1. Just finished an article about the mall for Christian News Northwest. Pretty cool.
2. I am officially within 2 chapters of having the book, DANGEROUS CHURCH, done. It's the story of Living Hope and our ONLY GOD stories. I am so glad to be done (almost) and so thankful to both Carly and Teresa who have worked with me and have both done so much. I guess you could say that it takes a village to write a book.
3. The mall really likes us. Praise God, Living Hope. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ONE SINGLE COMPLAINT. Isn't that a God thing? One of the goals we hoped for was that we would authentically bless the vendors and people at the mall. That has happened! I am just so grateful to be part of a movement of God that gets the words of Jesus "you are the salt of the earth..." Thanks for being who you are!!!!!
4. BRUSH PRAIRIE (and campuses). We had great discussion this week with key leaders about doing services (again) at Brush Prairie on Sundays. Probably at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. Please pray. The issue is mostly about resources - equipment, volunteers, etc. What we know is many people miss being at Brush Prairie. I totally get how difficult change and transitions can be. The cool thing was the mall campus was up in attendance by 1000 people in just two weeks, BUT the other campuses experienced growth as well. That to me is so amazing. To be in a smaller venue, where you can know others and be known by others is so good. The mall is simply a great way to reach massive amounts of people, but at the campus you will grow and learn and develop friendships that will in many cases last a lifetime. There is no date set for when we will begin services at Brush Prairie, but the decision is made that we will have Sunday services there. Please be in prayer for this. More details will follow. If you are able to help in this, call or email our church office.
5. The series. MR and MRS is off to a great start. Michelle and I will be teaching together this weekend. How can we stop fighting against each other, learn to communicate and begin to fight FOR each other? There are a few simple things we can do. Last week we talked about how expectations can kill a relationship. The series will be very helpful for all ages and all relationships. I hope to see you this weekend. Pray, because Michelle is good at speaking but I never know what she "may" say..... :) See you this weekend. Bring a friend.
6. REMEMBER, the 1:00 PM service is back. Praise God. Awesome group. One guy came and said, "I was told to come to this service because it is where the rowdy people go...." I just smiled....
7. GIVING. Please continue to be faithful in giving. The financial demands have increased as we are now serving hundreds more people. There are so many needs and I am so grateful to be part of a church that gets what Jesus meant when he said "go". You are going, God is being glorified and we are having fun.
See you this weekend.
John
PS - I'm so proud of Katie as she launches a new ministry for high school girls, Contagious Purity. Their first event, Don't Dress to Impress, is tonight at the mall at 6 PM. If you can't make it to this one, mark your calendar for May 21 for their next event.
Not sure how to really understand all that God (ONLY GOD) is doing.
Being at the mall has been a blessing in more ways than I can name.
I know lots of people miss Brush Prairie and that is completely fair. As the dust settles for the mall, our intentions are to begin a new campus at Brush Prairie that will most likely be a video venue with some live teaching. I have no other details, except to say we not only want to do this, it seems we will need to do this.
There have been literally hundreds and hundreds of new guests that have come since we opened the campus on Easter.
Because the venue is so large and can seat close to 1700, we dropped the 1:00 PM service the week after Easter. But because the 11:00 AM service had over 1700 people (the week after Easter), we had to add back the 1:00 PM service this last weekend, and with no signs or advertising, only word of mouth and an email, we had over 600 people at 1:00 PM last weekend.
Kidsworld rocks! Finally we have space to really serve our children. Thanks to the team, you are doing so amazing. The face painting artist was a good last minute addition for the kids last weekend. At one point there was a line that was over an hour.
The word is incremental changes. Each week we want to begin to add some things, change some things and serve the community better. IT IS A PROCESS. The magnitude of the project is so overwhelming. Please pray for the teams as we serve the people that God is bringing to our newest campus.
We will have some staff move offices to the mall this and next week. The goal is to have the doors open every hour the mall is open. AND, to have people there to talk with, greet, pray with and answer any questions. If you want to volunteer to be part of this team, email dondit@livinghopechurch.com.
Youth leadership is discussing right now options for both High School, Middle School and College services (locations, days, etc.)
