Since we haven’t even “LAUNCHED” as a church yet we are not expecting LOTS of growth during this training/prep stage of church planting however we are beginning already to see some “sprouts of growth” coming up. This morning we had several new faces among us at Life House. Even though we had several of our Core group out due to sickness and ect. we still “tied” with our record attendance. The Lord is blessing by sending us people from various backgrounds and also children and youth. We are excited that little by little we are making some headway on getting the building ready, growing our Core group both numerically and spiritually and seeing the community accept us.
We also were blessed to gather around the new sign out front and dedicate it to the Lord. It’s our prayer that as people pass by they will see a church that wants to share life with them, a church that isn’t ashamed to say that Jesus is the door to LIFE!!
Pray for us…come see us…and no matter where you are – share LIFE in JESUS with someone this week! Pastor James
Before we left Life House tonight we had the blessing of seeing our new church sign erected and “lit up”! We will dedicate the sign tomorrow at the end of our morning celebration service. I pray that all who pass by see it – and know that Jesus is the DOOR to heaven and that Life House is a place that wants to help men, women, boys and girls find LIFE in JESUS!! Stop and and see it if you want! Pastor James
This evening from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. several of our Life House Church core group spent time giving away free hot dogs and sno cones to the public that passed by. We played some great music and invited any and all who would to stop in the parking lot and get something to eat. We had a GREAT NUMBER stop by and we had the chance to plant some seeds. It was such a blessing to look out and see our people serving food, sharing Jesus, opening their hearts to people and seeking to reach out to the community. God has some great plans for the seeds that were sown tonight. Pray for us. Pray for those we came in contact with. God desires to save, forgive, restore and bless all who will come to Him by faith. If you get a chance go to our gallery and look at the pictures that are posted their about the event tonight. I can’t wait to get to church tomorrow and see who will be there and see what God is going to do in our church. Jesus is still in the miracle working business…keep your eyes open Life House Family — we “ain’t seen nothing yet”!! Pastor James
That question is asked rather often as people hear about the new church plant. God is providing our NEEDS and sometimes our WANTS and it’s amazing to watch how He does it. When this ministry started we knew that it was going to be a “GOD SIZED TASK” and yet God has been faithful over and over again to “show Himself” and confirm that this ministry is His doing. He is using churches, groups and individuals to provide what is needed as the need arises. Without making a large list on this blog I want to say that the most important need we have at Life House Church & Ministries is PRAYER. How can you pray for us?
1. Put us on your personal daily prayer list and ask your church and/or Sunday School Class to put us on their prayer list and keep us there!
2. Pray for Cindy and me as we seek to lead the new core group. We are trying to get “trained” and ready for the Launch Day on August 10. Pray that I have wisdom and courage to be what God desires me to be in this new position.
3. Pray for the people of College Hill and the surrounding areas. We ARE NOT in competition with other churches in the area – we simply want to reach people for Jesus. Our target is the College Hill area. We are seeking to build a MULTI-CULTURAL church. All colors – mixed families, mixed children and those who haven’t found a place they “feel” welcome are who we are seeking to reach. Pray for us to be able to do so.
4. Pray for us to be able to get our building ready for the “Launch Day”. There is still much to do and many needs still exist to make it possible to open the doors on August 10th. We want the building to be a testimony to the community and a praise to God. If you have talents and want to help get it ready – call me! Maybe you or your “group” could take something on as a project. Need a project – i’m sure we have one you can tackle.
5. PRAY FOR SOULS to be saved, leaders to be cultivated and for volunteers to come forward to become a apart of the many inreach and outreach ministries we are going to be involved in as a church. We are a simple church with a simple message and a simple focus – but we still need dedicated, called workers. Little by little God is bringing leaders into our local church body – but we need more. Pray!
6. Pray for our Core Group of members. Pray for God to bless them personally and as a group. Pray that God would help them study, grow and push the limits of their comfort zones.
7. Pray for musicians, instruments and equipment. Pray that God would provide singers for a Praise Team that are from various cultures. We want a mixed praise team that reflects the heart of this new ministry.
