Sunday Rundown

Well, today was our first Sunday and I have to tell you I was totally stoked.  I woke up at 4 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I laid there in bed thinking and praying about the upcoming day and the events that would be taking place.  Finally I got out of bed to get ready and look over my lesson one more time.

We had a couple technical glitches that were easily overcome, which when you’re a mobile church you get used to that kind of stuff.  We even had our coffee maker do some really weird things, and is now in the big coffee shop in the sky.  My buddy Nate (not me, another Nate) made a quick run to Wal-Mart to get us a new coffee maker.

A small group of people from Rising Sun Church in Des Moines came up to help us staff the kids area.  Get this … the preacher at Rising Sun (a several hundred member congregation) had the day off and came up to work in our Kids Church.  Talk about a servant’s heart.  Very cool, Doug!

Long story short, even though we set everything up differently today than we did at last week’s practice service, the setup went on without a hitch.  We got it set up and ready with plenty of time to spare.  I’m really proud of our people.

I was starting to freak out a little bit with 5 minutes to go before the service wishing more people were there, but with about 2 minutes to go there was a mad rush at the front door.  Several people even came in late, and we ended the day with an official count of 110!  I was very pleased with the turnout and got to meet some very cool people.  I wish I could have sat down with each and every one of them to hear their story, but obviously wasn’t able to do it.  God is gonna be doing some great things through us and I’m really looking forward to meeting many more people.

Next Sunday be at the Ames Middle School at 10 a.m. for some more great music and a lesson on beating addictions.  Setup starts at 8 a.m.

Anyway, I’m beat so I’m going to bed.  I’ll sleep good tonight!

FreedomRidge … Coming Soon

Our first official Sunday service will be on January 18 at 10 a.m.  We”ll be meeting in the Ames Middle School (click here if you need directions).  Our service will start at 10 a.m. and will last approximately 65 minutes.  I’m excited to finally get started with Sunday mornings.  We’ve got a lot of big dream and plans which will take time to implement, but I am confident we can begin right away making a difference in people’s lives and this community.  And that is why we’re here.  If you are reading this and you don’t go to church anywhere, I want to invite you to come see us.  I’m pretty sure you’ll like us.  If you are reading this and you already go to church somewhere, please pray for us.

Have a Happy New Year!

Our Radio Ads

We are advertising on 105.1 in Ames leading up to and past our launch.  We have 3 different ads that are playing for a total of 4 times a day, 7 days a week, for several weeks.  They are only 15 seconds long, but are designed to get the word out about us and drive people to our website.  We have them on our youtube channel (go here to see it), or you can listen to them here.

Have You Seen Our Billboard?

Our billboard is located on Duff Avenue in front of the Super Wal-Mart.  We have the north side in December, then in January it will be on the south side.  If you drive by and see it, let me know!

What does “Never Church As Usual” mean?

In some of our advertising and publicity we use the phrase “never church as usual” as our slogan.  People ask or wonder aloud, “What does that mean?”  Well, here’s what it means.

It means we’re not doing church they way it has been done the past 200 years. We have a very distinctive “now” feel and are a church for people who don’t like church. We’re definitely not your stereotypical church. We don’t have a dress code (other than you MUST wear clothes!), and  you’ll always hear real life lessons from the Bible in understandable words enhanced with videos, humor, Q&A’s and more! We’re not tied down with traditions, order of services, or denominational affiliations.

If you like church with the “same ‘ole same ‘ole”, then Freedom Ridge is probably not for you.  Not everyone will like us, but that’s OK.  If you like church that does things a little differently, then you might have just found yourself a church home.

$30 & A Prayer

We launch on Sundays in 66 days (January 18, 2009), and in anticipation of this we have designed a marketing campaign to help get the word out.  On December 4 we have a billboard going up; come back then to see a picture of it.  On December 1 we begin advertising on 105.1 here in Ames.  In January we’re going to do some major (hopefully) canvassing of neighborhoods to place door hangers.  We may have something going on with a newspaper, and possibly will be sending out some mailers to targeted people.  If we can swing it, we’ve got a couple community service projects in the pipeline.

