Monday Emotions...

AMAZING SUNDAY!!

It blows me away each week as I sit back and see all that God is doing. This week was no exception. First service was hysterical. With the time change in full effect, attendance was down. I even had people asking me what I did to make people mad :). Second service was equally hysterical as there was hardly an empty seat. Gotta love time change!

Quick thoughts:

* I felt the urge at the last minute of the first service to pitch the Gospel. The only hand I saw go up was from a guy who lifts it every time...I have got to tell him he's all good :)
* Decided to give the gospel pitch in second service and 8 people made a first time decisions to follow Jesus!!!!
* Over the last two weeks 20 people have made decisions to follow Jesus. It begs the question, who does God want you to bring??? Each week God is moving in peoples lives!!
* The band was rocking...I'm pretty sure Gerry pulled out some 80's rock moves on stage. Bring it back, daddy!
* Bag the Basics (care bag drive) is off and running. What's up with POINT LOMA having only one bag.... weak :)
* We had our missions meeting after church. There are about 30 people interested so far in one of the two trips. For more info, contact Josh Carter at Joshua.d.carter@gmail.com
* BUSY. BUSY. BUSY week. Pumped about that!
* My wife woke me up this morning by putting my little man on my chest...PRICELESS!

Final Thought:

This is just a thought...I was noticing on Facebook when you can put Religious Views people often dodge saying Jesus.

Have a great week, love you guys!! Let's keep pushing the greatest cause in the universe forward!!

Josh

Monday emotions...

Whoa...it's been a while!!! OK, I'm back.

Sunday was AMAZING! There is no other way to put it, I LOVE the privilege of pastoring our church. We are currently in a series called "In Real Time". The idea behind this series is to establish how we, living our busy lives, can live out spiritual disciplines and follow Jesus. This week we studied the discipline of stewardship. The highlights are as follows:

* Stewardship is ALL about asking two questions
1. Is this the RIGHT thing to do?
2. Will I wish I had left this alone?

* To hear more go to - http://www.existencechurchsandiego.com/messages/

* We had a TON of people at church yesterday (second service was crazy). It's absolutely amazing to see people wait outside of church as their friends and family come for the first time.This is what being an INCLUSIVE church is all about! Way to go!!
* We had 6 people make first time decisions to follow Jesus yesterday. AMAZING! As a church we are praying that 50 people make the same decision this year. So far we have already seen 12! So cool!

* Carter literally yelled when we mentioned the Art Show (Friday, February 26, 2010 at 8:00pm till 12:am). I'm guessing he thinks we should all be there :). Grab a friend, put on your best earth tones and come hang!

* The band was a blessing yesterday!! Gerry went off with the Spirit and we followed - what a blessing to surrender!!

* We are starting a ladies kick boxing group!!! I think that's sick!
* We updated the church on some financial needs for 2010 - check out the video http://www.existencechurchsandiego.com/video/index.php Thank you Jason Leppert!

Final thoughts. I love this series. God is stretching all of us! I'm excited for this week - we are going to look at the discipline of reading the Bible. I'm super proud of our church and I love our passion!

Let's keep chasing Jesus, love you guys!!

Josh

Monday Emotions...

Great and wild Sunday!

We looked this week at the idea of “I Doubt I Need Jesus.” While most would agree we need Jesus for salvation, we often forget and don't fully understand how much we need Him in our day-to-day lives. It ended up being a wonderful topic of discussion!

But before we could get there... We founds out Miramar Rd was closed from 3am to 10am due to a car accident. I got a ton of emails from folks saying, hey I couldn't get to church but I did have a GREAT breakfast!! Classic, I love it!

Highlights from Sunday:

* Our ladies had their women’s retreat this weekend. I heard from everyone it was UNREAL! Way to go women’s leadership team, you guys are STUDS. :)

* We had almost 100 people come to first service. The wild part is, they had to walk several blocks to get to church. It was pretty wild to see people skateboarding in and jumping fences to be here. Cool sight!

* We had a ton of new people at both services. It's always a wonderful experience to see God’s kingdom going forward, one of us at a time!

* Josh Carter announced we will be launching our holiday missional project this coming Sunday. We have some awesome partnerships and opportunities to serve our city!

* Worship was solid. We had the chance to talk openly at the end of second service of how we really want to be a church that worships God. Often it feels as if something is holding us back. We are going to actively pray that changes!!! God is SO worthy of our worship. Amen??

