children's stuff from Fellowship Church.

Russ is my brother and my co-pastor in this journey. His passion and talents are incredible. He truly is a gifted pastor. We could not do this with him. All the rest of launch team, Bobby, Natalie, Anise, Wannah, Chad, Tom, Terry, Jim, Dixon, Manny, Kevin and everyone at Muvico are just incredible.

I was asked the other day what kind of church we were going to be. I responded a JESUS Church. Its all about Jesus. Committing to Him, living like Him, loving like Him, and reaching lost people like He did.

Life Point Church will be a church where you can come just as you are. NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED. Everyone on staff is a living example of God's grace and mercy. Everyone on staff has JUNK and STUFF. But everyone on staff has repented and grown and learned and are thankful that God has allowed us to go through all we have been through. Why? It makes us depend on Him all the more. Life Point will be a place where you can come and be accepted, with all your baggage. A place where lives are healed and mended. A place where you will be accepted and loved. A place where Jesus can repair and restore lives.

See none of us are perfect. None of us have arrived yet as Paul says. But we press on. When we fall. We will pick you up and dust you off and help you get back on the right road. All in love.

WE WILL NOT SHOOT OUR WOUNDED. WE WILL NOT THROW STONES. WE WILL NOT JUDGE THE PAST THAT GOD HAS ALREADY FORGIVEN. We will love and journey, and seek to become more like Jesus every day.

WOW.

Seven Gimmicks We Use At Life Point Church

When you start a new church, people are going to talk. They will talk about you, your staff, your church and the “gimmicks” used to get people to come. People are going to come to Life Point!!! It’s a God thing… can not be stopped. But see, Life Point people have one thing some other churches don’t have… PASSION TO REACH PEOPLE FOR JESUS!!!

When we start reaching people (and we have in a big way) WATCH OUT… Pastors of other churches and people in general will start talking about the gimmicks we use to get people in. Well I am going to address this up front. WE WILL USE GIMMICKS TO GET PEOPLE TO JESUS.

SO…this all created a thought or two inside of me…and I admit–we are TOTALLY into gimmicks here at Life Point Church. I started to market the idea and make a million bucks off of it…but then decided that I would just share it here–so here goes–all of the gimmicks we are into.

#1 - We Talk About Jesus All Of The Time!
Seriously…HE is the reason for the church; in fact, He said in Matthew 16:18 that it is HIS CHURCH! So we decided a long time ago that if the church is supposed to be about him…well…then He should be THE MAIN FOCUS…how He is alive and is changing lives.

Let me be clear–we talk about Jesus. We do not talk about the lottery, how all Christians should watch FOX news, blue laws and snow birds. While we DO acknowledge that we live in a messed up world–we do not think that the world is messed up because bad people keep making bad decisions…but rather the world is messed up because people don’t know JESUS!

Churches can choose their soapboxes and issues all day long–our issue is Jesus…He changes lives.

#2 - We Use The Bible

I have heard from some people that if you preach from the Bible then people will not come–NOTHING could be further from the truth.

I love God’s Word–LOVE IT, every single verse…and I believe that NO ONE SCREWS UP THEIR LIFE by following God’s Word…so, in each and every service we have we use the Bible in an unapologetic way.

From time to time we will hear in this community people say, “They don’t use the Bible over at Life Point.” When a person makes that statement they are merely proving their stupidity because there will never be a service in the history of this church where the Bible wasn’t taught.

Where do most of our ideas come from? Uh…the Bible! It’s the best book ever!!!

#3 - We Teach The Bible In A Way People Can Understand

One of the things I hear from time to time is, “Hey Henry, I wish at times we could go deeper.” Let me translate this for you–what this person is usually saying is, “Hey Henry, I wish at times you could confuse the heck out of me so that there is no application point…that way I can walk away feeling smarter & also not feeling a need to actually apply anything.”

In my mind I have two questions to answer in message preparation time. The first is what do I want them to know. I feel it is my job as the pastor/teacher to teach God’s word in an understandable way so that when people leave Life Point Church they know at least one thing they didn’t know…OR they are reminded of at least one thing they had forgotten.

