LifeBridge Blog

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It is so amazing to me to come out of such a massive weekend like this past one and feel so blessed to be in one of the most incredible churches in the area. We have experienced unbelievable growth and response to what God has called us to do and our VOLUNTEERS rise to the occasion every single time. How in the world could we ever adequately say thank you?

Our Jacked Up series is off and going. Do not miss the next three weeks of this incredible series. If you missed week 1, you better be here next weekend. Saturday night services are going incredible as well. Thanks to many of you who come Saturday evening and free up room for Sunday morning. I love and appreciate your heart of service. Those who volunteer both days, you are simply amazing. Thanks for helping us reach more people with the good news.

Last night we experienced a great evening at our Night of Worship. The band was phenomenal and helped us prepare for another week. Thanks to all who participated in that. Also for the hangout beforehand with the finger food. WOW, it was all delicious! Thanks to so many who showed up and brought such tasty food. We may have found a great event.

Last but not least, our Family Ministry team did an amazing job this weekend. Yesterday Amanda and her team pulled off an incredible Xtreme Live. Xtreme Live takes place the first Sunday of every month for kids (1st-5th grades) and their parents. If you have never been, you owe it to your kids to experience this event. It meets at 10:30am in the Xtreme room. Great job everyone who led out back there.

I am so excited about all that is happening. Let's continue to invest and invite. Continue telling people about LifeBridge and making the invite. Thanks for being such awesome people.

Philip Thurman

I say this after every series and I truly mean it. I believe this was one of the most life transforming series we've ever done. If you missed any of the messages, please listen on our website, download the podcasts on iTunes or another podcast player, or watch them when they are posted on Vimeo. And tell your friends about the series--it could be life changing! We have heard and seen some amazing testimonies of God's faithfulness. This past weekend we saw 15 people get baptized. I don't know if I have ever felt the energy in all three services like I did this past weekend. There were also tons of family and friends present for the weekend. You invested and invited so many people. Because of your faithfulness we saw the highest regular Sunday attendance ever! EVER. It's like I am also saying that every week.

Here is why I mention attendance. Every new person equals another person hearing about God's truth, which leads to another person who can connect with God. I cannot tell you how proud I am of Kris, Martin, Jennifer, Cannon, Nathan, Timothy, Margaret, Amber, Chad, Rick, Emily, Kerry, Bailey, Chase and Bart for going public with their faith this weekend through baptism. I am so proud that you were NOT too proud, but were obedient. I believe your testimony will be a challenge for all of us to follow.

I also want to remind you that Night of Worship is this Sunday evening at 6:00pm. We have childcare for kids from birth to 3rd grade. This is a great time to sing and celebrate the Lord's Supper. However we are adding a twist. Please join us at 5:00pm and bring your favorite finger foods like Pimento Cheese sandwiches, chicken wings, sausage balls, cookies, chips and dip, etc. You get my drift? We want to have a time of fellowship followed by a time of worship. Make plans to be there.

Wow, I love LifeBridge Church and the amazing volunteers who serve. Because you serve, we have seen amazing things happen. Thanks so much for serving so many guests each week.

Philip Thurman

I had a friend tell me that of all the sermons or talks he has heard his entire life, the one this weekend was one of the top three. Wow, thanks so much for sharing that! In our services this past weekend we spent time talking about anger and the solution to overcome anger. It is not easy, but can be done. We heard the story of Rusty and Heather, which was absolutely powerful. I hope you will go online and listen to it. Soon we will have the video of it up. I was blown away at your response.

Many of you have heard that John, Dawn, Caleb, Kylie and Kinley are preparing to be our missionaries in Haiti--leaving in January 2013. Our mission team has planned a BBQ on August 18 from 11-4. Cost is $10 a plate, and we will selling tickets for this event. We still need many volunteers to help, as well as people to purchase the BBQ! All the money will be used to help get them as they prepare to go. Also, we have some incredible t-shirts that our team designed announcing this awesome event. They are $15 each and are really awesome looking shirts. I hope you will get one to help support this event and the Chappelears.

You also heard this weekend about the conclusion of our 13 week Financial Peace University last week. Thanks to Bill, Charlotte and Ryan for your leadership in this class. I am proud of everyone who showed the discipline to complete this class!

