keith watson

Much to Celebrate - New City turns 4!

2012-01-18T10:23:00.001-05:00

New City Church turns 4

January 2008 - New City Church held its first weekly gathering at The Cox Capitol Theater... it seems like yesterday in so many ways. Who would show up? Would we receive enough in offerings to rent the facilities for another week? Could our volunteers set up and tear down and man all of the stations, not just once but every week? Could we really do this? Those and a thousand similar questions.
Well, we did it - purely by God's great grace!
Over these 4 years we have seen some amazing fruit - marriages saved and families restored; homeless addicts healed; de-churched re-churched, unbelievers becoming believers, mended families, lots of new children (probably as many adopted as born!), and a great impact through us and The 567 on our downtown community... all by God's great grace.
Just over 4 years ago 40 people (including kids) believed that God wanted to do something through a new church in Macon - one of the most churched cities in the US. Together we dreamed of seeing the gospel radically impact lives - we dreamed of transformed people, a transformed city, and beyond. More than a Sunday gathering, we dreamed of true community - people doing life together - seeking, striving, growing, serving, loving - in true community.
Today those 40 have become well over 600 - today that 1 gathering has turned into 3 congregations in 3 cities - today the dream of community has turned into 15 Missional Communities with 5 about to plant and more in the planning stages - today our home base is a 12,000 sf building in the heart of downtown that we renovated - it serves as not only the home of New City Church but also as a true community center for downtown Macon... all by God's great grace.
Don't get the idea that it has all been easy and always beautiful, it hasn't. Sadly over 4 years we have lost many of our core families and friends for various reasons - some destroyed by sin, others discontent with the difficulties of planting, and a few who realized they weren't dreaming the same dreams that we were. Each has been painful. But God's great grace has been sufficient.
We have much to celebrate at New City Church - downtown, Milledgeville, and Warner Robins... we have much more in mind for 2012... and by God's great grace we will be celebrating even more in January 2013! Thank you God for your great grace - thank you New City volunteers and missionaries for dreaming, believing, and working to see the gospel transform everything within your reach.

New City Planting makes the Paper

2012-01-10T09:05:00.002-05:00

New City expands to WR, keeps focus on communities

By MICHAEL W. PANNELL - Sun News correspondent

(online article HERE)

Fifty families from Warner Robins and surroundingcommunities who were attending a Macon church were sent in August to start NewCity Church Warner Robins.

The group had been attending New City Downtown (Macon) andhad already begun meeting during the week in area home groups they callmissional communities.

On Aug. 14, they began a new congregation that meets Sundayevenings at 6 in another local church’s building, The River on U.S. 127 inKathleen.

Patrick McConnell serves as pastor of the new church. Hesaid New City Church Downtown was begun in Macon about four years ago by KeithWatson. New City Church Downtown, he said, committed itself to downtown revitalizationeconomically, in the arts and spiritually. Not only does the church meetdowntown, it also offers start-up business space and operates The 567, agallery and music space.

“Any time we had events in Macon, people from Warner Robinsdrove there,” McConnell said. “Since our focus is community, we were defeatingourselves going to Macon and not investing here. New City Downtown always hadchurch planting in mind. Having a good core group of people living in WarnerRobins -- then the offer to use The River as a meeting place -- made the timeseem right.”

McConnell said there is a New City church plant inMilledgeville and one beginning in Albany.

New City is associated with the Acts 19 Network, a networkof churches and church planters based in the Pacific Northwest.

McConnell, 38, said he is more accurately the campus pastorfor the Warner Robins church. He said Watson is considered lead pastor for thechurches in Macon, Warner Robins, Milledgeville and Albany. He said all of thepastors are elders in New City and share preaching responsibilities.

Though McConnell said the Warner Robins church will notnecessarily locate in what would be considered old downtown, the commitment tocommunity is still there.

“We have three missional communities in Warner Robins nowand plan to have a fourth this month, then a fifth around March or April,” hesaid. “We do have Bible studies in these groups, but they’re not just for that.They are people on a mission to do life together and serve the wider communitywith the gospel and by being good neighbors.”

He said one group is partnering with foster care families inHouston County to provide respite and general help. In another group, one ofthe leaders is an Air Force officer and they help military families withdeployed spouses.

“When you look at New City Church Downtown and the heartbeatthere, you jump to arts and business,” McConnell said. “Here it looks a lotdifferent because it’s just not the same. We still want to be a light, but ourmissional communities are doing different things throughout the community. Weall share the same philosophy to impact our cities through the gospel.”

McConnell and his wife, Jennifer, moved from Macon to WarnerRobins with their six children to lead the church. McConnell serves the churchpart-time and works full-time for Geico.

He said New City Church Warner Robins plans to reach certaingoals before a full-time pastor comes aboard.

“Jennifer is from Macon and I’m from Sharpsburg,” McConnellsaid. “We met while attending college, married while I was serving in the AirForce and wound up in Spokane, Wash. When I got out of the Air Force, I knew Iwanted to be a pastor and went through a pastoral training program at a churchaffiliated with John McArthur’s Grace Community Church. I did youth work andco-pastored.”

McConnell said he also worked with an adoption agency andlater became executive director of a nonprofit agency called Grace GivingInternational, a group working with orphans in Ethiopia and Uganda.

The McConnells have two biological children and have adoptedfour. They moved to Macon to be part of New City Downtown a year after itstarted.

“We believed in the vision of New City Church for churchplanting, verse-by-verse expository teaching of the Bible, the sovereignty ofGod and the missional aspect of the church. We don’t want to just serve anorganization but rather we want to build relationships with people and let themsee the affection we have for Jesus.”

Planting Again... in Macon

2012-01-04T13:41:00.000-05:00

Things have been super busy - as usual!
We are working hard in Milledgeville and are excited that New City Church Milledgeville is moving to John Milledge Academy on January 15. The move will provide them with enough space to go from 3 services to 1. The move will also allow them to expand their mission and be much more inclusive of families... good stuff.

Warner Robins continues to grow and will be adding 1 new MC this month and possibly another around March. We are planning for 2012 and hope to see a real push to grow our core and work toward launching Sunday morning services in our own space.

Downtown (Macon) is going great as well. We sent out about 50 people in August of last year to Warner Robins and have seen our downtown attendance continue to grow - even averaging MORE in attendance in 2011 than 2010 even though we sent 50 people to start a new congregation.
AND
we are in the planning stages for a second site in Macon. Crazy, I know. We are praying and working toward the possibility of a January 2013 launch. We have tons of unanswered questions and a lot that needs to happen before we could do it.

To help people understand our next Macon plant (WHY, HOW, WHAT...) and encourage other churches to take steps toward planting, I started a new blog - New City Planting . Check it out and help plant churches!

Tangibly Impacting Our City - Main Street Press Release

2011-11-16T11:08:00.002-05:00

Business incubator takes shape at The 567 Center for Renewal

Macon, GA -- Wednesday, November 16 at 3:00 p.m. will mark a milestone in the life of The 567 Center for Renewal located at 533 Cherry Street. The organization works for the revitalization of Downtown Macon through access to music and the arts, educational and small business assistance, and city beautification. On Wednesday the small business assistance piece of the puzzle falls into place with the Grand Openings of three businesses - Beckenfield Fragrances, Inc., MO’S Cleaning Services, Inc. and Visibly Creative.

Beckenfield Fragrances, Inc. features a specialty line called Valor – Candles For Men which offers an exceptional line of masculine scented candles and other manly inspired products. The Valor brand celebrates manhood by offering fragrances inspired by places or events that are typically considered to be manly in nature. “Every great experience has a story. My goal was to capture the essence of those stories by triggering the sense of smell, which is tied to memory and emotion. Scent can often enable us to re-live the positive feelings associated with great experiences," says Johnny Rohrbeck, founder.

Myra Omofoma, a resident of the Macon Housing Authority (MHA) for three years, is now the proud owner/operator of a micro-business, a domestic cleaning service, Mo's Cleaning Services, Inc. Her company strives to be “green” and Omofoma implements, manages, and audits cleaning processes and procedures to avoid using potentially hazardous cleaning chemicals and contaminants that may adversely affect air quality, human health, and the environment. She has hired several employees from the Georgia Department of Labor, Goodwill Industries/Helm Institute, and other residents from the Macon Housing Authority.

Visibly Creative specializes in custom website development campaigns including branding, design, coding, and marketing. Owner, Eric Mayfield also offers social media packages, onsite consultation, search engine marketing and optimization, mobile app development and training for all internet technology. New customers receive a 30 minute free consultation.

“These innovative ways of thinking and doing business will only continue to strengthen the business mix we have in Downtown Macon. The incubator space provides services that often make it daunting for an entrepreneur when considering a start-up and The 567 is changing the landscape for these folks. It allows them to follow their dreams and in turn makes Macon a better to place to do business,” say Mechel McKinley, Main Street Macon Manager.

For more information about The 567 Center for Renewal visit their website at www.the567.org.

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Obstacles that Limit Church Planting

2011-11-11T09:33:00.005-05:00

New City Church is a church planting church. We believe that one of the best ways to reach new people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is through church planting. We do and will aggressively seek ways to plant new churches... but there are obstacles! Below is an article addressing some of those obstacles, or Limiting Factors. Money and Training seem to be two of the most common factors... and two of the factors that have been on my mind.
* This post is not meant to be an endorsement of MentorNet, but is meant to stir further thought on overcoming church planting obstacles.
_________________________________

MentorNet #43
Factors Limiting Sustaining Church Planting Movements
Copyright © 2006 by Galen Currah and George Patterson
May be freely copied, translated, posted, and distributed.

1. Limiting factor: Many church planters are young men without jobs who must be supported by a limited source of funds that often come from outside of the region they serve.

Remedy: Enlist as church planters more persons who already have an income and who would qualify as a shepherding elder as defined by the New Testament.

2. Limiting factor: If church planters are trained only in occasional workshops or academies held during the day, then those who work during the day cannot attend them. Thus, only single young people are trained, bypassing ‘elder types’ who support themselves and have the maturity required in many communities to reach serious-minded heads of families.
Remedy: Supplement class-room type training with mentoring that is available to all, such as is described under “Mentor New Leaders” from www.MentorAndMultiply.com.

3. Limiting factor: Church planters who are volunteers and self-supported often have jobs or businesses that do not let them travel far.
Remedy: Let paid or professional church planters start only the first two or three churches in a region, as they are able to travel afar. Thereafter, let these churches send some of their own members to plant the rest of the churches nearby in their region. The most effective church planting teams normally are composed of members of a nearby 'mother' church of the same culture. Such members usually have friends and relatives living where they plant daughter churches. This type of churchFactors Limiting Sustaining Church Planting Movements 2 reproduction is described under “Start, Develop and Renew God's Flocks” at www.MentorAndMultiply.com.

4. Limiting factor: New churches often have new leaders with only a minimal amount of training and Bible knowledge.
Remedy: Enable all shepherds to fulfill their biblical duty of mentoring the new leaders of their daughter churches in the same way that Jesus and the apostle Paul did, as also described under “Mentor New Leaders” at www.MentorAndMultiply.com.

5. Limiting factor: Missionaries and church planters often lack experience in a type of mentoring that is both biblical and 'menu-driven,' which meets urgent needs of new churches, and is geared to rapid church reproduction.
Remedies: 1) Ask a mentor to help you start mentoring. The mentors listed under “Select a Mentor Skilled in your Area” at www.MentorAndMultiply.com charge no fees (unless being mentored for academic credit). They will stay with you, helping you to think through your plans, until you see churches multiply.
2) Teach and apply biblical guidelines of Christian mentoring. See “Tasks of a Christian mentor and Mentoring 'Chains' in Scripture” under “Mentor New Leaders” at www.MentorAndMultiply.com.

6. Limiting factor: Mentoring the way Jesus and Paul did it proves too time-consuming to continue doing indefinitely.
Remedy: Like Jesus and Paul's apprentices, your trainees must be weaned from intensive mentoring as soon as their churches are practicing the vital ministries that are required by the New Testament. These trainees, in turn, must by now have the confidence and skills to mentor other, newer leaders of their daughter churches or cells. Trainees can then receive ongoing training in more conventional forms such as workshops, personal reading and classroom instruction. Just take care not to force institutional training on the newer leaders.

Conclusion
Sustaining a church planting movement requires ongoing training of church planters and shepherds. In many movements, especially where churches must multiply under severe restrictions, mentoring as done in the ways that Christ and Paul did it, does in fact sustain the movement.

See the entire article HERE.

Finding Bigfoot... in a Missional Community

2011-11-04T12:18:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week I had a little chill time at home. Ivey and Robby were doing homework and Amy was helping. That left me and Elijah - and a little TV time. After a few minutes of channel surfing, trying to find something I could watch with Elijah, he chose his show with excitement... Finding Bigfoot.

OK, I thought... "maybe there is something interesting here." That lasted for about 5 minutes. Then my thoughts included: "This is the dumbest show I have ever seen," and "surely this isn't real." I moved on to silently wonder, "do people actually watch this?" and "do they think week after week after week - MAYBE this will be the week that they actually FIND Bigfoot?" Meanwhile, Elijah is loving it! The night searches scare him. The people talking about what they saw in the woods captivates him. He loves it... cuddled next to me he loves it. He's 8. I didn't love it... not the show... not for a whole hour! But I do love Elijah. And I enjoy seeing him happy. And sometimes he just needs to sit and talk, and laugh, and be scared with daddy. So for Elijah, and enjoyment of him - I watched the entire episode!

At New City Church we value life lived in community... a diverse community... we believe that this community should be racially diverse, culturally diverse, socio-economically diverse, and age/stage of life diverse. THIS should describe our Missional Communities (MCs). Sometimes living in that diversity is tough as one group or age may enjoy things that others don't. One group may want to do things, see things, talk about things that are as important to others. BUT learning from one another and living in this diversity is a) the biblical example for church, b) the best way/place for the "one anothers" of Scripture to be lived out, and c) according to the apostle Paul is the way that best exhibits to creation the manifold wisdom of God in the Gospel.

So - how with the difficulties associated with diversity do MCs work?

Like Finding Bigfoot with me and Elijah.

For the good and unity of the community and our own good and for the glory of God, we sometimes set ourselves and our desires aside and put others first. Paul said it this way in Philippians 2:

³Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus

The New South Needs Church Plants

2011-11-01T09:44:00.006-04:00

As High As 450... that's the number of churches in Macon, more per capita than any city in the South and by some accounts more than any city in the US. With all of those churches it would seem that Macon must be the most churched city in the US, but it is far from it. This Sunday and estimated 75% of Macon's population will sleep in.

If Macon statistics are similar to National statistics:
* 80% of those 450 churches have plateaued or are declining,
* "growing" established churches receive 80-90% of their new people as transfers from an existing church,

* and the percentage of those claiming to be Christian will continue to decline (87% in 1990, 76% 2008).

Sadly, I once read that 95% of existing churches are unable to change their DNA. This means that they are unable to change methodologies and styles (not theology) in order to meet the challenges and changes of our world.

That's why New City Church plants churches... even in a city with more churches per capita than any city in the South, and thats why we will plant more... to engage a changing culture with the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to plant with us, email me - keith@newcitydowntown.org and join us this Saturday at our first Church Planters Roundtable.

Manly Smells

2011-10-20T16:27:00.005-04:00

A few months back a friend told me about a business idea he had... it sounded like a good one - man candles. Yes, man candles... real man candles not bath and body works chick candles - Candles that smell like things men enjoy. I got a sneak sniff of the candles before they went to market... Johnny was on to something!

Then Johnny gave me three sample candles to enjoy and share. I have done both! My favorite 2 scents are Humidor (described by the maker as "the relaxing aroma of pipe tobaacco and cedar) and Parlor ("the distinctive fragrances of a classic barbershop).

I am proud to say that Valor Candles for Men now has an office at The 567, just down the hall from my office. I recommend their candles to you because I like them. Buy one. Support a new downtown business. And make your home or office smell manly... in a good way.

PS My wife enjoys the manly smells as well!

Foundations

2011-10-08T21:58:00.005-04:00

We'll take a break from The Gospel of Mark until January beginning 10.16.11

Foundations: exploring the Mission and Vision of New City Church.

This series will also serve as our next New City Class. For those interested in Partnering with New City Church, we'll have a partnership Q and A 11.6.11 following our main gathering.

Church Planter Round Tables

2011-10-06T15:43:00.018-04:00

round table - noun \'raun(d)-ta-bel

a conference for discussion or deliberation by several participants.

New City Church downtown will begin hosting monthly round tables for church planters (0-1yrs in) answering basic church planting questions:

Why Plant? Biblical reasons, Practical reasons, Statistical reasons... Why are YOU planting?

What to Plant? (Missional? Incarnational? Traditional? What will your church look like?

Who Should Plant? (The marks of a church planter)

Where to Plant?

When to Plant? (What should be in place for a church launch?)

How to Plant? (Methodologies, Systems, Structures, Financing...)

FOR: planters of a newer church (0-1 yr), or those preparing to plant a church as well as their team members and leaders.

First Round Table:

Saturday, November 5, 9:30am

Topic - Why Plant A New Church?

@ The 567 / 533 Cherry Street / Macon, GA 31210

For More information email: keith@newcitydowntown.org

Register HERE

Thanks Dylan

2011-10-06T14:19:00.000-04:00

Because I really like this...

4 Types of Staff Members, by Perry Noble

2011-10-06T13:37:00.005-04:00

#1 – “Can Do”

This is the person that if you tell them you want to land a 747 on the stage of your church they immediately begin to brainstorm as to how it can be done. They have a fire and passion and really do believe that NOTHING is impossible with God.

