LifeGate Church

Big Weekend At LifeGate

2012-01-19T17:37:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, we are on the verge of our biggest weekend EVER at LifeGate. As everyone should know by now, Sunday is our Grand Opening service in our new home, Veteran's Park Elementary School. There is a ton of stuff going on around the Grand Opening that I wanted to make everyone aware of.

1. Final Door Hanger Push - We had a great team effort last Saturday, getting the word out to over 5,000 homes about our Grand Opening. Through the week we've had small teams working to get out several thousand more door hangers. Friday and Saturday are our last opportunities to really get the word out. We want to maximize this moment to reach as many people as possible. If you have some time either Friday or Saturday morning and would like to help, please call 699-0686 or send a message to Pastor Ashley and let us know.

2. Friday Night Set-up - 6:00 pm at the school. If you're free, come give us a hand for 30 minutes.

3. Prayer - We will be setting aside 30 minutes at 7:00 pm on Friday to gather in the auditorium at VPE and pray for this weekends service. We're asking Jesus to show up in a big way on Sunday to change people's lives and give them a fresh start. For that to happen we need a supernatural breakthrough, the kind that only comes through prayer. If you can't make it to the school, take some time Friday and Saturday and pray specifically for Sunday's service.

4. THE BIG DAY - Sunday is our Grand Opening. We're kicking off a series called Fresh Start which will be geared especially towards people who have never been in church or have been out of church for a while. Please use our Facebook event invite or our website e-mail invite to get the word out to your friends. Our door hanger campaign will draw some people, but the vast majority of people come to church because they receive a personal invite from a friend or family. We're counting on you to help us pack the place out for this big day.

I'm excited to see all the cool stuff God is going to do this weekend. I encourage you to jump in and be a part of what is going to be a pivotal moment in the life of our church.

A New Year...A New Location for LifeGate

2012-01-02T11:19:00.001-08:00

A couple of months ago we made the decision to find a new home for LifeGate Church. Now we're only 6 days away from our first service in our new location and only 20 days away from our Grand Opening service for our new community. A lot of my friends and acquaintances in ministry have asked about the reasons behind our move. I thought it would be good today to take a minute and recap why we're making this leap of faith. The following is taken from my message on October 30th. (You can listen to the full message here.)

Over the past couple of months of prayer and with the encouragement of some key friends and overseers for LifeGate, we’ve come to the decision that we have to be much more intentional about being the light in our community. So today, I want to let you know that we are making a major strategy shift at LifeGate.

That shift begins with a new location. Beginning January 8^th, LifeGate’s new home will be Veteran’s Park Elementary school. We chose Veteran’s Park to be our new home for a couple of reasons that I want to share with you this morning.

1) It’s in an underserved area of our city. Within a three mile radius of the school there are 70,000 people. There are 3 Krogers and a Wal-Mart in that area and only a handful of churches, none of which offer what we have to offer here at LifeGate.

2) It’s a secular school. Lexington Christian Academy (our home since launch in 2009) has been a great partner in the gospel, but the fact that we have church in this building has not helped us win many people. To attend at LCA you must already have a home church. The vast majority of students at Veteran’s Park come from unchurched homes. We can build relationships with the school, the teachers and the families that attend there and see people come to Christ.

3) It’s a great base for ministry – The school is surrounded by thousands of young families. They play ball in the park behind the school. There is a massive apartment complex across the street that’s home to thousands of young professionals. There are dozens of small businesses and professional offices in the area.

4) We will be able to control the environment

· One of the blessings and curses of LCA is that we use their equipment.

· At VPE we will be purchasing and using our own equipment.

· We’ll be self-contained and self-sufficient

· We’ll convert the hallway to an awesome fellowship area

· We’ll take the gym and create an intimate worship space with our own sound and lights. We can make it as large or as small as we want.

· We’ll be able to upgrade our kids ministry in a space that is already decorated with kids in mind.

This move is about more than just a building. It’s about us becoming the light in our city and specifically in this Veteran’s Park community. We don’t currently have the resources to reach every neighborhood in Lexington. But for the next couple of years we are going to make the three mile circle around Veteran’s Park Elementary our mission field. We are going to serve that community. We are going to pray for those families and businesses. We are going to share the good news with them. We are going to be the city on the hill. We are going to be the beacon of hope. We are going to be the light for this part of Lexington. Does that mean that if you live in Nicholasville or Winchester or off Richmond Road that we are not interested in ministering to you. Absolutely not. We are counting on you to jump in with both feet and bring your friends and neighbors from where you live as well. But we are going to bring laser like focus to reaching the area around Veteran’s Park.