All this cost money, so to help with this we are sponsoring $30 & A Prayer for FreedomRidge.tv.  It’s pretty simple.  You send us at least 30 bucks, and say a prayer on our behalf!  This money will help us get the word out to people who will come to FreedomRidge.tv and find out more about Jesus.  Your $30 will make an eternal difference to someone.  Want to help out?  Go here to find out how.

Freedom Ridge TXT MSG

Here’s an UPDATE of our SMS services that we offer at Freedom Ridge.

1. text AMES to 41411 for news and updates; when you do you will receive a message back with the latest update from Freedom Ridge. We’ll use this as a form of advertising, or if you are wondering where the next meeting is or the next big thing going on, you can text AMES to 41411 and get your answer. This will be for general news.

2. text SUB AMES to 41411; when you do you will automatically be subscribed to our alert list. We will use this to send out texts of immediate importance. For instance, if we need to reschedule a meeting or service we’ll send out a text. We may occasionally send out important reminders. Just rest assured that we will not abuse it and you can unsubscribe at any time. So text SUB AMES to 41411 to join the list.

This service now works with all major carriers; standard text messaging charges apply, so check with your cell carrier.

Random Thoughts

1. I’m enjoying my time in Canton, Georgia.  The drive down here was a killer, and I’m not looking forward to doing it again on Sunday as we head back to Ames, Iowa … but, hey, anything for the cause.

2. We got here at 5:30 am on Friday and I was out of bed a little before 10; slept maybe 10 minutes in the car.  This morning I tried catching up on some sleep.

3. Yesterday I got to meet Gary Lamb of Revolution.  I had seen pictures and heard podcasts, but this was my first time to meet him face to face.  I was glad for the chance to visit with him because he spent some time in Ames where I am now planting a church.  So not only did I get to get some church planting tips from Gary, but they are tips tailor made for my city.  Pretty cool deal.  Thanks, Gary!

4. On Sunday, my new friend Jason and I are driving over to Oak Leaf to their first service to check them out, then we’ll be back to Revolution for the second service.  I’m really looking forward to it.

5. Georgia has a lot of scenery. My part of Iowa is fairly flat with some rolling hills; more corn than trees.

6. Gustav looks to be headed for New Orleans.  I’m glad I don’t live there.

7. I’ve got so many ideas rolling around in my head about Freedom Ridge that my head hurts. I can’t wait to go public with Sunday services.

I’m Going To The Revolution

On Thursday I’m heading south to Canton, Georgia, to visit Revolution Church. Revolution was started by Gary Lamb, and Gary used to minister in Ames. I’ve never met Gary, but I’m looking forward to checking out his church and I’m hoping I get to pick his brain for a couple minutes. I’m sure I’ll learn something I can apply to Freedom Ridge.

Freedom Ridge Informational Dinner

On Friday, September 12, we are having another informational dinner to give an update and share some things about Freedom Ridge. It’s FREE and you’re invited! If you want to be part of Freedom Ridge, then do everything in your power to be there. And it would even be cool if you could bring a friend or two along, because that’s what it’s all about.

Here’s the details …
Date: Friday, September 12
Time: 6:30pm – 7:30pm (if you can’t be there right at 6:30, come whenever you can!)
Location: 2330 Lincoln Way (it’s the CCF office space in the basement of First National Bank)
RSVP: please let us know by 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, that you’ll be coming so we know how much food to get. It would actually be ideal to let us know ASAP and not wait to the last minute.

This won’t be like past dinners. And I am looking forward to sharing with you more details about Freedom Ridge; a possible meeting location for our Sunday services; our missional view towards Ames, Boone, Huxley, Nevada, Story City, and beyond; and how you can make a huge difference in the lives of people and make an eternal impact.

I hope you can make it, and help spread the word!

