So far, with a launch team of about 20 dedicated adults and with God’s help we have been able to:

• bless 5 families via random outdoor service projects (mowing, bush trimming, gutter cleaning, flower planting, mulch laying etc…)
• bless the community with a FREE outdoor concert at the park (including free: sno-cones, cotton candy, popcorn, pop and water)
• 3 Families on our Launch Team have been blessed with Groceries from other members on the Launch Team!
• By God’s provision we were also able to provide a totally FREE CAR WASH to the community and we washed nearly 80 cars in a 4 hour period.  We also gave them a FREE Ice Cream cone cupon to the local favorite Ice Cream Shop – Dietschs Bros.  

The best part of all has been the responses that we get from people.  They just don’t understand that there is no catch…we are doing these things for FREE…Really!

Coming up, we are doing a FREE TAILGATE PARTY for the University of Findlay Football home game on October 18th.  Also, we are doing a house winterizing projects for those in the community who need it.  We are planning to do a thanksgiving meal for families in need sometime in November.

God is providing our needs and leading us in our efforts!  We will Trust in Him!  As we work in the community with those in need, we will be able to share with them how our personal relationship with Jesus has changed our lives and given us our purpose to “Connect the Community to Christ”!

What other relevant ideas has your church used to reach out to the community?

God Bless,

Shan Griffin

Jesus however, was very different in His approach to life.  He did not do the glamorous things that would get Him noticed…like standing in front of a crowd and proclaiming to be the almighty God (which He is) that has come to conquer the world. 

Instead, He could be found in the doorway of an ordinary home, performing the duties of the lowliest servant…washing people’s dirty feet.  He could also be found in a secluded upper room teaching His disciples how to live sacrificially…to pick up their cross daily.  He never sugar coated the truth in hopes to gain popularity…He told it like it is…not because He wanted to put people in their place, but because He wanted them understand the bad position they were in and he wanted to rescue them from their ultimate destiny…Hell. 

Jesus did not walk around looking for attention.  He did not send the disciples out with flyers to invite everyone to come and hear Him speak.  Instead, He went to the people…He met them at the point of their need.  Then, He didn’t say, “I’m so sorry to hear that, I will pray for you”.  He provided a solution for them…He took care of their need!  He provided food for the poor, gave grace to the hurting and healed the sick.

His actions were so revolutionary, so different compared to how everyone else lived their own lives. 

News spread quickly because people believed in the vision that Jesus was casting.  People came because they wanted to see for themselves…to see if this ”Jesus Guy” really was all that they heard He was.  They wanted to believe, because they knew inside that what He was doing was right.  He gave them hope for a better life…hope for the future and eternity.

When they came…they begged Him to teach them! 

Today, there are millions of people, much like those people in Jesus day, that desire that same hope.  They may not know that Jesus is that hope, but we do!

We need to reach out to them…just like Jesus did!

Be humble, be compassionate, be a servant.  

By the way…when those followers came to be taught by Jesus…oh He taught them alright…He taught them by example…by becoming the ultimate sacrifice!

 Jesus is still teaching us today.  We just need to listen!

God Bless,

Shan

I have heard lately how so many people are jumping on the bandwagon against “Relevant” churches.  Many are saying that relevant churches are watering down the Gospel and are sinning by using the methods they are using to reach people for Jesus Christ.

The bottom line is that ALL churches should be Relevant!  Take a look at the life of Jesus.  What did he do? 

From what I have read over the past 25 years of being a Christian, it is my understanding that Jesus was “always about His Father’s business”.  He was usually either: Teaching people about the things of God, Showing the love of God by doing good deeds which gave Him the opportunity to point those in need to God, Praying for others, Praising and Thanking God for being who He is, Praying and Fasting for God’s will to be done, and Resting. 

In all of those things He was relevant in those times…in fact, He was ahead of His time.  He was delivering a message that transcends all time.

So, all churches should be relevant!  One thing we say at LifePoint is that we will do whatever it takes to reach others for Jesus short of Sin.  That is what we all should strive for.

I’m curious to know how much of an impact these “No Releavant Churches” People are having on the kingdom of God?  What do you think?

Relevance is not so much a movement, but more like a model displayed for us by Jesus Himself.

You are always going to have a % of those involved in anything, who push the limits and cross the line from time to time.  Instead of jumping on them and judging them for the things they do wrong…why can we just take that extra time and energy to be relevant to those around us and reach people for Jesus?

Be Relevant…not just because there is a movement of churches that are using this “buzz word”, but because it is the right thing to do!

God Bless,

Shan

I am a part of a team that is launching one of those “relevant” type churches.  The name of the church is LifePoint Community Church and it is located in Findlay, OH.  The website address is www.lifepointfindlay.com and we are having our first preview service on July 20th, 2008 at 10am.  If you are reading this and have nowhere else to be on that day, please stop by for a visit…we’d love to get to know you!

My wife and I are trying to help out in as many ways as we can to launch this church which has a Vision to reach our community as God would want us to…to make an impact in the lives of people in our community and see them change for the better.  We want to be relevant, but we don’t want to compromise the truth of the God’s Word.

We want to fulfill the purpose that God has for our lives and do whatever it is that He has called us to do.  We both enjoy organizing events and coming up with creative ideas to present God’s message to a World that expects a lot.  Let’s face it, we have all grown up in a society that wants the “best” and we want it “now”.  It just seems that it is no longer good enough to attempt to fulfill the Great Commission the same way our Grandparents and even our Parents did.  Not that anything they did was wrong or ineffective, but our world is changing, and our methods must change as well if we expect to remain “relevant” to this generation and the generations to come!

Jennifer and I both love music and are also helping with the worship team at LifePoint.  As the music ministry director, I felt I was responsible for helping the worship team stay focused on God so that we would be successful in this area of ministry.  So I had this great idea to start a blog for the worship team to read.  I was also going to insert an eloquent devotional that could be used throughout the week as an option for those who need direction in that area. 

Well, so far I have failed on every point!  Just goes to show how our plans don’t always go the way we want them too.  It is also a reminder of how imperfect I am and how important it is for me to realize that I have to daily depend on God before I can even begin to help others.  Finally, I am getting started…I guess they say, “better late, than never!”.

Being foreign to “blogging”, I wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into.  So, I decided to look up the definition for “blog”.  I was worried that the definition may require me to be involved in this complicated process that would discourage me from consistently blogging and thus propel me into a state of failure.  That was not a desirable outcome, especially considering the number of failures I have already faced in my lifetime.  Hopefully I will get to share some of those things with you in the days to come.

What I found was comforting.  The word Blog comes from the term web log…basically meaning that it is an online journal. 

That sounded simple enough! 

Although it will be difficult to find the time to blog on a daily basis, my goal is to blog at least once a week.  I will journal about the past, present and future…trying to use what I have learned from my experiences to help those who visit this blog to change for the better.  Ultimately I would love to see many people come to have a relationship with Jesus.  That is my hope.

Soon I will discuss the meaning behind “Relevant Worshippers”.  Let me know what you think so far!

God Bless,

Shan