Lift Off!

We are no longer planning to be a church... we ARE a church! Canyon Ridge launched on 9:09 AM and landed with a huge splash at 1:30 PM on October 19, 2008. 260 people came to visit, and it was an amazing day for the church. I wish I could say it was all without a hitch... but that wouldn't be completely accurate. The biggest hurdle came the day before when our sound tech blew out the speakers. He said, "This has never happened to me in the 30 years that I have been doing this." Not exactly comforting, but we knew that God would take care of us. We were able to swap out speakers and have a really great worship experience the next day.

We nearly ran out of room in the parking lot, and had to scramble to set up extra chairs -- I would love to have those problems every week!

Between the two services, Mary had 17 kids in her preschool program.

The feedback has been great. A few people sent emails to say how much they liked the service... and these are people who haven't been to church in a really long time. Others commented on the friendliness of our people. They said that we're a church that accepts people, and that they'd be back the next week.

Thanks for keeping tabs on us -- the real work begins!

Crunch Time

The secret to good blogging is... to blog! So much has happened with Canyon Ridge these past few weeks that I don't even know where to begin. Before I retrace any history, let me throw out the websites that many of you probably know about anyway: www.canyonridgeboise.com, and www.imsickofchurch.com.

We are less than a month away from our launch. It's exciting (and terrifying) to watch what God is up to here in Idaho. Word about our church is slowly spreading as we put our name and dream in front of people. Our advertising is going out in force these next two to three weeks through radio spots, movie theater advertisements, mass media, and t-shirts. I've had more conversations with people about the web address on our t-shirts (www.imsickofchurch.com) than through any other method. Just try and wear a t-shirt like that, and you'll know that people are really interested in what you have to say -- or in what they assume that you have to say!

Church planting isn't like anything I've ever done before. For example, last week end I flew to Seattle to pick up the truck that will haul our sound equipment around for the next few years. Everything with that trip was going fine until I made a coffee stop on the Oregon/Idaho border (Mary always said coffee would be my downfall some day). The truck wouldn't start when I can back with my cup of joe -- gulp!

For those of you who know me... I'm no mechanic! I waited about half an hour (after I'd already spent some time verbally warning the truck -- I looked like a lunatic talking to mysef at that gas station), prayed REALLY hard, and then turned the key... prayer works!

We are so excited to get things rolling... keep in touch, we need your encouragement!

Truth Telling

I won't say much in this post... because it would get in the way of what Sol has to say. We start them young at Canyon Ridge. This was so much better in person -- let me know what you think...

Home Sweet Home

Canyon Ridge Church has landed, and we are excited to make preparations to move into our new home on October 19, 2008! River Valley Elementary in Meridian will host our grand opening. It's nice to be able to tell people in Idaho where they can come to connect with God!

We are also well into our "marketing" plan to promote Canyon Ridge. Our church is going after the 20 - 35 age crowd in two different ways: (1) We have a web site for the 20-35's that have children and are busy living life as a young family; most of our promotion to them will be through traditional mailers and a great web site www.canyonridgeboise.com; (2) our second approach is to produce a web site (that is fully functional now) that has more of an edge to it: www.imsickofchurch.com. We have movie screen adds and radio spots that do little more than announce the www.imsickofchurch.com web site for them to check out and hopefully respond to.

The whole attempt to is to gain an audience with people who are burned out on "normal" church methods and get into the lives of people who have never heard or have even rejected the Gospel.

Game On!

Things are really beginning to move rapidly now... and the church planting process gets more exciting all the time.  Probably the most satisfying thing for me and my family is the chance to meet and grow alongside some talented people.  Last Thursday, we got all of our Boise contacts together and did what any good church ought to do -- we partied!  It was the first official Canyon Ridge gathering in Boise.

It was fun to hear the excitement in Dennis' voice when it was over... he turned to me when just about everyone was gone and said, "Game on!"  

It's exciting to see the people who are coming along for the ride.  We have people with advanced degrees in theology (who are not part of the "official staff"), we have people who have enough faith to move twelve hours from home and not know where they will work, we have people who are ready for a new start... it's amazing!

Keep reading this blog -- if I can manage to keep putting up fresh posts and let us know what you think.  Drop us an email.  Write a letter.  Call us on the phone.  Your encouragement is vital!

Our web site is just about complete... and I am eager for you to see it and have one more way to keep tabs on us in Idaho!  I'll be sure to drop a link to it next week.  

