Shout Out to Some Old PBA Friends

Back during my days at Palm Beach Atlantic University I sat in class with a group of guys that had a little worship band that did local events and student ministry camps... They recently put out their first album on their new label and WOW! You have to check out the guys from 10th Ave!

10th Ave N. Website

You can get their new almum on iTunes

We have been doing "Love is Here" at the Suncoast

"We Prayed" Cards

Recently, a couple of our people and I sat down for Nelson Searcy's Assimilation Webinar. After it was over we brainstormed ways we could improve our assimilation process. If you want to see what we came up with click HERE. But, a few weeks ago I sat down with one of the guys over lunch and we talked about another piece of the puzzle. He is responsible for entering all of the Communication Cards from the weekend into the database and he came across a prayer request on one of them that got his attention. He wanted to see if there was a way we could let these people know we had prayed for them. Some might try phone calls at this point, but I have found the people in our area are a little skeptical of calls and we even have had some negative feedback in the early days of the Suncoast when we would make a call to a second time guests or something like that. So we don't make calls is what I am saying. But, the idea still seemed like a good one. So, we decided to print up a bunch of postcards saying "We prayed for you today" and when someone gives us a prayer request on a Communication Card we send them one of these postcards with a little sentence or two on the back. Then we sign it. Simple. Takes only a few minutes. And, I like the idea that someone is getting a physical reminder that week that someone from the church actually cares about them. Here is what the cards look like:

Verses from Uncertainty Part 3

Find a part that jumps out at you and memorize it this week:

"I tell you, do not worry. Don't worry about your life and what you will eat or drink. And don't worry about your body and what you will wear. Isn't there more to life than eating? Aren't there more important things for the body than clothes? 26 "Look at the birds of the air. They don't plant or gather crops. They don't put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren't you worth much more than they are? 27 "Can you add even one hour to your life by worrying? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don't work or make clothing. 29 But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all of his glory was dressed like one of those flowers. 30 "If that is how God dresses the wild grass, won't he dress you even better? After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is thrown into the fire. Your faith is so small! 31 "So don't worry. Don't say, 'What will we eat?' Or, 'What will we drink?' Or, 'What will we wear?' 32 People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father who is in heaven knows that you need them. 33 "But put God's kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all of those things will also be given to you.

One Prayer

This June Church of the Suncoast is standing together with over 900 churches from around the world for a series of talks called "One Prayer". I am really excited about this deal. I don't know of any other time the church stands together other than maybe Easter and Christmas? Last year June was actually our highest attendance month and my hope and prayer is that people will check out One Prayer this summer like they checked out things last summer. It has the potential to change our churches, our communities and maybe, just maybe our world for Jesus. Stay tuned for more One Prayer stuff and be praying for us as we plan ways to make this great idea the best it can be for the Suncoast.

4B4

Take a look at our new pre-service idea... this was our first take:



4B4 5.18.08 from Brian Moon on Vimeo.

Sunday Night Random Thoughts

Today we did part two of our new series Uncertainty. I was a little hyped up from something and when I get like that I tend to rush sometimes. But, overall I think I did OK.

The music was good. I think we got some slight feedback on one of the songs, but I don't think anyone noticed. Doing portable church is always so fun when it comes to sound. You would not think things could change that much from week to week but it does. Here was our line up:

Revolutionary Love - DCB
O Praise Him - DCB
Forever - Tomlin

We had people fill out a postcard with three times they knew God was faithful to them in the past. We will mail them back to them in a few weeks as a reminder to remember. When we don't remember what God has done in the past we don't factor Him into the future when we face uncertainty. We also did something kind of cool. In the middle of my talk we had people huddle up into groups and share their first memory. This transitioned into the idea that our memory is an amazing gift.

We also showed this video called "Through the Storm":
http://www.fortyonetwenty.com/4120/runApp

After the service we had a quick 15 minute "Vision Meeting". We have done these over our two years as a real specific time of just casting vision for what the next ministry season will look like and feel like and what we need from our people. We also do this in talks and a series once a year, but it never hurts to talk about the vision. Maybe I will post the content later this week...

