More records being broken at the Leaf. Highest attendance ever outside of Easter today. 2nd service was almost 100% full and 3rd service was 114% full. Seriously. People were sitting in the isles. We’ve also noticed a bit more cultural diversity in our seats. I don’t know how much of that has to do with the guys we’ve been playing flag football with on Sunday nights or not but it sure is welcome! Can’t wait to see what happens to this thing when we get the House of Rock open for business and if people really take to heart Michael’s challenge to be a light in the community and invite spread the love of Jesus.

Here is the set:

• Be Still (Goodwin)
• Stand in Awe (Jeremy Riddle)
• Marvelous Light (Halll)
• Shine Your Light (Goodwin)
• Now Is the Time (Delirious)

Michael talked about demons today. I wish it had been a little scarier than it was because I honestly believe most people in America don’t believe in demons. Even the ones who believe in God. But boy, have I got stories I could tell. Trust me, it is REAL. Anyway, my first week back at the leaf and it was killer to be back at the movie theatre. Amazing how many more people will drive in to town but not out to Woodland. Whatever. I ran sound today and Joel led worship in probably the smallest band we’ve ever had on stage. We close the Supernatural series out next week.

Here is the set:

• Devil Inside (INXS)
• Let God Arise (Tomlin)
• Salvation is Here (United)
• Doxology (Even Adam rendition…nice)

Crazy awesome Sunday…and I missed it. We are officially back at the movie theatre and our people are pumped. Here is the set:

• Calling All Angels (Train)
• Awesome is The Lord (Tomlin)
• To The King (Goodwin version of Nicholas Baty tune)
• Amazing Grace (Goodwin Version of classic hymn)

My prayer for Oak Leaf Church’s opening Sunday at the Movie Theater is as follows:

Pray that droves of new people will check it out for the first time.

Pray that those who live north of town who checked out on us for a while because of distance will come back again.

Pray that our first Sunday will be a great example of what we are trying to do there.  You don’t get a second chance to make a good impression on those who will come see what it is like.

Pray those who work at the movie theater and those who come to see movies will be blessed just by our church being there…without holy water or a blessed handkerchief

We have made the word "worship" synonymous with the music we sing on Sunday morning and forgotten it is a lifestyle and a mindset that extends far beyond the boundaries of a one hour experience on Sunday mornings. If we really want to see people taken from where they are to where God wants them to be, we must first be willing to accept that mission ourselves, transform our worship into a daily outpouring of God-honoring words and deeds, and let that journey become the blinding light the community is drawn to.

Oak Leaf might have one of if not the best Sunday service in town, but if the mission statement is not being lived out in our lives during the week, what happens on Sunday is a futile effort to make disciples and fulfill out mission statement.

Take time today and pray for these specific requests:

1. Those who attend Oak Leaf will continue to make the connection between the Sunday morning experience and the weekly grind by shaping their habits to unashamedly and openly reflect the life-changing nature of Jesus Christ.

2. For every person that authentically carries the light of Jesus from Oak Leaf church into the community, ten people chose to show up on Sunday to see what makes that person so different.

3. The creative artists at OLC set such a standard for excellence in using their gifts to worship God, the entire arts community and culture in Cartersville is redeemed and reshaped to bring God glory.

The celebration and worship doesn’t end when we tear the stage down and go home. It travels with us everywhere we go.

Today’s prayer requests come from Jody May, our small groups pastor. Jody is also our campus pastor and is in charge of setup at the theater. Tomorrow is Thursday, and I’m asking everyone to pray and fast for the mission of our church. Here’s what Jody writes…

As we have already seen there are some big prayers being prayed for right now in our church. We want to be the church that has a great Sunday experience for adults and children. We want to see numerous people come to Christ of all ages. And lastly, we want to be a real church for real people, especially those who do not have a relationship with God…’yet.’

The way I see it Journey Groups will be leading the way in our efforts in, “Leading people from where they are to where God wants them to be.” They will be the backbone of our church by Reaching out to our community, Connecting with one another for strength and guidance, and Growing in their relationships with God.

Here is the prayer for our Journey Groups this year;

1. That we would have 25 groups in the fall. This is a huge step for us and would be an increase of 40%! This would be a representation of 60-65% of our adult attenders. What does this mean? It means more and more people will be in a place that is conducive to their spiritual health and to the health of the church.

2. That our Journey Groups will lead the way in reaching out to our community. That they will be all about inviting friends, neighbors, relatives, anyone to their groups, always striving to include. That they will invite these same people to church whenever they get a chance. And most importantly, that they would be the hands and feet of Christ in their community. That they would complete some type of outreach event once a quarter.

