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Monday, April 30, 2007

Super Exciting Weekend Update

1. WOW, what a great weekend at People's Church. We had 33 people receive Jesus Christ as Lord of their life. Church, you guys are such salt and light. Way to invite your friends, family, co-workers and classmates to experience God at People's Church. You have my word, if you bring a guest with you to People's Church, we will present the good news of Jesus Christ to them (EVERY WEEKEND)!

2. We baptized 33 people this weekend! That was super exciting stuff! There was a man who was saved 5 weeks ago in one of our services, got baptized yesterday and then came to membership class last night and joined People's Church. THIS MAN IS SERIOUS ABOUT SERVING CHRIST! This is why I started People's Church. This kind of stuff just sets me on fire all over again!

3. As I was walking to my car after the fifth and final service of the weekend, a man pulled up in his vehicle next to me. He told me that he had been away from God for a couple of years and last week he contemplated suicide. During the response time, he raised his hand and committed his life to Christ. THANK YOU GOD FOR RESCUING MY FRIEND FROM THE DEVASTATION OF SIN! GOD IS GOOD!

4. Diana Craig's life's story video was heart wrenching. Diana, thank you so much for your willingness to share your story with the People's Church family. Our church family is so honored to give you and your two kids $2000 to go on a relaxing vacation to Disney World. After all you and your kids have been through, you definitely deserved the Dealing With Devastation Vacation Giveaway!

5. The next two weekends are going to be some of the best ever at People's Church. This weekend at our ministry fair many of you will have the opportunity to get involved in a ministry at People's Church. This is your opportunity to use your gifts and talents to impact others with the love of Christ. Be sure to spend time this week praying about where God wants to use you.

6. MAY 12 and 13 is our 5 year anniversary services. I can't believe we're going to be 5 years old. THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE BEST WEEKENDS EVER AT PEOPLE'S CHURCH! TRUST ME, YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS THIS WEEKEND FOR ANYTHING!

Friday, April 27, 2007

What’s New With My Kids

1. Cade, my almost two year old, likes to poop in the toilet. He's not potty trained, but I think he's on his way. He likes to copy his older brother. NO MORE DIAPERS FOR HIM VERY SOON!

2. Cale is getting so big. He will be in school before we know it. WOW, time is flying by!

3. Caris is rolling all over the floor. She can even sit up in her chair while eating her baby food. Go CARIS!

4. Cale and Cade are best buddies. They get mad at each other a lot, but they love a lot as well. They are learning to share their toys with one another. Sharing is a very big deal for my boys since Cade's two favorite words are "ME" and "SELF".

5. Caris is really a smiley girl. She definitely knows who her daddy is and loves to give me smiles. She's a cutie.

6. Tiff and I really had a good time on our date last night. She's my best friend.

7. Going to hang with the family today. We're just going to chill out!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Random Thoughts

1. Go Sanjaya!! Just kidding, he's already voted off. Two people are going home next week on American Idol. It's getting down to the wire. I may even vote sometime soon (or maybe not).

2. I'm going to spend the morning studying. Then, I'm going to the gym to work out. After the gym, I'm going to work some more on this weekend’s message. The title this weekend is When God Doesn't Make Sense. I have a feeling it's going to be a GRAND SLAM finish to our series Dealing With Devastation.

3. This weekend we will be baptizing people in all 5 services. Be sure to show up 30 minutes before the service you're getting baptized in. It would be a great help if you will call the office NOW and tell them which service you will be getting baptized in (775-9991). I'm so excited for you to obey God by taking the plunge!

4. We will be giving away our vacation giveaway this weekend! I'm pumped up about People's Church blessing a family who has recently experienced devastation. WAY TO GO CHURCH!

5. Tonight I'm taking my wife on a super hot date. She's the love of my life! She's the best! What a great wife and mother she is! She is the ultimate Proverbs 31 woman! I'm so in love!

6. Invite a friend to experience God this weekend at People's Church!

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Raising Kids Pt. 2

I want to list some common mistakes parents make.

