The Numbers Game

3 CommentsHope Chapel Hill Country, What I'm learning about church planting, , ,

Pastors say it all the time when assessing their flock. Church members try to avoid sounding braggadocious when speaking about it. Christian leaders warn never to make this your focus.

What am I talking about?

Have you ever heard the phrase: “It’s not about the numbers.”?

I’m here to say it is about the numbers.

Because numbers are souls.

church_numbers 1
I do understand and wholeheartedly agree with Jesus when he declared, …”I will build my church….” I trust him to do this. He brings the people and my focus should not be on how many come each Sunday. Still, numbers matter.

This is what Charles Spurgeon said about it:

Read More

My Strange Dream (came true)

2 CommentsABOUT ME, MY BLOG, MY CHURCH, Community Church of the Hills, Hope Chapel Hill Country, , ,

I’m re-posting this article from September 13, 2014, originally called, “My Strange Dream,” because today, I realized, the dream came true. See the postscript at the bottom of the post.

I have a new Pentecostal friend who has proven to me that he walks with the Lord.

I met Amalio a few weeks ago when I was searching for a contractor to help put in new flooring in our church building due to a flood from a neighboring business. Also, I needed some minor remodeling done.

The first contractor I met gave me a quote of $12,000.00,  a bit more than I could afford. The second man surveyed the space, wrote down some figures but never got back to me. The third also had a quote that was too high.

Cost of house constructionI did not know what to do so I called a former congregant who was a handyman and he suggested Amalio. When I met him he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: He would provide me with two days’ free labor if I purchased the materials at Home Depot.

DEAL!

“But why would you do this, Amalio, you don’t even know me!”

He looked at the walls of Hope Chapel Hill Country, smiled, and said, “It’s for God’s Kingdom!”

“Let me pay you, though; what is your daily rate?”

“No, I can’t,” Amalio insisted, “I believe God wants me to do this for free.”

Read More

The Impossible Task, Pt. 4: Vote for Pedro

2 CommentsCommunity Church of the Hills, Hope Chapel Hill Country

Now that the doors of Hope Chapel Hill Country were closed forever I put all my eggs in one basket by hoping against all hope, that the congregation of Community Church of the Hills in Johnson City, Texas, would want me as their pastor. The YES/NO vote was scheduled for Sunday, August 30, 2015. But before the people voted, this is what I told them they could expect from me…. Please start this series at Part 1 by clicking here.

(If you’d like to skip this part and go to part 5, then click here.)

Here is the “talk” I gave before the private ballot vote that would determine whether I would continue in vocational ministry as a pastor. (Click to find out what “Vote for Pedro means.)

Steve vote

A Vision for Community Church of the Hills
8/30/15

I want to start off this morning by saying thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to preach the past seven weeks and for allowing me to get to know a little of this body of believers in this fellowship called Community Church of the Hills.

Read More