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One of the things that I have been most excited about recently has been the growth of our small groups at fresh life church. They are an extremely important part of a healthy church and have always been, going back all the way to the early church in the book of Acts. They are especially important when a church has multiple services/campuses to ensure people are plugged in on an intimate level and have meaningful discipleship relationships. Otherwise it is easy to anonymously exist in a congregation without experiencing the depth of spiritual fellowship that God uses to transform a person.

We had tried various solutions but up until the spring of 2009 the fact that we were struggling to get people to attend the two home groups we offered showed that we hadn’t hit our stride in this area. Our plan was for them to divide like cells when they grew and eventually we would have home groups all over the place. But It…Never…Happened. The church continued to grow, but the groups never did. Now flash forward just under a year and as we approach our second trimester of Fresh Life Groups we are adding 7 new groups to the 18 we had in the fall that this month will begin meeting in homes all over the place. What is equally awesome is that in addition to all the new people who signed up this time 72% of those who attended reenrolled in this new season.

What changed?
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I am enjoying some Christmas carols and an eggnog latte while I wrap up my message for tonights worship services at fresh life.  This morning the girls and I popped in the first disc of Jesus of Nazareth, which is a yearly tradition in my house.  (Disc two finds it’s way into the dvd player the week of Easter.) What a wonderful time of the year.  I am so thankful that God invaded our planet!  I hope that for all of us, like the Wise Men, Christmas would be marked by our desire to worship Jesus.

Matthew 2:2 “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have come to worship Him.”

To inspire your worship–here is a vid that was recorded last wednesday night at Skull Church when Kristian Stanfill and his band showed up from Atlanta to lead worship. He is one of the most passionate and high energy guys I have ever seen on stage.   He will be leading worship alongside Chris Tomlin and David Crowder at Passion 2010 this year. This is one of Kristian’s songs called Kingdom that is on his most recent album, Attention.

Merry Christmas!

Last week I wrote about fragile nature of movements, even powerful ones. Every vibrant work of God has an ever nearing expiration date, that date is the day the humans that make up the movement will expire themselves. We move closer to that “best by” date every day. That is why we must must always have the mindset of our need to pass the baton on to those who will be running when we have “spoiled.”  This mentality is a feature that can be found in some of the most prolific stories in scripture. What do Moses, Elijah, Mordechai, Naomi, Barnabas and Paul have in common? Besides a passion for the Lord they all focused time and attention on reaching and raising up young people. As a result, Joshua, Elisha, Esther, Ruth, John Mark and Timothy knew that they shouldn’t let anyone look down on their youth and so the movements continued. If we want what God has done in our lives and churches to continue we must have a similar focus.

I believe that the first step to take in effectively reaching young people (or any people) is simply having the desire to reach them. You have to have a burden from the Lord for them. It wasn’t until Paul was provoked within His spirit in Acts 17 that he went out and preached Christ in Athens. Similarly, we often read of Jesus being moved with compassion in the gospels and then speaking or ministering. If our actions flow from anywhere other than a genuine burden for lost people that comes from the Holy Spirit we will find the challenges to be too great. If on the other hand we ask the Lord to ignite a fire in our hearts and to give us His love for the lost then it won’t matter how challenging the road and how many obstacles are in our way.  If our hearts are set ablaze from on high, we will be unstoppable!

Once you have a burden for a particular group, audience or people, next you must take radical steps to target them. I am no fishermen but I know that if you have decided you want to fish for trout there are different things you will bring than if you want to fish for salmon, and that is an altogether different equipment list than will be needed if you are fishing for marlin. Companies realize this–that is why they are constantly addressing and readdressing the intangible attributes of their brands. From Cadillac to Nike to Nickelodeon–companies are never satisfied with how their brand is perceived right now, they know that in a few short years (or months) everything can change and they are constantly targeting youth.

