a few good things

Summer is an interesting time for churches, even more so for new churches. Churches experience what is often referred to as the "summer slump," meaning that attendance dips during the summer. My coach says it's even worse for new churches. We've experienced a bit of the summer slump at LifePoint but with many positive signs as well.

We continue to have first time guests at our worship gatherings. We've had guests at our last two events -- beach day and the 4th of July outing. As a church community, we thrive on relationships more than raw numbers. It's about making personal connections.

We're making positive strides towards our next direct mail campaign. We have been blessed by the generosity of individuals and churches (way to go Santee Christian Church!) alike. It's humbling to see so many different people support the LifePoint vision.

We had Steve Denney come out last Sunday and share with us the story of what God is doing in downtown San Diego. Steve and his team are preparing to launch a new church in the heart of the city. At the end of his presentation, we circled around him and asked God's blessing on his effort. We recommitted ourselves to being a church planting church.

As a lead pastor, it's easy to get bogged down with numbers -- they're all around us! But it's more important to be focused on people ... for it's people that matter most to God.