Posts Tagged church
A letter to thrive church…
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership, Thrive on September 21, 2011
Hello TC
Here’s 4 things on my heart for YOU, US and our FUTURE
1. We had nearly 600 people show up last weekend and plus….people gave their life to Christ! I love what God is doing in families at TC. It’s mind-blowing – we still a new church and God is working through us!!!! I love it. We can’t forget that the church exists to help people FIND and FOLLOW Christ…and when it happens – it’s worth celebrating!
2. Last Weekend was one of the most FUN and EYEOPENING services yet! As we jumped into week two of our “Perfect Family” series we talked about the end game with our kids…..it’s not getting them to leave the house or go to college…it’s having a life-long FRIENDSHIP with them. In order to get one we have to engage in a healthy behaviors during the earlier 3 phases – NURSE, KING / QUEEN and COACH. You can’t jump phases and you have to ask God for help – especially if you came from rough home life yourself. God has great plans for your family – believe it.
3. This weekends message is titled…”Survival Guide to a Blended Home”. Coming from a blended home myself, I understand how over 50% of our population feels. Can God heal, change and help homes that are blended? Does God meet single parents with an additional grace for their situation…YES! Can’t wait to share what God has helped me live through and put in my heart for this huge topic!
4. People have coming up to me every week and introducing them self to me. One Question I have begun to ask every time is “have you signed up for a Growth Group”? Groups are more than a program or a calender filler – they are the life blood of what our church is about. Church doesn’t begin when you walk in the doors- rather when you walk out….that means we should be more about relationships than facilities and programs. That’s where Groups step in -they are the best place to grow your faith, make friendships and get encouraged and supported…all the things a church should do… I am beyond pumped for this seasons groups…..Zumba, study groups, basketball, cooking….I think we have it all….except you – click www.thrivechurch.cc for a group list / sign up. Groups start the week of Oct 3
That’s it – loving you, our church and our future….bring a friend to church this weekend….seriously!
Tom
What I’m learning about MONEY!
- Image by Toban Black via Flickr
This Sunday was incredible……we talked about money!
I know what your thinking…..really….All I can say is stepping into the role of a lead pastor has pushed me to really dig into the scriptures and get a fresh understanding on this issue.
Last Sunday at THRIVE we were honest and real and about the topic of Money. It was fun to see the light bulb for people. We discovered together what God really says from the Bible. In addition talked through what the term “Blessing” really means. Monetary Blessings are the lowest form. God often has bigger plans for us that just giving us more cash.
The result? We have 15 families taking a 90 Day challenge to give God their first 10%. Their living out Mal 3:10 and putting God “to the test”
Oh by the way – Did you know that there are over 2,350 scriptures in the Bible that refer to wealth of finance’s. One more sign that this is a big deal to God….
here’s the outline from last Sundays message.
I God OWNS it all and ENTRUSTS you with SOME
Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. Deut 8:18
II God gives me freedom to CHOOSE how I USE it
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Malachi 3:10
“The Purpose of Tithing is to teach you to always put God first”
III God invites us to give in GRATITUDE and as a demonstration of our PRIORITIES and faith in his promises
Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10 (HCSB)
Giving is a Spiritual INVESTMENT, not EXPENSE
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV)
IV Only God can GIVE you financial SECURITY
The most important thing that God is doing in the world is through the local CHURCH – that is the center of all God’s activity and LIFE CHANGE.
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9
PS – We are kicking off a new series this week we are calling – “Your Story…in six words or less.” It’s about how your past, present are about the story that God is writing in your life!
See you soon – Tom
Still Growing…
Posted by tomelmore in Leadership, Thrive on October 8, 2010
Last Sunday at Thrive Church was one of our what I would call “GROWTH” Sundays. Looking back on it – It wasn’t perfect from beginning to end but it was a great opportunity-to get better and grow. The result of last Sunday is I have had no less than 4 conversations this week with leaders in our church about building people and systems. What kind of systems are we talking about…
* Celebrating our teams – volunteers are the people that are invested and are committed to moving our church forward, I believe that they deserve the “red carpet” treatment from time to time – we have some exciting plans in store -looking forward to blowing the minds of our Dream Team this fall.
