Party In the Parking Lot

After seven weeks of being in our new meeting place, I think we are ready to celebrate!
We've had new signs made, bought curtains, projectors, lighting, and more.  And on top of that took the time to figure out the best use of the facility for our students and adults.

I'm excited for this Sunday, September 8th b/c we're having a party in the parking lot after the service:-)  The service will be fun as well with Melissa & I co-teaching & introducing a new message series; my buddy Marcus Creaturo giving a testimony about how Christ has changed his life; Brandon Cruise is back leading worship for us & there are some fun announcements planned. 

Here's the postcard we've been using to invite our friends in the community to the party.  If you're reading this blog, you're invited too:-)

Encounter Church Moves to New Location

After 4 1/2 years of Sunday morning services at Eli Pinney Elementary School, we are changing locations.

Starting this Sunday, July 21st, Encounter's new home for our 10:00am church service is the Radiant Life Activity Building at 7055 Avery Rd. Dublin, Ohio, 43017.

Our office location remains the same:
6160 Riverside Dr. Ste. #103, Dublin, Ohio, 43017  (614) 467-9093  

Movement Church's 1st Sunday Morning Service

I'm so proud of the team of people that started Movement Church.  Their very first service ever was January 13th just a week and half ago.
Their grand opening won't be until March 30th-Easter Sunday, so until then they are getting used setting up and tearing down in the Harmony Artistic Center in Hilliard, OH.

Here's a few pics. of the first service:

Dream Come True

From the first week Encounter had it's pre-launch meetings back in August-December 2008, we spoke about the dream of planting a church ourselves.
That dream became a reality this morning December 30, 2012.
We had Mark & Kristin Artrip and part of their Movement Church launch team in our last church service of the year.
The service began with baptism's and eventually had Mark share about how Encounter partnered with his dream to plant a church in Hilliard, OH.

Our elders had the privilege of praying over the Movement Church team and then we all had lunch together.

Highest Offering in Encounter's Four Year History!

Wow Encounter Church!!! 
Did you ever give above and beyond this morning!
With gifts that came in before and after the Day of Generosity, our offering has totaled out at $20,486.39.
That's simply amazing!
Can't wait to tell Rut and the team down in Guatemala about this:-)  

You're Invited to Christmas Eve @ Encounter Church

There's no Sunday morning church service tomorrow, December 23rd.

But we are looking very forward to 

our 5:00pm Christmas Eve Service.

Hope you can make it:-)

November 18, Day of Generosity

As I mentioned in my last blog post, the focus for our November 18th, Day of Generosity was announced last Sunday. (scroll down on the link to see past Day of Generosity focuses) 
Each year Encounter takes a Sunday morning offering in November and gives 100% of it away.  It is promoted weeks ahead of time and usually is the largest offering of the entire year.
This year's focus is the purchase and delivery of an SUV for our ministry partners down in Cruz Blanca, Guatemala working with orphans through the ministry of Vision Trust International.
On Sunday I had some fun showing the congregation "potential" vehicles the elders considered.  Most of them were quite silly. But after talking with Matt Storer, president of Vision Trust and another couple at Encounter who also had this project on their hearts, it was decided the vehicle would be a Honda Pilot.
The hope is that it would be five years or younger with really low mileage. It will need to be a four wheel drive version and the plan right now is to drive it down instead of shipping it.  It's approximately 2,800 miles, in case you were wondering:-).
As I said above, 100% of the November 18th offering will go towards the vehicle and its delivery, though people are encouraged to send support money into the church office prior to that date as well (Encounter church, 6160 Riverside Dr., Ste. #103, Dublin, OH, 43017). 
More details will be discussed this coming Sunday in the service.

October 14th was a great Sunday!

This morning had a number of amazing church body life moments.  It started off with three great worship songs led by our worship band.  Then we had two people baptized: Jean Griffith and Ted Dresnek. They both spoke about their journey coming back to God and now wanting to go public with their faith.

Then Kyle Mielke, shared about an opportunity he has to go to India to see a former workmates wedding and also amazingly visit the child their family sponsors through Vision Trust.

Then finally, before the the message, I shared about our upcoming Day of Generosity. The Sunday where we give away 100% of our mornings offering to a specific need.  The date is November 18th and it is the fourth time Encounter has has it.  Check out my next blog entry for details:-)

Studying for a new message series

Today I've been studying for a new message series titled: ICNU.

It's going to look at six biblical characters especially selected by God.  The series will show us that God hasn't only chosen these famous individuals for His work, but that we are also selected to do great things for His name and His glory. 
In order the messages will look at Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Joseph, Esther and David.

Week #2 of "Getting Out & Staying Out"

So we're in a three week message series on getting out and staying out of debt.  Last Sunday was more about the "getting out".  But I also spoke about something even more burdensome than being in debt: being personally enslaved to money.  We read Jesus' words in Matthew 6:24, "You can't serve both God and money."  It's like Jesus is saying the number one thing that will keep you from loving and serving God is being a servant or slave to money. Whether we're in debt to it or greedy for it, loving money is a killer to our relationship to God.
This week we'll be talking about the "staying out" of debt and the love for money.  You see, it's one thing to get out of something, it's another to stay out.  We'll explore what it looks like to be content with what we have.  And in studying for the message I was hit hard by this statement: 

To be more content with what I have, 

I have to become more and more discontent

 with what other people don’t have.

What a great phrase!  It's like saying I've got to become more satisfied with the "needs" God has taken care of in my life and then instead of using the excess for my "wants", I'm positioned to fill the needs of those He puts in my path.

Hope you can make it this Sunday.  

Click on the series logo below to hear last weeks message.

Excited about a new three week message series

Tomorrow I'm beginning a short message series about money. It's titled:

God's Word speaks so much about money and our finances that it would be odd to not speak about it in our church services. 
I understand the awkwardness for some folks because of the tone TV preachers have and how the "health and wealth" movement presents the topic.
But the correlation between one's spiritual growth and how they spend their money cannot be denied. Take a peek at Matthew 6:24 and 33 to get a hint of what we'll be talking about.

A Very Special Service

After three and a half years of services, Encounter proudly introduced and commissioned a new church plant to be birthed in January 2013 in Hilliard, Ohio: Movement Church.

From the very first pre-launch meeting of Encounter Church in September of 2008, planting a church out of ourselves was one of our dreams. Tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours of praying and planning over the years now sees a five month journey for the Movement Church launch team until they begin holding church services of their own.
This morning I had the privilege of briefly explaining this journey and then allowed Mark Artrip to express his excitement and appreciation.

Rob Dubois and I prayed for the Movement Church launch team as next week begins their weekly pre-launch meetings where they will pray, dream, teach, plan and visit other local churches for the next five months.
We want to see them succeed in every way and are gifting them people resources as well as financial and prayer support.
Only God knows for sure what will become of this decision but we hope it will be the beginning of a mission to multiply churches over and over again for HIS Kingdoms sake.
To God Be The Glory!

New Message Series

For the last 16 weeks we took a journey through the first nine chapters of the book of Acts.  We will come back to Acts in the future but will now focus the next three weeks on Spiritual Gifts. 
This Sunday we'll look at what spiritual gifts are and aren't and the next two will discuss their purpose and define what each is for.  The series will end with the congregation receiving a questionnaire that will be a tool to help them discover what gifts they have for the building up of the Body.  This will point folks in the right direction as to the best Encounter ministry position that fits their individual gifting. 

 

Back from Guatemala

Yesterday, our team of 22 people from Encounter got back on US soil from our week long trip to Guatemala. It was a fantastic time of deepening relationships with the children and Vision Trust staff in Cruz Blanca. This Sunday we will be sharing testimonies in the service about it.
If you would like to see pictures from the trip click on this link to my FB page.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3774704000725.222049.1070553470&type=3

Heading Back to Cruz Blanca Guatemala

This past Sunday the team of people going to Cruz Blanca, Guatemala July 10-17 were prayed over and commissioned to go on behalf of Encounter Church. Altogether there are 25 of us going.
Our two main objectives are to build a large mobile classroom at the ministry center and to run a two day VBS to four different groups of children. There are approximately 260 children in all.
Many of the people at Encounter sponsor children at this ministry center and our team is bringing gifts from them to their sponsor child(ren).
I'll send out a pic from the airport of the group but I'm not certain if I'll have internet access while in Guatemala. It may be a week until you hear from me again but I'll be sure to give you an update when we're back:-)

Back to the book of Acts

We are five weeks away from finishing the message series, "The Acts of the Apostles". Though we will not even come close to finishing the book, it is the longest continual series we've done at Encounter: 16 weeks in all.
This Sunday I'll be teaching from chapter 8:1-25 where it speaks about the disciples being scattered because of persecution and about a man named Simon the Sorcerer who was enamored with the Apostles because of the power they had through the Holy Spirit. 

Mark Artrip Preaches on July 1st

Knowing I wouldn't be back in town for Sunday, July 1st, I asked my buddy Mark Artrip to preach for me. He and his wife Kristin are the couple who will be leading the Movement Church plant to Hilliard in February 2013.  The plan is for him to join me on staff on August 1st for six months. We call it a leadership residency. It will allow he and I to spend tons of time together (sorry Mark) and also for him to teach, train, dream and pray with his launch team before launching.
I got a few pics. from people during the service which made me a little nervous.
You see, Mark and I have been friends for over seven years and we enjoy playing pranks on each other.
This pic. sent by one of our members concerns me most.

Back to preaching in the book of Acts

Well, I took a two week break from preaching but this past Sunday, May 13, I again had the privilege of being Encounter's main preacher/teacher of God's Word.
No other thing was harder to get used to than transitioning from being the Families Pastor at Grace Church in Powell to lead pastor in the Encounter Church plant. I went from preaching once every two months or so to every week. The weekly preparation of a biblical message for the congregation at Encounter is a sacred trust I don't take lightly. 
Whatever we preacher's bring to our people from God's Word, first goes through us. That means God kicks my butt before He kicks yours through me:-) I joke but it's serious stuff.

Studying through the first five chapters of Acts

For the three years Encounter Church has been having services I've wanted to preach from the book of Acts. Somehow it hasn't happened until now. Last Sunday I introduced the congregation to the book and the first 11 verses of chapter one. The plan is to preach two weeks on the first five chapters. That will bring us to Father's Day and the week before the family campout.
Acts is the "rest of the story" following the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Christ(well the next 30 years anyway).

Easter Sunday @ Encounter Church

Would be glad to have you join us at Encounter this Sunday for our EASTER service and egg hunt for the kids afterwards.