Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! 2008 is now behind us and 2009 lies ahead. This is a pivotal year in the life of our new baby church. In a few weeks we will have our first “preview” service. There is so much possibility yet so much fear and anxiety. What will it look like? Will people like it? Will people come? These are all questions that are yet to be answered, but they are not the most important questions. The most important question that we must ask is: “How will we lift up and exalt Jesus?” Whatever happens with Jacob's Well the most important thing is that Jesus is glorified.

Jesus is the whole reason that Jacob’s Well exists, He is the reason that I want to start a new church and I hope that He is the reason that people will come check us out. Our plan is not to become the next mega-church, it is not to become the most trendy place to be on a Sunday morning, it is not to be a place where we come and feel good about ourselves for attending church. No! Jacob’s Well is going to be a place where people live life together, in community, seeking to live like Jesus lived - knowing God, loving people and transforming lives.

As we embark on a new year it is my hope and prayer that we will conciously and intentionally put Jesus first. At Jacob's Well we talk about being a "missional" church, to us that means that we live like missionaries in our culture. We are missionaries in our neigborhoods, we are missionaries in our workplaces, we are missionaries in our schools. Everywhere we go we need to see our primary goal as knowing Jesus and making him known to others.

As we embark on this new year, I want to invite you to join me in resolving to lift up and exalt Jesus in all things - to live missionally in 2009. I want to challenge you to start a top-10 list! Start by picking 10 people you know who don't yet know Jesus and commit to praying for them every day. If you don't know 10 people who don't know Jesus start with 5 or however many you know and then be intentional about building relationships with these unchurched neigbors, co-workers, and classmates. Next I want you to spend time with these people, invest yourself in them, get to know them, love them the way Jesus loves people, take them out for lunch or for a cup of coffee, share your life with them. Finally, I want you to invite them to join you for church, or a bible study, or have a dinner party for them and some of your Christian friends. Do whatever you can to expose them to Christian Community where you and others can be transformational in their lives.