Reputation

As I was handing out balloons this past Saturday, someone stopped me and said, "Your church is always doing stuff in the community" He went on to say that many people are commenting to him that our little church is constantly "doing something".
You know, I guess it's good that a church has a reputation for helping others. I'm not complaining. But, my prayer for 2010 is that we can move beyond being recognized for "doing stuff" and begin to make an actual impact on our community.

Please don't confuse what I'm trying to say. God has given me a vision for so much more than name recognition. . .

Imagine for a moment that we were able to reach every single person in Spartanburg County in 2010. What if we could make Jesus famous to every resident in Boiling Springs and surrounding areas? Now consider the fact that people usually become the Christian that is modeled for them in their church and answer the obvious questions:


Would waitresses still hate Sundays because Christians are jerks and bad tippers?


Would the homeless population increase or decrease?


Would we still have children waiting to be adopted?


Would we still be ashamed to pray in our schools or businesses?


Would Greenville, Union and Cherokee counties have any idea that Jesus was at work next to them?


This time next year I want to be writing that people who know nothing about God are commenting that GOD is at work in Boiling Springs.




Keep up the hard work of making the name of Jesus Christ famous in Boiling Springs.

Bout Time

The blog has been silent for far too long. I am writing in a bit of a stupor ... so any corrections that are needed will have to be made tomorrow. I feel as if when I am not blogging that nothing is going on in the church, but that couldn't be farther from the truth.

So here is an update for those of you who check up on us; We have had our building open last week and we continue this week so that college students have a place to study. 2am was so early 20 years ago when I was in college.

We have been able to support our local food pantry through a collection and donation of needed items. Serving there is one of my weekly highlights.

This Saturday morning we will be giving out candy bags to the children gathered for our local Christmas parade. Don't get too excited. We will not be giving out the candy, just the bags.

This Sunday we will be serving at the local soup kitchen. Some people will even skip church to get things started. How will they make it through the week without my sermon?

Needing a church? Come serve with us.

Friend Day

Friend Day was a success! (Even though I have written nothing about the results of our inviting efforts.) Not to make more excuses for not blogging, just to let you know, I have spent some time getting in the groove for the Christmas season this week and at the same time I have the next four sermons close to the finish line. Additionally, I am aware that this Sunday has the potential to be better attended than Friend Day so that brings into play additional thoughts about how to approach the message.

So what did I think about Friend Day?

Friend day could have been a bit better in several areas (all of the shortfalls are on me) but overall it was a very good day. With 13 first time visitors and more than half committing to return, we are on the verge of some significant momentum. Our drama folks really made it easy for me to present the message and the music was the best since we started according to several folks.

What I like best is that our greeters make people want to return before they hear the message or music. That is huge, and I am so thankful for folks that are willing to volunteer every week to welcome our visitors, prepare breakfast and coffee, run sound, lights, teach children, clean the building, etc.

By the way, our upgraded refreshment station was a huge hit thanks to a generous donation of tables and chairs!!

Hope to see you this Sunday for Friend Day revisited. OK not officially, but it is acceptable to invite your friends this week too.

Don't forget we have lunch together immediately after church this Sunday... Barbeque :) No need to bring anything or make reservations. Just bring a friend and hang out!

See you then!

Looking Forward to Sunday

Haven't posted in a while due to being completely swamped. It has been a long time since I've been this tired. Busy doesn't even begin to describe it.

I worked on our facility a lot this week making sure everything was top notch for our GUESTS that are coming on FRIEND DAY. (Don't you clean your house when you are having company?)It was a great motivator to get a lot of things caught up, cleaned up, and spiffed up. So, be prepared for some (good) surprises on Sunday!

Matt has prepared a great worship set, and our (newly formed) Drama Team will be demonstrating their talent and creativity, while making us ponder the age old question, "how do you get into heaven?".

So, basically, if the old preacher can get his act together, we should have a great time together on Sunday :)

Pray for Sunday. Prepare now for our time of worship together. And invite friends! They will be welcomed, have fun, and most importantly, hear the truth of Christ.

Sunday De-brief

Every so often you have one of those days where things are non-standard -- where things are not as you expected and the best planning on your part does not bring the results you imagined.
I tend to have those days every 7th day.

The fun thing is when you prepare a message with a particular set of attendees in mind (not to single them out - just knowing who would likely be in attendance) and you wind up preaching to a very different crowd. That was yesterday. Along the way I found out that two families have really bought into our outward-focused thinking.

This is big!

Remember our upcoming events:

* Hanging out at Hendrick's Elem. while helping out with the Movie Night this coming Friday. . .

* Friend Day is only two weeks away and friends have already been invited. Keep inviting folks! If you've been invited, I promise you'll be glad you came.


See you on "Day 7".

KidVenture

I wanted to give everyone some info on what to expect if you have children and you are thinking about visiting Threshold.

First of all, be prepared to be surprised at how much fun your kids have.

Seriously.

They just might BEG you to take them back to church.

And, no, it's not because we bribe them with candy or hypnotize them! It's because we believe our teaching time should be FUN and ENGAGING and SAFE.

We sing and dance and shout out Bible verses. We watch silly skits that show us what NOT to do. We have been known to dress up in silly costumes to capture a child's curiosity.

We know children learn better when they are ACTIVE - so we use hand motions to memorize things. We connect the Bible to real life situations through roll play and even games.

We sing songs and pray and thank God for all He has given us. We learn to be good friends and good sisters and brothers. We laugh a lot :)


Right now our church is small. It won't always be. So from the beginning we have initiated a secure child check in system. It works like this. On the way in to the auditorium, you will see a KidVenture kiosk.


(Okay kiosk sounds fancy-shmancy. It is really a little nook in a hallway, but it works for now!) You check in your children with the KidVenture volunteer, and you and your children receive matching labels with a number code and name on it. If your child needs you during the service, your number code will appear on the screen. When you pick your child up after church, you must have your label. Or we are gonna card you. Seriously. :)

In addition, ALL of our children's volunteers have been given a back ground check to ensure the safety of our chilren. (Yes, this is Lisa, the "Preachers Wife" and yes, he did a background check on me too!! So if you want to work with children, don't be offended when we ask for a background check. It's nothing personal! And we are flat-out going to do this for the safety of the children in our care)


Okay. FUN. ENGAGING. SAFE. See?

We have been having quite a few visitors lately, and we love it. We can't wait to see more new faces on Sunday! Wonder what to expect for adults? Read this.

FOOD PANTRY IN GREAT NEED

These are the most pressing needs.

We have been very low lately!!!!

If you can help, bring these to the

Upstate Family Resource Center

Canned meats/pasta

Canned veggies

Breakfast items

Dry Noodles/rice/beans

Mac and Cheese

Spaghetti sauce

Another Good Day

Sunday was a good day to be a church planter. New faces again. We also had some return visitors. We are on the edge of a breakthrough in reaching our community. We are seeing people inviting their neighbors and expressing concern about their coworkers and family. When people are accepting the fact that God loves them and sharing that love with others the world is a better place. Yard signs are bringing folks to us... why not join us too?

Fall in the Park

Fall in the Park Boiling Springs gave us an opportunity to meet many new great people. As a first timer to this event I did not know what to expect. From my past festival experiences I anticipated a larger event but saw a steady flow of people that I had never met. So it was a good day. We gave away 250 frisbees and information to 100 parents. It may have been only 97 but 100 is a good round number. The event included a dog show, and a talent show. Also several local demonstration teams participated in the festivities. Looking forward to participating in the event next year.

Dead in the Water

A friend of mine wrote this entry this morning. http://networkedblogs.com/p12975236 -- worth a look

I noticed that all of my other friends are linked here... so I need to step up my writing to be included.

Every once and a while I have one of those conversations with someone that is worth repeating. Last night I had one of those conversations with my dad. He is a slow deep thinker who talks in reverse circles and somehow ends up with me either thinking "I've heard this before" or just "hmmm."

Last night was a little of both so hang with me.

So my dad visited a church and made this observation; "I can guarantee you that the church we went to is at no risk of becoming a dead church."

So in my best Florida regressive language from my upbringing I responded "howya figure?"

My dad's response was quite profound. "Because it is already dead."

For me this is of great interest because I have observed things my dad considered to have "life" in the church world. I made this judgment because he failed to see the cannula and oxygen and heart monitors positioned all over some churches in his experience.

How do we miss all the obvious signs of sickness in the church leading to a certain death? If enough nurses gather around a patient it is difficult to see the signs of distress. Same goes for churches. If there is enough activity around the facility, there is an assumption of life. I too am guilty of this same assumptive logic. On the way home yesterday I noticed a brand new church sign. I immediately wondered what good things they must be doing.

So the conversation continued...

There weren't more than 2 people in the entire facility between the ages of 18 and 50. To be fair I would never presume that a church is dead just because the average membership is old, but he went on to tell me about the elementary school around the corner and how many children were picked up for school, yet none of them were in attendance at this church they all pass on their way to school.

So

I'll buy in to the argument that the church is dead. If any church, your church included, is having no impact on the lives of the people in the area it would be reasonable to assume that Jesus has left the building and the operation is now in human hands. Might be time to look for a renter since you no longer provide a product (Jesus) and the money you are spending is therefore wasted.

As the conversation continued my dad asked about our church in reference to life. Yesterday we had the most visitors since opening and the best offering by miles. Is this an indication of "life" within the church?

Almost everyone is under 50... is this an indication of life or is it a reflection of an intentional target audience?

Believe it or not the conversation had a conclusion. You will need to assume a few additional pieces of conversation prior to this question.

"How does a person come to Christ?"

Well it is not;

through a friend

with current music

with eloquent speech

with proper attire .....

It is only through recognizing;

that all of our our efforts to save ourself have failed and will fail

that we bring nothing of value to the spiritual table

that the sacrifice of Jesus is completely sufficient for our salvation

Otherwise we are we are spiritually lifeless regardless of the activity, church included, that surrounds our lives.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My

This is Lisa and I hijacked the blog to give a plug for our current series going on in KidVenture. It's called . . .

and it is one of the best I've seen. The kids love it! We "fly like eagles, stand like flamingoes, wrestle crocodiles, and charge like rhinos"! And we are learning about our world, how to take care of it, and most importantly, how God takes care of us.

Parents, we also have a worship time and an offering if you would like to talk to your child about participating in the offering. I know it has opened up some great dialogue with my 7 year old. . .

We would love to have MORE children go on an animal adventure with us! If you are thinking about checking us out, we are ready and excited to meet you and your kids!

Speaking of hijacking, (hows THAT for a segue?) Ryan has a neat video to show you and a great teaching time lined up for Sunday. What if we got hijacked?

Come Sunday to find out.

10:07 am. See you then :)

What if you got Hi-jacked

I just entered the realm of the secret service.

Sunday is gonna be good. Can't wait to preach this sermon. My only prayer for this week is that you will get the Bible Hero treatment and get Hi-jacked.

Or you could give in voluntarily.

Sunday Upd8

Don't be hating on the Fury!

Good day Sunday for us despite 12 potential "regulars" on the lam. The 8 first time folks were a very welcome sight. Probably the best attendance since our second preview day. I say probably because we don't really count who is in attendance. We typically count visitors and those not in attendance. Sorry to those of you who jumped when I turned on the saw. I am periodically laughing when I recall the faces of a few that didn't see that noise coming.

Also great response to the concept of POWER... Power that only comes when we exchange our best effort for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

MyGroups got off to a good start Sunday night and will be a regular fixture until the Christmas season. Interested in joining a MYGroup/spiritual discovery group, be sure to sign up this Sunday.

Hendricks Elementary Movie Night

We have an awesome opportunity to serve the families of Hendricks Elementary School at 5:30 this coming Friday.

We are partnering with Hub City Church and Kaleidoscope to provide sound, screen and projector for the family fun night. We will be showing Wall-E, handing out frisbees, and just getting to know the families while getting the word out about Threshold.

Remember, reply to your e-mail about the t-shirts so that you can have one of our new shirts to wear on Friday.

See you there!

Heckled From The Cheap Seats!

heckle |ˈhekəl|verb [ trans. ]1 (often be heckled) interrupt (a public speaker) with derisive or aggressive comments or abuse.
We could call this "the death of announcements" or the "birth of good announcements".
In my attempt to give details (announcements) of the upcoming opportunities, I found myself heckled by the musicians behind me. I have previously threatened to never again make announcements but had rescinded that position due to the existence of visitors and the fact that some still either do not have an email address or never check the one they have. Someone else will be making announcements from now on so that I can avoid the abuse!
Sunday was a good day despite the musicians. Actually they were on the top of their musical game and the sound was great! We had several new faces and great feedback from those in attendance. Sunday we looked at the "Kingdom of God" and our place within the kingdom. We are to embrace the kingdom and proclaim the kingdom so that the world around us will know of the love of God.

Coming This Week

This Sunday we will be looking at the concept of Communion and the relationship to Passover. I am often amazed by what we blindly do in the name of religion. The goal of this week is to put the history of this Christian ordinance in perspective while celebrating the fulfillment of the original Passover Covenant. If that statement means nothing to you then be sure to be at Threshold Sunday. Hopefully at the end of the day we will no longer participate in communion because the preacher said to....instead I trust that we will be forever grateful for the sacrifice of of the Lamb and the provision of our Creator who loves me and you more than we could ever fathom.

Boiling Springs Today Magazine

I had the opportunity to write an article in the Boiling Springs Today Magazine under the headline "Paper Pulpit". This opportunity is the result of our contacts from the Movies In The Park events. I don't do a whole lot of writing and never for any publication. I used this opportunity to present an idea that we will be working through in the Sunday morning messages over the next three weeks without using any scripture or ideas that will be presented on Sundays. The following is that article;

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ryan Bishop. I was born 39 years ago in North Florida and moved to the upstate in March of 2000. I am a church planter with the N.A.M.B. My style may be a bit different than you are used to so try to hang with me through the end of the page. Forgive me if you are reading this and you don't attend church, but I am writing from the expectation that those who take the time to read this will likely be church attenders.

From time to time I catch myself checking and rechecking my appearance in the morning before I go out. This is not due to vanity. For those who know me, most are currently shocked to hear that I have a mirror. The reason I double check on certain days is because I am meeting someone new. I hate to shave, I forget to brush my hair and I would generally rather not ask my wife if my clothes match. The horror on her face as she says "Did you wear that?" is just priceless. I check and recheck to be sure I actually brushed my hair. Just call it morning amnesia; a complete loss of short term memory as I move through the fog that is morning. In God's word we find James commenting on this very problem.

James 1:22-24 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

Christians are prone to believers amnesia. This disorder has many root causes not the least of which is to see God's Word (which is the only good reason to attend church) as optional. When we hear God's Word and subsequently dismiss it as antiquated we slip into the trap that James was describing.

James gives the warning not to deceive ourselves. A fair question is, "What is this deceit that he is warning about?"

The deception comes when we claim to belong to God and do not follow His instructions found in the Bible. This is no different than the "Oprah" plan for finding God. She incorrectly suggests that you can just set off on a course in the general direction of what you believe to be God and in the end achieve a connection with God. The truth is that the God created in your head will only lead you to a relationship with a better "spiritualesque" YOU.

When you see parts of God's Word as optional or negotiable you cease to be part of Christendom. You have simply created a new religion with a Christian feel.

My encouragement to you is to move through this life making the most of every moment, trusting God at every turn and never negotiating with the truth found in the Bible.

Great Summer Behind Us!

It has been a good summer for Threshold Church. We are finally about to get off the ground with everything including My Groups. "My Groups" are our in home Bible Studies. 

This summer we offered three Movie In The Park Events for the community and all three were a great success. 

A number of area businesses participated in the events through giving away gift cards. Movies in the Park allowed me to get to know some great people in business in our community. 

We had four supporters that were over the top with their giving.  Cook Family Chiropractic, Anytime Fitness, Chic-Fil-A and Boiling Springs Furniture.

We had other sponsors that participated in every movie. Cowboy Connection, Chernagans and Boiling Springs Auto Spa. Many others participated in one or more of the movie dates. 

As part of the last movie we were able to collect school supplies and give away the supplies to those in need.

We also had the opportunity to serve breakfast to the teachers of the 9th Grade Campus during the planning time.

Having Another Movie

This Friday we will be showing The Tale of Despereaux at the Boiling Springs Community Park. Free Sno-Cones and inflatables begin at 5:30. We may see some afternoon rain but as long as it is not raining at start time the movie will start at approx. 8:30. School supplies are still needed for many in our area. Please bring supplies as you are able.

