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

Wednesday was an amazing day. Shawn Lovejoy, Paul Peterson and myself took a road trip today to visit Steven Furtick at Elevation Church.  Much Like Moutain Lake Church they have some great practices that they work. The things that stuck out most about the Elevation team were there Honor for each other, there desire to hear from God and constantly positioning themselves around great leaders for there own personal growth.  

I am excited about all that God is doing to prepare me for his work. 

We made it all the way from Atlanta to Charlotte and back in time to do some trick or treating with my family. We had a blast. I love my wife and kids they are awesome!!!a