1. They let their kids be the CEO of the house. Be sure not to let your kids run your house. They are not in charge. They are not the parents.

2. They are not consistent with their discipline. You can't let your kids do whatever they want 50 percent of the time and discipline them the other 50 percent of the time. If they are doing something wrong, be consistent in correcting the problem.

3. They make church or youth service an option. This goes back to not letting your kids be the CEO. Lay out the non-negotiable rules in your house. An example may be, as long as you live in the Beep Box house you will 1. Make your bed 2. Do your chores 3. Read a book 4. Go to church 5. Go to school 6. Do your homework. Don't let your kids make up the rules. They're the kids not the parents.

4. Some parents say they are Christ followers but they're not committed to Christ. If parents don't make Christ a priority, they shouldn't expect their kids to make Christ a priority. It breaks my heart to see parents instill bad values into their kids. Then they show up at the church office wondering what's wrong with their kids.

5. They put their work and hobbies before their kids. As I said yesterday, kids spell love T.I.M.E. They don't want the newest toy more than they want your time. They don't want more shoes or clothes more than they want your time. The only thing that can replace parents spending time with their kids are parents spending time with their kids.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Raising Kids

I love my kids!! They bring such joy to Tiffany and I. I'm learning so much about myself and life through my kids. Here are some things I'm learning about raising kids.

1. Love is spelled T.I.M.E. My kids don't care if I pastor a great church. My kids just know me as daddy! Honestly, I love the fact that I'm daddy and not PASTOR to them!

2. My kids love to read books. I'm glad Tiffany and I are both committed to reading books to our kids. We do read spiritual books to our kids as well as other fun books. My kids are sponges. They want to learn and grow.

3. It's Tiffany’s and my responsibility to make sure our kids know God and live for God not the churches. It's easy for parents to blame their kids lack of commitment to God on the church. The church is here to reinforce what our kids should be learning at home. There is no way that an hour or two of church a week is going to undo what's being taught and modeled EVERYDAY in the home. Our home is the primary place for the three Cooper kids to learn about God.

4. My kids want to be like Tiffany and I. They want to talk like us and act like us. WE PARENTS BETTER BE LIVING FOR JESUS OR OUR KIDS WILL BE JACKED UP!

5. My kids love to pray for their friends at night. Cade isn't even two years old but he loves to pray for his friends EVERY NIGHT! It's so cool watching your kids pray. Being a Christian is not what we do it's who we are.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Weekend Update

1. 31 people made a decision to make Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives. More people are heaven bound and have the opportunity to experience life more abundantly on earth! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. During this weekend’s message and response time, there were tears everywhere. God really did a work in the hearts of people. It's awesome watching God put the broken pieces of people’s lives back together again. GOD CAN DO WHAT NO MAN CAN DO!

3. I'm so excited for Brian and Alicia Rush, our Programming Directors at People's Church. They had a baby boy named Ian. The Rush's are near and dear friends to Tiffany and I. Congrats GUYS on the new addition!

4. We had around 200 people at Community Group University last night. I'm excited that more people are getting connected in a Community Group. WAY TO GO TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE GETTING PLUGGED INTO THE HEARTBEAT OF PEOPLE'S CHURCH. Life change occurs best in a Community Group!

5. This coming weekend is the Baptismal Bash. We will be baptizing people in all 5 services. You can call the church office at 775-9991 and schedule which service you want to be baptized in. We will also be giving away the Dealing With Devastation Giveaway to a family who has recently experienced a devastation. This coming weekend is going to be incredible!

Friday, April 20, 2007

More Random Thoughts

1. I have really been praying a bunch for the students, faculty and families at Virginia Tech.

2. People need the Lord. We have to win as many people to Christ as possible. The problem with our world is people need Jesus. JESUS IS THE ONLY ANSWER! I MEAN THE ONLY ANSWER! Our church will always preach Jesus!

3. I really enjoy talking with church planters. Yesterday, I spent over 2 hours hanging out with a church planter. I talk to 2 to 5 church planters a week. People's Church will always be a Kingdom minded church. We are just a small part of what God is doing all across the world. God has used many leaders to pour into my life, and I'm committed to help as many church planters as I can.