* Chargers won - right on!

* We finished of the last C2C class for the year. My favorite is the third, we talk about values and it always fires me up! We had 180 people go through the class this year. Very cool. Did you go through it? If not, get on it next year!

Final thoughts...

We are in the middle of the last quarter of the year - crazy! I want to remind you that we are going to finish out this year with a bang! We are expanding our facility, serving the poor and including the disconnected in the process. This is an awesome picture of what it looks like to advance God’s kingdom.

Are you a part of the picture?

To get involved, email Shawn at - skexistence@gmail.com.

To contribute financially and support the renovations go here - http://www.existencechurchsandiego.com/giving/

Have a great week, love you guys!!!

Josh

Monday Emotions...

Great Sunday!!! We took a look at the question, Does God have compassion? I would say this is one of my favorite studies in a long time! In so many ways it was edifying and challenging. My prayer is that we take hold of these teachings and allow God’s word to live through us! If you missed it, check it out at http://www.existencechurchsandiego.com/messages/.

Sunday highlights:

* Felt good to express my thoughts on a subject that I'm quickly realizing is my heart. I'm enthralled with the picture of the church fighting for the least of these!

* It was cool to see so many people share this passion. God is using and will continue to use our church in powerful ways!

* Fall break for Pt. Loma students... lucky!

* Band sounded great, we sang weak! C’mon Existence!!! :)

* Can't believe how far we are coming on the new children’s facility!!! God is setting us up for an amazing future!

* We need your help! Come, paint, make a pledge, get INVOLVED in what God is doing right in front of you!

* C2C went great! Geoff did a great job - so proud of him!

Final thought! Are you making a difference? Are you advancing God’s kingdom? Jump on board, get in a Life Group!

Love ya guys!

Josh

Charts and Sermon links from Sunday

Sundays sermon link and charts...

http://www.existencechurchsandiego.com/messages/

Monday Emotions

Great Sunday - God is moving in our church!

I have enjoyed this series SO much. It's been so cool to see folks bringing new people and fight for their friends and families salvation. I want to remind you that every week counts, people are waiting for you to invite them to discover Jesus!

Sunday Highlights:

* Great turnout! I met several new people and several of your friends. It was SO cool to see people come to church that you have been praying for.

* 5 people accepted Jesus Sunday - so cool!

* I felt really good about the message. It was great to hear so many people say they felt more encouraged and fired up to follow Jesus!

* The band was a man down, but you would have never known it! Great job guys!

* I love that we are out of room/seats! In three weeks we will start to expand our auditorium. God is working in our community, be a part of it!

* I have a ton of BIG meetings this week. We have some great stuff planned for the church over the next few months!

* Are you involved in a Life Group? It's the very best way to get connected in ministry!

* I met a new kid yesterday at church. He told me he was 10. He then went on to tell me he was almost as tall as me :)

* C2C was great! Had 50 people. If you missed one, you can still come. Be there next Sunday night 7pm!

Final thought:

I'm really looking forward to this fall. It's been a blast seeing the impact we are making in our community, college campuses, and in our local church body. Way to go on being true Kingdom builders!

Love ya,

Josh

Monday Emotions...

Very, very good Sunday!!!

We started our new series, “I Doubt It.” It was so great to tackle the issue of, “I doubt there is a God.” This series has the power and potential to bring amazing change to people’s lives. I'm praying we all take the challenge of getting seeking folks to this series.

Thoughts from Sunday:

* Very, very cool to meet several of your friends that are seeking. I think we made a great impact on them!

* Fun to get our college students back. God has and will always use college students in the church to make a HUGE impact!

* It felt SO good to remind people that they are created with purpose not by chance!!!

* The band did great! Peter and Anthony were rocking on Sunday!

* It was really cool to share with the church the financial part of our "new" Chapter 2 journey. On Sunday we saw almost 10% pledged. Way to go church!!

* Every Sunday from now ‘til the end of the year we will keep you posted on the progress. God is going to use each of us in amazing ways!

* I thought the guys did awesome on the announcements... I love their passion and leadership!

* I can't believe in a few weeks we're gonna have a new children’s facility. So pumped for our church!

Final thought:

I always want to remind you that what we do matters! Right now there are dozens of people in your life who need Jesus. Take the big courageous step and invite them to church during this series. LET GOD USE YOU!!

Love ya!

Josh