pastor and church life

For the Ministers of the New Covenant, Proclaimers of the Faith, the Preachers of the Good News..

This Blog post may be rather long. It may read like I am venting a bit, and maybe I am. Or, maybe what is written below reflects the heart of God for His kids.

I am 50 years old and for over 20 years of ministry I still do not get it. Maybe it's part of my "call" to address, but right now and for many years it's really been just a huge point of frustration for me. I dont understand it, I do not like it, and I hope to Jesus that I am never deceived in this way again. Ever...

It almost cost me my life.

Jesus had much to say about forgiveness. In fact, the core of the New Covenant is completely absorbed in forgiveness. The problem we have in the church, (not that this is the only problem we have in the church) is that we want forgiveness without giving forgiveness. We want to be accepted without being accepting. We crave to be loved by others, without loving others. It's a sindemic (my word) to say the least.

But the biggest problem I am seeing is not in the pews, but au contraire, it's in the pulpits. And without a doubt, as many ministers will read this, many will ignore it as just a vent and not a warning. Pastor, you cannot continue to stay complicit with Satan's device of unforgiveness while at the same time experience God's best for you and your ministry. It just doesn't work that way. Your making the same mistake that Samson made, in that you don't realize that the Spirit of God has drawn back from your life and ministry and much of what you are doing is by the strength of your own arm, and not the arm of the Lord.

We all make mistakes. I wish that I had a dime for every mistake that I have made because I would love to be a very wealthy man. No one is immune to mistakes, mess ups, or even sin. No one is, and when you think that you'll never do what you read about someone else doing, you're at the very thresh hold of crossing over to do the very same thing.

Please forgive your brother. And, I don't mean that wimpy, milk toast forgiveness that the Body of Christ is known for. Go to them. Call them, allow them to come to you. Let's be the more mature ones. Do whatever it takes to have that face to face meeting and allow Him who promises to be in the midst of you to help get things right between you two, or three, or four....

Forgiveness without confrontation and representation is not forgiveness. It's cowardice and Satanic. It's Satan's way of planting and allowing a cancer to to grow and ultimately ruin a church. It's slow, deceptive, and will be the thing that keeps a move of God's presence from invading your (my) city.

We minister's should be running to one another right now. We should be gathering together for prayer and direction, companionship and help, care and comradery. It's just the truth, our cities, churches, and spiritual lives depend on it.

The city that I minister in deserves and needs much more than my ability to put a sermon together. The people of Rome need more than a great children's  and youth ministry. Even our prayer ministry is just good enough to facilitate and maintain a move of God's Spirit in our community unless I, and my leaders are people of love and forgiveness. To think anything else is to be deceived.

I want you to think about something. We are called ministers of the New Covenant, proclaimers of the faith, preachers of the good news... How, on God's wonderful green and blue planet do we ever get to the place in our thoughts that it is okay to hold offense against someone else? Regardless of what they have done, or did not do?

I have found this to be true. Most, and I do mean most, of the time someone gets offended at someone else is because the one offended has, and puts UN-COMMUNICATED expectations on the one they are offended at. Not always, but in many, many cases this is the way it plays out. Others still, it's because of unmitigated facts, or gossip, and then lastly, the smallest amounts of offense are due to just a plain ol actual offense.

Never the less, there is no one outside of God's love, Grace and Mercy. The same, my friend, ought to be spoken of us.

More on this subject later.

I love you all...

P. Douglas

Revival Talks...

As I am typing this it is pouring down outside. Refreshing rain from the lower heavens bringing so much of what the earth needs in order to be healthy. and produce each living thing after it's own. It makes me wonder and yet have hope of when the church will receive the precious spiritual rain from the Higher Heaven.

Are we in a place to receive? Are we ready? Would we even recognize it when it begins? Are we satisfied with "having church", or are we really ready for more of what He has for us?

For revival to be ours there has to be a change. I wish it was as easy as it sounds, but it's just isn't. Even for those of us who have learned to embrace change in the natural realm of things, when Heaven invades our place of authority and world it can be very tough to navigate.

Micah referred to the coming Messiah as the "Breaker". He not only breaks the things off of us that we recognize as harmful, (sin, sickness, poverty), but wants to break the things off of us that are just as detrimental to us, things we have embraced as good, but through His eyes have become the enemy of what is best. Traditions, life patterns, theology and philosophies that are not His are not safe when the ferocious Breaker is allowed to invade our religious world.

I wish that every believer would, not "could" experience just a few of the things we are experiencing @ Journey Church. I write this with all humility because I know that the Lord desires for His kids to have all that He is in every service and in every opportunity. And although it has been good, I know that there is much more that He wants to do with and through us.

Yesterday, I had one of my staff ministers preach for me during the Sunday Morning service. Andrea did a fantastic job as I knew that she would. She is a great teacher with an anointing that's as passionate as any one I've ever had speak for me. Our church will see her up on stage on a regular basis. While she was taking the service, I had decided to serve our children's ministers and help teach the kids in our elementary class. I was overwhelmed to say the least when all of the children got there because of the things the Lord clued me in too.

As I was having fun with the children the Lord gave me a glimpse of Heavens perspective of them. I was in a room of royalty. I was in a room of kids who weren't future Ministry gifts, but are called ministry gifts now. As their leader/servant, I have realized the important job that we have as stewards and protectors of the anointing on these children. It is literally the most important ministry of our church! If we truly would allow Heaven's perspective to invade our view of children's ministry, we would see that these kids are the ONLY hope to their generation, and the one following them. They will be what WE put in them. By the way, the Lord confirmed this last night as I was led to pray for a 7 year old girl in our church who has been laying her little hands on people and yes, they have been getting healed.

