Thursday's Download

1. Time is flying by. May 1st is Saturday.

2. This is the last week of Courageous. This Sunday is so crucial to your future. So many people never see their dreams come to pass because they don't have the Courage To Forgive.

3. On Sunday, I'm going to share some valuable insights that will help you achieve your God-given dreams. You will learn that forgiveness plays a key role in fulfilling your dreams.

4. We have a special somethin’ somethin’ on Sunday that you don't want to miss. Expect the unexpected at People's Church.

5. The Oklahoma City Thunder have to regroup and play much better ball on Friday night.

6. Going to take momma on a hot date. I love my wife and always enjoy hanging out with her.

7. Religious people are so interesting, and many are political and mean-spirited.

8. It's interesting to listen to people who don't want to see every un-churched person come to know Jesus as their Savior if it inconveniences them. It is interesting how people think that church is all about them.

9. God is opening doors and giving our Leadership Team clearer direction for the future... exciting stuff.

10. There are so many facets to leading a church.

11. I am passionate about our church being a culture of servant leaders.

12. We are baptizing a lot of people on Sunday. This will be a blast.

13. I'm really looking forward to Mother's Day when my wife will be teaching God's Word.

14. I'm also excited to celebrate our 8-year anniversary as a church on Mother's Day.

15. Why is forgiveness key to your success in life? Find out on Sunday!

Hillsong's Senior Pastor Brian Houston Impacted Me

4. Be you: Pastor Brian Houston talked several times about being you. I appreciated him talking about his struggles in the past of trying to be somebody he wasn't. It was great to hear how he realized that he was at his best and most effective by just being himself no matter where he was. He also talked about learning yourself. To be effective for the long haul, you have to know what drains you and what energizes you. A part of being you is learning what gives you energy and what takes away your energy. You have to be honest with the way you are wired so you can be effective for the long haul.

5. God's Kiss: There are pastors who try to imitate other successful ministries and churches because they think by doing so they will get the same results. Pastor Brian talked about how God chooses to bless (KISS) certain things, and it can't be manufactured. God has blessed (KISSED) Hillsong's music. Their music is listened to and sung all over the world. He said Hillsong doesn't have the best singers or musicians, but God has chosen to bless it. Other churches can do exactly what they do, but it doesn't mean that they will have the same success. Hearing Pastor talk about this reminded me of how much I need God's blessing on my life and ministry more than anything else. It's not all about the right program, system or staff. I have to have God's blessing and favor. We need to work hard, network and do our very best, but what we need more than anything is God's KISS!

6. Help People Flourish: The goal of the local church is to reach people who don't know Christ and to help people flourish in Christ. Pastor talked about how church leaders shouldn't spend all of their time preaching to peoples’ Sundays, but instead, preaching to their Mondays. In other words, he said our teaching, announcements and services should be geared to helping people live their lives Monday through Saturday and not spending all of our time trying to build the church's Sundays. If we help people flourish on Monday through Saturday, God will build the Sundays. He went on to say that when the church is healthy and people are flourishing, growth just happens. Healthy things grow. Our job as pastors is to help people get planted in the house of the Lord and teach them to flourish. Psalm 92:13 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. (NKJV)

Here are some other random things I gleaned: Never develop a wounded spirit. Vision is the most energizing thing. Every seven years or so, the church needs to reinvent itself. Very few churches reinvent themselves. Reinventing usually involves the church working to get younger by reaching the next generation. Our loyalty to the future has to be stronger than our loyalty to the past. You have to keep your church young spirited. When a church reaches a lid, it usually involves people changes or repositioning people. Have the right people in the right place doing the right thing. The church is resilient. What they say won't hurt you; it's what they say that's true that will. Raise your family where your kids know church is who we are. The family shouldn't compete with the church; it should be a natural flow. Part of the reason we all exist is to finance the salvation of the world. One of the most selfish statements people make is “I don't like big churches, I only like small churches.” It's so selfish for a church to only think about themselves. There is a world to reach with the Gospel.