However, they ARE realistic! I have several members on the team I serve with that will say, “I love that idea Perry, now, let me tell you what it will take in order for that to happen,” and then they proceed to tell me the things that I may not be aware of in regards to the implementation of the vision. They aren’t saying we can’t do it…they just want me to know all that it is going to take.

I LOVE THIS…I love it when staff are realistic…every leader should.

#2 – “Can’t Do”

Many times these people like to refer to themselves as “the devils advocate,” they are always finding reasons things can’t get done and seem to bring a negative tone to every meeting they are in. I have said it before, I will say it again…the devil does not need a freakin advocate, he is doing fine all by himself. The person that is always saying that something can’t be done is USUALLY saying so because if the vision that is being cast is put into play then it will cause either a greater amount of work for them…OR require them to leave their comfort zone.

These people drain the crap out of you and are not an asset to your team!

#3 – “Won’t Do”

These are the people on staff that are more obsessed with their gifting than their calling…and so if they are asked to do something that isn’t in line with their perceived gift then they refuse to do it. (Which in case their “gift” has now became their idol!)

If a staff member (including the senior pastor) isn’t willing to do whatever it takes to make the vision happen then that team will NEVER accomplish all that it could accomplish. If someone on staff makes it a common practice to declare what they will not do in regards to executing the vision of the church then they are not pursuing Jesus (who washed feet in John 13) and need to be confronted in love and challenged that our gifting does make us unique…but we all have the same calling, to do whatever it takes to reach as many people as possible who are far from God.

#4 – “Didn’t Know I Could Do”

The disciples had no idea they could do what they wound up doing until a leader came along (Jesus) who was constantly challenging them to go beyond themselves and attempt the “impossible.”

John Mark had no idea of what he was capable of until Barnabas believed in him.

Timothy was just a guy in the church until the Apostle Paul spotted greatness in him and asked him to assist him in his ministry.

And there are people in our churches and on our staff that are able to do way more than they are currently doing…they just are unaware of it because a leader has never dared to believe in them nor challenged them to leave their comfort zone.

It is a powerful thing when the people believe in their leader…it is even a more powerful thing when a leader believes in the people he has been given stewardship over.

Book Review: Is God a Christian? R. Kirby Godsey

2011-09-28T14:34:00.003-04:00

As soon as I learned of Dr. Godsey's new book, I ordered it. I was anxious to read it though I expected us to differ on numerous points. I was anxious because I expected to be challenged by Dr. Godsey. For those who do not know who Dr. Godsey is, he served as the 17th President of Mercer University here in Macon. Dr. Godsey was a great president who did many, many good things for Mercer University, though he was often in trouble for his teachings on Christianity with the Southern baptists who supported Mercer. Agree with Dr. Godsey or disagree, he has been viewed as a brilliant and influential man. So my expectations were that the book would be equally brilliant and influential.

It was not. It was a sad disappointment. It was filled with flawed logic and half truths concerning the Christian faith that Dr. Godsey claims to associate himself with. While I expected our views to be different, I didn't expect what I read - over-generalizations and misrepresentations.

I am sorry to say that this book will not bring most evangelical Christians to the table for honest discussion because it is less than honest about evangelical Christianity. My last word here... disappointing.

Let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean:

In the Preface: "We seem eager to believe that God is only on our side. Scholars know better. Theologians know better. Most preachers know better." Where does Dr. Godsey get his information that "most" scholars, theologians, and preachers know better? Is he insinuating that we (theologians and preachers, and scholars) teach and preach something that we know is not true?

He follows that with an accusation that we are teaching congregations to be exclusive and mean-spirited. All of this he ties to the teaching of exclusivity in Christianity.

Pg 21 - "Christians need to get over it. Jesus is not God's only word." Jesus is then equated as a word of God with creation, Adam, Mother Teresa, Muhammad, Pope John XXIII, Gandhi, MLK, the Qur'an and more. Godsey never really explains what he means but does say that to disagree with him by claiming that any word is THE WORD of God or from God is "a form of myopic self-centeredness that presumes to place ourselves-our vision and our understanding - at the center of God's universe."

Further - pg 22 - anyone who believes "that Christianity alone or Muslims alone have sole access to the ultimate reality that underlies the meaning of the universe" is irrational. Really? Why? Why can someone not have truth?

One last one: pg 23 - "Jesus showed us that we really come alive only when we see beyond ourselves to our essential connectedness to one another, including Muslims and Jews and Buddhists and others." No reference to Jesus' actual teaching is given. Probably because there is none.

Shared Leadership is Hard

2011-09-28T13:06:00.003-04:00

New City Church is led by a team of elders. Our elders are equal in authority. This means that our elder team makes decisions together and all share an equal "vote" on the decisions we share in leading the church. As New City church downtown's Lead Pastor I am considered the "first among equals." This simply means that I lead the team of elders who govern and shepherd New City Church. I am first among EQUALS which means that while I may lead our Elders, we are still equal. I have no more authority than any other elder. My vote carries the same weight as his vote. We believe that this best describes the example of church leadership, and elder specific leadership that is described in Scripture... but this isn't a post on how we are structured as much as it is on how hard this sometimes is.

Most church planters make all or almost all of the decisions of the church in its first days, months, and even years. A leadership team of some sort (external elders who are not a part of the plant, internal leadership who are not yet elders...) is put in place to help in decisions and offer wisdom, but most often the decision rests on the planter. I am not saying that this is right or wrong, only that it is largely a fact.

Over time the elder team develops from within the church - as it has at New City. As the elder team grows (and it should) it also becomes more diverse (as it also should). Now decisions are shared. With diversity comes differences of opinion, different informational needs in order to make decisions, schedule conflicts, time conflicts (especially for lay-elders), and sometimes just plain conflict! All of this often leads seemingly to a slowing of forward motion and loss of energy as decision making on larger items requires much more effort, longer discussions, the acquisition of more and more information, and much more time.

It would be much simpler and much faster as well as less draining if one man (read if "I") just made the decisions. There is truth to that. It would be simpler, and faster... and much more dangerous. Shared leadership is hard - this transition can be very frustrating and draining... but it is good and necessary. Team leadership brings wisdom that one person doesn't have. It brings perspective that no single leader can possess. It brings options that and solutions that one leader may never have thought of. It brings accountability that not only protects the body of Christ, but also protects each leader. Shared leadership is hard, but it is good.

I write this for any planter who hasn't made it to this point! The transition is hard. But it will be and is worth it.

Sometimes Subtraction is really Multiplication

2011-08-15T11:02:00.004-04:00

Ten months ago, New City Church downtown was a single campus, not quite three years old. We seemed to finally be pushing to or through the 200 mark in regular attendance (one of the growth barriers in church world). A month later we sent out around 25 regular attendees to launch New City Church Milledgeville.

Rebounding growth began slowly... until late this summer we were again pushing through the 200 barrier with some consistency. Then came August 14, 2011 when at age of 3 years and 8 months we sent out 50 regular attending, hard working, giving, people who are sold out on the mission and vision of New City Church to plant New City Church Warner Robins...

So if we looked at the numbers of subtraction (after all we are subtracting!) we would see:

200-25 = 175 -50 = 125... all in the span of 9 months...

But sometimes Subtraction is really Multiplication!

With most of our Mercer University crowd not back yet, downtown was at 170 yesterday.

The new Warner Robins campus was at 125 (send out 50, get 125?!?!)

Milledgeville on move in weekend ExPlOdED! 380

Let's see... 170 + 125 + 380 = 675

By subtracting 75, we have almost tripled in attendance... which means we have almost tripled in influence, in opportunity, and in the number of potential missionaries that we can equip to advance the Kingdom! Incredible.

I am about #s - it is true - in that numbers represent people, and I love to see people transformed by Jesus through the gospel! And the more people I see being transformed by his radical love and work, the more excited I get.

I am amazed at the work that God is doing in our midst. I give him all of the credit (glory) for what is happening in and through New City Church... and I am enjoying the ride!

Our MC is bigger than some churches!

2011-08-11T09:14:00.005-04:00

New City Church's attendance for it's launch in January 2008 was 100 people. Of that 100, we probably had a strong core of about 50 - including children! And yes, our children were strong, attending weekly and being involved in most everything that we did.

A month ago we started a new Missional Community. I am co-leading with a couple - Amy and Justin Weaver. Last night we met and with several of our core folks absent we had another packed house with more first timers - exciting! The problem is, the MC is already too big! Though we can all squeeze into the house (as long as some people don't make that night and it isn't raining so the younger crowd can run and play outside), there is no way that we can get to know one another well, have good, full, gospel discussion, and there is no room to grow - hard to be missional when there isn't room for new-comers.

Our new MC is bigger than the core that planted New City Church!

That is AMAZING - I would never have imagined that many people right from the start. AND we have 9 other MCs!

It is exciting - not just because of the numbers, but because it is evident in our discussions that Gospel transformation is happening... Jesus is being worshiped and followed.

It is overwhelming - we need to add at least 2 more MCs TODAY, and we aren't ready.

Wow.

What Is a Missional Community?

2011-08-10T07:36:00.006-04:00

What Is a Missional Community?
by Jeff Vanderstelt / original article found on the desiringgod.org site

Family
First of all, a missional community is a group of believers who live and experience life together like a family. They see God as their Father because of their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the new regeneration brought about by the Holy Spirit. This means they have and know of a divine love that leads them to love one another as brothers and sisters. They treat one another as children of God deeply loved by the Father in everything — sharing their money, time, resources, needs, hurts, successes, etc. They know each other well. This knowledge includes knowing each other’s stories and having familiarity with one another’s strengths and struggles in regards to belief in the gospel and it’s application to all of life (John 1:11-13; Romans 12:10-16; Ephesians 5:1-2).

Missionaries
God’s family is also sent like the Son by the Spirit to proclaim the good news of the kingdom — the gospel — and fulfill the commission of Jesus. A missional community is more than a bible study or a small group that cares for other believers. A missional community is made up of Spirit-led and Spirit-filled people who radically reorient their lives together for the mission of making disciples of a particular people and place where there is a gospel gap (no consistent gospel witness). This means people’s schedule, resources and decisions are now collectively built around reaching people together (Matthew 3:16-4:1;John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 13:2).

Servants
Jesus is Lord and we are his Servants. A missional community serves those around them as though they are serving Jesus. In doing so, they give a foretaste of what life will be like under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ. Living as servants to the King who serve others as he served presents a tangible witness to Jesus’ kingdom and the power of the gospel to change lives. A missional community serves in such a way that it demands a Gospel explanation — lives that cannot be explained in any other way than by the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus (Matthew 20:25-28; John 13:1-17; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:16).

Disciples
We are all learners of Jesus our rabbi who has given us his Spirit to teach us all that is true about Jesus and enable us to live out his commands. Jesus commanded us to make disciples who believe the gospel, are established in a new identity and are able to obey all of his commands (Matthew 28:19-20).

The missional community is the best context in which this can happen. Disciples are made and developed:
1. through life on life, where there is visibility and accessibility
2. in community, where they can practice the one anothers, and
3. on mission where they learn how to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.
Jeff Vanderstelt is a pastor at Soma Communities, an Acts 29 church in Tacoma, WA. He coaches and trains church planters, serves on the Board of Acts 29, and leads the Soma movement in vision and teaching.

*The original article can be found here, on the Desiring god site.

Bittersweet Day - Sending Out 50 to plant a new campus

2011-08-07T14:46:00.004-04:00

Today is a bittersweet day... today is the last day downtown for around 50 people who will launch New City Church Warner Robins next Sunday night.

It is bitter because we love this group and watching it grow has been amazing. They have worked hard, given much, and served well in a city that isn't their home. They will be greatly missed.

It is sweet because so many in this group GET IT. They love their city and want to see the gospel advance and transform lives, and they know that the best way to see that happen is not by gathering in Macon, but by gathering in their own city. It is sweet because they are leading this charge!

I am thankful to be a part of this work that God is doing. I am excited about the tremendous potential that lies before us as we follow Jesus - who has gone before us and prepared for this day!

New City Church warner robins

Launching August 14, 2011

6:00 pm @ The River Church / 2440 Hwy 127, Kathleen

Baptisms Rock!

2011-07-31T18:59:00.001-04:00

Starting Strong... New City Church Warner Robins

2011-07-26T16:21:00.003-04:00

On August 14, at 6:00PM one of New City's bands will begin playing the first official nccWR song set. We'll sing together for the first time in WR. We'll pray together for the first time in WR . The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be clearly communicated from the Scripture for us for the first time in WR . We'll follow Jesus by calling people to repent and believe the Gospel for the first time in WR. We'll share the sacrament of communion together for the first time in WR. It will be incredible! For those who have been longing for this day - and praying for this church there will probably be tears of joy and happy laughter.

New City Church downtown started with 20 +/- people and 2 months of prayer and planning. The mission we understood - how we would carry it out was mostly a mystery! We had little idea what Missional Communities would actually look like - most of us had never heard the word missional. We had no idea what it would mean to be With and For our city and engage its people right where they were. Still, in January of 2008 we launched weekly services - filled with church planting ignorance!

Not long after that start, the seeds for New City Church Warner Robins found soil in a few from Warner Robins who dreamed of something different for their city. Little by little the number of people coming to Macon from Warner Robins grew... and they formed a Missional Community. Early on we communicated to those first travelers from Warner Robins that their Missional Community was more than a Missional Community - it was the first of a core group of people who would one day plant a church in their city. And they continued to grow and formed another Missional Community. And they continued to grow and have just recently started their third Missional Community with a fourth in the planning stages!

Here's where I am going - These communities of people in WR know the mission - gospel transformation. They get the vision. They have worked, served, and given to see the mission and vision happen. August 14 is NOT their start date! They have already begun and they are off to a strong, strong start!

I was asked recently by a church planter in the starting days of a plant, "what would you do differently if you could start over with your plant?" My answer: nothing. I really wouldn't. BUT I can say this... our WR Campus Pastor, Patrick McConnell, and the teams and team leaders getting ready for the launch of New City Church Warner Robins have no idea how far ahead of downtown's start that they are! God has graciously put together an incredible group of people and an incredible opportunity in Warner Robins!

I am so excited about August 14... I am more excited about what has already happened in Warner Robins and what is going to happen after August 14! If you are in WR and not in church, or know someone in WR without a church home, let me STRONGLY suggest that you join us August 14, 6:00PM at The River Community Church's building for the continuation of New City Church Warner Robins!

New City Church ALBANY?

2011-07-05T15:08:00.003-04:00

Planting the gospel by planting new churches has been our vision even in the dreaming phases of New City Church downtown. Our vision statement includes this:

We dream of a church intent on planting new churches that will engage cultures around the world.

By "intent on planting new churches" we mean aggressively seeking to plant new churches. I recently explained to another church planter that at New City Church we are constantly looking for ways TO plant churches as opposed to reasons why we can't (not large enough, not enough money, not enough leadership support...).

A few months ago I received an email from a pastor an hour away who wanted to talk with me about church planting. That email led to other emails and phone calls and meetings and an Acts 29 Boot Camp and seems now, to us taking another aggressive step in seeing our vision happen. This week the Elders of New City Church welcomed Andy Blankenship on board as the lead planter of New City Church Albany!

Andy, Mary Kathryn, and their 3 little ones will be moving later this month to Albany. Andy has taken a position in a nearby school system where he will work as he learns his city, trains with the New City Elders, and begins the process of planting a new New City Church.

I am constantly amazed and very thankful!

Registration is OPEN

2011-07-01T14:49:00.007-04:00

Tyler Jones / Alex Early / Keith Watson

REGISTER HERE.

New City Warner Robins is Multiplying!

2011-06-28T15:44:00.003-04:00

Our Newest MC - AGAIN (see previous post) is about to kick off!

When: Wednesday July 13, 6:30pm

Where: the home of DJ and Laura Decker (Byron GA)

Led By: DJ and Laura Decker with Nick and Natalie Herr (*Nick and Natalie PICTURED)

What is a Missional Community?

It is a small group people seeking to learn the Gospel and live out its implications as a community of people doing life together. Our Missional Communities are led by followers of Christ but include those who are not followers of Christ. Our MCs seek to be multi-generational and diverse in every other way. By "doing life together" we mean that the members of an MC do more than attend a meeting - they eat together, learn together, play together, serve together... (its about the relationships!).

Who Should Be Involved in an MC?

Everyone involved at New City Church should be involved in an MC and anyone seeking to learn more about the Christian faith. (This new MC is primarily for those who are currently NOT involved in an MC.)

For More Info:

Email -Nick Herr at nick@newcitywr.org or DJ Decker at dedj87@gmail.com

Living, Learning, and Serving Together... The MC

2011-06-26T13:53:00.004-04:00

Our Newest MC (missional community) is about to kick off!

When: Wednesday July 13, 6:30pm

Where: the home of Justin and Amy Weaver (midtown/Ingleside)

Led By: Justin and Amy Weaver & Keith and Amy Watson

What is a Missional Community?

Who Should Be Involved in an MC?

For More Info:

Email -Justin and Amy Weaver (amysweaver@gmail.com) or Keith and Amy Watson (keith@newcitydowntown.org)

You Are Invited

2011-06-03T12:35:00.005-04:00

The word “missional” is one of several “buzz words” that is used all the time in the church planting/emergent/emerging evangelical world. But what do we mean by this word?

This is a one day training event in which we will hear from three A29 pastors specifically on leading missionally minded churches, ministries, small groups and so on. There will be time for Q&A and time to speak one on one with these pastors and those who serve with them daily.

