Thanks to all of you who have been praying…. He had a great day today!! His Dr. said that his energy is coming back and that he is making some progress. His liver is showing some signs of recovery and he is starting to breath better.
Here are some specific things to pray for:
1. Pray for all his organs to recover
2. Pray for all the infection to be completely gone
3. Pray for rest of the family (they have been in the hospital day and night)
4. Pray that God will use Dr. H. to continue to reach people with the message of Jesus!
The family has been overwhelmed with your love and prayers.
Thanks so much!
My father n law came through his surgery today with flying colors. The doctors said that everything went very well… He had 5 by-passes and is now resting and recovering. Christy is going to stay at the hospital tonight and will be driving home tomorrow morning.
I will be heading to Baton Rouge to meet with a pastor of a church and share my vision on Wednesday. Please pray that God moves his heart to see the impact that we can have on Columbus.
We really did have a God sized weekend. We met some great leaders in Columbus, from pastors to business men and women. We spent time with friends and were able to take some of our newly forming launch team to visit Freedom church’s grand opening. All of our dialogue and discussions were great. There is nothing that I love more than sharing what God is placing in our heart. I really do think great things are going to happen in Columbus…
bio bullets
- Born & raised in Ft. Lauderdale
- Met my wife Christy Hindson at Liberty University
- Loved & lived student ministry for 10 years, primarily in Columbus, GA
- Led hundreds of students to Christ
- Went back to seminary & became a min. of ed. at a mega-church (Lord, help!)
- Planted our first church in north Atlanta 2002
- Grew to 400 in 4 years and led hundreds of people to Christ
recent highlight: When we moved into our cul-de-sac in 2002, our neighbors were so mad that a “preacher” was moving in they threatened to line up and moon me. Five years later, every family on our street had accepted Christ and was serving in our church. current calling Within about three months, every one of those neighbors we led to Christ relocated. So, we started to ask the natural question—“God, who do you want us to invest our lives in next?” Christy and I are wired for personal, relational ministry. It’s very important to us to have our family intentionally engaged in reaching and discipling people around us. After a year of prayer and a series of defining moments, we knew God was calling us back to Columbus, Georgia. We believe God’s desire is to use our influence in Columbus from our student ministry days with our church planting experience in Atlanta to maximize our impact for His Kingdom. When we finish this incredibly valuable residency at Mountain Lake church and ChurchPlanters.com (highly recommend it), we will move to Columbus with a goal of launching a new church by January ’09. Columbus, GA stats The city of Columbus is the third largest city in Georgia, located 1 ½ hours southwest of the Atlanta airport. It is adjacent to Phenix City, Alabama, which doubles the potential for outreach and multi-site ministry. According to the 2007 demographic reports…
- Almost 300,000 people live in Columbus and its tri-county region.
- The population doubles to 600,000 if you include the Alabama counties and the entire Columbus Valley region .
- 86% of those people are unchurched.
- The majority of unchurched people are ages 11-39.
new church plantAccording to the stats, the people in Columbus, GA not only need a new church—they need a new kind of church. They need a church on a mission to reduce lostness. They need a church who will break down the barriers of traditional religion and connect with the younger generations. They need a church who will actively demonstrate grace and hope in the community. They need a church who will do whatever it takes to open the door for people who “don’t do church” to find Jesus Christ. The Murphys are ready to lead this adventure in Columbus! Our dream is to raise up leaders and plant missional churches in our 16 surrounding counties. prayer & partnerships We can’t do this alone. We need you to pray for us and partner with us! Here’s how…
- Sign up for the blog
- Send us your email/address at jmurphy@mountainlakechurch.org
- Join our team! (Columbus is a great place to live!)
We’d love to hear from you!
I came across these Stats(By Dave Early) today and thought they were amazing.
I am more excited then ever to not just plant a church– but to begin a movement!! I beleive we can Change the World!!!! Who wants to be apart of that?? I know I do…
Observations on Church Planting.
1. There are 195 million non-churched people in America, making America one of the top f
our largest “unchurched” nations in the world.
2. In spite of the rise of mega-churches, no county in America has a greater church population than it did ten years ago.
3. During the last ten years, combined communicant membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.5 percent (4,498,242), while the national population increased by 11.4 percent (24,153,000).
4. Each year 3,500 to 4,000 churches close their doors forever; yet only as many as 1,500 new churches are started.
5. There are now nearly 60 percent fewer churches per 10,000 persons than in 1920.
- In 1920 27 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
- In 1950 17 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
- In 1996 11 churches existed for every 10,000 Americans.
6. “Today, of the approximately 350,000 churches in America, four out of five are either plateaued or declining.”
7. One American denomination recently found that 80% of its converts came to Christ in churches less than two years old.
8. Hence the claim of many leaders: “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches” (Peter Wagner).
I am thrilled about our future and God continues to unravel his plan to us. So in this process of starting a church that targets people outside the faith, I wanted to let you know some of the things we are praying for and asking you to pray with us.
1. Pray for a Revival (a real God movement) where people see who God is, recognize who they are and fall on their faces before him.
2. Pray for Spiritual Readiness (for myself and my family)–right motives, Christ-likeness and right expectations.
3. Wise Decisions (Picking the right staff team, choosing what churches and networks to partner with, location to launch ect…)
4. Staff team
5. Core Launch Team
6. Resources (The goal is to raise $200,000–$100,000 for launch and $100,000 for the first year of operations) in addition to staff salaries.
7. To hear God’s voice clearly and follow passionately.
There is nothing that I want more than to be completely in God’s will and serve His purpose. I am asking all who partner with us in this Journey to pray every day.
Thanks,
Jeff