Check List 1

As a church planter...yeah that's what I feel I am even though we have launched a site for Bay Area Fellowship...there is a subtle saying, "Some that start the journey with you won't finish it with you"

When you are launching there will be some that don't continue the journey with you. Reality is...it's ok. In fact, it is even a biblical reality.

First, don't let it bother you. It's probably not a bad thing. It may sting. Disappointment will probably be there. You might even take it personal.

Second, it has happened to many...many...many before you.

Third, it is probably a good thing. Many times God may actually be working behind the scenes to line things up for you. Let it drive you to Him for the solution.

Fourth, keep moving forward anyway. Many will come and go...stay hard to the vision.

Why did I write this post???? Cause I'm one of the many. I've checked this one off my list. I have seen it happen in the months of the journey we have been on this year. In fact when we first decided to partner with Bay Area some of our initial team didn't continue. I'll tell you the truth...I just kept plugging forward believing God would have someone for us. We lost a guitar player and God had already positioned someone to move into that spot. I could go on and on.

REALITY....God is even more interested in making the vision happen than we are. Believe and know He's got your back and keep on moving!!!!!!!

Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

Something I found on leadership via Catalyst was a new leadership podcast from Andy Stanley. You can read the article here.

North Point Resources recorded its first installment of Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast in which the podcast is a conversation designed to help leaders go further, faster.

In the first session, Andy talks about how assumptions play a role in an organization. All organization should take a fresh look and initiate change when needed.

To listen to the audio in its entirety, or to subscribe to Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast, click here.

Sunday 9-28-08 Slideshow

Here are the pictures from our 9-28-08 Sunday Experience.



This was officially our eleventh week as a campus. We still have many things we want to do and have to do. There are many teams that need to be built. There are some announcements that are coming soon that pertain to the campus. There are events that we are planning. All in all we are not there yet but are on the way.

Happy Birthday to My Wife

Today is my wife's birthday. My wife is my best friend. I won't tell you how old she is...cause...well you know. What I can say is that she is the best. We met in college and have been together ever since. We have served together in ministry for 14 years, living life in the fish bowl.

Robbie, you are so awesome. I can't tell you how much I appreciate and love you. The love we have together has grown brighter through the years. I couldn't imagine living life with anyone else. Happy Birthday.

Baby Drop Prank

Ok...I can't resist. I know I'm gonna get it for showing you all this. Pastor Bil Cornelius came out to visit our campus and hang out with everyone on a Sunday night.

Of course you know me...I got my video camera with me everywhere. So when I saw one of our guys fixing to pull a little prank I hit the record button and well...check it out.



Reality fact - Pastors are real people and some of them enjoy a great laugh. It is great to work with and for someone who can have great fun with us. Is that enough kiss up for ya Pastor Bil.

I Can

I can because He made me.
I don't doubt or hesitate.
I push forward.
I walk over obstacles.
Fear...there is none.
Joy...is overflowing.
I'm in my groove.
My zone is His will.
I don't wonder if I can.
I don't think I can.
It's not because "I" say I can.
Because He made me...I CAN

Just Be You

Just be you...who He created you to be.
Don't try to be a copy of another...you will never be the best they can be.

Where Do We Go From Here

I'd be remiss to tell you that I don't have some goals for our campus. I'm probably not going to share many as...well...you know how people might interpret them. Let's just say that what we are aiming at is so big that only God will be able to make it happen.

I have always taken serious the call to "Go and Make Disciples". And I love the fact that the first church in Acts "added daily to the church." I'm believing big things in these areas.

I also feel that we can be a resource to our own community. A church that serves the needs of the community and helps bring social change. I guess it comes down to feeling like we would be noticed or missed if we ever stopped doing this campus out here. Not just by the people that come but by the community at large.

And then my other desire is that we create true community in our campus. Where it truly is a place people call home and come to think of it as family. Where people live life together.

I guess my true heart desire is that we are more than a "video campus". That may be the mode of our message but it isn't all we will be about. We are here for a purpose...God made this happen for a reason...and I'm glad I'm on this journey to find out where exactly He's taking us.

Sunday 9-21-08 Pictures

So why do I add a slide each week with pictures? Cause I'm proud of my team. That's it...so here they are.

View Album

Get your own

Funny thing...I woke up yesterday and realized we have only been doing our campus for ten weeks and were at one week after our official grand opening. It is absolutely blowing me away.