Pastor Brian Houston's Impact

I had the opportunity to attend a Senior Pastors’ Round Table on Friday. It was great having dinner with these pastors on Thursday night and hanging with them all day Friday. I learned so much. Today and tomorrow, I want to share with you some of the things that impacted me from my time with Senior Pastor, Brian Houston, of Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia.

1. Humility: Pastor Brian Houston was the most humble man. This is a quality I have seen in almost every pastor the Lord has given national or worldwide influence. He was down-to-earth. He was easy to talk with. He was just a normal guy. He looked you in the eyes when he talked to you. He didn't make you feel like you were less than him. He responded to every question with grace and sincerity. He was quick to point out if he didn't know the answer to a question. You could definitely tell that Pastor Brian Houston walks with the Lord.

2. Pain: Pastor Brian Houston has been through some major pain in his life. We see people who God has raised up and given major influence to, and most of the time we don't have a clue of what they've been through to get to where they are. Many people look at Pastor Brian and desire to have his influence, but most aren't willing to suffer and go through pain to lead at this level. Many people want the glory, but don't want the same story of pain, brokenness, attacks, disappointment and loneliness. What challenged me the most was the purity of heart that Pastor Brian still has after all he has walked through. He wasn't jaded. He wasn't bitter. He wasn't upset. Instead, he was grateful, broken, kind and deeply loves the church of Jesus Christ.

3. Transparent: I was blown away by how transparent and open Pastor Brian was with the Round Table participants. He was raw. He shared from his heart. He opened up areas of his life that many would sugarcoat and pass over. He didn't put up a front or wear a mask. He shared his pain and struggles. He shared his challenges. He shared his successes. I was greatly impacted by how real, authentic and transparent he was.

More tomorrow!

Weekend Highlights

1. The Oklahoma City Thunder tied up the series with the Lakers on Saturday night. This is an exciting series.

2. The city of Oklahoma City is electrified by the Thunder. The youngest team in the NBA is giving the defending World Champions all they can handle.

3. On Friday, I spent the day with 12 senior pastors from around the nation, Craig Groeschel and Brian Houston, Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, at a round table. It was a great day.

4. Tomorrow, I'm going to blog about some of the things that impacted me from my time with Brian Houston.

5. We had a great day at People's Church. Many people gave their lives to Christ.

6. Our Worship Team performed the Coldplay song "Lost" before I spoke. Great job, Creative and Worship Teams, of setting up my message with that song.

7. I love the fact that we use creativity to drive home the Gospel message. Jesus changes lives.

8. I had two titles on Sunday. For People's Church it was Courage To Get Up.

9. My second title was Unstoppable Comeback. We are submitting this message to www.oneprayer.com for churches around the world to show in their churches during the series in June.

10. Welcome to the team to all of you who signed up to begin serving in a ministry. We come to church to receive a blessing and to be a blessing. I'm excited to see how God uses you to be a blessing to many people. Lives will be changed because of you.

11. Its not too late to get signed up to be water baptized this Sunday, May 2nd. Email anita@peopleschurch.tv right now. Go public for Jesus this Sunday and experience His blessing.

12. I can't believe this was the last Sunday of April. The time is flying by.

Thursday's Download

1. I'm very excited about the next couple of days.

2. Tonight, Tiffany and I are going to eat dinner with some awesome senior pastors and their wives.

3. We both enjoy hanging out with senior pastors and their wives. We are both always eager to learn and grow.

4. On Friday, I'm looking forward to learning from 14 pastors from around the nation at an all day senior pastors’ round table.

5. Brian Houston, from Hillsong Church, and Craig Groeschel, from LifeChurch.tv, will be hosting the round table. It will be a fun day of learning and growing.

6. Brian Houston is one of my distant ministry mentors, and it will be an honor to be able to glean from his many years of ministry.

7. This Sunday is Courage To Get Up! I'm really excited about what God is going to do.

8. We have a special song during the experience that you won't want to miss.

9. Mother's Day at People's Church is going to be awesome. My wife has a special message that she will be teaching. We are giving away 9 grand prizes that include a day at the spa, a cash card to Penn Square Mall and dinner for two at The Cheesecake Factory. Bring your mom, and moms, bring your kids and all of the family.