Let me close the blog this morning by saying to all of you who are faithful prayer warriors- THANK YOU! Thanks for getting on your knees and talking to the Father on behalf of Life House Church. Thank you for not just saying you are going to pray but actually praying. Thank you to those churches and groups that are praying for us. God has plans for us at Life House and I know He is going to accomplish great things. When we launch we are going to see even greater blessings and miracles than we have ever seen before. Keep praying!!! Pastor James
Our first community event IS NOW OVER! We had a BLAST! Thanks to any and everyone who helped make our first Back Yard Bible Bash a HUGE success! Thanks to our sponsor church – Shiloh Baptist Church, for coming and being such a great help. You guys are the greatest – thanks! Thanks to the Life House Family for working hard to organize, gather, set up, tear down and make this event a positive one for the community. If you would like to take a “sneak peak” and see some pictures of the event you can do so on our web page. Thanks Bro. Andrew for getting those up so quickly. The pictures look great! God is so good to us and we can’t praise Him enough for allowing us the opportunity to be involved in this new ministry. Seeds were planted in the hearts of College Hill. Pray that in the days ahead we can see them come up and people be saved & lives changed. Are you looking for a “different” type church? Are you tired of church “as usual”? Then maybe you need to pray about becoming a part of Life House - a church that isn’t concerned with what you wear, what color you are or what your past is. We are a church that loves souls and cares about the present and future of all people. Pray for us and if you want to – come see us in person!
I can’t wait till the next event – who knows what’s gonna happen next!! Keep praying, keep shining and sharing for Jesus! Pastor James
Cindy and I had the blessing yesterday of representing Life House Church and Ministries at a “MEGA-CHURCH” in Patterson, AR. I know when the term “mega-church” is used we automatically think of a huge building, large parking lots, masses of people and shuttle busses BUT this church had NONE of that. This church is a mega church because of their mega heart! They LOVE the Lord with all of their heart. They love God’s Word. They love lost souls and they love those who labor for the Lord. They showered us with many blessings we won’t soon forget! From a great place to sleep, attentive and prayerful worship, praying with us and for us, giving a generous love offering to us for Life House Church and Ministries and even the great southern cooking – it was all awesome! (SIDE NOTE: They really have some great southern cooks in this church – even one “ENGLISH COOK” – who isn’t far from being a good “southern girl” herself! LOL. I could never be their pastor or I might weigh 500 lbs in no time!)
Cindy and I praise the Lord for the blessing of being able to be with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church & Pastor Kenneth Dewitt. We thank the Lord for safe travel, a great time of worship and new friends in the work of building God’s kingdom. Pray for this great church and pray that other churches would have the heart this MEGA CHURCH has! We look forward to August as some from this church might be coming to help us with our first Vacation Bible School! Thanks again PG Church and thanks to all the churches who have allowed us to come share the work. Keep praying for the work and know that every soul saved, every life changed and any way this community is impacted for good is because you loved, cared and gave! Pastor James
It was such a big blessing to get a phone call yesterday afternoon and hear that Life House had hit another “record attendance” while we were away! God continues to bless and it’s exciting to watch as He brings people together, one by one, to be a part of this new ministry. God knows WHO He desires to be a part of this CORE GROUP of believers. The Core group will be the foundational group who will help get the new church started off right. Pray for our Core Group and pray that God will continue to add new members so that we can get totally prepared for our church launch on August 10th. A BIG THANK YOU to all who took care of the worship service yesterday while we were gone.
