It's a bit weird...

This past weekend, we made a trip with our team down to Atlanta, GA to see the guys at Northpoint in action. Over the years, the philosophies of Northpoint and some of the leaders there have had a big impact on my life and ministry. I thought it would be vital for our team to see for themselves some of the things I talk so much about.

I knew what I was getting into...

Like I said, over the years I have read everything that has come out of NPCC - the books, the blogs - even made some great friends who help others understand some of what they think. So, I guess it's safe to say that I knew what I was getting into.

But, I never expected this...

Over the last 16 years, I have been in and out of a lot of churches. Sure, I wanted to see what they did in the worship center - I cared how welcomed I felt - I think about how they do what they do. But, over those years, I care most about what they did for students! Every time I have been in a church, I make a bee-line for their youth center!

It was a bit weird for me as I toured the facilities at Norhtpoint's Alpharetta campus to think about things like welcome centers, pre-school check-in processes, greeter placement AND THE WAY THEY TOOK THE STINKIN OFFERING!

I don't exactly know what to do with this!!! I still feel just as much an interest in seeing God do some amazing things in families! I still want to see kids come to faith in Christ and grow because of the significant relationships that they build with other believers! Honestly, now more than ever, I want to see adults who are effectively trained and empowered to serve Christ with kids! IT'S JUST DIFFERENT LOOKING AT IT FROM THIS SEAT!

If I'm honest, the whole thing was a bit emotional... a very big chapter of my life and ministry has drawn to a close... a very big... very important chapter.

Students... particularly at New Hope... I MISS YOU GUYS!!!

Jeremy

What's in a name?

What's in a name? For a church... A LOT! A name communicates a great deal about what a person who chooses to come will find when they get inside. In a way, it makes a promise to people that you best make good on.

For us, the journey to a name has been long. Remember, the vision for this church plant is over 20 years old. So, dreams for the name have been numerous. Today, I am glad to join with our launch team in announcing our official name as Journey Church.

This name comes to our team after a long time of wrestling through mission and vision. We wanted to ensure that our name fit well with the mission that God is calling us to (helping people take their next step toward Christ). We also wanted to assign a name to this local body that doesn't prohibit future movement of the congregation as we settle or expansion as the idea of multi-site church develops in our area.

We did wrestle for some time over the simple reality that there are many churches called "Journey", but the reality is that churches popping up (and pooping out) all over the world and coming up with an original name is a USELESS venture. In all honesty, I wrestled with the mission statement of "helping people take their next step" because it was what we settled on at New Hope (a decision that I played a significant part in) - the truth is that it works now as well as it did then - it's hard to improve on the road that God has brought you down. :-)

Rick Warren said it best telling a story of a man he knew who insisted that he "would be ORIGINAL or NOTHING!" - he wound up being BOTH!

The simple truth is that the most important thing about both mission and name is that we OWN that name. It's not enough to come up with a great marketing brand, we need to WORK to ingrain the name and vision into our Church's DNA... so that the reality of helping people take their "next step" on the journey is both seen on a sign and an "unseen" part of what makes us tick!

Pray for us as we work to that end... (by the way, for the time being please continue to make checks payable to "Fellowship Christian Church" until we get our paperwork back from the state.)

Jeremy