Schedule
9:30am – Breakfast for A-29ers and staff at the 567
(casseroles, bagels, fruit, juices, coffee)

Prayer

Break Out - Pastoral, Tyler Jones (Vintage 21)
Executive, Nate Williams (Vintage 21)
Worship, Tyler VerSteeg (New City Church)

11am - Registration Opens for General Public
12pm - Lunch
1pm – Worship - New City Church band
Welcome - Matt Adair (emcee for the afternoon)
1:30pm - Session 1 - Alex Early (Four Corners Church, Newnan GA)
2:30pm - Session 2 - Keith Watson (New City Church downtown, Macon GA)
3:30pm - Session 3 - Tyler Jones (Vintage 21, Raleigh NC)
4:30pm - Q&A - Alex, Tyler, Nate, Keith

For additional information on the Event location visit www.the567.org or www.newcitydowntown.org
or email keith@newcitydowntown.org

This is a FREE Event

The Missionary and The Medicine Man

2011-06-01T13:51:00.004-04:00

Frederick Remington captured more than a scene from the 'wild west' in his painting The Missionary and The Medicine Man. It is the collision of cultures and beliefs and in the midst of the collision stands The Missionary.

The Missionary is not one of them, yet he is liked. He is trusted. He is welcomed into their midst - even into their suffering.

Crucifix in hand, in love and with great faith he intercedes.

We're Hiring

2011-05-10T12:52:00.002-04:00

New City Church downtown is beginning the search for an Executive Pastor / Executive Assistant...

This is a Full Time paid position.

We are looking for a hard working, highly motivated, organized, and details oriented male who is on board with the mission and vision of New City Church.

For more information contact keith@newcitydowntown.org

The Invisible Wall - Why We Are Planting in WR

2011-05-02T12:53:00.003-04:00

Planting new churches isn't always about distance. Often it is as much about the UNSEEN as it is the SEEN. In large part, their exists an invisible wall between Macon and Warner Robins. though it is unseen, it is often insurmountable! It is a CULTURE wall.

Warner Robins is different than Macon... or if you like, Macon is different than Warner Robins. There are differences in racial make up - almost the exact opposite percentages exist, differences in incomes - almost 1/3 higher in warner Robins, differences in education levels...

But those are the things that can be SEEN. What can't be seen is the dislike that one city has for the other! Largely, Macon people see no reason to go to Warner Robins and have no desire to go there. Equally, Warner Robins people see Macon as unsafe and scary and thus have no desire to travel to Macon. This is an UNSEEN barrier - An invisible wall!

To break down this invisible wall would take decades of work and is probably only possible with a miraculous work by God. So, how do we see the Gospel transform Warner Robins? By planting a new church in Warner Robins! A church accessible to the people of Warner Robins, contextually geared for the culture of Warner Robins, and obviously - on their side of the wall!

Who Will Be "The Pastor" in WR?

2011-04-29T10:13:00.002-04:00

Let's start here - New City Church views "Pastor" as the equivalent of "Elder."

No one is given the title "Pastor" or "Minister" unless he is an "Elder." All Elders are Pastors, and as New City is an Elder Led body, we have a plurality of Elders.

Within the Elder/Pastor structure we have and will have different designations depending on the Pastor's specific role. For example - "Missional Communities Pastor." This Pastor is responsible for overseeing, ministering and leading our MCs. A Children's Pastor would be an Elder who oversees ministry to children... you get the idea.

Currently, I serve as the "Lead Pastor" of New City Church downtown. Ryan Lyons serves as the Lead Pastor of New City Church milledgevile. Patrick McConnell serves as our third Elder at New City Church downtown, and like Ryan and myself - wears a number of hats, including Warner Robins MC Pastor. Patrick oversees the Missional Communities in Warner Robins. With the WR plant, we are adding an Elder Designation - "Campus Pastor". Patrick will continue to oversee the MCs in WR and will take on the responsibility of General oversight of the new plant in its day-day functions (he will be the "Go To" guy in WR). NCCwr will not have a "Lead Pastor" initially. We will have a Campus Pastor and "Teaching Pastors". The Teaching Pastors being, Myself, Ryan Lyons, and Patrick McConnell. We will alternate teaching at the new campus on Sunday nights. The WR campus then will not have 1 pastor but 3! And it will continue to function this way until the Lead Pastor emerges that God has for this campus.

Why We Are Planting in Warner Robins, GA...

2011-04-28T13:56:00.002-04:00

The mission of New City Church is to see the Gospel transform everything within our reach, ourselves, our church, our city, and the world. While there are almost limitless ways in which we can communicate the gospel – youtube, facebook, twitter, websites, radio, tv, print… - we believe that the Most Effective Way to see gospel transformation become a reality in the lives of people is through the local church.

It is within the context of the local church’s community that the gospel is most readily heard and seen. Here, in the local church, the Gospel is proclaimed through preaching and teaching. It is also made known in the context of relationships, often one on one, within the community of the local church. More than that, the gospel is most readily seen in the lives of Christians as they do life together as a community of Christ followers – working, eating, laughing, playing, loving, weeping, mourning, encouraging… This is true not only for those who are inside the church, but also for those outside the church looking in at the lives of its people. The local church then serves as a beacon of light and hope and joy both to those who are far from God, but looking on, and those who are near God within the church.

This is why New City Church is a church planting church. We believe the Gospel will be advanced in our lives, in our church, in our cities, and throughout the world by planting missional, gospel centered congregations in cities and communities around the world.

So – we are planting our third campus, August 14th , 2011 in Warner Robins, GA.
We are excited to be a part of this plant, not because there aren’t good churches in Warner Robins, but because there are still people in Warner Robins who desperately need Gospel Transformation.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T09:08:00.003-04:00

I admit... I enjoy a full flavored heavy, bitter beer. I remember now, as I write, the way I once celebrated St. Patrick's day... with no idea of who he was or what he did, my celebration centered on beer.
(that last part was more of a confession!)

Today is much different. I know a bit more of who St. Patrick was and what he did... and I am humbled. Patrick was an amazing missionary called to people far from God. Against the wishes and traditional methods of the established church he took his love for the Celts and the message of the Gospel to people considered "unreachable". Through him the Gospel went forth and Jesus changed a nation!

So here are a few quotes and an encouragement to celebrate St. Patrick's day and not beer. God's transforming grace is amazing!

I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven.

I am Patrick, yes a sinner and indeed untaught; yet I am established here in Ireland where I profess myself bishop. I am certain in my heart that "all that I am," I have received from God. So I live among barbarous tribes, a stranger and exile for the love of God. He himself testifies that this is so. I never would have wanted these harsh words to spill from my mouth; I am not in the habit of speaking so sharply. Yet now I am driven by the zeal of God, Christ's truth has aroused me. I speak out too for love of my neighbors who are my only sons; for them I gave up my home country, my parents and even pushing my own life to the brink of death.If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me.

Did I come to Ireland without God, or according to the flesh? Who compelled me? I am bound by the Spirit not to see any of my kinsfolk. Is it of my own doing that I have holy mercy on the people who once took me captive and made away with the servants and maids of my father’s house? I was freeborn according to the flesh. I am the son of a decurion. But I sold my noble rank. I am neither ashamed nor sorry for the good of others. Thus I am a servant in Christ to a foreign nation for the unspeakable glory of life everlasting which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I testify before God and His angels that it will be so as He indicated to my ignorance. It is not my words that I have set forth in Latin, but those of God and the apostles and prophets, who have never lied. "He that believes shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be condemned," God hath spoken.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left

Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Things I Do as A Planter

2011-03-15T15:57:00.003-04:00

Some days end in exhaustion - today might. Most days, when I am done I can't figure out why I didn't get more done and often wonder - "What did I do today?" So I thought I would jot down a few things that I did besides the normal pastor a church stuff... whatever that is.

Today's list:

Change 3 light bulbs – I have a special eye for noticing they are out AND the “spiritual gift” of changing them!
Clean old show/event posters (and their tape) from the 567 display windows out front
Ran an existing cable through pipe and attached it to the wall (like it was supposed to be months ago)
Searched 3 storage rooms for a can of stain
Met with an elder to discuss hiring
Met with an attorney to sign IRS paperwork
Emails back and forth with an attorney re immigration paperwork for a possible hire
Phone calls back and forth with an attorney regarding an alley easement
Phone call with local artist regarding art at the 567 and developing as an Art Center

Some things never change...

2011-03-07T15:24:00.003-05:00

³⁵And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
³⁸therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

10 results from the first 10 Experiment

2011-02-23T09:19:00.003-05:00

In order of how they came to mind:

1. A check for $100 was given to The Macon Rescue Mission from Killian's Cafe. (That's a picture of the official check giving!)

2. Around $750 was given out to participants who met their matches in the Macon Money game during the 3 hour period. This was a great addition to a great day.

3. Almost $150 of that Macon Money was spent right there in Killian's that morning.

4. The day presented a great introduction opportunity - A really high percentage of the day's participants had NEVER been in Killian's.

5. The owner of Killian's told me that the numbers generated in three hours were equivalent to sometimes three days.

6. Greg, the owner of Killian's says that he seeing repeat business from the 10 Experiment's patrons.

7. Fox 24's Michelle Apon is working on a story that covers the day of the event, the day of the check to the Salvation Army, and the next event, giving great coverage of not only the event but downtown as well.

8. We had a great number of Mercer University students who turned out to support 10 and Killian's. For years people have been working to help mercer students connect with downtown for more than a night of drinking.

9. New social connections were made. Props to Macon Money's contribution here. Matching up game pieces meant matching up people - often people who had never met before! New faces, new conversations, new friendships.

10. A lot of fun happened. People waited in line for 30 minutes sometimes just to get a cup of coffee - and they did so happily! People talked, people laughed, people played Macon Money and were genuinely excited to take part in the day.

11. And a bonus - I think Greg, the owner of Killian's lost 10 pounds from working such a fast and furious pace! this was a benefit that we had not anticipated.

The Experiment - Amazing Day

2011-02-10T14:06:00.004-05:00

Below is a copy of a quick email I sent about today's 10 Experiment... great day... fun... new people... amazing

Gene,
The 10 Experiment took place today – check it out on facebook if you haven't already - http://www.facebook.com/The10Experiment . We met at Killian’s Place – the coffee shop. During the 3 hours of 10 (10am-1pm) the place stayed packed! People waited in line for 30 minutes at a time for a cup of coffee – socializing, playing Macon Money, meeting new people. It was great! Michelle Apon from Fox 24 was there to do a story – they shot some video, she interviewed several people, even participated in Macon Money and 10!

Killian’s promised 10% of sales during the 3 hours to The Macon Rescue Mission – raised $100 for them – That’s $1,000 worth of coffee and stuff in 3 hours – not bad!

Another great thing about the day was that the vast majority of people there had NEVER been there before! Killians will enjoy a lot of repeat business and I guarantee you people will be talking about the 10 experiment for days and weeks! Businesses and non-profs are already asking how they can be a part.

This was a HUGE success.
Keith

The 10 Experiment - Already Fun

2011-02-08T17:32:00.003-05:00

It looks like The 10 Experiment is taking off! There seems to be a LOT of chatter on our primary means of promoting 10e - Facebook... and it is turning out to be pretty fun. New City Church decided to help bring a crowd by giving 20 people a $5 gift certificate to Killian's Place. The response was great! New City and non-New City people saw the offer and jumped on board! The 20 gift certificates went fast and having people post on my status to get one was great... I have already made some new friends - people I will meet face to face on Thursday!

One of my new friends is Michelle Apon (That's her picture). Michelle is a meteorologist for Fox 24, a local TV station. She heard about 10e from a roommate. Not only is Michelle coming to see what's going on for a news story, but she is also shopping at Killian's Place as part of The 10 Experiment. Now - Michelle, give us a hand with the weather on Thursday and it should be an amazing day!

I'll post Michelle's report when we see it.

The 10 Experiment - With and For Our City

2011-02-07T13:03:00.003-05:00

I saw a video at http://www.carrotmob.org/ - cool idea. My mind began to churn - we could do that here, but with our own spin, I thought. So I shared the idea - and it is about to happen as 10e - The 10 experiment! Watch the video - then check us out on FB - http://www.facebook.com/The10Experiment

The 10 experiment will:

1) Help Support Our Downtown Businesses

2) Help Support Non-Profits Working For the Good of Downtown

3) Socially Bring A Diversity of People Together as a Force For the Good of Downtown

It will also serve to show our city that New City Church downtown is serious about being With and For Our City! I cannot wait to see the doors this one will open to us and to the gospel through our love for the city.

* Since before our first day, New City Church has talked about being a church who is "with and for our city." We have done more than talk: we have volunteered in great number at festivals and downtown clean up days. We have attended downtown events in force, and we have recently adopted the downtown elementary school with the goal of making it Macon's most desired school. New City people dine downtown, shop downtown, and live downtown - all very intentionally with the goal of seeing the transformation our city.

Thy Kingdom Come

2011-01-26T12:40:00.003-05:00

I am preaching Mark 1:14-15 this week: ¹⁴ Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Jesus proclaims the presence of the kingdom. I was reminded of this old post regarding a conversation with a friend about the kingdom and New City Church...

____________________________

I had a great conversation this morning with a downtown friend. He may or may not be a Christian - though spiritual and having a 'Christian' background, I think C. wrestles with Christianity. He is also intrigued by New City's relationship with downtown. So, in the conversation this came up:

C: So, explain to me you vision for the church and the city?

Me: Well, the short is city renewal - we describe it as transformation. In leadership, we often ask the question, 'If the Kingdom of God were present in the city today, what would it look like?' We believe that the church should be a glimpse of the Kingdom, therefore we should see tangible transformation because of the presence of the church.

C: Like what?

Me: Well, if the Kingdom of God were present in Macon, would there be homeless people?

C: No.

Me: We don't believe that our presence will eliminate homelessness in Macon, just as we can't usher in the true and final Kingdom. However, if the Kingdom is present in and through us, then we should make a positive difference in the homeless community.

If the Kingdom were fully present there would be no crime. So, as a church, we ask, 'How can our presence make a difference in downtown crime?'

If the Kingdom were fully present, would there be ugly, broken buildings?

C: No.

Me: So we desire to see a tangible change to the buildings downtown. We will - through volunteers - help the Facade Squad when they line up facades to be worked on.

We believe that the church, as a glimpse of the Kingdom should be an agent of transformation in our city.

C: Keith, that's why I love you guys. Hearing what you say makes me want to believe. I feel like the King that Paul pleaded his case to.

The conversation was soon interrupted and C was out the door. I was awed that such a Kingdom vision would carry such power.

29And Paul said, "I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains."

Original Sin and Alzheimer's - Theology Matters

2011-01-15T17:00:00.003-05:00

When we first got the diagnosis, I was pissed... pissed at Adam and Eve.
Kim

When Adam sinned, everything changed - the relationship of Adam and Eve, their relationship with God, nature - everything... including the introduction of death. God warned that sin would lead to death and in the chapters following Genesis 1-3 the genealogies end the same - 'and he died.' Alzheimer's disease, like all diseases is a result of the death that came with Adam's original sin.

Today I visited Kim and her husband Daryl at a local hospital - Kim's mother has been dying because of Alzheimer's and it seems that the end is very near. Kim's theology rightly places the blame for her mother's disease and death on sin. Likewise, her understanding of the hope that we have in Jesus for a restoration of all things lost and broken by sin gives her great joy - knowing that her mother is a follower of Jesus means that one say they will meet again - next time without suffering, pain, disease, or death.

Theology really does matter, and really is practical.

Changing - to the glory of God

2011-01-15T13:42:00.005-05:00

New City Church often asks the question - if the Kingdom of God dropped down on our city center, what would change? The answer - everything.

As the kingdom visible in our city center, we expect to be a catalyst for gospel change in our city. We expect to see everything in our city transformed. So we are involved in many, many things in our city.

I wanted to share - to the glory of God - several comments from non-New City downtown leaders:

"You guys have done more to change downtown than anyone."

"New City and the 567 have been the catalyst for all that has happened over the past 2 years."

"The people you are bringing into the city are our future."

"You guys give me hope for our city's future."

Four conversations with four different people over the past two weeks - one common theme - New City Church is changing downtown.

One Sermon - Two Places

2011-01-12T11:41:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday we started a new series - Who Is Jesus: the gospel according to Mark. I am really excited about the series because:

1) I have never preached through an entire gospel

2) We get to look at the Jesus of Scripture every week

3) For the first time, New City Church will have one sermon in two places.

Ryan and I are working together to outline Mark and organize thoughts for each sermon. The sermons will not be exactly the same as we are each writing our own sermon, but we will both cover the same verses and hit the same big ideas. So a person could attend the New City Church milledgeville gathering on Sunday, then connect with a New City Church downtown MC during the week and be a part of the sermon discussion!

This has been a part of our vision since before we held our first gathering - one church in Middle Georgia, one mission and vision, going one direction together! God is graciously working in and through us.

Coming Back To Life

2011-01-11T14:58:00.003-05:00

2010 was a tough year... maybe one of the toughest so far, and I have had some tough years. I never imagined how hard the renovations to the new building would be. Even now, I have searched for weeks to find the right words to describe things and just cannot find them - but I will try...

In January 2010 we negotiated the deal that would move New City Church and The 567 to a 12,000 square foot building in the heart of downtown. The building had been vacant for 12 years and would require a total renovation - gutting the interior completely and starting new with everything.

Neither New City nor The 567 had very much money, nor was it possible to borrow money for the project. This meant that I would largely act as the general contractor - being here everyday to line up contractors and oversee the work. It also meant that as much could be done by New City or 567 volunteers would have to be. This also made me chief laborer.

Work began in late January. For 5 months I tore down, cut out, put up, hauled off, pushed, pulled, and dragged - in by the end of June New City was able to hold services in the main venue of the new 567.

It then took us a couple of months to finish up minor details and settle in a bit... then we started upstairs.

Nothing was different financially - except that we now had less money! The upstairs of the new building houses a music studio, an art gallery and music venue, 8 offices, restrooms, and 5 large multi-use rooms... quite a bit more work than the main floor. We are mostly finished with the second floor and should have a full Certificate of Occupancy this week.

As general contractor and chief laborer as well as pastor, President of the 567, husband, and father I worked, perhaps sinfully in 2010. The vast majority of the year I worked 7 days a week, night and day, putting in more hours than I could possibly count.

I want to say that God has been incredibly good during this stretch - to me, my family, the church, and the 567. We have fought, as a family, for time and for sanity. The church has continued to grow in number and in influence in our city. The 567 is truly becoming a core part of the downtown community and a great catalyst for transformation.

I also want to say thanks - to Kevin Welsh who has worked about as many hours on the building as I have and who has sacrificed to see us get in. And thanks - to all of the volunteers that I haven't thanked enough for all of their incredible and free labor. And thanks - to all of the contractors who, for the advancement of the kingdom cut prices for us to see this through. Thanks to my family.

I should also apologize - and ask the forgiveness of a whole lot of people - when I am tired I am not the easiest guy to be around - I am sorry.

This year has hurt me more than I could possibly explain - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

but

I feel like I am finally beginning - BEGINNING - to breathe again - to live again... I'm coming back to life.

The 567 is Seeking Your Art Donation

2010-05-31T16:04:00.001-04:00

We are seeking donated artwork suitable for hanging on a permanent basis.

The 567 Center is moving from its current location to 533 Cherry Street. The new location will provide 12,000 square feet of multi-use space including ‘incubator offices’ for new business starts, a 300 seat music/events venue, a 100 seat music/events venue, and hundreds of square feet of wall space for art.

Our art walls will include space for monthly art shows as well as permanent display space. Our permanent walls are located in the glassed window displays on Cherry Street, the 567’s Lobby, stairway walls, as well as hallways. We are seeking donated artwork suitable for hanging on a permanent basis.

Any submitted work should be in keeping with the fact that the 567 is an all ages art and music venue which will host events for all ages. Submissions should be ready for hanging.

If you are interested in donating your art to the 567, please email Keith Watson, keith@newcitydowntown.org.

Seeing Youth Ministry Happen Without A Youth Group

2010-05-22T11:19:00.005-04:00

It is far from a 'blossom' at this point, but maybe we are pushing through the dirt toward a blossom.

The discussion on ministering to our New City kids and reaching other kids in a model other than the Youth Group model continues to take place. A couple of days ago I sat with a New City family that I love very much to discuss leadership's vision for ministering to our older kids. The meeting was painful. This mom and dad had a great experience in a Youth Group ministry model and they cannot imagine that any other model could effectively reach and minister to kids. They are praying now as to whether or not they will stay at New City even though their children are years away from a youth group. I cannot imagine any pastor feeling good about a family like this one possibly leaving the body. It is discouraging.

Yet in the midst of that discouragement comes great encouragement! While i am working on this week's sermon, Amy and Ivey are at a horse show in which Ivey is competing. Amy called to give me an update just a few minutes ago. She also told me that Ivey had an audience today - Amanda (a recent college grad) who has become one of Ivey's friends came to support her. Amanda and Ivey text, face book, talk - and sometimes Amanda comes to hang out with Ivey. Megan, Ivey's MC (missional community) leader also came to the show, bringing with her Jenna (a middle schooler) also now in Megan's MC with Ivey.

A couple of weeks ago, following an MC meeting almost the whole MC group drove over to the baseball park to watch the last half of Robby's game. They stayed until the last out of the extra-innings game even though Robby had been pulled out of the game in order for some of the younger guys to get playing time. Every one of them (I think) stuck around until the coaches were done talking to the players so that they could speak to Robby.

Is this the totality of our vision for ministering to our students? Far from it. But it is a great start... A New City Community ministering to, supporting, and loving the kids that God has brought their way and reaching out to others who are not really connected to the community.

New Space in the News

2010-05-15T07:13:00.003-04:00

Church revives downtown landmark
By CHRIS HORNE - chorne@macon.com
Photo by Beau Cabell

For the first time in its history, the old building at 533 Cherry St. is about to be the home of something besides R.S. Thorpe & Sons, a men’s clothier that set up shop there in 1929.

In mid-June, it’s set to reopen as the 567 Center for Renewal, a multipurpose facility catering to local music, the arts and entrepreneurship. The center will be operated by New City Church.

”I think it’s really important for Cherry Street for New City Church to buy and renovate such an historic building,” said Mike Ford, president of NewTown Macon, an organization that works for the revitalization of downtown Macon.

Thorpe’s, as the clothier was better known around town, was established in Macon in 1908. For nearly 85 years, men all over Middle Georgia bought their suits at Thorpe’s, a mainstay of downtown retail. R.S. Thorpe even operated another branch in Lexington, Ky.

All told, the business survived the Great Depression, the physical collapse of its original location and even a fire in 1939, but it couldn’t survive the sprawl that swept shoppers out into suburbs, turning the city’s urban core into a virtual ghost town.

In 1992, Thorpe’s closed.

For the next 17 years, the building remained vacant, gathering cobwebs and dust. The facade deteriorated, and the rusty iron frame of the former awning became another downtown eyesore.

But better days were ahead.

Out with the old

The first step back to life for the Thorpe building came when the Facade Squad, a local nonprofit dedicated to improving deteriorated facades, used a $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia to repair the building’s front.

Keith Watson, pastor of the New City Church, said the first time he was able to take a good look at the building was when the Facade Squad was making repairs.

Ultimately, that trip inside led Watson and his congregation to where they are now, writing the opening lines of a new chapter for the building.

While the church, which currently meets at the Cox Capitol Theatre on Sundays, will gather at the 567 Center for worship services, Watson says the center will operate as a separate entity. It will focus on arts and culture for the entire city, especially downtown.

Historic Macon Executive Director Josh Rogers, who serves on the board of the Facade Squad and worked on the Thorpe building’s facade renovation, said he’s happy to see the 567 Center move in.

“We never imagined, in our wildest dreams, (the renovated facade) would bring in such a big investment,” he said. “We just hoped it’d look better.”

Facade Squad Director Shae Hinson said he thinks the 567 Center will have a catalytic impact on both historic preservation downtown and cultural activity.

“What we did is very little compared to what is going to be going on downtown,” he said.

A fresh start

The 567 Center for Renewal is named after the little storefront at 567 Cherry St. where Watson transformed his office into the 567 Cafe.

At the cafe, spoken word poetry and singer-songwriter nights merged seamlessly in the small venue with art openings, rock shows and hip-hop concerts — nary a Bible in sight — to form an early version of the sort of arts and cultural events they want to do in the center.

The 567 Center is a bigger, more-thought-out update of the 567 Cafe vision, which is to reach out to the creative culture that has formed around downtown without beating people over the head with the tenets of the church’s faith.

“We believe God is a creative God, and he created humanity in his image so humanity is also creative,” Watson said. “What are some of the most beautiful things about life on Earth? I think it’s the arts.”

When he looks back through the story of Jesus, Watson said the people Jesus “beat up on were the Pharisees and the hypocrites. The rest of the world he just hung out with and got along with.” So the open-armed welcome New City gives to Macon’s creative community is, Watson said, an effort to be more like Jesus.

As such, the 567 Center — about 11,000 square feet spread out over two stories — will have a venue for live music downstairs that seats 300 and a recording studio upstairs. In time, it will have the ability to video live shows. Watson said he plans the venue to have the ability to record audio from a live show and burn it immediately to a CD as a post-concert souvenir.

The center also will do its part to help another group of creative people grow downtown: small-business owners.

Watson said the center is being outfitted for a “business incubator,” a group of affordable office spaces with shared access to Internet, phone lines, a copier, fax machine and a conference room, all intended to help entrepreneurs get started without breaking their bank.

A downtown hub

As a little girl, Wimberly Treadwell spent every Christmas working the gift-wrapping station at Thorpe’s. Her great-grandfather was R.S. Thorpe, so working there was a family affair.

It had its perks, too. Every year as the Christmas parade packed the streets of downtown, Treadwell said she had the perfect seat, looking out over Cherry Street from the second floor.

Now that she’s an architect responsible for the CityScapes program, which has cleaned up downtown’s alleys and dressed up its sidewalks, Treadwell has watched the slow decline of the Thorpe building.

“It was so troubling to just see it sitting there empty,” Treadwell said. “It was such a hub downtown for so long.”

Seeing new life breathed into the building, Treadwell said she couldn’t be more excited.

“(Watson’s) so great for downtown,” she said. “I think the 567 Center is a great idea.”

Sean Pritchard is a local music promoter who has put together about 25 shows at the 567 Cafe, most recently in conjunction with The Blue Indian, the Macon-based indie music blog.

Initially concerned about working with a venue connected with a church, Pritchard said he’s been pleasantly surprised by Watson’s openness to art and music. That openness has created the opportunity for new connections among Macon’s artists.

“They just don’t want an empty building sitting there on a Friday night,” Pritchard said.

“The best part about working with (Watson) and the 567 is they know a lot of people, and those people are interested in working together. A lot of informal networking has been happening.”

Working with the blog’s founder, Luke Goddard, Pritchard has brought a national indie music sensation, Washed Out, to the cozy confines of the cafe, drawing fans from Athens, Atlanta and Savannah.

With the bigger space and improved sound system, Pritchard thinks he’ll be able to put on better shows with larger crowds. That, he said, will have a trickle-down effect on downtown businesses.

“(The crowds) are going to want to go somewhere to eat, and they’re going to want somewhere to shop,” he said.

Goddard agrees, seeing it as a perfect fit for the creative and the business sides of downtown.

“For the music side of Macon, I think it’s going to be huge,” he said.

For Watson, the doors can’t open soon enough.

“We’re in a city we really love and care about, and being in this building keeps us in the middle of the arts and entertainment district where new business is coming in,” he said. “This helps us be a part of seeing all that continue.”

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report. To contact writer Chris Horne, call 744-4494.
Read more: http://www.macon.com/2010/05/15/1128947/church-revives-downtown-landmark.html#ixzz0nznO38Vz

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 8 - "Orphaned" Kids

2010-05-04T09:15:00.003-04:00

Some of the most common questions I receive about not having a Youth Group are centered on youth/students who attend church without their parents. Some of the questions are:
How will we reach these kids?
How will we minister to them?
If all ministry is “family ministry” won’t these kids feel awkward and out of place?

Let’s start with the first question - How will we reach these kids?
HOW?
For the most part, kids reach kids. It is extremely rare that a parent randomly picks a church and then drops their children off at that church with NO relational connections to the church. In fact, I have never seen or heard of this (though I am pretty sure it happens – rarely). Kids go to church with their friends or a friend’s family. This means that in the vast majority of instances when a child whose parents do not attend a church attends church, he does so at the invitation of another student and usually with that student. NCCd expects to reach students in the same way – through existing and new relationships which are primarily student to student.
With What?
I addressed a key philosophy for NCCd Part 6 of this series, number 3 – little “a” attractional, BIG “M” Missional. As a church we major on being missional in that we press our people to live like missionaries. This isn’t just an adult philosophy, but a church philosophy. We believe that Christian children are a part of the body of Christ (the church) and that they, like mom and dad, are called to live out the Great Commission of Matthew 28. We believe that they too are a part of the priesthood of believers who are called to proclaim the excellencies of Him called them (us) out of darkness and into His marvelous light. The mission that adults and children are tasked with – make disciples and teach them.
This is very different from the Big A – Attractional church where events are planned that youth and students can invite other youth to where a specialized “Priest” (youth minister) does the work of ministry by sharing the gospel somewhere in the midst of fun activities. The Youth Minister fulfills the Great Commission by making disciples and teaching them. The Youth Group’s responsibility is to have fun and invite their friends.

SO – while we do things that are fun for our kids – 2nd Sunday Brunch, 4th Sunday Fun, MC 3rd week events – and that other kids can be invited to, what we really hope to see are missional kids and missional families who relationally make disciples of other students and teach them through life together.

How will we minister to them?
Hopefully you read the response to the first question above! If so, you can see that ministry to “orphaned kids” is done primarily through families. This is most natural because the orphaned child likely already has a relationship with the family through a child. Outside of the family, is the Missional Community. The community as a whole reaches out, helps out, and “adopts the “orphaned child.” In community the child is loved, cared for, poured into, led, built up, encouraged…
Let me give you a non-church picture of this. Last Fall I helped a friend, Brad coach Robby’s football team. A parent had met a family – single mother, African-American, very impoverished, several children. One of the children wanted to play football. The White parent took the impoverished child to try outs and paid for him to play. She communicated to the coaches that they would need help with the child. Brad picked this kid to be on our team. Then Brad “adopted” him for the season. Brad, or me, picked him up for every practice and game and took him home. After every practice Brad and his son went to a local restaurant with another coach and his son. The “adopted” child went with them. Brad fed him, included him – he became a part of the family. Several times Brad picked him up and brought him home to play with his own son. I think he may have even spent the night with Brad’s family a time or two. Here’s what the “adopted” child saw - he saw a whole, healthy family with a mom, dad, and children who lived together and loved one another; he saw discipline and order; he saw unconditional love.
What if we did that? As a church. What if we “adopted” those “orphaned” youth and rather than SENDING them once a week to youth group, we included them in our lives – where they saw healthy families, saw healthy relationships with other families, saw and heard the Gospel working in a family and in a community?
This isn’t IDEALISTIC – I have seen it happen. I have seen the changes that it brings to the life of a child. I heard the hope for future that was stirred in an impoverished child without a dad around.

If all ministry is “family ministry” won’t these kids feel awkward and out of place?
NO. Not if we follow the model that I described above. Not if we truly love children. AND not if we recognize what is really going on around us:
On Sundays my kids often sit with other kids in their age group rather than sitting with Amy and me.
At events, my kids play/hang out with other kids – sometimes that includes Amy and me, sometimes not (while we are there together, Robby throws the ball, skates, swims… with his friends).

I (WE) love youth/students – I have 2 children who are youth aged. I love them and want what is best for them. The bottom line is that we believe this model of ministry to be most biblical, more effective and better for youth/students than the Youth Group model. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be pursuing it.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 7 - What Then?

2010-04-27T20:03:00.003-04:00

So if you don't have a Youth Group - what then?

What do you do to minister to young people?

Lets start with the elements of a youth group ministry - what are the things that most people are looking for in a youth group?

1) friends/peers

2) teaching on the Christian life

3) fun (nights and events)

4) trips (youth camp, mission trips, six flags...)

5) worship

Am I missing anything?

First a simple question - MUST we have a youth group in order to have all of the above for students?

At New City we see ourselves as a church of house churches that gather together on Sundays for worship and celebration. For us that means that the majority of church life happens in our "house churches" which we call Missional Communities. These communities should be made up of a diverse group of people - various ages, stages of life, socio-economic positions, and even races. This community is the BEST place for the body to enjoy and participate in all of Scripture's "one anothers" - be at peace with one another, love one another, serve one another, be devoted to one another, build one another up... Though we don't do it all that well YET, our MCs will be diverse and will include youth/students. So is it possible that a few families with children of similar ages could get together as a part of one of our MCs? You know, so that young people/youth/students had time together with their peers/friends during the week when the MC met? And could the MC plan something that those students would enjoy for the 3rd week's 'get out of the house' night - you know something fun? And - when the MC is discussing the sermon from the past week and helping the community apply the gospel to life as they learn to walk the Christian Life, could students not be included by asking specific age related questions? Then - sometimes - depending on the subject matter - maybe the younger crew could be separated from the older and have some direct and intentional youth/student teaching - could that be possible?

And that is just in the MC

Add to MC life some other activities and events - like:

Second Sunday brunch - following our Sunday gathering for worship and celebration we head to Washington Park where we listen to music, have a picnic lunch and hang out with friends. The little kids love running around the park and playing in the water. The bigger kids and adults get to talk with friends/peers and enjoy the day.

Fourth Weekend Fun events - these are new - so far we have had 2. The first was skating! Oh yeah - old school roller skating! The kids loved it - the adults loved it. More fun with friends and peers. This past Sunday we went to the Amerson Water Park. The littlest played on the play ground with mom, dad, and their pee wee friends. Bigger kids (of all ages) threw the Frisbee, the football, baseball, and hiked - some to the pond, others to the River. This was yet another opportunity for students/youth to hang out with friends, have fun, and still be a part of the community of New City.

Yeah - but what about Mission Trips, Youth Camps... Several years ago we started a partnership with missionaries in Mexico. They were border missionaries so we stayed in Texas and crossed the border each day. It was an awesome partnership - one that extended to another church, and another church! When we went that first year our whole family went - in fact several families went. Our kids interacted with the Spanish speaking Mexican kids, they worked with us during the day, and in the evening they helped and participated in VBS in Mexico. It was great for all of us... and we did it as a community, a family - and not as a youth group. YES - it is possible.

It is also possible for MCs to take off to Six Flags, or for our Fourth Weekend Fun be a trip to White Water.

AND - there are always PARENTS! Parents could call up friends of their kids and take them all bowling - or swimming - or whatever. Kids could hang with kids - go to a concert, the mall, riding horses, and whatever else their kid finds fun with their friends! Take 4 in your car and have your friend take 4 in their car... and we still don't HAVE TO HAVE a youth group!