The second question is what do I want them to do. I believe a message preached without any application is a great mistake. PEOPLE DO NOT NEED HISTORY LESSONS–they need practical help with their lives. And so as a pastor it is NOT my goal to confuse the people who attend Life Point by spewing out theological mumbo jumbo and having them think I am a really smart person…but rather to take God’s Word and show how He desires to communicate to all of us where we are.

(To the critic who now wants to e-mail me and say that I have no love for theology…please…save it…I read that stuff all the time…and I have a doctorate degree and I love to read Piper, Spurgeon, and some others…however, I learned a long time ago that when it comes to speaking I need to do the cooking in the kitchen and bring the people a fully prepared meal.)

#4 - We Care About Excellence

One of our core values is excellence…we believe that if it is done in God’s name…then it deserves our best effort.

Keep in mind that excellence is the core value–NOT PERFECTION! We literally screw something up every Sunday…but it is NOT because we are not trying hard.

It bothers me when a church offers a half-hearted, poor, pitiful presentation of the Gospel…and then when it totally BOMBS they blame the problem on the Holy Spirit.

Uh…if the Trinity is truly a Biblical concept…and I believe it is, then why is it that we blame “God the Holy Spirit” on things that we screw up?

As I said, we believe in excellence…that means we want to offer our very best. SO…people who can’t sing do not sing. Seriously–why do churches let people do this? I have heard, “Well, their heart is good.” And that might be true–but their voice is awful & makes me think of a cow dying in a hail storm.

We make sure our kids get the very best in (1) facilities–we do not stick them in some basement with leaking pipes and wall paper from the 1970’s and tell them to “like it or else.” But rather we provide them with an atmosphere that they can actually enjoy.

(2) People–we do not stick them with a lady so old that she personally knew seven out of the twelve apostles personally and that hates kids…NO–our volunteers LOVE kids…love working with them–and are willing to go through a federal background check to do so!

If it worth doing then it is worth doing right!

#5 - We Plan Ahead

Yep, another gimmick is that we plan ahead & do not just “wing it.” For example, we are already planning for Christmas and Easter. We know these things are coming our way and we want to be as ready as possible.
Our kid’s area is planning months out. You know why? Because these kids matter!!!

Some people say that you can plan so much that you plan God right out of it…I disagree. I believe the Holy Spirit works just as much in my planning and preparation time as He does when I am delivering a message on a Sunday or Wednesday. God is a planner…He is Sovereign…BUT a casual journey through Scripture can show us–He has a plan–we should as well.

#6 - We Challenge People To Commit

Let me be very clear on this–Life Point Church will have THE BEST volunteers on the planet–BAR NONE! (You will get to meet many of them for yourselves if you are planning on coming to our preview services October 14 and October 28 and our LAUNCH NOV. 11, 2007.

Here is the deal–I teach this all of the time, a church is NOT effective when a pastor ministers to the people. NO…a church is effective when the body ministers to the body!

Many churches simply kill their pastor…they expect that poor guy to do everything while they sit on their rear end and bark orders. Uh…where exactly is the Biblical basis for that.

I know, I know, some moron is going to e-mail me, telling me that pastors are supposed to “shepherd their flock.” AND…I agree…but leading that flock DOES NOT MEAN doing the things for them that Scripture clearly indicates that they are to be doing for one another!

Ephesians 4:11-16 tells us that we are to teach the people HOW to minister–NOT to do it all. And at Life Point we have a group of people that EMBRACE that concept…and God is using their skills every weekend to IMPACT thousands of lives for Jesus Christ.

#7 - We Have An Atmosphere Where People WANT To Bring Their Unchurched Friends

When I was growing up the LAST place you took a person who didn’t know Christ was to church! NO…you “got them saved” first and then took them to church…because, if you did the opposite it would mess them up forever.

We have taken a different approach…we have told people we are going to work as hard as we can, pray that God will move…and we want you to partner with us in getting your lost friends and family members here…AND…it works. We’ve seen people give their lives to Christ over the past few months…and the best is yet to come!!!