10. Also on Mother's Day, we will be celebrating the 8 year anniversary of People's Church. Where has the time gone? I can't believe it will be 8 years. Be there.

11. After Mother's Day, we are beginning a new series called Conversations...Talking to God. I'm excited to see our church grow closer to God by learning what the Bible says about prayer. This is such an important, vital part of our relationship with God.

12. On May 2nd, we will be having our Baptismal Bash. If you haven't signed up to be baptized, you can do it today by emailing anita@peopleschurch.tv.

13. Your dreams can come to pass. Sunday is a crucial day to learning how! Courage To Get Up!

The Signs Of A Great Volunteer

1. They love Jesus

2. They love their family

3. They love the local church

4. They love people

5. They know that church is not all about them

6. They come to church asking how can I be a blessing, not just receive a blessing

7. They find an area of ministry and serve faithfully every week

8. They are on time

9. They go the extra mile and will do more than what's asked of them

10. They find other people who aren't serving and ask them to join the team

11. They find other people to develop and train in their area of ministry

12. They are passionate about the vision of their local church

13. They stick up for the vision when somebody is complaining

14. They are committed to one church and put down roots

15. They have a great attitude

How To Influence Your Leader

1. Catch your leader’s vision and heart

2. Be supportive of the vision

3. Do your job well...really well

4. Do not be a know-it-all

5. Give the leader good advice

6. Tell the leader when they are wrong (of course with a good attitude)

7. Love the leader unconditionally because the leader will make mistakes

8. Make good ideas great ideas

9. Develop and release leaders in your area of influence

10. Learn your leader and how he or she thinks and ticks

11. Come in under budget instead of over budget

12. Think big picture and not just your area of influence

13. Give advice that's good for the team even if it's not good for you

14. Make the goal more important than the role

15. Have a great attitude

16. Do what you say you're going to do

17. Make the vision become reality

18. Be trustworthy

19. Challenge the process to make the organization better

20. Be strong in areas your leader is weak because they have plenty of weaknesses that need shored up

Weekend Highlights

1. We got a lot of rain in Oklahoma City over the weekend. It started on Friday and rained the entire weekend.

2. The grass and trees should be really happy. :)

3. My wife and I went on a date Thursday night. We had a great time.

4. We had a great day at People's Church. Tons of lives changed by the power of Christ.

5. I was deeply impacted by an 87-year-old man who came up to me yesterday after 1st experience with tears in his eyes and told me how he hadn't been that touched in years.

6. He encouraged me to remain faithful to Jesus and to finish the race. He told me that God was going to use me in a great way. I’m so greatly blessed by his encouraging words.

7. The step performance was awesome. The crew did a great job. I may put it on my blog this week so drop back by.

8. Our Creative Arts Department has been hitting it out of the park since we moved into our new building. They have tore it up during the Courageous series.

9. The message went well. I know God used it to encourage and inspire people to higher heights in Christ.

10. I talked about finishing your race and accomplishing your dreams.

11. The Thunder lost to the Lakers. LA played super great defense.

12. I know it's a long shot, but I'm pulling hard for the Thunder to beat the Lakers in this series.

13. My wife made this awesome dessert yesterday. I loved it.

14. I'm very excited about this coming up Sunday. I'm teaching a message titled Courage To Get Up. Start inviting now! God has so much more for you and those you know.

15. Get signed up today to be baptized in water on May 2. Email anita@peopleschurch.tv right now and let her know that you are going to be baptized and tell her which experience.

16. We started promoting Tiffany's Favorite Things on Sunday. On Mother's Day, we are giving out some great prizes to some moms. The prizes include a day at the spa, a Penn Square mall gift card and a Cheesecake Factory gift card. My wife will be sharing an inspiring Mother's Day message. Be sure to invite your family to be a part of our exciting Mother's Day experience. We will also be dedicating babies to the Lord on this special day.

17. Also on Mother's Day, we will be celebrating the 8 year anniversary of People's Church. I can't believe it's been 8 years! God has been so so so so so good!

Thursday's Download

1. Studying this morning for Sunday and for two talks I'm doing this afternoon to senior pastors in Mustang, OK.

2. I enjoy hanging out, investing and learning from other senior pastors.

3. I feel very inadequate at times to talk to other senior pastors. I don't know as much as people think I do.

4. I'm not putting off false humility with the above statement. The more I serve God and do ministry, the more I know that I don't know.

