Through the years God has allowed me to experience different venues at some of our campuses (multiple times). Although each are different, the goal at them has always been the same…to make Jesus name famous, one person at a time!
To sum up a little of the journey so far, it looks like this…
- Anderson Campus (portable location)
- Anderson Campus (transition to permanent location)
- Greenville Campus (new permanent location)
- Greenville Campus (transition to portable location)
Through all of that, I can honestly say…I’m still clueless! My call isn’t to become an expert on how to “do” church. My call is to constantly be begging for the voice of God to lead me and His strength to be obedient to Him!
At the same time, if I were to sum up a few of the things God’s taught me though the journey so far, it might go like this…
I CAN’T DO IT ON MY OWN
Regardless the type of venue, one thing is constant…we NEED God more than ever! We can’t do what we do without God! We NEED Jesus! We have to be begging for His voice & direction in our lives…personally and as leaders.
VOLUNTEERS MATTER MORE THAN YOU KNOW
Again, it’s not all about me! The thing I’ve seen constant at every venue is that volunteers are the LIFE BLOOD of what we do! Our passion isn’t to do ministry…our passion is to empower them to OWN the ministry! The best thing we can do to grow our campus is to do all we can to grow our volunteers…spiritually, relationally and as WE execute Sunday!
DON’T COMPROMISE ENVIRONMENTS
Although many things change when a venue goes from permanent to portable…it doesn’t have to as much as we think. True, there are things to consider when portable…truck size, mobility & durability. However, many times we lean towards what’s easy, instead of doing all we can to set the bar high, motivate volunteers to own it and actually create safe, clean, FUN environments that are portable.
I like to strive to set environments that, if our families didn’t know any better, they would think we aren’t portable.
STAY FOCUSED
In the end, regardless of the type of venue we are privileged to get to do church in, we have to stay focused. We have to stay focused on reaching out to people in Jesus name! We have to stay true to our church’s vision and do all we can to compromise NEITHER! It may not always be easy, but it is the calling.
So, there’s what I’ve been learning, am still learning and still have to learn! The great part is, that we often forget…it’s a privilege for us to be a part of it, to be called, to get to be IN on what God’s doing!
So we should thank Him, beg for more of Him, and regardless of how hard or long the journey may be… run the race with perseverance!
Because THAT will bring Him HONOR…and that’s our life’s calling!!