Time has flown by since I first shared this vision with our church back in October. I've been so excited to see how our LifeGate family has gotten behind this move with their energy and finances. If you're a friend of LifeGate's and would like to get involved, we could still use your help. We've raised about 75% of our moving budget, but still need about $10,000 to make this move with excellence. You can give securely online here Beyond giving, pray for us to have a huge impact in our new community over the next few months. If you live in Lexington, join us on January 22nd for our Grand Opening service. We'd love to see you there.

2011-08-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

21 Days of Prayer Week 2

2011-08-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

So we're into the second week of our 21 days of prayer at LifeGate. I've already heard some cool reports of things that God is doing. I know I've seen some miracles in my own life in the last seven days.

I'm getting ready to shoot over to Owensboro to visit my grandparents for a day or two. I'm staying with my Mom's parents, and their farm is one of my favorite places to pray. I love getting out in the fields and walking along the creek and spending time talking with Jesus. Unfortunately I can't go to Owensboro every day to pray. But I do have a couple of places here in town in which I really enjoy praying. My top spot is on the rug in my office in front of the fireplace, especially during the winter. I also love walking along the creek in the park behind our neighborhood and praying while I walk.

One of the keys to having a consistent prayer life is having a consistent place where you can spend some alone time with Jesus to pray. It can be your car, an office, your bedroom, your back porch, even your closet (easier in a walk-in). I'd love to hear where some of you spend time with Jesus. Where's your favorite or most consistent place of prayer?

2011-08-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Check out the trailer video for our new series, "Dreamer" which kicks off this Sunday.

21 Days of Prayer 2011

2011-08-09T19:06:00.001-07:00

This evening I decided I was going to ride my bicycle around the neighborhood. The only problem was that I hadn't ridden in at least two years. By the time I got home I thought I was going to die, my legs were on fire, my heart was pounding and I wanted to throw up...and I'd only ridden two miles:-) I know, I'm way out of shape.

What in the world does my pitiful bike ride have to do with prayer? Well, over the years I've learned that my prayer life is a lot like exercising. The more I pray, the easier prayer becomes and I can spend longer and more meaningful time in prayer. I build up "prayer endurance." Tomorrow LifeGate is launching a 21 day prayer initiative. We're challenging everyone who calls LifeGate home to take the next three weeks and work on building up your spiritual muscles. Stretch yourself in prayer. If you don't pray at all during the day, commit that for the next three weeks you're going to pray for 5 minutes every day. If you pray for 5 minutes a day, make a commitment to stretch that out to 15 minutes.

To help you grow in your prayer life we're doing a couple of things. First, we're going to be hosting a one hour prayer and worship service at the beginning and the end of the 21 days. We'll be meeting on Wednesday, August 10 and Wednesday, August 31 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the auditorium at LCA. You should come check it out.

Secondly, we've prepared a daily prayer guide to give focus to your prayers. If you didn't pick up a printed copy on Sunday, you can check it out here:

21 Days of Prayer

Sunday – My Nation

(1 Timothy 2:1-2) I urge then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Pray for the United States and those who lead our country (President Obama, his Cabinet, Congress and the Supreme Court). Pray for a Christ-Awakening to come to our nation.

Monday – My City and State

(Proverbs 11:11) Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.

Pray for Kentucky and for the Lexington metro area. Pray for our governor and representatives, for our mayor and city officials. Pray also for the 250,000 unchurched people in Lexington alone that they would find real life in Christ.

Tuesday – My Church

(Matthew 16:18) I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Pray for LifeGate Church, for Pastor Ashley and his family, for our leadership team, lifegroup leaders and all those who serve in ministry. Pray that this fall would be a season of growth and miracles for LifeGate.

Wednesday – My Family

(Acts 16:31) Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.

Pray that each member of your family would come to know Christ.

Thursday – My Workplace

(Colossians 3:23-24) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Pray for your employer and for those you supervise. Pray for your customers and clients. Ask God to give you spiritual influence with those with whom you come into contact.

Friday – My Personal Needs

(Philippians 4:6) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Believe God to answer prayers about your specific needs.

