So much to say

It’s been too long since I’ve posted… vacation will do that to you.  Man I love the beach, but that has nothing to do with this conversation.  In a few days I’m going to be posting some exciting next step stuff that’s going to happen with Hub City Church.  I want to spill the beans now, but I won’t.  I’ve got to share it with the launch team first.

Speaking of the Launch Team… don’t miss our meeting tomorrow night:  5:45 at Arcadia First.  Make sure you read chapters 7 and 14 from this book.  Also, don’t forget to set aside the last weekend in June for our retreat.

I know that we’ve had a bunch of people checking out the blog and trying to find out more about Hub City Church.  Our vision and passion is to create a relevant church that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of, where they can hear from God and do what he says.  We are enormously passionate about relating the gospel (the good news about Jesus) to people who don’t go to church and who wouldn’t consider themselves Christian.  In the past two weeks there has been a lot of interest from some of you who are Christians about being a part of our launch team.  So, to help you discern whether or not this might be a place for you to serve and be a missionary along side of us I’ll share our Fuels and Filters.  These are things that we are going to do and things we aren’t going to do that might help you decide yea or neigh.

What we are going to do:

• A relevant worship experience that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of.
• Small Groups
• Serve in the community (Movies in the Park is one way we’re serving.  We want Spartanburg to be better because Hub City Church is here.)
• Encourage and train people to hear from God and do what he says

What we aren’t going to do/be:

• Sunday School
• Have a permanent facility in the foreseeable future
• Be Charismatic/Pentecostal (nothing wrong with being either, it’s just not us)
• A church calendar filled with church activities for church people
• No official/positional leadership for at least 2 years post launch (ie. Elders, governing board)
• Youth ministry for several years
• We won’t be a perfect church

Still interested?  Contact me.  We’ll do coffee.

 

Money, money, money

Don’t you just love talking about money? I thought I’d give a little update on some money stuff for Hub City Church (did you check out our new site yet?).

We’re looking for more people to be a part of The 300. The 300 is our plan to raise $30,000 to launch Hub City Church in September. It will go towards equipment and marketing. What we’re looking for is 300 people who will give $100 a piece. I think YOU need to be a part of The 300.

On a smaller note, I’m also working to raise around $500,000 to fund Hub City Church for 3 years. That only means we need 5,000 people to give $100 a piece. Seriously, please pray for us as we embark on this adventure. The guys at churchplanters.com say that “financing the vision” is one of the Best Practices of church planters. And since two guys I know just had to shut down their churches in the past 2 months because of finances… let’s just say this is a priority. So if you, or your church, or both wants to partner… give me a buzz… I’ll probably be calling you anyway.

Now off to pick up an elephant costume… if you’re at Spring Fling keep your eyes open for us.

 

LTM 4/21/08

At this week’s Launch Team Meeting:  Systems!  Now I know you’re drooling and about to wet yourself with excitement just thinking about systems, but here’s the deal.  Systems determine behaviors.  Systems are the way things get done.  All organizations and churches are made up of systems.  Most, however, aren’t thought out, strategic or effective.  We don’t want that to be the case for Hub City Church.  Thus, the beginning of the system discussions!  We want to have systems for everything from set-up to children’s ministry to fixing coffee!  See you Tuesday @ 6.

Until then… plant a tree (Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day).

 

Vision Casting Gathering

That’s right! This Sunday is the night to come find out about Hub City Church. We’ll be sharing what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and how you can be involved in planting a relevant church that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of. We’ll be meeting here from 5:30 -7. We’ll have supper. If you need child care we’ll have that too (but you need to contact us). We’re looking forward to meeting you. Shoot us an e-mail or call at 433-0993 to let us know if you’re coming.

 

The Present Future book conversation

Our Launch Team is reading through three books together. Our first book is The Present Future by Reggie McNeal. This post is a place for our team to comment on what they are learning from the book. Feel free to join the discussion.

 

Find out about us

Now is the time to find out about Hub City Church.  This Sunday, February 10th @ 5:30, we’re going to have an Vision Casting gathering. You can find out about our vision, values, plans, what kind of people we need on our launch team, our favorite colors and all kinds of other really cool stuff.

If you ever wanted to find out about planting a church, what it takes to be on a launch team, or how you can be a part of what God is doing in Spartanburg, then you need to be at this gathering. We’ll have food and child care.  We’ll be meeting at 124 Sorrento Dr. in Moore.  Click here for directions.

For more information call Jonathan at 313-8173 or e-mail him at hubcitychurch@gmail.com.  Please let me know if you’re going to need childcare.  I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

 

We have a dream

In honor of MLK Day and the “I have a dream” speech I thought I’d post about our dream. We have a dream. We have a dream of creating a relevant church in Spartanburg that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of. We have a dream of creating a church where people who don’t believe in the Jesus thing will want to come and bring their friends. We dream of creating a church with such engaging worship that people walk away and go, “Wow, I didn’t know church could be like that and I didn’t know God could be like that.” We have a dream of creating a culture where people don’t just know what the Bible says, but they do what the Bible says. We have a dream of creating a church where kids wake their parents up on Sunday morning because they can’t wait to get there. We have a dream of creating a church that has engaging presentations, helpful content in an appealing environment. We have a dream of starting a revolution that impacts Spartanburg, the upstate, South Carolina and the world. We dream of creating a church that’s made up of people who are far away from God and people who see themselves as missionaries to people who are far away from God.

How about joining our team and helping us fulfill our dreams? E-mail me for more information. I can’t wait to meet you. Until then… stock up on i-tunes’ gift cards… they make great gifts for your pastor.

 

Purpose, Vision, Strategy

I’m not a big fan of purpose statements, but I think knowing why a church exists (ie. it’s purpose) is important. So, here’s our purpose: We exist to love God, love people, influence outsiders, and develop insiders.

Vision is all about a picture we have of the future. It’s about what we want to see happen in a year, five years, ten years, etc. Sometimes that picture is complex and and confusing (especially when you start asking “how” questions). I value simplicity, so here’s our vision in one sentence: We want to create a church that 20 and 30 somethings want to be a part of.

Strategy is all about “how.” How are we going to accomplish the vision? To continue keeping things simple here is our one sentence strategy: We will accomplish the vision by creating irresistible environments where young adults can invite their outsider friends, experience community and put their faith into practice to change the world.

Feel free to ask questions. The best way to find out more is to come hang out with us. Join the revolution.

Until next time… we’ll leave the light on for ya.