See you at Schell Elementary School at 10:30am this Sunday. ( we will only meet for about 20 minutes this Sunday)
I can't wait
This Sunday we are going to meet at the future location of our church. It is Schell Elementary School and it is going to be the place that lives are transformed. Now I know that the church is not a building. The church is the people and the building is a tool. It is a useful tool to reach people. I do however believe that we have upgraded our tool from a shovel to a backhoe. We went from a hammer to a jackhammer. Schell Elementary is a the corner of two big roads, Renner and Brand. This location will likely be a simple step up for us, but it will put us in position to reach more people for Jesus, so that makes me excited.
How To Do Your Part (Part Deux)
Here are the two biggest things you can do to contribute to our Launch:
2. Contribute your time and money to our church. We will be aiming to make thousands of evangelistic touches this summer and fall. You could give up two hours to pass out free soft drinks and invite people to our church. You could contribute $2000 to purchase the lighting we need in our new location. Or $5000 will send 50k mailers to our community. Your money could directly contribute to someone hearing about Jesus! There is no better investment. Did you know that contributing $100/a month could help us hire a full time worship leader? Your contribution will make a difference. (ok, enough of the money talk- But hey, I am passionate about this and believe it is the greatest investment of your money)
1. The biggest thing you could do is join our launch team. Just do it. You know you want to be a part of something that will have an eternal significance. Being a part of our launch team means that you designate a certain amount of time to serve and contribute to our new church. For some people, being a part of the launch team is temporary- they simply stay on until we have our Grand Opening. Others will choose to stay on after that. It is up to you and what God leads you to do. Some people will even choose to serve at their church on Sundays for the next year but help us with outreach or contribute finacially. That's great. Email me at joel@connectionpointchurch.net if you want to help us launch a great church
How To Do Your Part
Launching a church as a team can be a tricky thing. Although I am the leader, the success of the church depends on a team effort. I thought I would spend a few posts encouraging everyone to fine their niche in order to contribute to our success.
The Top Five Things You Can Do to
Help Us Launch Connection Point Church
5. Become a Prayer Partner. This is the first step. Begin praying for our church. Email me and let me know you want to pray for us. I'll send you a monthly update to let you know what is going on.
4. Tell people about our monthly services. Our first monthly service is aproaching fast (just check out the countdown clock to the left). Invite people that you know to check us out on October 4(you should come, too)
3. Encourage people to contribute to our vision. We have a great mission ahead of us. We are trying to change eternity for our entire region. People will have their lives transformed and eternally secured because of our financial contribution. Encourgage your church, friends, dogs, and cats to give to our launch.
My perspective on raising money
As we undergo a thorough relaunch of our church, we have come to a familiar place- our current budget doesn't reflect our vision. We must raise more money. This is one of the biggest challenges for a young church and I know that for years it scared me to death. Here are the two waves of funding that I have experienced and how we are dealing with them...THE FIRST WAVE OF FUNDING IN A CHURCH PLANT
The Two Ingredients for Raising Money for a New Church
I was very scared when we began the church because I knew that I would have to ask people for money. I felt like I had to "sell" them on me and the idea. There were two ingredients they needed, a relationship and credibility. They wanted to invest in me because of our relationship, but I didn't have the credibility to deserve their money. So I leveraged the relationships I had with other church planters to provide credibility. I had other church planters "vouch" for me and I used the strength and accomplishments of my networks and coaches to give me credibility. This allowed them to invest in me.
THE SECOND WAVE OF FUNDING
A worthy investment
Now that we have been going for 2 years and have seen God at work in our church, we've decided to start a second round of outside funding for our church. There is a big catch this time around: I've already leveraged my relationships for money. I've tapped them already in the first round. God used their investment to start the journey and to change lives in the last two years. So how can we get new people and organizations to invest in our future?
I don't know the answer, but I know how we are going to go about things: VISION. God has given us a vision to CREATE A CHURCH THAT UNCHURCHED FAMILIES LOVE TO ATTEND. We have a vision for excellence and we believe God wants us to achieve it.
