Thoughts on the Ground Breaking by Brian Hughes

I wish that our whole church could have been at the Ground Breaking last Sunday, November 11, 2007. It was a day I will never forget. Several hundred people came - people from our church, people who used to come to our church, people from our community, people from our families. We worshipped together, we thanked the many people who have made it possible for us to get to this place, we ate well.

But the most inspiring moment for me was the moment when we prayed that God would reach hundreds of people that we personally know and we trusted Him to change their lives. We symbollized this by placing flags in the ground - on the very ground that we believed God would meet them. On those flags were written hundreds of names. It was incredibly moving.

I sometimes get the feeling that some folks wonder if I really believe that we will reach 12,000 people who don't go to church. I do. I really believe it. Our building will make us more effective and allow us to reach our fullest potential. We'll do it together as we proclaim with One voice that every life matters, every person is important, and everyone is welcome. And we will reach the multitude, One Life at a Time.

Reach: One Life at a Time

We are now in full swing of the Reach Campaign. During this past week and continuing for the next 3 weeks, I am meeting with groups of people in a variety of venues: my home, other homes where small groups are meeting, the Powhatan Library, after church in the commons, and at the Methodist Church. The goal of this phase is to get in front of every person in the church so that they can have all of the information about our building and how we believe God is leading our church. If you are in a small group, your SG leader has the schedule of when we are hoping to get together. Give them a call if you haven't heard from them. If you are not in a small group, or if you are unable to make your scheduled night, there are several other opportunities. Please give our office a call at 598-1174 or email me at brian at powhatancommunitychurch dot org.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share with you in this exiting moment!

Brian

The effectiveness of our Sunday Services

You probably don't know this, but every Tuesday morning, Beth and I and a small group of other folks who are involved in the planning and execution of Sunday morning services all gather - at the bright and early time of 7 am - to accomplish 2 important tasks. First, we evaluate. We look back at last week and ask 4 questions: What should we celebrate; What touched people; What could we do better; and How did people leave differently from when they came in. We evaluate so that we can learn. We can repeat the things that worked and eliminate the things that didn't. When we do this, we have our mission in mind and our benchmark is about changed lives, creativity, excellence, relevance, helping people encounter God, giving them a chance to worship, and providing Biblical learning opportunities that are able to be grasped by a wide range of listeners. The second thing we do is look to the coming Sunday and the planning that is needed for that.

There is so much work that goes into making a meaningful hour on Sunday morning. Literally scores of hours are spent every week on this service. But we think it's worth every second. Why?

Well, certainly some services are more meaningful than others, depending on where you are in life and the topic we're discussing and the song selections, etc. But after a day like today, it's hard to deny that we're having an impact on people. These were some of my notes about today's service:

What should we celebrate:

• A dozen people were willing to get up on stage in front of everyone and give the testimony that they wrote with their own words.
• The lighting was fantastic
• Jeff did a really great job on the drums during the jazz song, as did Scott on the horn.
• Regina orchestrated and directed really well – great choreography with the testimonies.
• Paul did a good job vocally with ‘Here with Me’
  

What really touched people:

• I feel change – Beth did an outstanding job on this – it was powerful and people could ‘feel change comin’ Really set up the testimonies well. You were passionate and, vocally, I have never heard you sing better. Way to go!
• Andy H. was such a potent presence on stage – he’s contagious and influences other band members.
• Obviously the testimonies were a home run – people were really touched and emotionally engaged. It was one of the most powerful services we’ve done, in my opinion.
  

The reason I share this with you today is to give you a taste of the kind of things we do to make our Sunday morning experience everything that God intends for it to be - to give it our best effort. If you have a chance on a Sunday morning to thank the lighting folks, the sound gurus, the band members, the ushers or greeters or resource table folks, the hospitality people or security people - whoever it is that's serving - take a minute and thank them. It takes an army of dedicated volunteers to make Sundays happen. And, if you are, just by chance, waiting for someone to ask you to help, consider this your 'ask'. I'm asking you to get on board and help. We need you. God can use you in powerful ways.

See you at the Ground Breaking next Sunday.

Brian

He WILL Be Found!

God makes a bold statement in the book of Jeremiah: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you." (Jeremiah 29.13)

A simple willingness to look for God whole-heartedly is a basic first step that promises to bring results. So, what do you think? How has your perspective changed? Where do you see God in a way that is new to you? Has your faith been refreshed or renewed?

As this series draws to a close, we are hearing more and more reports of changes big and small in the lives of people who have been investigating God's presence in their world. Folks who have never been in a small group have learned what it really means to "do life together". Others have been challenged to step out in faith and surrender more of their daily lives to God. Some have been encouraged to dig into the painful parts of their past and begin to allow God to bring healing into their past.

How about you? How has God revealed Himself particuarly during God Is Closer Than You Think? We are looking for a few testimonies to share. Leave yours in the comments section or email me and share your story!

A season for all things...including building

In the famous scripture from Ecclesiastes, the Bible tells us that there is a season for all things:

• Eccles. 3:1-6 (NIV) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest...a time to tear down and a time to build...a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them...a time to embrace and a time to refrain...a time to search and a time to give up...

For a long season in our church, we have deliberately focused away from emphasis on a facility of our own. Sure, we've been working on the plans, but we've not made the building the center of attention. There is a time for everything, though, and a season for every activity under heaven...even the construction of a building. This is our time to build, our time to gather stones, our time to harvest.