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10 Things You Need to Know about the Ultimate Giveaway
Posted by tomelmore in Everything Else, Thrive on September 8, 2010
Hey everyone
I wanted to let you know that this is a “Can’t Miss” Sunday! We are kicking off our new series called the Ultimate Giveaway. What really gets me excited about this series isn’t the fact that we are giving away over $250,000 in prizes….Yes, we are going to giveaway iPads – Flat Screen TV’s – Kids Bikes – Blue Ray DVD players and even a Cruise for two to the Caribbean.
What it’s really about is PEOPLE! We believe that people matter to God! The goal of this series is to make it easy to invite your un-churched friends to church. When they come our prayer is that God will open their heart to receive the greatest prize- his incredible – life changing LOVE! That’s truly the Ultimate Giveaway – that’s what going to change families, help people overcome their past and give them real hope for the future!
Here are TEN things about the U.G. I thought you should know….
We’re staying at Westlake Prep!
God has decided that Thrive Church is staying at Westlake Prep Academy and we’re super excited about it… Check out my vlog about it..
See ya Sunday..
Tom
Man I love our Church!
I Love our church! Thought I would take a minute and recap some of my highlights from last Sunday….
- Hearing our band ROCK out the song “Futures” by Jimmy Eat World” -it’s two days later and I’m still humming it…
- Loved seeing Chris Goodwin (our new guitar player) lead us on Sunday! The guy is really talented – glad he’s a part of Thrive…
- Kicked off our new Series called “Purple People Leader! Pumped to be taking a few weeks to call out the amazing leader potential in our church…we have to realize the thing that makes us UNIQUE is the same thing that makes us POWERFUL in God’s hands…
- Introducing our new Thrive Intern to everyone- Sam Hardin has to have one of the biggest servant’s hearts on the planet- he’s going to do great things for the kingdom – no doubt!
- Seeing all the new families at Thrive 101 start to understand why our church is all about the 70% of people that don’t go to church…
- Sticking around for ONE youth and watching our Thrive students really worship GOD. They were passionate – raw and powerful….a movement has begun!
- Watching teenagers get on their knees and ask God to “heal the broken places” in their heart – it was amazing…
- Learning how to play the game “Ninja”! All I can say is it makes my generation’s game of “slap” look like sissy play…
- Sitting with our team when it was all over and realizing I am the luckiest guy on the planet to be pastoring this church!
Can’t wait for Next Sunday…see you there
Tom
Huge Announcement!!!
Posted by tomelmore in Next Right Step, Thrive on June 4, 2010
If you missed it, here it is. We are moving locations this fall to Beckendorff Jr High on Fry Road in Seven Lakes. This decision was made through tons of prayer and pursuing Godly Wisdom. After almost two months of wrestling with the decision we have come to the place where we know it’s time to GO! Here is why we are making this move….
1. Parking Spaces = People CONNECTING TO CHRIST!
On Easter we packed the parking lot for two services! There wasn’t an extra spot to be found. We have realized that the more parking spaces we have, the more opportunity we have for people to bring their friends and family. Our new location -Beckendorff will have over 500 parking spots (currently we have just over 100) That means more people can come attend services and not worry about missing a spot!
2. Proximity to more People is IMPORTANT!
Fry road is one of the busiest roads in Cinco Ranch. We see that as a BIG opportunity to impact people. We can put up signage all weekend long. That means 1000′s of people will see our sign, location and service times. It’s also a very familiar location so when you invite your friends – it’s an easy connect for them.
3. Thrive Kidz needs MORE SPACE!
Our 1st -5th grade kids will now have their own GYM! Our vision from the beginning was that Thrive KidZ is the “best hour of your kids week”. Now we have the opportunity to provide a better, exciting learning environment. We are planning on filling it with large Blow Up Events, interactive games and great leaders that really care about your kids!
