“Why do I always spill my guts when talking to pastors?”

That’s what one UNLV student (an officer in the Secular Student Alliance -SSA) told me last night right after sharing the mess of his family life that he went home to on Thanksgiving - and it only took him 2 minutes to get there. Meanwhile the girl sitting on the other side of me was likely puzzled by his comment. Could the guy she’d been talking with at a gathering of the SSA actually be a pastor?

Many there were missing the sense of community they had before leaving the church. Many had so many negative experiences with Christian groups they had given up hope on the church as a whole. Yet some were actively seeking a place where doubters were welcome. Some leaders have been seeking a church willing to let them come (seriously, I’m not making this up).They’re actually excited (!) to find Christians willing to come to them where they’re at. Jesus told 3 parables in Luke 15 about God being the type who pursues the lost sheep, coins, and sons of his kingdom, wherever they may have gone. As I begin meeting with more of these students, please pray that we as a church can be that welcoming place for those with honest questions seeking honest answers and healthy community. 

A recent worship service at our paradise campus

Recent Developments

Our new Bible lesson leader captivates his young audience with Goliath's spear (or a dumbbell of the same weight)

• Two of our women recently founded “Park Bench Justice” (http://www.facebook.com/Parkbenchjustice) a non-profit to serve the needs of Las Vegas homeless who fall through the cracks of the current system. They've already created some local buzz that’s drawing people to be involved with the work of our Missional Community and, as a result, the life of our church. 
• We’ll be setting up a “Finals Survival Table” during the students “Study week” and Finals week. We’ll be seeking donations to help provide stressed out students free water bottles, coffee, healthy “brain foods,” gum, inflatable mats for power naps, humorous coffee table books, etc. Of course, listening ears and prayer are always on the house. We're delighted to have Intervarsity Christian Fellowship assisting with this event.
• Our team of Good News Club volunteers has increased (pictured above)! It’s great to see our folks being stretched as they use their gifts. This has also freed me up to operate more in my gifting before and during the club time, resulting in lower stress for volunteers (and myself).

Year End Giving

A significant portion of the funds to make a church plant happen are given at the end of the year. That’s just a reality. Those funds cover everything from renting worship space to meals with people we meet to paying our own utility bills. While roughly 2/3 of our funding now comes from local giving at the 2 campuses, that still means we’re dependent on outside giving to meet the other 1/3 of our monthly expenses. Some of you reading this are the reason I can still put gas in my car. For that, thank you!

When Jesus saw the needs before him in Matthew 9 his first instruction to his disciples was to pray for God to meet that need through his people. In chapter 10 those same disciples became part of the answer to their own prayers. I would ask the same of you. Pray that God would move in the hearts of men and women to give to keep this work going as we move closer to being fully locally sustained. At the same time, be open to God asking you to become the answer to your own prayers. You can give an end of the year gift online by following this link http://www.citywideredeemer.com/online-giving/, or by mail at the address under the “Contact Us” link on the above webpage. Thank you.

LOL

So much has happened since my last update. Much of it has caused us to literally laugh out loud (LOL) at what God is doing around us. I’ve been meaning to write this for weeks. Please forgive the delay. With the new season has come so many new opportunities for us here in the heart of Las Vegas.

UNLV: This Semester we began a new campus ministry on the UNLV campus. I meet with students on campus on Tuesdays one-on-one and in a small group. The focus is discipling students with a vision for equipping them to reach and gather other students from the UNLV campus. This effectively makes them our church’s 4^th Missional Community. This week I (by accident) ended up helping with a fellow Covenant Seminary grad as he spoke primarily to UNLV's Secular Student Alliance about “Understanding Christianity.” One student from that event wants to come to our church now, while another signed up to be part of a group called a “Thomas Society,” where skeptics are free to come with their honest questions and doubts about Christianity – and no subject is off limits.

First Good News Club at Paradise Elementary

Paradise Elementary: The principle of this school on the edge of the UNLV campus would not claim to be a follower of Jesus. Yet the impact of a Good News Club (a Bible club sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship) at her own kid’s school has led her to welcome us to start one at Paradise Elementary. Almost 40 kids were signed up for it at the school’s open house last month (where we were the ONLY table besides the local PTA). This week I was confused when zero children showed up at the start time. Then slowly the children found their way to the classroom where we were able to play games, sing songs, learn a Bible verse, eat snacks, hear a Bible lesson, and learn of God’s love through his Son Jesus. The children loved the time and each one I spoke to told me the name of a friend they want to invite next week.

