Grand Opening

January 13, 2012

Sunday was the first Sunday we held services at our new Irmo campus of Columbia Church.

I’m not sure yet how to best describe the way I felt before, during, and after the Grand Opening of the new Columbia Church Irmo Campus. Overwhelmed may be my best effort.

So many people invested their time, money, and sweat to accomplish this great thing. Everyone who gave generously, showed up and worked hard at any of the 4 work days, gave their evenings to run wires and set lights, or anything else, God used you to do something significant. It is awesome, but Sunday, I mentioned a passage that has been driven deep into my heart, and I believe it should shape the next several months of our church’s life:

Isaiah 49:6
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

The most exciting thing that happened on Sunday night at our grand opening was seeing my neighbors come to church. Along with my neighbors, we had 22 first time guests. Almost all of those were people who were invited by a friend or from the immediate areas surrounding the church. Columbia Church, we did not work this hard to build a building. We did not work this hard to simply have the best sound system, great lights, and a neat show. We are here to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, by creating a church that un-churched people will love to attend. That is why we are here. That’s what I want to invest my life in, and that vision took a huge step Sunday.

It is too small a thing for us to be satisfied with where we are. Where we are is an amazing blessing from God, but we are here for more.

Over the next several weeks we are going to stress and push this message in our “Big Church” series.

Thank you to everyone who played a part. I have prayed and thanked God for your contribution. You are making the difference.

I love leading and serving with you,

JD

Here are some pics from Sunday. If you were one of those taking pictures and have not gotten those to us yet please do.

E320 – Columbia Church has a new home

November 30, 2011

Columbia Church and Friends,

This may be lengthy as there is a lot to communicate, but it is exciting so get comfortable for 5 minutes.

Thank you for the generosity that you show with your time, money and talent. You are a critical part of the growth and vision of Columbia Church. This last week I hope you have had an opportunity to think about and to show gratitude for the good things in your life. I want you to know that I am deeply grateful for everyone who has partnered with Columbia Church. I took the time this week to pray for each and every Columbia Church participant and contributor-you are vital to this ministry.

Sunday, October 20th we announced our intent to move Columbia Church to a new location at 220 North Royal Tower Rd as our lease on the downtown campus will end January 2012. We are very grateful to Columbia Crossroads Church for being so hospitable and allowing us to occupy their space. Knowing that our current location was not a long term solution we have looked at several other possible locations both in the downtown area and elsewhere. On June 14th of this year another church gifted us a seven acre piece of property with 2 buildings on it. We are very excited and completely humbled that God has entrusted us with this stewardship. As we evaluated this property we wanted to make sure that using this property enabled us to better accomplish our vision. After much prayer, counsel, and evaluation we have decided that moving to this property is the best move for Columbia Church and we are planning on having our first service at the new campus on January 8, 2012.

We are calling the effort to move our church “E320”. We believe that we must continue to take bold steps of faith in order to see God do all he wants to do in and through us. The love of our heavenly father compels us to do all we can to see more people reached and moving to this new campus will enable us to do just that-reach more! We exist to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. That is what we do and that will never change. Physically where that occurs will likely change again and again as we grow and as God grants us opportunities to expand our influence.

Ephesians 3:19-21     and I pray for you to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Some of you will likely see your children make decisions to follow Jesus at this new campus. I hope all of you will experience the joy of seeing a friend or co-worker enter into a relationship with Jesus, because you invested and invited them. This new campus will enable us to create environments where life change can happen.

As we prepare for this move there is considerable remodeling to be done. You can help. We have secured a contractor who is helping us determine what work can be done by volunteers and what work needs professional skilled labor. The list of things you can help with is extensive. Please plan on joining us December 3, 10, and 17, as we host campus work days to prepare our new home for guests. We will meet at the 220 campus from 8:30 – 12:30 those days. Child care will be provided.

If you can help on any of those days please let us know by completing the form HERE. This will help us plan for your attendance and make sure we have plenty of help for childcare.

The price tag associated with the completion of this remodeling project is $25,000. That may seem like a large number to some, but over the last 2 weeks, even before we even began talking about the moneys needed we had already collected $10,000. I am convinced that God will give us all the resources needed to make this project happen successfully. If you would like to make a contribution simply designate your check with “E320 Campus Remodeling” in the memo, or you can give on through our website HERE. If you give online click the “E320 (Campus Remodeling)” designation button so we can easily mark your contribution for this project.

