LAST SUNDAY/ THIS SUNDAY

LAST SUNDAY was Easter. WOW! What a Saturday night and Sunday it was.

• Perry had an incredible message from Genesis 3 about the Easter story. You can check it out here... http://www.newspring.cc/series/more/i-want-more-than-ive-got-right-now/
• I am so happy to have a Pastor who listens to God and then is willing to do what He says!
• We saw 35 people stand and confess Jesus as Lord of their lives on Sunday.
• That is 91 salvations in 17 weeks as a church!
• I asked and prayed that God would bring 1000 people to our church last weekend. I asked that, hoping that our 434 people who have been attending services on average, would each bring at least one person with them. Now, I know that adds up to 868. However, we are in a series based off of Ephesians 3:20 aren't we? You guys did an amazing job of reaching out to your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. We saw our largest attendance as a church and had 793 people show up to church last weekend. I am so proud that we buy into the fact that found people find people.
• One of my favorite things from the Easter weekend is the story of Matthew Parker. He was saved at the Charleston campus on February 20th, baptized on March 6th, and attended an Ownership class a couple of weeks later. He is now volunteering in KidSpring. Sunday he invited a coworker to the 11:15 service and his friend and coworker stood to receive Christ! That gets me so excited and is why WE DO WHAT WE DO!!!!!

THIS SUNDAY we are continuing the MORE series and I have one thing to ask. If you brought someone with you last week, try everything you can to get them back this week (especially if they were one of the ones who stood at the end to receive Christ)!

This week we are meeting in the Exhibit Hall. We have not been in there before. We are still in the Convention Center; it's just a different room. Be sure to follow the signs and our wonderful greeters will direct you where you need to go. Also let anyone you are inviting know so they will not feel confused or lost upon arrival.

You will not want to miss the opening song this week for sure!

CAN'T WAIT FOR SUNDAY!!

LAST SUNDAY/ THIS SATURDAY & SUNDAY

LAST SUNDAY we had a great finale to our series UPGRADE. This was Perry's synopsis of the message from his blog earlier this week...

" As we said this past Sunday Revelation = Responsibility! If God has put someone on your heart that does not know Christ OR that once walked with Christ but has “strayed off the path” then you are responsible to have a conversation with that person. You are NOT responsible for their reaction…but you are responsible to be obedient to what God has said. Remember what Jesus said in Luke 14:23 (go and MAKE them come in) and what James, the brother of Jesus said in James 5:19-20!

I am SO thankful that God is a God of second chances. As we talked about Sunday Mark quit, he walked away…but Barnabas believed in him enough to not just pray for him…but to pursue him and bring him back to the faith. AND…God used Mark in an incredible way…and his impact is even being felt across the world even today (as we have the Gospel of Mark!) Who needs you to be Barnabas for them today? Who needs someone to step into their lives and TELL THEM that God wants them to come home? (See Luke 15:11-32)"

You can checkout the entire post here... http://www.perrynoble.com/2011/04/19/a-letter-from-pastor-p-to-newspring-church-22/

THIS SATURDAY & SUNDAY we are celebrating our RISEN Saviour. We have spent the last three weeks encouraging you to not just invite your lost friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family but to BRING them.

We have been a church for 16 weeks now and what God has done is AMAZING. I am so grateful to GET TO do what I do. I am also so thankful for all of you that He has blessed me to do it with. Our campus has averaged 434 people and we have seen 56 salvations over the past 16 weeks. In praying for Easter I thought, "what if the people coming did what we asked?" That would result in 868 people at our Easter services.

Most people who would say "no" to an invitation to church any other time, will come at Easter and Christmas. It's also been proven that most just need to be asked and they will come. With that in mind and a challenge from Perry to not pray any weak prayers, I have asked God to make our people obedient and that we would see 1000 people at our Easter services and 56 more salvations.

We have just a couple more days...WHO ARE YOU BRINGING?

Service Times: Saturday 6pm and Sunday 9:15 and 11:15

We are loading in Saturday at 1pm. Join us if you are available to help. If you are coming to the 11:15am and don't have plans after, please stick around for a few minutes and load out with us.

CAN'T WAIT FOR SATURDAY & SUNDAY!!

Easter Commercial: Kinetic Type from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Guest Post: Brendan Mendenhall

Hey everyone, I’m Brendan Mendenhall and I am so excited to serve as the Charleston Campus Discipleship Director. A little about myself: I was born and raised in Annapolis, MD. In high school I met my soon-to-be wife Lauren and we began dating my senior year. When I graduated from high school I went to a local community college then later transferred to Clemson University (Go Tigers!). My junior year of college I began visiting NewSpring in Anderson, SC.

I graduated Clemson with a BS in Accounting and soon relocated to Charleston to take a job at a local accounting firm. A few months after I graduated from CU I married my high school sweetheart, Lauren. As soon as NewSpring came to Charleston, we were all in. I’ve always loved seeing people do life together, so I stepped into a volunteer role organizing groups at NewSpring Charleston. It was in that place of service that I found my passion for discipleship.