The school has also offered to both promote and host our “Surviving the Economy” events. Next week a woman who teaches financial principles, helps folks reduce debt, etc. will be sharing what she knows with the 

families that have kids at the school. The area zoned for the school has 0% home ownership and is as diverse as the United Nations. Praise God for allowing us to be a part of what He’s doing in this community.

Serving dinner together at the Ronald McDonald House

Discipleship: The challenge of all this activity is how it increases the need for leaders and people to serve. To help with the anticipated numerical growth our Missional Community is focusing on developing leaders to keep up with what God appears to be doing around us. Each week we alternate between events that focus on serving, outreach and building community, and nights where we focus on developing our own interactive relationship with God and growth as servant leaders. Already we’ve seen young men and women rise to the occasion and step out in faith in ways that both stretch them and build into the lives of others. While we’ve been saddened by some who are struggling with a model of discipleship (and church) that seeks to engage not just the head, but also the heart and the hands, others have really benefitted from it (including myself).

How to Pray: Pray that God allows me sufficient rest and discipline to guard my own time with Him. My tendency is to gravitate to service for Jesus over time with Him. Pray that I’m able to delegate some of my current responsibilities so others can use their gifts and I can better use mine in areas that can’t be delegated. Pray for wisdom in encouraging those who have come from backgrounds where spiritual and doctrinal pride are seen as virtues, and for renewed hearts among those who have expressed literal hatred (!) for non-believers. Thank you.

Haiti

Preaching at Bon Berger (Good Shepherd) Church in Les Cayes, Haiti.  Glad I had Pastor Louis to interpret for those present, not to mention the radio and TV broadcasts said to reach 1 million Haitians. Yikes!

Days after returning from a week in Haiti I'm still processing all that happened. After making it through customs without any of our supplies being confiscated (yes!), a 5 hour drive brought us to Cambry, Les Cayes - in southwestern Haiti. Sunday was quite full.

2:00 AM - Get sick, then go back to bed.
7:00 AM - First 2 1/2 hour church service (pictured above)
10:00 AM - Same thing at another church, complete with performance by a deaf choir (not a typo)

That afternoon we got to play with the local orphans before sorting out our supplies for the coming week. I mostly worked in makeshift pharmacies in makeshift free clinics (sometimes all one room), filling prescriptions and learning phrases like "Un comprime, kat fwa pa jou" ("1 pill, 4 times a day"). Our team really worked well together, even as our bodies grew weary from the sometimes frantic pace and often oppressive heat.

Of the 5 places we went, the most rewarding might have been Thursday at Savannes. Apparently our presence got the attention of the local media (Notice the 2 video cameras in the picture above). A year ago this was a community with 100% unemployment that even other Haitians wouldn't go into. Local gang members had to be recruited to provide "security" and order so patients could be seen. But this time things were different. Peace and order prevailed. One medical provider commented on a particularly "sweet family" that she saw. Five months ago the husband of that family was the not-so-sweet gang leader whose conversion (on the day he was seen by the last medical team) led to a revival in that community. Back in February it was a church of 10 people. The next week there were 250-300 in attendance. We got to meet, treat, and pray for about 150 of them on Thursday. The lasting fruit of these trips will not be seen on the trip itself, but in the weeks and months that follow - by local pastors and their churches, and by other teams that follow. It was a privilege to see first hand what God is doing among "the least and the lost" in this country.

A few nights ago our Missional Community (pictured above) got the recap from the trip and took time to pray for Haiti. Would you join me in praying that God would make fruitful our labors there and lead others in our community to be part of the next trip in February. 