4. God is really stretching me. He is calling me and People's Church to step out in faith. I'll share more later.

5. I'm falling more in love with Jesus. I really enjoy spending time everyday in God's Word and in prayer. I'm not serving God because I have to. I'm serving God because I want to.

6. We have a fun filled day at the Cooper house. I'm going to take my boys outside to play. Then, we are going to have a family lunch. Later in the day, we are going to spend time with some of my family. It will be a super fun day hanging with the family. I adore my family.

7. Don't miss this weekend’s services or Community Group University at 6PM on Sunday night at People's Church!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Random Thoughts

1. Sanjaya finally got voted off American Idol last night. I would have been very disappointed if he would have beaten Lakisha or Blake. They are much better singers than Sanjaya. Brian, sorry dude, your man is off the show.

2. I forgot to mention that Brian won our staff NCAA Basketball Bracket. I can't believe he won! I came in second but who cares about second. Congrats Brian on your lucky picks :)!

3. I'm loving this weather. Spring is my second favorite time of the year. My favorite is fall.

4. Last night our youth service had over 200 in attendance. Our youth ministry is smokin! In the near future, we are going to start a separate junior high service. We are committed to providing excellent ministry to our kids and teenagers. Parents, it's vitally important that you get your student connected in our youth ministry. Don't rob your teenager of the opportunity to worship and hangout with other teenagers who are pursuing God. It will make a big difference in their life.

5. This weekend is going to be awesome. God is going to do a great work!

6. Today is a major study day for me. I will have my message finished and emailed to the office by the end of the day.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

What Are You Living For?

It's so easy for us to get wrapped up in things that are not really important. I'm going to list the top three things people waste their time and energy on, and they’re really not important.

1. Many people live for money. These people neglect God, their family and church for more money. They have bought into a lie that more money will make them happy. Who cares if you make a lot of money and lose out on a vibrant relationship with God, your family and your church family? At the end of your life, you won't care that you made a lot of money and have nothing to show for it relationally.

2. Some people live for extracurricular activities. The majority of their time and energy is spent on things that really don't matter. It's really sad when parents have their kids in so many activities that they always miss church. I see this a lot in our society. Then, when their kids grow up they WONDER WHY they don't value church and a relationship with God. Well DUH, you modeled for them that God and church aren’t important. What did you expect? You actually thought chasing the basketball league, the soccer league and the baseball league and neglecting church would build your kids into spiritual giants? Who cares if they get a scholarship to college and go to hell?

3. Some people live for image. They want everybody to think they're something that they're not. They spend all of their time and energy trying to please people and fit in with the Jones'. They waste their life trying to look a certain way, drive a certain vehicle and live in a certain neighborhood. They spend their life on things that really don't matter. Why in the world would you chase after things that will never satisfy your soul?

What really matters is living for God. What really matters is loving God with your whole heart. What really matters is loving your family and investing your time, energy and money into their lives. What really matters is being committed and connected to a church family; giving your time, talents and treasures to advance God's Kingdom.

WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO YOU? This question isn't answered by your words but by your actions.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Routine Tuesday

First thing this morning I went to the gym and worked out. I'm trying my best to stay in shape :) . After my work out, I went to Starbucks to read my bible and then prepared for my two staff meetings. I had my normal executive meeting with Brian and Josh and then had a 2 hour meeting with the rest of the Leadership Staff. As usual, it was a fun and vision filled staff meeting. Our entire staff is pumped up about the season our church is in. We have lots of exciting stuff on the horizon. This weekend is Pain Killer and Sunday night is Community Group University (THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MEET SOME NEW PEOPLE, EAT SOME GREAT FOOD AND GET CONNECTED IN A COMMUNITY GROUP). Next weekend is the Devastation Giveaway and the Baptismal Bash. If you're a Christ follower and you haven't been baptized in water, be sure to get signed up ASAP. The first weekend in May you will have the opportunity to get plugged into a ministry at our Ministry Fair. Mother's Day weekend is our 5th year Anniversary Celebration. We have some very special things planned for these exciting services (VERY VERY SPECIAL). I can’t tell you all the fun stuff we have planned, but trust me, you will not want to miss Mother's Day weekend. We're going to party like its 1999!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Weekend Update

1. We had great services this weekend. 39 people made a decision to follow Christ. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT! It's a great feeling knowing every week People's Church is playing a major part in snatching people out of darkness.