What Do You Promise?

As we get ready for our first preview service on September 30th, I want to be sure that we are capable of delivering MORE than we promise. Unlike these 3 fast food ads and products, we do not want to fall short but to exceed. There are 3 ways to do this:

1: Dot the i's and cross the t's: - We have to make sure the little things are addressed as well as the big things
2: Pray and Plan and then Pray some More: - We are going into a 40 day extended period of prayer and fasting leading up to our launch on 11.11.07. We will be holding prayer times, prayer walking, prayer riding, even prayer movie theater time. At this point we EXPECT God to show up and are going to petition Him to do so.
3: Put The Right People Doing The Right Things: - - We are blessed to have a great team who is assembling the right people for all the areas we need. Our launch team is going to approach 50 people who will be lead and trained by our staff.

We have got to far exceed what is promised or expected or we will fall into the fast food trap.

Thoughts on Church In A Movie Theater

We are going to be 1 church with 5 locations. It looks like the first 3 will definitely be movie theaters. We are blessed to have a GREAT relationship with our first theater The Muvico at Coconut Point. But those of us who are doing church in a theater need to always be looking at everything through the eyes of those people attending. Here are some quick thoughts about one pastor's experiences going to a church in a movie theater....

* Driving in I wondered...will there by anyone there like me? (demographically speaking) I often forget that it's a big deal for someone to get the courage to visit my church the first time.
* Greeters in the parking lot would be a good thing....it would be nice to see a friendly face early on. I wasn't quite sure where to go until I got inside the building...this is critical for churches meeting in public spaces.
* Greeters need accurate information-I asked the guy standing by the table in the lobby which Theater they were meeting in...he told me one number...the lady waiting for her friends to arrive another....he was only off by one but that left an impression.
* I met the Pastor at the door to the theater...he was a nice guy...asked me the right questions...I didn't want to blow my cover as a pastor at another church.
* Critical mass is critical-the meeting space was big, bright and fairly empty...I don't mind this when I'm going to see a movie but when I'm visiting a church..I'm wondering why there are only a few people there. I counted just over 20 when the service began...including 4 band members, the Pastor, a tech guy and a sound guy. Thankfully at the close of the service there were around 40-50.
* Worship Leader Talk-I appreciate a well placed brief word or comment but felt a little awkward with all the talk between songs.
* Sing less...sit more-we ran through 5-6 songs...I was ready to sit down after the third song..I don't mind standing or singing more at a Passion Conference but I didn't see Charlie Hall there today.
* Technical Distractions-I want to sing along but I can't if the words on the screen are two slides late or not up at all. It's difficult enough to gather the courage to sing in a room filled with just a few people with the lights up full blast.
* Let me know what's coming-producers know that a tease, showing what's coming up after the commercial break, keeps viewers attention. I was never a fan of the blow by blow "order of service" but something general helping me understand what to expect would have increased my comfort level.
* The meet and greet-I wanted to attend and be anonymous but had that taken away from me with the ever common and often promoted, meet and greet. I am an Extrovert but I wanted to hang back a while...making a decision about whether or not to introduce myself to anyone after the service. I say this in all kindness....it's likely that people who think the meet and greet is a good thing are those who already feel comfortable in the church or have boundary issues.
* Babies in the service-The Granger guys have said; "Big Church is for Big People." I couldn't agree more...I was glad to see however that other churches are facing the issue of little ones in the service. I think the answer to this lies in part on the shoulders of leadership. Something we are doing or not doing, providing or not providing is leading Parents to make the decision that it's better to bring baby with them.
* Goofy ain't Good-nothing personal but we were asked to do something goofy...for an illustration we were asked to change seats, not just move one or two over but move to a completely new section...then face the back staring at the tech guy while the pastor taught...I got the point but felt bad for the tech guy...and didn't like the fact that I had just lost my seat on the end of the row by the exit.
* Save the Greek for the Mall and Seminary-I spent a lot of time and money on my education part of which involved learning biblical Greek...the average Sunday morning Joe six pack guy doesn't care much about funny words he'll only hear in church. The only Greek he's familiar with are Gyros and Sorority girls from the University. One point included two Greek words from the passage being taught...not bad but they were repeated so often that if I had a nickel for each time they were said I could fund the Publishers Clearing House giveaway this year.
* The offering-this may not have been so bad if the place were packed but we did the row by row pass the bucket deal. I didn't want to do two things....feel put on the spot to give(even though the pastor made the disclaimer that guests weren't expected to) or feel pressure to drop my response card in. I kept looking straight ahead as the guy approached with the ice cream pale....I was the only one in my row.
* Close with clarity-there were too many options....stay for prayer....stay to sing....stay to be in the presence of God....pick one and go with it....leaving made me feel a little awkward like I wasn't being spiritual or something for hanging around. Plus...if we all leave at the same time I'm likely to meet someone, staff, attender or volunteer and interact. This way with everyone doing one of three or four things...the service ended with little opportunity for interaction.