After doing this now for ten weeks the official numbers over a ten week average are:

• Attendance 139
• First Time Guests 12
• Commitments 3

Here are some details that you may not know. We are exactly 22.4 miles from our Corpus Campus which is a church that seats almost 3,000 people. Some people might think that our size for the first 10 weeks is due to people coming from that campus to save on driving. Not true. This past weekend we asked by a show of hands how many people were members of BAF. I would have pegged around 30% of the people there. We already are reaching many people who have never been to Bay Area.

When we charged forward to do this we did it with the singular goal of reaching people who had never been to our church. Our initial core group of people that first weekend was probably around 40 to 50 people. Many of which were new to Bay Area themselves.

What has been great about our campus is that it really has been birthed from people who live in our community that have decided that they want to reach the area they live in. We didn't come to steal people from their churches. We came to reach those who may have never gone to church or who have given up on church or even those who feel they are no longer making an impact where they are and want to be a part of a vision that truly is about making a difference.

It is simply amazing that God is using us this way. We totally give Him the credit. We have a great team that deserves much of it for all they do. We're just getting started and we're ready for more.

The Power of Teamwork

Check out this video that illustrates the power of teamwork through the nine key principles of teamwork used by the Blue Angels.

A Conversation

What I want most out of this blog is not just that I pass along information. It is my desire that I create a conversation. I know there may be posts that pass along information and don't require much input.

But when one catches your eye or it stirs you up or you just feel like adding your take...please...by all means leave a comment and lets create some dialogue.

I'll do my best even in this busy season to keep the conversation going. Let's create a community that drives discussions.

Leadership Qualities

To lead with authority and buy-in a good leader should exhibit several qualities. There are many that I'm not covering in this list but thought I would key in on a few.

• Integrity - This is an area that is probably key above all other qualities. People may follow you for a while without it but will never have long term buy in unless you have it.
• Motivation - This is having initiative or the desire to take action and get things done. Someone that is motivated doesn't wait to be told what to do that are leaders of action.
• Confidence - This not only means be sure of yourself but knowing what you're doing. The more others are convinced that you know what to do, the more confidence they will have in you.
• Communication - A good leader is good at human relations. You can't lead others if you can't communicate with them. This also includes listening.

Passion or Presence

One of the dangers of ministry is not allowing your passion to overwhelm His Presence. I'll be honest and say that over the years of ministry I have had to work hard on this one. I love reaching people for Christ and helping develop others to make a difference in their world. There are many times that my passion for doing has overwhelmed having God's Presence.

It really encourages me when I hear great leaders of God who have said they have struggled with the same thing. It is their honesty that encourages me. Often times as leaders we work so hard that we feel we have to hide that fact...BUT...only when His Presence is an overwhelming factor in our lives will we truly fulfill all He has for our lives.

My Videos

I don't know if I've ever given an update to all the video's I have on youtube.com. You can check them all out at http://www.youtube.com/jaycurl44. There you will find 48 videos that have been viewed over 37,000 times at the time of this post...that often seems crazy to me cause I posted my first video on October 14, 2006 as a means for my youth ministry at that time to have some memories and excitement.

I've posted videos of all kinds....leadership, series openers, commercials, we created our own reality show called "The D-Factor", I tracked our journey of beginning our campus, one day while at the dentist I even video'd a guy that stood up naked in front of a church on a main road in town.

My three favorites are:
3. The Cellphone Linebacker Part 3
2. The D-Factor - Bloopers
1. Just To Be With You - Third Day Song with The Passion of the Christ

The youtube journey has been fun and it is a way to look back on all the things we have done in life and ministry.

5 Points Grand Opening

So here is how our Grand Opening went down today:

It went down simply outstanding!!!!!! This morning our attendance was 239 people and 8 people prayed to begin a relationship with Christ. PRAISE GOD!!!!!

Here are some pictures from the event:



Want to hear a little of our music from that morning???? Here you go:



I was able to preach today due to the hurricane hitting our coast and it was so awesome to know that people committed to begin a relationship with Christ. That is the whole reason I love being in ministry. To see lives changed. The message I gave today was called Rise Up and I talked about the life of Nehemiah. Nehemiah saw a need...prayed...looked for opportunities...and took action. It was good to preach again.

An Opportunity

This weekend is our Grand Opening and due to the fact that we had a visitor by the name of IKE to the Gulf Coast of Texas it changed our weekend schedule. On Saturday's our message is recorded live from our Corpus Campus and then we use it for our Sunday Morning.

Because hurricane IKE was possibly coming this way...we canceled our Saturday night service in Corpus which meant...NO VIDEO. So for our grand opening I have the great opportunity to speak live, which will actually also be a first for our campus.