So, I have 2 questions to ask for you. Would please pray and ask God how you might contribute financially? And would you please consider signing-up to volunteer for one or more of the work days coming up?

We will not stop taking bold steps of faith to see people reached with the love of our heavenly father. Thank you for being a part of the team God is using to advance Columbia Church.

Please keep this entire process in your prayers and I will update you often on our progress.

Thanks,

JD

NEXT

September 21, 2011

If you have been attending Columbia Church we want to encourage you to take a step.

The best first step anyone can take is to attend NEXT. Next is a 20 minute conversational environment where we will share the mission, vision, and strategy of Columbia Church. We will share ways you can get involved on our strategic service teams, and how you can get connected to a community group. NEXT is for everyone looking to get connected or plugged in.

The next NEXT is this coming Sunday, September 25, immediately following of service.

If you are planning on attending please register. You can register online my clicking HERE.

Childcare is provided for children birth – 5th grade.

Thanks for taking a step with us,

JD

Moving forward

September 17, 2011

What a week.

I spent most of the week planning for an exciting fall and winter. As I prayed through and planned sermon schedules, new ministry rollouts, and staff hires this week, I was over and over again hit with the reality that at this time last year, Columbia Church was just beginning. At that time we were not open to the public, met once a month, and were praying and planning for what we hoped God would do. Now just 8 months under our belts the future is brighter then ever before. As I think about all God has done through us and on our behalf I am completely humbled, honored, and anticipating all that is to come. Please take a moment to pray and thank God for His perfect faithfulness, provision, and care for Columbia Church every step along the way.

On Sunday you will likely notice the parking lot at capacity. This is due to the Greek festival which runs from Thursday – Sunday this week. The Greek festival is organized and hosted by the Greek Orthodox Church directly across Calhoun St. from our downtown campus. We have spoken with the festival organizers and we expect the festival to be winding down by Sunday evening, but there will still be increased traffic in our parking lot. We will of course have our host team positioned outside in the parking lot, but please help make sure there are no children in the parking lot without their parents.

Last week I mentioned that we were planning for the launch of “insideout” our first student ministry environment. One of the big needs we had was the need of

another couple to help lead this ministry. After reading that email, a couple came my office and shared how they felt God was leading them to get plugged in helping lead “insideout”. It was so exciting to see how God had again provided exactly what we needed. If you are a student in 6th – 12th grade or a parent of a student please keep an eye out for an important announcement as we will be having a progress meeting in the next few weeks, where we will share the next steps and launch details for “insideout”.

If you are new to Columbia Church and have not yet attended our NEXT environment I would like to invite you. NEXT is a 20 minute conversational environment where you will hear about our mission, vision, and strategy as well as hear about possible next steps you can take to get plugged in and involved. The upcoming NEXT is immediately following the service on Sunday, September 25th. You can register for NEXT by clicking here or by filling out the registration card during our service on Sunday.

At Columbia Church we think the best thing you can do to accelerate your spiritual growth is to get connected to a Community Group. You may have heard us say it this way, “We believe in circles, not rows.” We believe that church in rows is good, but nothing can replace the growth that comes from living your faith out with a small group of close friends.  In a Community Group is where you will find accountability, belonging, and it is the best place to make sure we are caring for each other. If you are not yet connected to a Community Group I would encourage you to attend Grouplink, it is our way of getting people connected to a group. Grouplink is a 6o minute environment where you will meet people from your area of town and your stage of life who are also trying to get connected to a group. If you choose to, you can leave Grouplink plugged into a Community Group anticipating your first meeting together. We really want to see everyone connected and growing, and participating in a Community Group is where that happens best. If you are not yet connected group I would encourage you to sign-up and attend Grouplink. The next Grouplink event is scheduled for Thursday, October 20th at 7:00 PM. Childcare is provided.

I hope you are all enjoying and being challenged by our current series Guardrails. In my opinion tomorrows message is one of the best in the series. I am praying that we will all be changed tomorrow. As always you can will be able to get this message on our website Monday along with the rest of the series.