Pop Goes The Church – #3

I have agreed to do a blog discussion of Pop Goes The Church by Tim Stevens (TS) with 3 other much wiser and better looking guys than me … Mike Demastus, Dan Hudson, and Kyle Phillips. We’re going to read a section, then post our thoughts and insights on our own blogs.

I like how TS approaches chapter 4 by giving different examples of churches reactions to a movie being shot in their town. I like word pictures and practicality, so this is easy for me to wrap my brain around. He says, “Every church makes a choice in how to respond to the pop culture, and the choice it makes determines how much of an impact it will have on its community.”

Response Choice: Condemn the Culture. TS raises the question of when did the church decide it should mandate the direction of our culture? Why are we focused on the fruit rather than the root (p71)?

I love this because I’ve always thought churches are treating the symptoms rather than the cause. We get mad and boycott McDonald’s because of their acceptance of homosexuality. I don’t agree with it, but shouldn’t we be more concerned with the lives and hearts of the execs that made the decision. Why not pour our boycott energies into praying/serving them?

Going right along with this, TS says Christians are using the Bible as a hammer against people trying to force reform. No wonder people are turned off! Who gets the warm fuzzies over something that just whacked ‘em up side the head?

He quotes the book “A Matrix of Meanings” (this is a fantastic quote): “In the New Testament, only the Gospels were written with the general public in mind. Yet many in the church read pop culture in light of Peter, Paul, and John’s letters. Books of the Bible intended as ‘inhouse’ documents, designed to purify God’s people, have been used inappropriately to correct the broader culture. So the warnings against sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 7 get directed toward audiences Paul never intended.”

When we condemn the culture and use the Bible as a hammer, we’re just proving that we ARE judgmental and uncaring.

Response Choice: Separate From the Culture. When Jesus was on earth, he didn’t make a ton of list of don’ts; instead he focused on lists of character qualities we should have.

Response Choice: Embrace the Culture. Many mainline denominations have done just this, and as a result have become like the culture rather than a “light in the darkness.”

Response Choice: Ignore the Culture. Just because you ignore it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. And you’re missing out on a teachable moment. Jesus didn’t ignore the culture.

Response Choice: Leverage the Culture. This is obviously the best choice, and it is just that … a choice.

Chapter 5 goes right into leveraging the culture. TS talked about “sacred vs secular.” I agree with him that a lot of stuff in the Christian market is downright cheesy and embarrassing. When Paul was in Athens he was able to speak to the people there of their “unknown god” and point them in the direction of Jesus.

We are starting Freedom Ridge with the belief that everyone is on a spiritual journey whether they realize it or not; it is up to us to point them to Jesus. We need to meet people where they live, tap them on the shoulder, and begin walking with them as we steer them to Jesus.

I’m writing a post on the new generation initially called First Globals that will publish early Monday (August 18th). It’s got some interesting tidbits that I’d like to hear your comments and insight on. Please make sure you check it out.

Freedom Ridge Text Updates

We now have the capability of using text messaging in a couple different important ways. (FYI for all you US Cellular customers out there: this service does not currently support US Cellular, but I talked to our tech guys and they said in the next 90 days it will, so stay tuned. If you want, you can send an e-mail to me stating your interest and then I’ll shoot you an e-mail when it is compatible.)

First of all, you can text AMES to 41411 and you will receive a message back with the latest update from Freedom Ridge. Go ahead and try it. No really, go ahead. We’ll use this as a form of advertising, or if you are wondering where the next meeting is or the next big thing going on, you can text AMES to 41411 and get your answer. This will be for general news.

Secondly, you can text SUBSCRIBE AMES to 41411 and you will automatically be subscribed to our list. We will use this to send out texts of immediate importance. For instance, if the weather is bad and we had to cancel a meeting or service, we’ll send out a text. If someone donates $100,000 to Freedom Ridge, we’ll send out a text to spread the good news. We may send out important reminders. Just rest assured that we will not abuse it and you can unsubscribe at any time. So text SUBSCRIBE AMES to 41411 to join the list.

