church plant

church plant

Where the Church is the People

This month we publically launch NineSevenZero Church. We come out of the closet and announce to our community that we exist. But make no mistake this isn’t the “start” of our church, just our formal introduction. NineSevenZero Church is a new church emerging in the Grand Valley. And while this launch has us consumed for the moment, we’re not working to create an organizational entity. We believe that the church is not a building or a denomination. We believe that the…

There’s No Place Like Home

Don’t you love it when you get a chance to sit down with a old friend you haven’t seen in forever and you are easily able to pick up your relationship right from where you left off? Getting caught up on the happenings of life is fun but what’s really fulfilling is the connection — knowing someone and them knowing you. It’s then you realize that time and distance doesn’t change that. Recently I was writing an email and asked the…

Come Check Us Out

While reading Psalms 66 I was reminded of the interplay between the purposes of our public gatherings and the invitations that we extend to our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to come and check us out. We recognize that our public services will be one of the front doors of NineSevenZero Church and that each gathering must be planned and designed with those we haven’t met yet in mind. Anticipating and preparing for guests in our public gatherings will give…

This Is NOT What I Expected

Have you ever come to a point in a job, a relationship, your marriage, with your children, your first semester or planting a church when you wake up one day and say, “This is NOT what I expected?” This must have been how the disciples felt at their last celebration of Passover with Jesus. They were convinced that He was the Messiah and would soon be crowned King. They had been talking among themselves for weeks about their place in…
Basilica of St. Louis

The Problem with the Big Box Church

The way we do church is working with fewer people in our culture all the time.The model of church that most of us are a product of is quickly becoming ineffective in today’s world. This isn’t about styles of worship, high church or low church, mainline or independent, protestant or catholic, liturgical or pentecostal. This is about all of the Christian churches. Just about every church in America can be described with three words: “Come to us.” That is it.…

DNA – The Missional Strand

Today’s American society has many similarities to the culture which surrounded the first century church: People are spiritually sensitive and hungry but they are not looking to the Christian church. The culture is pluralistic but intolerant of the exclusive claims of Christ. The Christian faith is politically maligned and culturally held in disdain. That first century culture was God’s incubator for the genesis of the Church. We know the sect of Christ followers grew rapidly. The Church multiplied at an…

DNA of NineSevenZero Church

DNA is the organic molecule that contains the hereditary material for a living organism. Nearly every cell in an organism has the same DNA yet there are many types of cells that look and function differently. The genetic information in DNA is stored as a code made from four chemical bases. Just as letters of an alphabet form words, words form sentences, sentences form paragraphs, paragraphs form chapters, and chapters form books, the sequence of these bases determines the information…

Look Out – We`re Contagious

If you examine the New Testament and church history, it is clear that there is no one “right” form of the church. Part of the church’s sustaining power and the mystery of it’s effectiveness is its ability to morph its form to reach a culture. There are several forms of the church that are present in North America today and we’re going to look at them to help us at NineSevenZero Church know who we are and how we fit…

Relationship – It`s the context

One of the questions that we must always be asking ourselves as we go forward in the process of launching NineSevenZero Church is, “Is what we are doing or intending to do promote a relational connection to God or people?” If the answer to that question is “No” then that’s also the answer to the question of whether we should do it. Relationship is the context in which life and mission is done. It’s the pot that holds the stew.…

The View from the Other Side of the Fence – Part 3

Through the Eyes of a Visitor This is the final set of observations from my recent foray on the other side of the fence. It’s a list of perspectives as a visitor that will hopefully help us create a church that that is inviting and welcoming. 1. How do I get there when you are there? It was surprising to me that in the www days that we live in how many churches do not have any web presence. I…
looking over fence

The View from the Other Side of the Fence – Part 2

While I have been out visiting churches it occurred to me that I am very much like someone looking for a new church home. I come to the church like a secret shopper with a checklist and an agenda. I’ve noticed that the things I am sampling are more of the objective, doctrinal, programatic part of the church. I take the temperature, measure the atmospheric pressure, and record the direction and the intensity of the wind. It’s not only like…

Wanted: Cruise Director

I’m beginning to notice something about our little band that is planting the church. Many (all right most) of us are pretty serious and quite intense as individuals. Loving, serving and living in community – not a problem. It’s just done with great purpose and intentionality. We like to have fun. It’s just that we don’t think to do that first (all right rarely). What we need is a Cruise Director, a Minister of Fun. Are there any party animals…
  • 1
  • 2