SO - without a youth group our students/youth get

1) friends/peers

2) teaching on the Christian life

3) fun (nights and events)

4) trips (youth camp, mission trips, six flags...)

5) worship

In addition they learn from others in an intergenerational environment that many studies show is better than segregated learning. They learn life from all ages. They see the struggles and victories of families, of single adults, of rich people, and poor people - people of all ages. They also get to be a part of the community that is the church. In that community they enjoy and practice the "one anothers" and they have an opportunity to serve and be served in the whole body - not as a church within a church that consists almost exclusively of other students. They have an opportunity to discover their own spiritual gifts and to use them for the good of the body.

Am I missing anything? Did I leave anything out?

I recognize that this is different - but different can be better.

I also realize that we are not there yet. But maybe this series of posts is the start.

** My next post will be on Orphaned Kids - What about those kids whose parents don't participate in church?

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 6 - Foundational Philosophies

2010-04-25T17:18:00.003-04:00

Every solid building has a solid foundation. The foundation is the underlying base and support on which the building stands. The foundation also serves to tie all of the parts of the building safely together - strengthening the whole. Without a foundation walls and supports move and over time a building crumbles and falls apart. Jesus said that a wise man builds his house on a foundation of rock - it is strong and a building on it is not easily shaken. A foolish man builds on a shifting foundation like sand, because when the stream beats against that house, the foundation washes away and the house is destroyed.

The ultimate foundation for the church is the Gospel of Jesus Christ - but that is not the foundation I am referring to in this post. I referring to the foundational philosophies of ministry for nccd - the underlying base principles on which our ministries (and methods) are built. Let me share a few key foundational philosophies:

1) Parents are the primary teachers of children. Most of you reading this likely agree with this principle which is a clear teaching in Scripture. Because we believe this to be true, nccd will not take on the parents' responsibility to teach their children. Instead we will support parents in teaching their children and we will strive to equip parents to teach their children.

2) Community serves as the basis for making and maturing disciples. We were created for community. Community provides strengths for our weaknesses. In community our strength serves the weaknesses of others. Jesus gathered his disciples into community; he taught them in community; and he sent them out as a community. The New Testament epistles seem to show that the first churches followed the model established by Jesus - they too gathered into community, learned in community, went out (and served) as a community. We see community as a major means of extending the gospel to our city, of gathering believers and not-yet believers together, and as the primary place for discipleship. Therefore, rather than providing a list of events and programs for our people to choose from, we schedule little and push hard for people to be involved in a small community of people at new city known as a Missional Community.

3) We are BIG "M" missional and little "a" attractional. That is, we major on our people understanding that they are called to be missionaries, and equipping them as missionaries to live the life of a missionary - a life of making disciples and teaching those disciples (The Great Commission). We DO believe that people should be attracted to us as we look more and more like Jesus, but we don't focus on being the biggest/best/most fun/entertaining church that attracts people with a BIG A Attraction. (more on that here and here and here)

Since youth/students are a part of the church then these philosophies form the foundation youth/student ministry just as they do for adult ministry...

* If we want the next generation to be missional, then we must train them to be missional and the way to do that is (in part) by NOT doing BIG A Attractional youth ministry. Leading adults who grew up as attracted consumers to be a missional community is a tough! Wouldn't it be foolish to perpetuate this difficulty by raising up attracted consumer students that would one day need to be taught about missional living?

* If we want the next generation to be contributing members to the community now and in the future - shouldn't we make sure they are a part of the community now? And if community is the best place and the biblical model for advancing the gospel (making disciples) and for teaching disciples then why would we want our children/youth/students NOT in community?

Clearly there are other philosophies. The purpose of this post is not to say that there is only one way to do youth ministry or to say all other ways are bad. The purpose is to help you understand the foundational philosophies that lead us to do the things that we do - and don't do.

My next post will be on our vision for just what this ministry could look like.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 5 - Oxymoron or the Future?

2010-04-23T15:14:00.006-04:00

The following article by Christine Ross can be found at youthsource.com:

Intergenerational Youth Ministry: An oxymoron or the future?
Christine Ross
One generation shall commend your works to another and set forth Your mighty deeds. Psalm 145:4

Research of 400 youth group graduates' faith journeys being conducted by Kara Powell, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary, indicates that "youth involved in intergenerational relationships in church are showing promise for stronger faith in high school and beyond" (p. 43, 2009). According to Powell, intergenerational youth ministry is not an oxymoron; rather, it is the future of youth ministry.

This article will consider key reasons why recent youth ministry practices focus upon separating the generations, key reasons for bringing the generations together, and how to introduce an intergenerational philosophy into your congregation.

Why Separate Age-Groups?
Several factors contribute to the age separation prevalent today when Christians gather for Christian education, fellowship, service, or worship.

Kara Powell attributes the rise of segregating youth from other generations to the success of the para-church organizations in the mid 20th century. Congregations observed the success that groups like Young Life or InterVarsity had in attracting youth and followed their youth focused model of discipleship (2009).

Australian Christian educator Allen Harkness (1998) believes that modernist and post-modernist trends have facilitated individualistic and person-centered Christian education rather than Christian education which focuses upon integrating the faithful into the greater community of believers.

The baby boom of the 1950's and the tumultuous 1960's drew attention to the differing values of youth and adults. The "generation gap" became an accepted way of life, and society responded to the gap by separating the generations in order to reduce conflict created by differing life-styles and beliefs.

Educational theories certainly play a role in separating the generations. Public and private school educators as well as those trained to be congregational Christian educators are well versed in Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory which provided the foundation for Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development and James Fowler's faith development theories. Each of these theories is based on the premises that humans develop in stages generally related to the cognitive abilities possible for their age, and that persons will best develop in settings that focus on the needs of their age or stage. During the 1970's and 1980's these theories were widely practiced, and age-separation in the public and private sphere increased in order to better serve each persons at each stage.

Church growth theory may be another contributing factor to age-separation. Donald McGavran, Win Arn, C. Peter Wagner, and others espoused the idea that evangelism to homogeneous people groups, or people with similar cultural or life-style characteristics, provides fewer obstacles to acceptance of the Gospel. Thus, church plants focusing on young adults or upper-income Koreans are both examples of this principal. Multi-generational or multi-ethnic congregations are examples of the more difficult heterogeneous outreach method.

Why Integrate Generations?
Two-thirds of the pastors, Christian educators, youth ministers, and lay leaders I interviewed for my dissertation (Ross, 2006) believed that the generations have a lot to offer one another. Bringing the generations together melds energy and wisdom, provides more opportunities to share spiritual gifts, makes life more meaningful and purposeful, and enhances spiritual growth for all involved.

Dr. Holly Allen, Professor of Christian Ministries and Director of the Child & Family Studies Program at John Brown University, compared children who attended churches where they participated in an intergenerational small group and worshiped with their parents in an intergenerational worship setting with children who attended Sunday school, children's church, and some type of other mid-week gathering, but did not participate in any intergenerational setting. The comparison revealed that children involved in intergenerational settings had a wider faith-vocabulary than did children from non-intergenerational settings. The most significant differences were that children from intergenerational settings referred to prayer more often and described God in more personal terms than did the non-intergenerational children (Allen, 2002). Intergenerational relationships certainly seemed to enhance the spiritual development of the children in the study.

Certainly, Piaget's and others' cognitive development theories enhanced the learning experiences for countless children, youth, and adults. However, educators often neglect to balance their age specific educational methods with practices that allow people of different stages to interact, which even Piaget believed was needed to enable an individual's developmental advancement. And, in emphasizing cognitive development theories we often ignore social learning theories like those of Lev Vygotsky, which challenged Piaget's theory that learning had to develop in successive stages. Vygotsky observed that higher mental functions developed through social interactions with significant people in a child's life, particularly parents. Vygotsky would say that persons learn to be members of their community as they actively participate in that particular social community, learning alongside those who are further ahead in the journey (Allen, 2002).

The apprentice model of learning a trade by first watching an expert, then attempting the work under the guidance of the expert, and having so understood/internalized the work that they are able to do it themselves in their own way is a present day example of Vygotsky theory in action. Allen (2002) suggests that Vygotsky's socio-cultural learning theory better aligns with Christian faith formation than cognitive development theories. If novice electrical journeymen, doctors, and DCE students learn best by fully practicing alongside experienced mentors, then perhaps Christian faith-formation occurs best when younger Christians interact with practicing Christians further along on the journey. The apostle Paul certainly modeled such an approach with his child-in-the-Lord, Timothy (Acts 16:1-3; I Corinthians 4:17; 2 Timothy 1:5-7 etc.).

Another recurrent reason for providing intergenerational interaction is its Scriptural basis. Old Testament Israelincorporated children into community life (Deut. 6:7; 12:7; Joel 2:15) and the New Testament church followed the multigenerational practices. Parents bringing children to Jesus (Luke 18:15-17); Lydia and the jailor being baptized along with their households (Acts 16:15, 33); the youth, Eutychus, who fell out of a window while listening to Paul preach late into the night (Acts 20:7-12); and Luke's report of children praying for Paul's voyage together with adults (Acts 21:5-6) all indicate that children were taught to practice the faith within the day-to-day activities of the faith community. Intergenerational ministry leaders believe that theological themes such as "the family of God," "the body of Christ," and "the community of believers" (Romans 8:14-17; Romans 12:4-6) are best taught and fully practiced when all generations of the faith-community gather together.

People really do enjoy intergenerational activities! Written and verbal evaluations by the members of an intergenerational mission trip included the following comments:

"Our family learned to pray aloud together" (40ish Dad).

"I learned about the interests of the children in studying the scriptures and also the wealth of knowledge of the older generation. I think this was helpful in understanding how persons of other generations have a lot to contribute" (high school girl).

"It encourages a greater unity amongst church members" (70ish male).

"Now I look forward to going to church because maybe I'll see the other team members and get to talk to them" (junior high school girl).

"I remember thinking 'I wonder how this is going to work; how well we'd mix.' I remember a few of the meetings at first were a little tough between all of us because we all wanted to be leaders. Now I feel like I have the adults' respect because they've seen me work on the same level as them" (high school boy).

Every team member indicated that they would attend future intergenerational service opportunities, and other intergenerational activities offered by their church.

How to Introduce Intergenerational Faith Formation
Remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare? When introducing intergenerational to your youth and greater congregation, follow after the tortoise be slow and steady!
First, read and talk about intergenerational ministry until you are convinced it is a viable model of faith-formation for the 21st century. If you are not excited about its potential to enhance your ministry, don't do it. Although you do need to start out slowly, "half hearted dabbling" will only convince you that it's impossible for youth and adults to bridge the generation gap.

I define intergenerational ministry as intentionally combining the generations together in mutual serving, sharing, and/or learning within the core activities of the church in order to live out being the body of Christ to each other and the greater community.

What this means for practicing intergenerational ministry is that you will not introduce a new activity to your youth/congregation, but choose a common youth activity and adapt it to include church members of other generations. For example, do you already plan several youth servant activities during the year? Choose one event this year and invite fifth graders through adults to participate. If you pray in small groups beforehand, intentionallycreate intergenerational small groups to pray together. If the group will divide up to complete the service tasks,ensure that there are at least two generations within each small group. De-brief afterwards in groups of more than two generations asking each person to share what they learned, how they experienced God, and one thing they learned from or about someone of another age from serving together.

Do you typically have a "youth-led service" every fifth Sunday of the month? Once this year plan an intentionallyintergenerational service instead. Form a planning team that includes members of each generation (I've had mature 7 year olds on planning teams), with a parent of infants/nursery school aged children representing the youngest members of the faith family. The team will plan the worship together working to ensure that there will be something that members of every generation will be able to participate in and enjoy. Be sure to evaluate afterwards in preparation for making the next intergenerational worship an even more enjoyable opportunity for the various generations that make up the family of God.

Conclusion

When Leadership Journal (Powell, 2009) asked youth ministry leader Dr. Kara Powell the question, "Is the era of age-segmentation over?" she unequivocally answered "yes." To learn more about Kara and other Christian educators' experiences with intergenerational ministry and to glean ideas regarding how to integrate intergenerational faith formation into your youth ministry peruse a few of the recent writings noted below.

Allen, H.C. (2002). A qualitative study exploring the similarities and differences of the spirituality of children inintergenerational and non-intergenerational Christian contexts. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest Information and Learning Company. (UMI No. 3049645).

Bolinder, G. & White, J.E. (1999). Two pastors in a demographic debate: Should the Church target generations? Leadership Journal, XX, 104. Retrieved June 4, 2007 from http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/1999/spring/9l2104.html

Glassford, D. (2008). Fostering an intergenerational culture. In. H. Vanderwell (Ed.), The church of all ages: Generations worshiping together. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.

Issues in Christian Education. Ministry Among the Generations. vol. 41, no. 2. Seward: NE.

Harkness, A. G. (2000). Intergenerational and homogeneous-age education: mutually exclusive strategies for faith communities? Religious Education, 95, 51-63.

Powell, K. (2009, Summer). Is the era of age segregation over? An interview with Kara Powell. Leadership 30 (3), 43-48.

Martineau, M., Weber, J., & Kehrwald, L. (2008). Intergenerational Faith Formation: All Ages Learning Together.New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications.

Meyers, P. (2006). Live, Learn, Pass It On!The Practical Benefits of Generations Growing Together in Faith. Nashville: Discipleship Resources.

Menconi, P. (2008). The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to www.com. Littleton,CO: Mt. Sage Publishing.

Rendle, G. (2002). The multigenerational congregation: Meeting the leadership challenge. Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute.

Ross, C.M. (2006). A qualitative study exploring churches committed to intergenerational ministry. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest Information and Learning Company. (UMI Number: 3237443).

Vanderwell, H. (Ed.). (2008). The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.

Strauss, W. & Howe, N. (1991). Generations: The history of Americas future, 1584 to 2069. New York: Quill, William Morrow Publisher.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 4 - Why Do They Go?

2010-04-20T16:04:00.006-04:00

If it ain't broke, don't fix it... but if it is - FIX IT!

Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

By far, the most widely followed model for reaching youth/students and training them in the Christian faith is the model of a Youth Ministry, or Youth Group. Most church youth groups have a leader - the Youth Minister who is most often a paid staff member of the church. The Youth Minister recruits parents who help with teaching Sunday School classes for youth and putting on youth events. Youth ministry is a combination of fun events, fun trips, teaching, and service projects a couple of times a year. Most of these models are ATTRACTIONAL in that events and fun trips serve as the primary means to woo in the students. Successfully wooed, students are told about Jesus and taught about the Christian life either from the Youth Pastor in a lecture or monologue, or by a teacher in a small group setting with age related peers. Youth ministries serve up a constant mix of fun and exciting events with dash and splash of teaching.

So how is it working? We can't base our opinion solely on our individual personal experience when it comes to Youth Groups because not everyone has shared that experience - some have had GREAT experiences, while others had horrible experiences. So we turn to research...

LifeWay Research reported that 70% of 23-30 year olds who had attended church regularly, stopped attending church regularly between the ages of 18 and 22. OUCH! That means that only 30% of our young people stuck with the body of Christ after high school. A 30% retention rate is MISERABLE. Would you send your children to a school with a 70% drop out rate? That is largely what the current model of church youth ministry has produced - a 70% drop out rate. Over an 18 month period, the Youth Transition Network held open forum discussions with over 500 high school students from across the country and interviewed 140 college students about their transition from high school to college. Here is a snippet of what they found:

The story that has emerged from these sessions, which has been confirmed by taped follow-up interviews, has a similar pattern. It goes like this:

“We entered the youth group with a moderate faith. We enjoyed the program and the leader and found it fun to be involved in our youth group. Yet the messages we heard were primarily focused on sin avoidance, which we perceive as sin intolerance, leaving little room for failure.”

“Then we discovered that the subculture among the upperclassmen was unhealthy and alluring. The obvious hypocrisy of seeing the upperclassmen singing and going on mission trips and, yet, leading this hidden life was disillusioning.” (In the sessions they define this as an intentionally deceptive dual life, one that youth leaders and parents often have no idea is occurring, according to the students.) “Eventually we gave in to the subculture, resulting in guilt and a sense of being unacceptable to God.”

In these sessions high school students consistently said that they cannot share their failure with parents or youth leaders. Parents will punish them and they have seen such information leak into their youth ministries, resulting in significant social ramifications for students within the church.

Once participating in the subculture in their youth ministry, they find it hard to escape because it keeps pulling them down. They helplessly try to extract themselves from the situation by themselves, while being told they should be able to avoid sin. The level of defeat that results, leads many we have encountered to say that, they “never feel successful in their faith”. In our sessions we have asked the students to estimate the percentage of students from their own youth group that are leading this intentionally deceptive dual life. At Urbana, a national mission conference, high school seniors started their estimates at 75% and ranged to 95% as they reflected upon the students in their youth groups!

For the full article click HERE.

I admittedly do NOT have all of the answers, nor do I pretend to be an expert on youth ministry. I don't know it ALL - but I do know this when it comes to youth groups. It is broke. It needs to be fixed - not band aided, not dressed up, not called something different - it needs a complete over haul. We need to be honest about the failure of most youth ministries. We need to open our eyes to the ineffectiveness of a model that produces a 70% drop out rate. And we need to RE-THINK reaching and shaping young people as members of the body of Christ.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 3 - Who Is The Church?

2010-04-20T14:26:00.000-04:00

This is the third post in a series of posts related to Youth Groups (or the lack thereof) and New City Church. In the first post I attempted to demonstrate the fallacy of the notion that students need more time with their peers. In the second post I wanted to show that studies show there are numerous benefits to intergenerational learning and in the context of community intergenerational learning may actually be superior to peer group learning. In this post I want to pose the question: Who is the Church?