See you tomorrow.

JD

The Future Is Bright

September 2, 2011

The Future of Columbia Church is BRIGHT!

I shared on Sunday at our Core Worship service that we have several changes ahead of us as a church. As you know Columbia Church has been gifted with a piece of property that includes two buildings and eight acres. This gift was given by Dutch Fork Christian Church in Irmo. They made the decision to close and dissolve their church, and their elders are leading as many people as will come to Columbia Church. What an incredible blessing to receive!  We have now completed a transition process to educate the members of DFCC about Columbia Church, who we are and what we’re all about. Sunday, August 21 marked our first worship service together and we are excited about our future together as one church family.

The two biggest changes ahead of us are: (1) Location. We know we need a better location to hold our services and we are doing research to determine what the best location will be for our next physical move; and (2) Service Time. We know we need to be a church that meets on Sunday morning, not Sunday night.

These decisions are very important to the vision of our church. As we evaluate our physical location, one of the biggest questions we try to answer is, “Will this location be inviting and pleasant for a single mom with a 2 year old?” We know that our current location does not meet that standard and, therefore, is not our best option. As we have purposed ourself to be a church that “un-churched people will love to attend,” we know that when an un-churched person makes the decision to attend a church they will most likely be looking to attend on Sunday morning.

These two issues are critical for us to answer as quickly as we can so we can more effectively lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

I am getting some great feedback about our new Guardrails series.

I received this from a dad of a teenager:

“The Guardrails illustration has been extremely valuable to me as a parent because it has enabled me to talk with my teenager about my love for them and why as a parent I choose to place limits on what they can and can not do or be a part of.”

No matter who you are, we all need to understand and implement the spiritual truth of the guardrail. If you missed Part 1 of this series you can always get our messages online HERE. Please share this helpful content with someone either by sending them a link to the messages online or by inviting them to experience Columbia Church in person. You can always send e-vites from our website HERE.

I cannot wait for Part 2 of the Guardrails series and hope to see you all Sunday at Columbia Church.

Creating a church that un-churched people will love to attend.

JD

Home Free, Even Me

May 30, 2011

What an amazing service last night!

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who made it happen. Your effort is having eternal impact, thank you for giving of your tallent, time, and resources.

The message is online on the Media/Messages page HERE, but I also wanted to post the worship set for anyone who wanted to share our experience last night or watch it again. Enjoy!

See you next week,

JD

 

A few things I want you to know

May 28, 2011

I want to share with you some exciting things happening around Columbia Church.

NEXT

NEXT is a 20 minute environment where we communicate the mission and vision of our church, and create an easy and accessible next step for people to get involved.  We launched NEXT on May 22nd, and saw huge success.  Seven individuals attended, and all took steps toward Columbia Church by joining teams and community groups!  It is exciting to watch people take steps!

UpStreet and Waumba Land

Over the last month we have had some amazing growth in our family ministry department.  Attendance in our family ministry environments has increased almost 100%.  I spoke yesterday with a visiting family who said that their children cannot stop talking about how much fun they have in WaumbaLand and UpStreet.  To everyone who serves on our family ministry teams you are making a huge impact on these families!  Your investment is definitely one of eternal significance.  Thank you!

Sermon Series

We hope you were challenged and encouraged with the series “Losing Your Religion.” I got to have several conversations with people about how God used this series to move them into a deeper

relationship with Jesus.  If you missed any part of the series, or would like to send the link to a friend so they can view it, you can find those messages on our website HERE.

I am looking forward to the next several weeks at Columbia Church as we have some really powerful

services planned.  I have been praying for this coming Sunday all week as will be showing an incredible message from Louie Giglio.  This will be the first time we have used a video communicator other than Andy Stanley, but I promise you, you will not be disappointed.  You will be challenged and moved by the message he has for us.

Then starting on June 5th we will be starting a series by Andy Stanley called “Staying in Love.”  This will be one of the most applicable and helpful series we present all year!  I cannot wait for both the single people and married couples in our church to experience this series.  It illuminates the pitfalls of romance, and reveals the principles behind staying in love–not just falling in love.

As always you can invite friends to our future services by using the online e-vite HERE.

