I'm writing this post from Jen's parents' house in Weeler, Indiana because tomorrow, Jen and I have the privilege of presenting our vision for Lafayette to Hillside Community Church in Crown Point. I will be giving our basic presentation during their Sunday School time. Then, I will be preaching at …
Lafayette is below average for church attendance
I grabbed this statistical information from this website, but I wanted to post to my blog here something that my wife and I have known for about a year now. Lafayette is below the national average for churchgoers. Top 15 Reporting …
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Free Demographics
I just came across a wonderful set of resources for free demographic information. One of the coolest sites I've seen in a while is run by USAToday: http://www.usatoday.com/news/bythenumbers/front.htm But, for many resources all packed together, check out this …
Churches and Marketing
As a result of reading a couple of blogs on a regular basis, I'm getting increasingly interested in marketing. As a church planter, marketing is something that I will soon have to be dealing with directly, but I'm amazed to see the key points of crossover between the world of marketing today and the …
Consecrate Yourselves
Here's another short post (not having Internet at the home and not having an internet enabled office has really slowed down my blogging). Jen and I are in Peoria, Illinois at the Midwest Baptist Conference's Leadership Retreat. This is my second year to come to the retreat, and I'm really excited …
Panera Bread is my office
I just have to praise God for Panera Bread! Here in the Tippecanoe Mall, they offer free wireless Internet, and the Ginger Peach tea is simply incredible! …
We’ve Moved to Lafayette!
Jen, Charlie, Katie and I are safely settling into our new apartment in Lafayette. We made the move on Monday with the help of a TON of people from our church, Jen's parents, some relatives and a couple of our new friends from Lafayette. Tuesday was all about opening boxes and other random things. …
We need a name
I know it has taken me far too long since I last wrote to my blog, but the weather here is pretty cold and my fingers just won't type as well as they should! I spoke with Steve over at the Midwest Church Planting office to see what it's going to take for us to start drawing support from them so …
Top Ten Prayer Requests — December 2005
Jen and I have been regularly sending out our prayer requests every few months or so, and I thought that I'd post our next set on the blog here. God has really been answering some prayers too, so I'll post some praises first: Praises: Jen and I have signed final approval paperwork on our house. …
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Signing Papers, Getting More Land
Today, Jen and I went down to Lafayette to have a final signing meeting with Kim at Gunstra Builders. It's amazing how the finality of signing papers can really make you nervous. Last week, I was completely thrilled about every aspect of the building process even though we have already signed some …
What’s in a name?
I posted this over at our church plant website (www.lafayetteinitiative.com), but I'm copying it here for those who don't read the other site too much. Please post your comments, and if you want to participate in our church name straw poll, click here. And whether you can participate in the poll or …
Greg’s Story
While Jen and I were looking for a home in Lafayette, God led us to meet a man who not only would sell us a great home, but who also was to join us as one of our first ministry partners. We still can't believe the amazing ways God is working to bring us together with people who love him and are …
Wisdom for selecting a home
It turns out that one of the men from the Pondside group is actually the President / CEO of Lafayette Savings Bank! It's amazing how God works things out. I gave him a call, he had someone call me and in about 30 minutes this morning, Jen and I were "easily" approved for at least a $180,000 …
Jen and I know where we want to live
I want to thank all of you for praying for Jen and me during our trip this last weekend to Lafayette. We had a really fun time in many different ways. Quick Notes We were able to stay with Jen's cousin and her family. They are so gracious and generous each time we visit. Praise God for Mark …
Why shouldn’t everyone plant a church?
Well, this is an interesting take on the whole church planting thing. According to this article, everyone should plant a church. Bob Hyatt claims that there are two schools of thought on church planting. In my words, they are these: It's only for the elite and super-gifted because it's really …
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Visiting Lafayette This Weekend
I just wanted to send out a quick note to all of you to let you know that Jen, the kids, and I will be visiting Lafayette this weekend. If all works out well, we will plan on meeting with some people who are interested in possibly joining us. We will also be looking at some of the housing available …