YEAR IN REVIEW: 5 of the Fastest-Growing Churches You’ve Never Heard Of

YEAR IN REVIEW: 5 of the Fastest-Growing Churches You’ve Never Heard Of

Other Christian magazines annually report on the "fastest-growing churches in America." Churches like New Spring in Anderson, South Carolina; Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama; Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California; Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas; and Citylife Church in Tampa, Florida, have all received their just due for packing 'em in every Sunday and winning souls for the kingdom.

But what about those church plants—ones that you might not quite be familiar with—that Jesus has blessed with phenomenal growth in a short period of time?

One of those churches "fearlessly" meets in a nightclub in downtown Los Angeles—complete with, dare we say it, stripper poles. Another started out in a laundromat, with members putting quarters in machines and paying for other people's laundry, and wound up in an Irish pub.

In a society when many churches are either on the decline or have shut down, these churches certainly have hit on a godly formula to attract the unchurched.

Unique Growth

Honouring Our Past, Elim

The Wombles - Wombling Merry Christmas

Embracing our Future, Elim

Words for The Wise, Living a Life without Limits

Living a Life without Limits.

 

I’m going to ask you to think about this question and I would like you to pray about your answer and see what God will speak to you about? The question is what is limiting and/or restricting your life reaching its full God ordained and significant potential?

Seriously what is holding you back?, is it circumstances, disappointment, previous or existing rejection, the fear of rejection, fear of failure, or are you just scared etc., etc., this list could be almost endless but hey I can’t ask you what is holding your back only you can ask yourself that question?, I would like to clarify that God’s morals and ethics aren’t what is holding you because they aren’t negotiable

In some ways it’s the easiest thing to do, sitting either reminiscing about what has happened in the past or even day dreaming of what could happen in the future, but in both cases we’re letting life was all its fulfilment pass us by because we’re too busy reminiscing about the past or day dreaming about the future, yesterday isn’t today and today isn’t tomorrow!

Earlier today, I had an email but unlike every email I’ve had today, this was prophetic, yet it wasn’t from a prophet or any other church leader, it was a job advert, to look at the email initially it looked boring and I didn’t pay it much attention, however when I took another look at, and thought’s it’s only an advert from the Royal Navy but the title caught my attention, “ Live a Life without Limits”, this title caught my attention and lead to chain of thought and I asked myself this question if serving in the Royal Navy is  Living a Life without Limits, how much more then should the Christian Life be Living a Life without Limits ?

In some ways we’ve contained ourselves by our present circumstances and situations we hold onto things than aren’t relevant or helpful or indeed beneficial  for us to do any longer, whatever that may be, instead of life in glorious hd we’ve settled for a monochrome lifestyle, a life devolved of power, passion, praise and purpose because of what happened in our past we try to find fulfilment in our yesterday when we need to find that fulfilment in today and we hope and pray for our better tomorrow however that tomorrow is actually today.  We become seemingly paralysed by the fear of failure and indecision, too afraid to make a move in case we make a mistake! If this sounds familiar stop for moment, pray and ask the Lord to show you what you do? however I’m going to give you a clue in  involves movement on your part !

Life was never meant to be dull and dusty, predictable and pain free, however we like the safety net of predictably, comfort and familiarity!  It’s time to live our Lives without our self-imposed Limitations.

It says in Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV

20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what does it mean to be a Christian Believer or Disciple in 2014/2015, and for an example is it any different from being a Believer a hundred years ago?, The world and society have changed a great deal in the last 100 years, the World has seen two World Wars, we have seen the rise and fall of political, economic & social systems,  we've seen an increase of the advance of technology and we’re reaping in many ways both the benefits and disadvantages of that technology!