Thanks for being an amazing church. Our three services are rocking. You are doing an amazing job and all three services now have room for you to continue inviting people. So keep investing and inviting. Each week we continue to see amazing growth.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, the reason we do what we do. This weekend we saw someone give their life to Christ. This never gets old. To those who serve and give, this is what God is doing through you. Thanks for investing. Let's keep it going. Next weekend we close out Hostage with another enemy of the heart and we also celebrate baptism. It will be a great weekend to invite family and friends.

Have a great week.

Philip Thurman

The Hostage series has had a huge impact on many folks. Thanks so much for your texts, calls, Facebook comments, and so forth about this series. I want to follow up and strongly encourage you to be present these next two weeks as we close out this series. This weekend is going to be one of the MOST powerful weekends I believe we have ever had. The topic we will look at is something EVERY single person deals with, and the story we will hear will blow your mind. I hope to see you either Saturday night at 6:00 or Sunday morning at 9:30 or 11:00 for a powerful time.

On April 28-29 we will close this series. It is going to be an awesome closer. We will be celebrating baptism and will hear some amazing stories about life change from those who are being baptized. It is always a highlight to participate in a baptism ceremony.

Last but not least, we just graduated another class of Financial Peace University. Charlotte Cockrell, Ryan Carver, and Bill Cockrell have done an amazing job in giving leadership to this class every Monday night for the past 13 weeks. Here are the preliminary stats from those who completed the class:

Total Debt at the start of the class (not including mortgage) = $316,556
Debt paid off in the past 13 weeks = $86,019
Money saved in the past 13 weeks = $8,050

For you who were disciplined and committed to complete this class, GREAT JOB! I'm so proud of you all. You're on the road to changing your life as well as the lives of your children and grandchildren! If you weren't involved in FPU this spring, we will have another FPU class that will begin in early September 2012. You too can be part of this life changing financial revolution!

Thanks for being such an awesome group of people. Keep investing and inviting.

Philip Thurman

It has been my privilege to be a part of LifeBridge Church now for almost nine years, and with each passing year I continue to stand amazed at all God is doing. I am not going to bore you with tons of numbers and stuff, but I do want you to see some of the ways God has been at work that I believe excites the heart of God. God desires our obedience, so when we take bold steps for Him, I believe He honors that. Let me see if I can explain.

Easter was this past weekend. We planned four services that we knew would put an incredible toll on our volunteers. Everybody stepped up and went above and beyond the call of duty. I was blown away by every single volunteer. As far as I can tell, everything went off without a glitch. I am so grateful every weekend for the tons of volunteers who give and serve. I want you to know, we think you are as important as the persons on stage. If you don't do what you do, we can't do what we do. I love and appreciate you all so much.

Also this past weekend we saw the largest crowd ever in our history. Here is why that excites me. That means you all were investing and inviting. I met so many friends who had been invited by someone at LifeBridge. Way to go! Way to take a risk. Here is the best thing--because of your invite, 11 people gave their lives to Christ. Yes, ELEVEN. Church, this is why we do what we do--to connect people with God and with each other so they can experience life at its very best. Great job! Let's keep investing and inviting. As you know we have created more room for people to come. We now have a 6:00pm Saturday evening service and 9:30 and 11:00 am services on Sundays. I hope you will keep inviting.

Many of you may know by now, but last month God answered a long time prayer of mine. I had been praying that God would raise up a missionary for our Haiti Mission endeavors. In God's style, He did it. John and Dawn Chappelear, along with Caleb, Kylie and Kinley, feel God moving them to Haiti as our missionaries. I am overwhelmed at how God has chosen them. You will have the chance to hear about their experience before they move to Haiti in January 2013. There's a ton they must do between now and then. We will need tons of help, wisdom and prayer as we go through this process with them. We will be having a BBQ in August to raise support for them as well. Others are planning a garage sale for them. You can find out more about these things on our missions page on Facebook. Like us and you can stay updated with what's going on with all our mission work. Simply click here for the link or search for LifeBridge Church Missions when you're on Facebook.

Again, thanks for making such an impact. I am still blown away about Easter. I am so grateful for everyone who served, invited, and came. Let's keep honoring God by giving more, serving more, and going more. I love this place and I love you.

Philip Thurman