Take-Aways & Housekeeping

Can I just say that the guys at Eastlake rock! I just got back from visiting a couple year old church plant called Eastlake Community Church in Kirkland, WA (a Missionary Church). They are going like gang busters and reaching the unchurched 80% in their community. They are boldly leading a church that is laser focused on reaching people. I came back so challenged and fired up!

My biggest take-aways from my trip to Eastlake:

1) You can be simple AND effective. You don't have to do a huge production every week to reach people. Just make it simple, clear, and relevant and people will come.

2) Hold followers of Christ to high standards. At Eastlake you don't lead until you've proven you can follow. To be a leader at ECC you must first serve at least four months in some other area. They also don't pull any punches when it comes to tithing. If you don't tithe, you don't lead - period! And they ask too. They're serious about it. Why? Because tithing/giving is a great indicator of spiritual maturity and it also tells you where a person's heart is. People may say they're committed, but if they're not backing it financially who are we kidding.

3) The mission is way too important to worry about what others think. Whenever we get real serious about reaching the unchurched Christians get real nervous. Most of my life I've been really concerned about that. Most of the time this mindset keeps us play it safe and usually renders us ineffective (or at least mildly effective). Jesus and Jesus alone need to be the CEO and Senior Leader of our churches and not popular opinion. The mission is too important to let what other's think sidetrack us.

HOUSE KEEPING:
Pre-Launch Gathering DATE CHANGED!
-Dec. 2 Pre-Launch Gathering moved to Dec. 9
-5pm
-Macomb Township Recreation Center
-Child-Watch Provided

Gobble! Gobble! (includes updated pictures)

I have a couple practical issues to hammer out here in today's blog.

1) I will be getting rid of my office phone number (586.286.1472) and just going with my personal number (586.246.0938). So, beginning Nov. 24 you will only be able to reach me on my personal number.

2) I've wanted to post about this for a while. If you regularly check this blog to see what's going on you might want to consider subscribing via email (bottom right side of page). It's really simple. Once you type in your email address and hit subscribe you'll receive a confirmation email. Then, after you confirm your subscription you will automatically receive email updates every time new content is posted on the blog. It's a great and easy way to know when new stuff has been added. Plus, it's easy to unsubscribe if you ever wanted to. This also helps me know the number of readership. Just thought I would take a minute and encourage you to try it out!

Hope you end up passed out on a couch, bloated with turkey, and watching football this weekend with family! Have a good Thanksgiving.

Timing Is Everything

Timing is really, really important! The right timing can make all the difference in the world. You can do the right thing but if it's at the wrong time, it doesn't matter. This is true in sports, dancing (I know nothing about this), dating, marriage, business, and church planting. This is biblical. Ecclesiastes talks about certain times for certain things. I've said all of this just to say, yep, we're tweaking our timeline.

We know God has called us to start a strong fresh church. It's going to require a lot of planning, a lot of recruiting, and the building of strong relationships. We're realizing more and more that things like this just take time. And so, we're giving it more time. Instead of gunning for February '08, we're aiming for September '08. This seems to be next most strategic time for us. Honestly to me, it seems like forever from now. But it'll be here before we know it.

Besides, the vision just got bigger... a lot bigger! Waiting to launch until summer/fall gives us more time to build a stronger base, raise more resources, make greater inroads into our community, bring key leaders on board, and start with a bigger bang than previously planned. God has opened our eyes and challenged us to dream big! We're trusting God on this one are more excited than ever to see God move. We're pumped about having more time to make sure we get things right.

In the mean time, our Launch Team continues to develop and grow, we're making good connections in the community, and we're being prepared as leaders for the upcoming challenges. The next 2-3 years are going to be a lot of fun!

Feel free to email me with any questions (Josh Hossler at jhossler@hotmail.com).

Not Everything's Big In Texas

Hi ya'll! Sorry, I'm hanging out in Austin for a few days this week getting some church planting training. That picture is the rental car I'm using while I'm here (when they say compact they aren't kidding!).

Anyway, I'm learning some great stuff and can't wait to get back and get to work! I'm trying to spend lots of time in prayer because we need to know exactly what God is calling this church to be and not to be. The strong and clearer vision, the more powerful the church. God... bring it!

Pre-Launch Gathering