5. Today I'm talking to the senior pastors about two of my favorite subjects: family & vision. It will be fun.

6. On Sunday, we are having an incredible step performance in all 3 experiences.

7. I'm teaching a message called Courage To Fight!

8. Who are you inviting and bringing to church this Sunday? Invite somebody today! Seriously, their life could be changed forever!

9. Can't wait to take my gorgeous wife on a date. I think it's going to be dinner and a movie!

10. Yesterday was Jessica Jenkins’s, my wife’s and my assistant, one-year anniversary of working for us. Jessica and her husband, Jimmy, are quality people who love God with all of their hearts. Tiffany and I are very grateful that the Lord brought us a great assistant!

11. Did I say a STEP/STOMP performance this Sunday? I'm just sayin' that you better be there and bring some folks with you!

12. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend around the house!

Every Sunday Experience Opener

We kick off every experience with an inspirational vision video. We show the same video for around three to six months. This is our new experience opener that began on Easter Sunday! Great job, Andy!

People's Church Experience Opener from People's Church on Vimeo.

Step Performance This Sunday

This Sunday, I'm teaching a message titled Courage To Fight! I'm going to teach you how to fight for your dreams. Your dreams can come to pass! Also this Sunday, there will be an awesome step performance to go along with the message theme Courage To Fight. Who are you inviting and bringing with you to experience the love of Christ? Check out this short promo video of the step performance.

Step Team @ People's Church from People's Church on Vimeo.

Weekend Highlights

1. It was a great weekend for the Coopers!

2. On Friday night, my wife and I went out to eat with our Executive Team and their wives, and then we went to a Thunder game.

3. Its great to work with people you like and get along with.

4. On Saturday, we relaxed around the house for the majority of the day. One word comes to mind: NICE!

5. We had another great Sunday at PC!

6. Well over 100 people gave their lives to Christ!

7. People's Church was pushing 4000 people.

8. We were pushing 2000 people bigger than the Sunday after Easter last year. I am humbled by what God is doing at PC! Thank you, Jesus!

9. We had a record number of kids hearing the Gospel in our Kids Ministry!

10. Jody, our Kids Director, and his team are doing a fabulous job creating environments for kids to be impacted by Jesus. Way to go!

11. Amena Brown, a nationally acclaimed poet, tore it up! She has an anointing on her poetry. Very powerful and inspiring.

12. I encourage pastors to bring Amena to your church. She will be a blessing. We will for sure have her back to PC!

13. The message went well. I want PCer's to have the Courage To Dream. See it, believe it and build it! Go for it! God is with you!

14. I encouraged people to get baptized on May 2. Don't put it off or make excuses! I want you to experience God's blessings in its fullest, and that requires obedience. I'm so excited to celebrate this milestone in your walk with Christ on May 2. Get signed up, and get ready!

15. We sang the song Moving Forward! That is an inspiring song.

16. We showed a promo video of a step performance that will be taking place at People's Church this coming up Sunday. It's going to be awesome!

17. I am teaching a message called Courage To Fight this coming up Sunday!

18. My one-year-old son really likes me to read books to him. I just read a Curious George book to him.

19. I'm meeting with a future church planter this morning. I really enjoy talking with church planters.

20. I'm excited, humbled, challenged, stretched and pumped up by what God is doing at People's Church.

Don't Miss This

1. This Sunday is Courage To Dream! Your dreams can come to pass. Be there! God has great things in store for you!

2. Bring a carload of kids this Sunday to People's Church. Last week was Elmo and this Sunday, Cookie Monster will be at People's Church for all 3 experiences! Hundreds of kids will have a blast with Cookie Monster, inflatables, the Playland, games and most importantly, they will learn about Jesus!

3. Be sure to bring back your ticket and drop by the east lobby for the opportunity to win one of 2000 prizes, including flat screen TV's.

4. Nationally acclaimed poet, Amena Brown, will be rocking the house with her mad poetry skillz. This is going to be incredible! I can't wait!