I am much bolder now to ask for money because I believe we are a great investment for the Kingdom for a few reasons:
LIFE CHANGE:We have baptized dozens of people each year in our church. We are over well over 70% conversion growth (hey we're small, so it's possible)
STRONG: We have a current launch team of 35 adults. We are a financially stable church. We are well ahead of most launch teams in our stage.
POTENTIAL: Our potential/investment dollar is unmatched. A few hundred dollars will make a tangible difference in our church.
LEADERSHIP: We have leaders in our church that are invested in our success. We are a team of 35 adults (and growing) planting a church, not simply one family. We are all invested.
Because I truly believe in the vision of our church, I love raising money for it. I believe that it is a great opportunity for people to invest their money. I don't feel like I am pulling teeth, I feel like we are allowing people to invest in someone's eternity. I have given my life to this mission. I am the biggest financial investor. (My wife and I have a goal to be the biggest givers percentage-wise in our church. My goal is to eventually give 25% of our income to the church!) Our investment reflects our priorities. I don't say this to brag, I say this for clarity. We put our money where our mouth is.
The bottom line is this: If you want to put your money into something that may produce a return for 10, 50, or even 100 years, there are plenty of opportunities. If you want to invest in the eternity of someone's life- then invest in a local church plant.
I believe that with all of my heart.
Let's Go!
It is now time for our church to change seasons. We have been in a time of transition, now we are moving into a season of momentum. Here is what we have accomplished in the last 2 months:
We have a new name:
Connection Point Church
Our church has a clear mission:
to create a church that unchurched families love to attend.
We have some clear milestones in front of us:
October 4th: our first Public Monthly Service
November 1st: our second Public Monthly Service
December 13th: our third Public Monthly Service
December 24th: our fourth Public Monthly Service
January 17th: our final Public Service
February 14th: GRAND OPENING-Weekly Public Services begin!
We have a location for our Public Services:
Schell Elementary School (at the corner of Brand and Renner in Richardson, TX)
We have defined our values, refined our strategies, and enlarged our vision. Now is a time for us to grow. If you know people that would love to get on board, invite them to our Sunday Bible study at Oak Brook Day School or to our first public service on October 4th.
Achieving Success (Part 5)
Check out the previous post here.
#3 Prepare a map
This may be the first or second thing that you need to do to achieve success, but I'll keep it here. Preparing a map means this: set goals and milestones that will guide you to success. For example, if your goal is to retire on a bunch of land and build a house. Then set up some milestones...
1. In 3 years, be out of debt
2. In 10 years, pay off my house
3. In 15 years, put a downpayment on the land.
4. In 20 years, sell your house and move.
Obviously, it may or may not be that simple-- but at least you can see the potential. If you want to raise 3 kids that will all graduate college, have a map of where and what needs to happen for them to achieve it. If you want be in the career of your dreams, map out the steps that will allow you to leave your job and pursue it.
You must define your own success, invest the time and energy and go after it. But make sure you know where you are going before you leave...
Achieving Success (Part 4)
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#2 Follow someone
Here is Michael Lukaszewski. You probably don't know him. He is the founding pastor of Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, GA. They are a very successful new church. (they went from 0 to 600 in their first year and now have over 1000). I will be travelling to GA once a month to be learn from him in August. I also meet regularly with Sam Douglass in order to learn more about starting a church.
One of the most important ways to achieve success is to follow someone that has already achieved it. If you want to be a better mother, find someone who is a great mother and ask them questions. They will be happy to share because they are passionate about being a mother. If you want to be an expert in a hobby or chosen field, get a job or internship in that field. But not just any job or internship, find the best one possible. Even if you have to take a paycut or find another source of income altogether. If this is your life's mission, it is more important than money. Money is not an acceptable reason to die before you achieve your God given purpose. Get close to someone that is achieving your dream.
Today, you can...
Take a mentor (or potential mentor) to coffee or lunch. Be prepared to ask questions and not talk too much. Simply glean from them.
Begin saving $500 in order to visit a guru in your chosen field. You can easily get anywhere in the US for a day or two for under $500 if you try. (visit www.Kayak.com or www.Orbitz.com)
Read some blogs from people that doing it right.
The bottom line is this. Developing a relationship with a mentor is invaluable. It will allow you to become a virtuoso much quicker because you will avoid mistakes and learn more lessons.
