Ministry + Family update

My family and I have been so blessed over the years with people near and far who love us and pray for our ministry. I wanted to give you an update on our future and what’s to come for us in the days ahead. This past Sunday, I shared with our church family that I have accepted the call to become the Lead Teaching Pastor at The Bridge Church in Venice, Florida.

It has truly been an incredible blessing to be a part of Chets Creek Church and see the North Campus planted and growing. We have watched God transform lives and people find hope in Jesus! And while we are going to miss our Chets family greatly, we know that God is calling us onward to join the work He is doing at The Bridge!

My last Sunday preaching at Chets Creek North will be March 15.

Will you join us in praying for a few things?

• Pray for the North Campus. For the church to grow and continue the mission to reach more people for Jesus!

• Pray for everything to go smoothly with selling our home (we went under contract three days after listing!)

• Pray for us as we search for a new place to live in the Venice area.

• Pray for The Bridge and for God to bless this ministry to be all that He wants it to be!
  

We love you all and are very grateful for your prayers in the days ahead!

Avoiding the Machine of Ministry

If you are in ministry, you might at times feel tired.  I like to think of it as the machine of ministry. The machine of ministry looks like this: - You are exhausted mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually most of the time. - You go through the motions of ministry work. - Your only concern is the attendance, and you’re not that excited about stories of life-change. - Worship is hard to get into because you “already know these songs.” - You compare yourself with other churches and leaders. - Your appearance gets more attention than your spiritual heart.

I’ve experienced these feeling at times in my own life.  How do we avoid falling into a robot of ministry where we lose sight of the sensitivity of God’s Spirit?

Continue reading my guest post at...

Volunteer Tip: The "Why" of Small Groups

Small groups are vital for student to become fully devoted followers of Christ. The need for small groups is vital to people learning how to grow in their walk with God and each other. The Bible gives us the foundation of spiritual growth within the Christian community.

In the Old Testament we see the importance of the unity between God and man in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:27). God set up an important relationship between Adam and Eve. The sin that separated them from God was relational. The need for community was in place after the fall of Adam and Eve.

In the New Testament, Jesus set the example of pouring His life into the disciples. He spent a majority of his time explaining and living out the truth of God’s Word. Jesus did not spend his time mainly with the multitudes, but with a small group of world changers (Matt. 13:36).

In Acts 2:46-47 it says, ^“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  

In James 5:16 it says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Here are a few observations from Acts 2 and James 5:16 on community: Healthy community...

1. Eat together (Yes!) 2. Meet in homes (better environment and openness) 3. Authentically live for God (glad and sincere hearts) 4. Relational (enjoying the favor of all the people) 5. Grows numerically (true disciples make disciples) 6. Maintains healthy accountability (grace meets pursuit of God's glory)

The early church is a great example of people that loved each other and spent their time and efforts on building relationships. (Acts 2:46, 12:12, 20:8, 20:20; Rom. 16:4-5; I Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:5; Philemon 2).

Small group is the best way for people to learn and grow in their faith. The essence of small groups is creating an environment where people can open up to one another and grow spiritually. Healthy small groups are essential to lead people to become like Christ.

 What would you add to the conversation on small groups?