The Launch Team Gathers

The gang came together last night for our first launch team meeting. We had lots of yummy desserts, and some coffee (some hot, and some cold due to technical difficulties!).

It was also the unveiling to everyone of Cartwheels and Coffee. It is not finished yet, but it's mostly finished. After the meeting last night we primed the floors, and this morning we painted them. So, a bit more plumbing, electrical, and about 3 city inspections and we'll be open. At this point we're hoping for Friday, but we'll see.

I'm thrilled with the people that turned out last night. There seemed to be a great energy in the room and people were pumped about what we're doing.

It really is an incredible thing, when the church you plant in your head starts to become the church that is planted in reality. God is up to good things. We'll keep you posted as it unfolds.

I'm drowning in Cartwheels!

This is crunch time...We are pushing to get Cartwheels and Coffee open by this coming week so I'm wrapped up in contractors and painters and volunteers and stuff. That's where my head has been.
I just keep telling myself..."this will be over in a few days"

It will be totally worth it...but it's a pain right now. I guess some of the best stuff in life requires hard work to get. Hopefully life will return next week to just normal church planter lunacy rather than church plant and open a business lunacy.

Who made America?

This is a conversation my kids had in the car today that I had to share:

Colin (5yo): Mom, did you know that Scrabble is America's Favorite word game?

Mom: I guess that's right.

Colin: And do you know what America is?

Mom: What? (ya' gotta humor them, you know)

Colin: The United States!

Mom: That's right

Colin: And do you know who made America?

Declan (3yo): Jesus!

Colin: ...and?...

Declan: God!

Colin: ...and?...

Declan: Emperor Palpatine!


So there you have your history lesson for the day. Props to my 3 yo for answering Jesus. He has already been in church long enough to know that if someone asks a question very excitedly, the answer is usually Jesus.

Our First Gathering is a Success!

Area 10 took a big step this weekend. We went public. We invited the neighbors and had a picnic and talked about the church we want to become. It was an awesome thing to see. We figured that about 83 people showed up for the event, which is just awesome. Major props, to the people who helped make it happen...Emily Harrison, Laura Shibut, and others who showed early to set it up.

Thank you to those of you who came and brought friends. That was so cool to see. This church will grow when people own the vision and bring some friends. And you guys stepped up to that this weekend. Thank You!

Here are two pictures from the picnic! One is a wideshot so you can see some of the crowd. The other is me giving my "I have a dream today!" speech. I don't know what I'm saying at the exact moment of this picture but you can just imagine it was something funny or profound or inspirational...or a bit wacky....whatever.

A guy named Rob came to the picnic. He showed up on a scooter which makes him extra cool in my book. He said he hadn't been to church in 3 years. After the picnic he said. "this is great...How can I help?" Guys like that are why we're here. Welcome to the party Rob.

We're having a picnic

So here we are, a little less than 3 months until we launch and I thought it would be good to get everyone together. We are having a picnic/bbq in Byrd Park this Sunday at noon. We will have food, fun, laughs, and more food. We have a very deluxe model moonbounce type thingy for the kiddies. Should be good times! The weather is looking good so far (although I don't trust forecasts beyond about 48 hours!). And we have about 50-60 people signed up.

Come join us this Sunday. Bring a friend. I invited my next door neighbor. She is coming with her 3 kids. I told her to bring 100 friends. She said she would. I'm holding her to that! :)

We are also handing out 10,000 fliers to invite our neighbors. Say a prayer with me that people would receive those and get fired up about joining us. The more the merrier.

Fire up the grills, let's get some burgers, dogs, and bocas cookin up!

Meet our worship leader!

After many months, I can now announce that we have a worship leader. Aaron Peck is moving to join us in Richmond with his wife Amanda and their tiny chihuahua doggie Sam, in the middle of July.

Aaron is the guy we interviewed from Cincinnati back in March. At the time, he and his wife told us that they wouldn't be able to come join us. We were disappointed as we really liked them and thought they would be a great fit with our culture.

But God did his thing, enabling us to hire Aaron, and giving Aaron and Amanda a sense of calling to this place.

He will be our worship leader on Sundays, he will oversee all our creative arts, and he will also be working with me on discipleship and assimilation stuff. Welcome Aaron and Amanda to the team. We are so glad you are coming!

My Be-Bopping 5 year old

Today, my son Colin came to see me sitting out on the porch. I asked him what he had been doing. He gave me a hug, and told me he had been listening to "Charlie Parker play bebop". I told him this was a good thing and he should keep doing it.

I love kids.