In April I came on staff at NewSpring Church as the Discipleship Director for the Charleston campus. It’s an honor to serve here and I’m excited to see what God does here in the city of Charleston!

Follow on Twitter: @bhmenden

LAST SUNDAY/ THIS SUNDAY

LAST SUNDAY we had a PARTY!! In Charleston specifically,we had a BEACH PARTY. The band opened with the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA". The theme tied into Perry's message about how, as Christians, we should celebrate God and all He does. Right from the start of the message he reminded us that it is not about us, but about those who need to be invited to the party. We passed out forks and party hats as a reminder of Easter and the "party" that we should be inviting people to attend.

It was a great message! In fact it was so good that I watched the 9:15 in Charleston and then attended the 6:00 service in Anderson. You can watch it here... http://www.newspring.cc/series/upgrade/

We continued passing out Easter tickets for our 3 services. If you have not picked yours up, do so this weekend!! I am praying and asking God that we see 1000 people come to our Easter services. Our highest attendance since our launch Sunday was just under 500. I don't think it is too much to ask or pray that everyone bring someone to the "PARTY"! If everyone brings just one person, we can easily provide the opportunity for 1000 people to hear the life-changing message of Jesus on Easter!

THIS SUNDAY we will wrap up our series UPGRADE. This had been a great series, and I can not wait to see how we conclude it Sunday. We are in the PAC (Performing Arts Center) this week. If you don't have children, it is best to enter off of Montague. Depending on what else is going on in the other areas of the Coliseum, you may not be able to get to the closest parking lot off of International Blvd.

We also have our Night of Worship this Sunday Night. I blogged about it earlier this week...

Night of Worship April 17th 6pm

From Perry's Blog...
"We are having a night of worship THIS WEEK at every campus where we will get together as a body and beg God to do an amazing work on Easter, sing to Him in full confidence that He is going to do an undeniable work among us and learn from the Scriptures how we can continually be confident in going out and reaching people who are far from Him. Listed below are the night of worship times for each campus==DO NOT MISS IT! (There will be childcare at each campus for children ages four and under…children five and older are welcome to attend this event.)"

Charleston Campus
When: April 17th at 6pm
Where: PAC (Performing Arts Center)

I cannot wait for this event. Plan to worship with us in Charleston as we prepare for what God is going to do through our Easter services. I spoke with a local pastor here in Charleston yesterday. His church does not have a Sunday evening worship service. So, I invited him to come along with anyone from his church that would like to lift up their Easter services as well. Our prayer is that God moves in the hearts of lost people. PERIOD! If you or your church does not meet on Sunday nights, join us as we beg God to do what only He can!

CAN'T WAIT FOR SUNDAY!!

Sara Schenck-041011 from NP Baptism on Vimeo.

Night of Worship April 17th 6pm

From Perry's Blog...
"We are having a night of worship THIS WEEK at every campus where we will get together as a body and beg God to do an amazing work on Easter, sing to Him in full confidence that He is going to do an undeniable work among us and learn from the Scriptures how we can continually be confident in going out and reaching people who are far from Him. Listed below are the night of worship times for each campus==DO NOT MISS IT! (There will be childcare at each campus for children ages four and under…children five and older are welcome to attend this event.)"

Charleston Campus
When: April 17th at 6pm
Where: PAC (Performing Arts Center)

I cannot wait for this event. Plan to worship with us in Charleston as we prepare for what God is going to do through our Easter services. I spoke with a local pastor here in Charleston yesterday. His church does not have a Sunday evening worship service. So, I invited him to come along with anyone from his church that would like to lift up their Easter services as well. Our prayer is that God moves in the hearts of lost people. PERIOD! If you or your church does not meet on Sunday nights, join us as we beg God to do what only He can!

CAN'T WAIT FOR SUNDAY!!

LAST SUNDAY/ THIS SUNDAY

LAST SUNDAY Clayton King preached on the Lordship of Christ and making sure you and I have the correct Lord guiding and directing our lives. I loved his point about how we can't simply make God #1 on a list; it is absurd to think that God could fit on a list. The proper perspective is to put God central and revolve our entire lives around Him. THAT WAS GOOD!!

You know if Clayton's preaching to Charleston, people are getting saved. This week was no exception. We saw 12 people physically stand and say out loud that "JESUS IS LORD" during the invitation. It was a powerful experience. That puts us at 54 salvations in just 13 weeks!!

This past Sunday we also saw our largest attendance since our launch! We have also seen our largest volunteer numbers during the past two Sundays. Once again if you're not doing something, something is not getting done! It's all about you seizing the opportunities for ministry. As believers we are all called to it. Some of us do it and grow spiritually through it, while others just consume and miss out!

THIS SUNDAY we are having a party. . . a Beach Party! That's all I can tell you for now. If you show up Sunday in your Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts, you will not feel out of place. Who am I kidding? At NewSpring you could do that any week and not feel out of place. We have two more weeks in the series UPGRADE. Come expecting God to speak to you and ask Him who you need to invite to bring with you.

We started passing out Easter tickets Sunday. If you did not get your tickets last week, pick them up this week. This is a great tool for inviting people for Easter. I also challenge all NewSpring Charleston Owners and Attendees to come to our Saturday service on April 23rd at 6pm to open seats for people at 9:15am and 11:15am on Sunday, April 24th. Be praying and expectant for God to move mightily and do great things this Easter.

Our 4am Load-In team is doing a phenomenal job getting things set for us to worship each Sunday. They could use a few more people, but we have the greatest opportunity for serving after the 11:15am service on our Load-Out team. If you are available to stick around for an hour after the service, it would help tremendously (even if you volunteer once a month)! YOU ARE THE CHURCH.

CAN'T WAIT FOR SUNDAY!!

Africa

I've told you that I would post about my trip to Africa and have failed to deliver. So, if you've been waiting, this is my Africa post...

My trip to Africa was INCREDIBLE! All of you who know me realize that long-winded detail is a spiritual gift of mine. However, if I start going into details of my trip, I would write a three page post and no would read it. So, instead I've decided to just bullet point some of the highlights and show some pics. ENJOY...

• Without a doubt the highlight of the entire trip was preaching in the village of Tu Tu and leading a man to Christ after the service . I'll never forget the moment my interpreter told me that the man who had walked down to the front of the church was ready to give his life to Jesus!
• I will also never forget the herd of goats that came by to bahhh and heckle me as I preached.
• Going inside a "home" in the village was quite an experience. I was amazed to see how tiny their homes are. It was an experience!
• Meeting people from the other NewSpring Campuses and forming quick bonds was pleasantly surprising to me. We had a great time together, and I can't wait for them to visit me in Charleston!!
• Second to leading someone to Christ was seeing all that we've been able to do in Kenya in such a short time. It is amazing to see how God has used us there! I gained a better understanding of 410 Bridge, why they exist, and our partnership with them.
• Riding in the BIGGEST lime green Mercedes was pretty stinkin' awesome. (pic below)
• About the second day in Kenya, the kids became comfortable with me. It was interesting to see that they wanted to touch and feel my skin and the hair on my arms.
• The first day and a half I helped dig holes and build a platform for the Ereri Primary School's water tanks. I do not ever want to have to mix concrete again, especially not "Kenya Concrete." Next time I'm packing some Quick Crete - just add water! WOW! That was hard work!!
• The rest of the time I got to help the dentist which was an experience. I saw lots of tooth extractions. (I was corrected from saying we were "yanking" teeth out). I even saw a couple of people who had teeth growing out of the roof of their mouth, not to mention the LARGEST wisdom tooth I have ever seen. I haven't seen any until this trip, but on this trip I saw quiet a few!
• It was heart-warming to see some of the people on our trip who have been before get to meet the kids they sponsor through http://www.brightpointforchildren.org/
• We saw a CHEETAH!
• On the last night in Kenya, I stayed in the nicest tent EVER!

It was such a fantastic trip. I can't wait for people from the Charleston campus to get to

experience it. Please let me know if you have questions or are interested in going, and I'll give you what I know and point you in the right direction.

Thanks again for all the prayer support while I was there. Charleston was heavy on my heart while I was there, and it is an honor to know that I was heavy on many of your hearts as well.

LAST SUNDAY/ THIS SUNDAY

LAST SUNDAY can be summed up with one phrase, "Thank you NewSpring!" Brad Cooper brought an incredible message about the next generation and how our God is a generational God. God is working in and through you and I right now. We might not know just how much we are impacting the generations coming behind us, but we are!

We can all make an "UPGRADE" in our lives if we pour into the next generation. What they can and will do will blow our minds.

Sunday we also had 4 more people go public with their faith and get baptized. That makes it 35 people that have been baptized in 12 weeks. YES!

THIS SUNDAY we will continue our series UPGRADE.

The biggest event to take place every year in Charleston happens this Saturday. The Cooper River Bridge Run will bring thousands of people in town from all over. Take advantage of any and every opportunity you have to invite people to NewSpring Charleston on Sunday. This might be the only chance they get. Seek out divine appointments for invitations. I pray and believe that one day NewSpring Charleston will be the biggest event that happens not only once a year in our city, but each and every Sunday! Can I get an AMEN?

We will have our Easter tickets available for you to pick up this Sunday. There will be three Easter services this year in Charleston. We will be having our regular Sunday services as well as one service on Saturday, April 23rd. Tickets are free! This is just a great tool for us to use to invite and get people to an Easter service. Remember friends and family will go with you on Christmas and Easter when they would normally say NO! Pray for who God wants you to invite and then do what He says.

I can say with all truth and sincerity I have never been more excited about being a part of the local church more than I am right now. We have seen 42 people give their lives to Christ in 12 short weeks. If you have been attending and not contributing you are missing out. God is doing great things and allowing us to be along for the ride. What are you waiting for?

CAN'T WAIT FOR SUNDAY!