5. Praise and Worship is going to be awesome! We are going to make Jesus famous!

6. Who are you inviting to PC with you this Sunday? Call, email, text, facebook, twitter, drop by a co-workers desk and invite everybody you know today. Your invite could change somebody's life forever!

Easter Experience Drum Opener

Two of our drummers "tore" it up to begin each Easter experience! Check out this Easter opener! Be there Sunday for another exciting experience at People's Church: Sundays @ 9AM, 10:30AM & 12PM.

Easter Drum Opener from People's Church on Vimeo.

Experience IT This Sunday @ People's Church

This Sunday, we are having the nationally acclaimed poet, Amena Brown, at People's Church in all three experiences. You will be deeply moved, inspired, motivated and encouraged as you experience Amena’s unbelievable and anointed skills. On Sunday, don't forget to bring your ticket back and drop by the table in the lobby for the opportunity to win one of 2000 prizes including flat screen TV’s. Oh yeah, Cookie Monster will be in the kids’ area at PC! Who are you inviting for this amazing Sunday?

Amena Brown from People's Church on Vimeo.

Easter Weekend Highlights

1. Wow, wow, wow! What a great Sunday at People's Church!

2. We had almost 5000 people in attendance.

3. There were 350 decisions for Christ. Wow! Thank you, Jesus!

4. The videos were awesome! Seriously! Our Video Team is amazing. They bring the heat every week.

5. The painter did a great job of painting Jesus on the cross painting during worship. It was a powerful moment.

6. The special song, This Is Your Life by Switchfoot, was awesome and thought-provoking right before I taught the message.

7. The Worship Team did great. I loved the hymn.

8. I played mind games with myself on Saturday night. I kept thinking nobody was going to show up. Weird but those thoughts kept flooding my mind.

9. I woke up at 3:50AM Sunday morning and couldn't go back to sleep. My mind was racing.

10. Easter was great. If I had it to do again, I think I would have added one Saturday night experience.

11. The OKC Thunder clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night! Go Thunder!

12. Butler is playing for the National Championship. I would have never picked them. Way to go, Butler! I'm pulling for them to win it all.

13. Saturday was a busy day. I went to the gym, to my little brother's baseball game, my uncle’s 50th birthday party and studied and put the final touches on the message.

14. This Sunday was great, but next Sunday will be great as well. We are having nationally acclaimed poet, Amena Brown, with us in all 3 experiences. She will be rocking the house at People's Church this coming up Sunday.

15. This coming up Sunday, I will be teaching a message titled Courage To Dream! It's going to be a fun day.

16. This coming up Sunday, we will be giving away over 2000 prizes, so bring your ticket back and drop by the lobby and hopefully you win one of the big screen TV's. :)

17. We had Elmo make a special visit to PC yesterday. The kids loved it.

18. Elmo's friend will be making a special visit to People's Church this coming up Sunday. Yes, ladies and gentleman, Cookie Monster will be at People's Church on Sunday! Bring a truck load of kids, and they will have a blast, and we will teach them about Jesus.

19. We were almost 2000 people bigger than last year's Easter. Insane! Go God!

20. Thank you to the People's Church staff for praying up a storm and working so hard to pull off a home run Easter. It's an honor to serve PC with you all.

10 Questions The Unchurched Aren't Asking

1. Who is speaking on Sunday?

2. Do you sing hymns or choruses?

3. What denomination are you affiliated with?

4. What version of the Bible do you use?

5. Do you have Sunday school or small groups?

6. How do I go deep?

7. Are there a lot of crosses and pictures of Jesus in your church?

8. Is your pastor's teaching exegetical, topical or some other method?

9. How do I become a member or transfer my membership?

10. Does your church have the latest technology?

It’s Easter, so don't you dare think inward but instead, think outward! Many first-time guests who don't know Christ will be showing up at your church. People need Christ! Jesus is the answer! They aren't asking the questions that many church people are asking. They don't understand all of the insider language of the church world. Give them Jesus this weekend! They need to hear the simplicity of the Gospel! God and His Word changes lives!

Thank you www.perrynoble.com for the concept and inspiration for this blog post.