Back from Birmingham

​Let me start by saying, “Thanks for reading!”  It’s awesome to know that so many of our friends and family are staying up to date with us on our church planting journey.  As I write this, I’m riding in a van back from the GROW Leadership Intensive in Birmingham.  What a week! 
To keep my post short, just three things that I want to share from my time at the Intensive (this isn’t to say I didn’t learn much more, but hopefully it communicates what I found was most important).
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1. Be happy to go to church!  We met hundreds of volunteers this past week that were happy to serve in so many ways- from picking us up in the parking lot, to handing me a bottle of water (but not until wiping off the condensation off the bottle), to helping me get registered for resources and more.   The other thing that stood out about many of these people was how excited they were to share a testimony of how much they loved their church and humbly serving in whatever capacity they were in. 
 
2.  The goal of the church is to see…
-Lost people saved.
-Saved people pastored.
-Pastored people trained.
-Trained people mobilized. 
 
These visionary steps are how a person goes from accepting Jesus as Lord, to finding freedom from their past, to truly discovering their purpose and making a difference in the world.
 
3. Stay focused. Within the context of #1 and #2, we cannot lose focus on the Word, worship and prayer.   It’s worthless to have a bunch of happy, saved, pastored, trained and mobilized people that forget that our primary focus is our relationship with God.  
 
Have an amazing weekend (and don't forget to apply this in your life!)

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