I so love how God uses me when I speak and I think I actually learn more than anyone in the room. I'm actually looking forward to when we kick off youth ministry as it will be a time where I will get to be used in an area of one of my giftings.

I'm pumped...I've been in ministry since 1995 and have given tons of messages. In fact, if it were ever a spur of the moment thing like this I could always pull out something that no one has ever heard.

BUT

I also knew that we were launching a new series this weekend. So when I got the word on Wednesday I began meditating on the series and what I could possibly speak on. It actually took me all the way up to Saturday to get just what God would speak through me.

So tomorrow...fresh off the presses...will be the start of the series RISE UP for our Grand Opening.

What's Your Twitter Grade

Just looked up my twitter grade today and I scored an 80. Man would I love to hit a 90+. I always hated making below a 90 on my grades.

Do you twitter???? I do. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/jasoncurlee

Guest Bands For Prayer

So this Saturday from 7 to 8 at our 5 Points Campus we are having a time where people can come to our campus and pray for an hour if they are in town. I've been thinking of bringing in some guest bands/singers. Would love your thoughts on these two.

The Renewed Mind Is The Key


Jesus Is My Friend


Told my wife to kick me if I ever did this...

A Crazy One

2,000 years ago 120 people prayed together in a room....and went on to change the world. I'm craziest enough to think that if we are willing to do it...we can. I hope you can be inspired.



Thanks to apple and Scott Rodgers for the video.

Winning Souls

If there has been one thing that I have always believed was the most important part of our youth night or Sunday morning service it was the invitation.

It was the time when we would invite those that didn't have a relationship with Christ to begin one. I have always stressed to our team and those that came that it was the part we were always working up to. It was why we created everything we created. It was the purpose of every song. It was the end result of the message that God had laid on our heart. It was the main reason we gathered.

It was what has always driven our growth. I believe God always drew people to what we did because we have always challenged those who came to begin a relationship with Christ if they already hadn't.

Craig Groeschel of Lifechurch.tv wrote two posts on the Swerve Blog about the invitation that may help you in your invitation.

10 Ways To Make Your Spiritual Invitation Stronger
10 Reasons Not To Invite People to Follow Christ at Your Church

Where There's Slack There's Lack

Nelson Searcy, ChurchLeaderInsights.com, wrote over the period of weeks, a great intro series to many of the systems a church should focus on. Check out each part below:

Part 1 - The Weekend Service System
Part 2 - The Evangelism System
Part 3 - The Assimilation System
Part 4 - The Small Groups System
Part 5 - The Ministry System
Part 6 - The Stewardship System
Part 7 - The Leadership System
Part 8 - The Strategic System

What A Difference A Day Makes

Do you realize that you can control the outcome of today? It's true. I see people all the time who all their day and the circumstances of that day to control them.

It really is all in how you look at it. If you allow it to make you miserable....IT WILL. If you allow it to bring you down....IT WILL.

BUT....if you decide that you can control the outcome your day can be uniquely different.

Don't let your day drag you down. Don't let your day control you.

Decide today what your day will be and go and make a difference.

Now What

Several years ago I was sitting in church and at the end of the message I sat there wondering...."Now What?"

Don't get me wrong...it was a good message...loaded with information....BUT...I went home that day asking "What do I do now?" And then week after week that same thought kept hitting me. Even after taking a new ministry position...the same thing. Very informative...but no application.

I think often times many pastors/teachers have worked hard on their message and even on their delivery but they end up falling a little short. You can greatly enhance your message by always making sure people know how to apply what they just heard.

Why is this important? Because people aren't just challenged to be hearers but doers. And it is important that we show them how to apply what they are hearing so they can be doers.

As you are writing your next message, simply ask "Now What?" Take it from the perspective of someone who will be sitting there listening. Make sure you are teaching what they can do next now that they have heard.

8-31 Sunday Morning Scorecard

This Sunday I was a little unsure how attendance would be. I actually think it was good...most of the people missing seemed to be people who volunteer. We had 152 and ran two experiences.

The music sounded great. Our drummer bought a drum shield and mic set so we ran the drums through the sound system. It really made the music sound great. On top of that this week our two main sound techs from the Corpus campus came out and EQ'd all our channels and our main EQ....WOW what a difference.

Our children's department got their check in system which will make things run smoother there.

Our directors are really starting to step it up and we are going to meet together this week to talk about the up-coming events and year.

Here are some pics from the morning: