Jun242010

Prayer/JourneyNote

By JeremiahGomez | June 24, 2010 | Posted in JourneyNotes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

The cat is out of the bag.

While I’m not sure just where that expression came from (or why we take it to mean a secret is not-so-secret anymore), we have some news to share.

At our District Conference last monday, our District Superintendent shared The Bridge’s plan to daughter a new church in June of next year.  Sarah and I will be the lead planters in what we’re affectionately, for now, calling ‘Bridge 2.0’ and are excited about that next move.  This is definitely a big step, but it’s part of an even bigger dream of developing an urban church planting and training center from which church planting teams are prepared and sent throughout the region, nation, and globe.  It’s an impossible vision that will take the activity of God’s own Spirit to accomplish–and that excites us to no end!

For now, we ask you to pray for us as we identify the people and place where the next church will be.  We have some ideas, but we need to be doubly sure we are focused on where God is already moving rather than just choosing something based on selfish desire.

In the meantime, we’re fully engaged with The Bridge and are ramping up to a busy summer ministry season.  Please keep the following dates in mind as you pray for us and the ministry of The Bridge:

  • Sunday, June 27: Sharing at First Wesleyan in Shippensburg, PA
  • July 7-July 11: Youth volleyball clinic with the women’s volleyball team from Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Our largest event of the summer will be a free Family Fun Day at a local park on Saturday, August 28th; already churches and groups are signing up to take part in helping us offer a meaningful, engaging and totally free event that allows us to serve our community and get to know our neighbors as well as (hopefully) building momentum for our first preview service in September.

Thank you for taking this journey with us and praying for us.

We’re honored to have you in our corner.
Jeremiah, Sarah, and Jubilee

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in JourneyNotes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)
Jun212010

Seven.

By JeremiahGomez | June 21, 2010 | Posted in Leadership | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)

In the June 7th Forbes Magazine, Rich Karlgaard noted some of the shared characteristics those companies which seem to have grown stronger and better despite the Great Recession.  His article is good and well worth the read, but I’m taking those ‘seven secrets’ and applying them to how we’re thinking at The Bridge:

Design.
I’m not a designer, I’m not even artistic.  But it doesn’t take too much to see bad design–in fact, in the past, I think a lot of our effort was just avoiding bad design.  Our design is getting better… thanks to GotPrint, t-shirt producers, and Cloversites, I don’t have to be an incredible designer to have good design.  We could be better, and we’re growing, but I’m glad we’re not settling for “free” when an investment in design speaks volumes about us.  We’re moving to a place where we’re pursuing beautiful design rather than just running away from bad design. I’m excited about that.

Speed.
In general, things are moving much faster than we thought they would… and this is building serious momentum–we’re planning to launch and daughter faster than we thought could happen.  We can’t take credit for this, but it’s happening.  We also are focusing on making sure we follow up fast and do what we said we would when we said we would.

Cost.
We’re working hard to show that when someone invests in The Bridge, we’re being wise in how we expend limited resources.  ‘Cost’ for us has less to do with what a customer gets from us, but how we manage the results we demonstrate to our investors.  In our community, it also means ‘free’ doesn’t suck.  We’re trying to do as much as we can at no cost to the people we’re ministering to… but we’re trying to do it as though they paid a premium to be there.

Service.
When it comes to our investor churches, we genuinely believe they are getting something by partnering with us, whether it’s people who participate and take a renewed passion back, or a sense of legacy, there are many benefits to being part of what God is doing through The Bridge in Pittsburgh.  But when it comes to serving our community, after just a couple of events The Bridge is already ‘the church that gave the free car wash–that’s great!’  We’re finding fun ways to show our community we care, we want to know our neighbors, and that God really loves them.

Courtesy of 'altemark' on Flickr

Communication outside.
Right now, this has to do mostly with face-to-face contact.  Rick, especially, has been knocking on doors and being ‘the face’ of The Bridge.  This will only go so far, and we’re analyzing where to best put some communications dollars: radio? adsense? street corner with a sandwich board? As we learn our community more and more, we’ll discover the best ways to communicate outside.

Communication inside.
We could do a better job at keeping launch team members on the same page, but we’re learning how to make sure communication among senior leadership is open.  Thanks to GoogleDocs, Calendar sharing, and Facebook, we’re growing in our communication and how we collaborate; we’re not ‘there’ yet… but I think we’re well on our way.

Purpose.
We’re here to help people connect with Jesus and see them grow in His likeness. More than that, we’re here to keep doing that by planting churches that plant churches to reach those far from God.  The Bridge exists to love, learn, and live Jesus Christ in our context at whatever cost.  We hope we have the purpose thing down… now it’s a matter of staying on mission when things, good and bad, tempt us to drift.