I am feeling a heck of a lot better than last week. I had a nasty cold but this week feel good.

Had a funny moment in my talk. If you are a female reader please don't read this... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! -- During my talk I was trying to say the guy was wacked out and instead of saying wacked out, I said wacked off... and I didn't even laugh. I was tough. I covered my mistake quickly and repeated the correct phrasing several times. My wife missed it so I think all if well. Funny stuff though when you are up on stage and bust out with wacked off...

Guess that means I should go to bed on that note. Thanks for reading the Church Insider!

DRIVE 08 Session #3

Andy did an alternate talk for session #3 about things that were currently on his mind as a leader... Here are my notes
(Click to Enlarge and Print)



DRIVE 08 Session #2



(Click to Enlarge and Print)

Drive 08 Update #3

The six of us got back in last night at about 11:30pm... Wow, I am tired right now.

God did some amazing things. Gave us lots of great ideas. And, as always we will start the process of putting into practice those ideas over the coming weeks and months. We are never satisfied with church as usual. That is why we go to things like this. We can always improve our church environments.

Yesterday:
We did our final two breakouts.
Got lunch (they had enough food this time!!!)
Went to the final session where Andy called an audible. He talked from his heart about where he was at and where Northpoint was at. Some worked through some really great quotes that "bother" him and keep him always asking what's next. I think he might have even got a little emotional at the end.
We then hit the road.
Stopped for dinner at a little BBQ place in Cordele, GA.
I think the waitress might come to our church one day :-)

Thank you for allow your staff to go on this trip and thank you all for praying!

PS - Stay tuned for the notes link from the conference!!!

Drive 08 Update #2

OK, so I promised notes from the conference... But, I am going to let you in on a little secret. All of the notes will be online after the conference is over so stay tuned for that link and get all the stuff that cost us hundreds of dollars :-)

Today:
Got up way to early.
Went to two morning breakouts.
The first was about Starting Point.
The second was on leadership.
Lunch sucked (ran out of food).
Did breakout number three on creative planning meetings.
Went to the main session two in the afternoon (They did worship from their new tracks deal where all you needed was a front person. Kind of cool for church planters!!!).
All 2,000 + church leaders took a road trip to Brownsbridge Church for a cook out, corn holing, R/C monster trucks, football, a concert and...




Jeff Foxworthy

You might be a redneck if Jeff Foxworthy speaks at your church conference. If was cool though. Did about an hour and a half show.

More breakouts tomorrow and the final session. And, the link to the notes :-)

Drive 08 Update #1

We are in Atlanta and about to head out to session one.

Today:
We had breakfast at the hotel.
Went to Buckhead Church and took a really cool behind the scenes tour.
Went to the Varsity "What'll Have"
Went to Underground Atlanta.
Play name that tune with a "street entertainer".
Took a nap.
Off the dinner and session one. Stay tuned for notes!

Assimilation 2.0

The following is a look at some changes we are making at Church of the Suncoast to our assimilation process:

Lunch with the Pastor Invitations
We will start sending invitations to guests that have visited since the last Lunch with the Pastor.

One Month Out Letter
We will send people that have not come back for one month a letter encouraging them to plug in.

Generic Welcome Video
We will create a generic welcome video and send first time guests the link if they leave us an e-mail address.

First Time Child Parent Call
We will start calling the parents of each first time child.

Add “Younger” Greeters
We will no longer ask for greeters. Instead we will appoint people and look for younger people to add into our current mix.

Goodies in the Men's Bathrooms
We will start adding stuff like in the ladies room.

Dozens of Gift Bundles Each Week in Clear Sight
We will have dozens of gift bundles each week in clear sight and it needs to be announced each week.

Change Second Time Letter by Adding Next Steps
We will change the second time letter to reflect more next steps and less of the vision/story.

Parking People Need to Direct
People need to know where to go without any confusion

For a look at our current assimilation process:
http://thechurchinsider.blogspot.com/2007/05/assimilation-suncoast.html
http://thechurchinsider.blogspot.com/2007/05/assimilation-suncoast-part-2.html