Rapid Growth

Canyon Ridge is the fastest growing church in Idaho... we grew from 9 to 37 in less than a month's time.  OK, so that's a little optimistic, but it's exciting to watch our God keeps bringing new people to us every day and week.  We expect the growth to continue for many years to come.

In a few short days we'll have a new website for you to check out.  Brian (our worship arts pastor) is working with a web developer to make the site appeal to folks who wouldn't ordinarily attend church.  It really will be an interesting site -- and I'm anxious for us to unveil it soon.

There are so many things to get done, and it seems like we're pushing a gigantic rock up a hill... call us crazy, but the Canyon Ridge team looks forward to this kind of work!

Ticking Clocks

Canyon Ridge had its first staff meeting.  An historic event in the life of our work.  It is also important to note that we held this grand event at a local Moxie Java -- perfect spot for the first of many meetings!

Of course, the setting is not the most significant outcome... we had much bigger things to decide.  The clock is now ticking for the grand opening of our vision.  October 19, 2008 is the day set for our first church services.  Will you continue praying -- specifically that God will do great things on that day?  Your prayer support is crucial because we know that God hears the prayers of His people.

So many things have to come together for a successful launch -- but we know that God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine!

Big Ideas

For now, Canyon Ridge is little more than a great big vision.  We know that God has huge plans for this work, and it takes an extra measure of faith to be flexible enough to see it all through.  I love the complexity and challenge of the project, and I can see why so many people are afraid to plant churches.

As the days roll by, we can see how God is bringing the work together.  Houses are selling (Dennis and Judy will close on their house in six days), Brian and Kerith are in their new Idaho home, and we are meeting people every day who have a yearning to come alongside this project to help.

For our family, we celebrated some significant events in Idaho that make it seem more like home.  Naomi and Gracie celebrated their 7th and 9th birthdays (pictured in this post at the Cheesecake Factory) and Mary and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.  I think this was the first year all of us were together for those special events!

Keep praying and dreaming with us -- who knows, God may even stir your heart to come and plant alongside us in Idaho... you won't regret it! 

Office Space

Two weeks have already gone by here in Boise!  Time flies when you're... church planting.  As we get out and interact with the "natives," it's been interesting to hear their responses.  In a highly scientific study (wink), 98% are excited to hear that a new church is coming.  The other two percent were under the age of five and are just happy to meet us!

We're also very excited that our team will be with us in a matter of weeks!  Our lead planters, Dennis and Judy, sold their house in Denver and are arriving in a couple of days

to find a new place to live.  Brian and Kerrith, our worship leaders, are packing up and getting ready to make a journey from California, and Jeff and Verla, members our core team, are coming this week end to find work -- we are so excited to see some familiar faces!

The main question the people of Boise are asking is, "Where is your church going to be?"  Great question... I'll let you know in a couple of weeks where we decide to land.  For now, I'll keep 

finding coffee shops to office out of (like the one pictured here) -- Boise does

 not have a shortage of coffee houses.  God knew this place was perfect for me!

Retiring From Boxing

It's been a full week now, and we are going to retire from boxing.  Hopefully, we won't follow the lead of all the great boxers of the past who decide to "retire" and then get back into boxing for one last bout.  Nope, we don't have any boxing plans for the future.

The funding for the project is coming along... but we are only half way to our personal fundraising goal.  If you are still interested in partnering with us for a couple of years, please let us know!  Send me an email and I will help you help us!

Please keep us in your prayers -- the real battle is going to intensify over time!

Blown Away!

What a ride to Boise.  The scenery from Denver to Idaho is amazing... how about taking a special road trip to see the sights and us?!  The journey was a little over 800 miles, and we made it to Meridian in one piece.

It was encouraging to have so much help on both sides of the move.  We packed, with no room to spare, a 26 foot truck in Denver in about five hours, and then unpacked it in about two hours in Meridian. Not bad... considering all of the things a couple can accumulate in 14 years of marriage.

Thanks for praying us through to Boise -- we love our new home and are excited to begin our work of connecting people with God.

Boxing

The packing of many boxes never ends... until tomorrow.  It feels good to have the house 95% packed and nearly ready to go.  We're trying not to think about the obstacles that are looming: selling a house, fundraising, and making it to Meridian in one piece.  The phrase that makes a lot of sense to me right now is this one: "In quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15)."

Burn the ships -- we are on our way!