Saturday – My Purpose: People

(Matthew 9:37-38) The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

Pray for the ministries and missionaries supported by LifeGate (Hogar Ganar, CSF, ARC and others). Ask God to connect you with His purpose and plan to introduce people to Jesus and the whole new way of life only he can give.

Now's the time

2011-08-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day at LifeGate Church. Worship was powerful, our kids did an amazing job of sharing what they've learned over the summer, we announced the launch of our new middle school ministry, there were first, second and third time visitors all over the place and most importantly two people gave their lives over to Christ.

God has been doing something amazing this summer. While our crowds have been wildly up and down (not unusual in June and July) the spiritual momentum at LifeGate has been building every week. Counting this Sunday we've now had people make decisions for Christ in six of the last seven weeks. Most of those weeks, we've seen multiple people enter into life with Christ.

I am more excited about the future of our church than I have ever been, including the time leading up to our launch two years ago. I fully believe we are standing on the precipice of a huge breakthrough in our city.

In my message yesterday (check it out here) , I shared about the Woman at the Well in John 4. Her willingness to tell her neighbors her story and invite them to check out Jesus for themselves caused her entire city to put their faith in the Messiah. She was one broken, messed up woman, but she was the spiritual key for her entire city. I'm praying that God will give us some people at LifeGate who will simply tell their story and invite other people to check out Jesus for themselves. As we do that, I believe our church is going to explode and our city is going to be changed.

Thoughts on Baptism

2011-07-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday I get to do one of my favorite things as pastor. I get to baptize some people who've recently given their lives to Christ. Days when we do baptism at LifeGate are times of fun as we celebrate a friends new life in Jesus. In addition to being a lot of fun, baptism is a critically important step in the life of a new Christian. As we get ready for baptism this Sunday I thought I would share some of my thoughts on the importance of baptism. (These are taken from a message on baptism that I preached as part of our Wild Man series in 2010).

1. Baptism is Symbolic - Baptism is an outward demonstration of what happens to you spiritually when you surrender your life to Christ. It symbolizes the death of the old you and the rebirth into a whole new way of life with Jesus. Paul says it best in Romans 6:3-4 - Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

2. Baptism is for Believers - Every instance of baptism recorded in the book of Acts (the history of the early church) is of a person who has put their faith in Jesus.

3. Baptism is the First Step of Obedience - On the day of Pentecost, Peter tells the crowd to repent and be baptized and they will be saved. People have asked me if I believe that baptism is necessary for salvation. The answer I give them is "yes and no." I say no, simply because the thief on the cross had no opportunity to be baptized, but Jesus promised him Paradise. However, as you look at the rest of the New Testament, it becomes very clear that the expectation of a new believer is to be baptized as soon as possible. I believe it is in many ways a test of the heart. A truly repentant heart that has been regenerated by faith in Christ will want to be baptized.

4. Baptism is Public - When possible, baptism should be done publicly. It's a way of making a bold declaration that the old you is gone and that you are now living for Jesus.

On Sunday we'll be celebrating some changed lives at LifeGate Church. If you are a follower of Jesus and have never been baptized, I want to encourage you to take the plunge and make a bold statement that you're living your life for Him.

Thoughts On Japan

2011-03-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

First off, apologies for the length of time between blog entries. I'll be back to blogging on a more consistent basis now that we are approaching the launch of our new website for LifeGate Church. This blog will be a place for me to share in depth thoughts about where we are as a church and about my personal experience with Jesus.

I've received a couple of different requests to recap my statement at the beginning of this past Sunday's message about the earthquake/tsunami in Japan and what I feel our response should be as followers of Jesus. So here we go:

If you're a news junkie like me, or even if you're not, you've probably been riveted by the images on your computer and television that have been coming out of Japan. I woke up Friday morning with a feeling of deja vu as I watched the ocean pouring onto the shore of Japan. I thought that I would never see anything on the scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami, but now, just 6 years later, we've witnessed a disaster just as devastating.

As I sat transfixed in front of CNN over the weekend several thoughts took shape in my heart as to what is the appropriate response to a disaster of this magnitude.