Watch this spot for some pictures and info concerning our Back Yard Bible Bash that we are going to be hosting in our yard tonight (if God permits the weather to co-operate.). Pray for us and if God leads — come get involved with us reaching College Hill & the World for Jesus! Pastor James
Since we’ve started the new church plant it’s been an exciting, new adventure. I’ve always had the blessing of pastoring established churches throughout my ministry. Now God has given us the blessing of being a a part of a new multi-cultural church start – from the ground up. It’s totally different than just moving into a parsonage and getting to know people in the already formed church, in the already accepting community. It’s putting “leg work” to get the necesary paperwork done. It’s working to physically get the building up and ready. It’s praying, planning and preparing to reach new people for the core group and get them trained. It’s getting trained yourself (God bless the great folks at Arkansas Baptist State Convention and North American Mission Board for the extensive training we were blessed to attend and enjoy!). It’s seeking to enlist “Partner’s In Ministry” Churches to support the new church plant monetarily, physically or prayerfully (or all three!). This coming Sunday, Cindy and I will be representing Life House Church & Ministries at a church in North East Arkansas. This church has asked that I come preach, share the mission and vision and give them a chance to prayerfully “get on board” with us! This church isn’t a large, booming, mega-church. They simply want the chance to get involved in missions. Thank God for churches who look past their building, budget and programs and seek to be the type Church Jesus built – one that has an outward focus rather than an inward focus. One that loves the lost (of any and all colors) more than they love their own little kingdom. We are excited for another chance to share the work. Pray for our safety and for the Life House Church Family as they worship without us next Sunday. We have a “preacher boy” from our sponsor church who is going to share and preach while we are gone – so pray for him too! Does your church have an INWARD or OUTWARD vision? Do they take the step of faith to do more than just “open their checkbooks and give money to missions”? I encourage whole heartedly giving to the Cooperative Program and our various SBC annual missions offerings — but what about doing more personally and as a local church. Why not adopt a local or state church plant and sacrifice a little prayer time, elbow grease and monetary gift to help them get off the ground? GOD WILL BLESS your church – I promise! So get off your “padded pews” and get out into the fields – it’s time to reap a harvest!!
It’s true – little things do mean alot! Case in point: while visiting one of my close relatives at their home we were looking at all of their yard plants. Their yard is full of all type shrubs, bushes, potted plants and flowers. We admired many, got some “cuttings” off of others. While taking the tour of the yard this person remarked, “Would you like to have a pot plant that belonged to your Mother?” My heart kind of skipped a beat because I know how much plants meant to Mama. She loved flowers and plants of all kinds. She even worked in a local green house for awhile and loved it. So my instant answer was “YES!”. We went around to the side of the house and underneath one of the larger bushes was a potted plant, in great health, that had belonged to my mother. That plant now rests in my yard and gives me happy memories of a time gone by and a person that I will never forget. The person? Well – maybe two people. The first is of course my “MAMA”. That plant sparks “happy time” memories for me. The second person. The lady who loving thought of me and knew how much I loved my Mama. This person didn’t have to give me this plant because I didn’t even know it existed. She GAVE it to me and for that I will always be grateful. Now i’m sure some reading this blog thinks that this is kind of “sappy”. BIG DEAL: An old potted plant. NOOOO – BIG DEAL – precious memories, happy memories – selfless love and big heart. See whether you and I really understand it or not – whether we believe it or not….LITTLE THINGS DO MEAN ALOT!!! Why not try look for some way to be a “small” blessing to someone this week! ~~~ Pastor James
This week Life Group will study Core Value #2: Character. What is “Character”? “Character is the inward motivation to do what is right according to the highest standards in every situation. It consists of the stable qualities built into our lives that determine our responses, regardless of the circumstances. It is the wise response to the pressure of a difficult situation. It is what we do when we think that no one else is watching.”
If we as a church are supposed to show the world Jesus in our daily lives then we MUST seek to live lives that are full of godly character. Why is character important? Every conflict in life can be traced to the neglect or misapplication of one or more character qualities. Character matters!
There are 49 character qualities that we would do well to examine, seek to learn and imitate. If you would like more information about a book to help you get into a more in-depth study of those 49 character qualities then let us know. We would be glad to share that information with you.
As we begin our children’s ministry and youth ministry we will be seeking to teach these character qualities to the children and youth we come in contact with. Pray that we as a core group can open the Word of God this week and examine our own hearts so that we might work towards having the character God intends for us to have. While none of us is perfect, (and will never attain perfection this side of heaven), we should seek to become more like Jesus in every area of our lives.
It’s a joy to study God’s Word with the members of Life House Church and hear what God is saying to them each week at Life Group. God is using this time to teach us, bind us together and grow us spiritually as a core group. I love you church and can’t wait to hear what God is saying to you this coming Wednesday night at Life Group! See you there – bring a friend too! Pastor James