We face both challenges and opportunities, persecution and praises, but then did the Church of the 1st Century AD, the Christian Life was never meant to be boring, predictable and dull.  Our Lord Jesus says in John 10:10b “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”

I give my life to Jesus in 1981, and have been a Jesus Follower or Disciple since then, my background is Welsh Pentecostal, and I was part of a great Christian Fellowship called The Apostolic Church (Apostolic not as in Oneness Gospel, They’re Trinitarian) for the early part of my Christian Walk, and in many ways Welsh Pentecostalism is closely related to the Welsh Chapel or Non-Conformist Culture, although in some ways has strong Evangelical roots.  I’m not criticising or condemning that Culture, I grew up in it and it’s my history. However for most of the last 20 years I've been part of Restoration/New Church/House Church stream or  movement and have recently after much prayer and waiting on the Lord ,  I have returned to my Pentecostal roots because I’ve seen something in the Pentecostal movement that has re-ignited my heart for the Church and it’s mission.

In many ways, History can be positive, negative or neutral. All of us have a History that includes a combination of various factors including good, bad and neither good or bad, we’ve all made mistakes and errors, but there have been times when we’ve done things well and are proud of what we’ve done and there times we regret, or are ashamed or embarrassed/disappointed about, we’ve all disappointed and hurt others and we’ve all been disappointed and hurt by others, sometimes unintentionally and if we’re honest intentionally too! It’s time to forgive ourselves and forgive others, for many of us unforgiveness is holding us back!

Matthew 6:14-15

 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Colossians 3:12-17

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Many of us need to break free of our History, or the version of our History we believe or the version of our History that others have told us,  our history has little bearing or relevance to our present or a future,  our present and future isn't a  or no longer a case  of history repeating itself and its time to realise that for ourselves both on an individual or collective basis, our history isn’t our present or indeed our future, for too long we’ve lived in the present and looked to our  future and they for various reasons have become a continuation of our history,  today it’s time to stop and break that cycle.

We can no longer live in our history, wishing tomorrow, tomorrow I love you tomorrow, which is our present and future, then continue to live today as if was yesterday or indeed expect tomorrow to be like our yesterday, we can't travel back in time to change our yesterday, we can only live for today and pray, plan and prepare for tomorrow!

Can you imagine that  you live in a rickety old house that is falling down all around you, and there cobwebs and dust everywhere, there are no modern conveniences like running water or electricity, but you like it because it’s familiar and in way it feels safe and comfortable, suddenly there is knock on your front door and Jesus is standing there, and he asks you why are you living in your old house that doesn’t suit you when he has a better house for you, and just behind Jesus, you see a fantastic house,  your heart says wow, but your head says no, and you say thank you, Lord but I like my house and you close the door on Jesus,  you go and sit on your broken chair, and think I like my house it’s familiar then there is another knock on your door, and Jesus is standing there again, and again he shows the new house, and you think to yourself, I will visit this new house, and you walk inside and it just blows you away,  it’s your dream house, but you keep looking back at your old house,  and say you to yourself,  this new house is fantastic but my old house is familiar and go thank you Lord for showing me this new house but I still rather live in my old house, and close the door of the new house behind you, thinking this new house is too good for me and I don’t deserve it, you go back to your old house and you sit there and the rain comes and wind blows, and you think to yourself I can patch up this old house it wouldn’t be as nice as the new house, but it would be better than before, then there is another knock on your door and your answer it and it’s Jesus again, and you tell him your plans for your old house and he smiles and says to you, why continue to live in this old house when I’ve given this new house which is better for you and you do deserve it because I’ve forgiven you and because you’re in me and I’m in you. Then  you  suddenly find yourself   walking towards the new house, you start to get excited and start running towards it, and you say to yourself, it’s mine.  You sit in your new house on a comfortable sofa and Jesus is there with you, and you get up and to say thank you, you make Jesus a cup of tea, and through the kitchen window you see your old house and think to yourself why did I live there so long! When I could have lived here instead.

The old house is your history, and when Jesus shows us our new house which is our present and future, but because of we’re familiar with our history and because of our history we feel we don’t deserve our possible present and future, so we decide to patch up our history, but Jesus has better plans for us than to patch up our past he has a far better present and future that we think we deserve because of our history!

It says in Isaiah 43:18-19

“Remember not the former things,

    nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

It also says in Jeremiah 29:11-14a

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord

Yours because of His Grace and Mercy

Words for the Wise, The Lord's Prayer, The Importance of Prayer, Matthew 6 New American Standard Bible

Matthew 6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Giving to the Poor and Prayer

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2 “So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you [b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [d]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 ‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 ‘Give us this day [e]our daily bread.