Do you want to experience this? It's not easy, but it is simple.

Come to the Lord with three things. An open bible, an open heart, and an open mouth.

See you this Sunday.

I love you all....

Pastor Douglas

 

The Revival Network....

I know that I have not posted in a few weeks. Actually since the week of the Launch of Journey Church. I've done that on purpose for several reasons not to elaborate them on here.

Now that @JourneyRome is up and going, and going pretty strong I might add, I feel the need to make a change in the way, and the subject of my Blog posts. but before I tell you what that is and what it will look like, please allow me the freedom for a quick commercial break.

If you are not following us on twitter you can do so by following one of these twitter account names. Mine is of course, @douglascrumby, Journey's is, @JourneyRome. Through those you'll be able to also follow many of the leaders that make Journey so great. So get that twitter account set up!

Now, for the things I wanted to share.

Since the launch of Journey Church 4 weeks ago we have witnessed God do some pretty amazing things. 48 people have made a decision to follow Christ and before that in our pre-launch meetings we were very blessed to witness 95 people come to Christ. That's 143 for those of you who are counting, and counting we are!

You see, I once was in that system. I had perfected that system. You know the one. It's the system of church growth that counts butts and bills. Church effectivness is based on how many people you can get to sit in a seat, and how much money that you can rake in. Not any more....

We count Salvations, Baptisms, and how many Bibles we can give away.

Beginning on my next post I'll be talking a lot about the things that make-up revival. This is because I believe that we are in the middle of one, and I want to do everything that I can to help it spread to other churches and other cities as well. What is revival, what it looks like, and how do you know what to do with it will be blogged about. How to maintain a move of God's Spirit, and what is the role of the Ministry gifts are things that I will be touching on.

I am so hungry for Heaven to Invade our Earth that it's all that I want to talk or think about.

I know that Heaven is a perfect place and I look forward to the day I get to leave this planet and go there. However, while I am here, I want to experience as much as Heaven has on this earth right now. I want to help YOU experience it as well.

We'll chat soon...

Pastor Douglas

 

What I do not want.....

In just a few shorts days we will be celebrating the official launch and grand opening of Journey Church in Rome GA. Go here for the official website. As we get closer to the official birth of this church I am giving some serious thought to the things that I absolutely do not want to have in a church, and the things that I absolutely want to see. Below are a few of my thoughts.

I DO NOT want another status quo church. Maintenance is not a word that we will use much. Leadership will be a common word in our phrases and verbiage.

I DO NOT want another church that has replaced the anointing and the presence of God with smoke machines and technology. Even though we will use technology, it is a tool. We will NEVER advertise how cool we are because of all the Macs, IPads, or smart phones. We will use technology for 4 things.

1. Help us to better communicate to everyone
2. Keep a record of the things God will be doing
3. Make it easier for people to connect with one another and God's Word.
4. Enhance the preaching of God's Word in order to reach all types of learners.

Technology does not set the atmosphere for God to move in our services, praise and worship does.

I DO NOT want another church that has fought "Religion" with simply trying to be cool and relevant. All we will have produced is another religion. I refuse to replace traditionalism with secularism. Both are just as religious as the other. God can rock your world even if you are wearing a 3 piece suit and drinking Kool-aid just as easy as He can when you're drinking Starbucks and the wearing the latest designer jeans.

I DO NOT want another church that spends tons of time, money and energy in trying to keep mature saints from leaving. Most of our money will be spent on the youth and children's areas, missions, and helping local ministries. Honestly, we probably will at some point, but even if the floors never get finished, it is not and will not be a concern that I have.

We will have nice stuff, do everything that we do in excellence, and not be cheap and call it frugality. However, people are much more important than the type of piano or keyboard that we use.

I DO NOT want another church where the praise and worship services are designed to make us so good that we are recordable. We will be very good, but our main desire is to help create an atmosphere for the anointing to flow whether we ever record or not.

I DO NOT want another church that has a sweet little prayer time. Instead of a church that prays, we will be a praying church, and if it has to get messy, then let it get messy.

I DO NOT, and let me say this again, I DO NOT want another church that is embarrassed of the Holy Spirit. He wants people reached more than we do, and knows more about the hurt and pain of mankind than all of our Seminary professors, church planting specialists, mega-church pastors and the experts all combined. We will talk about Him a lot, after all He is the most important person at any of our services. I do not want to pastor another church whereby if He were to leave most people would never know.

So what is it that I want for and in Journey Church?

I WANT a church that is alive spiritually. I want a church that is full of people who are excited to get to church, excited to worship and get into God's presence, excited about the preaching of God's Word, and excited about being used by Him through-out the week.

I WANT a church that is generous with their money, extravagant with their love, and committed to their growth as believers.

I WANT a church where Honor is commonplace, and forgiveness is the norm.

I WANT a church where everyone is welcome, and we really mean it. That it does not matter what someone has done in their past, or even the lifestyle they are involved in right now.

I WANT a church where no matter what lifestyle people have chosen, it is easy for them to come to God.

I WANT a church that is WELCOME to everyone who is gay or lesbian, straight or curious, divorced, or single, promiscuous, or celibate.

I WANT a church that every alcoholic, drug addict, prostitute and gang-banger would feel welcome.

I WANT a church where everyone understands that the Holy Spirit is the one who can fix people. It's just our job to catch them, it's His job to clean.

I WANT a church that is like Jesus, we are not afraid of the sin of others.

I WANT a church full of the people that no one else wants.

I WANT a church where it is clear that Jesus is Lord, God is our King, and the Holy Spirit is welcome to bring Heaven to our services every time that we meet.

I WANT a church where you'd be welcome....

God help us to raise up that church....

Pastor Douglas

 

About Chik-fil-A...

Alright, let me start out by saying that I intended to write something about this yesterday but before I could do so I saw a post from a friend who had re-posted the following from Perry Noble. It was better than what I would have written. I would have simply linked to the article; however, Perry's blog was getting so much traffic that it was operating at a snails pace. Therefore, I want to share the entire thing with you here. Thanks to Perry Noble for the thoughts! Enjoy.

 

_____ Let me begin by saying I absolutely LOVE Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. (Gonna go ahead and tell you that Oatmeal Cookie Chunk is THE BEST flavor I’ve EVER had!!) A few years ago I went to Wal Mart (the closest thing to hell I can imagine…that and the DMV), found my favorite flavor and decided to tweet that I was purchasing some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream…and doing so “unleashed the hounds” in a sense. Honestly, I’ve never experienced anything like it, “Christians” began @ replying me on twitter condemning me and scolding me for buying this product because apparently Ben & Jerry’s supported gay rights/same sex marriage. Honestly, it bothered me. Because, first of all…I wasn’t trying to make a political statement I was simply trying to get some chunky monkey and some oatmeal cookie crunch.

I like ice cream…I believe it will be served in heaven (with ZERO calories)! And second, it has broken my heart the way that many who claim to follow Christ have treated those who are homosexuals. We’ve yelled at them, ignored them and in some cases damned them to hell without EVER sitting down and actually having a conversation with someone who is gay. “But Perry,” you say, “the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin.” Let me put my cards on the table and say that I agree; however, for too long the church has seemed to be obsessed with the sins that we do not struggle with; after all, if I am pointing out the sins of others I don’t have to deal with my own. People have taken me to I Corinthians 6:9-11 before and said, “look, the Bible says that homosexuals will NOT inherit the kingdom of God.” I always try my best to point out that also included in that list are… * The sexually immoral (anyone been watching porn?) * Idolaters (anyone love anyone or anything more than Jesus?) * Adulterers (see Matthew 5:27-28) * Thieves * The greedy (uh oh!) * Drunkards (tailgating season is quickly approaching) * Slanderers (uh oh, a lot of bloggers and women’s Bible studies are in trouble!) * After looking at this list I would say we are all pretty much screwed unless Jesus intervenes. And…while I am at it why don’t I just go ahead and throw out that gluttony is way more of a problem in the church today than homosexuality!!! (Please see Proverbs 23:2…pretty intense!!! ONLY in the church can people that are huge condemn people who are homosexual and somehow feel like that they are spiritually superior!)

Do I hate homosexuals or have a “homophobia?” Absolutely not! (And, let me be VERY clear that as a child I was molested…TWICE…by men who were older than me. I have no idea if they were or are practicing homosexuals…but I can honestly say that I have forgiven them and do not think that because of what they did to me that homosexuals are bad people!) So, if a company or an organization wants to support gay rights/same sex marriage I don’t believe that Christians should boycott and/or protest them (come on people, has that REALLY worked for us in the past?)

Jesus went after the hearts of people far from Him throughconversation, not condemnation. Yes, sin must be called what it is, even at the risk of offending people: however, when it is done so with a hateful spirit then Jesus is NOT exalted, thus making the confrontation of sin sinful! We live in America…and people have the right to say what they want to say… Which brings me to Chick-fil-A… I love Chick-fil-A…I probably eat there no less than five times a week (no, I am not making that up!) The fact that Truett Cathy has built a business from the ground up and has sought to honor Jesus every step of the way is an inspiration to me.

Every Chick-fil-A I’ve ever been in has excellent food and excellent customer service…and I believe I read the other day that they made 4.1 billion dollars last year (not bad!) Recently Dan Cathy (the current CEO) was asked about his stance on same sex marriage. He did not issue any inflammatory remarks. He did not attempt to call anyone by any derogatory names. He was not hateful in his comments. He did not say that people who are gay would not be hired and/or served at Chick-Fil-A restaurants. He simply stated that he holds to the traditional/biblical view of marriage (which is his right as an American citizen.) And it seemed the world lost its mind. It’s quite sad really that those who scream for tolerance seem to be intolerant of anyone who does not hold to their particular view. No one in the media screamed “foul” when corporations came out in support of same sex marriage; however, when one company spoke out against it in a non condemning tone people were calling for a boycott…even provoking the mayor of the city of Boston to say that Chick-Fil-A was not welcome in the city. (Uh…wow, talk about tolerance! Honestly, I believe the city of Boston needs Chick-fil-A way more than Chick-fil-A needs the city of Boston!)

All I am saying is this…I believe as an American everyone has the right to free speech. I also believe as a Christian we have the right to speak the truth in love as it applies to the Scriptures and should not fear doing so because we may be perceived as politically incorrect. Biblical truth (IN LOVE) always trumps political correctness. Honestly, I respect and admire Mr. Cathy as he took a very unpopular stand on one of the most controversial matters of our day. AND…as I’ve stated before, he did it with a non-condemning attitude.