Surviving the Economy

Surviving the Economy - Auto Edition

Earlier this month we began a series of events to help Las Vegas locals weather the economic storm called "Surviving the Economy." These gatherings combine instruction from different experts with Do It Yourself training to help reduce the cost of living for folks in a city where many are living on the verge of food insecurity and/or homelessness. Many people in these situations live close to where the new church meets for worship. Our first installment (pictured above) was hosted by an auto shop owner and friend of our church. Our host shared his decades of experience to teach folks how a repair shop can take advantage of you if you're not careful, how to avoid being ripped off, and even how to do some of our own service and repairs ourselves to avoid costly repairs down the road.

Future events will focus on basic home repairs, preparing quick and easy yet healthy meals on a budget, extreme couponing, and basic financial principles that most people never learn or know how to apply. In the process we're meeting many others who had never heard of our church but now are excited for what we want to do in the city or want to join us in it. Please pray for the relationships that would develop from this endeavor - that as real felt needs are met God would allow us to minister to the deeper needs of our community. Please pray also that God would supply our financial needs - as some donors have come to the end of their financial commitment - while we trust God to raise up others to supply what is needed to finish out the year.

Building Momentum

A few of the families that form the core of the new church.

We're beginning to feel a sense of building momentum with the new church. Here's a snapshot of some of the recent developments:

• At a recent service of the new church I was looking around the room and it actually felt "full," with about 1/4 of the room being "new" people.
• Being involved with local "MeetUp" groups is beginning to generate interest in the Church. One decided to join us for a gathering the day after we met and immediately felt welcomed by the folks there. Another plans to bring their kids to check out our original worship site next week. 
• One family in our church recently demonstrated what they're learning about loving their neighbor by opening up their home to a disabled veteran trying to get off the welfare system. 
• God is changing my heart as well - granting me peace on those weeks when 90% of the church is out of town on the same day. 
• God is working through people's gifts of hospitality. This weekend's pool party (pictured below) brought together 9 families - 4 of which don't yet know the grace offered in Christ - 3 of which had just moved to Vegas in the past month. God is transforming what were total strangers a few months ago into a community where people can experience the gospel as it is lived out before them.

Springtime in (and out of) Vegas

CWR - Paradise's first Easter service at the Alumni Amphitheater at UNLV

It's Spring in Las Vegas! For locals that means tolerably comfortable warm weather and the beginning of the busy tourist season. For me the past few weeks have meant new faces, scared faces, and going places.

NEW FACES:

At our outdoor Easter service and picnic our church saw a number of new faces, including (after months of invitations) the manager of my DJ company. Apparently it was different than what she expected ... in a good way. She wants to keep coming back as her work schedule allows (a very common obstacle in Vegas). After seeing where we were coming from she welcomed the offer to read a short booklet explaining what's behind the sermon message she so connected with. We'll be discussing it together soon.

Our location has brought us visitors as diverse as college students, the homeless, and tourists wanting to worship somewhere close to their hotel on The Strip. The majority of our first time visitors have come from ethnic minorities, reflecting the true diversity of this community. Last week I met a Hip Hop Drummer / Computer Engineering student across the street from campus who wants to check out our church. His band opens for a big name act in 2 weeks and he's offered me tickets to come see them. I just love seeing the variety of faces God is bringing together in Paradise.

We're trusting God to show us more new faces as our Missional Community prepares to launch "Surviving the Economy." This series of events open to the public will focus on practical tools for those feeling the burden of Las Vegas' high unemployment and foreclosure rates. The first event will be hosted by a friend of the church who's volunteering his time and his auto repair shop to teach people how to affordably maintain and service their own vehicles without risking missing a mortgage payment or cutting into grocery money. Many in Las Vegas who could benefit from this live near our Paradise worship site. Please pray that God uses these events to help bring relief to many while also introducing us to the community we seek to serve.

SCARED FACES:

One of the scariest things you can hear in Las Vegas is "I'm a pastor." Seriously. There is no shortage of folks who have had a bad experience with something resembling religion (usually what would be considered spiritual counterfeits) who naturally assume you're something like the one who split up their family, made them afraid to drink carbonated beverages, or is preaching the message that's the primary cause of suffering in the world. Many others are burdened with shame and guilt over choices they've made years ago and don't want to face someone associated with a church. Maybe it's the part of me that wanted to be a doctor that draws me to people with these fears - fears often rooted in deep hurts or serious misunderstandings of what it means to follow Jesus. Even folks I meet at church are hesitant to get involved, become members, etc. because of what happened some other time at some other place. As one who has done my share over the years to contribute to some of these fears and misunderstandings I can understand them feeling gun-shy around "religious people." Please pray that they would discover something so radically different from what they've previously seen that they have to reconsider the relevance of Jesus in their life, and that God would allow us as a church to be agents of healing to a hurting city.