4. It creates OPPORTUNITIES TO LEAD!
We are actually excited about going portable again because it provides hundreds of volunteers a chance to go “all in” with Thrive’s vision to impact lives. As the new Mobile Team is forming – I can’t wait to see people “get in the game” to serve. Jesus challenged us to serve for two reasons: it changes us and it changes others. We lead through serving….that principle is what Thrive is built on and now we are giving more people a chance to experience it!
We are beyond excited about what God has in store for us this Fall. It’s going to be good!
FYI -We are starting a new series called “Activate your leadership” this Sunday…bring a friend!
The best is yet to come -Tom
Are you connected?
Posted by tomelmore in Next Right Step on May 28, 2010
How Connected are you?
I love our church.
I love the stories, the people and the life change that is happening. I just got through watching a homemade video from our worship / baptism night last Sunday. It reminded me that God uses us, our relational connections and our personalities to help others take the “Next RIGHT STEP” with Christ.
It was powerful!
What was just as powerful was sitting around a table after the night and laughing and celebrating with a few of the people that went through baptism…..Our life is a series of memories – opportunities- challenges and moments of laughter…..they happen best when we are connected…..
This past week we started signups for our summer Growth Group season. I love how many different types of groups there are. It’s important for us to remember that the groups doing some sort of Bible Study are not more spiritual than the ones going Bowling or smoking cigars!
The way to evaluate spirituality is to ask questions like, “How did I apply what I learned?” or “How am I caring for and loving the people in my group?” or “How is my heart changing to become more like Jesus?”
That happens when we are connected.
Tom
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Hypocrites R Us
Posted by tomelmore in Next Right Step, Series, Thrive on May 22, 2010
When I was a kid I loved Toys R Us. It was the one place you were never confused about. There was no “bait and switch”. It was all about TOYS!
I personally think the church should have up a sign in the front that says “Hypocrites R Us”. Then every time somebody walked in they would know exactly what to expect on the inside. Let’s face it – none of us are perfect. We can’t (no matter how hard we try) get our act totally together. We can work on it – develop it – read about it …but at the end of the day perfection is always going to be out of our reach. I blame Adam and Eve…but there I go judging again!!
So why not just put the sign out front of every church. That way everyone knows what they are getting – a bunch of people that are in need of grace. Then all the energy that we spend hiding our imperfections we could use chase after GOD.
I think at the end of the day people are not as afraid of Hypocrites as they used to be……Just the ones that are afraid to admit it…
I love that I am a part of church that admits it does not have it all together. Interested in learning how to become a Hypocrite? Come tomorrow to church. I will give you 3 easy steps
Oh yeah – still want to get baptized Sunday night at WORSHIP Night – click here
see you tomorrow
Tom
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GROW Part 2
Posted by tomelmore in General, Leadership, Thrive on May 21, 2010
I love learning from great leaders. If you look behind the scenes of great churches you will almost always find GROWING LEADERS….. The last few weeks I have had the opportunity of being around some of the country’s best leaders, pastors and church planters. I thought I would share with you a few nuggets that made me stop and think.
* The biggest “sin” of senior pastors is lying. If they are open with their struggles..Their people will be too.
* Mega Ministry’s come out of Mega Marriages
* Too often pastors are trying to “answer questions” no one is really asking
* Serving without connection to Vision = Division
* Your ceiling will eventually become the floor you stand on (I Love this one!)
* Always choose TRUST over TALENT
* Fear of success is just as bad as fear of failure
* Best phrase ever -”Wow, I’ve never seen that done in church before!”
* If Billy Graham were 22 yrs old – what would he do to reach lost people?
* Would the people closest to you “feel honored” if you became successful?
* Tighten up your church systems and allow your people to have a break during the summer
* A “good” pace means you are done growing…….
* The best way to save time is to be coached by someone who has what you want.
Let’s keep growing Thrive Church!
tom
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