So... open before christmas

after the Dreams party we then held 7 yep count them 7 Christmas Eve Services with carols, off the chart choir, great message by Doug Roe...he must be the energizer rabbit just keeps on going.
We pulled it off with many committed volunteers, and a great staff. Literally thousands of people attended, at the end of each service people were encouraged to grab a box of Krispy Kreme Donuts and or a beautiful red Poinsettia to take and give away to people who were working on Christmas Eve.

Big fun...now, a good kind of being dog tired.



in the last 10 days i figured I worked around a zillion hours...

this week is clean up the the stuff and then begin to write systems of all our outreach event from finish to start...

But today we are enjoying a quite day with family and friends....heading up to the Fraze tonight to see the twinkling lights.

Feed the world

many years ago, 1984 Band Aid... a group of musicians and singers joined together and released a video to encourage people to give and help feed the world...if you look you'll see a young Sting, Bono, etc.

The poor you will always have with you
and you can do whatever you want to do to help them.

-Jesus

the key is to do something to help the poor in your world.

Below is an interesting link... Sarah has been helping the homeless since 1969.

Renowned Belly Dancer Helps the Homeless



Yesterday Christmas Dreams was amazing...the best yet...hundreds of excited kids showed up...and an army of pumped up caring volunteers.

We had a blast caring, serving and praying for those who attended.

Now stories are filtering in...

Dave and Barry scoped the crowds to find just the right kids for one of the 30 donated bikes...

the first bike given was to a young family...

a few days ago they were in a fire...and lost everything, the young man pulled a man out of the first floor apartment...then watched as all he owned went up in flames.

believe it or not their employers fired them because they couldn't make it to work...they couldn't get to work because they were in survival mode and were looking for a place to move to and to start over...(nice employers eh?)

we had some bank cards left over from the shopping spree...so we decided to give the couple $500 and some change...when i handed the cards to the family they burst into tears...

Behind the scenes...

Pam, their case worker, had asked me to register the couple for the party and wrote their names down on a piece of wrapping paper at our Wrap It Up! station at the mall... we were fully booked but we made some extra room...

the kicker, I didn't know that this couple was the couple we helped nor did Dave.

Pam later told me the full story...the couple are pulling away from generations of family dysfunction...and have been making good progress.

if Pam hadn't cared enough to offer active help
if Pam hadn't wrapped gifts at the mall to write their names down
if they hadn't been invited
if we hadn't made room
if Dave hadn't noticed them to give them a bike
if we had spent all the money on gifts
if I hadn't been standing were I was standing at that moment
if the party hadn't been started by Doug Roe years ago...

Christmas Tis the season.

Making Christmas Dreams Come True 2007

we've had a great run up to our huge party for the less served of our area. 1100 kids and 300 parents will be attending the event at Sinclair College today.

We've wrapped hundreds of presents, shopped until we've dropped, set up, prayed and now we are ready.

over 400 volunteers will be serving. Many behind the scenes...

I'm always amazed at the care and commitment of the Vineyard people.

They give, serve, and care.

Our mission to love the city into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's great to see the mission being accomplished in small ways and in big ways.

Our Christmas Eve Services will be off the chart...

google out... or that's just the way it is

Often when i talk to seasoned leaders I notice many still have a narrow vision...have limited sight and only see the immediate. They many times fail to see the big picture. I've been suggesting they Google out, begin to see the bigger picture, to appreciate what is going on in the world and to expand their world view to invest in the future of their city, state, nation and world.

There is nothing more discouraging for me than to hear self-centered leaders speak from their self-centered perspective. Narrow.

I've been amazed at the short sightedness. The attitude says no one can do anything better than me. The problem inflated ego. They need to Google out to see the bigger picture.

...Googling out sees the Kingdom potential. The Kingdom of God is much larger than we tend to believe. Our positive impact upon others is also much larger than we tend to believe. Living truth demands development.


The big picture, God so loved the world...that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have / gain eternal life. Jn 3:16.

When we lose sight of the great commission
we lose sight of our great prophetic purpose in life.
terry virgo

When leaders embrace a narrow view instead of an all inclusive world view, they in turn, pass on their narrow view to those within their sphere of influence and limit the potential of the people following, or unknowing repel those who want to make a difference in their world.

Alan Nelson of Rev Magazine has hit the mark with his Me to We writings. His passion is to help leaders shift from a Me world view to a We world view. The shift is vital for growing churches. People who want to play in the game also want to sense that they are part of something greater than themselves. They want to be on a team, be a team player be in a movement that is really making a difference in Google out sort of way.

How do leaders begin to shift their world view? Google out.

1. Embrace your crisis, your crossroad. Most vision is developed in crisis, or at a crossroad time of life that could lead to a progressive forward movement. Isiah saw the Lord when the king had died. He humbled himself, cried out to God, was cleaned up and sent out.

2.To go to the mountain and see
Simply put, pray...Moses went to the mountain, where God could be found... was instructed ...then return and built what he saw. You can see a lot when you're on a mountain. The perspective is amazing.

Getting alone with God is one way to begin to see in order to gain and grow fresh vision.

3. Change your speech. Make a conscience choice to use inclusive words. Shift from I, to we, me to us, me to we. As you consciously seek to use inclusive words, seek to develop and inclusive attitude. Faith often speaks before faith sees. i.e. we are doing a great thing in our community. Thank people openly for being part of God's plan for your area.

4. Develop a team mindset. If you want to change your world, you can't do it alone.

5. Invest in others by giving away what God has entrusted to you.
Key word: entrust. We will have to give an account how we gave away what was given to us as a trust. (tip: do a biblical word study on entrust, to trust, or stewardship)

Many leaders don't do well in developing others to expand or to carry on their vision to future generations. This is the making disciples piece of the great commission...teach them to obey all that I have commanded you idea. If we don't encourage, challenge, nurture the next generation they will have to recreate the principle... better to pass on strong DNA than to see a recreation that has diluted DNA.

Personally, I want to be a Google Out person. I want to be a part of what is happening now, see into the future and genuinely celebrate others who are developing and moving forward. In the end God is honored, people are playing in the game, Jesus is glorified and those who know not Jesus are discovering faith.

Wrap it Up!

we are beginning our wrap it up season at the Fairfield Commons Mall Beavercreek...I'm pretty excited...lots of Vineyard people are scheduled and we are in a new Mall with a new location...lower level just by Sears...

hundreds of presents will be wrapped and many conversations will be part of our outflow.

Even the wrapping impaired can participate by greeting shoppers and making sure the line flows smoothly...

times: 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 9pm Monday through Thursday 12pm to 9pm on weekends Friday through Sunday.

Sign up in lobby of the Vineyard or phone Nicole at 427.1912

December 8th - December 23rd

Free Gift Wrap

Courtesy of The Vineyard

"A pretty good church"

Located on the lower level next to Sears

Monday - Thursday

12:00pm - 2:00pm 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Friday - Sunday

12:00pm - 9:00 pm

see mall link

click see mall link to go to mall website

making christmas dreams come true 2007

factoids:
300 volunteers
300 bags of groceries
hundreds of presents given
hundreds of kids faces painted
1400 people eating a 4 course meal

why? making life a little more enjoyable by showing God's love in a practical way

See daytonvineyard.com