GOING PLACES:

A great way to get over a fear of flying is to just do it ... a lot. To be better equipped for what I'm doing in Las Vegas I  traveled to Chicago, IL and Boca Raton, FL for conferences focusing on leading and planting churches motivated by the finished work of Jesus on our behalf (a.k.a. Grace). While in Florida I got word that my grandfather had passed away. Ten hours after getting back from Florida I was back in the airport to fly home to be with family. Preaching my grandfather's funeral was more emotional than I expected, but I'm glad I got to be a part of it. Shortly after retuning to Las Vegas I made the decision to join a short-term missions team doing medical relief work in Haiti this July. I'll be preaching through an interpreter on Sunday, then working the rest of the week in makeshift medical clinics at orphanages supported by our church. While there I'm hoping to meet Jm Laurent Renaud (age 9), one of the orphans we sponsor, whose picture hangs on my living room wall. Please pray for my own preparation, health while I'm there, and for God to supply the funds to make it happen.

A Wild Ride

Imagine your plane has just taken off, then 30 seconds later you hear a "thud." You begin to lose altitude and fear for your life. Suddenly you start climbing again ... only to hear another "thud" and start descending again. About the time you're sure you messed your drawers the plane starts leveling out. By this time you're not sure what will happen next. 

This is how one pastor described church planting. A wild ride, to say the least. The first 7 weeks of our newest worship site has proved to be no exception. People showing up? Check. People disappearing? Check. People catching the vision quickly? Check. People second guessing it all? Check. Wanting to scream is common ... sometimes from joy, sometimes from frustration. That's just par for the course in church planting. So how have I responded to the ups and downs?

Well ... it's been said, "Work as if it all depended on you. Pray as if it all depended on God." Apparently I'm a lot better at that first part. But as Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." I've seen God use the times of frustration to remind me that it's not my efforts alone that will build Christ's Kingdom on earth and drive me back to prayer. Prayer for the hearts of men and women here. Prayer for clarity in where to focus my efforts. Prayers of confession for the self-centered attitude and bitterness I need to repent of. But eventually, when I get over myself, prayers of thanksgiving for the many who remember to pray for me when I don't even remember to pray for me. Thank you for your prayers and gifts to help make this all possible. 

So how big is your church?

People like this question because it's an easy way to get a feel for how a church is doing. In some traditions the word "parish" is used to describe the church's people, the place where they meet or the area it serves. One of the church planters here, though, described his "parish" this way: "Wherever I go in my neighborhood, and whoever I meet, I'm their pastor. They don't know that when we first meet, but that's how I relate to them." This drastically changes how I view the state of the new church here in Paradise. In one sense, it's a church of one to two dozen folks who now meet on the campus of UNLV on Sunday afternoons. In another sense, it's the hundreds of people I interact with every week. The fact there are people in our community that consider one of us their pastor, though they've never come to a worship service with us (yet), kinda surprised me. Until this evening...

I was just talking with the head of our neighborhood watch a few hours ago. After a good long conversation about her cancer treatments, her spiritual background, and what I'm doing in Vegas, I felt like we had connected in a significant way. Though she's not a part of any church, she seemed open to seeing what ours was like. As I was leaving she said she wanted to use the next neighborhood newsletter to let people know I'm in the community as a pastor for those living in our neighborhood. What? Really? Without knowing it, she is helping me redefine the scope of my role as pastor as those God has put in my own backyard. The next 3 conversations I had while walking home seemed to take on new significance. I began to see how Harmon Gardens (the neighborhood I live in) is very much my "parish." It gave me a clearer perspective on who God is positioning us to reach and serve in the city.

So who is in my "parish?" This past week it included college students, teachers, real estate agents, security guards, engineers, casino employees, single dads, carpenters, lawyers, salesmen, and the homeless to name a few. Please pray that I keep this perspective and not limit God's work in the city to the number of bottoms that warm chairs during a Sunday service.

I Think We Just Planted A Church...

At 4:44 PM this Sunday, City-Wide Redeemer - Paradise began meeting for weekly worship! [Pictured Above] Our Missional Community did a great job helping with all the behind-the-scenes work to help make this happen. Here are a few scenes from that night...

A homeless guy named "Rick" met me in the parking lot, where I've often seen him sitting on a wall. At first he had no interest in joining us for the service or the meal that would follow, but eventually he decided to come in. Right before the end of the service he stood up and asked if we would pray for his friend in the hospital, which our music team leader did on the spot. He ended up staying for the meal, where he met a few other men in the church. Right before he left he asked for a card - then he asked for more to give to friends he wanted to bring the next week. "I'm gonna pack this place out," he told us.

On the lighter side...

At the dinner that followed our service [pictured above] a musician who often works until 3 AM on Saturday nights was finally able to join us now that we meet in his neighborhood and at a more "musician friendly" time. He used this occasion to return a power tool he borrowed from one of our pastors...3 years ago!

After a few of us mentioned the likelihood of saying "This morning" out of habit, one gentleman kept track of how many times I accidentally said "morning" instead of "evening" after preaching the same message that I preached earlier that day. Final count...only 3. Yes, I am a creature of habit.

Today I returned from a short (but long-overdue) vacation in Los Angeles. It was a great time of rest, reflection and catching up with an old friend. I've returned with a clearer mind and a recharged battery. I'm thankful for working with a team that allowed me to take this time away, even as it meant some of them taking on additional responsibilities.

Though I'm technically past the 1-year mark of my 1-year apprenticeship, there is still much to be learned. Thank you to you all for your prayers over the past year. Please be in prayer for our follow up of the new connections we recently made (and will be making) from this new worship site, and for continued good relations with the facility hosting our worship services. 

Growing

At 4:44 PM three Sundays ago 27 men, women and children gathered in the UNLV Student Union for a "Preview" of City-Wide Redeemer's newest worship site in the heart of the city (pictured above). Some hadn't been in a church service for months. Some for years. Some came straight from work in a city where 9-5 on Monday through Friday is more a luxury than an expectation. For all of us it was a taste of what is to come as we being weekly worship on February 20th.

Since then even more people have contacted us about their interest in "the new church." Many who will be commissioned this Sunday (as the group helping to launch this new worship site) are or have been on the brink of homelessness, or don't own a vehicle. Some have steady jobs that support their family while others have lost their jobs and their family. Some can't remember a day they didn't know the grace of God in Christ, while others only have to look back a few months. Yet all of them are committed to follow Jesus in the city and long to be a part of Jesus' renewal of all things in and around Paradise.

In the process I've had to do some growing. It's been said that while pastors each have different gifts, they all need to become at least "average" in their areas of weakness. The past few weeks I've been forced to grow as I've needed to do a lot of things I'm not really "good" at yet. I've also learned what my limits are the hard way. It's too easy for me to get caught up in the needs of others and then forget my own. I would appreciate all your prayers during this time, that God's Spirit would be working among the people here, and that we would remember that He is the one that strengthens and enables his people to do his work.

Coming soon...

A year ago I was invited out to Las Vegas with these words: "You can come to Vegas, do some preaching, teaching and discipling, maybe start a few Missional Communities, all while working bivocationally as a DJ. After a year you just might pause, look around, and say, 'I think I just planted a church.'" It sounded incredible at the time, but 1 year into my time in Las Vegas this dream is becoming a reality. We are just weeks away from the launch of weekly public worship for City-Wide Redeemer - Paradise. On Christmas Eve we had 27 in attendance at our Paradise Christmas Eve Service, our first worship gathering in this part of the city. On the 23rd of this month we have a "Preview" service at the UNLV Student Union before we begin weekly public worship on February 20th. Please be in prayer for this time as it will serve as many people's introduction to us as a church. You can see the invitation below.

We are thankful to have space to meet in and many new friends here eager to help get things started. God has truly gone before us. Please pray for God's protection during this fragile stage, and that God would provide the funding to carry us through our "launch" phase. Thank you all for your continued prayers for what God is doing here.