Lifepoint Gear...

QUESTION:
Have you always wanted a t-shirt, hat, backpack, license plate holder, mug, journal or baby bib that shows your love and loyalty for Lifepoint Church?

Well, wait no further...official Lifepoint Church gear is NOW available!


Go to www.cafepress.com/lifepointstuff to begin filling your online shopping cart with tons of Lifepoint Church goodies. Enjoy!

Hope to see you Sunday.

This Saturday...

This Saturday is the first annual Lifepoint Church "BAPTIQUE" = Baptism & BBQ! I'm so excited! We've got a good number of people who are taking part in the baptism and we've invited the entire church out for a celebration. Fire up the grill, slap down some hamburgers, and dunk some people!

This Saturday, July 12th, from 10am-1pm at the Little Elm Beach Park.

Contact the church office: 972.347.9598 - for more information / directions.

Hope to see you Saturday & Sunday.

Relationships...

I have no rational explanation why I'm surrounded by the staff that I have...other than the fact that God is involved. I have an awesome worship leader, loving and caring kidz director, and excellent student pastor...then there's me...go figure!

I spent a good part of the day yesterday hanging out at Starbucks planning this coming Sunday with my worship leader and student pastor...I need time with them - creativity and ideas flying all over the place. I need that. I need time with others...so do you! We can't just close ourselves off and come together once a week for an hour...that just doesn't cut it. I can't imagine how much stronger we ALL would be if we constantly surrounded ourselves with other Christ followers.

Here's the catch...we can't neglect our friends and neighbors who have yet to cross that line of faith...they may not know it...but they need our attention. If they know you go to church...but you don't have any time for them...or worse...you act just like them...wow...something is wrong. We are called to go into all the world...for me it's Savannah, Paloma Creek, Providence Village, Aubrey, Little Elm, and other areas along HWY 380...to reach people...to make disciples.

What if we did that? What if we all reached people and made disciples? Hmmm...interesting concept, huh? The relationships we make, develop, and cultivate are so very important...they carry eternal weight. Do your part!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Next Steps...

Here we are...roughly 9 1/2 months old...and we've come a long way. You know it's really amazing to see what can happen when you follow what God calls you to do...regardless of what others tell you. I'm so glad we answered the call that God laid on my heart to start Lifepoint Church.

I spent a good bit of time today just thinking a little bit about what we've seen happen. There are way to many cool things to list...but here's a few that stick out in my mind:

1. Moved to Savannah.
2. Connected with and hired Blake (worship).
3. Landed a facility.
4. Secured children's director / pastor (Jenna).
5. Built small core team (25 including kids).
6. Got "church in a box" - 24ft trailer with all of our equipment.
7. Rocked first service on September 9th, 2007 - over 125 in attendance!
8. Grew the church all the way down to about 60 in mid November 2007 (LOL - easy to laugh at now...it wasn't then).
9. Averaged over 100 since January 2008.
10. 2 membership classes (roughly 30 adult members as of May 2008).
11. Hired student pastor (Johnny).
12. Took first ever Lifepoint missions trip (Mexico - June 2008).
13. First ever water baptisms (July 12th).
14. ???


So...what's next?
Well, we're going to pursue purchasing land. I thought we had land...it turns out we don't. But everything is good and we'll continue searching. I'm eager to see what God has in store for us.

I really can't wait to see what God does next.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Creating Margin...

"I just spent a lot of money, but guess how much I saved you?" - sounds like something my wife might say...but for the first time in my life...I find myself saying a phrase similar to that. "I just got a new car and I'm saving us a ton of money!" It's true!

We finished a great teaching series a few weeks ago called "How To Be Rich"...not how to get rich...but how to BE rich in a way that pleases and honors God. The series was full of tons of practical thoughts and applications...that we all need to hear...including myself. It was one of those teaching series where I personally walked away going "man, I gotta change somethings myself."

One of the thoughts / applications from the teaching was that we consume EVERYTHING God has given us...we spend everything we make. We have no margin...and when we have no margin we can't tithe or give generously...when people don't tithe or give generously, the church suffers...when the church suffers, the church can't do all that it's been called to do. Having financial barriers and constraints in your personal finances is no different from what the church experiences. Lifepoint Church, like many churches, has plans and visions to reach people (locally and globally)...which takes finances.

Anyways...back to creating margin. In our household we had very little margin...after tithe and our normal bills. I wanted more margin to be able to relieve the financial pressures at home and to be able to give more generously. So I got a new car. I sold my 2003 Acura (which I loved) and we're getting rid of our van next month...downsizing from 2 vehicles to 1...and lowering our insurance. So back to one of my opening statements - "I just got a new car and I'm saving us a ton of money!" Overall...I'm saving us roughly $350 a month. That's creating margin!

Hope to see you Sunday.

Inconsistent & Ready For Summer...

Inconsistent would be a great word to describe my blogging...my apologizes.

It's the 21st of May...and it's already in the 90's here in North Texas. My wife, Emily, is a school teacher and my oldest son, Greyson, are both ready for school to be over. Me and the Tate are indifferent (everyday is like summer for a 3 year old and a stay at home dad). I am excited to teach the boys how to swim and to get the training wheels off of Greyson's bike...it's going to be a great summer for our family!

(Oh, the picture...it's our community clubhouse and water-park area...just so you can see how AWESOME our summer is going to be)

It's also going to be an amazing summer for Lifepoint Church. When so many churches do all that they can do just to "maintain" during the summer months...we've decided that we're going to do everything we can to see tremendous growth this summer. We currently have about 120 people who call Lifepoint Church their home and we've positioned ourself, during our first eight months, to see some amazing things happen this summer.

So What's On The Schedule This Summer:
1. Our first ever "Sports Camp" (VBS alternative for elementary aged children) June 9th-13th.
2. Our first ever missions trip (Mexico - youth group) // June 16th-21st.
3. Our 3rd "Class 101" will take place in late June or early July.
4. Lots and lots of water baptisms!

I truly believe that we're going to double this year and well exceed the 200 mark. My prayer is, if it's God's will, it will happen during the summer months. Why not?! We've resolved to not be a church that simply "maintains" during the summer. I'm well aware that when it comes to church growth there are seasons of growth and seasons without growth...but why? Is it because we've been told that's the way it is? Is it because churches run on auto pilot during the summer? We're not going to be that church...EVER! Help us see some amazing things happen this summer. Invite your neighbors and friends to experience God like never before at Lifepoint Church.

Hope to see you Sunday.

Injury & Excitement...

So...it's Thursday morning and I've been laying on the couch for the last 5 days...why?! Because last Saturday I blew out my right knee playing football. Yep, it's a torn ACL (see diagram). So...I'm really frustrated and angry with myself. I had 2 years of college football eligibility still left...but now I'll never be able to play college football again. Which means I won't be drafted into the NFL...which means I'm thrilled to be able to fully focus on Lifepoint Church.

If by some strange reason you're still reading...I'm excited about the conference my wife and I are going to next Monday. We're going to Atlanta, GA for the "Drive 08" conference that Andy Stanley and North Point Church is putting on. Not only is it going to be an amazing conference with tons of much needed information...but I get to go with two pastors: 1 - that I've yet to meet & 1 - that I consider a mentor. I can't wait to be able to apply the information and experience to Lifepoint Church.

Hope to see you Sunday