Your standard text messaging charges apply, so check with your cell carrier.

Ain’t technology great?? Just one more way to communicate.

What Is The “.tv” In FreedomRidge.tv?

I’ve had people ask me this question, and wonder aloud if it means “televangelist” or if we were a new TV channel in town. “.tv” is a domain extension that was actually introduced in 1996. It comes from the country of Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean. Several small islands have entered the business of TLDs as a way of generating money for their economy. For instance, “.cc” comes from the Cocos Islands and “.ac” come from the Ascension Islands. The “.tv” extension can be used for any type of website, and is becoming increasingly popular.

We chose “.tv” for a couple reasons. One, it makes people ask weird questions and we get to talk to them. And two, in the future we are going to have a lot of video content; so it will fit even more then.

The Freedom Ridge Personality In 24 Words Or Less

Yesterday we talked a little bit about what our weekend services will look like. Although I don’t know a single descriptive term, I want to fill you in on our personality because that will have a direct effect on our services. Again, I don’t know a single descriptive term to describe our personality.

Here’s what I envision when I see Freedom Ridge … we are going to be a church for people who don’t like church, so that means we’re gonna do things differently. Our format will be different; as soon as we can swing it we will be video intensive. We will have man-on-the-street interviews, video illustrations, and I will probably even teach some of the points of my lesson by video (so it will be on-the-scene illustrations, but I wouldn’t do this every week.)

The lessons will be Bible-based, concise, and practical; that means you will get something on Sunday that you can use in your life on Monday.

As far as music, we will be guitar driven. I am not opposed to using today’s culture to make a point (look at Jesus’ parables), so if there is a good secular song that will fit the theme for the day, the band will play it. The style of the band will be rockish. I’m especially praying for a couple electric guitar players that can really rock out. Again, I don’t want us to be the typical mellow-sounding-contemporary-church-worship-team that you’d normally expect.

Weekend services are just one part of Freedom Ridge. One trait that I want us to really be known for is community service. We will serve in a variety of ways with no strings attached purely because God loves people and so do we. If we ever disappeared for whatever reason, I want the community to miss us.

So if I had to boil it down to 24 words, I would say, “Freedom Ridge will be an externally focused and practical church that hits people where they live using culturally relevant means to fulfill our mission.”

Sound like something you might like to be involved in?? Let me know. We’re developing our launch team right now!

What Style of Service Will Freedom Ridge Have?

People ask me all the time what type of service Freedom Ridge is going to have. It is kind of a tricky question to answer in just one or two descriptive words, not because I don’t know what we will be like. I can see it very clearly in my mind. It is because I don’t know what “term” to use.

“Traditional” means you have a choir, perhaps dressed in robes sitting either on the stage or to one side of the stage. An organ and piano plays the songs while everyone sings verses 1, 2, 3 & 5 of hymn #472. There is nothing wrong with this, but we are definitely not going to be traditional.

“Contemporary” means you don’t have a choir, but you have somewhere between 3 and 12 people on the stage each with their own microphone singing what is affectionately called “praise & worship” songs with the words on a screen. You usually have drums, maybe a couple guitars, and definitely a keyboard. Throw in a casually dressed speaker, maybe an occasional drama, and you’ve got yourself a contemporary church service. I think contemporary is the new traditional. We are not going to be contemporary.

The other terms that people use to describe church services are “emerging” and “emergent.” Honestly, I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around what these mean. I could be wrong, but it seems that those who subscribe to this train of thought are re imagining what church is supposed to be and are tired of the way that modern churches are doing things, so they are going back to the way church was done 2000 years ago. I understand the premise, but it seems they are not going back to the true authentic church of 2000 years ago, but are only going back about 500 years. It is not to say they are traditional, because they are not.

To oversimplify it, it has something to do with incense, you can maybe sit on couches instead of pew or chairs, there’s some chants or group readings, you can visit a prayer or confession station, the service is more conversational, and there are definitely candles. We are not going to be emergent, although during our services some people may raise their ignited lighters as the band is rocking out a song to God.