At what point does a believer become a member of the local body? I don't mean here member in the technical sense of "membership" or "partnership", but rather at what point does one become a part of the body. Are believing youth/students a part of the body of the church?

OR - Is there an age at which believing students become a part of the body?

Most people define the Church in two ways - the VISIBLE Church which is made up of all professing believers - those who say they are followers of Christ and are seen in their various assemblies (local bodies). The INVISIBLE church is made up of those who are truly believers. Jesus taught that there would be tares mixed with the wheat (unbelievers with believers) until judgment, when He will separate the two. In both, make up is determined by belief - either professing belief or true, genuine belief. If we apply that definition to New City Church, then we would say that NCCd is made up of believers... all believers... believers of all ages.

Youth Groups typically segregate congregations. There is the Youth Group and the adults. The Youth Group learns with the Youth Group, participates in fun activities with the Youth Group, takes mission trips with the Youth Group, hangs out with The Youth Group, travels with the Youth Group, and on and on and on.

If a group of believers is segregated from the rest of the body that is the church, both the group and the body suffer. In I Corinthians 12, Paul writes about spiritual gifts and explains that every member of the body is given a spiritual gift - (7) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Notice that last phrase - the gift, which is the manifestation of the Spirit's presence in a believers life is given for what? for the common good of the body. In Ephesians 4 Paul again talks about the functioning of the local body of believers where he writes, From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Every member in the body does its work and together the members build up the body in love.

Are youth/students members of the body or not?

If so, how or where do they contribute to the good of the whole body by being segregated into a youth group? Some may respond by saying that they use their gift for serving and building up the youth group, which in turn is good for the whole body. The problem with that is that segregation in the body really creates a church within a church. They may in fact work for the good of the youth group, but that is not the same as the common good of the whole body.

So, how and where can youth/students serve the New City Body as they are incorporated into the body? At least a couple of our youth/students play fairly regularly in our bands, some are aids to those teaching the younger kids on Sunday mornings, some help with set-up and tear-down every week, some help serve at the donut and coffee bar, some have helped watch the littlest ones during MC gatherings, a few have attended and participated in MC discussions and even more are regulars at MC fun nights, one of our young guys often helps with sound and has run our Sunday morning sound by himself more than once (and does a great job). Our MCs also are to have quarterly service projects throughout the city - those projects are to be set up so that nccders of all ages can serve the city. In short, at New City, we are structured through MCs so that youth/students can serve the body (the entire body), for the common good of the body anywhere they are gifted and able. Because we do not segregate the youth/students from the rest of the body, they can be genuine contributors to the whole body.

We believe that there will be other benefits as well. Such as:

Young people will see and learn life from parents and other adults

Young people will develop gospel-centered relationships with adults (young and old) that they can utilize for all areas of life (school, future employment, marriage, family...) for as long as they live,

Young people will grow up serving and contributing to the body

Because young people are a part of the whole body, they will be less likely to feel "lost" when they graduate from student ministry and therefore are more likely to continue as a part of the body as opposed to disappearing from church life until having children of his/her own (as an estimated 80-90% do)

Benefit Show Coming May 1 to the 567

2010-04-18T15:48:00.002-04:00

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 2

2010-04-17T18:17:00.004-04:00

In the first Post I really wanted to address the "NEED" kids felt and parents expressed for time with peers. The reality - there isn't a NEED - a want, yes - but not a need. Almost 40% of a Middle Schooler's waking/available life is spent with peers.

So we come to the second post, and a second often heard claim: "Youth learn better when they are in a peer group."

There are studies that suggest that this is an accurate and true statement... when it comes to lecture style teaching of specific subjects, like math or science. However, there are other studies that show there are TREMENDOUS benefits to all age groups in intergenerational learning as well. For example, this US Gov site lists the following benefits:
For the Community
• Strengthens Community: Intergenerational programs bring together diverse groups and networks and help to dispel inaccurate stereotypes. Sharing talents and resources help to create a unified group identity. Children, youth, and older adults are less alienated while the community recognizes that they are contributing members of society.
• Maximizes Human Resources: Intergenerational community service programs tend to multiply human resources by engaging older adults and youth as volunteers.
• Maximizes Financial Resources: When groups representing young and old approach local funders, those funders are more likely to respond positively because they can see broad-based community support. Intergenerational programs can save money and stretch scarce resources by sharing sites and/or resources.
• Expands Services: Intergenerational community service programs can expand the level of services to meet more needs and address more issues.
• Encourages Cultural Exchange: Intergenerational programs promote the transmission of cultural traditions and values from older to younger generations, helping to build a sense of personal and societal identity while encouraging tolerance.
• Inspires Collaboration: Intergenerational programs can unite community members to take action on public policy issues that address human needs across the generations.
For Youth and Children
• Enhances Social Skills: Interaction with older adults enhances communication skills, promotes self-esteem, develops problem-solving abilities, and fosters friendships across generations. Positive attitudes are developed regarding sense of purpose and community service. Additionally, youth involved in mentoring programs have been show to be almost one-third less likely to hit others.
• Improves Academic Performance: Intergenerational programs increase school attendance and performance. Students tutored by older adults made significantly greater gains in achievement test scores than other students.
• Decreases Drug Use: Youth involved in intergenerational mentoring programs are 46% less likely to report the initiation of drug use, and among minority youth that statistic increased to 70%.
• Increases Stability: Children and youth gain positive role models with whom they can interact on a regular basis. Older adult volunteers help to provide children and youth with consistency through mentoring and in child care facilities that average a 25-35% turnover rate.
For Older Adults
• Enhances Socialization: Older adults remain productive, useful, and contributing members of society. They increase interaction with children and youth and engage more with one another to prevent isolation in later years.
• Stimulates Learning: Older adults learn new innovations and technologies from their younger counterparts.
• Increases Emotional Support: Intergenerational programs afford older adults an opportunity to participate in a meaningful activity. This decreases loneliness, boredom, and depression while increasing self-esteem. Older volunteers report more enriched lives, a rejuvenated sense of purpose, and increased coping skills for their personal struggles.
• Improves Health: Helping contributes to the maintenance of good health, and can diminish the effect of psychological and physical diseases and disorders.

This site states the following as one of the lessons learned from their study- "Lesson 1 - The multidimensional policy and practice analysis of EAGLE demonstrates that the benefits of intergenerational learning are many, such as: uniting segregated generations and building better understanding; encouraging active citizenship and social participation, and encouraging cross-generational working."

So when it comes to math, English, Science, and History it may very well be true that peer group learning in a lecture setting is the best way for youth to learn. BUT studies indicate that when it comes to learning as it relates to community, health, and participation in community - the benefits of intergenerational learning exceed those of peer learning. And, since the Church is an interconnected, interdependent community – reason would seem to say that intergenerational learning seems to be the best route for all ages to participate in – it is a win/win/win – strengthening adults, youth, and children as well as fostering a greater sense of community and unity. Perhaps that is why God instructed the church through Paul in Titus 2 that older men should teach younger men about living the Christian life, and older women likewise were to teach the younger women about life issues. The entire context is not age segregated learning, but intergenerational learning within the community of the church.

So - do kids learn better in peer groups? In some things yes. In all things no.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One

2010-04-16T12:46:00.004-04:00

New City Church downtown doesn't have a Youth Group. We live in a culture that highly values church Youth Groups. Most people have never questioned church Youth Groups, they simply assume that these groups are good - are best for kids. After all, most churched people grew up with some kind of a youth group AND every 'real' church has one. In fact, not having a youth group is often interpreted as a sign that a church doesn't care about kids (and THAT's a bad sign).

I want to share some posts as I think and re-think the Youth Group questions. The thinking and re-thinking comes as we continue to have questions about NCCd not having a youth group and on the heels of one family leaving NCCd and another close to leaving over the same issue. I want to say up front that I believe we have freedom within Scripture to have a youth group or not, and that neither is RIGHT, and either can be WRONG. I also would like to remind everyone that all Youth group experiences are not the same - yours may have been great while others were horrible - or vice versa.

So, I will begin a series of posts with the numbers...

I have heard many times that youth "really enjoy an environment with their peers." "They need a time to be together with people their own age."

I cannot argue that kids need time with their peers.

I would not argue that kids enjoy hanging out with other kids their own age.

HOWEVER - I would ask, "How much time with peers is enough?"

Here are some conservative numbers on peer to peer interaction:

Hours in a day 24 x 7 = 168 p week

Hours of sleep 8 x 7 = 56 p week
Available Hours p/day 16 x 7 = 112 p week

School Hours: 8am – 3pm 7hrs x 5days = 35 or 31% of available hours

CONSERVATIVELY - A child in school spends roughly 1/3 of their waking hours with their peers

One study shows that the average middle school child spends another 5-6 hours per week in extracurricular activities such as sports, band, etc. These events are by and large peer related events and activities as well, pushing the percentage with peers to 36%.

If we also consider travel to and from school as well as time to ‘get ready’ (for school, activities, bed…) as UNAVAILABLE time – figuring VERY conservatively at just 1 hour per day would change the #s as follows:

56 Hours of sleep
7 hours of ‘getting ready’
105 Available hours

40 hours of school and extracurricular activities with peers

38% of the average Middle Schooler’s waking life is spent with his/her peers.

** Consider that # and this One - According to one source - in 2000 the average time PER WEEK that a married father spent caring for his children (time that they were his primary focus) 6.5 hours. (or 6% of the child’s 105 waking hours of availability)

S0, How much time with peers is ENOUGH?
Just "by the numbers" is time with peers a valid argument FOR a Youth Group? Or, Is it simply more time separated from parents and the diverse Gospel Community of the whole body?

Music @ New City

2010-04-13T21:43:00.003-04:00

It seems that every week at nccd gets better and better as far as music goes (maybe the preaching will catch up one day!). Below is a low quality, short recording of a song that Josh Maloy (singing) wrote... he and all of our band crew are amazing... God amazes me.

Another Look at the New Space

2010-04-02T15:15:00.005-04:00

Come Help out at the new 567!

This Saturday - April 3 - 8:30am-2:30pm

Tipping? Maybe. A Changing City

2010-04-01T15:48:00.009-04:00

The Tipping Point: Small changes may have little effect until they build up to critical mass, then the next small change may suddenly change everything. this is the tipping point.
Typically no one knows when the tipping point is reached until the tip has occurred and I think it is far too early to say that we have tipped when it comes to downtown Macon. BUT we maybe tipping.

In the midst of the worst economy that our nation has seen in decades, there are exciting signs of growth and exciting new businesses in the works. I know - many would point out that other businesses are closing - like Macon Pizza, and that a couple of downtown businesses are teetering. This is true. But there are always businesses that open and close - who often should not have opened to begin with. Opening a new business is tough and more businesses fail in the first five years than succeed. Some of our downtown startups were destined for failure. You can't open a restaurant that serves mediocre food and provides terrible service and expect to survive. Neither can you open a store or shop that you like, but that doesn't really appeal to the market you are in and expect success.

So what makes these new businesses different? They are a good fit for the culture and context, and each is different.

> Cherry Street Cycles, for example will be the only downtown cycle shop (if Mercer is intown). We are in a culture that enjoys biking and in a city that can bike year around.

> The Rookery - I know the Rookery is not new - but it is! The Rookery has new owners. The new owners did a complete overhaul of the old building and it looks and SMELLS great. They strengthened the menu and added specialties that few places offer. They have also strengthened their service and the quality of the food served. And the old Rookery is completely new, and doing GREAT.

> The 567 is leaving a 1600 square foot facility capable of holding shows with around 100 in attendance and is moving to a 12,000 square foot facility capable of having standing room only shows for 600 or more. And the 567 makes that move as more and more it passes up potential big shows, and more and more packs out its small space. On top of that, the 567 will offer new business incubator space and more!

> The Iguana - I know it doesn't have the best reputation! The Iguana closed, but I hear a new venue will open in its place and serve as a weekend music venue. Some of you are saying - WAIT A MINUTE! Another music venue!?!? YES - thankfully so. The 567 will play a different style of music than the Iguana, or the Capitol Theater, or the Humming Bird. Each has the potential to reach a different audience. More diversity in music will mean more diversity in people coming to hear the music - and just MORE people!

> A New Brew Pub is also in the works. It will be located near the Rookery and the 567. The new pub would serve all the regular beers, plus some micro brews, AND It's Own Brew! So it won't be like any other bar downtown. A stand out, specialty pub - nice.

Add to these new businesses the young businesses now in place, like DolceVita, Killian's and it appears that we might just be tipping. I know it is too early to say - but i think it is happening, and it is happening in the hardest economy we've seen in quite a while.

Transformation of a City

2010-03-30T17:32:00.003-04:00

I ran across this post at Cool Studios and thought it worthy of a share. Notice some of the reasons WHY Lafayette is loved... a move back to downtown, GREAT MUSIC, and young people:
How Lafayette, Louisiana is attracting creatives
With a population over 100,000 and a greater population of half a million, Lafayette, Louisiana is a little known small town creative mecca whose residents probably want to keep it that way. What’s their secret? The city’s aptly named Independent sheds some light in their cover story, Cool town. Lafayette is becoming a magnet for the creative class. Here’s why.
Economically, they’re successfully transitioning from the industrial age (oil) to the knowledge age (health care, tourism). Education wise, their acclaimed University of Louisiana hosts 16,000 students with an emphasis on the emerging fields of health, design and tech. As far as infrastructure, the city’s utility (LUS) will complete a citywide fiber network providing among the highest broadband speeds in the nation.
However, what is it about Lafayette that actually makes people stick? That’s the kind of thing statistics can’t show, but perhaps you’ll get an idea from listening to its natives...
“The music here is incomparable. You can’t find this anywhere else. In addition to the indigenous music that comes out of here, over just the last few years there’s been a lot of good popular music being made.“
“Lafayette and Acadiana has an indigenous culture that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the planet. People move here just for this music and culture. It’s mind blowing. I cannot tell you how many people Terrance meets throughout the world that get turned on to this region’s music and are inspired to move here because of it.”
Keep in mind that two of the top 10 search queries are music related. Also, music scenes are a sign of economic rise.
“Everyone I know is moving downtown. It’s a good little community of young people. People just getting married or people my age who are single. Artists, a lot of creative type people. Interesting people. With all the businesses that are going downtown, and people I know who are opening businesses downtown, it’s a fun little community; you can ride bikes everywhere.“
“It has so much culture and so much more fun than any other small town. I have never been worried about who I am in Lafayette. We have a very small gay community, but I’ve never run into a place that was intolerant.“
“I work for [architect] David Courville, and I own the Lafayette Top Shop on Jefferson, so I’m really invested in downtown. Lafayette has a really hip urban feel to it even though it’s a small town. In November, we moved upstairs, above the shop. I figure if I’m going to start designing smaller, more efficient units, I need to live in one. It’s 700 square feet.”
Scroll down the cover story to peruse an impressive list of over 340 things that make Lafayette so cool.
Photo: Lafayette’s spectacular Festival International.
Thanks to Zach Kupperman, founder of Policy Pitch for the reference!

Posted by Neil Takemoto in • Downtown Migration

Another Crazy Couple - nccMilledgeville?

2010-03-22T16:25:00.003-04:00

It is now official - Ryan and Lori Lyons are Crazy! Ryan and Lori have decided to leave a really good church and a really good church's financial support to move from KY to Middle Ga in order to plant a new New City Church campus in Milledgeville!

All of the details regarding the exact timing of the move are still being worked out, but it could be as soon as a May 1 move. While settling into a new city, Ryan will receive a crash course hands on time of New City training. Over the summer he will begin sharing New City's vision for a transformed Milledgeville with goal of building a core of 25 adults committed that vision. When Ryan and the core are ready, we'll officially launch New City Church Milledgeville. With God's favor and a lot of hard work, a Fall 2010 launch is possible.

Ready or Not...here we go!

More About Ryan...

Ryan is a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he is also working on his PhD. He is currently the teaching pastor of church outside of Louisville, KY. Ryan and Lori are both from Warner Robins, so the move will bring them a lot closer to family. Ryan and Lori will make the move along with little ones Michael and Kaitlyn.

Macon, ReDevelopment, and 3rd Places

2010-03-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

I ran across this blog post at the newly discovered cooltownstudios.com . I love the article. Where's your Third Place?

The third place

The first place is your home. The second place is your workplace. The

third place is where you hang out in between. Ray Oldenburg wrote the book on it.

A cool town is full of great third places. If you aren’t motivated to leave home or your workplace, chances are you don’t live around too many successful third places.

The UK has long had the concept of the third place down pat. While staying with a friend in the small town of Streatley-Goring in England, I’d usually find him at “The Bull”, a small pub across the street (literally). There he was, laughing it up with his good friends or playing a game of darts amid philosophic discussion. This was available to him whenever he felt like walking 50 yards. In fact, during my stay there it was available to me as well, as they made me feel right at home. Now that’s what a third place is all about.

Keep up with third place trends right here.

Welcome to Macon

2010-03-04T21:12:00.003-05:00

A new, New City family is on the way... the moving truck hopefully arrives tomorrow and Jaclyn and Elijah will be picked up from the airport. Zack has been here since Monday after an 18+ hour drive from Boston. Yes, BOSTON.

Why are they moving to Macon? To be a part of New City Church - crazy.