Why not run down the list yourself and give your church/organization a quick checkup?

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Leadership | Tagged , , , , | Comments (2)
May032010

Myth: There is Such a Thing as A “Typical” Church Planter

By JeremiahGomez | May 3, 2010 | Posted in church planting | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

<image courtesy of carbonNYC @ Flickr>

I have never met a ‘typical’ church planter.

Sure, assessment helps determine whether someone has a demonstrable history of the kind of gifting and passion needed to help find success in a planting endeavor, but beyond certain gifts, history, and focus, it seems there’s no real ‘church planter’ mold.

In most of the circles I engage, it seems someone who is an ‘ideal fit’ for church planting is a young, good looking, tech-savvy, trendy, incredibly oratorically gifted, overwhelmingly catalytic guy.  But the real, flesh-and-bone church planters I know are different. They are women. They are men. They are younger.  They are older.  They are passionate.

But they aren’t the people you would probably chase down to start a new church.

Maybe I’m looking at this too much through my own eyes–when I think of me being involved in the church planting adventure, I see all the reasons I shouldn’t be here: I am too broken, too fat, too geeky, too awkward to be a church planter.

But, so far, those things haven’t really disqualified me.

In fact, I think God can use me to engage other broken, fat, geeky, awkward people in a way a ‘typical’ church planter may not.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Don’t let what you think you need keep you from pursuing a ministry God might have for you. He has a Great Adventure for you, if only you’ll jump in with both feet and let him use you…whoever/however you are.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in church planting | Tagged , , | Comments (0)
Apr022010

Myths

By JeremiahGomez | April 2, 2010 | Posted in church planting | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

You did it today.  So did I.  At least once.  Probably without realizing it, we made an assumption about someone’s job–how easy or hard or menial or vital that job was; how untrained or overworked or under-appreciated or uncaring the person at the tollbooth, behind the counter, at the other end of the phone conversation, or in the corner office–having never really experienced it for ourselves.

I know there are ‘myths’ about every career, position, ministry, and activity; there are stereotypes and misinformed assumptions about what life there is like.  In the past few months, I’ve discovered some of my own misled assumptions and myths about church planting/church planters, and a few that other people have about those of us on this side of the church planting adventure.  So, the next few posts will have the common thread of debunking “church planting myths.”

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in church planting | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
Mar312010

Whatchamacallit…

By JeremiahGomez | March 31, 2010 | Posted in church, church planting | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
Nameless Can

courtesy of stock.xchng

As we have announced the name for the Pittsburgh Church Plant, The Bridge, reactions have been interesting to gauge.  Most people a generation before mine are thrilled with the name.  Most people in my own generation seem to like it, but don’t have a particularly deep  affinity for it.  People in the generation after mine could care less about the name and what to see something done before they develop any connection at all.  That really doesn’t have much to do with anything, but I thought I’d throw it out there as food for thought.

Regardless, in my last post, told you I would share the highly scientific, market research-intensive, professional process we used for landing on a name.  I’m not sure how ‘real’ church planters do it, but this was our process:

  • Talking.
  • Praying.
  • Talking.
  • Killing bad ideas.
  • Praying.
  • Discussing names with people.
  • Killing bad ideas that we thought were good ideas.
  • Starting over.
  • Praying.
  • Talking.
  • Dealing with pressure about the need for a name from different sources.
  • Praying and talking.
  • Sensing ‘this is it’ from the Holy Spirit, other people, and launch team members.
  • Announcing a name.
  • Getting an EIN and checking account.
  • Continuously sharing the name and why it’s significant.
By JeremiahGomez | Posted in church, church planting | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
Feb202010

What’s In a Name?

By JeremiahGomez | February 20, 2010 | Posted in church planting | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)
bridge (nikkispick on flickr)

image: <nikkispic> on flickr

It’s been far too long since Joy in the Journey has had an update.  A good friend of mine, Stevan Sheets, expressed frustration about ministries that don’t let some light in on the process they’re using/journey they’re on.  So, for Stevan, I’m going to do a better job at updating our process/journey as church planters in Pittsburgh.


It seems fitting to begin by sharing that what we have been calling “The Pittsburgh Church Plant” now has a name.  We are: The Bridge.