It simply needs to be pointed out that people on both sides of this argument have been way less than civil with each other…which does nothing more than proves the insecurity in us if we feel like we have to “lower the boom” on people who do not see exactly as we see. Honestly, it is my prayer that people on both sides of the argument would stop yelling at each other and talking about one another and actually sit down and talk to one another understanding that just because two people do not agree on an issue does not mean they have the right to hate one another for it. Conversation is NOT compromise…it’s actually Christ like! And our world would be a MUCH better place if those who called themselves Christians would step up and lead the way in this, understanding John 3:17 is the attitude that we are called to have!

To the folks who serve with me in leadership @Journey Church, Thank you! I know that I do not tell you enough, but you guys are Awesome!

Everything is falling into place as we are getting closer to our official launch. 4 more weeks! Most of the graphics are done, signs are being ordered, invite cards are being finished, t-shirts are designed, interviews are being scheduled, and all of the web stuff is in place.

I'm going to be giving away a few special gifts on launch Sunday, including an IPad.

Those remaining "Bless ed" call centers in our building have been removed and we're just a few days from having the entire 30,000 square feet cleaned out. I'm very thankful to the guys from the work release program for their hard work last Saturday.

This coming Saturday, July 28th we are having our first women's conference. The theme is Wonderfully Unique, and the women's ministry is called, "Radiant". 5pm till 8pm at the Journey. You MUST RSVP due to the food being catered. Email us at office@jcrome.com

We're having our second baptism this coming Sunday in as many months. Its not to late to sign up, just send us n email at office@jcrome.com and we will make sure you get the right info.

I just made the switch from a 20 year relationship with the NKJV and KJV bibles to the newer HCSB version. I don't know if you have seen one yet, but it is worth checking out. Today was my first at preaching out of it. Honestly, I think it went well. Really well.

Don't forget united prayer tomorrow night at 6:30pm, and Dream Team meets this Wednesday at 7pm.

See you then!

Pastor Douglas

I've been at a unique but good place with the Lord lately as He has been nudging me back towards some of the very basics of prayer, faith, healing, prosperity, and who we are in Christ.

I learned a long time ago to preach the things that the Lord is showing me, teaching me, and taking me through. I don't prepare sermons for the people, I try and always preach from the overflow of what the Lord is doing in me. So our folks are getting a heavy dose of the basics right now.

I get a lot of what I minister on Sunday during the time of corporate prayer that we have every Monday night at 6:30pm. You should do your best to be there. It's been some of richest and best times of prayer I have ever experienced. Tonight I plan to shake it up just a bit. Everyone is welcome.

There's a great big spiritual giant in each one of us trying to get out and be revealed to the earth. We need the church to get back to some of the basics of prayer and be who they are called to be. Without good, effective, right praying, the church ceases to be the church and becomes nothing more than a social club.

This Wednesday at 7pm we are having our New Members class. If you have been wondering what Journey is all about, here is your opportunity to come out, hear the vision and ask tons of questions.

On the 29th of this month, July, we are doing something that we have never done before. We are having another Baptism service, but this time its OPEN to the entire public. So, if you are needing to be baptized, be @ the Journey Church at 10:30am, the 29th of July and we will get you dunked. :)

If you'd like, go to my, or Journey's FaceBook page and download the cover photo and make it yours. We need to get the word out about the upcoming church launch to as many people in our area as possible. Any help you can give will be much appreciated. Our goal is 500 people on opening Sunday.

We welcome youth pastors Brandon and Anna Ball to Journey Church! This coming Sunday right after service we are having a "get to know them" reception for all of the teens and their parents. There will be refreshments.

I want to highlight some of the great people we have at Journey Church. Brittany Weeks. I'm not sure if you know her, but most of the homeless in our city do. She and her husband Eric have been a champion in feeding the homeless every Saturday in downtown Rome. I salute what you guys are doing to be a blessing, and reach people for Christ. You are true leaders that our city needs to look to as examples of being the hands and feet of Jesus. I love you guys much!

See you tonight at prayer....

Pastor Douglas

Yesterday was probably one of the Best moves of God's Spirit that we have had to date. It was amazing to say the least.

The new songs our guys are doing from Jesus Culture is outstanding.

This whole weekend was slammed with one thing after another. Friday night At the Movies went very well and we had a ton of fun.

One of the highlights of this past weekend was the joint prayer and worship service we had with a few of our local churches at the City Auditorium. I can say that it was the Best joint service that I have ever been a part of. The pastors of these churches are some of the greatest guys I know. leading some of the greatest churches in our county.

I look forward to the futere of our city and what the church world here will look like in just a few years.

I met with Nathan Roberts this morning who is running for a seat on the Floyd County Commission Post 1. I highly recommend him for this position. He makes me very excited about the future of our community.

This Friday night At the Movies will be something for the whole family, I believe that we will be showing the movie Miracle. 7pm, free movie, popcorn and a COOL auditorium.

The month of July has us all gearing up for launch Sunday on August 19th. We will be increasing the advertising each week as we get closer to the date. That Sunday will be crazy amazing. I'm even giving away a free Ipad to some blessed visitor. Dont tell anyone.

If you're able to be there we're having our ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow with the local Chamber of Commerce, Tuesday the 10th of July at 10am sharp. I'd love to see you there.

Have a GREAT week, on me...

Pastor Douglas

 

Last week saw a ton more done with the demolition. It won't be long and all of the call centers and carpet squares will be gone forever. Craigslist is our friend.

We began the new series yesterday, At the Movies and the first service went very well. Two more came up to receive Christ. Over 50 people have made a commitment to follow Jesus since May 1st, and we haven't even launched yet.

The band nailed it on the song about the Holy Spirit. It's now one of my favorites.

Danielle's stage design was over the top.

Our leadership team met again yesterday, (as we do each Sunday) and we are shifting a majority of our focus towards our launch Sunday which will be August 19th. 2012

July will be full of marketing as we plan to heavily saturate our city using as much guerrilla marketing as humanly possible.

God has sent us at least five people that I know of who are strong in the gift of an Evangelist. I love watching them bring people in each week.

This Saturday night I am looking forward to Awaken Rome event. It will be at the Rome City Auditorium as several of our local pastors and congregations come together to pray over our city. 6:30pm I am expecting great results to come out of this.

I'm glad we got some rain last night.

See you Friday night at 7pm as we are showing a free movie. giving away free popcorn, and have a very special door prize. I promise you'll not want to miss out, and... I promise that we'll have the air on low...

Pastor Douglas

Church Updates...

This past few days have been some of the sweetest/toughest days of ministry yet.

Our prayer services on Monday night have continued to get richer each week as we continue to press in as we are praying for our city.

This past Sunday was another "highest attendance to date". Some of the guys put together and set out another 100 chairs last night.

With the influx of people so fast we are at neck-break speed to set up the structure and systems that help us to minister to everyone.

Along with that, we're running out of children's space, so we've started the demolition of the southern area of our building. It's very exciting, but is also very labor intensive. This is where I thank God for Craigslist and have been able to get a few people who are willing to tear down call centers for the free material in them.

After this is over I hope I never see a strand of Cat-5 cable again.

Phase II of our remodel will be beginning soon.

I'm meeting with a few local pastors this week to plan a city-wide prayer and praise service that is being held at the Rome City Auditorium on July 7th. Great days are ahead for our city.

In July we are going to be having a movie night each Friday night of the week, 7pm. The movie, the popcorn and drinks are all free to everyone, so come on out where we will have the AC's running full blast, and have a night out on us.

The ladies are putting on a Women's conference at the end of July. I love all the things I am hearing, and the creativity that is going on to make it an amazing event. More info will be on our website soon.

Dre spoke last night at our Dream Team and I have to say it was over the top. I have some of the most gifted speakers and ministers on my team and am very pleased with each and every one of them.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Douglas

Some have wondered why I am only blogging updates about our church on every post I make each week. Here are the reasons....

1. Communication amongst a congregation, and to a congregation is one of the toughest things to master. Even with our web site, Journey Church, our FaceBook page, all of our leaders FaceBook pages, Twitter, video announcements, printed materials, and having Dre give the announcements each week, there are still people who don't get communicated with. So I am using my Blog to try and over communicate information.
2. Journey Church is growing faster than what we had anticipated, especially this soon. Our plan was and still is to have our official launch/opening service on the 19th of August. We decided on this date because typically the summer months are down in attendance, and it picks up when school starts back. We are growing now during a time we were planning to build out rooms, raise up leaders, and develop structure.
3. If our current growth curve continues, we probably will launch on August 19th with 2 services.
4. We are still doing those things, however with the fast growth and influx of people we are doing everything we can to drive people to the web for as much information as we can give them. Social media has been a God-send for us.
5. You can go to our FaceBook page, Journey FaceBook and hit the like button to keep up with us too.

Having written all of this:

This coming Sunday, June 24th we will be doing our first Baby/child dedication. During the eleven o'clock service I'll be laying hands on and praying over your children. Think of it like a blessing of the bikes, but it will be a blessing of the kids. (Little humor there)

This Thursday the 21st there will be a game night at the church for al those 18 to 30. 7pm

"At the Movies" will be the theme for the month of July. Every Friday night we will be showing a movie with all of the fixins for free. This will be a great time to come hang out with your friends, make new ones, and enjoy a great movie, all for free. More info will be on our web site.

Oh and don't forget, the engine that drives all that has been happening has been our prayer service. Every Monday night at 6:30pm.

Love you all!

Pastor Douglas

@Journey Updates and some Randominity...

We had our very first Baptism yesteday. 15 total with more already signed up for next month. Here's a picture.

I'm about to put forth some more structure that will enable us to better minister to those coming. Pray that folks don't get into the flesh.

We just asked Brandon and Anna Ball to move here from Orlando and be our youth ministers. (they accepted) We are real excited about this.

Tony and Donna Howard will be coming in this week. He will be starting out right away on our Excutive Leadership Team helping us with assimulation, and ministry to people.

Our children's minister, Janafer Weems is doing an absolutly outstanding job with the kids. We're having to begin more demolition just because they kids area is running out of room. With 30,000 square feet of space, we should be okay. :)

I'm not excited about all the work that will begin soon, but I am excited about the outcome because of it.

God is moving every week in our services. We are seeing people born again, or rededicated every single week. It's starting to feel a lot like revival.

I'm learning a lot about tribes, and how we as the church should look at our community this way.

Every Monday at 6:30pm we have our prayer service which is the catalyst for all that we are seeing God do at the Journey. I hope to see you there!

This coming Sunday is Father's Day! I'll be on Day 2 of the Circle Maker Series, which has turned out to be our most listened to sermon off of our web site. Journey Church

Bring your dad to church this Sunday!

Love you all!

Pastor Douglas

Updates and Happenings...

Our Band nailed it on every song yesterday. Especially on the one, I Saw the Light. It rocked the whole place.