So what type of service is Freedom Ridge going to have? Maybe conmergent. Maybe emergeporary. Maybe something else. We’re not going to be Willow Creek, or Saddleback, or Mars Hill, or LifeChurch, or Lakewood Church, but we will be Freedom Ridge. We’ll take what we can learn from other successful churches, apply it to our setting here, and not worry about fitting in some sort of box. Boxes are too restrictive anyway.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll give you a little insight into what we’ll be like.

What Kind Of Life Do You Want?

When we were younger and growing up we had a pretty good idea of what our happy life would look like. But then as we grow up and grow older, the responsibilities come, reality sets in, and life throws us curve ball after curve ball. I can remember playing whiffle ball and kick ball as a kid in our yard wanting my parents to call me “Jack” and hoping it would never end. Life was good.

Life is a series of choices that we make. We cannot control everything that life throws at us, but one thing we can control is how we choose to respond to the situation. Make the right choice (respond the right way) and life goes a little better. Make the wrong choice (respond in a destructive way) and you heap more troubles onto yourself.

At Freedom Ridge all of our lessons will be Bible based and will be done in such a way to provide you with practical life changing information. We can’t and won’t make your life choices for you, but we will provide you with the tools so you can make wise choices. Then you can turn around and share what you’ve learned with all your friends. It’s a win win for everyone!

4th of July Update

Ames had a pretty big 4th of July celebration going on all day yesterday. At the Bandshell Park there was a small carnival for the kids, concerts were going on just about all day, and a lot of vendors were set up there selling tons of different things. This is where we were, but we were giving away free popcorn as well as inviting people to enter a drawing for a free $100 gas card.

Our first priority was to meet some people and do something nice for them. In that respect, I think the day was a big success. We passed out over 1100 bags of free popcorn, and had 293 people enter the drawing for the gas card. I don’t know how many cards we passed out, but it was A LOT.

Here is a picture of our booth …

Several times we would have people lined up 15 deep waiting on their bag of popcorn. The popcorn popper just wouldn’t keep up with the demand sometimes. This picture doesn’t show the line because when there was a line we were too busy to take pictures.

I got to meet a lot of neat people. One of them was none other than Abraham Lincoln. I asked him if he would like to come to Freedom Ridge, but he started droning on about “four score and seven years ago” and how he really hates going to the theater, so I just casually backed away and busied myself with popcorn bags.

It was a tiring but very fun day. The weather was absolutely PERFECT. I’m glad we were able to take part in the day’s activities and I look forward to Freedom Ridge making a positive contribution to the Ames area. Ames is a great place, and we are glad to be here!

Freedom Ridge Card

Here’s the front of the card we’re gonna pass out on the 4th. It measures 3″x3″.

Here’s the back of the card.

4th of July Booth

The city of Ames has a day long celebration on the 4th of July. Freedom Ridge is going to be taking part by having a booth at the Bandshell Park. (Here’s a map.) We will be there from Noon to 7 p.m. passing out free bags of popcorn as well as inviting people to register to win a free gas card worth $100.

I’m excited about this opportunity, because I am positive that Freedom Ridge has a lot to offer to the Ames community and surrounding area. We are designing a church made for people who don’t like church and invite them to experience the freedom found in Jesus. It’s gonna be fun.

If you want to volunteer to help with our booth, please let me know. If you can’t help but are in the area, please stop by. We’d love to meet you.

Sharing About Freedom Ridge

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to go to a church in Dubuque IA called The Bridge. They wanted me to come over and share with them about Freedom Ridge and our mission. It was a lot of fun. The people there were great, friendly, somewhat normal, and receptive.

This coming Sunday, June 8, I get to go the Clinton Church of Christ in Clinton IA to do the same thing. I’m looking forward to it. Please say a prayer for me.

I like talking about Freedom Ridge and I get pumped when I think about all that God could use us for. It scares me to death, too, because I don’t want to get in the way of what God wants to do. I feel unworthy to be in this position. Sometimes I feel like God could have made a better choice, but for some reason I am here and I want to be open to God’s leading.

Freedom Ridge is going to make a huge impact; not because of me, but because of God.

Web 2.0

I’m really starting to get into this stuff known as web 2.0. Of course I have my blog, but I also have a Facebook account, and our church has a page on Facebook also. I have just created an account with Twitter and think I could have a lot of fun with it.

As a church planter, I am learning the possibilities and advantages of having these things. I’m sure I haven’t tapped into their full potential, but I am learning! There’s also some really really cool things we could do as a church with Twitter, and if the opportunity arises we will definitely do it.

So if you read this … request me as a friend on Facebook, become a fan of our church page, and follow me on Twitter so we can read each other’s tweets.  Technology is amazing.

The Parkersburg, Iowa, Tornado

The tornado that ripped through Parkersburg and New Hartford has been officially classified as an EF5, the strongest possible. You can tell by the news and seeing pictures that the devastation was terrible.

Parkersburg is only about 80 miles from Ames. The Ames Chamber of Commerce is organizing a work trip to go up there tomorrow and lend a helping hand, neighbor helping neighbor. My family and I will be taking part in this trip, just because if the same thing happened to us we would appreciate the help. One of the core values of Freedom Ridge is “micro-missions,” taking part in practical, tangible activities to show the love of Jesus. So tomorrow we will be taking part in a micro-mission.

In the next couple days I’ll post about our experience there.

A Couple Prayer Requests

I’m gonna be a little selfish and ask you to pray for a couple things for me and my family.

First of all, we are still trying to sell our house in Houston. It has been on the market for 180 days, and we are still paying the mortgage and all the utilities (and now paying to have the yard mowed!) To date we have received no offers. This weekend we are switching it over to another realtor, so hopefully this will help to generate a little more traffic to the house. Please pray that it will sell SOON, because we can’t move forward here with a new home until we sell the Houston house … not to mention the financial strain.

Secondly, I am traveling to Dubuque IA this weekend to speak at the Bridge Christian Church. The pastor there has asked me to come share with them about Freedom Ridge, our mission, and what is going on. They have also promised a financial gift to Freedom Ridge, and we really need it since it takes money to do ministry! Please pray that I do a good job, and pray that God gives The Bridge an extra measure of generosity to help us reach out to people in the Ames area.

Freedom Ridge Dinner 2 Update

Last night we had another dinner to briefly share with people who we are as a church and some of the things we hope to do. Again it was well attended, although some people who said they would be there had some things come up at the last minute and weren’t able to come. That’s OK, because we’ll do it again. We had it at Valentino’s Pizza. It was good pizza, and the service was good.

If you weren’t able to make it to the dinner, keep watching this blog and Freedom Ridge’s website for information about upcoming activities you can be involved in.

Remember, we are here to “love God, love people, change the world!”

Freedom Ridge Dinner 2

We’re having a free informational dinner on Saturday (May 17) to share a little more about Freedom Ridge, and I’m excited about it! You can find out more info about it here.

Anyone is welcome to come, but I just ask one thing … please bring an unchurched person with you. Help us fulfill our mission! If you want to come, let me know so I can tell Valentino’s Pizza how many people will be there.

Sharing About Freedom Ridge

Yesterday I got the opportunity to speak at North Grand Church here in Ames. They were having a Mission Emphasis Sunday, and they asked me to come in and share some of the vision and philosophy behind Freedom Ridge. It was a lot of fun and I had a good time there.

The cool thing about it is they were planted by CEM around 40 years ago, and now we are being planted by CEM. It was almost like I was speaking with family.

I appreciate their willingness to let me come in and speak during their service.

What’s With The Name “Freedom Ridge”?

Yesterday I mentioned I’d give you some insight into how I chose the name Freedom Ridge for our new church.

