the glorious exchange

Let’s hear it. Who’s headed to Reston this week?

“Theatre One” is showing a play called “Say You Love Satan.” By the way, it’s a middle school.

Front/Back

Front/Back

What do you think? The green words on the first picture (Root. Ripen. Reach.) are a truncated version of our mission: to root people in the Word, ripen them to maturity in Christ, and reach the people around them with the power of the Spirit in order to redeem DC.

The red words (Love. Live. Echo.) are a truncated version of our vision: we foresee a community of people that love unconditionally, live with intent, and echo this Way to others. Each individual within the community will serve one another without regard of person, and worship their Creator.

The flip side of our card? He’s our one purpose. Not five, not seven, not sixty-three and a half. One. Jesus is why we do what we do.

Why so mysterious on the card? It promotes conversation. Gives me an opportunity, if nothing else, to give the 3-minute vision cast elevator pitch type deal. Then we move from there.

Here’s a few (of many) realistic goals that we have for harmony church:

• We want a community that is reaching 1% of the target population in 10 years. For MidCity DC (a likely launch area), this area will be over 1,000 people in 2025. For Arlington/Alexandria (another likely area), it will be about the same.
• We want to plant 7 daughter churches in 10 years. We want reproduction to be a part of our DNA: it’s part of the original Commission: Be fruitful and multiply. We have 3 years to get on our feet, 1 year to faithfully send out people to plant a church, then 6 more years to diligently plant a church a year. Big vision? Of course. We follow a big God.
• Hundreds of people meeting Christ on a regular basis. We want to see an average of 100 baptisms a year. Doable? Of course it is. Realistic? Depends on who you ask. I look at Bible Belt churches like NewSpring, who recently baptized over 400 people in one night, and wonder what a Gospel-centered church could do in a completely unreached environment like center city DC.

A dream that only God could fulfill? How about that 50,000 barrier that the US has had for a while? DC is growing, and God is moving. It’s got to be somebody, right? Why not harmony church? I’d both love and hate to disciple 50,000 people. But I would both praise and blame God the whole time.

Just returned from a weekender trip up to D.C., for an interview with Todd Wilson of Passion4Planting, for the National New Church Conference podcast. It was pretty surreal. It was also my first ever interview, and I think it was O.K. Not superb, but O.K. Some quick notes from my trip:

• Columbia Heights in D.C. is looking like a very promising location. So is the Potomac area of Alexandria/Arlington. I personally feel that Columbia Heights would be a better investment simply from a financial standpoint, independent of church stuff. It would also be more strategic, being in center city. But we’re still flip-flopping between locations. Remember us in prayer.
• Went through the usual routine of Ebenezer’s for coffee and Melting Pot for dinner. Nothing hits the spot like a Caramel Whip and fondue. It was Restaurant Week in D.C., so the price for dinner was pretty decent, comparatively speaking.
• Traffic is great in D.C. Yes, I’m kidding.
• Todd Wilson and Patrick Ferguson from P4P are great guys. They had a lot of advice and resources for me.
• I highly, highly, highly recommend purchasing Converge if you’re a pre-launch church planter. It’s a great tool and resource, making you think through things you may not otherwise think through. Plus, it’s only $149! Well worth the investment.

Great trip overall, looking forward to the next one.