The money for Phase I of our building project is all in!

Now, due to outgrowing some of the children's areas, we are going to be kicking off Phase II in just a few short weeks. This will be for:

1. Building out the rest of the area for the children
2. Building out the church offices
3. Raising the ceiling above the stage and installing new LED light packages
4. Finish removing ALL of the call centers from the entire building
5. Building all of the permanent walls for our auditorium

I love my church!

Our ELT, (Executive Leadership Team) met yesterday for about 5 hours and was able to work through some tough issues that will further our ministry and outreach. I love these guys. I can honestly say that I am having more fun, and work with the greatest/smartest people I have ever had the pleasure of doing life with.

We took our youth rafting this past Saturday, and as always, I dominated on the river. We really did have a blast.

I have a HUGE announcement coming up concerning our youth....stay tuned.

We are all looking forward to the arrival of Tony and Donna Howard. They will be adding so much to our Church's ministry, and stability.

One of the best things I have done of late is to make Dre Fillmore our Communications and Connections Minister.

Baptism is this coming Sunday! It is going to be an amazing day. People are still signing up and it looks like there will be a ton of folks. It's not to late, just email us at debbie@jcrome.com if you are interested in getting wet this Sunday.

Headed to Monday night prayer..

Peace....

Huge Updates....

Tonight is the launch of our Dream Team meetings. If your still unsure what that is, its an every wednesday night meeting we will be having @ 7pm for everyone who serves as a ministry partner. (Every volunteer at Journey Church)

Our leadership is about to go to a whole nuther level

I cannot even grasp for one minute all that God is doing in our church. Over 30 people have come to Christ in the past 30 days, and we haven't even had our official launch yet. I believe the baptism service on the 10th of June will be over the top.

We're opening the Baptism up to anyone in our city that needs to be baptized. Be at the Journey Church, 15 Redmond Court, 11am, on Sunday the 10th of June.

Our worship leader, Mark Hilliard will be on ABC's Duet show this Thursday night at 8pm. We are so proud of you Mark!

 We're down to about $6500 and the One Thing Campaign will be over...But, because of the fast growth of our church we are having to start Phase 2 sooner than we thought. We are out of room for the children's ministry and will probably be launching this stage in just a few weeks.

I'm already gathering prices and info as this phase will be larger and more costly that the first one.

Phase 2 will consist of more children's space, church offices, finishing the demolition, building walls, (insulated for sound) making rooms for the Link, (our Sunday School), and all of the plumbing, HVAC, fire prevention, permits, flooring, and electrical that goes with any building project.

As always, you can get involved helping us make it VERY hard for people to leave Rome and go to a place called Hell by donating here...Journey Church

This Sunday we are celebrating Pentecost Sunday. A whole lotta talk about the greatest gift ever given to the church....

See you Sunday!

Pastor Douglas

Grab your calendar and a pencil...

Wow, what an awesome Mother's Day at Journey! If you weren't able to make it you sure missed something special but don't worry - we have many more outstanding things coming soon for you to be a part of. I hope all the moms felt loved and enjoyed the festivities as we celebrated their influence in our lives.

There is so much momentum building as we head into the summer and I hope you can catch it because it sure is contagious. We have so many wonderful things planned for the summer as we head towards our official grand opening in August. The most exciting part of all this is not that they are just things to do to stay busy, but ways we have prayed will help people in Rome connect with God.

Don't forget we also have the One Thing Campaign still going on. Let's finish strong. We only need less than $8000 to complete phase one. For info visit us at http://www.jcrome.com or visit our One Thing Facebook page.

So, here is a recap of just some of the exciting events and ministries we have coming up soon:

EVERY Monday night at 6:30pm we meet for prayer. Join us as we go before God praying for our city, our church, and the lost. God is really moving through these special times of focused prayer.

Wednesday, May 23rd from 7:00pm - 8:00pm we will begin gathering weekly for our "Dream Team" meetings. These are special times in the Word, training, and fun that are reserved just for our ministry partners. If you're serving within the ministry this is our way of giving back to you. Don't miss out, because it will be an exciting time to connect with God and each other. If you are not yet a ministry partner, don't worry - there are PLENTY of ways and places to be involved and it's never too late to add your gifts to the church as we serve our city.

Saturday, June 2nd we're taking the youth to the Nantahala river for some rafting! The cost is only $14/person plus money for lunch. You can sign up or get info on Sundays in the lobby or email us at office@jcrome.com.

Sunday, June 10th we're having our first baptism service. If you or anyone you know wants to be baptised this is your opportunity! You may sign up in the lobby at Journey or via email at office@jcrome.com.

Thursday, June 21st GAME NIGHT!!! This is a new event just for the 18-30(ish) age group. Bring friends, your favorite snack, and your favorite card or board game. There will NOT be childcare for this event so please make arrangements in advance for your children. Singles and married couples are invited. Also, Dre has only ever been beaten at Phase 10 ONCE, so come prepared for a challenge!

JULY - MOVIE MONTH! We'll be doing a new series called "At the Movies" which promises to be fun and entertaining. We will also be hosting a FREE movie night each weekend. More details soon.

Sunday, August 5th - The LINK - our new and fresh take on Sunday School. A perfect time to gather over coffee and connect with one another. More details soon.

Sunday, August 19th - THE OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING OF JOURNEY CHURCH OF ROME! Join us as we celebrate God's calling for us to partner together to reach our city!