The season for the Israelites was, for a long time, a season with no Temple...no 'church building'. King David wanted to build, but God told him that the time was not right. The time eventually did come, though, and the Temple was constructed. But over time, it had been destroyed. People ignored it and only paid attention to their own houses and their own wealth. This is what God said to them through the prophet Haggai:

• Haggai 1:5-8 (NIV) Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the Lord.

The season had come for the Israelites to turn their attention away from their own houses and to rebuilding of the church house. The time had come for them.

...and the time has come for us.

Today, the PCC family voted unanimously to build our first building. We have followed the commands of God to first put the needs of others above our own. We've given sacrificially to serve the church in Belize, the people in Mississippi, and those in need around us in Powhatan and Cumberland. We will continue to give time and money to these causes, but the season for us to focus some energy and resources on our building is upon us. The time has come.

I don't know if you can relate to the words that God spoke to Haggai, but I can. "you earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes in it." In other words, it goes out as fast as it comes in! And, "You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill." It seems that no matter how much I have, it's never enough. I never look around and say, "Wow. I just don't want one more thing!" There is always something else I'm convinced I need. But the reality is that I have all that I need already. God has blessed each of us with riches that exceed 99% of the population of the world. We live like royalty compared to most people on the planet. And, truth be told, we focus most of that wealth on...ourselves. Even those who tithe (Susan and I have been giving 10% of our income to the church for many years now) still focus the other 90% on ourselves.

But the time is upon us now...it's time to focus some of our resources on the building of our facility. This building will not house God because God cannot be limited to the confines of brick and mortar. Nor will it contain the church, because the church is the people, not the real estate. But what the building will do is allow us to Reach our fullest potential, one life at a time. There are 12,000 people around us who don't go to church anywhere. We can reach them. The building will give us greater flexibility and enhance our ability to reach people who are far from God and outside of other churches.

Now is the season for us to listen to God speak to each of us. He will call us to give sacrificially and boldly and courageously beyond our normal giving to make this building a reality. I hope you will commit this to prayer and respond to the voice of God in you.

The time has come. And what an exciting time it is!

Grateful to build with you,

Brian

PCC's Auction and other Fundraising thoughts

Part of my strategy for the building fund and payment always included $60-$80K in fundraising every year. Other experts, pastors, and practitioners have tried to discourage me from this, saying that it wasn’t worth the time and effort. I had recently started to lean in their direction, saying ‘maybe they’re right – after all, they know more than I do.’ But after last night's auction and the results this morning (we raised over $17K), I am convinced that we’re on target with this idea. Last night was a great event. We learned some things we could do differently next time, but that doesn’t mean it was anything less than a HUGE success.

Two kinds of people donated items: 1) Those outside of the church and 2) those inside the church. The former are unlikely to give a check to the building fund. Luck Stone, Yardworks, Palmore’s Mill, and the County Seat aren’t going to be giving cash donations to PCC. However, the auction provided a forum through which they could collectively make a significant contribution.

The latter were able to give in a way that some of them would not otherwise. For example, Chauncey gave a day of his time, Winston Jones (J & W tree service) gave a day of his time, Wesley Redford gave some of his time, artists like Ramona Sontag and Connie Kottman donated their time through painting, people gave service like chiropractic care and consulting and on and on I could go. These kinds of donations brought significant monies. Many of these folks who love PCC and call our church 'home' will also give money to the PCC building fund. But for some, donating services like this is the only way they can make significant contributions.

If you do the math I did 18 months ago, it's quite conceivable that we could actually do $60-$80K in fundraising each year (in 3-5 years) between the golf tournament, auction, concert and Food Lion cards and Yard Sale. It’s all about turning the flywheel (from Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, which is an excellent book and worth reading). It will take a few spins, but each time, it will get better and easier. We could fill the golf tournament up and make that a $10K event within a year or two. And the Auction could bring $25K even as early next year. And the concert could be a $10K event next year, too. And if we do all of these well, there is a much higher threshold to reach for. I have a friend at a church in Mechanicsville who raises $50K on his golf tournament alone…but it took several years of turning the flywheel to get it there. We can do this. And it will make a significant difference.

True, we can only do so much. But if we're careful and thoughtful and direct our energies into highly potent events, we can do this well.

Thanks especially to Kim Wooten and Robert Bishop and their incredible team who made yesterday such a huge success.

Brian

A 'God Is Closer' Soundtrack

Between the influence of John Ortberg's book, the messages on Sunday and the discussion in our small group, I have been really blown away by the way God is showing me that He is, indeed, closer than I think! Apparently I'm not the only one; I've heard story after story of subtle changes, major paradigm shifts and stunning revelations from folks who are listening more closely than ever before for the voice of God.

In preparing for this series of Sunday messages, I gathered a great deal of music that we thought might be pertinent to communicate the biblical concepts and emotional issues found in God Is Closer Than You Think. Though we won't be using all of these for Sunday services (unless we start having two-hour services!), they still make a great soundtrack for my life right now. I play these songs in the morning as our family gathers for breakfast; it seems like a great way to start my kids off in the right direction as they navigate the challenges of their school day.

Philippians 4.4-9 states:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I created a playlist in iTunes for God Is Closer Than You Think, and I've uploaded the mix directly to the iTunes store. You can access the mix directly by clicking here. You can also go to iTunes and search for 'God Is Closer Than You Think' under the iMix category. If you already have an iTunes account, it's easy to check out the songs listed. You can purchase one or two tracks at a time, or even buy the entire list of songs from iTunes and download them directly onto your computer.*

'Lift a finger' - and sing along! You'll be blessed!

beth

*Need help? Feel free to contact me - I'll be glad to give more detailed instructions if you're new at this...