Meeting Venue through April

We will able to meet at the Charlotte 24-7 Prayer Room through the month of April while the electrical system gets repaired in our Brevard Street location. The last two weeks have gone really well in this space giving us a very intimate place to dig into God and His plan for the church.

Beyond that, I’m really feeling the need for excercise. I’m tired and it’s totally my fault. I’ve been able to find a decent balance with my schedule, but I’ve gotten out of a good exercise routine. So this next week I’m challenging myself to get an exercise regimen into my schedule and make it a priority. I certainly believe we have a responsibility to keep the bodies God gave us healthy and I’ve been slacking there.

Lastly, Casey and I signed with a real estate agent this past Thursday to put our Davidson house on the market so we can move down into Charlotte. We’ve been going back and forth on this for a while because of the new baby girl that’s on the way and everything going on with getting Ephesus, we weren’t sure if we wanted to take on finding a new house and a move. But a couple of weeks ago I was praying about it all and felt strongly God was telling us we need to be down in Charlotte now. It has always been our desire to move into Charlotte as Ephesus got going, but we were dragging our feet. But now we’re jumping in with both feet. We know we have to be in the neighborhood and really being in the place God has called us. So pray our house sells quickly in this market AND we find a great place to live right in the middle of Charlotte. My challenge to everyone who is following after God’s plan is to jump in 100%. Straddling the fence eventually causes some serious pain…

Venue sagas continue

It is looking like we will be at the 24-7 Prayer Room again this week, but I haven’t yet confirmed that with the director (as of 4:29pm on Friday April 4th). I was watching The Pursuit of Happyness today with Will Smith and watching him go through the struggles of being homeless and taking care of his son and believing that an incredible future was ahead. Yesterday I was rereading some portions of Confessions of a Reformission Rev and Mark Driscoll was relating the early days of Mars Hill when it was struggling to survive and wasn’t really what he had thought the church would look like, but he had a vision of something bigger, a vision God had given him and his role was to do whatever he could to set the foundation for this huge vision of reaching the city God had place him in. Chris Gardner (the real person Will Smith portrays in Pursuit) and Mark Driscoll both saw the dream come about. I’m holding on to that right now. God is faithful. He’s bigger than any of this, and I have a vision of a church impacting the city of Charlotte in personal lives and cultural influence. It’s bigger than anything I can do, it’s a dream God has birthed and no venue issues are going to stop it. So get on board the ride we’re on cause the trip is going to be a good one.

BTW, just got off the phone with Lisa at 24-7. Ephesus will once again meet there this Sunday. If you haven’t been to 24-7 yet, you need to go. It’s a place of peace to get close to God, pray for what’s going on in your life, pray for what’s going on in Charlotte, and pray for the what’s going on in the world. And while you’re there, consider a little financial contribution because what they provide doesn’t happen for free.

See you this Sunday at Ephesus where we’ll continue to dig into the true nature of the church!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I know it has been a little while since I last communicated with everyone, but I know the Holidays are very busy for everyone, as they sure were around our house. Well, 2008 is here and with that the countdown has truly begun for the launch of Ephesus. I’m not sure how many of you know the whole story, but Casey and I first begin praying about planting this church in 2004 while we were pastoring in Southern California. Here we are nearly 4 years later and the vision God has been releasing is nearing its launch. What a journey God has taken us on. I know I’m not the same person I was in 2004 and praise God He knew that meant there needed to be 4 years until launch!

Your prayer and support is more crucial than ever as we continue to get closer to launch. I have to be honest; there have been several times in the last week that it has seemed a little daunting that in 2 months we will be starting a new church. There is much to be done, but then I reflect on all that has already happened. We have secured an amazing space at 219 S. Brevard St in Uptown Charlotte. If you live in the Charlotte area and have an opportunity to drive by I encourage you to check out the church we will be meeting in. It is on the corner of 3rd St and Brevard about 2 blocks south of Bobcats Arena. The leadership team is coming together. Keren Frederick will be overseeing our children’s ministry. That has been a huge answer to prayer. She will be working with Casey to establish a strong ministry to the children of Ephesus. Adam is building the worship team and getting ready to begin rehearsals. We are also beginning to see God’s financial provision as well. I’m sure many of you can imagine doing ministry in the middle of a large city can require financial support. We know that God is control of it all and He is providing. If you feel led to give to Ephesus, you can do so and it is tax deductible through Grace Covenant Church while we establish our IRS credentials. You can make checks out to Grace Covenant Church and write “Ephesus Church Plant” in the memo line. While we definitely appreciate any support, we want to encourage everyone to continue to faithfully tithe to their home church as a priority.

Very soon we will begin weekly gatherings at the church in Uptown. Through the month of February we are going to be meeting each Sunday evening to pray, plan and work on all of our set-up in our rented church facility. Then, on February 29th we are hosting a music and art show at the rented facility on Brevard St. This will be a free event with several local artists and musicians showcasing their work. Adam Wilson, our worship leader, will also be releasing his new CD at the event. I want to encourage you to pray for this event, as this will be our major outreach to the local community prior to launch. We prayed hard about an event that would allow us to promote Ephesus, while also being a great addition to our community. I’m excited about the possibility of this event. Please pray that local folks will come by and enjoy the music, art and food and also hear about Ephesus. And if you’re free that evening please come by and see where Ephesus will be happening!

Following this, we begin services on March 2nd with our official launch on March 23rd, Easter Sunday.  The first 3 Sundays in March will be full services with children’s ministry available but will act as a sort of “soft launch” before the “hard launch” of March 23rd. If you plan on checking out what we’re doing at Ephesus I want to encourage you to attend beginning on March 2nd. We have also made the decision to actually have our Sunday services at 6pm. We feel this will better suit the needs and schedule of the community we are called to reach. I’m excited about the possibilities of a Sunday evening service from the outset.

Please continue to pray for Ephesus and especially for the people that will come to know Jesus there. We’re excited, and a bit overwhelmed but what is happening, right where God can do His work best! As always you can keep up with us at ephesuschurch.tv or at the Ephesus Church Charlotte group on Facebook.com or right here!

If you have any other questions or just want to let us know how you are praying for us, please call or email. We appreciate each one of you as we embark on this journey.

Platform and stained glass former Grace Zion church, Uptown Charlotte, NC

Platform

Originally uploaded by g8rben

Interior of former Grace Zion Church, Uptown Charlotte, NC

Looking down main aisle in sanctuary

Originally uploaded by g8rben

Looking down main aisle in sanctuary