I believe that having services in a Theater can be a great thing....but how you do what you do as a church matters tons more than where you meet.

Rockin With Next Level Church

Took our team to visit Next Level Church lead by Pastor Matt Keller, who blogs HERE

It was ROCKIN. When our team pulled up to the South Fort Meyers High school, we were met by praise music in the parking lot. No parking lot greeters though. However at the door we were sincerely greeted by people who were really glad we were there. The foyer area was already full and was a u-shaped area of tables and kiosks with coffee, juice, pastries, a great info table with knowledgeable and engaging people. Everywhere people were talking and fellowshipping.

I was greeted 5 times by members and then introduced to Pastor Matt who was in the foyer talking with guests. He had just got back from vacation and was finishing up a series called Arcade. Music was playing and the spirit was good.

We walked up to the auditorium and was greeted again and given a really cool bulletin. We sat close to the front and when the band started the crowd was immediately connected. Lindsay Kistner was the Worship Leader and played guitar and was totally passionate in leading worship. The offering was taken right in the middle of the service while announcements were given and after another song or two, Pastor Matt came out. Matt is an engaging and humorous preacher. He hooked us with his vacation great adventure and talked on the Great Commission.

We learned some great things from the team at Next Level and Matt and I are having lunch Monday a week. They are 5 years old and have done 200 services in a local movie theater before coming to the high school. All in all it was great for our team to see just what a "portable" church looks like and with Next Level doing it right was a great choice for our first team visit to local churches.

3 WEAK REASONS WHY I HAVE NOT BLOGGED IN A WHILE

3 WEAK REASONS WHY I HAVE NOT BLOGGED IN A WHILE

1: NO INTERNET SERVICE - I was experiencing withdrawals since we moved into a temp house and the cable and internet was not hooked up to yesterday. Boy did I miss it. I am addicted to the cyberspace, not that I HAVE to have it but its got to be there, much like my favorite coffee mug. Just knowing it is there.

2: NEEDED THE BREAK FROM BLOGGING - I know this one is a cop-out but if you dont have internet and you are to lazy and cheap to pay 9.95 for Borders Internet it is always good to say you just needed a break to recompose your inner thoughts so you can blog something profound.

3: CHURCH PLANTING IS TAKING UP TOO MUCH OF MY TIME - Yea right.

Thoughts From The Well

The last 10 days here in SW Florida have been nothing short of incredible. God has opened doors, set divine appointments and started the process of giving Life to Life Point. It is amazing just what has been learned in just a short time:
* Most people Do NOT go to church
* Most people have ill feelings against the "traditional" church
* Most people believe in a "Higher Power"
* Most people just want a place to be accepted as they are and to be able to ask their questions
* Most people think you have to be "good" in order to get to heaven
* Most people believe you take a little from this religion and a little from that religion and mix it all up
* Most people think Church in a theater is cool and will come...

So what we do now is unpack all this to be able to develop a set of systems to create a compelling, creative, relavant environment for people to come to explore the claims of Jesus Christ. We can do that. But we need some things from you the reader of this blog.