12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from [f]evil. [g][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

14 For if you forgive [h]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive [i]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [j]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [k]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is [l]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [m]wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25 “For this reason I say to you, [n]do not be worried about your [o]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the [p]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single [q]hour to his [r]life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [s]seek first [t]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [u]added to you.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [v]care for itself. [w]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The Bible Panorama

Matthew 6

V 1–18: SECRECY Secrecy in giving (verses 1 to 4), praying (verses 5 to 8), and fasting (verses 16 to 18) is taught by Jesus. It is in this context that the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer (verses 9 to 15) is given. This contrasts with the hypocrisy of men, which is encountered in this chapter.

V 19–23: SIMPLICITY Our attitude to wealth should be such that we are not seeking to live to gain money. Our heart is where our treasure is, and that should be in spiritual things. We also need simplicity to look honestly at the darkness inside us and have it dealt with by the Light of the world.

 V 24: SINGULARITY The Christian must be single-minded in serving God and not ‘mammon’. Mammon stands for being dominated by money and materialistic considerations.

 V 25–34: SERENITY Nature tells us that God cares even for birds and flowers. Those with a special relationship with God should not worry, therefore, about provision of needs, now or in the future, but seek to please God first by seeking as a priority His kingdom and His righteousness. (This is not to encourage laziness but to underline the need for faith and trust.)

NIV Application Commentary

The proper priority (6:33). Jesus’ reasoning culminates in the famous directive, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” This climactic admonition draws the listeners back to the key verse of the sermon, where Jesus declared, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20). The use of the imperative “seek” does not mean to look for something not present, for Jesus has already announced the arrival of the kingdom. In this context it means that his disciples are to make the kingdom of heaven the center of their continual, daily priorities. They have already entered the kingdom of heaven and are to live with that reality, drawing on God’s ordering of their daily lives. In doing so they will “seek … his righteousness.”

The conjunction of righteousness and the kingdom maintains a special theme in the SM (5:6, 10, 20; 6:1). It does not mean to pursue salvation, because the disciples’ entrance to the kingdom secured them that kind of “imputed” righteousness (5:20). It means that they are to pursue their experiential growth of “imparted” righteousness, which is to pursue the increasing perfection of the Father (5:48) through their practice of “acts of righteousness” (6:1). The theological articulation of these themes becomes a major focus of the early church, especially Paul. But their foundation is laid in Jesus’ teaching here. When his disciples pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness in their daily priorities and activities, they will have all of their needs met by their ever-caring, ever-watching heavenly Father—“and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Eliminating worry (6:34). Having given the climactic imperative to guide every area of the disciples’ lives, Jesus returns to the specific issue—worry about God’s daily care for their needs. If God’s ordering of the disciples’ lives includes his provision for all of their daily needs, “therefore” one certainly should not worry about tomorrow. Learned reliance on God’s care for present needs will cause his disciples to develop trust in him for their future needs. The two expressions in this verse, “for tomorrow will worry about itself” and “each day has enough trouble of its own,” reiterate the same basic truth. All the worry in the world today can do nothing about the cares and problems of tomorrow. As disciples learn to let God care for them today, 

When the firing stopped, The Christmas Truce: The Story of Karl and Arthur.

It’s Christmas Eve  1915 and in small village in Alsace,  Germany,  Karl looks at the photo’s placed above the open hearth,  and sees a photo of 4 young friends smiling as they go off to War,  Karl looks at the photo and sees himself, and his 3 boyhood friends,  Bernhard,  Dieter and Konrad and he remembers they are no longer there,  they lay dead and discarded in an open grave on a forgotten battlefield,  he looks at the next photo and sees his wife Lilli and their two young children,  Johann and Agatha he looks at the last photo of him and his English friend Arthur and remembers their friendship formed on a makeshift football field in the middle of a mud filled battlefield as the soldiers of grey and khaki put aside their differences and shared cigarettes and chocolates and forged a peace in a time of war.

