Update on Chets Creek North Campus!

It has been an exciting time for the Robinson family since we landed back in Jacksonville at the beginning of May. I can definitely say that moving isn't easy. Leaving relationships you value and have invested in is truly the hardest part. But we know that God is calling us to begin a new church in North Jax with Chets Creek Church. We believe in faith that the North campus will be a church for the unchurched, here and around the world.

Here's a few updates on the progress of the launch of the North Campus! 

- We have a location. We have a local school that we will begin meeting in, and will have preview services in the fall. God has already blessed us with great relationships with the school administration as we move forward. 

- We are shooting for a January 2017 launch. As we move forward with the timeline, we are searching for opportunities to serve the community, build relationships and develop a launch team. 

- We have our first interest meeting on July 17. I'll be preaching at the Chets Creek Hodges Campus that weekend and immediately following the 11:15am service, we will have a special meeting for those interested in praying, serving, and supporting the campus. As we are building a launch team, we are praying that God will reveal who will go with us from the existing campuses and those that are unchurched in North Jax. 

- We have an incredible worship band forming. We have had a great response from a talented, passionate group of musicians and singers for the campus.  

If you are interested in partnering with the launch of the North Campus, you can send me an email at: josh@chetscreek.com. 

Above all, please pray for God to lead the North Campus to reach people with the transforming power of the gospel. Please pray for God to reveal where He is working and how we can come alongside to serve.

5 Ways to Preach with the End in Mind

"But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." James 1:22

I use a GPS app (Waze is my new favorite app) on a regular basis. The GPS's purpose is to help me find the best way to arrive at my destination. The end goal of a GPS is to help you arrive at the desired destination. The same principle applies to preaching. What is the end goal of preaching every week? Where are we leading people in the message every weekend?

How many sermons do you remember?
Have you ever been confused on how to apply the sermon to your life?

Here are 5 ways to Preach with the End in Mind:

1) Craft a "big idea" that captures the truth of the scripture(s) you are preaching.
It is wise to simplify the "big idea" into one sentence, instead of a paragraph. People can only retain so much information at at time. I was a Student Pastor for 12 years and this is absolutely true. I also believe it is true with adults. 

2) Answer the questions of the audience throughout your message. The end goal of a message from God's Word is to answer the question, "so what?" or "what now?" As people are listening to sermon, they are continually asking questions. If you neglect to answer the tensions in people's lives with the message, they will tune you out. 

3) Give Christians and Non-Christians an opportunity to respond. 
An evangelistic church will speak to the needs of not only the Christians, but also to those who aren't Christians. At the end of the message, you have an opportunity for two responses to the message. For instance invite a response from Non-Christians by saying something like, "If you are here today and you haven't begun a relationship with Jesus, I want to give you an opportunity...." and then for followers of Christ, you can say something like, "if you are a follower of Christ, how will your life be different as we leave today?" 

4) Invite people to join your sermon, rather than just listen passively. 
Howard Hendricks said this about preaching, "A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pews." Give people a roadmap that helps them listen actively to the sermon. For instance: "Today, we are going to be in the Acts 4, so please grab your Bibles or phones to join me." Then give them a few questions that provide tension: "Why does this matter to our lives today?...."

5) Land the "plane" with clear, compelling application. 
The conclusion of a message should lead into a time of worship. It is where people are making a decision on what they have just heard. Many times, it is simply a time for everyone to gather their belongings and prepare to go eat lunch. Give people space to respond to what they have just heard is powerful. Be excited about the "so what" or "what's next" to the message, more than your introduction or funny illustrations. If the goal is life application, we need to give a crystal-clear, passionate call for people to respond to what the Holy Spirit is doing in their hearts. 

The goal of preaching isn't information transfer. The goal is presenting the person of Jesus through the Bible by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

What would you add to the list of preaching with an end in mind? Share in the comments below. 

Writing a New Chapter in the Journey

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.