We had a great first preview service for the North Campus on November 13th! We had 95 people show up for our first set-up and run through at Sheffield Elementary School. We are improving as a launch team as we look forward to the public launch in January 2017!
Here is the sermon I preached at our first preview service!
It has been a long time since I blogged! But I wanted to take a moment to share what God has been doing in our lives over the past few months.
In the summer of 2015, I felt God was calling me to finish my time in ministry as a Student Pastor. During this time, I began to pray and consider church planting in the northeast part of Florida. I met and talked with a few church planting mentors - and heard about the growth that was happening on the Northside of Jacksonville. They encouraged me to drive around and pray about whether or not God was calling me to plant in that area. I drove up there and prayed, but believed the Lord was saying, "not yet" and "wait."
So last summer I transitioned into a new role as the Teaching Pastor and Groups Pastor at the church I had been serving at for the last four years, Church @ The Springs. During this season of ministry, I have been learning a lot as I preach at the campuses, train small group leaders and oversee the Men and Women's ministries. It has been a joy for me to serve The Springs in these areas, but I haven't been able to shake the tug in my heart to begin a new work.
After much prayer, I'm excited to announce that I'll be taking the next step to begin a new Chets Creek Church Campus in North Jacksonville. We are excited to move back to the area of Jacksonville as it was the location of my first full-time position in ministry and where Cassidy and I were engaged and lived during our first year of marriage. The area and people that we know there have a special place in our hearts and we consider it "home" for us in a lot of ways.
God has worked in my life through Pastors, friends and family to help me take this next step of faith in ministry. I owe a lot to the Pastors I have worked alongside who have helped shape, develop and encourage God's call on my life.
My passion is to communicate the Bible, reach the family and equip the church to live on mission. As a Campus Pastor, I'll be the primary Teaching Pastor at the new campus and will lead the campus staff and volunteers. God-willing, I will join the Chets Creek Church team on May 2nd and begin to develop the strategy with the Lead Staff for the campus launch in Spring 2017.
Evernote
Are you looking for a tool that you can use on a daily basis? Evernote is it or me. It helps me keep all of my ideas, plans and web clippings in one place. It can be accessed through my iPhone, iPad and macbook. You can save receipts by either scanning or taking a picture. It is my go-to for my ministry and life. I use different "notebooks" to organize my thoughts and plans.
Nozbe
It provides the best way to complete tasks on a daily basis. It syncs to work with my phone and computer so I can access it anywhere. You can schedule when some items on the list need to be finished. You can share projects with others so it can be used as a team. I haven't utilized every aspect of this app, but it is an excellent tool to be productive.
Planning Center
It is one of the best tools created for churches. I use it to plan out my series so that the musicians know the biblical direction of each teaching. You can schedule many types of volunteers so that you have one system to coordinate your services. It is by far one of the best programs for churches that are trying to simplify how they plan, coordinate and lead services.
Dropbox
I love dropbox. As a multisite ministry, I use it on a daily basis. It helps coordinate files, graphics and video teaching for the campuses. Over the years of using dropbox, they have given me free space. I started with 2 gigs and now I have over 18 gigs for free. If you use it and share it, dropbox will give you space!
Logos Bible Software
I use Logos to study for each sermon. It contains an entire library of commentaries and books to help you study. If you are a communicator of God's Word, it is a valuable program to use.
What apps do you use in ministry? Share in the comments below!