This disaster is an alarm bell that Jesus is returning. - I'm not an apocalyptic, end-times preacher. You won't find me teaching in front of a 20 foot illustrated backdrop of the timeline of the book of Revelation. However, the reality is that Jesus is returning at some point and that he specifically mentions earthquakes as a sign of the "birth pains" of his coming (Matt 24:1-8) In the last six years we've seen 5 of the top 10 strongest earthquakes in recorded history. This Friday's quake was the strongest in the history of Japan. In Western Christianity, our comfortable lives often detach us from the immediacy of Christ's return. I believe that disasters such as we are now witnessing in Japan should remind us that Jesus is coming.
This disaster is a sober reminder of eternity. - The earthquake and tsunami were centered on Miyagi Prefecture, one of the least evangelized areas of one of the least evangelized nations of the Western world. A missionary friend of mine tweeted out a stat that said there are only 9,000 practicing Christians in the entire population of 2.3 million people in Miyagi Prefecture. If that is true, then undoubtedly, thousands if not tens of thousands of people unexpectedly entered into an eternity without Christ on Friday afternoon. Too often we live detached from the reality of heaven and hell. They are real places. This tragedy should serve as a catalyst for us to reexamine our efforts in regard to the Great Commission. Am I doing everything I can to advance the message of the good news of Jesus around the world? More importantly, am I doing all that I can to share the gospel in my city, among my friends and coworkers who are separated from Jesus?
This disaster should prompt us to pray. - We should be on our knees and faces praying for the people of Japan. Pray for comfort for those who've lost everything, pray for protection for those who are working in terrible circumstances to rescue and save others, pray for wisdom and strength for the leaders of the nation. Most importantly, pray for the church in Japan, that this would be an opportunity for our fellow believers to demonstrate the love and hope of Jesus to their countrymen.
This disaster gives us an opportunity to tangibly demonstrate God's love. - Yes, Japan is a highly developed and wealthy nation, but the reality is that they need a lot of help right now. There are a number of Christian aid organizations who are already mobilizing relief efforts to bring assistance where it is most needed. Most of us are not going to get on a plane and fly to Japan. That wouldn't even be wise. But we can give financially to Christian organizations who are prepared to tangibly demonstrate the love of Jesus to the people who are in the greatest need.

This Sunday at LifeGate we're going to give you an opportunity to do just that. We'll be taking a special offering that will go to Christian relief efforts in Japan. If you're a LifeGate member, pray about what you'd like to give above and beyond your normal tithe and bring it with you on Sunday. In the meantime, remember that Jesus is coming soon, eternity is real and prayer makes a difference.

Immanuel

2009-12-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of weeks I've been reflecting on the Christmas Story (not the movie with the goofy kid and the creepy leg lamp - the actual story found in the Bible). A lot of times as Christians we don't give much thought to the story of Jesus' birth until we get to this time of year. We talk a lot about the cross and the resurrection, the teachings and the miracles of Jesus, the work of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts and lots of other very important parts of Scripture, and rightly so, as those things are key to our faith.

However, I think that sometimes causes us to lose site of the amazing miracle that is the Christmas Story. God, the same God who created the Universe, became a human being and came to live among us. When the angel appeared to Joseph he said that the people would call Jesus "Immanuel" meaning "God with us." The divine ruler of all Creation came to be with humanity, with you and with me. He came to experience what we experience - temptation and grief, loneliness and rejection, pain and anguish, love and joy, forgiveness and triumph.

The ongoing miracle of Christmas is that Jesus is still "God with us." He is not some god who is far off and distant, mocking us in our struggles and weaknesses. Instead, he sympathizes with our situation. His last words to his disciples were that he is with us always to the very end. Sometimes I go through periods when it feels like God is a million miles away. When I do I just remind myself that Jesus is still Immanuel.

How about you? How has Jesus been Immanuel to you lately?

Bethany World Prayer Center

2009-10-01T12:07:00.001-07:00

I just returned from a couple of days at Bethany World Prayer Center, hanging out and spending some time with Joel Stockstill and Pastor Larry Stockstill. The trip was great and the two of them gave me some wonderful ideas for how to move LifeGate forward to the next level.

I got to sit in on a couple of their staff meetings. I was most impressed with their youth leadership meeting. Their youth and college ministry, 220, meets in discipleship groups all across Baton Rouge. Last week they had over 5,000 kids participate in a cell and over 700 give their lives to Christ. Their ability to think strategically for the kingdom of God is inspiring. I'm praying for some of that heavenly strategy for here in Lexington.