1: Commit to be on our prayer team. If you will just email me HERE.
2: Consider a one time gift of 250.00 or more. If you will email me HERE
3: Consider partnering with us on a monthly basis and if you will do that email me HERE.

Surely you can do something to Give Life to Life Point. There are people going to hell here if we dont do something about it.

The ball is in your court.

Putting It All On The Line

The reason the early church had such extreme growth and radically changed lives was because the people literally put their lives on the line for God’s work to happen.

• Are you willing to put your reputation on the line for your church?
• Are you willing to try new things that you know your denomination’s not going to be happy with?
• Are you willing to follow God’s call even if it violates the direction your denomination is going?
• Are you willing to put your checkbook on the line?
• Are you willing to spend more money than you think the church can bring in?
• Are you going to let the facility be the God in your life? What is going to be the God of your life?

As I reflect on the significance of this Passion Week, I more than ever realize how Jesus put it ALL on the line for each of us. How dare we, as we are planting churches for HIM, by HIM, and because of HIM, do anything short of PUTTING IT ALL ON THE LINE>

The 3 Keys To Launching LARGE

A friend of mine wrote this for his church plant. This will give you great insight on launching large.

Launching Large

“Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed.” – Proverbs 16:3

1) Don’t just teach the vision, be the vision.

“Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.” – Proverbs 4:25
It’s not enough to have a vision…you have to act on it. The vision has to become a reality. Vision isn’t enough. Execution is just as important. Don’t just tell people that you’re going to care about ministry…do some ministry.

One of our launch team people helped me understand this principle as it related to our second preview service. I was going to talk about the vision of the church, but she challenged me to let it be a normal service and speak for itself. Showing is always better than telling. We just decided to be who we were going to be.

If you want people to know you’re funny, you don’t tell them how funny you are, you just tell them a joke. In the first six months of our church, I haven’t taught a sole vision message. Because each week, we flesh out that vision, and I incorporate vision into just about every message.

2) A dozen eggs is better than a golden egg.

I’m talking about advertising and promotion. If you think advertising and promotion isn’t spiritual, you’re mistaken. It’s a form of evangelism. Why wouldn’t you want to do everything you can, short of sinning, to get people to come to your church? Doesn’t the greatest message deserve to be promoted? Before we launched, we did:
Doorhangers – worked pretty good, but not the most effective
Direct Mail – we’ve figured out some cost effective ways to get this done
Road Signs – these were the hightest impact thing we did for the dollar
Invite Cards - these went along with personal invitations

I think we market our church well. We spend some money here, but not as much as you might thing. We learned some things that we can do to save money on direct mail, and that has turned out to be effective for us.

All of our early marketing played to the fact that we meet in a church. You need to come up with an angle that is unique to your church. Do not send out stock postcards – get someone to design something that fits your personality as a church. Do not send out postcards with church buildings or pastel, girly colors on them. Remember that you’re sending out something that needs to appeal to men, not just women.

"So this isn't about having to bribe people into paying attention by sexing things up with graphics, sound, or shock. This is about helping the mind and the brain agree on what's worth paying attention to. And if you want it to be you, then you better be the most provocative and interesting thing in their environment." - Kathy Sierra

If you want to attract a crowd to your first service, I would suggest that you do some marketing. Read some marketing books. And not just Christian ones. I really suggest a book called Buzzmarketing. I’ve read about 7 or 8 really good books on marketing that have really helped us.

3) Don’t copy churches that aren’t growing.
“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.” – Proverbs 15:22
“Whoever walks with the wise will become wise.” – Proverbs 13:20

Everybody has a coaching network, and you need to be around people who are doing what you want to do. We looked and learned from Mountain Lake Church, Westridge Church and NorthPoint. I read a lot of church leader blogs. There are some very smart people out there. We’ve gotten advice about when to start a second service, what times those service should be, how to get people in small groups, how to raise money. Ask a lot of questions, and get advice. But don’t get advice from dead or dying churches. Who cares what they are doing if it is not working? Why are you going to copy something that stinks? And don’t just go do the opposite of what you hated in your last church. You need to get with God, and seek good advice from people you respect. And you need to make smart decisions.