LOTS to think about. Here is our reality. Please hear my heart. Living Hope exists to passionately, authentically and simply help people know and follow Jesus. There could be no better opportunity than where we are at in the epicenter of Clark County. To love and serve this community is what we are about. To help people know Jesus is all that matters. Hundreds of new people are coming, and many are finding their way back to the arms of God. It is so cool. Our attendance at the mall in 2 weeks (not counting Easter) has increased by over 1000 people. We are where we need to be. Please understand there are many campuses you can connect to if the mall isn't working for you personally, but please realize our focus is not and cannot be about primarily our comfort or convenience. We cannot drift in our mission. We have to be about reaching people. We will be about reaching people. God will be glorified. God has opened a tremendous door. We need everyone to help. Come and serve if you can.
I pray as we begin a new series called "Mr and Mrs" that we can each week take one principle and begin to apply it to our lives. This week we talked about moving our marriages from ME to WE. I believe WE is less about two and more about three. Ephesians 5:21 provides the necessary foundation for ALL relationsips: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." Work this week on focusing on meeting the needs of each other. It will change everything.
Next week we will talk about learning to fight fair, learning to communicate and to talk in a way that brings the connection and intimacy we all want. I love this series. I love that students can come and learn about relationships. I love that singles can gain perspective as they begin to allow God to lead their future. I love that God's word is timeless truth.
Looking forward to seeing everyone. If you have time to help, we are moving offices this week.
God is so good to us and when I share, especially numbers, they are only for you to have a picture of what God is doing. Please know that in my heart and the heart of our leaders and staff, we all will labor knowing that God is the ONLY ONE who gets the glory.
He is doing a new thing Living Hope. Let's walk together in it.
John
PS
We really are having to replace lots of equipment with the mall location and if you can donate specifically toward that please do so.
ALSO, this next weekend Starfield will be leading worship at the mall. And there will be a concert at Brush Prairie. Awesome days.
Today is significant. Today I’m reflecting and thinking about all God did last weekend. To see almost 10,000 people come to the mall with virtually no advertising, just three weeks of planning, and nine days of set up is just simply ONLY GOD. Hundreds found Christ, hundreds were baptized, Heaven rejoiced, and we have a new home,which by the way is in the center of Clark County.
If you haven’t heard, for the time being we will have services at Saturday 5pm & 7pm and Sunday 9am & 11am, ALL at our Vancouver mall campus.
Living free will remain at Brush Prairie on Tuesday nights for now. We are in the middle of conversations about moving our student campus, but for now until further notice, our High School ministry Awaken will stay on Wednesdays at our student campus (Orchards), Middle School will take a break for the next couple of weeks while we work out a plan to accommodate students at the mall campus. Thank you for your understanding!
I don’t know why I am always blown away when I see God move so powerfully. It should be almost expected, but the way everyone rallied, donated financially, the way God showed up, and people were saved is really an incredible miracle. If you haven’t seen the memory wall please take time to have a look, it's unbelievable. Add your stories if you can, they are an all important testimony to the life-changing power of God.
I hope to see everyone this weekend – there is room now to invite friends. Once these 4 services fill up, the plan is to add a 1pm service in the future.
Yesterday is significant because 4 years ago to the day, I was processing some of the most frightening words of my life: malignant cancer.
On April 6, 2006, I was told by doctors I had malignant cancer, stage 3 melanoma with a fifty percent chance of making it beyond 5 years. I look back 4 years and am reminded of the words that God gave me at the time. Cancer Clarity. Cancer has an unstoppable way of causing us to see what matters, and allows us to look ahead with greater focus and clarity. It caused me to look differently at my family, my faith, and my future.
When I think about what matters, I realize most of the things we stress about won't matter in eternity.
When those words are said to you (and I pray you don't ever have to hear them), they have a way of bringing incredible focus, and "clarity". Eternity is all that matters, people are all that matter, and Jesus is all that matters.
Tomorrow is important for lots of reasons, but as I think back to 4 years ago I am reminded that today is all I have.
James 4:14 says it best: “What is your life but a mist that appears for a short time and then vanishes”
No matter what we think we have, or what we plan for tomorrow, today is really all we do have.
Maybe today you could take the time and think about your family, your faith, and your future. Maybe today God would give you eternal clarity. Today is all we have. Let's make the most of it.
I’ll see everyone this weekend. Please Facebook if you can, let everyone know all 4 services are at our mall campus: Saturday 5pm & 7pm and Sunday 9am & 11am. As we know more details, we will of course share them.
I want to give a big shout out again to all the people who made this happen. Never stop believing in God, and knowing He believes in you.