2. If you have recently made a decision to follow Christ or you simply want to know more about the bible and having a vibrant relationship with Christ, don't miss Starting Point. Starting Point is an eight week Community Group/Class where you will learn about living for God and you will be able to ask questions. This is a great environment to EXPLORE FAITH AND EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY. Starting Point begins this Wednesday night at 7pm at People's Church.

3. One of our members who grew up in church and has heard tons of preaching throughout his life told me that the message this weekend was the best he has ever heard. That was a great compliment! I always appreciate the kind words from our church family. So many of you encourage my family by praying for us and sharing with us how God is changing your life through People's Church. Thanks for being such a loving church family. YOU FOLKS ARE THE BEST.

4. I thought our video and lighting team did a great job this weekend. There were a lot of transitions that they had to be ready for. If you noticed, I never said please start the video. Which means they had to pay close attention to what I was saying (no day dreaming), and of course they followed their cues precisely. Our entire staff works extremely hard to have GREAT services EVERY week, not just on Easter. EVERY WEEKEND AT PEOPLE'S CHURCH IS EASTER because every weekend people need the Lord.

5. Let’s get ready because another life changing weekend is right around the corner! This weekend’s message is titled Pain Killer. You, your friends and family will learn how to deal with the devastation of hurt and pain. INVITE EVERY ONE YOU KNOW TO EXPERIENCE GOD THIS WEEKEND AT PEOPLE'S CHURCH!

Friday, April 13, 2007

I Love Fridays

Today is my day off so I laid in bed until almost 8AM. Of course, with small kids I didn't get to sleep in until 8AM. The kids woke us up around 7AM but it was very nice to lay in bed and listen to the rain and the thunder for an hour. Cale says the thunder is, "The sky talking." Cade, my youngest son, laid on my chest for about 20 minutes. I think he was a little scared of the thunder but maybe he just needed some daddy time. Either way, it was fun to cuddle with my little small fry guy.

Cale is super excited about our family date night tonight. He woke up talking about it. I'm very excited to hang out with my family today. Besides a couple of errands I have to run, I think we will spend the majority of the day at home relaxing. This evening we will go grab a bite to eat and maybe come back home and watch the movie Cars. That's my boys’ favorite movie. They love to watch it over and over again.

I really adore my family. When it comes to my wife and kids, love is spelled T-I-M-E! I make lots of time for my family because after my relationship with Christ they are my top priority. The best way that I lead People's Church is by having a healthy family that loves God and loves people. ARE YOU SPENDING QUALITY AND QUANTITY TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY?

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Random Thoughts

1. My boy Sanjaya made it through another round. You go boy! Brian, our programming director at People's Church, is rooting for Sanjaya to win it all. When you see Brian this weekend, tell him he's crazy :)! I'm still rooting for Blake or Melinda. This week I liked Blake the best! I want to hear him beep box again.

2. I'm watching cartoons with my boys this morning. Cade is sitting in the chair with me right now. He's my little blog helper. What inspiration he is. Caris is sleeping in her swing and Cale is sitting on the floor. We are watching Curious George.

3. Tonight I'm taking my wife on a super hot date. I'm really looking forward to taking my sweet thang out to eat. She's the love of my life and my absolute best friend. It's so fun to continue to fall in love with her. We will be married 10 years this year. Wow, how time flies!

4. You are going to love the videos in my message this weekend. My message titled The Pursuit Of Happyness is going to bless, inspire and encourage so many people. Invite EVERYBODY you know and don't you miss this weekend.

5. I'm really enjoying my Community Group. We have been discussing a book called The Difference Maker. It's really been a great book. I really enjoy hanging out with the guys in my Community Group. They sharpen my life and ministry.

6. If you're not involved in a Community Group, get plugged in at Community Group University. Community Group University will be held on April 22 at 6PM at People's Church. It's a two hour event that's designed to help you get to know other people and get connected in a Community Group. Get off the side lines and get plugged into a group. YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Exciting Events On The Horizon

The next six weeks are very important for our church. We are experiencing incredible momentum. We need to pray like crazy and work like nuts to help people connect to God and to others. Please be in prayer and preparation for the following events:

1. Community Group University on April 22: This event will be held at People's Church at 6PM. This is a two hour event designed to help people who are not involved in a Community Group to get connected in one. You will be able to meet new people, Community Group Leaders, eat food, watch cool videos and pick a Community Group to get involved in. If you're not involved in a Community Group, this event is for you. DON'T MISS IT! The heartbeat of People's Church is our small group ministry where people build friendships, care for each other, keep each other accountable and grow spiritually. Quit putting it off and get connected. Your life will never be the same if you'll just do it! Let's pray for hundreds to get connected through this event!

2. Baptismal Bash on April 28 & 29: We will be baptizing people in all five weekend services. If you are a Christian and haven't been baptized in water, you need to. This is a very important step in your journey with Christ. If you want to live under God's best blessings, you need to be obedient to His command to be baptized in water. It's going to be a SUPER FUN WEEKEND as you make a public profession of your faith! Get signed up for this event ASAP!

3. Ministry Fair on May 5 & 6: You will have the opportunity to sign up for and get plugged into one of the awesome ministries at People's Church. You will sense purpose for your life like never before when you begin using your gifts and talents to impact people's lives for the cause of Christ. I'm so excited to see hundreds more serving others and making a difference for God through the local church.

4. 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY on May 12 & 13: Don't MISS THIS WEEKEND FOR ANYTHING! We will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary in style. We have some really cool and special things planned for this celebration! God has been so good to People's Church! We're going to have a blast!!

Oh yea, on April 28 & 29 we will be giving away our Dealing With Devastation Giveaway to an individual or family. I'm very pumped up about blessing someone who has been through the fire with a relaxing vacation. This is a great way for our church to show the love of Christ to hurting people. If you know someone who has recently experienced a devastation, go to www.peopleschurch.tv and tell us about it.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Staff Meeting

We had a great staff meeting today. We spent the first 15 minutes thanking God for being so good and faithful to us, our families and People's Church. We also prayed for each other and then we all stood up and just began to raise our voices to God in praise and thanksgiving. All of our staff realizes that what's happening at People's Church is a God thing. God gets all the credit! God is the only one who deserves and gets the GLORY AND PRAISE!

In our Creative Team Meeting we planned out the videos for the message this coming weekend. I'm excited about speaking on the subject of The Pursuit Of Happyness . I'm glad I have such a sharp Creative Team. These people help to make the weekend messages come alive. I'm really believing God to do some wonderful things in the hearts of people this weekend.

I need you to do two things:

1. Pray for God to change lives!

2. Invite people who need to experience the life changing power of Christ!

I love being the pastor of People's Church! It's such an honor to pastor a church that's so unified and full of vision to impact the nations! THANKS FOR BEING SUCH A WONDERFUL CHURCH!

Monday, April 9, 2007

Easter Weekend Highlights

1. We had 2125 people in attendance this weekend! 91 PEOPLE INVITED CHRIST TO BE THE LORD OF THEIR LIFE! I'm humbled and amazed by what God is doing at People's Church. What we are seeing at People's Church is not normal. This is a genuine move of God!

2. I want to say a big thank you to our staff. They worked very hard to make this weekend a home run. I thought the videos were off the chart! Especially the video of Christ being crucified while Brian was singing I'm Forgiven. It was truly a HOLY moment! I'm so blessed to have such a great team around me. Thanks guys and gals for putting up with such a driven goof ball like me. I LOVE YOU AND CAN'T, NOR DO I WANT, TO DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!