I prayed a lot about it. I surfed the net to get ideas. I even made up a list of possible names as they came to me, and I showed them to my family and a few friends to get their input. Talking with others helped me to condense the list a little bit.

I was looking for something that could be more of a personality or a brand than just a name; something that describes who we are rather than just a cool name on a business card. I believe everyone is on a spiritual journey whether they realize it or not, and people are trying to fill some kind of void in their life with something. Those of us who are Jesus-followers know what they are looking for, and we need to make the introduction to Jesus.

When Jesus came to this earth, he said a couple interesting things. In John 10:10 he says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In John 8:36 he says, “So if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you are truly free.” Who wouldn’t want to live life to the fullest? Who wouldn’t want to be truly free?

Freedom Ridge is not a place, but it is a state of mind, it is a life that people aspire to. Through Freedom Ridge, we want to give people Jesus so they can have freedom from religion, freedom of life, freedom from addiction, freedom from hurts, freedom from hangups, freedom to live the way God wants them to live. At Freedom Ridge, we definitely want to show people how to have eternal life through Jesus, but we are just as excited to share how everyone can have a full life NOW.

Mike Yaconelli said it best when he said, “Jesus Christ came to rescue us from listlessness as well as lostness; He came to save us from flat souls as well as corrupted souls. He came to save us from dullness. Our culture is awash in immorality and drowning in dullness. We have forgotten how to dance, how to sing, how to laugh… We have been stunted by mediocrity.”

There you have it. Freedom Ridge is about freedom in Jesus.

Church Names For Dummies

I recently sat in on a group of guys who were talking about church names and if they mean anything anymore. It was interesting to hear all the different view points and their reasoning. I was surprised how many thought that names didn’t really make a difference if someone would attend a certain church or not. I agree that a great name doesn’t necessarily make a great church, because if there is nothing behind that name (such as great ministries to the people and community) then chances are people will not return. But I am of the mindset that an attractive name is important, because how many people would go to check out the “First Church of Crap”? It doesn’t matter what they have ministry wise; people will probably be reluctant to visit a service.

Mark Driscoll came up with a formula for helping people pick out the perfect church name. You can see his blogpost here.

Tomorrow I’ll give you some insight as to why I chose the name Freedom Ridge for our new church.

Introducing Freedom Ridge Wear!

I am proud to introduce to you our first ever Freedom Ridge T-shirts.

The top example has sizes M-XXL available and the bottom example has S-XXL. (Sorry, no youth sizes available at this time.)

You can have your very own for $10 each, and it is a great way to get the word out about Freedom Ridge and to show your Freedom Ridge pride. Quantities are limited so don’t wait around to get yours. Send me an e-mail or give me a call and we’ll make arrangements to get your shirts to you.

Freedom Ridge Dinner Thoughts

1. It was well attended. Everyone who said they would be there was there.

2. The food was good. I picked the main course up from the Hy-Vee deli. I told them I would pick it up at 6:15, and when I showed up they said they thought I was going to be there at 11 a.m. They put it back in the cooler and had to warm it back up. It put me behind schedule a little bit, but everything worked out OK.

3. The kids were awesome. They seem to have some musical ability.

4. Thanks to CCF for letting us use their space.

5. A couple families who want to be part of Freedom Ridge weren’t able to make it to this dinner. Maybe next time.

6. It was great to meet everyone and learn more about them!

7. Thank you, G, for bringing the dessert!

8. I’m excited about the possibility of working with and alongside everyone who is a part of Freedom Ridge. God has some great things in store for us!

Freedom Ridge Dinner

I can’t wait for Friday. We’re having a bunch of people together who are interested in hearing about Freedom Ridge. We’re going to feed them a free supper, and then I’m going to talk for just a few minutes about the vision and mission of Freedom Ridge and what we’re going to be doing as a church. We have a pretty good group signed up for our inaugural dinner, and I can’t wait to get them all in one place! It’s gonna be great. The weather is cold and snowy today, but so far Friday looks good. I can’t wait!

If you want to come, there’s still time. You can find out more info at our website.