AUGUST - TBA - Church-sponsored 5K race. More details soon. We'll be raising money for a good cause so break in those running shoes!

SEPTEMBER - TBA - Tougher than Hell motorcycle rally and ride. Shine up your chrome and grab your leather it's time to ride for a good cause. More details soon.

As you can see there is a lot going on and it's all within the confines of our vision: connecting with God, one another, and the world. 

Love you all,

Pastor Doug

Great News for Charismatics....

Iv'e never been one who was intentional about siding with one group or another in the Body of Christ simply because there is, and has been so much division already. I am however, very proud and honored to have the spiritual roots that I do.

I have been honored to have met spiritual giants such as Demos Shakerian, Kenneth Hagin and also was blessed to be invited into the home of Oral Roberts before he went home to be with the Lord. I have sat and had dinner with South American power houses such as Cash Luna from Guatemala, and Ricardo Rodriguz from Bogota who pastor two of the largest churches in the world.

I am blessed to call several movers and shakers in the Body of Christ dear friends, can only hope that I have added value to their ministry through my prayers and support.

I did not in any way choose my Journey, but I am grateful for the one that I am on.

I remember at the age of 23 sitting in a very old, very small wooden Methodist church in Cartersville GA hearing now ORU president Mark Rutland, but at that time a skinny fiery Methodist evangelist preach to us about the power of the Holy Spirit, and give us present day stories of the miracles he had experienced while traveling abroad.

That was the night that Debbie and I experienced the infilling of the Holy Spirit ourselves for the first time. That was the night our destiny as ministers of the Gospel changed. That night we became part of the largest and fastest growing Christian movements in the world. It has grown from just a handfull in the early part of the last century to over 600 million today...and still growing very rapidly.

On May the 27th there will be a joint initiative with thousands of churches coming together for a special day of Pentacost. It's called Empowered 21. Go here for more information on this movement. EMPOWERED 21.

Pastors...On May 27th, I will preach and teach on the Holy Spirit...Will you join us as we invite a new generation to experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit into their lives?

I love and pray for you all!

Pastor Douglas

Updates....

After all that we have been through and have done I know for a fact that if you are going to be a church planter, you MUST be called of God, otherwise you'll be spinning your wheels.

I love being in the select group of pastors who are called a church planter, and... I love my church.

So much is being planned and implemented since we are finally in our on building.

Prayer is now every Monday at 6:30pm, and if our first one was an indication of how they will be, Rome is about to be rocked by a Holy Spirit Storm.

We've seen 18 people come to Jesus in the last month. !!!!!

I'm launching a weekly Dream Team meeting beginning Wednesday the 23rd of May at 7pm. This is ONLY for those who serve at Ministry Partners at the Journey. This will be a special time of training and impartation for those who work so diligently to make Journey Church happen.

We just received a large check towards our ONE THING from a church in South America. I can't tell you how stoked that got me.

We only need about $9000 to finish this off and we are done with the first stage of One Thing. Please go to our Web site and help us reach our city for Christ by giving today. Journey Church

We have our first youth event sheduled the first Saturday in June. We're taking them white water rafting, and yes, I plan to dominate the river that day.

This Sunday is Mother's Day. Bring Mom to the Journey this weekend, I promise you'll be glad that you did.

Love you all

Pastor Douglas

Random Thoughts and Catching Up

My Mac Book is on its last leg, and that leg is broken. The good news is that they make new and improved ones every day.

I invested last week in Gulf Shores praying and planning out some things. Excited about the things the Lord showed me concerning my church, and I enjoyed the bike ride.

Its really neat watching some of the leaders God has surrounded me with step up into their calling.

We've seen 14 people come to Christ @ the Journey in the past 3 weeks. Glory to God!

The series I'm teaching on Increase has been one of my favorite ones. We're determined to create a culture of honor at the Journey.

Our first corporate prayer service was last night and it was literally "off da chain" as one of our folks said.

We've planned a church-wide rafting trip for the first Saturday in June.

I'm starting a Wednesday night "Dream Team" service at the end of May that is just for those serving as ministry partners. It will be a time of leadership training, updating everyone on new things that are about to be launched, and a time for Debbie and me to minister to our leaders.

On a more personal note, I'm feeling much better with the few pounds that I've dropped. Eating right and exercising is always a good idea.

See you this Sunday! 11am @JourneyRome

Pastor Douglas

As your are getting Ready....

As you get ready to attend the church of your choice tomorrow, and especially those who are serving at the Journey, let's all believe and confess this together...

 

Father, we are Believing you for:

Heaven to be open, and Earth to be Invaded by Your Presence

Storehouses Unlocked and Miracles Created

Dreams and Visions

Angelic Visitations

Declaration, Impartation, and Divine Manifestations

Anointings, Giftings, and Calls

Positions and Promotions

Provisions and Resources

To go to the Nations

Souls and More Souls

From every Generation

Saved and Set Free

Carrying Kingdom Revival

Thank you Father as we join our value system to Yours, You will show FAVOR, BLESSING, and INCREASE upon us so we will have more than enough to co-labor with Heaven to see Jesus get His FULL REWARD! AMEN!

Sunday Mind Dump...

This morning was absolutely a blast. There were so many things that went wrong, but God showed up anyway.

All of the hard work paid off, it was our first Sunday in our new building and everyone seemed to love it.

I do not have a total count of those who came to Christ this morning, but will post it later.

Even with all of the new chairs that were added, the place was full.

Even thought there is still lots to be done in the place over the next few weeks, I'm taking a full day off tomorrow and doing nothing.