3. I want to say an EXTRA BIG THANK you to all of our volunteers who made this weekend happen. Some of you put in hours of service to make this weekend one of the best ever in the almost 5 year history of People's Church. You went above the call of duty. Your love for people and your love to see people connected to our loving Savior is infectious. THANK YOU FOR SERVING! YOU'RE INCREDIBLE!

4. I have to say a big thank you to many of you for busting a move to Saturday night services. We had over 700 people in our two Saturday night services this weekend. Way to go People's Church. WE REALLY NEED MANY OF YOU TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TO ATTEND THE SATURDAY NIGHT SERVICES EVERY WEEKEND. You can serve in one service and worship in the other. The only way we can grow to over 2000 people, in our current facility, is by many of you attending on Saturdays so that we can free up seats for more people to attend on Sundays. Thank you for your passion to reach more people with the good news of Christ! THERE'S MANY MORE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO EXPERIENCE FORGIVENESS THROUGH CHRIST!

5. This coming up weekend is going to be awesome. My message title is The Pursuit Of Happyness! Your family and friends will not want to miss this encouraging message! Start inviting everybody you know!

Friday, April 6, 2007

Easter Thoughts

We serve a risen Savior! He's alive! It's incredible to think about the fact that we serve and personally know the creator of the entire universe. He's our God. He's our Daddy. I'm so excited to gather with my church family this weekend and worship our King!

Please be praying for many lives to be changed this weekend.

Invite EVERYBODY you know!

PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY!

Please attend one of our Saturday night services @ 5PM & 6:30PM!

Have I said that I'm pumped about this weekend?

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Random Thoughts

1. I'm pumped up for our services this weekend. EASTER WEEKEND IS GOING TO BE INCREDIBLE!

2. My boy, Sanjaya, made it through another round on American Idol. He wasn't even in the bottom three. That boy can sang!!

3. Why does Criminal minds keep showing re-runs? Two weeks in a row! I don't know what the deal is but they need to get with it. It's me and my wife’s favorite show on TV! Quit showing re-runs please!

4. I'm going to wear a purple and blue suit for Easter with shoes to match. It was tough, but I did find some fly purple and blue shoes. I even found a purple and blue hat. I just have to find the socks to match (if you believe this, you don't know me very well). :)

5. My Easter message is coming together very nicely! I love to teach God's word!

6. Be sure to invite EVERYBODY you know to our Easter weekend services!

7. We need MANY of you to attend our Saturday night services to free up seats, kids space and prime parking spaces for our Sunday services. It would be rude of us to invite guests to our church and not make room for them. It would be down right wrong for us to invite people who need Christ and not have a place for them to hear a clear presentation of the gospel! ATTEND SATURDAY NIGHT SERVICES!

8. Remember to park in the overflow parking lot to give all of our guests the best parking spaces. Our staff actually parks across the street every Sunday and in the gravel parking lot on Saturdays. You will never see me with a parking space right in front of the building that says reserved for pastor. Whatever! The best parking spaces should always be for our guests.

9. I love Tiffany, Cale, Cade and Caris. That's the Cooper Clan! You GUYS ARE THE BEST!!

10. DID I SAY THAT I'M PUMPED ABOUT EASTER WEEKEND? INVITE EVERYBODY YOU KNOW!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Who Are You Inviting?

Statistics say that most people will go to church, especially on Easter weekend, if someone would ask them to. Have you asked anybody to join you for our 5 identical Easter weekend services? You should be asking EVERYBODY you know to come with you on Easter to experience the love of Christ. If you haven't asked anybody to come with you to church, my question to you is why? What's the hold up? What's the delay? What are you waiting for?

Common Reasons People Don't Invite Others To Church:

1. Fear of rejection: I would invite the people I know to come to church, but what if they tell me no? You're asking yourself the wrong question. The right question is, "What if they tell me yes? What if they come and their life is changed forever by the power of Christ? Quit thinking negatively and start thinking positively! If you just ask, you'll be very surprised to find out that you will get a lot more yeses than nos, so go for it!

