Some “BIG”Vision For 2012 at LifeStone Church

This past Sunday I casted some BIG VISION for 2012 as we kicked off a new mini-series called “New Year’s REVOLUTION”.  This is a vision series that is designed to get us excited and focused on advancing the “Revolution” Jesus started 2,000 years ago called “The Church”.When Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16 “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail.”, He planted some powerful vision in him about his involvement in growing the physical entity that would take the gospel to the ends of the earth.  This was a moment where vision was planted, but even beyond the planting of the vision, this vision stirred up and circulated in Peter and amongst the disciples.  Once it circulated for a time, then they released it (the book of Acts where we see the birth of the church and the rest of the New Testament is proof to this).  And even today, we are still a part of this vision that Jesus planted in Peter as we continue to build and advance his “Revolution”.

Vision works a lot like a funnel.  That’s right, a funnel.  The purpose for the funnel is for transfer.  The only time you use a funnel is to transfer some kind of an ingredient or liquid from one place to another.  And that is simply how vision works.  Vision is clear purpose and direction that already exists in God’s realm and in his heart, and all he wants to do is transfer it to our realm so it can become a reality.  So, God pours his vision, direction, purpose into the top of the funnel of our church, it gathers and begins to circulate amongst us, then is to be released in our world.

Yesterday I spent time pouring vision into the top of that funnel in our church.  God has given me some specific direction and clarity for 2012 and how we are going to continue to grow his “Revolution”.  Each one of us has a role and responsibility to be the other end of that funnel and make this vision become a reality by releasing it!  I pastor an AMAZING CHURCH and PEOPLE and have no doubt in my mind and heart that with God’s help and our commitment to releasing this, we will see this vision become a reality in 2012 and beyond!

SPECIFIC VISION FOR 2012 at LSC:

God spoke loudly and clearly to me about this new year and he said, “DON’T GET COMFORTABLE….DON’T GET COMFORTABLE”!  For this will be a year of DEEPENING and EXPANSION!

That is what I heard from the Lord and I am committed to making sure that we don’t get so comfortable in our own church that we don’t continue to work passionately and tirelessly to advance his “Revolution”.  We have to stay on our toes and the edge of our seats ready for whatever God throws at us this year!  I believe we are going to see a corporate depth to the organization of LifeStone Church and also personal depth in the lives of those who will hunger for more of God!  I see it as a high rise building.  The higher you go, the stronger and deeper the foundation has to be.  This is what I see God doing amidst all the expansion and growth we will see this year.  I see a deepening of spiritual development in the people and a deepening in all we do as a church.

Now, the EXPANSION side of things is where most of the change and development will come into play.  Let me take a minute to share with you what this EXPANSION is going to look like in 2012:

1.  LSC Teaching Team – We have developed a team from our staff that will be committed to teaching and communicating God’s word at all of our experiences.  Myself included, there are 4 MAIN communicators on this team.  Because of this approach, the church will only be more challenged as they are taught from some of our gifted communicators who have a passion to teach the word!  Beginning this month during the Awakening series, we will implement the LSC Teaching Team into our flow of Sunday mornings.  Of course, I will continue to do a strong bulk of the teaching, but the team will only add to the effectiveness and variety of our communication of God’s Word. Pumped!!

2.  New Departments in 2012 – This year we will be adding several new ministry departments to the church:

• Spiritual Formation Department – A department that will be primarily focused on the discipleship ministries of our church.  This will include things such as: an entirely new “Small Group System”, Awakening every January, new believers courses and additional events throughout the year to give you opportunities to grow in your walk with Christ!  I can’t tell you how excited I am for the Spiritual Formation Department to get moving!
• Student Ministries – Early on in 2012, we will be launching our “Student Ministries Department” which will included Youth Ministries and College/Young Adults Ministries.  Our youth ministries will be called “Real Life” and will begin meeting on Sunday nights.  We have a strong number of teenagers connected to our church that we are excited to begin providing ministry for them and avenues of invitation for their friends! We certainly have a strong number of college students and young adults and look forward to providing consistent ministry for them and also look forward to doing ministry on the college campuses.  Student Ministries at LSC will begin sometime in the next few months.  We are excited!
• Pastoral Care Department – We will very soon be launching a department that will specifically focus on counseling and hospital/nursing home ministry.  There will be other aspects of this ministry but these will be the two primary purposes.  This will provide structure and leadership to needs that come up often in the life of a church!

3.  Additional Pastoral Staff – Along with these new departments and other things, we will also be welcoming new pastoral staff to the team this year.  We look forward to the growth of our staff/leadership and the ministry we can consistently provide for the church.

4.  Two Sunday Experiences – With the growth we are currently seeing, we are projecting that by March of 2012 it will be time to create a second Sunday morning experience.  We don’t have the times of the two experiences nailed down yet, but will be working on nailing down all the details over the next few months.  We are excited for this big step and look forward to the additional space that will be made for new people to get connected, make commitments to Christ, and grow in their walk!  Excited!!

5.  New Building for the Fall of 2012 – In July of 2011 we launched a future facility campaign called “Building On The Dream”.  Our goal is to raise $200,000 for a permanent facility that LifeStone Church can call home.  In the last five months, we have seen a strong increase in giving for BOTD and we currently sit at almost $100,000 either given or committed.  Since I only committed for BOTD to be a one year campaign, I am believing that as soon as BOTD comes to completion at the end of July, we will be ready to make a move and begin the process of getting into a building for the Fall of 2012.  This largely depends on how God provides financially but we are believing God for the $200,000 by July.  Should we not get to $200K, then whatever we have is what we will move on to find a facility and begin to develop. Praising God for a permanent facility in 2012.

6.  Church Planting – I’m excited to announce that LifeStone Church will begin developing strategy and structure to what will be our first church plant in two years.  God has already given us an amazing family who are called to plant and are currently a part of our staff at LifeStone.  Jared and Heather Lanza will be the first church planters out of LSC in just two years!  How exciting?  This year is crucial for us as we begin to hear from God about what his heart for church planting is for our church and what our strategy will be.  I am excited because from the very beginning, we knew LSC was going to be a reproducing church and a sending church!  I am committed to that and this is one way we can continue our influence for the Kingdom of God and advancing His revolution!  Im excited to see what this life-giving church will look like, where it will be, and who will be called to go and reach more people for Christ!!!

2012 is going to be an unbelievable year as I am committed to making sure we are following the heart of God for this church, staying committed to our vision, and doing whatever we can to increase our influence for God’s Kingdom and see more lives change through Christ!

DON’T GET COMFORTABLE….DON’T GET COMFORTABLE!!!