New York Bound

2009-09-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

So summer's finally over, and with the end of summer comes the end of my long blogging drought. We had a good summer at LifeGate. Several of my church planting mentors and friends, guys who have built significant churches, told me that if we could survive through our first summer we could survive through anything. There were some Sunday's when our crowd was pretty spartan, but we made it through and now we're headed into what I believe is going to be a great time of growth and changing people's lives for eternity.

Our new fall series "Touchdown09" kicks off this coming Sunday. We're going to have a big tailgate party after church (weather permitting) with a Noah's Ark Bounce House for the kids and great free food. Throughout the six week series we'll be doing cool things around our football theme. If your looking for a church then you definitely need to come check us out over the next few weeks. It's going to be great.

Tonight I'm wrapping things up at the office (aka - my basement) and getting ready to head out to New York in the morning. A lot of people wonder what I do for my day job. Well, I work for a ministry called The Center for Spiritual Renewal, which doesn't tell people a lot. But we promote unity among evangelical and charismatic/Pentecostal believers, facilitate high level leadership retreats, and encourage people in the body of Christ to pray. I'm going to New York this week to do all of the above as part of our Cry Out America prayer initiative. On 9/11 we'll have prayer gatherings in over 730 counties around the nation. I'll be praying for America with other Christian leaders at Ground Zero. If you're in Lexington and want to be involved in Cry Out America, just go to the courthouse on Limestone at noon. You'll see a group of people there during the lunch hour praying for an Awakening in our nation. If you want more detail about what we're doing nationally, check it out at www.awakeningamerica.us

Reflections on a Great Sunday

2009-05-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great mother's day at LifeGate. I shared a message from John 4 about the woman at the well as part of our "Looking for Hope" series. God did some great stuff at the end of the message. People were moved to tears as God worked on putting their broken hearts back together. It was cool. Kudos to Alea and the worship team for being obedient and really pressing in at the end of service.

We also had some great Mother's Day gifts for everybody. Hand crafted jewelry for every mother in the church, made by Bethany Boggan. It was special. My wife loved it.

This coming Sunday we'll be wrapping up our Looking for Hope series as we talk about looking for hope when life throws you a curveball. Because of the LCA baccalaureate service, we'll be meeting in the LCA preschool cafeteria this Sunday. It should be cool. The school has assured me that we'll have adult size chairs for everyone to sit it:-)

One other thing. I had promised to post a link to an unbelievable testimony from Shaun King, a native of Lexington who just launched Courageous Church in Atlanta. Take a minute to check out this amazing miracle here. It'll make your day.

When You're Down To Your Last Dime

2009-05-01T13:39:00.001-07:00

We've gone through some tough financial times as a nation over the last few months. Tough times are nothing new as we live in a world that sees financial ups and downs all the time. The Bible is full of stories of God's provision in tough times. This past Sunday we talked about the widow who was down to her last pack of Ramen noodles (ok, it was actually flour and oil, but I'm trying to be culturally relevant). God came through in a big way for her, when others around her were being ruined.

We also looked at 7 financial principles which we can use to order our financial house that can be found in the Word of God. Allow me to share them with you.

Remember that God is Our Source: Deut 8:18 tells us that God gives us the power to obtain wealth. God is the source of all of our talents, abilities and opportunities. All that we have comes from him.
Put God First: From the beginning of Genesis through the New Testament, God requires those who follow Him to put Him first. This is a principle that should apply to every area of our life, including finances. Proverbs 3:9-10 tells us that when we honor God with our wealth our storehouses will overflow. In my life, this means that the first check that I write after getting paid is my tithe check.
Be a Steward: God has entrusted you with the money that you have. He expects you to manage it well. When you are trustworthy over a little bit, you can be trusted with more. Luke 16
Have Integrity: Pay your bills and meet your obligations, even when it hurts.
Get Out and Stay Out of Debt: Proverbs tells us that the borrower is slave to the lender. If you've ever been buried in credit card debt, you know exactly what the Bible is talking about. Quit working for MasterCard and Visa and get out of the slavery that is debt.
Save: Proverbs 21:20 - "A foolish man devours all he has" How many of us live from paycheck to paycheck without ever putting anything aside. The Bible says that is a foolish way to live. Put money aside so that when something unexpected happens you can handle it without going into debt.
Be Generous: God is a giver. He gave the best thing that he had: His Son. We should be generous because God has changed our hearts. And as we bless others, we ourselves will be blessed.

Stay tuned, because sometime over the next few months we'll be tackling financial issues in greater depths at LifeGate Church.

Looking for Hope

2009-04-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great day @ LifeGate yesterday. I shared the second installment of our "Looking for Hope" message series, "Looking for Hope When You've Fallen and You Can't Get Up." It was awesome for a couple of reasons. First, I got to use the 1987 LifeLine commercial as an intro to the message. I thought it was hilarious. If you are too young to remember it, or have never seen it before, you can check it out on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlpDiXPZHQ Second, I believe that God really touched some people and gave them hope that they can get back up again.

Coming up this Sunday we'll be talking about Looking for Hope When You're Down to Your Last Dime. If you are a college student living off Ramen Noodles or just a regular person that is trying to make ends meet in a down economy, then you need to be there.

One other thing. I'm trying to figure out if it is worth the effort to start twittering. I think I may be too verbose to twitter. On the other hand, it might help me refine my communication skills. I want to know if you are twittering. Drop me a line or post a comment and tell me what you think.

My Life Would Suck Without Jesus

2009-03-26T14:04:00.001-07:00

So the lead team for LifeGate Church was sitting around the other day trying to think of some ways to reach new people for Jesus and attract people to LifeGate for Easter. During the middle of the discussion my wife chimed up and said "Did anyone here see American Idol last week?" She started telling us all about Kelly Clarkson's appearance on the show and about her new hit "My Life Would Suck Without You" (FYI...Jamie is a huge AI fan and a super huge Kelly Clarkson fan)

One thing led to another in the conversation and somebody made the comment that life would really suck without Jesus. Immediately, we knew we had an idea. So we decided to issue a challenge to people to share with us why their life would suck without Jesus. We started a facebook group called "My Life Would Suck Without Jesus" and are inviting people to post a 2 minute video about why their life would be different without Him. We're also asking folks to e-mail us and vote for which video they like the best. The maker of the winning video will get $100 to spend at Best Buy.

I've been overwhelmed by the response to this little project so far. In a week we've had 400 people join the group. We've gotten inquiries from people whose lives suck right now and who want to know more about Jesus. It's been great.

We are already planning on doing this contest again next year, but on a bigger scale.

If you get a chance, drop by facebook and check out the group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=147713390197

Lift-Off: Reflections on the LifeGate Launch

2009-02-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday we launched LifeGate Church with a bang. Everything went smoothly. For those of you who weren't able to be there, here are a few highlights of the day:

129 People in attendance
24 Children in our LG Kids program
32 Connection Cards
3 Brand New People who've already signed up for the Dream Team
Most Importantly, 1 person who decided to follow Jesus and Enter a Whole New Way of Life.

It was amazing to witness a dream that I have had for 8 years unfold before my eyes. All of the Dream Team performed at a top level. LG Kids was a big hit with their "Rated Aaargh" pirate themed series. It was great to see kids running around the hallways after church with their pirate eye patches. Alea and the worship team rocked. I got a ton of compliments on how great they sounded. And our hospitality and usher teams were phenomenal.

For pictures of the launch, visit the LifeGate facebook group page @ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65739340832

Now we get to do it all over again in 5 days. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us.

Missionary Heroes

2009-02-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, one of my major fields of study in college was missions. Since I was called to the ministry as a teenager I've felt like doing mission work was part of my calling. For a while I thought that meant I would be living in a slum in India or some grass hut in the bush of Africa. People who do overseas missions are some of my heroes. Very few people have the guts to leave behind everything, immerse themselves in a strange new culture and invest their lives so that people from half a world away can know about Jesus.

My sister Sara, her husband Shaun and their daughter Abi are three heroes. Tomorrow morning they'll be boarding an airplane in Atlanta to travel to Paraguay (for those of you who don't know, that's in South America between Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina) where they'll be managing an orphanage for the next couple of years. I'm proud of them and excited about the work that they'll be doing. If you want to find out more about their work you can check out their awesome blog at www.mortonmissions.blogspot.com.

I've come to realize that all of us are called to be missionaries. Most of us will never take the plunge and move overseas, but we can share the life-giving power of Jesus with the co-worker in the cubicle next to us.

At LifeGate we are totally focused on the mission of Jesus to "Seek and Save What Was Lost" both here in Lexington and around the world. We plan on sending teams across the planet to share the gospel of Jesus, sending financial support to missionaries in other nations, planting churches in the United States and encouraging you to step around the cubicle and introduce someone to the greatest news the world has ever heard.

What's a Dream Team Member?

2008-12-05T14:02:00.001-08:00

In 1992, the greatest group of basketball players ever assembled on one team put on the uniform of the United States of America. For two weeks that summer, the Dream Team, with Barkley, Jordan, Bird, Drexler, Pippen and a host of other hall of fame players, dominated every nation on their way to winning a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games. Watching them was like watching basketball perfection. In fact, I found an old highlight reel of them on YouTube you can watch by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9oXs9x3Vdg

Well, at LifeGate Church, we're not playing basketball (at least not very well) but we are putting together a Dream Team to help us build an awesome Life-giving, Spirit-empowered church here in Lexington. Membership in the dream team is open to anybody as long as you have the following four characteristics:

1. Positive - An LG Dream Team member has to be positive. As much as Winnie the Pooh liked hanging around with him, no one wants an Eeyore as part of the team.

2. Passionate - God has given us one chance to live this one life. And He has invited us to join him on an awesome adventure. We need to make the most of every moment and live at 100% for Christ.

3. Excellent - God gave us his very best when He gave us Jesus. In return, the least when can do is to give and be our best in all that we do for Him.

4. A Servant - In God's kingdom, the way to get ahead is to serve. An LG Dream Team member has to have the heart of a servant. When we serve others we find true fulfillment and joy.

Maybe you need to develop some of these characteristics in your life. Or maybe you're already living life this way. In either case, we invite you to join with us on the LifeGate Dream Team.

Faith Building in Fort Myers

2008-11-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt like your brain was going to short circuit from information overload? For the past week, Jamie and I have been learning so much, I could swear we've had smoke coming out of our ears.

Pastors Matt and Sarah Keller along with their 18 mos old son and two college students, moved to Ft Myers, Florida in 2001 from Ft. Wayne, Indiana in answer to the call of God to start a church here. They started Next Level Church in a coffee shop with four others. Today, NLC has about 1200 members. Every week, God is doing awesome stuff.

For the past week, Jamie and I (along with Amelia) have been guests of NLC at the first ever Association of Related Churches (ARC) R9 church planters training intensive. We've been soaking up information like a sponge from 9:00 AM every morning till 9:00 PM at night. It has been one of the most amazing learning experiences of my entire life.

There is a ton of stuff that I am going to share on this blog that I've learned over the past few days. However, something Matt said today has really stuck with me: "For us, the critical number is always ONE, one broken heart healed, one marriage mended, one person finding Christ, one life changed. That is what we are after, that is what defines our success." It's the same attitude as Jesus in Luke 15, when he leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep.

Think about it. How have you impacted just ONE this week for Jesus?

How He Loves Us

2008-07-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, my Dad took over the pastorate of our home church, Peerless Road Church of God of Prophecy, in Cleveland TN. Dad is an evangelist at heart. The church was a great group of people, with some wonderful "fellowship" groups and friendships, but it seemed like it had been years (at least from my perspective) since any non-Christian had found a relationship with Jesus. For the first year or more of Dad's pastorate he instructed the worship leader to include one specific song in almost every service. That song was entitled "God Loves People" I can still hear the chorus in my head. The lyrics were:

God loves people more than anything
God loves people more than anything
More than anything He wants them to know
He'd rather die than let them go
Cause God loves people more than anything

After a year of wearing this song out, we finally convinced Dad to please stop making us sing it. At the time I was sick of hearing it. But, the message stuck. God really does love people more than anything.

For the past couple of weeks my thoughts have turned back to that powerful truth. I've been listening to Jesus Culture's perfomance of the song "How He Loves Us" (check out the youtube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-lYps) which really drives home the intensity of the love of God.

Every Christian is familiar with John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (NLT). We can quote it robotically. But how often do we stop to think about the impact of that verse? God loves each individual person that has ever lived so much that he sacrificed his own Son in order to rescue them. That means God radically loves my neighbor, my realtor, my doctor, my friends. God radically loves each and every person that I come in contact with. God radically loves me.

That love should be life changing. That love should rearrange our priorities. Truthfully, that love should be life consuming. Paul says it best when he wrote that "For the love of Christ compels us because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

The love of God is pushing me. I want it to consume me. I want to know how wide, how long, how high and how deep it is. I want to experience it. I want to know it.

And I want to give it away.

Refining the Vision

2008-07-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

So it's been a very busy couple of months. I'll probably write a lot more about what has transpired in our life in the last eight weeks in some future posts. Suffice it to say that God has really been stirring up my creativity and giving me some great insight into what he wants us to do here in Lexington.

For eight years now I've had a burden and a desire to plant a Spirit-empowered, life-giving church in Lexington, Kentucky. In my mind and heart I could see some of the end product of what I believe God wants LifeGate Church to become. I see thousands of people in Lexington coming to Christ. I see a house of prayer for all nations. I see a church that has a missions focus and an international impact. I see a multiplying church that plants other churches in Kentucky, the U.S. and eventually around the world. I see a training church that raises up leaders for the Body of Christ. I have a lot of big picture ideas and dreams from the Lord. My problem has been that I'm not sure how to get from our living room Bible study to where I sense God is taking us.

For the last two months I have been really challenged in this area and I've been asking God to give us some inspiration. Jesus said that the principles of prayer are pretty simple, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be open to you." After having what seemed like writer's block for nine months, the floodgates of inspiration and creativity have opened. The vision that God is giving me for how LifeGate will function is simple. Basically, we're going to build a house (spiritually speaking) that will look something like this:

Foundation - This is the first and most important thing that you do when constructing something. The depth and strength of the foundation will determine how high and how large the building will be. The foundation for LifeGate church is found in Matthew 22:37 - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Our foundation is going to be intimacy with Jesus, loving Him, expressed through prayer, passionate worship and the practice of spiritual disciplines. From that foundation, we're going to build four walls for ministry.

Reach - LifeGate is going to be focused on reaching non-Christians with the hope of the good news of Jesus Christ. The passion and purpose of Jesus was to seek and save the lost. The epistle of John tells us that whoever claims to be a Christian must walk as Jesus did. In other words, our purpose needs to line up with His. If there is anything that we can do to Reach non-believers, we are going to do it.

Renew - Paul tells us in Romans that we are not to conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. LifeGate wants to not just reach the lost but to also make fully devoted, mature disciples of Jesus Christ. As a pastor said to me a couple of weeks ago, "We want a full-service church" where people can experience the freedom, purity, transformation, power and maturity that Christ intends for us to experience.

Refine - LifeGate will be a church focused on helping people refine their God-given gifts, talents and abilities in order to expand the kingdom of God. We will train leaders who will impact their circles of influence with the message of Jesus Christ.

Reproduce - The Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) instructs us to Go and Make Disciples. Jesus tells us to teach these disciples to obey everything that He has commanded us to do. I believe that first and foremost among those commands of Jesus is to go and make other disciples. In other words, the process of disciplemaking should be self-sustaining and multiplying. LifeGate's goal will be to reproduce ministry regionally, nationally and internationally.

Relationships - No building is complete without a roof. The roof serves primarily to protect the interior of the building from the elements. We are not only to love God with everything that we have, we are to love our neighbor as ourself. God's word is clear that we are intended to serve him together with others in community. In doing so, we are protected and encouraged. LifeGate will be intentional about developing relationships among believers as we work together to advance the kingdom of God.

Psalm 127 reminds us that unless the Lord builds a house, those that build it are just wasting their time. I'm excited to see what God is going to do in building the house called LifeGate Church. More later.

Jesus The Life Gate

2008-04-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Last week in Bible study we took a break from looking at what it means to be a church and wandered over to one of my favorite passages in the gospel of John, chapter 10. In it Jesus compares himself to a shepherd. The passage has some powerful imagery that gives great insight into our relationship with Christ. However, I think the most powerful imagery is Jesus' description of himself as the gate.

When I hear the word gate, the image that pops into my mind is of the gate in the fence around my backyard, or maybe a gate on one of the horse fences here in Lexington. But when I studied this passage, I found out that scholars say that the shepherd himself would actually lie across the entrance to the sheep pen and his body would serve as the barrier. You literally had to go through the shepherd to get into the pen with the other sheep.

Jesus continues on to talk about how the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. How moving to know that Jesus literally laid down his life for me. Now, because I belong to the shepherd, the theif can't touch me without going through him.