Six years ago I met Zack when I moved from Birmingham to Eastman, GA. He was the youth pastor at the church I was coming to as pastor. After a year or so, Zack left us for school in Birmingham, where he met his wife Jaclyn. After graduation, Zack, Jaclyn, and their new baby Elijah headed to Boston Mass for Gordon Conwell Seminary. Recently Zack and Jaclyn began talking about where they could serve the kingdom - they wanted to be in a theologically conservative church who was striving to advance the gospel and the kingdom in their city and ultimately through all the world. After looking at other churches and other cities, they agreed that Macon would be their home, and New City would be their church. Zack is looking for a job - has his second interview with a local company next week. They have risked much to invest much... and we're glad.

Welcome to Macon Zack, Jaclyn, and Elijah Williams.

New City - Moving With The 567

2010-02-21T15:21:00.002-05:00

Here's a sneak peek at the soon to be new 567. New City will lease space from the 567 and continue to serve Macon through the 567...

A New Home

2010-02-09T14:18:00.002-05:00

We have been in negotiations for several weeks with the owners of the Thorpes building, 533 Cherry Street. Yesterday we found out that the building's sprinkler system was operational and passed inspection. We also received approval from Planning and Zoning for a place of gathering - Art and Music Venue. With that, the 567 has a new home!

The new space will allow us some great opportunities in the city. Downstairs will likely host an Art Gallery that will also serve as a lobby. Beyond the lobby we hope to finish out a large gathering area with stage, lighting, and seating for 300. Upstairs we will finish out a more intimate gathering space for smaller shows like we have at our current location. We will also have enough space upstairs for class rooms, studios, and offices. We hope to be able to offer 'incubator' office space for a couple of new businesses willing to locate downtown.

We are excited as well to work with the Refuge here in Macon as they continue bringing music from all over the country to Macon. This automatically doubles the number of shows that the 567 has been doing on a monthly basis and more than doubles the number of people coming downtown to enjoy great music and hopefully dine in our great restaurants. The additional space will allow guys like Sean Pritchard, the Blue Indian, and our own Heather Kemp to bring bigger shows to Macon as well. Upstairs will allow space for our local artists and musicians to teach others their art through art and music classes and summer camps. The possibilities are almost endless...

Oh yeah, and New City Church will have an opportunity to lease Sunday morning space from the 567 - that means our New City kids will have their own designated class space and we won't have to tear down and set up week after week, we should save some $, and I'll have my own quiet office! Stay tuned, we'll post some video soon.

What is Missional Church?

2010-02-02T09:25:00.000-05:00

A Plug For Plant and Replant

2009-12-17T08:25:00.004-05:00

Plant and RePlant is an Acts 29 Regional Event
January 22-23

Hosted by New City Church downtown

More than anything. this event is intended to be a very practical help to you in whatever context you are currently in so that you can prayerfully and strategically prepare for the future. Our hope is not to preach to you about things that you should be doing, but answering questions that you have about how the gospel can take root in the work that you feel God is calling you into.

There will be 3 Main Sessions featuring Tyler Jones, planting pastor of Vintage 21 and Jonathan McIntosh, planter and former campus pastor at the Journey Church in St Louis.

There will also be 3 breakout sessions that will largely be Q and A - so bring your questions. Breakouts will be divided into 2 tracks - Planting and Replanting...

PLANTING PROMO:

RePLANTING PROMO:

What I learned About NCCd Church Planting (4)

2009-12-15T09:13:00.003-05:00

Where We Intend to Plant Campuses (2) - Warner Robins:

This is a guest post from Heath Clarke, one of our Warner Robins MC Leaders about his home city...

Warner Robins is located directly south of Macon in a neighboring county. The city’s population is 61,336. However in Houston County (pronounced House-ton) the population is 133,161. Warner Robins and Houston County is one of the fastest growing areas in the state of Georgia (listed as the fastest outside of Atlanta according to recent census information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_County,_Georgia). Warner Robins is also home of Robins AFB, the states largest industrial complex and employer making it a vital city to the Central Georgia area.

Partly because Warner Robins is a “young” city and has experienced rapid growth a central downtown area never developed. It is a typical 20^th century boomtown suburb setting, lined with shopping malls on every street and commercial chain restaurants.

However, because of a swelling desire by the people there are plans that have been developed by the city to renew and develop an area of the city to transform it into a city center and a downtown. A New City Church in Warner Robins could help serve the city in its plans to do such development.

Being a suburban military town, family and security are two traits of the city. These traits have made Warner Robins the number one city in the state of Georgia to raise a family for two consecutive years. The pulse and personality of Warner Robins is not music and art but family. The importance of the family is found in the very vibrant youth sports leagues and high school sports programs throughout the city.

New City Connections:
The Warner Robins and Sub-south Missional Communities. These two Missional Communities already buy into and are living out the vision and mission of New City Church and are serving their contexts with the gospel. These two MC’s will form the core team for planting in their context.

Heath and Lindsey Clark with Jason and Kimberly Clements - Together they lead the Warner Robins Missional Community. All have jobs in the city of Warner Robins and are serving to build and multiply their MC.

Mike and Tammy Gilbert – They are the leaders of the Sub-south Missional Community. The Sub-south area is between Macon and Warner Robins.

Through these MC’s there are several people that are attending and traveling 30 minutes to attend the New City gatherings on Sundays. They buy the vision and mission of the church and are already in the process of fighting to see the Gospel transform their city.

Because Robins AFB brings people from all over the United States and the world, Warner Robins is different in many ways than most Southern cities. One trait however that it shares with the south is a plethora of churches. Warner Robins and Houston County could be described as a very churchy un-churched culture. Religion is pervasive but the Gospel isn’t! What Warner Robins lacks is a church that is strong in all pillars of a healthy church (worship, community, being missional, and theology). Several churches might have one or some of these traits but none embody all. There is not a church that is striving to serve the city and engage it where it is with the gospel.

Though New City Church Warner Robins will no doubt look different because of the context of the city Warner Robins is in need of a church that preaches the Gospel and lives out the mission of God as a people living in community with each other for the city.

Macon - Music and More

2009-12-11T09:46:00.002-05:00

Take a few minutes to watch and learn a little about Macon...

What I learned About NCCd Church Planting (3)

2009-12-10T15:27:00.004-05:00

Following a week of preparation and meeting with a potential NCCd Campus planter/pastor and family, I wanted to take a few posts to unpack my thoughts. This is part 3 in the series. My first post focused on the idea that What We Intend To Do Is Good, my second post focused on How We Intend to Do This Being Good, this post begins a look at

Where We Intend to Plant Campuses:

While we are pretty wide open to planting locations, there are three Middle Georgia locations that we have immediately in mind: Milledgeville, Warner Robins, and Forsyth. This series of posts will give some basic info on each of those cities.

Milledgeville

Milledgeville is located almost 30 miles North of Macon. The city’s population is around 20,000. Add to that number almost 6,000 students at Georgia College and State University and 1,000 at Georgia Military College. One website listed the total population within a five mile radius of the city at 40,000.

Where the campus of Georgia College ends, the downtown area of Milledgeville begins. Downtown is a great mix of shops, restaurants, bars and coffee spots in buildings constructed in the late 1800s. The downtown area is beautiful and having 7,000 college students as a neighbor makes for a really great vibe. Downtown seems to be a pretty decent scene for art and music and hosts at least a couple of annual festivals.

New City Connections:

Brooks and Melissa Hinton – Brooks works in Milledgeville and he and Melissa are Missional Community leaders about 12 miles south of Milledgeville.

Heather Holder – I worked closely with Heather while she was with New Town Macon. Heather is from Milledgeville, is very involved in the downtown area as well as the community at large and is employed now by Georgia College. Heather is very familiar with New City Church and our work in Macon. I recently ran into Heather while visiting Milledgeville and she was visibly happy to hear that New City is looking to invest in downtown Milledgeville – she immediately began telling me about a great building that we could use downtown that isn’t on the market…

Josh and Megan Maloy recently moved to Macon to be a part of New City Church. Josh was the Campus Outreach leader at Georgia College and still has a lot of great student contacts at Georgia College.

Amanda Miles is a recent graduate of Georgia College and is also very involved at New City. She was our summer intern and like Josh, still has several contacts on the campus – one being her soon to graduate boyfriend Ben.

Because of Josh, Megan, Amanda, Ben and others we have actually had several students drive the almost 30 miles to New City Church…

Which leads to what we have learned from our Milledgeville connections:

While there is no short supply of churches in Milledgeville, there is a very short supply of gospel-centered, reformed, missional churches who are working to engage students and the city. In a conversation recently with one of the downtown shop owners, I asked about churches – she there were a lot of churches all around the city. I asked if any were really involved in the city for the good of the city – she paused – and answered, ‘No.’

So it seems, Milledgeville may be ready for a church like New City Church – and it seems it is in need of the Gospel.

What I learned About NCCd Church Planting (2)

2009-12-08T12:41:00.003-05:00

Following a week of preparation and meeting with a potential NCCd Campus planter/pastor and family, I wanted to take a few posts to unpack my thoughts. This is part 2 in the series. My last post focused on the the idea that What We Intend To Do Is Good, this post focuses on:

How We Intend to Do This Is Also Good

First: We start with an assessment process

Anyone who wishes to plant an NCCd campus must pass an assessment process that is very much like the A-29 assessment process. The process includes numerous questionnaires covering theology, personal testimony, practical ministry, mission and vision, as well as calling. There are references to be completed, a resume of life and work experiences, personality testing, entrepreneur testing, and a phone interview. If all of this goes well, there is face to face time and a two hour husband and wife assessment.

If the potential planter does not pass the assessment process, at any time/stage the process will end.

Second: If the potential planter PASSES the assessment process, then the information attained in the process will be used to formulate a training strategy for the planter. Some may need theological strengthening, or preaching work, or perhaps just experience and guidance. (Of course, the potential planter must make a decision on coming to Macon and partnering with NCCd before training begins)

Third: When the potential planter and family are committed to the process and living in the area, training begins. The period of training will depend on the amount and type of training needed. Much will depend on how the potential planter responds to the training and increased weight of leadership. Training will mean intimate involvement in the operation, working, and pastoring of New City Church downtown. At the same time, the potential planter will begin working in the city in which he will plant and he will begin leading the Missional Community(ies) in that city.

Fourth: At some point (as soon as possible) in the training process, a date for Launch will be set. The MC will serve as the Launch team. The goal will be the casting of vision and multiplication of the MC. The readiness of the potential planter - now PLANTER - and the health and readiness of the core (the MC) will determine the final Launch date.

Fifth: LAUNCH (and yes I skipped finding the place for the Launch gatherings and a host of other details). A few things that the PLANTER didn't have to work hard on or worry about during the core building phase and Launch:

Casting a new vision - our MCs get it.

Finding musicians - man this was hard for a season! We currently have 3 bands who understand that they will one day rotate between campuses,

Membership - We will launch our version of membership this winter. The class materials will be handed to the planter - with a core of members.

Lack of Experience - Likely there will still be a lack here BUT, the Planter will have had hands on training with a planter AND he will continue to receive coaching and support from NCCd elders who have been in the battle and want to see the planter's victory.

Sixth: There are still unknowns regarding future structures - but we have ideas. The plant/campus will remain a New City Church - and will be active in planting other churches. The campus planter will be an elder - serving with other New City Church downtown elders and raising up his own elders

The system - though we still have much to learn and put in place is a good one. It equips the planter and readies the people for a plant. It takes away many of the areas that are time consuming and troublesome for many planters... it doesn't guarantee a successful and thriving plant, but it sure seems that it will help a lot.

So - I'll end it here with this... if you are interested in planting in Middle Georgia as a New City Campus - You'll get an MC Core, 3 awesome worship bands, proven elders, support from a guy near you working hard with you, and more...

e-mail me keith@newcitydowntown.org

What I Learned About NCCd Church Planting (1)

2009-12-07T12:55:00.003-05:00

Having spent the majority of last week hanging out with a family who may be moving to Macon to train and plant a New City campus, I want to take a few posts to reflect on my thoughts and things I learned from last week. I'll post as things come to mind, but not in any particular order. Here's the first...

What We Intend To Do Is Good

What is it that we intend to do?

We intend to plant churches (New City campuses) in numerous cities in the Middle Georgia region. Currently we are considering Warner Robins, Milledgeville, and Forsyth.

While each of those cities does have some good churches, initially it appears that there is a need for a Gospel-centered, reformed church that is willing to engage unchurched people in the public square. It seems that not only is there a need for such a church, but there are also people wanting such a church. Visiting these cities and talking about them this past week with residents and others has only strengthened our planting intent. In fact, it has fueled the fire to plant sooner rather than later.

What do we mean by a NEW CITY CAMPUS?

This is always one of the first questions that a potential planter with New City asks. The reason for the question is because there are so many different types of campuses:

Video Venue campus - Generally the majority of the preaching at such a campus is done via video projection by one guy. Mars Hill has several campuses where Mark Driscoll preaches the vast majority of the time - not live, but by video projection. Campus pastors in this system shepherd people, organize, and lead a campus but do not preach very often.

Single Preacher Satellite Campus - This is a campus in close enough proximity to the church's main campus that the Preaching Pastor can preach in one venue and then fly off (sometimes literally) to the second campus where he preaches again.

New City Campuses - Our hope is to find a planter/pastor for each of our targeted cities (and then some). Each campus planter will serve as the pastor and lead preacher/teacher for that campus. In many respects he will function and operate just as any planter would - juggling getting to know a new city, building of new relationships inside and outside of the body, working on policies, studying, writing, counseling, and yes weekly preaching and teaching.

BUT - he would plant the New City campus with the shared resources of NCCd - we would share elders, share systems and structures, share bands (creating a rotation between campuses for our current 3 bands), share a common mission and vision, finances, Missional Communities and more! For example: A New City warner robins planter would come into a situation where a core group already exists in our Warner Robins MC (Missional Community). The MC knows, understands, and is fully on board with our mission and vision. They are ready to work toward a WR campus and several of them have worked in NCCd for over a year - THAT for a planter is PRICELESS!

Why Wait? Time is Ticking - PLANT

2009-11-25T16:00:00.004-05:00

Not knowing what to expect, I blogged and tweeted and facebooked a call for a church planter - someone willing to lead a New City campus in Middle Georgia - Forsyth, Warner Robins, or Milledgeville. The tweet was re-tweeted and the blog had 4 times as many hits in a day as usual. And from all of the traffic - 1 guy followed through!

He and his wife and their 21 month old son will be heading to Macon on December 2 to meet us and check out middle Georgia. We have already completed his initial assessment and everything looks great.

A few people have asked what I have asked myself - Are we ready to plant? We are not quite 2 years old, we have 1 full time staff person (me), we are running wide open to keep up with ourselves and our city, we are pushing to add partnership (our version of membership) and leadership development, our elder candidates are just that CANDIDATES... Can we really plant a new campus?

So here are my thoughts:

* If we wait until we have everything figured out with all of our 'i's dotted and t's crossed' - we will never do it.

* If we wait until we have enough money - we will likely never do it.

* If the right guy were with us today, it would take us a year to Launch a new New City campus - a year of planning, a year of MC building, a year of getting ready...

* There is a need, now for gospel centered missional churches and every day, week, month that we wait puts off another day, week, month, year...

* Will a new campus be 'successful'? I don't know. And I really only know one way to find out - try it - not as a fool, but by faith believing that God is in the process even now - leading his people, preparing the way, and working for His kingdom

So - I would then reverse the question - Why Wait? Why NOT now? Time is ticking!

If you are interested in planting in Middle Georgia and align theologically and missiologically with New City Church downtown - Let's talk!

If you want to know more about church planting - check out Plant and RePlant - register today!

Want to Plant?

2009-11-24T10:34:00.004-05:00

80% of church plants fail. At least thats the statistic commonly used. Ed Stetzer's statistics show that 68% make it to year 4. Either way, many new church starts have short, hard lives.

I have heard no statistics, but I have seen the ruin of men and churches whith the attempt to infuse new life in old and dyeing churches. Replanting an established church is most often NOT successful - 95% of churches are unable to change their DNA.

In contrast, according to Scott Thomas of the Acts 29 Church planting network, 95% of A-29 Church plants and re-plants are successful.

So have you ever wondered - what are A-29 churches doing?

How they doing it?

If so, you will want to join us January 22-23 for the Plant and RePlant Conference. The featured speakers are Tyler Jones of Vintage 21 Church in Raleigh, NC, and Jonathan McIntosh of ReThink Mission and a former campus pastor at the Journey Church in St. Louis, MO.

One of the unique things about Plant and RePlant is that we will bring together church planters who are still new in their plant and veterans who have 'been there and done that' to answer YOUR questions. Break outs for Plant and RePlant will primarily consist of Q and A driven by attendees. So - if you are a planter now, hope to be a planter one day, or a church looking to jump into church planting, Plant and Re-Plant is for you!

Register early - seating is limited.

Ambition Audio Available

2009-11-20T07:57:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Sojourn Church for getting audio up so quickly from last week's Ambition Boot Camp. This was the Best Boot Camp that I have attended - my recommendation to church planters is that you listen to every session! For understanding your city and connecting for transformation, Kevin Cawley is a MUST hear. To keep you humble and distance yourself from the glitter that some associate with church planting - DO NOT MISS Chandler. Happy Listening!

The following was pulled directly from Sojourn's church planting blog:

You can either download them all from: the Sojourn Church iTunes podcast , our standard podcast RSS feed , or listen to them right from the sojournchurch.com Guest Speakers page. Here are direct links to each session:

Matt Chandler (Ministry for the Long Haul & Ambition)

Kevin Cawley (Decoding Your City & Ambition)

Bob Thune (Discipleship & Ambition)

Russell Moore (Speaking Past Demons: Christian Preaching As Expository Exorcism)

Darrin Patrick (Leadership & Ambition)

Steve Timmis (The Church & Ambition)

Ed Stetzer (Church Planting & Ambition)

Dave Harvey (The Gospel & Ambition)

Droided

2009-11-18T18:32:00.003-05:00

I fought it for years - not wanting to be connected - I was already waaaaayyyyy to connected - computer at work, laptop at home, laptop on vacation, laptop at conferences...