Hope to see you soon,

JD

Easter Wins + Loosing Your Religion

May 5, 2011

I spent a few hours last week thinking through and thanking God for some of the many wins that came out of our Good Friday and Easter Celebration service last week. Here are the top 5.

5. Brian, Phillip, Jimmy, and Christa did amazing job leading worship and creating an excellent environment where we could all worship and respond to the Spirit of God.

4. People invited their friends. We had 5 1st time visiting families.

3. We were able to both create excellent family ministry environments and give almost all our volunteers the evening off to attend the adult worship environment. Thank you for all your hard work!

2. Highest attendance since our launch on January 30th. We had higher attendance in both adult and family ministry environments. The total attendance was up 29.7% from the previous 4 weeks.

1. Lives were changed as we remembered Jesus’ death, resurrection, and future return through communion. What a powerful experience to take communion together as a church.

I want to say a huge “Thank You” to all the Host Team, Production Team, and all the volunteers who made the evening an awesome experience and celebration!

As we look ahead I want to encourage all of us to keep inviting and sharing the vision of Columbia Church. We just kicked off a new series entitled “Losing Your Religion”. You can send an e-vite from our website HERE.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

I love leading and serving with you,

JD

 

The Stakes Are Too High

February 18, 2011

It has been two weeks since the Grand Opening of Columbia Church.  What a high it has been to see our team’s hard work materialize into something real.  We have created a church that un-churched people can attend and enjoy!  This has only been possible because there are 30+ volunteers who give enormous amounts of time and energy to make Columbia Church happen.  I am blown away!  You are the best team I could ever ask for!

Our natural tendency will be to back off and relaxe a little–to just take it easy for a few weeks to recuperate and regroup after such a huge accomplishment.  Please hear this: The stakes are too high!  The urgency of our mission demands our best and our continued effort!  We started this church to see un-churched people begin a relationship with our heavenly father.  If we back off now we will miss seeing someone step across the line of faith because we wanted to take a breather, and I am not OK with that.

So here is what we are doing about it…

1. We are creating a better system for strategic service teams…because we want more people to join the team!

2. And we are ramping up our Guest Services experience…because our guests are worth it.

We are investing our energy into developing sustainable strategic service teams.  I know you put tons of time and energy into the service roles you perform, and we want you to know how valuable that contribution is.  To create strong teams, we want every team to adopt a schedule that allows for its members to have weeks off in a rotation.  We know how much it means to be able to worship with your family, and we want to create a system that allows for that.

On March 6th we will launch Core Worship.  Core Worship is a 15 – 30 minute experience where we will worship together, share stories, and pray for each other.  This will allow everyone to be a part of worship and connect with the Columbia Church family–even if you cannot be in the adult worship environment because you are serving during the 6:00 service.  We are constantly looking for ways to improve your strategic service experience.

Along with the more systematic and organized service teams we are also creating an assimilation system so that new people can easily get connected, receive training, and start serving along side the awesome volunteers who make Columbia Church happen.  So be on the lookout for new volunteers in your areas of ministry!

The second area where we are investing a lot of energy is our guest services experience.  I believe that if you are willing to invite someone to church, we must make sure that your guest has an amazing experience.  I recently asked our team, “What would an over-the-top guest service experience look like?”  The answer to this question is both far-reaching and critically important.  Far-reaching because it involves everything: parking lot attendants, family ministry check-in systems, signage, ministry environments and music.  And critically important because we want to make sure the guests you invite will have such a positive experience with us that they will want to come back.

Columbia Church is great–not because Andy Stanley preaches here, or because we have the best music, or anything else.  Columbia Church is great because there are people like you–willing to invest your time, energy, talent and treasure into seeing our vision advance!  Thanks for being a part of the team!

Last week as I sat on the front row before the service started I introduced myself to two women sitting directly behind me.  As we talked I asked them how they heard about Columbia Church.  One of them told me that her mother had attended our Grand Opening and could not stop talking about it.  So she came.  The funny part about her attending was that her mother was out of town Sunday evening, so she invited a friend to come with her instead.  One person’s excitement resulted in two more people hearing about how much their heavenly father loves them!

The stakes are high.  God has given us a great challenge; and we are poised to meet it because of your help and commitment.

See you Sunday (and invite a friend),

JD

Run-through

January 26, 2011