Movies in The Park - Boiling Springs Madagascar 2

June 12, 2009 at Sunset the movie will begin.

The last movie was a ton of fun and we had a great attendance.

People start gathering around 6:30 to get the best seats. 

Many local businesses will be giving away gift cards and other items from their businesses.

Hope to see you there!

Burning Questions

For the next few weeks we will be looking at the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions in churches. We would love to have you join in the discussion @ 10:07 on Sunday. We meet @ 230 4th Street. Just down from McDonalds. We will also be having a question and answer session. June 7th @ 5pm. Call for Location or get more info. on Sunday Morning.

Pics From The Movie

These pics are somewhat out of order but here's a few shots of the action.

Randy Goff is a giving machine. Free chicken and drinks for everyone.
Final screen testing before the movie begins
It is starting to look like a crowd. Just 45 minutes until showtime.
I love that cow!

People are starting to show up despite the rain chance.
The last of the frisbees were finally given out. This is the official commemorative frisbee photo with Jonathan the frisbee poser. To get yours just call. Be sure to have your credit card handy.

We waited until the last minute to set up due to the rain. The screen is up and the popcorn is going slow. Yep that is a lot of popcorn!

Movies In The Park - Boiling Springs, SC

THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, May 8, at sundown . . .

Grab your blankets and lawn chairs and come out to Boiling Springs Community Park and enjoy Kung Fu Panda for free on a HUGE movie screen. 

All refreshments are absolutely FREE! Chik-Fil-A has generously donated chicken sandwiches as well. 

Threshold Church has partnered with many local businesses to bring this event as a gift to the community, so come on out and enjoy a family night that is easy on the budget!

New Meeting Place

This Sunday, April 19th we will begin meeting in our new temporary facility. Our new place is located just down the street from McDonalds on 4th Street.  The building is up on the hill. Look for the WELCOME sign. 

Many different people have been hard at work on the facility getting it cleaned and painted for our first day. It may not be finished, but it is just about ready for use. At least we will be close on our completion of the work. Some of the work that remains is the finish work on the sheetrock that we added for sound suppression. During the day on Wednesday we had 12 different people working. They were never all there at once, but a lot of work was completed between 8:30 when the first group arrived and Midnight when the last two left.  Friday (tomorrow) should be another good work day with people scheduled to work throughout the day. 

I am excited to see how God will use this opportunity for us to minister to our community. 

Saturday Meeting This Week

The title says it all ... sort of. We will meet @ the Piedmont Community Church Building @ 6PM for a time of worship and to wrap up our time in Nehemiah. Following worship we will have a brief meeting to make sure that we have all of the bases covered for the "Haven" event. (serving BBQ and doing an egg hunt for the wee ones) We will be really informal and a bit different this week. No lights, no bells, no whistles. Acoustic music and a discussion on following through on what we hear God say to us.

Of course this means we will not meet on Sunday this week.

We will meet at the 9th grade campus auditorium on Easter Sunday.

The 9th grade auditorium is directly across the street from First Baptist Church Boiling Springs on Hwy 9.

It Rained ... and rained... and rained. It's still raining!

It is a good thing we did not plan for a really big first day. We would have been really bummed! As the title suggests, the only thing coming in droves was rain.

We did have 14 new-people-first-time-curious folks. Matt led us in a great worship set and we started building our wall. (From the book of Nehemiah)

We are grateful for the help of some good friends who drove over in the rain to help us out.

If the cold rain kept you away, we'd love to see you next week. As a matter of fact some of you may be reading this because you received a flyer after March 15th. We would love for you to check us out at the ninth grade auditorium at 10:07!

You can view a few pictures of our environment here. We hope to get some more pictures next time.

Just 7 Days

Next Sunday is our first official day. We call it "official" because we had a little practice along the way. I suspect we got all of the bugs worked out as well as we can considering our lack of resources. By most accounts things have gone really well on our three preview/practice Sundays. This Sunday, March 15, we will begin meeting full time. We may not always meet on Sunday morning, but we will meet. We are in talks with several different people about the use of their buildings. But for now we will be meeting at the 9th grade campus auditorium. 