2. Hypocrite: I would invite the people I know to come to church with me, but they know I don't live what I believe. If I talk about church, people will look at me like I'm crazy because my life is not all together. Let me remind you of something, THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU! It's about Christ. It's about inviting people to experience Christ. So what, God is still working on you. Don't let that stop you from inviting people to experience the grace and mercy of our heavenly Father!

3. Shy: I would invite people to come to church with me, but I'm too shy. Listen, this isn't about standing on street corners with a megaphone and inviting people to church. You need to be inviting people you have relationship with, not total strangers on the street corner. Invite people you talk to about life, sports, American Idol, your career and relationships, change the subject and bring up what God has done in your life and how church is really helping you. Just tell them, "You have to come with me this weekend to church because my church is awesome." Invite people you already have relationship with!

4. I Don't Care: I would invite the people I know to come to church with me, but I don't really care if they spend eternity separated from God. Come on, don't you care that your family, friends, co-workers, students or neighbors don't know Christ? Don't you care that they're lost without God? Don't you care about their eternal destination? I'm praying right now that God would touch your heart and give you compassion for people like never before.

Our staff is praying like crazy for this weekend. We are also working like crazy on this weekend's services. They are going to be PHENOMENAL! PEOPLE'S CHURCH, START INVITING EVERYBODY YOU KNOW, AND YOU DON'T DARE MISS IT FOR ANYTHING!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

STAFF

I just finished up our staff meeting and creative team meeting. I AM PUMPED UP ABOUT EASTER WEEKEND! We have some really cool stuff planned for this weekend. Get as many people to come with you as possible to encounter the love and power of our risen Savior. Be sure to come early, so you can enjoy the great pre-service videos and the jam session our band is going to do before service begins. Trust me, you won't want to miss the first 10 minutes before service starts.

I’m getting ready to go study and craft this weekend’s message. The message is titled Forgiveness. We all need forgiveness, and there's no greater experience in the world than experiencing the forgiveness of our sins. We are going to close my message out by showing you a powerful testimony video of one of our church attenders who has experienced the life-changing power and forgiveness that only comes through Christ. Bring your Kleenex because this video is a tear jerker!

Have I said that I'm pumped up about this weekend!

Monday, April 2, 2007

Weekend Update

1. We had a great weekend! God set so many people free. I want to encourage you to live in the freedom you have in Christ. Remember you are set free from and set free to. Christ set us free for freedom sake, so don't live a life of bondage. YOU ARE FREE!

2. Many people gave their life to Christ. I'm not sure how many because I didn't get the count yet, but my guess is around 30 people. The greatest miracle is when ONE person makes the decision to follow Jesus. I know every weekend people give their heart to Christ, but IT NEVER GETS OLD TO ME! That's what it's all about! THAT'S WHY WE ARE HERE!

3. We had right around 1500 people in attendance this weekend. That's awesome......but!!!!! We really need many of you to attend the Saturday night services or the 9AM service EASTER WEEKEND! WE DESPERATELY need the room in the 10:30AM, and we could use more room in the 12PM for EASTER! We will have 2000 people on EASTER weekend, and we will have plenty of room to accommodate all of our guests if you'll bust a move for one weekend to Saturday nights or the 9AM. THANKS A BUNCH for your commitment and passion to reach people with the love of Christ!

4. There's a lot of excitement about the new series I'm beginning On Easter called Dealing With Devastation. Also, there was a lot of buzz and excitement about the Dealing With Devastation Vacation Giveaway! I'm really thrilled for People's Church to bless a family who has recently experienced a devastation with an ABSOLUTELY FREE VACATION! Be sure to visit http://www.peopleschurch.tv/ and tell us the story of a friend, co-worker or family member who has recently experienced a devastation.

5. Sunday night our family went on a family date night. Noah's flood spoiled our plans on Friday night :). We had a great time hanging out. We went out to eat and then to my favorite place...STARBUCKS!! Tiffany and the boys ate a cookie, and I drank my usual decaf coffee. I love my family!! THEY ARE THE BEST!

6. Have I said that I'm pumped up about EASTER WEEKEND! GO GOD!!