Silent Night in German,  "Stille Nacht"

Lilli passes him his guitar and he starts to sing Silent Night , Holy Night and then he tells his wife and children  the story of how a year ago,  that the soldiers of khaki and grey laid aside their arms of war,  and made peace instead of war and has the fighting stopped along the trenches then the Generals and Politicians came to their senses and  had realised their follies and decided to end their terrible war and finally the sounds of peace could be heard once more across many lands and the soldiers of khaki and grey came home to their families.

 He then picks up his guitar once more and teaches his wife and children,  the carol his English Friend,  Arthur  had taught him,  While Shepherds watched their Flocks,and as he sings he hears the sound of thunder, and has he sighs,  a hand touches his shoulder, he says “ Lilli”  and hears a sound of laughter.

 He hears the orders of the officers and sergeants as they tell him and the others to get ready and advance because it’s time to attack the English Enemy, they tell them the artillery have dislodged the tommies and they are  now defeated,  as he rises up, and walks across the forgotten football field,  and wonders to himself  when he will join his fallen friends, and thinks he sees his English Friend, Arthur, he is sure that this friend has died or is injured in the tommies’ trenches, he hears the sound of rifle fire, and feels an immense terrible pain and sees his jacket of grey suddenly changes colour to red, and he falls and lays  like a discarded and broken toy of the god of war,  and has he dies,  his last word is “Lilli”

Arthur looks across the crater filled and shattered former football field, and sees the advancing men of grey and he turns to his boyhood friends, Albert, George and Harry and he sees that they lay dead and dying on the wet and muddy ground,  and has the hun artillery finished their seemingly unending barrage they fell where they stood,  he steps up to the firing step and makes his stand , he steadies himself and takes aim and has he fires and sees the soldiers of grey as they fall one by one,  and inspired by his courage His brothers in arms,  fellow men of khaki fire into the thinning ranks of grey, and when the firing stopped Arthur looks out to the blood soaked former football field and wonders if his German Friend, Karl is among the fallen, he knows he has had revenged his boyhood friend’s too soon deaths, and that the enemy advance has been halted for at least for another day.

The Victoria Cross,   "The Cross of Bronze with a Crimson Ribbon, from  this story. "

It’s Christmas Eve, 1964, and in quiet village in Devon, England, Arthur sits in front of an open fire, and he readies himself and his wife Lilly asks him if he is ready,  he sees some old photos that hold so many memories ,  of four young boyhood friends, who are smiling as they go off to war, Arthur, Albert, George and Harry,  he looks at the next photo and sees his wife Lilly and their children John and Agatha and he looks at the next photo of a soldier of grey and a soldier of khaki, shaking hands and smiling as they share  chocolates and cigarettes after a special game of football,  Lilly passes  him an unopened box and asked him if he is wearing his medals , he opens the box and stares at those medals,  so many memories and so much pain, his hand shakes as he sees a cross of bronze with a crimson ribbon, Lilly steads his hand with her hand,  and she tells them their grandson is ready to take him to tell the story of the Christmas Truce to their friends at Church  and has he leaves that night,  he hears Silent Night,  Holy Night playing on the radio,  as they drive to Church, he asks his grandson to stop as they pass by the war memorial,  and he gets out of the car,  he stands for a moment and silently salutes his fallen friends,  as he sees their names,  Albert , George and Harry he remembers their smiling faces as they went off to war and last but not least he remembers his fallen German friend Karl.

Arthur feeling his advanced years, is helped by grandson Carl, and has he enters the Church he has lead for so many years, they congregation start to sing While Shepherds watched their Flocks by Night,  when the singing stops,  he stands and tells his friends,  The story of the Christmas Truce, and he continues to tell the story of Arthur and Lilly and their family, he looks at the cross of bronze with the crimson ribbon pinned on his chest by his wonderful wife Lilly, and tells the story of his Beloved Saviour who came as a baby and paid the price and who died a terrible, agonizing death to set  man  free and forgiven from the power of Sin.

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

The Pipes of Peace, Paul McCartney

Military Voices 1914 The Carol of Christmas