3. Lastly, that our people our so on fire for others, that every group has to multiply in February in order to handle the amount of people living life in a Journey Group.

I know that God is going to be doing some incredible things here! Please be in prayer with us as God takes this ministry to the next level.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20

Today’s prayers come to you via Jonathan, our Family Pastor.

Reaching kids and families is not a secondary thing at Oak Leaf. It’s not an afterthought. And Kidventure (preschool & elementary) is not a low priority. In fact, it’s a top priority! God has called us to impact kids and parents in Bartow County and beyond. We are on a mission to see thousands of lives changed!

Today, please pray these three specific prayers for KidVenture:

1. Let Oak Leaf Church become the first place hurting families turn to in a time of crisis. Our prayer is that we become known in the community as the healing place for families. Through counseling, providing basic needs, or whatever the situation calls for, we want to reach families at the point of their need.

2. That our church would reach thousands of children through the public school system. We believe thousands of kids will come to faith in Christ over the next several years. And we believe this will be a direct result of Oak Leaf’s involvement in the public school system. Inviting kids to KidVenture on Sunday morning is great…but we must do more. We must go to where they are. Pray for the right strategic partnerships with our local schools. Pray that the right doors will open so we can take the Gospel in to the schools.

3. That God would raise up crazy, energetic, passionate volunteers on Sunday morning that would make KidVenture contagious. It’s no secret: Oak Leaf has the best volunteers on the planet! We are VERY APPRECIATIVE for all the sacrifice that each individual makes throughout the week and on the weekends. Our prayer is that as we go to three services at the theater, God would raise up even more terrific volunteers. We want to make that one hour on Sunday morning THE BEST hour of that child’s week! Pray that parents, teenagers, moms, dads…anyone and everyone would step up and volunteer for that one hour each Sunday. Let’s unite and make KidVenture so contagious that kids in Cartersville are dragging their parents to church each week!

This morning, I want to ask you to pray for what happens on Sunday. Sunday is the time when most people will experience Oak Leaf Church for the first time. So, we spend a lot of time throughout the week getting ready for Sunday, preparing for the guests that will come over to the house.

We don’t want Sunday morning to just be a church service. We don’t want it to be just another sermon or just some more songs. No…we want God to show up and speak to someone. We want somebody’s life to be radically changed with the power of the Gospel. We want to offer hope and encouragement.

And we don’t just want to family to come through the front door…we want to invite guests. In fact, we’re expecting them. When our volunteers are setting up lights and stages and kids equipment at the theater, they do so knowing that today will be the day that a “one” shows up.

Maybe it’s a mom who has been praying for her prodigal son for two years and he’s finally agreed to come to church. Maybe it’s the single mom who hasn’t been to church in years because the last time she went, she felt guilty for being a single mom. Maybe someone has been praying for one person for so long and today is the day they are coming to church. If that was your somebody, you would have wanted us to go all out to present the message in the most creative, relevant, and inspirational way possible. That’s why we work so hard on Sunday. Because somebody is coming to church that day.

Today, focus on praying for what happens on Sundays at Oak Leaf Church.

1. Pray for the new series that starts this week…”SuperNatural.” We’re talking about angels, demons and spiritual warfare. As I study this stuff, pray that God would speak through me.

2. For the hundreds of “ones” who we want to see come to Oak Leaf Church and meet Jesus. We didn’t start this church to give religious people a God-fix…we came here to see Jesus transform the lives of thousands of people.

3. For people to “come and see.” We believe the movie theater gives people a great opportunity to invite their friends, neighbors and co-workers. Pray for people to come check out church at the movies.

The last day at Woodland was joyous and sad at the same time. I’m going to miss that stage…but it is not about me. Michael encouraged all of us to do something together as a church this week to prepare for the first week back in the movie theatre. Everyday, one of the staff is going to submit a list of prayer requests and we are all going to share them on our blogs. On Thursday, we are asking our people to spend the entire day fasting and praying for the church. If our people will really get behind this, it might just blow all our minds to see what God will do.

Here is the set:

• We Shine (Fee)
• Shine Your Light (Goodwin)
• You’re Grace is Enough (Tomlin)
• God of This City (Tomlin)

Another great Sunday. We were expecting smaller crowds with it being July 4th and all but I think we should stop trying to predict what we think God will do. The last few weeks, Michael has been on fire. You can tell he is getting much more comfortable saying it like it is and finding his style behind the pulpit (if I can use that term since our is more of podium made from recycled trussing). Exciting to see what lies ahead with next week being our last week in the school.

Here is the set:

• We Stand (Lee McDzl)
• Let God Arise (Tomlin)
• To The King (Nicholas Baty)
• Here I Go (Goodwin)