Now in saying that, I know that many will immediately wonder, what we should be willing to change exactly? I suggest you tweak the Style not the Substance, your Methods not the Message. To use the fishing analogy–adjust the bait, chum and lures not the hook, the line or the net. We must not try so hard to be just like the world in order to reach the world and in the process give up what we had to offer to the world in the first place. The message is unchanging but the media delivery vehicles employed, graphic design, vibe, feel, sound and expression should be fluid and changing with the culture.
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I have been teaching through the life of Elijah at skull church. One of the things that really hit me hard this week was the fact that as Elijah’s chariot ride to heaven approached God had him focus on raising up his protege, Elisha. While we may not have such an impressive trip to heaven, the reality is that none of us are long for this earth. Reaching the next generation for Christ must always remain an urgent priority in the church if we are to wisely use the time that remains. If we don’t, it won’t matter how vibrant or powerful the work in our day was, because just as “there arose a Pharaoh that knew not Joseph,” (Exodus 1:8) a generation will rise after us that knows not God.

We must not only reach young people, but we need to do what we can to integrate them into the church in a meaningful way. In 2003, George Barna published these troubling findings: “Many twentysomethings are reversing course after having been active church attenders during their teenage years. As teenagers, more than half attended church each week and more than 4 out of 5 (81%) had ever gone to a Christian church. That means that from high school graduation to age 25 there is a 42% drop in weekly church attendance and a 58% decline from age 18 to age 29. That represents about 8,000,000 twentysomethings alive today who were active church-goers as teenagers but who will no longer be active in a church by their 30th birthday.”

I secretly wonder how much youth groups are to blame for this trend. Not that I am opposed to youth groups (quite the opposite) but I don’t think that churches ought to think that because they have a great youth program the “church of tomorrow” is being taken care of and so they can continue to cater everything that happens in the main sanctuary to the adults. Often youth groups tend to be mini-churches within the church. A student could potentially graduate high school without ever feeling like they are woven into the fabric of the larger church body. It makes sense to me that after college they wouldn’t return to a church they were never really apart of beyond student ministry.

At fresh life we have it set up so that through their teenage years students will be connected into the larger church body as they attend and hopefully serve, both at skull church and at weekend services. The student ministries don’t compete with but rather complement what happens in the main-sanctuary. They provide specialized student teachings, small groups, accountability, events and discipleship, but are not intended to be a student’s sole church experience. (That’s why we don’t offer student programs at every weekend service or any on wednesday night.) I see myself as a youth pastor at fresh life as well and always will. (even when I get super old)

Of course for this to work, the style of the services and opportunities for students to serve have to be addressed, and with that discussion there comes the fear that those who already enjoy the way things are in the church will be upset. But that deserves it’s own blog entry. I will muse on that later this week. For now, I’ll leave you with this haunting thought–Every movement is just one generation away from becoming a monument. We must pass it on.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that today you and your family have a special and happy day together as you take time to SLOW DOWN and appreciate all the many blessings that God has given. Since we don’t get to sit at the table together and go around during the meal sharing what we are thankful for I wanted to share a few items off my list:

My Savior who loved Me and gave Himself for Me. His love takes my breath away and I can’t wait to see Him face to face.

My Bride who is my love, partner in crime and my best friend. She is such a wonderful mother and encourager.

My two beautiful girls who make me smile & laugh and make me want to love Jesus more.

The amazing people at fresh life. It is a thrill to teach the Bible to hearts that are hungry for God’s Word and so eager to see people meet Jesus.

Skull Church, The Liberty Theatre, Fresh Life Radio, and Fresh Life Groups–all incredible doors of opportunity that God has illuminated and opened in the past year as we have taken steps of faith so that those stranded in sin would find life and liberty in Christ.

Aisle Seats in the Emergency Exit Row. For just that little extra bit of legroom and the ability to get up whenever I want. And “yes,” I am ready, willing and able to help in the event of an emergency.

Technology. Because I believe it exists to make Jesus famous (and because i am a big nerd.)

Billy Graham. Because he has shown what a life looks like that is focused like a laser on the cross. I am inspired to live my life as passionately obsessed with the gospel as he has.

What are you thankful for? Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done (1 Chronicles 16:8)