Then I got a semi-smart phone. It could get and send e-mail, do important mobile stuff like twitter and facebook. With that I could get and receive e-mail from anywhere (yes anywhere - because unlike AT&T Verizon has real nationwide coverage). But - I couldn't do much online and I couldn't open documents - and a few other things that just 10 years ago no one could do from anywhere - except a cold room with walls lined with giant computers (OK maybe 20 years ago).

Well - today I purchased a SMART phone - I think. It seems smart. Smarter than my first 3 computers - able to do 100 times as much as my 1st laptop. Now I can be connected, surf the web, do research, shoot and upload video, take 5 mega pixel pics (with a flash), call you, receive your call, get driving instructions, shop e-bay and more - all at the same time - from ANYWHERE.

wondering if this was really a good purchase.

Ambition Highlights

2009-11-15T18:51:00.004-05:00

Last week was a cRaZy busy week as Amy and I headed to Louisville, KY and Sojourn Church for Acts 29's Ambition Boot Camp. Boot Camps are exhausting: there is travel, nightly events, early mornings (8:30 am meetings), afternoon activities, dinners, hang out (late night) and back at it early in the morning, followed by Thursday assessments of potential church planters, then return travel! It is honestly non-stop. Add to that maddening pace the incredible amount of teaching that pours out of one amazing leader after another and - well - it can take days to recover - but who has days to recover?!?!?

So, while it was fresh on the mind, I thought I would share some of the highlights for me from last week, in no particular order...

# Boot Camps and other A-29 events provide me with the opportunity to connect with other planters in the network - much needed.

# The teaching line up at these events is INCREDIBLE - Ed Stetzer, Darrin Patrick, Steve Timmis, Russ Moore, Matt Chandler, Kevin Cawley, Dave Harvey, and Bob Thune all rocked the main sessions.

# Boot Camps are getting better and better at addressing a wide range of issues and need through breakout sessions - Ambition was the best I have attended.

# Sojourn and A29 did a great job of taking care of the A 29 guys there to help with the Boot Camp and assessments - great meals together, great hang out time that included a couple of awesome Louisville pubs and some cigars (love the smell of a cigar though I do not smoke them)

# Wives are encouraged to help in the assessments - that means Amy makes the trip with me - nice.

# Daniel Montgomery invited me to help by teaching one of the breakout sessions - Vision and Values - Great Church or Great City? It gave me the opportunity to share with people from all over the country the cool stuff going on in New City and in our city

# Kevin Cawley's talk was the best session I have had the honor of being in (and I have been in some good ones). Kevin is planting in KC, Mo - but what he talked about described what New City is doing. Really Good! I got to follow his talk with a brief testimony about New City - cool.

# Josh and Meghan Maloy made the trip as well as Patrick and Jennifer McConnell - hang out time with them was really good. Josh and Meghan made their first A-29 event and walked away with a renewed heart for our mission and vision.

# Meeting men from all over the country who have a passion and drive to reach people with the gospel by starting new churches - exciting.

Audio should be up in a week or so as well as video interviews with numerous planters and worship leaders.

A great week! Now to catch up here...

Love Should Lead Me to Risk Much - What's Your Agenda

2009-11-06T13:13:00.003-05:00

In my previous post I raised the question of whether or not we truly love the people around us. If we do, then our love should compel us to share the gospel - even though that involves risk. The next question that came to my mind when it comes to the gospel and those around us centers on agenda.

What is your agenda? (Webster's - an underlying plan or program)

Is it to LOVE first, or to CONVERT?

If your agenda is simply conversion, then - what will you do of there is no conversion? What will you do if the one you share Jesus with doesn't believe?

Christ follower - watch this video - a non-Christian's perspective:

Christians Trying to Convert Non-Christians from Rethink Mission on Vimeo.

Love Should Lead Me to Risk Much

2009-11-03T14:29:00.008-05:00

A lot of people think I am crazy or maybe just stubborn because I will hop back on my motorcycle as soon as I am able - this after my second broken bone from a crash (and I am not getting younger - whatever that means). Obviously there is a risk with riding a dirt bike, but for me the reward is worth the risk!

There is nothing that compares with riding - I LOVE it - and that Love leads me to risk scrapes, bruises, a little blood, and broken bones.

I have been thinking a lot over the past few days about the Gospel and our motivation (or lack thereof ) for sharing it with others. The gospel is by its nature confrontational and ultimately divisive - you are a sinner and either you believe or you don't. Confrontation and division often leads to arguments, hurt feelings, name calling, and worse. Talking with co-workers whom you see every day could lead to awkward days at work. Talking to friends on such a touchy subject could lead to your being de-friended! So - there is a risk. And often we determine the risk to be too great. So we say nothing.

But - if we LOVE our friend or co-worker (and I really mean love - not just the word love, but the reality) - if we love them, shouldn't that love motivate us to take a risk?

Or is that the real issue? We don't truly love.

Tis the Season - to ReThink the Season

2009-10-29T12:49:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week I was checking out the Advent Conspiracy after hearing much about it and knowing almost nothing. The concept was nothing new, but some of the numbers were incredible... a solemn reminder of the consumerism of my culture - and of my own consumerism.

The Advent Conspiracy is about Christmas - and Christmas spending, but we are actually in the midst of a pre-Christmas holiday right now - Halloween. While Halloween numbers fall far short of Christmas numbers, a Time Magazine article estimates Halloween spending to be 6 BILLION dollars this year. Add to that the dollars spent on enormous Fall Festivals sponsored by churches and quite frankly the numbers are sickening.

Watch this video from the Advent Conspiracy and tell me what you think...

So, as you enjoy a Fall Festival or purchase Christmas gifts,

remember that just $10 Billion could potentially change the world.

in the beginning...

2009-10-27T14:38:00.004-04:00

I was asked to contribute to a piece that is being written for the FPD Alumni News. The article will feature comments from several FPD grads who are very involved in downtown and will describe why we love downtown and are so involved. Thinking about what to write reminded me of those first days downtown - and how we got here. Below is one of my first posts on this blog:

so as I was dreaming of
WHERE I might plant a church - downtown kept
coming to mind. A lot
of work and $ is going into rehabbingdowntown Macon. New facades on old buildings, a new Sports Hall of Fame and Music Hall of fame, new stores, pubs, and sandwich shops. Caleb, our student minister and I went to lunch. I decided I would take a look around downtown and introduce Caleb to some areas of Macon he might not know. We had lunch at the Rookery - great burgers and walked around downtown.

It made my heart BEAT.

There was LIFE.

People walking and talking, having lunch at tables along the street.

There was the occasional homeless/street person, the hospital worker, the starched-shirted businessmen, and the whole spectrum of human colors.

That was the place.

That is the place.

Continued Growth in a Bad Economy

2009-10-25T18:53:00.002-04:00

Economic slump doesn’t stop growth in downtown Macon - Local & State - Macon.com

Source: www.macon.com

During one of the toughest economic downturns, several new small businesses have opened in downtown Macon during the past year or so, helping bring jobs and people to the citys center.

Help Wanted - SERIOUSLY

2009-10-21T11:23:00.006-04:00

Wanted:

Church Planters

New City Church is a church plant - we started new and with little more than a small core of people, a great desire to see the gospel transform the city, and an overwhelming sense that THIS is what God was calling us to do. New City Church is a member of the Acts 29 church planting n etwork. We are a church planting church - meaning, we believe that the best way to reach new people is through planting new churches.

New City Church is located in downtown Macon. We have Missional Communities in or near, Forsyth, Milledgeville, and Warner Robins and we are considering planting in those cities.

If you are a church planter, in agreement with Acts 29 doctrine, and Middle Georgia is where you feel God leading you to plant - we would love to talk to you.

Must be an Ox (listen here)

New City, You Have Favor With All The People

2009-10-15T09:11:00.004-04:00

Yesterday afternoon New Town Macon held its annual meeting. The meeting is an opportunity for New Town to give a yearly review as well as talk about what is on the horizon. Bruce Green from the Georgia Department of Economic Development also spoke.

Towards the end of the meeting New Town presented its "Partners in Progress Awards." Some of the award winners were Talmadge Stuckey for 'Growing Jobs,' College Hill Corridor received the '360 Degrees Award,' and Cox Communications received the 'Creating a Sense of Place Award.' Some of the other award winners were County Commission Chairman Sam Hart, Mayor Robert Reichert, and NEW CITY CHURCH.

The award reads, "Emerging Leader," but the accolades given went well beyond any one person and spoke very clearly of a church making a difference in its city. It was amazing to hear all of the reasons the award was presented to me, especially hearing them from people not associated with New City Church. Some of the things mentioned:

starting a church in downtown Macon

a growing congregation

involvement in downtown events

a recognized presence working for downtown

volunteers serving regularly at downtown events

New City people moving to the city

financial support in the city (even quoting our Live, Work, and Play downtown)

the start of City Watch and our strong support of it

Honestly, there may have been more said. The moment was incredibly surreal and the presenter seemed to go on and on with really great things to say... it was a little overwhelming. It is still a little overwhelming.

So - New City - your work in the city, your love of the city, and your hope for the city has not gone unnoticed, and as a result it seems you have favor with all the people (Acts 2:47).

Macon Telegraph Story

567 Interview

2009-10-13T08:47:00.003-04:00

Greg Wood recently interviewed me regarding the 567. The following is a portion of that interview found on Greg's blog:

New City Church downtown (NCCd), of which I am a member, states that “we exist to see the gospel transform everything within our reach… ourselves, our church, our city, and the world.” In April of 2008, the 567 Café became a very public expression of this mission. Located at 567 Cherry St., Macon, Georgia, the café provides a venue for musicians and artists to present their work on Friday and Saturday nights while providing coffee and other refreshments to the patrons.

In an interview on August 1, 2009, Keith Watson, pastor of NCCd said to me the following when asked what the goal of the 567 Café is.

The ultimate goal of the 567 is the same as the mission of our church: to see the gospel transform everything within our reach. The 567 is a tool that, primarily through the relationships we develop there, the gospel can go forward. Our goal primarily is gospel-transformation in people who work, live, or play in downtown Macon

Another benefit that has been observed by the church in having the 567 Café is that the members can form new relationships with people whom they would not contact otherwise. The setting is an easy place to have conversations that lead to discussing the church, the gospel, and Jesus. Secular artists, musicians, and patrons often ask questions about why a church would provide such a venue in the downtown area. In short, the café serves to help people live missional lives.

New City Church downtown is committed to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. NCCd also holds that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. The church is a theologically conservative evangelical church which believes in the authority, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture. A more complete list of theological beliefs can be found at the church’s website: www.newcitydowntown.org/about_new_city.

Part of the reason NCCd gathers in downtown Macon (and thus the 567 Café is in downtown Macon) is that other churches have left the area, and most of the churches who are still there are not engaging the culture with the gospel. Thus, the 567 Café seeks to be for the good of the city, and the advancement of the kingdom and the gospel.

In addition, downtown Macon has a fairly rich music history and a music scene that seems to be reviving. Keith expounded on how the 567 Café took on its current form.

As a part of the revitalization efforts of downtown, NCCd wanted to involve the visual arts and music. In talking with musicians and others who were downtown, NCCd found that the only places to listen to music were bars. There were no listening rooms. It was just loud bars filled with smoke. We could meet a need in that musicians are looking for a place to play. Macon needed its own residents to see good things happening downtown. The space just fit all of that. It fit our needs and the
needs of the city. That’s contextualizing what we do.

I asked Pastor Keith how he sees the 567 serving to establish a counter-culture rather than a sub-culture. Here is how he answered:

Our hope and goal is to celebrate good things that God has created. God created us to be creative people like he is creative. I believe that’s a part of being created in his image. So we celebrate the creativity of the people in our city. We do so in an environment that is generally clean and safe for family and where we can come with our wife and children. It’s an environment that is good for the musicians as well.

What we do at the 567 is counter-cultural in two ways. It’s counter-cultural in the secular world because we’re a place that celebrates the artists and their creativity. This is very counter-cultural because in the other venues that those artists play, it’s not about the artists or their art; [rather] it’s about them bringing money to the facility. So we’re counter-cultural there in that we truly celebrate them and the gifts that God’s
given to them.

The 567 is also counter-cultural in church culture because we’re not running from our community and our culture. We’re engaging it and celebrating what is good.

When asked to share some of the things that have shown him that God’s hand is really involved in this ministry, Keith shared the following.

Many people have been skeptical of the church being downtown and us doing this cafe thing for music. There have been a number of people who have been sitting back and watching to see whether we were real and genuine. I had a conversation at Bragg Jam last week with a female musician whose lyrics indicates that she’s got Christian background, but you can also hear in her lyrics that something has happened that really hurt her. She walked away from the church several years ago. Well she’s played at the 567 Cafe several times. We have developed a relationship through talking with her about her music and about her playing at the cafe and through serving her while she’s at the Cafe (by helping her get set up and torn down). That developed that relationship so that when we were at Bragg Jam, she and I sat down while one of the musicians was playing and had a thirty minute conversation about religion, church, and the gospel. We’re supposed to meet again for coffee just to talk more. But she was obviously very excited. She said she has not found anyone in the last several years who she felt that she could talk openly and honestly to about her hurts in the church and
religion. So there’s one.
This was I think the tenth year of the Bragg Jam music festival. This was our [the 567’s] second year as a venue and this year we were the only non-alcohol-serving venue at Bragg Jam. We had rave reviews from a lot of the people who played there and who visited there for music. After Bragg Jam, because of the 567 and because our people serve at Bragg Jam, there were some conversations as they were planning for next year’s Bragg Jam. [We talked about NCCd] providing help to them, create a couple
of more venues that were family-friendly, and even having Christian music. One of the ideas was to maybe do some gospel music to bring black and white together-maybe even to bring a couple of the church choirs together as one of the acts. So all of that, to me, is a hint of redemption that is coming through Bragg Jam, which was a pub crawl only two years ago. The only way that that conversation was taking place was because of the 567 and our people serving in the city. So that is a huge success.
City Watch [a Neighborhood Watch for a sixteen block area surrounding the 567 Café] is a result of the 567 because people saw that we were serious about our city and loved our city and wanted to be a part of revitalizing our city. That led to conversations about what we could do about security and other issues downtown. That led to City Watch, which pays a part of Patrick’s monthly income. So that was a big thing directly connected to the 567.
There have been tons of gospel conversations with unbelievers… and on and on.

New City’s efforts have been met with some skepticism from those outside the body. The common misunderstanding was that it would be a “church café” for “church people” with “church bands.” It was thought that the 567 Café would simply be against the things that go on in the city.” The Church in downtown Macon has not generally celebrated with the culture. It has been completely isolated in its own world, following more of Niebuhr’s “Christ Against Culture” model. So, the apprehension was brought about because people expected the 567 Café to be the same.

In, For, On - a Changing Season

2009-10-12T10:17:00.002-04:00

Fall is in the air... at least hints of Fall. Fall is probably my favorite season - football, cool mornings, the bright colors of changing leaves... good stuff!

This Fall brings another change for me. I have been hard at work for 2 years IN New City Church and FOR New City Church - now I have to shift and work more ON New City Church. Let me explain:

IN - Working IN New City Church means I spend time IN the church and IN the activities of the church. Working IN the church includes things like counseling, set up and tear down, study and sermon prep, even concessions and sound at the 567 - the in-house things that you would think of most when you think of a pastor.

FOR - Working FOR the church means that I am working on behalf of the church. This would include attending local meetings outside of the church, working with a group talking and considering a 'Day Shelter' for the homeless, working with New Town Macon and others downtown. These are things that I often do for the good of New City Church. I represent you (New City) in our community and beyond.

Both of these I am very accustomed to as a pastor. All pastors work IN and FOR their churches to some degree, though I will admit that New City's commitment to our city has caused much more work FOR than I ever anticipated. What is very new to me, at least to the sizable degree that we face as a church plant, is working ON New City Church.

ON - Working ON New City means that I will be focussing on things like SYSTEMS (ex. how do we evaluate and train future church planters, elders, deacons..., membership?), PROGRAMS (ex. what do we need in place to ensure that our current and future leadership is well trained, what needs exist for children...), POLICIES (in writing), HIRING, FIRING, BUDGETING... and the list goes on!

The truth is that for the most part, things have been so busy since we started that I haven't had time or energy to work ON while also working IN and doing so much work FOR. I believe that now we have established ourselves well downtown, so I can ease off on some of the FOR work. And hopefully some of our people will take up my slack and continue a lot of the great work that remains to be done. I also believe that getting a bit more work done ON the church will free me up to continue to be more involved IN the church - especially in developing the leadership IN the church.

So it is a season of change. Coming soon in 2010 we should see New City's version of church membership - something we are choosing to call PARTNERSHIP. With that we will add a 5 or 6 week class that I am writing now. We are also looking at training that we would open up to the entire church but that is aimed at developing current and future leadership - classes like How to Study Your Bible, An Old Testament Overview with the Gospel in mind, New Testament Overview, Theology Basics, Biblical Counseling, and more (remember, we are a worshipping community of missional THEOLOGIANS)

On top of that I and other church leadership continue to ponder the possibilities of a move and a more permanent 7 day a week home for New City. We are looking for a strong finish to 2009 as God continues to do amazing things in and through New City - and already the season is changing and 2010 is looking amazing!