Category Archives: church planting
After the commercials…
Chances are you’ve already seen Volkswagen’s “force” commercial that played during the Superbowl. (almost 20 MILLION people have viewed this youtube clip alone!) I like VW’s, Darth Vader, and cute little kids, so I’m all thumbs up for this clip. However, other than demonstrating the remote start feature of the new Passat, the commercial really did not focus on the features and benefits of owning a VW. If over 100 Million+ people viewing a really creative and funny ad translates into increased VW sales, the campaign will be a success. If all 100 Million+ viewers love the “cute little Darth Vader”, and aren’t motivated to check out a new VW…the campaign will be an expensive failure. What happens AFTER the commercial is what is most important!
Sunday I talked about how actionchurch exists to do two things:
1. Demonstrate the power of “the God who Rescues”
2. Change people’s mind about God.
I hate to compare Sunday morning services to a “commercial” for God…but in a way it’s a pretty good comparison. I want as MANY people as possible to be introduced to God in creative, funny, and compelling ways. I want to see the pipe and drape curtain at the rear of the theatre completely disappear. In fact, I think we should fill the theater multiple times on Sunday! I would love to see actionchurch introduce 100 Million+ to the Living God on a Sunday! (although I’m not sure where we’d get that many donuts. :-) )
Here’s the thing though: It’s important that more people each week come to hear about God at actionchurch. It’s important that we engage them in creative, artistic, and compelling ways. We shouldn’t neglect that. It’s just that what happens AFTER Sunday Morning is what really “counts”…
Updating…
Here’s an update on how we are doing since our move to Frank Theaters three weeks ago. If you’d like, you can also read this update, “Stuff we Need” from after the move.
Big Picture: We are really blessed to be able to call Frank Theaters Queensgate our new Venue. It’s hard to imagine that just three weeks ago we had our last service at Club 19…and that it was already being demo’d for remodel…and that there were already holes cut in the concrete floor that we had to block so that people didn’t fall in! It’s important to remember that this has never been a “hey let’s move to a new venue for a change of scenery” kind of move. Instead, we’ve just pulled through a “if-God-doesn’t-provide-a-new-venue-we-are-finished-as-a- church” kind of move. Every Sunday I thank God that instead of being unable to meet as a church, we are able to instead grow and introduce actionchurch to more people each week.
Stuff we are working on:
This Sunday we will be moving the cafe area down closer to our main auditorium entrance. We are working to create a better “flow” and less congestion in our entry hall.
Children’s Ministry- We are so thankful for all of you who have volunteered to be part of the actionkidz crew. We still need more help as we work to create a schedule of crew members so that no one is “over-used” or worn out by being in the children’s area every week. We are also working to refine how church for kidz works in a theater versus a night club.
We are still working on Sound and Lighting. Last week we hired a sound man/system. The previous two weeks we were operating on gear borrowed from bands. This week we will begin using our own gear that has been donated/borrowed/purchased. We still need some stuff to finish out the system, but I am so thankful not only to have gear, but also to be able for the FIRST time to have the control of the sound coming out in the hands of actionchurch crew members! That is a huge step for us.
Cha-cha-changes. There is nothing more difficult in any organization than change. We have experienced a lot of it in the last few weeks…and more is to come as we work to “improve our serve” in our new venue. Many of our crew members have taken on different responsibilities. We’ve been blessed with some great new crew members that to be honest I can’t imagine being without. We still have some important areas that we are missing. Thanks for your patience as we continue to “build a plane in the air”…as we continue to adjust to a new venue in a process that could have taken months to merely plan for!
Stuff we still need:
We are still in need of a large box truck/local storage for our gear. Jerry has been generously loaning us his bus…but with the addition of sound gear we are simply going to be out of space.
Sound gear: We are still missing some pieces and parts for our sound system…but we are so blessed to even be able to say the words “our sound system”. If you’d like to be a part of making actionchurch heard, we need approximately $2000 to finish the system.
Advertising. There are so many opportunities to advertise actionchurch inside of the theaters during the week. Thousands of people attend movies at the theaters each week. We need funding to let them know that actionchurch happens there on Sunday mornings.
