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Archive for the ‘Chattanooga’ Category

Laying the Foundation

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

construction_pour I cannot begin to tell you how significant our weekly times of prayer have already proven to be for the future of RiverChurch. For nearly four weeks now we’ve been meeting together gaining a clearer understanding of prayer and its purpose and then putting what we’ve learned to practice. In the time we’ve met we’ve already seen and heard of answers to prayer. We’ve not been praying mamby pamby prayers either, but prayers for healing, for unsaved family members, for miraculous provision. And I have to tell you that my personal faith is reinforced everytime we come together.

Prayer is the foundation of this church and will remain a constant no matter where we go and what we do.

Last night we met at a facility that we’re really praying God will open up to RiverChurch. I gotta tell you that it will be an absolute miracle if we are able to meet in this particular location. I mean parting the waters kind of miracles. But I can tell you that God is already answering prayers about this particular situation. Now I don’t know what the final outcome will be but I can tell you that I believe God is going to do some amazing stuff in this situation, and I think it will have everything to do with the foundation of prayer that we are laying.

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Update

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

We’ve officially be on the ground for a little over a month in Chattanooga. Since we’ve been here, we’ve had our second vision meeting, started our first small group/prayer meeting, and started a lot of new relationships with people here in the community.

While things have been challenging on the personal front for us; things seem to be moving full steam ahead for RiverChurch Chattanooga.

We’ve started the process of incorporating as a non-profit corporation.
We’ve assembled a small but very capable and integrous board.
Our launch team continues to grow almost weekly

With these positive signs of moving forward we are met with new challenges and questions to be answered. The biggest one I’m praying about right now, is when to start meeting on the weekends, and when on the weekends should we meet. We have had a significant number of people express genuine interest in being part of RiverChurch but there Monday through Friday work schedules make it difficult for them to meet with us during the week. If we could meet on the weekend, we potentially have over 60 people who have said “We’d definitely be interested in being part of your church.” That’s a pretty good sized launch team. I really think God is giving me some direction about the when to meet issue. It could possibly be how we meet for a long time. It would be a significant deviation from what’s typical in this particular area, but I have a strong sense it may work. I also believe meeting at the time I’m feeling like we’re supposed to meet will significantly contribute to our ability to fulfill the vision God has given us as a church to make a lasting impact in our community.

Meeting time is a big issue, but meeting location is even bigger. There is a place that I’ve been looking at since we’ve been in town. I’ve driven through the parking lot almost weekly, praying that if this is the place God wants us to meet to please open the door for us to meet there. It has extremely long term potential for us, as it sits right in the middle of our target area of Chattanooga. I called the guy who owns it yesterday, and he’s only interested in selling it. But he agreed to meet with me and a couple of our board members tomorrow, yeah tomorrow (Friday June26). So I’m a little jittery about that. We can’t buy it, but like I said I really feel a connection to this place and believe this could be where God wants us. If it is, He’ll work something out.

One big piece that I feel like we need to be developing is our worship time. Especially when we begin to meet on the weekends. So, I’m praying that God will direct us as it relates to a worship leader. I’ve talked to a couple people and we’re waiting to see what God will do now.

So that’s an update on where we are. If you’re interested in knowing more about RiverChurch please shoot us an email at riverchurchchatt@gmail.com.

Posted in Chattanooga, Meetings, Prayer, RiverChurch Chattanooga, Vision | Comments Off

Almost There!!!

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

We’re in the final stages of packing and will soon be heading to Chattanooga. We can hardly wait.

We are so excited about being back in Chattanooga, and kicking RiverChurch off as well. It’ll take us a couple of days to get settled and then we’re looking forward to another opportunity to share our vision with more people who are interested in joining us.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Tuesday, June 9 at 7p, at the Tennessee Riverpark Pavilion. Make sure to bring a lawn chair, and your favorite snack. If you need more information or directions, email riverchurchchatt@gmail.com.

Posted in Chattanooga, Meetings, RiverChurch Chattanooga, Vision | Comments Off

Prayer

Monday, May 4th, 2009

We believe prayer will be the bedrock upon which RiverChurch will be built. That’s why we’ve made it a priority early on, and we want others to join us. Our entire family has taken seriously the need to pray for Chattanooga and RiverChurch, as you’ll see in the video below.

I actually started to post a video message yesterday inviting you to join us at our weekly prayer time, or to sign up to be part of our prayer team, but Makenzie our 8 year old had a better idea. So here’s what she suggested and here’s what we got for ya:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW5g7C7OkkM]

Directed by: Makenzie Greer

Filmed by: Shannon Greer (sorry guys for the poor quality)

Critiqued by: Kristia Greer (she’s sweet but honest).

Posted in Chattanooga, Prayer, RiverChurch Chattanooga | Comments Off

Hope

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

single-candle I heard a story one time about a Jewish man, barely surviving in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The old man had saved enough rationed portions of margarine to create a candle that he could light during the Jewish festival of Hannukah. On the first night of the festival the old man gathered some of the younger men around him and invited them to join him as he lit the candle. The younger men couldn’t believe the older man would waste such precious food to make a meager little candle. The wise old man looked at the younger men and said, “We’ve lived nearly three weeks without food, and three days without water, but we cannot live one day without hope.”

We’re all looking for hope. We need hope, because without it, we truly cease to live. That’s why the mission of RiverChurch is to bring Hope for life through Jesus Christ.

We want to find the person who’s lost hope with Christianity, or the Church. They’ve been burned before, or felt rejected by the Church. We want to find the person who’s always thought they were just never good enough to go to Church or the person who’s been in Church all of their life but finds no fulfillment in their faith experience. We want to bring hope for life through Jesus Christ to these people. We want to heal the wounds of their past rejection, we want to show them that through Christ can be made brand new, and we want to give them an opportunity to put feet on their faith. Not just go to church every weekend and sit with the “faithful”, but challenged to get up, to get out, and to live their faith.

We also want to find the forgotten people of Chattanooga. The homeless, the poor, the fatherless, the ones that can sometimes be so easily overlooked and left without hope. We want to gather a group of people just itching to share Christ’s love with someone else, and we want to GO where these forgotten people are and give that love to them. Whether its a warm meal, a new coat, a roof over their head, or just the hug of a child, we want to give these people the hope for life through Jesus Christ.

This call to bring hope doesn’t just stop in Chattanooga, we’re going to do this in our surrounding cities as well. Partnering with churches in Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta, and Birmingham and all points in between. Hope is contagious and we want to be highly infected carriers. Beyond these places we will go to the nations of the world, to a Jewish Immigrant in Israel, an orphan in Honduras, or a village needing clean drinking water in Africa, and we will bring Hope for life through Jesus Christ.

Why? Because we simply cannot live without hope!

If you want to be part of our mission, or simply more information about RiverChurch. Email us at riverchurchchatt@gmail.com

Posted in Chattanooga, Vision | Comments Off

Chattanooga

Friday, April 17th, 2009

We spent the better part of yesterday driving around the city of Chattanooga, and speciically some of the places that will be significant to RiverChurch, capturing some great pics. Here are just a few of our favorites: