Hello everyone, it seems like my blog isn't getting the attention I need to put into it! I've been really busy working on some new projects that are consuming my hours, but are still thrilling to work on!
One artist that has gotten a good amount of my time of late is Kari Jobe. Kari has a wonderful voice! I have yet to meet her personally , I can tell she has a sincere heart for God. Some of you may know her already from Gateway Worship, her home church where she serves as a worship leader. She is the voice of "Revelation Song" which is sang in congregations worldwide...as well as my own.
Tonight while doing some promotional work for her, I was checking out her church's website. This section jumped out at me from their "about" section:
Growing
Gateway’s first service was on Easter morning, April 23, 2000, at the Hilton Hotel in Grapevine
with approximately 180 people in attendance.
Three weeks later, the church began meeting on Saturday nights at Christ Our King Church in Southlake. With a strong Saturday night congregation, the church continued to steadily grow. In July 2001, Gateway Church began meeting at A World of Learning training facility in Grapevine, during which time the church grew to five services with over 2,000 people attending weekly.
We broke ground for our current Southlake Campus during Gateway’s third year of ministry. As we constructed our building, the church continued to grow. In June 2003, we moved into our Southlake Campus. By Easter of 2004, attendance was around 5,000; four years later on Easter of 2008,
we had 16,500 people in attendance.
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I emphasized two mind blowing items in the quote above. The amount of people attending in an 8 year run went from 180 to 16,500!!! And from a non-traditional starting point of having church on Saturday in the beginning. I'm sure this is exciting to the folks who attend Gateway Church, it's exciting to me sitting in my bedroom right now! I love to see evidence of God's work. Especially when it's right in front of my eyes.
My home church is currently experiencing new growth as well, not to this extent but you never know what God has planned. It seems like folks who value people over tradition, the life changing, powerful Jesus over the social club sized "Good Lord", listening more than speaking, and open hearted to boot...these are the ones who God is using mightily. As broken as I am, I want to be a part of God's biggest plans. God can, will and often does use broken people like me. Maybe it's because I am honestly aware of His grace in my own life that I have the audacity to think that he has granted favor to the Fort Branch GBC. We are mainly a congregation of imperfect believers who, as Brennan Manning puts it, walks through life with a ''victorious limp"...doing our best to have fellowship knowing that it's all about God's will and not our own. A place I often said I would never go back to (after being treated rudely as a visitor years ago)..it's now a place I attend weekly and truly experience God's goodness and peace. With others who simply seek and want to be used by God!
God is good.
Back on Kari Jobe, her album releases next Tuesday, Feb 10th. It's available in most music stores from Integrity Music.
Check it out ... would ya!
jamie
¶ 2/03/2009