Lighting/Staging. Everything we have purchased for the move is paid for. That’s how we roll as a church…and it’s a pretty great way to live in general. We currently do not have the funds for lighting and staging to finalize our set-up at the theater. Lighting will dramatically improve the look, feel, and flow of Sunday mornings…but we are not going into debt to buy it.
Thats where we are at. I know that God clearly made a way for us to be where we are as a church in the past…and will continue to do so in the future. You can be part of that!
Stuff we need:
I mentioned yesterday that we are still sourcing stuff for our move to Frank Theatres (Queensgate Stadium 13). Here’s some of the stuff we need along with stuff we had to purchase so far:
Stuff we need:
Large Box Truck: to haul and move church PA system, Lighting, Signage and Childrens stuff. Best case scenario would be an used U-haul type truck with a roll up gate and a ramp so we can roll things in and out.
Box Truss for Lighting. Two 8 foot sections. Also need base plates. (2) We have the lights sourced. Just need the truss. and base plates. (links are for illustration purposes only)
PA system. Over the next few weeks we are very blessed to be able to borrow and steal :-) what we need. After we find out the very best (and most economical) way to rock the theater we will need to purchase some items. One thing we are looking forward to at the theaters is being able to create great sound with out the head rattling volumes of the club. The theater was designed and tuned for great sound…you can help us make it happen.
Stuff we’ve purchased:
New signage. $1100.
Projectorsfor Children’s and adult services (this was our largest expense) $4300.
Pipe and Drape system for main theater. (allows us to expand theatre seating up to 350 seats gradually.) $600.
Two way radios so that children’s workers can communicate with the main auditorium. $175.
New Children’s Curriculum designed for Theatres. $400
So what can you do? I’m glad you asked. You could purchase an item we don’t have yet…or help sponsor one that we’ve already purchased. Maybe you just happen to have a box truck or box truss laying around the house. :-) As a church we have been given the opportunity to share the message of Jesus with a huge new group of people. We get the opportunity to continue to Love God, Love People, and Take action. You could help us be seen and heard on Sunday mornings.
Moving To Frank Theatres (Queensgate Stadium 13)
“Sometimes you get to see the miracle…Sometimes you get to be the miracle.” Author unknown.
Thursday of last week we finally got approval to make the brand new Frank Theatres Complex our new venue. On Saturday we were able to tour the theatres and begin to plan how actionchurch will operate there. Sunday we moved out of Club 19. Since then Josiah has designed all new signage/branding and Michele and I have been sucked into a whirl wind of Google searches and two day shipping, trying to source all the things we need for a service there on Sunday. The pace is insane. There’s still a lot to be done, and even more things to try to figure out.
Here’s the thing that is SO clear through this whole transition period. God is NOT surprised. God is in control. And, God is supplying everything we need…and he’s doing it through the people of actionchurch.
Jerry has at this point booked four bands to play next Sunday 11/14. Two of them canceled in the last week. (Not to mention that we don’t yet have a PA/lighting system for them to play through yet :-)) On Sunday the guys from Thru Me agreed to play…and bring their PA system. Someone else (Thanks Saj) has offered their PA for the following week. Jerry loaned us his bus and too many other things to mention to make the move this week. Many of you have stepped up your financial giving to make our purchases for the new venue possible.
We still have some pretty significant things that we need to do actionchurch at Frank Theatres. One of them is a Box truck (uhaul moving type with a ramp) to haul and store our equipment in during the week. We need a new lighting system. Because of our speedy moving schedule we desperately need folks to tell everyone they know that we’ll be meeting at a new time (10:30) and a new place. We don’t want anyone showing up Sunday at Club 19 at 11am.
I’d love for you to show up on Sunday at 10:30 and see the miracle…come see a church that was “almost homeless” last week, in a new venue that clearly exceeds anything we “deserve”. Come see a church that most people in York county don’t know about…move in to a venue that exposes us to thousands of people EACH WEEK who may not yet know Jesus! I’d love for you to come and “see the miracle”…but can you imagine how much better it can feel to actually “Be the miracle”? You can be part of this miracle…everyone has something, or knows something that will be necessary for this move.
Stay tuned here for more opportunities to “be the miracle”.