Now, I know this may not seem the most unique name for a missional community of believers you’ve ever heard of (we were thinking of something heretofore unheard of like “Faith Community Church” or “First Baptist” or “Second Wesleyan” or “St. Luke’s”, but, alas, we found out those names had already been taken, too…) but “The Bridge” really does fit our passion and mission in Pittsburgh.  We are driven to see people cross from death to life in Christ Jesus.  We are focused on the birth of a multiethnic, multicultural church where race, culture, and ethnicity aren’t seen so much as obstacles to overcome but aspects of life to embrace and celebrate in worship to the creative God who gave us something greater than a monolithic human race.  We are engaged as missionaries connecting a relatively rural district to an urban center.  We are praying God uses us to help equip others to overcome obstacles to they can further engage Pittsburgh and many other urban centers.

So, there it is: we’re The Bridge.

Soon, information on where we can be found on the web and through social networking will become available.  In the meantime, we humbly ask that you pray for The Bridge and the people who will be part of this new church.

Next post: a little bit on our process for landing a name.


By JeremiahGomez | Posted in church planting | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)
Dec132009

JourneyNote #3

By JeremiahGomez | December 13, 2009 | Posted in JourneyNotes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

55.5 Square Miles

Within an area of 55.5 square miles, not very far from where I write these words, is a community which is home to fortune 500 companies, seats of commerce, houses of industry and institutions of innovation and education.  Within those 55.5 square miles, hundreds of thousands work, live, and build relationships.  Millions more live just outside the area.

The community found within that tract of land is known for an uncanny ability to reinvent itself; so resilient are these people that the recent G-20 Summit was hosted there to showcase one city’s ability to not only weather but grow stronger through economic crises and global storms.

Within those 55.5 square miles, you will find incredible fusions of old and new, stayed and untried.  You will also find 455 bridges, 712 public stairways, 8 tunnels, 90 distinctive neighborhoods, and 140 separately identifiable ethnic groups.

But you won’t find a single Wesleyan Church.

In fact, you won’t find a Wesleyan church within what is considered ‘reasonable driving distance’ of those 55.5 square miles.

I’m sharing about the city of Pittsburgh, where “95 percent of the local population has no recognizable, identifiable relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Sarah and I, partnering with the Cox family (Rick, Eunice, and Trevor), and, hopefully, partnering with you, are working to change at lease one of those statistics.  The Coxes and Gomezes have joyfully accepted the call to church planting in the Pittsburgh region and are growing in passion for what we sense as God’s desire in the area.

Our heart’s passion is to see a multiethnic, multicultural church right in the ‘Burgh.  We sense God’s leadership in developing a relevant, engaging hub of ministry to people from a variety of cultural, economic, and spiritual backgrounds–where once steel was forged, now lives are fused with the Spirit of God, strengthened and engaged as members of His Body.   What we can see is a multiplication center working within the heart of the city where countless individuals are sent out as missionaries to the communities of Pittsburgh, the surrounding areas, throughout the region and around the world.  In fact, God is already drawing people to be part of this great work and we believe His dreams are far bigger than ours.

Does any of this stir your heart with excitement and passion?  If so, remain on the lookout because in a few days, we’ll be sending you more information on how you can be involved in this Great Pittsburgh Adventure.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in JourneyNotes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)
Nov072009

JourneyNote

By JeremiahGomez | November 7, 2009 | Posted in JourneyNotes | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

bridgeA couple of months ago, my wife sent the following JourneyNote to many of our friends and family.  It’s a bit of a personal update I thought you might enjoy.  The second Note was sent out yesterday; but here’s the first one for your perusal:

To our family and friends:

Yes, you.  If you are receiving this note, than you can be sure that we consider you family or friend (or both!!).

As many of you already know and some may have heard through different grapevines, life has taken some twists and turns in the last six months or so for Jeremiah and me.  Our time of pastoring at Carlisle Wesleyan came to an end in mid-June, and since then we have been trying to decipher the ‘next steps’ that God has prepared for us to do.  God has been proving himself to be our provider as we began the difficult transformation into realizing that we couldn’t do it for ourselves!

Part of what God has begun to unveil to us is that deep in the DNA of who he created us to be, there is the unique make-up of “church planters”.  While the idea of taking part in a church plant (a new church) has shown itself a few times since our years at Bethany, it wasn’t until recently that God began showing this to us not only as a viable option of what he could do through us, but perhaps even the very thing he wanted to accomplish through us.

So our journey continues; as our family and friends, we cherish the idea of taking you along for the ride.  Every couple of weeks, we will be writing these “JourneyNotes” to hopefully accomplish two things: 1- to keep you up to date on what we are up to, and 2- to keep you aware of specific ways you can be praying for us.  If you’d rather not receive our JourneyNotes, all you need to do is reply to this email and let us know you’d like to be removed; if you do wish to receive these updates, please be sure to add these two email addresses to your ‘safe email’ lists: jeremiah<at>jxgomez<dot>com and sarah<at>jxgomez<dot>com (also, if you have another e-mail address you’d prefer we send these Notes to, don’t hesitate to let us know!).

We know that we are not the only ones involved in this sojourn through life, and would love to hear from you and have you share specific ways we can be praying for you as well.

We thank God for the gift of each of you,
Sarah (and Jeremiah!)

PS–Another way you can keep up to date on what we are up to is to follow our blogs (these notes will be posted there as well). Jeremiah’s blog can be found at jxgomez.com/blog and Sarah’s blog is at sdgomez.blogspot.com

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in JourneyNotes | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)
Oct292009

Retail Reflections: Training

By JeremiahGomez | October 29, 2009 | Posted in church | Tagged , | Comments (0)
Barbed<Image courtesy of DawnAllyn>

One of the things I very much appreciate about my current place of employment is the value they place on training.  I’ve had jobs before where training consisted of being given a list of duties/responsibilities and being told to “go and do.”  Where I’m working now, however, places such an emphasis on properly training their management staff that I spent the entirety of my first two weeks learning hands-on how to function in my new role.  This season of  training culminated in a daylong ‘evaluation’ of sorts wherein a training manager made sure I knew what I was supposed to know; it was made clear even then there will be other focused learning opportunities along the way.

Granted, I was hired because there was a sense of chemistry and I have a certain skill-set which appealed to the person responsible for finding a good fit for the open position.  But certain skills and being something of a people-person only go so far… so before I was to be trusted with higher levels of responsibility, I had to be trained.  All of this quality (and costly) training did more than just prepare me for job responsibilities—it demonstrated that I had value and granted accountability.

I feel valuable—this company invested hours and hours and hours of payroll in me knowing they wouldn’t see immediate return on that investment.  People took the time from their other responsibilities to make sure I was equipped to succeed.   In doing this, the company began forging a relationship from day one with a new employee, making it less likely in the high-turnover world of retail that I would leave before bringing any value to the team.

I’m also accountable—all of that training and being evaluated means I should know how to operate according to the standards of the company.  The organization fulfilled its part by ensuring I was given the tools and understanding necessary to fulfill the functions of my job.  That means I now need to fulfill those same functions according the standards and practices outlined during the training process.  This way, I know when I’m doing well without anybody needing to tell me (although it’s still nice to hear)… and I know when I’m not doing so well.  There’s no question about whether enduring the consequences of personal error is fair or not because I cannot claim ignorance or faulty education.  This kind of training/accountability lays the framework for doing better and better work as well as bringing more and more value to the organization as our relationship continues.

Too often in organizations and ministry we are  so excited that someone wants to serve we train them with the ‘go and do’ mentality, heaping task upon task which must be done upon them… rather than cultivating them to take on real responsibility.

What if we took more time to invest in our workers and volunteers—showing them value, ensuring the organizational culture and standards were being modeled and providing boundaries of accountability while helping to define a ‘win’ both for them and us.   This type of approach is different depending on the organization and the person being trained but it means a greater likelihood of reproducing quality leadership and having confidence in those who serve.  This kind of training is certainly costly and it is a little risky (what if the person we invest so much in leaves? takes what we taught and uses it somewhere else? is a jerk?)… but the potential reward far outshines the risk.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in church | Tagged , | Comments (0)
Oct272009

Doing the right thing…

By JeremiahGomez | October 27, 2009 | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

…isn’t always easy.  There are times and circumstances that we face which when right and wrong are more like shades of gray than they are black and white.  There are those moments when a choice presents itself when both (or all!) options seem more than ‘okay;’ times when we have to decide about jobs, health procedures, organizational strategy, whether to stay or go in any number of things, or the best course of action for a loved one and their future… and the details, options, and consequences are anything but simple.

In Joshua 9 & 10, there are principles demonstrated to the reader about how to handle those times when we don’t know what the ‘right thing to do’ is.  The people of Israel are in the midst of a progressive military campaign as they work to conquer & claim land promised in generations past.  They have faced and overcome many obstacles; individuals have risked their own lives and families for the sake of a greater cause; all the while God has shown he alone is the Leader, Provider, and Conqueror.

Word comes to these same people that an army unlike anything they had faced thus far had amassed… and is heading directly toward their position.  Israel’s battle tacticians and warrior-leader, Joshua, begin planning strategy, knowing there are many battles which still lie ahead… and that if they can’t deal with the obstacle heading their way, all will be lost.

In this midst of this, a band of tired, road-weary, seemingly desperate travelers comes their way seeking a treaty of peace.  And the Joshua, the Israelites, (and us, too!) learn some hard lessons in doing the right thing.  Over the next few Joshua posts, we’ll discover what some of those lessons are.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)