Church Planting Day 8: Churches Around the World

That’s a wrap! Yes, I did eat a chicken wrap for lunch today, but that’s also a wrap on my two-week Church Planting block class. I believe that God used these last two weeks to do things that we may not see for years…but the ground is swelling and hearts are stirring!

On Wednesday before class, some of the students from my class organized a prayer meeting. 14 students took their lunch break to gather together to seek God’s will for church planting and ministry in general. What a joy to walk up and see that and get to listen in on their prayers.

And as if that wasn’t great enough, today gave even more proof that God is stirring their hearts. We spent the entire 4 hours today hearing from each student as they presented their Church Planting Project. The goal was to help them pray about, think through, and plan for a future potential church plant in the city of their choice.

I was blown away as one by one, they began to talk about cities around the world that God has been laying on their hearts over the last two weeks. From Acapulco to London and Haiti, from New York and Michigan to New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, 25 cities were prayed for, researched, and discussed as potential sites for new ministries! If there were doubts in any of their hearts as they were talking about it, you couldn’t tell – there was passion and genuine heartfelt desire to reach these cities for Jesus!

At the end of class, a couple of the guys asked me if they could treat me to dinner. Word got out and it turned out to be 9 of us that went out to eat. BJ’s Restaurant is always great (because of the pizzookie), but the best part was how the night ended. 8 of the students that I’ve spent the last 2 weeks pouring into gathered around me outside of the restaurant and poured back into me. They laid hands on me and prayed for me, Awaken, and the ministry that lies ahead.

These two weeks have been extremely exhausting – mentally and physically, but they’ve been amazing. I’m teaching on prayer this Sunday at Awaken, and I’ve been asking God to teach me about prayer while I’m here. He definitely has! I’ve heard from Him, seen Him answer prayers, and been stirred in ways that I haven’t experienced in quite some time.

To the army of people praying for me here and back home, THANK YOU! God has answered our prayers not only in me, but through me, and in the lives of 25 students you may never meet! He is building His Church. To GOD be the glory!

Exceeded Expectations

As Jenn and I geared up over the last week for our trip to Albuquerque, it seemed like we were facing so many obstacles. My 5-year old got sick, then I caught what she had, then my 3-year old got the flu which led to an ear infection, then we got in a car accident the night before we were going to leave. On top of that, I was beginning to lose my voice…which is a problem when you’re talking as much as I did this weekend! Turns out I have a sinus infection and bronchitis.

Friday-Sunday of last weekend, I had the privilege of teaching 4 different messages in 5 locations 11 different times (either in person or by video). I’ve never had an opportunity like this, and God moved in an amazing way…which must be why we faced such opposition in getting to ABQ and teaching! Satan wanted to shut me up.

Jenn led worship and I taught at Calvary Albuquerque’s “Keep Calm And Marry On” marriage retreat in Santa Fe, NM on Friday night and Saturday morning. After that, we packed up, drove back to Albuquerque, where Jenn sang and I taught at Calvary on Saturday night and 3 Sunday services! They also played the message at their other campuses in downtown Albuquerque and in Santa Fe. Meanwhile in Clarksville, we launched our “Family Tree” Christmas series with a message I had pre-preached last Tuesday. All of the teachings went great, despite my sore throat.

Throughout the weekend, I was simultaneously taking cough drops and lozenges, while drinking herbal teas, Airborne, and Emergen-C to boost my immune system. Somehow, despite waking up Saturday morning without a voice, I lasted for all 6 messages. Praise God! I know there were teams of people praying for me – and God answered!

Not only did He save my voice, but He used it in a powerful way as well. At all the weekend services at the multiple campuses, I got to lead about 133 people in a prayer to give their lives to Jesus! The final service on Sunday at Calvary had the biggest response: about 75 people came forward! From across the campus, they streamed in the doors and down the aisles: families, old and young, many in tears. And speaking of tears, many of us (including me) cried as we watched God exceed our expectations.

Praying with people at the 11:15am service at Calvary ABQ

The team at Calvary is top notch and it’s always a joy to return there and see so many people that are like family to us. We’re so thankful for the ways God has used Skip & Lenya and the ministry of Calvary Albuquerque to change our lives and the lives of so many others.

Of course I can’t leave Awaken out either. I heard reports of a packed house and heard great feedback from the message. The great thing about teaching by video is that it takes the focus off of the individual and puts it even more on the actual message.

It was truly an honor to be a part of what God did this weekend in multiple states and cities!

You can watch or listen to the messages I taught this weekend here: 

Calvary: “The End of the World As We Know It” – Revelation 20

Awaken: “The Naughty List” – Matthew 1:5, Joshua 2

Abortion Averted

Last night after I taught at Calvary college group, Renovate, I met (for a second time) a 22-year old girl who told me her life had been changed 4 1/2 years ago after a message I taught.

It was October 2006 and I was teaching at Renovate. She was 18 at the time and had just found out she was pregnant. She was devastated and knew she was too young to have a baby, so she had decided to have an abortion…until she came to Renovate. I can’t remember what I taught on that night, but God used it powerfully in her life, and after service I prayed with her to recommit her life to Jesus. She decided at that moment that she was going to keep the baby. Abortion averted.

That night, not one life, but two lives were saved!

When I shook her hand last night, she told me this story, and told me that because of how God had used me, she has a 4-year old little boy named Spencer today (Natalie & Spencer are pictured to the left). I couldn’t believe it. I almost starting crying as I realized how God had used me in a way I had never realized. It probably hit me even harder since I have a 4-year old of my own!

What a powerful reminder that God can use our words and actions in someone’s life in ways that we could have never planned. I didn’t speak about abortion, but simply the hope that exists in the name of Jesus saved Natalie spiritually and Spencer physically.

Whatever your gift is, use it to benefit others and glorify God. He can use you in ways you’d never imagine!

If you’d like to listen to or watch last night’s message from Renovate, it will be available HERE shortly.

Interview with Pastor Skip Heitzig

It feels so good to be typing this from my home office in Clarksville again. We love every chance we get to go back to Albuquerque to visit, but it’s so good to be home!

In addition to doing my little sister’s wedding while we were there, we got to attend two services at our home church, Calvary Albuquerque. They just began a new study through the whole Bible called Expound. It’s a congregational and interactive chapter-by-chapter study on Wednesday nights. The worship was incredible (my wife got to sing), the Bible study was amazing, plus, I got to share with the church how God has been at work here in Clarksville!

I sat down with Pastor Skip Heitzig, interview-style, and showed pictures and videos from the flood as we discussed that following God’s lead often brings challenges you never expected. It had been months since I had watched the video footage of the flood and it was a bit overwhelming for me. It was amazing to look back and see God’s faithfulness and provision displayed so clearly.

If you missed the interview with Pastor Skip, here it is…

Fruit of our labor

It’s been a year since I’ve been back to Albuquerque, which seems like a long time, considering I lived there for 22 consecutive years of my life.

We came back this week because my sister asked me to do her wedding. It was a bit surreal to be marrying my sister and her (now) husband, but it was great. The ceremony and reception were great, and God was glorified!

One thing we love about coming back to Albuquerque is that it’s a time of refreshment and encouragement for us. We were heavily connected to our church, Calvary Albuquerque, and have so many friends to connect with that there’s never time to see everyone. It always feel like a homecoming. It’s also nice to just go to church like a normal Christian, and just enjoy taking it all in and worshiping (although I LOVE every opportunity I get to teach).

In addition to the great conversations we’ve had so far, one of the most rewarding things we get to see are students that we’ve invested years of ministry into, who are now plugged in and serving as well! I can’t tell you how many of my former middle school and high school students I’ve talked with who are now worship leaders, youth group leaders, discipleship group leaders, kids ministry volunteers, and so much more! I immediately thought of John’s words in 3 John 4…

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Although they’re not my physical children, many of them are my spiritual children. Many of them came to the Lord and grew closer to the Lord in the youth group I ran. Not that I get the credit for it – it’s all the Lord. But it’s amazing to see the fruit of my labor in the lives of these young Christians! John rejoiced to hear that those he had invested in were still going strong, and so do I.

I love talking with students who, years ago, I couldn’t tell if they were even listening to anything I was saying, but now are whole-heartedly serving the Lord! It makes it all worth it. It’s the fruit of our labor. It’s humbling to think that God used me in even one person’s life to spur them on to follow Christ even harder.

Be encouraged. The people you’re investing in now that may not seem to fully get it may be the next generation of pastors, worship leaders, disciple-makers, and evangelists! Keep investing. It’s worth it.