Now the real work begins. using this building to reach others for Jesus, and geting the right leaders on the right bus, going in the right direction.

I love what I do.

I'm tired so I'm calling it a night. More updates later on this week.

Blessings!

Pastor Douglas

Sunday Mind Dump....

Today was the last Sunday @ the location we have been for the past 6 weeks since the Tornado hit the building we were using. Our time there was great, but starting next Sunday we're meeting in our own permanent place at 15 Redmond Court.

To say Momentum is off the charts would not be giving it justice. It is almost unbelievable at how much momentum we are gaining, and how many new people are coming to the Journey.

My faith is not able to catch up with the favor God is showing us.

We have a tons of stuff to do at the building this week, mostly cleaning and painting. So if you're free at anytime during the day or evening all you need to do is show up, there's plenty to do. We'll even welcome folks from other churches wanting to help us as a missions project. :)

We've raised $17,000 of our $35,000 needed in the last 2 weeks. Any sized donation is greatly appreciated. Just go to our web site under One Thing for directions. Journey Church Maybe YOU are the One Person who would finish the One Thing campaign off?

God is up to some really neat things here in North Georgia, and I plan to be right smack dab in the middle of it.

Love you all!

P. Douglas

Sunday Mind Dump....

This past week was super productive. What we were able to complete in just 5 days at the new building is absolutely amazing. We may be in there by next Sunday.

We have raised $15,000 in the past week of our $35,000 needed. Please go to our web site for directions on how to give to One Thing and then give BIG! Journey Church Let's finish Stage 1 of our building project.

Every week God is sending new people to our church, and every week it is full. This morning was no exception.

I am about to order a whole bunch of THESE, and every pastor should as well.

If you're on FaceBook you can see the photos detailing the progress we have made in the past week of working in the building. Debbie has a crew of folks over there today cleaning so we can get ready for the wiring of the stage, and hopefully be in there next Sunday.

We desperately need a drummer. If you are one, or know of one who is (really good) let me know ASAP.

I told our church this morning that I am determined to do this work and be totally debt free, so far it's working out that way. I need to write a check THIS WEEK for 300 new chairs. I've  got a great deal on them, but still, chairs are expensive. I believe the funds will be there right when I need them, just you watch and see.

I'm stoked about the ministry that we will be able to do in our own building! Children, Youth, Healing School, Small groups, Leadership training, Feed and clothe the hungry, Counseling, etc. just to name a few. We're even planning to have some special meetings centered around healing and prayer.

I still don't know what I'm going to do with all of the Cat5e cable we have pulled out of the call centers. I can't find anyone who wants it. I don't want to scrap it.

We have put together a great board of leaders that will help to oversee the ministry. I hope to be introducing these guys to our church real soon. Each one is well respected, well seasoned, great men of God.

The work at the New Building continues everyday this week if you are available. just show up and we will give you something to do.

I love you all....

Pastor Douglas

Sunday Mind Dump....

Today was to say the least interesting...There were a few distractions for some folks, but overall it went very well.

I still can't get over how much God is blessing us at the Journey. He's glopping it on!

I received an invite for Journey Church to become one of the churches in Joel Osteen's Champion's Network. They should have our info on their web site next week. They told me that the web site receives a million hits a month.

As of this yesterday, $2500 was donated to One Thing by a church in North Carolina. All that's needed now is $33,500. You can make a donation by going to our web site @ www.jcrome.com or mailing it to 547 Old Summerville Rd, Rome GA 30165

About half of the One Thing cards went out today. I love seeing God's people get involved in what God is doing through the local church!

It's going to be a non-stop marathon race for the next two weeks as we get the building ready to have our first service in it on April 1st. Demolition of the call centers begin Tuesday evening if you're over 16 and available to work. A few of us have already jumped the gun and got an early start.

I love the leaders God is sending in to us. I also am enjoying watching some of our leaders who have been with me for a while promoted to positions they were made by God for.

We still are looking for many leaders to help with youth, children, ushers, greeters, parking lot, MUSICIANS, small group leaders, etc. If this is you email us @office@jcrome.com or see my assistant Mark Hilliard at church.

I love being back in Rome, I love being a pastor of this church, and I love all of you!

Pastor Douglas

Just One Thing....

For many, the Church of America has lost its edge. We are quickly becoming irrelevant to society as well as being unable to meet the demands that many in the church place on its leaders. But there is hope. Many churches are getting back to the basics when it comes to loving God, and loving our neighbor. We are getting back to a Simple Church.

At the Journey, we believe that everyone can do at least One Thing that will help reach, and love our community into coming to Christ. Will you add your One Thing and help us love a hurting city that desperately needs the love of Jesus? It's just a proven fact. More people will come to Christ in the first five years of a new, life-giving church plant than any other means. More info is below, or you can go to our Web site for more information by going HERE. Please pray about partnering with us to make it hard for people to leave North GA and go t a place called Hell...

Sunday Mind Dump....

Today was one of the best days we've had as a church since we started meeting a few weeks ago.

Worship was great, teaching was great, the expectation everyone had was great, and the changed lives were great.

We gently kicked of our One Thing campaign this morning. More will be rolled out in the next few days, but the crux of One Thing is that everyone can do one temporary thing for God that will have eternal recompense, and huge rewards. I'll be posting more on this in the next couple of days.

I've got a real busy week with tons of meetings, and deadlines. Much prayer will be appreciated.

Love you all!

Pastor Douglas