Opening day marks the beginning of a sermon series entitled "re-build" we will be looking at parts of the book of Nehemiah as we seek to explore ways to re-build the broken things in our lives, families and our city. Join us as we seek to make a difference in Boiling Springs. 

Have You Given Up On Church?

I know that many of you have dropped out of church in recent years. I have heard a number of different reasons. And what I've noticed is that the majority of folks who have given up on church haven't given up on God.

Whether you just stopped going or there was an experience or problem that caused you to not ever want to go again, we want to invite you to try church again.

Threshold Church is different from anything you have ever experienced. If you give us a try this Sunday, we believe that you will be glad you tried church one more time. This Sunday we are meeting at the 9th Grade Campus Auditorium on Hwy. 9 across the street from First Baptist Church at 10:07 a.m.


Check out this blog and also our official web site for more info about why Threshold is so different. . . See you Sunday.

Hanging Out At The Haven

Last night we had the opportunity to provide food for The Haven's event and hang out with the people that live there.
We met some great people!
Local businesses partnered with us on this event and we were able to give out approx. 20 Gift Certificates.


The girls that work in the office and coordinate the events there are great!
We set up Guitar Hero on the pool deck on the big screen and had a great time letting people show off their skills. I heard they were coming out with Piccolo Hero.


In 20 years of doing church... the best event ever!


Want more info on a great place to live? Contact The Haven by clicking here

Clicking on the BLOG

Today I noticed that my blog numbers were down from yesterday. We can't be having that!

By posting a blog today, everyone that subscribes will get an email telling them there is new exciting information. This may or may not be true but they will click on the blog and my numbers will be up.

This will result in me feeling successful!

I am on my way to a meeting of The Cypress Project, ROCK HILL to share with new planters. Sometimes I am amazed that the little bit of information in my head is worth sharing.

As a grad. of The Cypress Project I know they are otherwise getting good information and I am quite certain their perspective on the purpose of a new church will be forever changed.

For me, I went in thinking that I just needed to "DO CHURCH" better than anyone else in the area. Of course I soon realized that I had no money, no equipment, no building and eight people.

Then I found out that Jesus had a little different idea than the use of gimmicks, first class programming and buildings. He went around meeting people at their point of need and eternally changing the direction of their life.

That we can do!

Look back tomorrow night for information on The Haven event!

Full disclosure - There is no official graduation from The Cypress Project! At the end of 10 months they just send you packing.

Reminder

This is just a reminder that the next Preview Service is on Sunday February 22nd. If you can't wait until then to find out what we are all about, we are meeting this Sunday (My Groups). Give us a call (864-327-9192) to find out where. Also, check out the blog archives for more info and keep checking back often!

Preview Threshold

Alright, folks. . .

* If you aren't going to church for whatever reason, but have been "thinking about "maybe" trying to find one . . . COME SUNDAY.

* If you don't own a suit and think ties are torture devices and panty hose should be outlawed . . . COME SUNDAY.

* If you think you are a good person . . .COME SUNDAY.

* If you've messed up . . . COME SUNDAY.

* If you are curious about God . . .COME SUNDAY.

*If you have a lot of unanswered questions . . . COME SUNDAY.

* If you want to meet some authentic people JUST LIKE YOU . . . COME SUNDAY.

* If you like coffee and a live band . . . COME SUNDAY.

* If you don't want to be pointed out as an "outsider" but made to feel welcome . . .

COME SUNDAY.

*If you haven't made up your mind . . . COME SUNDAY.

*If you have children that don't want to be bored and are full of energy . . .

COME SUNDAY.

* If you have an infant or toddler and you want them to be taken care of by someone who loves babies . . .COME SUNDAY.

*If you don't like church . . .COME SUNDAY.

*If you want to help people in this community . . . COME SUNDAY. . . 10:07 AM. . . SEE YOU SUNDAY.

Ministry Opportunity ..... Jump In!

This past week we were able to provide a little breakfast for the teachers of the 9th grade campus. Hopefully we were able to bless some of the teachers while thanking them for their service to our youth. 

We are in the process of planning to feed the residents of "The Haven" apartment complex. This sort of thing is fun for me since it just doesn't make sense to most people. When these people have a need (spiritual or otherwise) I want them to know there is a church they can turn to. 

A friend of mine was wearing a shirt once that said "The church has left the building." I would steal the idea but we don't have a building. For the most part I think people who are interested in church are currently attending. In order for us to be an influence on our community, especially to the non-believers, we have to go where they are. They aren't coming to us! 

Want to join us on our quest to make an impact on Boiling Springs, CALL 327-9192. Be sure to leave a message.

What is this church gonna be like? Part 3

Read part 1 first

Read part 2 next

Our third part in this series is on meeting needs.

I grew up being taught to be "mission minded". We prayed for the people overseas and sent cards to missionaries on their birthday. We gave special missions offerings at certain times of the year. Some churches give a percentage of total reciepts each month to missions causes and have meetings to learn about the work of missionaries. By doing this they facilitate God's Word being sent into many unreached areas of the world.

That's the positive side of "Mission Minded". But, there is a flip side. A trap that can catch you in some serious complacency if you aren't careful. . . Because giving a percentage and praying once a year for missionaries doesn't exactly equal "mission minded" does it? Giving money is great, but that can't be ALL we do because it isn't enough!

To me, being "mission minded" means that when mission opportunities arise, we act on the opportunity. I am aware that some things work better in theory than in reality, but not setting a lofty goal assures we will not reach one.

When I share this thought with people who have dealt with the needy, down on their luck and the disabled I often get the same response... How do I know which people are legitimate? The answer is always the same. You Don't!! I've been doing ministry on a church staff for 20 years and I have seen my fair share of con artists. Some are obvious and others are good at their chosen profession. And sometimes we let the con artists be our excuse for not having our priorities right about taking the time and resources to help those in need.

Another excuse we in the church world have with meeting needs is often lack of funding and other resources. But how many times have we chosen chosen amazing buildings and elaborate facilities (often with enormous debt) over ministry? I am sure the last statement will strike a nerve with some because it is true and painful. (Not always true, but often enough to be very disturbing to me). One church I served spent 1/5 of 1 % on meeting local needs and when things got tight made their first budget cuts there.

So what is this church going to be like in regards to meeting needs? We will spend as much as we can on our community as a church and on a personal level, but monetary giving will likely not be our primary focus. The greatest blessing comes when we are actively connecting with people.

Investing in them.

Talking. . .

Giving. . .

Sharing. . .

And helping - in whatever way we can.

"so that people who are disconnected from God can know His perfect love" - and live.

If you're ready to make a difference, check us out at one of our gatherings.

First Preview Day

Our first preview service went great! You usually expect at least one thing to go wrong, but (almost) everything ran very smoothly.

We had several new families come to visit. I got to speak to some after the service and the feedback was positive. I sent out an e-mail last night asking for feedback, so we'll see if there are some things we can improve. Our folks were really excited and it did feel great to worship together as a large group.

We got started a little bit late due to waiting on the building to be opened, but set up and tear down went smoothly.
Our secure child check-in system had an internet related glitch and we had to revert to hand writing the labels. Otherwise our children's workers did a great job. The kids learned a lot and had a great time. The musicians also did a great job of preparing us for our study of worship.

As far as advertising for the event, yard signs were the best way to go. We had exactly 50 new people go to the website after the yard signs went out, which is by far the best response from any type of advertising we have tried so far.

So for now, we are so grateful that God has sent us some help as we continue to get ready to impact this community in a great way, and we are looking ahead to the next thing which is MyGroups meeting on Sunday.

Preview Service Prep

We had a great time of prayer and planning this AM - (Not to mention some Dunkin' Donuts - but I digress). . .

With Threshold Church's first ever Preview Service only ONE WEEK away, there are many details to be ironed out. It takes a lot of praying, planning, recruiting, training, printing, purchasing, borrowing, and begging. North Point Church has very generously continued their financial support and are also sending some "old pros" to help (and also to train our new folks who haven't had a chance to see portable church in action).

We had a new person show up this morning just to come help out. Can you see me grinnin'? I am so thankful for everyone's help. Please be in prayer and invite people to come . . .

And if you are lurking on this blog, we would really love the chance to meet you. I promise a non-threatening, laid back meeting. Just come at 10:07 am to the 9th Grade Campus Auditorium and see what this is all about.

We'll put the coffee on for you.