Big things are happening…

Next month, Awaken will be celebrating its very first birthday. Since we’ll only have ONE first birthday, we decided to celebrate in a big way. We’re stoked to have Jimmy Needham joining us for TWO Sunday services that morning (9 & 11am) in addition to a live solo concert in our church parking lot at 5pm that evening! We view it as a celebration of God’s faithfulness as well as an investment in the community of Clarksville!

In addition to all of that, there are lots of great things happening at Awaken right now…

- Today was our 7th week back in our newly renovated Riverside building. It looks better and fits us better than ever. Although, if we keep growing, I won’t be able to say that much longer.

- We’ve quadrupled in size since we moved back in. The move to Sunday mornings seemed to really resonate with Clarksville culture.

- We have only 3 more studies left in our “Forgotten” series. We’ll end right in time for our 1-year celebration on September 19! Can’t wait for our next study that will kick off Sunday, September 26!

- After 38 weeks in the book of Acts on Wednesday nights, this Wednesday will be our second-to-last study in the book! I’ll close out chapter 28 this week, then end it the following week with an overview of the whole book (That will be week #40 – a nice round, Biblical number, wouldn’t you agree?)! Can’t wait for the study we’ll start after that as well – kicking off Wednesday, September 22.

- We’re also excited to be back at Riverfest this year for our second time. It’s a super cool way to be involved in the community, and if you know anything about Awaken, you know we’re all about being in the community. That’s coming up in just 3 weeks – we just started sign-up for that today.

- After a year and a half of paperwork and correspondence, Awaken is very close to officially being affiliated with Calvary Chapel. I’m stoked to be a part of that fellowship of churches, pastors, and resources, plus, that will put us on the Calvary Chapel map, making it even easier for people to find us!

- If all of that wasn’t exciting enough, we decided to kick it up a notch by renting out the Roller Dome in Hopkinsville, KY next Sunday night, August 29! Nate owns his own rollerblades and even has a carrying case for them, so you better watch out!

We hope you’re involved in the awesome things God is doing in lives, families, and the city. If you’re not, make sure to join us Wednesdays or Sundays!

A year ago…

A year ago on Thursday, I gathered with about 100 staff members from Calvary Albuquerque, one of the biggest churches in the United States, for my goodbye luncheon. I had been on staff as the middle school youth pastor for 5 1/2 years. We had Italian food. It was fantastic.

A year ago yesterday, we spent the evening at some friends’ house for our goodbye party. Tons of people we knew came to wish us well, eat cake, pray for us, and say goodbye. There were lots of tears that night.

A year ago today, I prepared to teach a message entitled “Along For the Ride” from Luke 5. I talked about how when Jesus stepped into the boat and told the fishermen to cast their nets (which they had done all night to no avail), it didn’t make a lot of sense, but they obeyed anyway…and their world got rocked! I talked about the step of faith we were taking in planting a church and how it didn’t all make sense but we trusted God was behind it and we were simply along for the ride.

That was a bit of an understatement!

A year ago tomorrow, I preached my last message as middle school youth pastor at Calvary Albuquerque. My office was cleaned out, and as I walked off the campus, I said goodbye.

A year ago Monday, I began a 2 1/2-month period of being unemployed…or as the guys and I called it “FUNemployment.” After a life of non-stop action, teaching 4 times a week, counseling, studying, and more, life slowed waaaaay down. I slept in every day, took a nap most days, got pretty good at fishing, read books, and just hung out. It was great, but I sure was happy to get a job – even if it was working the graveyard shift as a janitor on Ft. Campbell. It paid the bills and gave me hours to listen to podcasts. It was a start.

Of course my story is still being written as I type. I’ve now gone through a period of working 3 jobs at once while teaching twice a week, we’ve had a baby, and our church got destroyed in a flood. I could have never dreamed that a year from my last weekend at Calvary Albuquerque, our church would be meeting on the second floor of a bank building while our previous building was drying out from a flood.

Never. Crossed. My. Mind. Ever.

My message entitled “Along For The Ride” makes more sense now than it did a year ago when I preached it. It’s pretty unbelievable what we’ve been through and I can’t imagine what’s ahead. When I write a blog in May of 2011 entitled “A year ago…,” I wonder where we’ll be then!

To God be the glory. He has done – and is doing – great things in Clarksville, TN!