Why?

Greetings Movement Church! It was AMAZING celebrating our 4th Birthday as a church this past Sunday!  God really has been faithful to us from the very beginning!  When the Watsons, and Fran and I began Movement Church, we had no money, no people and no idea what we were doing!  So, when I say, God has been faithful, I sincerely mean it!

In light of the message from last week, and our recent birthday, I think it's important to remember why I felt an overwhelming call/passion to start this church in the first place, despite our blatant ignorance early on.  Here it goes:

1.  Vision.  When I was 15 years old, God put a grandiose vision in my heart to reach 1000's for Christ.  As I've aged, that vision has become clearer, stronger, and more realistic (now 31 years old).  I believe with every fiber of my being that there's NOTHING greater I could give my life to than the local church!  Jesus bled and died to start it.  It was His idea, not mine.  Movement Church was started with a vision that Jesus would change 1,000's of lives.Well, that vision is coming to life and I believe our best days are still to come!
2. My conversion.  Nobody on this planet can argue with my conversion experience  Why? Because it's mine.  I know what it's like to live my life apart from God.  I remember how lonely and hopeless my past, present and future seemed until I put my hope in Christ.  And I remember experiencing real PEACE the moment Jesus came into my life.  I knew that NO MATTER WHAT Jesus had my back, and still does!  I started Movement Church, because I wanted (and still want) as many people as possible to experience real life-change for themselves, just like I did!
3. Transparency.  Before planting Movement Church, I'd been involved in a denomination where people were extremely fake.  At first, I thought I was the only one who had real struggles, but I soon realized that we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). I had a vision to build, not the perfect church, but a church that was honest about its imperfections.  If everyone is walking around pretending to be perfect, but secretly living under the plague of hidden sin, we will stay sick.  Well, I didn't want sick, I wanted health. I started Movement Church so that people broken like me could become brand new in Christ!

I'm sincerely asking you to join me in this movement!  How?

1. Grow.  Growing people change.
2. Serve.  Saved people serve people.
3. Bring.  Found people find people.
4. Pray.  Prayer works, so pray for your church.

If you do those 4 things, I can promise you that you will experience great meaning in your life!

Lastly, I cannot wait for this Sunday! Remember the rock illustration from two weeks ago?  Well, this Sunday I'll tackle the topic, Choosing to Cheat My Family, AND I'll explain the rock illustration!  POWERFUL!

Praying for you!

PJ

P.S:  If we really believe Hell is real, why do some many churches do so little to stop people from going there? 

2 Things You Need To Know Movement Church

Movement Church, I am so EXCITED about the direction our church is heading in, the doors that are opening before us, and the truly awesome things God is doing in our midst! There are 2 things I want to quickly share with you:

1. Slow down - I feel led to slow down from the Sunday grind that we're all used to, in order to focus on our upcoming launch in October. Why slow down? Great question!
Answer:

• Committed 120 - I want to focus the majority of my energy and time on building the Committed 120. To launch with 600-800 people, it is a MUST that we reach our goal of 120 adult visionaries who are ready to make a big impact! Are you in? If so, who do you know that would like the opportunity to be a part of a MOVE OF GOD? We will have printed material soon to arm you with to pass on to 10 people who you think may be interested. The goal is to invite them to one of the next Vision Labs (Aug. 12th; Sep. 9th). This commitment isn't forever. We are only requiring that they stay committed for 4 months, as we get this campus off and running to a great start!
• Pre-Launch Preparation - There is SO MUCH work to do to upgrade, design, promote, and layout our official launch worship experience! I could work 15 hours per day, 7 days per week until launch day on Pre-Launch alone! We only have ONE chance to make a first impression. If you are a part of the Committed 120, we will need your help in getting all of this done in time! Email me to get involved: jeremy@movementchurch.com
  
• Post Launch Preparation - My team and I need to focus on the first 12 weeks after we launch NOW (sermon series, music, logistics, volunteer staffing, organization, etc.). This alone is a TON of work! But I firmly believe that Jesus will not bless us with people if we are not ready and prepared to take great care of them!
  
• Merger with First Baptist Church - There are tons of legal details associated with merging two existing churches. Also, we are strategically thinking through how this merger will work and be a successful transition. As you can imagine, I am involved in many meetings hashing out all the details!
  

2. Help Me - Naturally, lots of prayer, faith, thought, time, energy, and effort are necessary on my part to do this thing correctly.

As your pastor, I am asking you to come along side of me in this and do your part too by praying that God brings us a minimum of 120 adults, and by being MORE than OKAY with not getting the "show" every Sunday morning for a short time! Of coarse, we will still have live worship and preaching, but I am going to have others preach in my place as we get closer and closer to launch day! Yes, I will be there EVERY SUNDAY, and so should YOU! :)

Realize that this sort of thing only happens once in a lifetime, and God has allowed you and I to be a part of it! I consider myself privileged, and I hope you do too!

Thank you for all your love and support! I love you all!

Pastor Jeremy