LifeKIDS With Lisa

This year we had service on the Eve of Christmas Eve and LifeKIDS was in full swing with a bit of a different feel! To celebrate the birth of Christ the classes were involved in a few fun activities! Our Loop class (5th and 6th) graders were given the opportunity to serve in the younger classrooms and they loved it! After participating in the adult worship experience the All-Stars classes had a lesson on Jesus gift is Salvation and then enjoyed a few fun filled crafts and games! Motion and Quest 3 were excited to celebrate Jesus with a Happy Birthday Jesus party with cake and balloons! Even our 2 year olds got into their nativity sticker activity!
I heard feedback from a few parents stating:
A two year old was naming his nativity pieces after creating the sticker activity!
A three year old started the day Christmas Eve telling his family “Jesus is born”!!
A visitor told the family, “If they do that LifeKIDS thing again, I want to come back”!
Out of the mouths of babe’s! What a blessing they are!

As you reflect on 2011 and look toward 2012 remember “All things are possible with God”, don’t try to do it without Him!

Happy New Year,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

- Wrapping up the 2011 year we celebrated the birth of Jesus with our EVE of CHRISTMAS EVE experience on Friday night. It was such a greta time of celebration and worship. It was an honor to be a party of it.

- I am once again so proud of the amazing volunteers at our church. These people work so hard to make our church happen every week. LifeKIDS, Host Team, Worship Team and more just gave everything they had to help make Friday night happen. It was a joy to be a part of it!

- The year is winding down and if you feel God leading you to do so I'd ecourage you to consider a year end gift to Life Church. You can do it safe and secure online at www.lifechurchfranklin.com/give .  I know there are lots of great organizations to give to, but I believe in our church more than anything. We will continue to passionately lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ in 2012!

- If you missed Friday night's message watch is right now:

Happy New Year!

Patrick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around Life

- What a great weekend! Week 3 of Carols was an amazing message where Pastor Craig Groeschel. What a challenge to live a fully surrendered life to Christ. Take time and visit the Current Series link on our site to watch the message if you missed it. Life Church Franklin Online.

- The worship team did a wonderful job leading us in Christmas songs of worship. It's not easy for these guys to learn and play these songs just a couple times a year at Christmas and I thought they did a great job. Watching our church worship through song is amazing!

- Friday night is our Eve of Christmas Eve worship experience and it's lining up to be very special. We hope you will invite any and everyone you can to this unique experience. We will start at 7pm at Mountain View 5/6 School. There is LifeKIDs for children 6months through 4th grade. We can't wait to see you there!

Merry Christmas!

Patrick

Eve of Christmas Eve at Life Church

A quick reminder from Pastor Patrick about the Eve of Christmas Eve worship experience coming up next week. Check this out:

LifeKIDS with Lisa

I recently read in a devotion by E.M. Bounds on CHARACTER AND CONDUCT:
Conduct, is what we do; character, is what we are. Conduct is the
outward life. Character is the life unseen, hidden within, yet
evidenced by that which is seen. Conduct is external, seen from
without; character is internal -- operating within. In the economy of
grace conduct is the offspring of character. Character is the state of
the heart, conduct its outward expression. Character is the root of
the tree, conduct, the fruit it bears.

I think about the family and the impact we the church can have on the
lives of the children, I pray that parents understand how important
their character and conduct is in the lives of their own children!
Parents are the most important role model a child has!!!Others that
have influence on a child should be there to come along side and
enhance what the parents have begun!

Make sure you are instilling Biblical truths into your children, with
the web today there are so many resources out there like Keys for Kids
at http://www.cbhministries.org/ForKids/KeysforKids/ReadListen.aspx
and I recently found an advent calendar on
http://ministry-to-children.com/online-advent-calendar-for-families/
Make family time to have game night, pray together as a family, let
you children see you reading the Bible!!

I know many families that are diligent in raising up the next
generation to be a generation that seeks Him and it is evident through
the character and conduct of their children!

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will
not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Blessed to be a mom,
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Beyond it all

Wow. That's all I know to say about this week. I have been trying to put into words all that God has shown me, for over a half an hour now, and there is really too much! The people on our leadership team who read this will think I'm insane, but this week was SO encouraging for me. The service, didn't go smoothly as far as the music went, or as far as anything went really, and Sunday afternoon, I was really burdened about it. My heart was heavy until Monday at around one o'clock in the afternoon, when God began to encourage me like never before. He took me beyond it all to what He saw. God isn't "stuck" on Sunday, but He sees what is coming. And that's where I want to be. Focused on what is next, not that which lies behind.

In Him Always,

Sarah Lackey

Free Christmas Music

Being a part of NetworkChurches.tv from LifeChurch.tv has great adventages. One incredible opportunity that came our way is to be able to offer everyone FREE Christmas music this year. These are great versions of many popular Chrstrmas huymns and carols many people will know.

To download the music for free go to www.lifechurch.tv/carols

Around Life

- I'm super excited about the 400+ Christmas music invites that went out with Lifers yesterday for our Eve of Christmas Eve experience on Friday, December 23rd. Our staff is praying for each person invited to come join us that evening to learn about and worship our savior Jesus!

- Yesterday was our 3rd week of the series Carols. What a great one it was. "O Come All Ye Faithful" was our carol we looked at. It's amazing to think at how faithful God is to us. What a reason to celebrate.

- We are thrilled at the potential Life Group leaders we are meeting with this week. We are praying for tons of new groups to begin in the new year that will build community and allow others to grow in their faith in Jesus.

- Keep inviting your family and friends to Life Church. God is continuing to do great things and we pray he gives us even more opportunity to reach and lead more people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

Blessings,
Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

LifeKIDS Fun:
The Loop had fun a couple of
weeks ago with their lesson, check out the “left over mix” they were challenged to drink!! Just a little cranberry sauce, corn and brownies!!! This week they will have more fun celebrating the birth of Christ with some extra fun games!! Don’t miss it!

LifeKIDS Volunteers: I have to brag on a few of our amazing volunteers so willing to go over and above the call of duty to plan the lessons for our kids!! They make sure that Jesus is brought to kids of every age! It is a blessing to work with each volunteer and I often hear back how much our volunteers love their time with the kids! We just opened up a class that begins with 6 months old and in a few weeks will actually have a lesson to bring Jesus to their level through songs and small toys!!

Have a great week,
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator

HIS

These past couple weeks at Life Church, God has been doing some amazing things behind the scenes, in the hearts of our worship team. God has opened my eyes to the little things that scream out UNITY. Not only is God uniting our hearts as a team, but He is making clear His heart's desire for our church as a whole: To be Found in HIS heart, seeking HIS will, Persistently pursuing HIS purpose for the lives of those inside and outside the walls of our church. Sarah Lackey Creative Arts

Around Life

- What an incredible start to the Christmas season with week 1 of "Carols". Pastor Craig Groeschel brought a powerful word about hope in Christ through the mist of all life brings. Watch the message right here. - We are so excited about the next few Sundays at LCF as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and then make plans to attend our EVE OF CHRISTMAS EVE worship experience on Friday, December 23rd at 7pm at Mountain View 5/6 School! We have some amazing invites for you this Sunday to give your friends and invite them to this experience. We will give you a chance to get the invites this Sunday at LCF. - I just have to take a moment and brag on our amazing volunteers. These people are leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ by leading LifeKIDS, worship, A/V Tech, parking cars, leading Life Groups, etc... Thank you! - Continue to pray for our future location at the Whistle Stop Mall in Franklin. This is a great opportunity for our church to reach more people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Get fired up Lifers! Blessings, Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

“All Because of You” this past two weeks was great! If you missed it, check our web site @ lifechurchfranklin.com to view it! I am inspired each week by the number of volunteers and the commitment they have to others becoming fully devoted followers of Christ! No matter what team you are a part of, it is because of you!!! Life Church Franklin has volunteers who teach, assist, set up, tear down, greet, clean, sing, pray, and give of themselves each week! If you are not plugged in anywhere, you need to be! There is nothing like the joy that comes from inside as you serve and contribute to the local church! As Patrick said we are not to be consumer Christians, but contributing! And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24 I don’t know about you but it does spur me on to see others serving!! Sunday mornings God brings it all together and I am grateful to those that listen and act on the prompting of the Holy Spirit! See you Sunday, Lisa Hanna LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

We had an amazing 2 weeks of our series "Because of You" at Life Church. It was so much fun to celebrate and praise God for all he is doing through so many of the people at Life Church Franklin. If you didn't get a chance be sure and watch the series at our homepage and click on >Current Series. - I have to say once again how amazing our volunteers are. They just continue to blow me away with their hospitality and passion for people who come through our doors every weekend. Thank you! - We are super excited about our Forward giving initiative. I encourage you to jump on board and be a part of it. If your tithing we are asking you to prayfully consider giving an offering each week of a predetermined amount each week that will go towards FORWARD. FORWARD is our initiative to grow our student ministry, fully fund a Compassion International child survival project and support our building renovation project to have a permanent space (more below on that). - BUILDING UPDATE: We are continuing to pray for a smooth and quick renovation project starting January 1st. We will begin renting 15,000 square feet at the Whistle Stop Mall in Franklin. This space will allow us a permanent place for an auditorium and LifeKIDS classrooms. We will have more info and details on how you can volunteer to help in the coming weeks! Have a great week! Patrick

Around Life

There's lots happening at Life Church Franklin these days. God is continuing to do amazing things in and through our church. It's definitely an exciting time. - Last week our church packed 252 shoeboxes for Samaritan Purse's Operation Christmas Child outreach. We held our annual shoebox party and celebrating all God would do through this outreach to the world. - Yesterday we started our new series "Because of You". It was an honor to share God's word and celebrate all God is doing in many lives here and around the world because of the faithfulness of our church. - In 2 weeks we will start a really fun and encouraging series called "Carols". You can download free music for this series here and watch the series promo below. Great stuff! - We all have so much to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving! Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

A few weeks ago we asked our LifeKIDS Volunteers why they serve in LifeKIDS and here are a few of their responses: There are many reasons why I choose to volunteer to serve LifeKIDS! 1.) To commit my faith and love to my Lord Savior! 2.) To show my appreciation as a parent for what LifeKIDS has done for my own children! 3.) To show how much LifeChURCH means to me and my family and how the church has changed my life forever. 4.) Volunteering is the least I can do to give back to the church and what these kids deserve. 5.) I love interacting and getting to know the families better and to see the faces on the little one’s as they are excited to learn about GOD. 6.) To help shift the workload responsibilities off others so they can enjoy the amazing worship service. I personally serve with Life Kids to give these children something I never had as a child and that is a personal relationship with God thru His son Jesus Christ. Even though these children are small they are willing to learn about God and all that has happened in the past and into the future and that is something so special to watch. The interactIon I have with these children brings me great joy and watching them interact with other children whose families have the same Godly interests as their family makes it even more special for them and for us the teachers. Serving in Life Kids has made a big impact in my life. I have learned, thru the children, that you are never too young or too old to learn about God and all he has to offer us thru His son Jesus. I hope to continue working with Life Kids for many years to come. I love serving in Life Kids. It is a time that I can love on the children and bring Jesus to their level! God uses children and to have a chance to get them passionate for Christ is life changing! There are many others and I hope to share them with you in the future! LifeKIDS is a blessed ministry with awesome volunteers who love the Lord! They truly have a joy from Him that can only be found by serving! I am honored to work with a group of amazing people! Have a great day, Lisa Hanna LifeKIDS Coordinator Life Church Franklin

LifeKIDS with Lisa

LifeKIDS teachers are the best!!! I heard great feedback from several teachers this past week that the lessons were just great and the kids were so engaged in hearing the word of God! One teacher told me how much the kids loved the topic and activities and how they really seemed to relate to the concept of “Jesus wanting to spend time with us”!!! In another class the teacher said the kids were really enjoying this series and that she really saw how God is working in and through one of the little boys! In one of our younger classes the teacher reported how two children were able to name and relate to the characters in their Bible story! She also just raved about the assistant teachers in the room and what an asset they are to this ministry! It is God who has placed each of us where we are, at such a time as this and I am thankful that He has chosen to use us to speak into the lives of the children! The children are so important to him and they should be to us, they are the future!! One of our big outreach projects is coming up for the children! Operation Christmas Child is a wonderful way to involve your children in outreach by taking them shopping to help pick out the items and then to help pack boxes! Bring donations to church November 13 and sign up at the information table at church to join us November 17 for the Church-wide Shoebox Party! Have a great week, Lisa Hanna LifeKIDS Coordinator Life Church Franklin

LifeKIDS with Lisa

I am so excited about what is happening with our church and the upcoming building project! Being portable is where God has had us since the beginning of Life Church and I thank our amazing volunteers who selflessly give each week to set up, tear down and pour into the lives of our children and families through serving! It takes so many hands to make it happen and it is so rewarding to see be a part of it all each week! When we are in the new building this will have many changes especially for LifeKIDS!! There will be many plans and ideas to come as we put all this together and I ask for His guidance as we make those steps!! LifeKIDS Motion and All-Stars classrooms will have a collection bin in their classrooms over the next few weeks to help with Operation Christmas Child! A list of items to donate will come home with the kids this Sunday! We are in need of a few more hearts and hands to serve in LifeKIDS now!! Please consider being a part of this rewarding ministry! We rotate on a 2 week on and 4 week off schedule, so you won’t have to always miss church! “We love, serve, and care for others because that is normal behavior for people who are filled with God’s Spirit. We are Christians. Christ was the ultimate servant. We can’t help but serve because the Spirit of the Servant has filled our hearts. When we serve, we are just being who we naturally are.” Steve Sjogren Have a great week, Lisa Hanna

Around Life

There's a lot to do and lots coming up around Life Church so here's some random thoughts and things for you to know... - We are collecting items again for the CareNET backpack food program this week. Please collect the following items and return them this Sunday: • Instant Oatmeal • Instant Grits • Poptarts • Popcorn • Fruit Snacks • Capri-Sun Juice Boxes We hope you will be a part of this great food program for kids in Macon County. These items are giving to over 400 students each week who don't have the means to eat nutritional or any food at all during the weekend. - Operation Christmas Child with Samaritan's Purse is almost upon us. We are proud to partner with them again in spreading the Gospel to children around the globe through these shoebox gifts. Look for a complete list of needed items this Sunday! - Yesterday's message was a great one. If you haven't seen it take the time to do so by visiting www.lifechurchfranklin.com. (The message will be available for viewing by Tuesday afternoon.) - I'm excited to announce we signed the lease for our new location this week! We will begin renovating a 15,000 square foot big boxed section at the Whistle Stop Mall in January. This is an exciting next step for our church. We can't wait to share more as we get close to renovating. Have a great week! Patrick

Be Present

Be Present: Wow, this was a powerful message for me and I hope you get something out of it too! I am always trying to “multi-task” and I know it isn’t always good! At a recent conference we heard many words of encouragement to be present where you are! I want to share a bit of that with you! Think about this in your day, whether you are volunteering, working, spending family time or time with a friend.... Be present and don’t wish you were someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. 1 Corinthians 7:17 (The Message Translation) Being present is about engaging and listening to those right in front of you. Being present means when talking with someone, you look them in the eyes and listen. Not looking over their shoulder to see whom else is there. Be all there. Being present means creating margin that allows for interruptions and moments of inconvenience, which can be moments when God does the greatest work through us. Being present is about staying. It’s about showing up and never leaving. Having presence in a place, location or context. Being connected to an address, a neighborhood, a city, a zip code. Being present means being involved in the community you are located in. Existing in community and not always trying to “create” community. Knowing and loving your neighbors. There was so much more and I pray that especially if you have children in your life you know sometimes it is hard to just slow down and be there for them but you can make a difference with your presence! Have a great rest of your week! Lisa Hanna Life Kids Coordinator

Around Life

- Sunday was a great morning with guest teaching from James MacDonald who taught us from God's word in James 1. The greatest take away I took from it is that we must find our joy in the Lord through all of life's trials. - I can't say enough about our incredible volunteers at Life Church. We have some of the most dedicated folks around who just love to serve the church. - I had two huge meetings today that I believe will change the course of LCF for a long time in some amazing ways. I can't wait to share more, but for right now that's all I can say. Sorry to leaving you hanging! :-) - We are working on some really good new plans and outlooks for Life Groups that I really look forward to sharing with our leaders and you, the church. I believe is has the potential to change our church's community base of Life Groups in a explosive way. - I'm overwhelmed by the grace and goodness God is showing me and my family right now. He has been so incredibly faithful to us and you, the church, as we continue to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. - We will have info on collection dates and our annual "Shoe Box Night" this Sunday as we again partner with Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan's Purse. Blessings, Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Yesterday in LifeKIDS we brought in t-shirts for the kids that say “I’m A Life Church LifeKID!” We sold over half of what we had!! The kids looked so cute in them and I can’t wait to see them around town!! We will have the rest there this week at the information table in the lobby! Get one before they are gone! Our Pre-K through 4th graders are in a series called Robot Repair and it is focusing on how we use our physical body to serve God! For example week one the children will learn that they need to daily check their heart to make sure they are ready to love God and to love others from Matthew 22:34-40 where Jesus explains the two greatest commandments! LifeKIDS are having fun while learning great Biblical truths! Our Loop 5th and 6th graders have just begun a series on Friendship and choosing their friends wisely! I was told by one of the teachers that it is a relevant and attention grabbing series!! So excited for what God has in store for this group of kids!! Make sure you don’t miss a week! Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday, Lisa Hanna LifeKIDS Coordinator Life Church Franklin

Change Your World In 52 Days

It's been such an amazing few weeks with our current series "Change Your World in 52 Days" as we walk through the book of Nehemiah. There are just so many great stories of strength, courage and trusting God in this book, but recently a line really struck me. Pastor Craig Groeschel has been teaching us through this series and last week he said "Give it to God. Get back to work". I realized so many times we as followers of Christ talk about laying our burdens and worries at the foot of the cross and giving it to Jesus, but we miss the part of "getting back to work". I find myself asking God to take my thing I am dealing with and then I get so fixated with seeing God work in that situation and forget to go forward in the next areas of opportunity he has for me to share the Gospel and live the life he's called me to live. We've got to "get back to work" so we don't miss those next moments of revelation, restoration and revival in our lives and those around us. So, give it to God...Get back to work! Blessings, Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

It is so exciting to see what God is doing in LifeKIDS at Life Church Franklin with the growth we have seen! We are reaching out and bringing others to church! I struggle sometimes with the how many question though and was reminded to not think about how many are here at church, but how many are not!!! Our community is full of many who don’t know him, or don’t come to church! Children can be one of the best ways to get parents to come to church! I have seen it happen numerous times.

I sat with a 9 year old the other day who said they had invited several friends to church but they haven’t come yet. I could see the disappointment in his face, yet I know he will continue to invite! Let’s not loose that child-like faith, invite others to experience His love, invite them! Parent’s if your child would like to bring a friend to church, take the time to help them make it happen! We don’t know how God can use that to make a difference to that family!

We have an amazing group of LifeKIDS volunteers that are taking the time to love on and make a difference in the lives of the kids each Sunday!! I appreciate each one and the dedication they show the kids! Thanks for loving on them no matter what, as Patrick said, this is a place they can bring their “junk” (and some kids do)!

Have a great week,
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator
Life Church Franklin

Baptism Bash

A week ago we had another Baptism Bash that was an incredible celebration. It included several people spontaneously getting baptized. There's not much words can say about that day other than to God be the glory for it all. Check this out:


Here's a more full length version as well:

LifeKIDS with Lisa

This Sunday was Baptism Bash at Life Church and wow it was incredible to be a part of it all! Four of our LifeKIDS were baptized and several of our LifeKIDS volunteers made a recommitment and it just made my heart sing for joy to watch them come out a new creation in Him! Life Church is touching and changing many lives!
Most of our LifeKIDS classes were able to be outside for the baptism and I know it had such an impact on their lives as well!
We also had a spontaneous Baptism and provided bags of clothes, a towel and other needs to break the “I can’t because...” excuse! This is an idea from Elevation Church and it went well for us!

Let’s remember to pray for and support our kids in Ecuador through Compassion International! Patrick and Laurel were given the opportunity to go there several months ago and bring them back packs full of items needed. Very few of the sponsored children ever get a chance to actually meet their sponsor! These kids were so grateful and we are still getting thank you letters from them! Sundays during LifeKIDS our kids are given a chance to write a letter, draw a picture and give an offering to help support them! It gives me great joy to correspond with them! They are so appreciative!

Have a great week!
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator
Life Church Franklin

Around Life

What a great week at Life Church! We are through 3 weeks of our series "BOLD" with Craig Groeschel and it's been an amazing couple of weeks.

- This Sunday we finish up the series BOLD and then move into a 2 weeks series called Unstoppable. This is one series you don't want to miss.

- We have a few new Life Groups starting this week, but we are continuing to look and pray for more Life Groups leaders.

- Be thinking about Operation Christmas Child collection. We have lots of info coming soon and we want to start early to make a big impact in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with many children all over the world through this ministry.

- Baptism Bash is this weekend. Lets just say, I CAN'T WAIT!

See you Sunday!
Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

God is so good! LifeKIDS is growing and giving us opportunities to pour into more families to become fully devoted followers of Christ! I can sure tell that summer vacations are over and many are wanting to get back into a routine. This past Sunday we had just over 100 kids in LifeKIDS!!! That is an all-time record for one service and one big blessing from Him!! The last time we had that many was Easter Sunday and we did that with two services! So having this many all at once was so exciting!

LifeKIDS had “Move-up Sunday” a couple of weeks ago and it went very smooth! Our amazing check-in team does an awesome job! The class we are seeing the most growth in is our Loop 5th/6th graders, they doubled in size! Many of our one year olds are turning two so that class has seen quite a bit of growth lately too! LifeKIDS volunteers make it all run smoothly each Sunday with the love and dedication they have for these kids! THANK YOU:)

With our growth we do need volunteers to help pour into the lives of the next generation! Please consider volunteering with LifeKIDS, it can be so rewarding! Fill out the volunteer application either at guest services or at www.lifechurchfranklin.com.

I look forward to what God has in store for Life Church LifeKIDS with great expectancy! He has great plans for each of us!
Have a wonderful week,

Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Helping Hands

I am reading “Live to Make a Difference” by Max Lucado. It is an inspiring call to action in desperate times. Several lines struck me as I read and think of the many that are in need and the many that our reaching out to meet the needs!
“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
“It all began with an honest look and a helping hand. Could this be God’s strategy for human hurt? First, kind eyes meet desperate ones. Next, strong hands help weak ones. Then, the miracle of God. We do our small part, he does the big part.”

We have so many “helping hands” at Life Church that take the time to do a small part so that he can do the big part! I look back over this summer and the lives that have been touched through mission trips, the outreach team, volunteers, life groups lifting one another up, carrying each other through death or hurt... The list could go on as I reflect on how the church reaches out to be his hands and feet. I am humbled as I see our church body give and serve and blessed to be a part of it all!

God uses ordinary people to do the extraordinary! (Acts 4:13) I know for some of you stepping out and meeting the needs of others is a bold step! Pray about what God wants you to do to be bold to do the extraordinary!

Have a great week,
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator
Life Church Franklin

Around Life

- Week 2 of our series BOLD was amazing! Pastor Craig Groeschel brought an powerful word about living a bold faith and praying bold prayers.

- Craig said, "What you prayer for reflects what you believe about God."

- LifeKIDS had a huge day with over 85 in attendance. Many of our kids moved up to new age groups with the new school year just starting. We are so excited about all God is going to do in these children this year!

- Our next Baptism Bash is August 21st. Can't wait for this.

- Be on the lookout for a new Financial Peace University class signup that will start this October.

Have a great week!

Patrick

Around Life

- Yesterday started a new series called BOLD. Craig Groeschel brought an awesome word that encouraged and challenged us all to a bold faith in Jesus Christ.

- be sure and join us next week for BOLD PRAYERS.

- We spent a few moments in prayer for our students and teachers going back to school this month. Please pray for their protection and to have a bold faith in their offices and classrooms.

Have an great week!

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

It is hard to believe that “summer” is coming to an end here! The public school is back in session next week... With that we will have a “move up” Sunday August 7th!!! Many of our kids have been asking to go to their new class and they will soon get that opportunity! Our pre-k students will move up into the Motion class, first graders will now be All-Stars, the 5th graders move into the Loop and our 7th graders will now be a part of student ministry! It will be an exciting Sunday!

The last two weeks have been a bit busy for LifeKIDS and our volunteers! We enjoyed a fun family evening at the pool Sunday, July 17th! We had just under 100 people there to enjoy the pool, a yummy dinner and fellowship with one another to honor and thank our LifeKIDS volunteers!!! Times like that just don’t happen enough as far as I’m concerned! Surrounding yourself with others who love the Lord is so important as it says in Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Friday, July 22nd was our annual Back to School Bash where we celebrate the children in LifeKIDS! This years theme was “Under the Big Top” and we had a carnival/circus set up! It took many volunteers and I could never thank each of them enough for their time and hearts! The kids had so much fun playing games, eating cotton candy, winning prizes and just enjoying the outdoors!! The night was topped off with “Magic with a Message” by a magician! He used the armor of God to share the gospel through balloon art and so much more!

Have a great week!
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator
Life Church Franklin

Around Life

Week 2 of At The Movies has come and gone, but we still have 2 more weeks to go!

- Sunday we looked tackling the fear of failure by looking at the original Karate Kid. Daniel Larusso overcomes his fear of failing in this movie. As we looked at the movie and how it lined up according to what God's word says about overcoming this fear I challenged everyone to consider 3 thoughts:
1. You will fail.

2. You can overcome.
…for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…
Proverbs 24:16

3. You must take faith risks.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9

- We have a couple new Life Groups that are up and running. Be sure and check out the updated LG page on our website.

- Be sure to invite someone for this Sunday. Week 3 of At The Movies might be the best week yet!

Have a great week.
Patrick

Around Life

Whoa, it's been a busy few weeks at Life Church Franklin! Here's a few thoughts about what's going on:

- Sunday we kicked off At The Movies with a bang! It was an incredible morning or worship and learning. I was thrilled to share from 1 Kings 19 about Elijah. We looked at the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop to talk about moving from discouragement to encouragement just as the prophet Elijah did.

- Our Servolution team was in full effect again this week. They served cold water and fun stuff to people downtown during the 4th of July parade.

- LifeKIDS is holding a movie night this Friday starting at 8:30pm at the McCollum House in downtown Franklin. Bring your kids, chairs and blankets and join us for some fun.

- Now, on to week 2 of At The Movies. What will this week's movie be? Come join us to find out!

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Summer is in full swing with family, friends, parties and fun!! This past Sunday we had several families bring visitors in LifeKIDS! I love seeing new people and especially seeing our Life Church Family excited to bring their friends and family to church with them! I personally was able to have family members visit this week and loved hearing how much “fun” the kids had in church! This is not what they are used to and I pray that through LifeKIDS families are able to see Jesus and feel unconditional love! I have had several grandparents tell me how much their grandchildren love to come to Life Church LifeKIDS when they visit! Great job LifeKIDS team, you do an amazing job each week!

We have a busy month ahead of us for LifeKIDS!!! Our second Movie Night at the McCollum House will happen this Friday, July8th at 8:30! We are underway with planning our Back To School Bash “Under The Big Top” scheduled for July 22nd also at the McCollum House! Last year we did “The Great Campout” and it went well! I am praying for just as many volunteers and even more participants this year!!!

School starts in Macon County August 4th and we will have our “Move-Up” Sunday August 7th where students will move-up according to their new grade level! Many students have been asking about when they can go to their new room!! I can’t believe it is less than a month away!

At the movies came in with a bang this week! The the red carpet was rolled out, paparazzi met and cheered people as they arrived, there were many photo opportunities with the “characters”, popcorn, candy and Patrick taught about discouragement and encouragement using the movie “Mall Cop”! Don’t miss this series, we have three more weeks of At the Movies, I hope to see you there!

Have a great week,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
This verse makes me think of those that serve in our church! I don’t know about any of you, but I always feel refreshed when I see Life Church happening on Sunday morning!! It is exciting to see God at work from set up, worship, LifeKIDS teachers and kids growing closer to our creator, host team, Patrick teaching.... every aspect just amazes and renews my spirit! I think of a line in a song “Renew a right spirit in me”!

“ Refresh Others”’
This Sunday Patrick spoke of renewing and refreshing, and most of us experience this through taking a break either at work for a bit of time or even for an extended time through vacation. We are to rest in him daily though! He is the ultimate refresher and renewer! Mark 6:31 says “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest“ It is in the word! Take some time to rest and be refreshed so we are ready to refresh others!! I never thought of it in this way! I do need to rest, and this is why!

Those who serve in the church do give of their time for others!!!
LifeKIDS is all about “others”. We strive to serve others by pouring into the lives of the kids, and at the same time allowing others to become fully devoted followers of Christ! Our LifeKIDS schedule is ideal with being able to be a part of corporate worship for 4 weeks and then serving with the kids for two weeks. Although, I do hear from some of our volunteers that they sure do miss the kids in between their volunteer days!

We have many opportunities to refresh others and I know when you do, you will in turn be refreshed and renewed yourself!!

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

- We are now 3 weeks into our series RE. It's been an incredible series and I'm looking forward to our final week this Sunday. We have covered: Remember, Repentance and Renew.

- In less than 2 weeks we will begin our ever popular summer series, At The Movies. This is one of the most exciting series of the year. We will look at truth found in popular movies. Each week is a one time only message, so if you miss it there is no way to go back and catch it again. We start Sunday, July 3rd!

- At The Movies is a perfect opportunity to invite friends to church. This is a very non threatening, fun, exciting environment that present the Gospel of Jesus very clearly. Be sure and invite everyone you can!

Have an awesome week!

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
This verse makes me think of those that serve in our church! I don’t know about any of you, but I always feel refreshed when I see Life Church happening on Sunday morning!! It is exciting to see God at work from set up, worship, LifeKIDS teachers and kids growing closer to our creator, host team, Patrick teaching.... every aspect just amazes and renews my spirit! I think of a line in a song “Renew a right spirit in me”!

“ Refresh Others”’
This Sunday Patrick spoke of renewing and refreshing, and most of us experience this through taking a break either at work for a bit of time or even for an extended time through vacation. We are to rest in him daily though! He is the ultimate refresher and renewer! Mark 6:31 says “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest“ It is in the word! Take some time to rest and be refreshed so we are ready to refresh others!! I never thought of it in this way! I do need to rest, and this is why!

Those who serve in the church do give of their time for others!!!
LifeKIDS is all about “others”. We strive to serve others by pouring into the lives of the kids, and at the same time allowing others to become fully devoted followers of Christ! Our LifeKIDS schedule is ideal with being able to be a part of corporate worship for 4 weeks and then serving with the kids for two weeks. Although, I do hear from some of our volunteers that they sure do miss the kids in between their volunteer days!

We have many opportunities to refresh others and I know when you do, you will in turn be refreshed and renewed yourself!!

Looking forward to seeing you Sunday,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

LifeKIDS with Lisa

LifeKIDS has been amazing! So much is happening and God is in control!! A few weeks ago we hit our highest week with 99 kids in attendance! That was wonderful!!! A week or so after that we didn’t have as many children but it seemed like it and one of the host team said she thought the families just kept coming in with more kids! Our volunteers just keep loving on those kids and helping them to see Jesus on their level! This past week we did a volunteer drive and I am excited to say that as God grows the number of children he continues to provide volunteers as well!

We had a fun kick off this week with our new series “To The Depths” curriculum for our pre-K through fourth grade classes and brought in a real slushy machine for the kids!!! It was perfect for the heat we have been experiencing around here lately! The All-Stars have been enjoying playing Marco Polo in class and the Motion class have had fun fishing for their scripture!

The Loop class took part in one of our outreach projects this past Saturday and brought “free” quarters to feed the machines at the laundry mats in town. People were so surprised to be given money and it touched both the givers and receivers! What a blessing it is to see these kids be the hands and feet of Jesus!

It gives me great joy to serve this group of families, volunteers and kids! I am so glad God has me here at such a time as this!

Have a great week,
Lisa

Mens Life Group

One of our awesome volunteers made this video to promote our fast growing Mens Life group that meets Tuesday mornings at the Sunset in Franklin. If you are a guy you need to check this out!

Around Life

- Our new series "RE" began yesterday with a great message on remembering what God has done in your life. What a great reminder that we need to write down and remember God's faithfulness in our lives.

- We had our first ever Life Groups picnic last night with all our groups attending. It was a ridiculous amount of fun. Life Groups are really about doing life together, exploring faith and learning who Jesus really is through His word.

- Here's a look at the picnic:


- If you haven't joined one, I'd really encourage you to try a Life Group.

Around Life

- What a great weekend! Our worship pastor Jason Nicholas took the reigns this past Sunday and team taught with Craig Groeschel from LifeChurch.tv for an awesome message. I have to say I'm so grateful for such a great staff and group of volunteers that help make LCF such a great local church.

- Even with the Memorial Day weekend activities the turnout for worship was huge! I love that people don't want to miss worshiping together and learning from God's word. I actually heard a story of a teenager from LCF who got pretty made about missing church a few months ago!

- We are starting a new series this Sunday called RE.
Here's a glimpse of what to expect:
Souls refreshed. Relationships restored. Hearts reborn. God is the author of incredible stories of change, and is ready to do the same in our lives. Learn how we can open the door to transformation in our upcoming series, RE.

- Don't forget to return the Coins for Christ piggy banks that we are collecting for our Servolution team missions work. You can bring them back this Sunday!

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

LifeKIDS did a great job this past week honoring our Mothers for Mother’s Day! Moms were honored with pictures, flowers, a very cute video and prizes! I loved seeing the kids flow through the isles with those flowers!! Check out the video below!!



Motion, All-Stars and The Loop were all a part of the adult worship experience and the energy level is just amazing having those kids in there to worship!

We have new letters from our Compassion kids and the classes have been writing back to them during LifeKIDS. They are so grateful to have sponsors and love to hear from us! Please remember to send in your offering to help support them too!

I really appreciate our amazing volunteers and all that they put into bringing Jesus to the kids on Sundays! Our curriculum does help guide the teachers but it takes kind words, a smile and love to really show the kids His love! THANK YOU!

Switch Youth Group

Our Switch youth group recently had a game night and challenge with First Assembly of Franklin. It was great fun for everyone. Here are the results of the night:



If you are a student at Life Church come check out Switch on Sunday nights at 6pm.

Around Life

I a few days late this week, but its mostly because there is so much going on.

- Sunday began our new series "Getting Past Your Past". This Sunday we dealt with getting past the labels that bind you. Craig Groeschel said: "REFUSE TO LET THE LABELS OF YOUR PAST LIMIT GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR FUTURE!" This is a powerful truth.

- We are planning on a At The Movies series this summer that simply put, will be unforgettable. We have some great plans to share the Gospel with many people here in Franklin and WNC and can't wait to share with you how you can be a part of it!

- Have you joined our Facebook page? There is daily information and interaction with other Lifers happening at our Facebook page.

- We have several people sick throughout our church, but would you please remember to pray for Barb and Demetri? They are great friends and Lifers would are dealing with cancer issues. We are believing God for their healing and I have been greatly encouraged by their faith through it all.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Around Life

Week 5 of our series WEiRD is in the books and what a great end to this series it was.

- Dave Ramsey brought an amazing message of encouragement and challenge to us. It was not your typical message you'd hear at church, but it was perfect. Learning how to handle and steward our finances in the way God designed, is what we all need to work harder at.
There seems to be no one problem bigger for people today across the board than their finances. The great news is that God's Word, the Bible, tells us how to manage the finances he blesses us with.

- I'm praying for all the people who are going to be weird with their money starting this week. I pray it changes their lives and generations to come. I'm praying for people to steward their money so the local church can do even more in our work to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

- This week we start a new series called: Getting Past Your Past. You will not want to miss this. If you know anyone in your family, friends or work that is hurting, BRING THEM.

- I've got to give a huge shout out to our volunteers. These are busy people who make time to serve our church and community. I absolutely love these people! THANK YOU!

Have a great week. Keep being WEIRD!

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

(This was originally posted after Easter Sunday.)
I love being a part of what God is doing at Life Church and LifeKIDS!! This past week was Easter and it was wonderful! We had two services for the first time which meant double the time, volunteers and supplies! I was and still am in awe of our amazing volunteers who so graciously gave of their time to go over and above to help with the extra service! There were over 60 volunteers in LifeKIDS alone! We saw 116 kids between the two services!

LifeKIDS started the Easter story a week ago, so they were able to spend two weeks on learning the true meaning of Easter. Three classes made resurrection eggs to use during the week to share it with others during the week that lead up to Easter.

Sunday little girls came in their best Easter dresses, boys dressed in ties, visitors all around and special snacks to celebrate His resurrection! The kids were able to hear about and have hands on activities to make the story of Easter real to them from our 3 year old class through our 4th grade class! We had jelly beans, balloons, the flowering cross, crafts, eggs, stickers... Both teachers and students seemed to enjoy the lessons!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner! I pray you are making plans to make that special mom of yours know how much she is loved!

Oh, the holidays are great, but let’s remember to spend time daily with our Father! He is the way, the truth and the life!

Hope your week is great!
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

He is risen!
Yesterday was a great celebration of Christ's resurrection at Life Church Franklin. Here's some of the highlights from the day:

- 3 people gave their lives to Christ. These people lives have been changed forever as they pass from death to life in Christ. This is life change. This is what LCF is about. Thank you Jesus!

- We held 2 worship experiences for the first time at LCF. The 9am and 11am were great times of worship and celebration.

- We had a record attendance of well over 700 people.

- We also had a record attendance in LifeKIDS of 116 kids! Thats amazing.

- I got a report last night that the LifeChurch.tv Network (LCF is a part of the Network) had a total attendance of over 32,000 people! That doesn't even include the LifeChurch.tv campuses which I am sure were in the tens of thousands.

- Pray for every guest yesterday that we can connect with them and that they might find their fit at a church likfe LCF or another local church. We want these people to know that we exist for them and want to be resource of hope, truth and love through Jesus Christ.

- I heard great reports from other local churches too. I heard one local church had 20 people give their lives to Christ. That gives me goose bumps. That is so exciting to see and hear God doing great things in other churches here in Franklin!

- I included this video from yesterday. This is Craig Groeschel wrapping up the message in a very unique and "weird" way.




He is risen!
Patrick

Around Life

We had an amazing weekend at Life Church Franklin. God was moving in very powerful ways and I am so incredibly grateful to be a part of it.
Instead of trying to describe it in words this week, I have included the video below showing images from the weekend and our baptism bash. Enjoy!
Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

LifeKIDS has a whole new look in our new location!!! I am so excited, we have completed three weeks in the Mountain View Intermediate School! There are now seven classrooms set up around the school! We have new t-shirts, there are many new faces and the classrooms are all set up in a new way!!! There has been great feedback from parents, teachers and the kids!! I give God the glory for making all this come together!
Some of the comments were:
“It’s great to be closer together and not feel like we are spread out away from the adult experience.”
“The energy level is high!”
“I love the way things are set up!”
“Having everyone under one roof is so much better!”

There is always room for improvement and of course we are working through those details!
However, none of this would be possible without the amazing dedication and willingness of our volunteers! It takes many hands and hearts to come together to make this happen each week. From the set up/tear down team, check in team and of course the AMAZING LifeKIDS team! Thank you to each one for all you are doing to make Life Church and especially LifeKIDS happen each week! Our heart is to give others what they need to become fully devoted followers of Christ! If you aren’t connected to a team but God is prompting you to use your gifts please fill out a volunteer commitment form either on-line www.lifechurchfranklin.com or at the guest services table in the lobby!

Although Easter is late this year, I can’t believe it is already Easter, this year is going by fast! I love all that Easter represents and sharing that truth with the kids is such a privilege! This past week we had three classrooms creating resurrection eggs to go and tell everyone they know the Easter story. Our 5th and 6th graders have been helping to serve the church and this week helped put together almost 100 of our new guest packets! (awesome job)
The Baptism Bash was incredible, be sure to check it out on our web site, I love seeing lives being changed!

Amazed at the wonder of it all!
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator
Life Church Franklin

Around Life

- Week 2 of WEIRD was so incredible. The key take away from the message was:
IF YOU WANT WHAT NORMAL PEOPLE HAVE, DO WHAT NORMAL PEOPLE DO.
IF YOU WANT WHAT FEW PEOPLE HAVE, DO WHAT FEW PEOPLE DO.
We are praying for you, your family and our church to be "Weird" in a God way.

- Moving to Mountain View School has been an incredible experience for our church. The intimate feel with still plenty of room has created an real cool Sunday environment. The work our AV, Worship, and Setup/Tear Down Teams are doing is a fantastic display of selfless volunteering to the local church.

- Next week we are holding another Baptism Bash. We have several people getting baptized. It's one of my favorite things to be a part of at Life Church. I hope everyone will come ready to party and celebrate these people's lives in Christ!

- This WEIRD series is only going to get weirder. Just a heads up. :-)

- Last thing...I love my church!

Have a great week.

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

So last week I opened one of my devotions and found this: Just as God guided the Israelites through unknown territory, He will guide you and me, too.
"Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before."
Joshua 3:4a (NIV)
That was so appropriate for our move week! I knew God would show up and take care of everything but my flesh kept wanting to “worry” about the details of the unknown! This was a great reminder!!!

This week one of my devotions was as follows :"Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, 'Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?'"
2 Samuel 7:18 (ESV)
Have you ever been in a place of "thus far?" A place where you are experiencing God's blessing and favor on your life. Not blessings and favor by the world's standards of materialism and wealth, but by the Lord's standard of provision, protection, providence, and peace that come from walking in His presence daily.

Both spoke of circumstances we are walking through as a church and of course me personally! I just love how He is always speaking to us in so many different ways!

Overall, I think things went very well for our first week! It was wonderful being able to set up on Saturday, but I know that will be a bit challenging this Sunday AM! I have heard some great feedback on the adult experience and LifeKIDS!

After church I was able to be part of leading a child in prayer to Christ! That was a wonderful time for all involved and I felt so blessed!

Every volunteer was so willing to help and go over and above what is normally asked of them! A great big thank you for all those that helped to bring it all together!!! We are planning for two Easter services (9:00 & 11:00) so that will be my focus for the next few weeks!

Have a great rest of your week,
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator
Life Church Franklin

Around Life

It's been a little while since I've posted here on the LCF blog, but it's also been really busy.

- We had an amazing first Sunday at our new portable location, Mountain View Intermediate School. We had over 450 in attendance and 7 people gave their lives to Christ. Many of them are going to be getting baptized in a couple weeks at our Baptism Bash (April 17th)!

- One of our Lifers, Brooke Young, took some great photos of our first Sunday at the new location. You can view the pictures here: http://bmiller3.photobiz.com/cart/
Thanks Brooke!

- LifeKIDS was a huge day too. We had 89 kids in LK! These kids are learning foundational truths of God's love, grace and mercy at their level. Life change is happening from the youngest ages at LCF.

- I am so incredibly proud of the LCf staff and volunteers. It took alot of work to get here, but God is honoring your efforts to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Thank you!

- I love my church. Thank you Jesus for using us to build your Kingdom.

- Greater things are still to come.

Have an amazing week.
Patrick

The Big Move

This Sunday is our big move to our new Sunday meeting location, Mountain View Intermediate School. It's been a really busy week for our staff and volunteers but we are super excited about this location.

To make things easier for the location change I have written out some things you need to know before Sunday so you can come prepared. Click here to read things you need to know.

See you Sunday!
Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

This week in LifeKIDS was a fun week!!! We will be starting a new series with the Motion and All-Stars classrooms next week called Upside Downtown. The graphics for the series is an upside down town!!! So this past week the kids had a chance to “paint the town”!!! We will hang these upside down to decorate the classes for the next 8 weeks. The murals turned out great and the kids had a wonderful time!!!

Our Loop class began a new series called “A-Ha!” on worship and the Quest class began the story from Mark 4 on Jesus calming the stormy sea.

It is exciting to have new volunteers join our LifeKIDS team! I am in the process of scheduling and meeting with them! If you have been thinking about joining the LifeKIDS team, please sign up on the web @ www.lifechurchfranklin.com or at guest services in the lobby. We do still need a few more people to help bring up this generation to become fully devoted followers of Christ! Remember, you are a disciple and what better way to share it????

We have the best group of people that help make Life Church happen each week!! I asked for a few people to help with a shipment we got the other day and before the end of that day, there were over 10 people that were ready, willing and able!!! The project was done the next day!!! Thanks for those that offered and for those that were able to make it happen!!

Patrick and Laurel were able to meet all 10 of our children we sponsor through Compassion International while they were in Ecuador last week! I can’t wait to hear more about it! The pictures he posted on face book were great!

Have a great week!
Lisa
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

- Sun Stand Still week 1 was all that I hoped and prayed it would be. What an amazing weekend as we experienced God's word in a fresh new way to pray big prayers. Elevation Church's pastor Steven Furtick was just on it this weekend.
I have received tons of positive feedback from many of you praying your sun stand still prayer. If you missed the message please take a few minutes and watch it here.

- This Sunday is the last week we meet in the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. We will begin meeting at Mountain View Intermediate 5/6 School on Sunday, April 3rd. This is across the road from Macon Middle School. Please let everyone know!

Have a great week!
Patrick

Around Life

- Yesterday began signups for Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. We have a great couple, Tom and Carrie Hahn, leading the 10 week class. This is the 3 rd year we have done FPU and it has created amazing results for many families getting out of debt.
If you are interested in the class you must sign up next week. Cost is $99 per couple and classes start Wednesday, April 6th at 6:30pm at the Life Church offices downtown Franklin.

- You are a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a follower of Jesus you are a disciple. I was able to team teach with Craig Groeschel yesterday as we talked about you being a disciple. As a disciple you do 3 things:
1. You see a need and you meet it.
2. You find a hurt and you heal it.
3. You do a whole bunch of others things that Jesus asks you to do that don't fit neatly into a point on a page.

- The Servolution team is rocking. Look for opportunites to serve our community over the next few weeks.

- Laurel and I had an amazing trip to Ecuador with Compassion International. Life Church Franklin will soon become more and more involved in what Compassion is doing in addition to the 10 children we already sponsor through our church.

Have a great week and don't forget you are a disciple!
Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

This week our children in Equador with Compassion International are being touched in a big way!!! Patrick and Laurel were invited to take a trip there with a group of pastors to visit the children and the program! They are bringing with them back packs filled with items to bless the family and special treats for kids too! LifeKIDS also sent letters to these precious kids! I pray they are all blessed beyond measure!

Due to unforeseen circumstances our move to Mountainview Intermediate School has been changed to April 3rd! We are so excited about the changes that we will be able to make with LifeKIDS with this move! We are able to split a few of our classrooms and the new groups will be done by grade level as follows:
Safari-1 year old class
Quest 2- 2 year old class
Quest 3- 3 year old class
Motion -K4 and Kindergarten
All-Stars 1- First and Second Graders
All-Stars 2- Third and Fourth Graders
Loop- Fifth and Sixth Graders
Children will now move up to their new classrooms with the new school year in August instead of with their birthday.

Because of the split in classrooms, we will also need a few more volunteers to step up and plug in! We did get a great response in church this week, but if you are still thinking about making a difference in the lives of these kids, please let me know! One volunteer had a thought of missing adult worship those weeks, but she said that the two weeks on and 4 weeks off would work great and she is looking forward to pouring into the kids!!! I’ll have to say, most of the time people are surprised at how much God can and will grow you through being a part of the lives of the kids!!!

Around Life

What a great weekend at Life Church!

- Yesterday I challenged many of you to Find Your Fit and volunteer through the many avenues available on Sunday mornings at Life Church. I am honored to say many of you accepted the invitation to be a connector to current of the power of Jesus Christ through your volunteering.
We hope and pray many more of you will choose to volunteer as well.

- You are Salt and Light. What a great message from Pastor Craig!

- God is doing some amazing things in and through our church. Servolution is up and running and we are getting ready to love our city in big ways by serving others.

Have a great week! Please keep Laurel and I in your prayers this week as we travel to Ecuador with Compassion International. I hope to post some pictures this week while we travel.

Blessings,
patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Many plans are coming together for our move in less than a month now!! It is getting more exciting the closer we get! This Sunday and next Sunday we will be meeting with classroom teachers and assistants to discuss some of the details of the move.

LifeKIDS at Life Church Franklin is booming!!! A few weeks ago we had 85 kids and this week even with all the sickness going around we had 72! God has a plan for us, and I would love to see us hit 100!!! We had 8 volunteers not able to make it this past Sunday due to illness and were able to fill those with others who were willing to help out!! LifeKIDS volunteers are the best!!!!

All-Stars came over to worship with the adults this week and it is wonderful to see them praise God!! One of the parents said she was so thrilled to see how her daughter was dancing and praising Him!!! Love that child like faith!

All-Stars and Motion classes created a picture or words to describe what LifeKIDS at Life Church means to them, click on the link below to see them: They said it all:)



For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Have a great week,
Lisa
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

Here's a look at things going on around Life Church:

- Yesterday I shared a story of a young lady who came to LCF and communicated to me that she's always hated church her whole life, but at LCF she loved it. She felt welcome and excited.
That gets me pretty excited. I'm thrilled we are creating a place where people can come as they are and let God change them through his Word and Spirit.

- Please pray for all the sick people in our church and community. The flu and stomach virus are going around really bad. We were 6 volunteers short in LifeKIDS alone due to sickness yesterday, but we still had 72 kids!

- The spirit of God was so amazing yesterday. I kept laughing and then crying to myself on the way home as I thought of all God is doing through our church. We had a man give his life to Christ yesterday. That's something to get excited about!

- The Servolution team had a signup after worship that was great. They did a wonderful job and have created 9 unique serving opportunities for you to help our community.
There will be another chance to signup this Sunday as well. Don't miss this chance to serve others in Franklin.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Around Life

Its been a busy week around Life Church and God is definitely on the move. This is the delayed version of "Around Life" for this week.

- Myself and Worship/Life Groups Pastor Jason Nicholas spent Monday and Tuesday near Atlanta with 1,000 other church planters from around the country. It was an amazing 2 days of stretching us as leaders in our respective areas of the church including small groups, systems, vision and mission. It was a wonderful reminder that there are a lot of great leaders across the country being a part of building Gods Kingdom through his Church.

- We are celebrating the 4 people who gave their lives to Christ this past Sunday. That will never get old. It's now our prayer and hope to disciple and encourage them in their walk with Jesus.

- The move to Mountain View School is about a month away. We are working hard to get volunteers and other areas finalized and ready. Like everything we've done at LCF, it will be a learning experience but we will make it the best it can be. Our first Sunday at the school will be March 27th. Look for more info to come.

- I just have to say that I love our church. I love the things God is doing in you all and I believe our potential to impact this community is nowhere tapped out. We have a huge mission field right here in our backyard to share and show the love of Jesus Christ so many will know and love him too.

Have a great week!
Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

We had a wonderful day in LifeKIDS this past Sunday!! Each class was able to celebrate Valentines Day in their own special way! Some had a special snack, balloons and Motion had a party! It is so fun and exciting to share Jesus with the kids!

LifeKIDS classes are also continuing to share the love of Christ through Compassion International by coloring pictures and writing letters to these precious children so far away! We are so blessed to get letters and pictures back from them and they are very thankful for the program, to be sponsored and prayed for!!! Please pray for these children and continue to help support them weekly through LifeKIDS offerings.

Some of the kids brought in items to donate to Care Net and we sent home bags for another class to bring their donations this week! So please keep bringing in your donations over the next few weeks! Care Net is very gracious for the all that they receive to help those in need!!

We are busy at the office preparing for our big move the end of March! I am excited for us to all be in the same building and for the possibilities that this opportunity God has given Life Church to help more people become fully devoted followers of Christ!

When you know who you are, you will know what to do! If you are a Christian, you are Christ's ambassador! (Craig Groeschel)

Have a great week!
Lisa Hanna
LifeKIDS Coordinator

LifeKIDS with Lisa

We had record numbers in LifeKIDS this past Sunday with 85 children registered! God is amazing!! Lives are being changed and I pray that many are becoming fully devoted followers of Christ! Our classes are learning how we worship God when we give the last few weeks. Motion (4-5 year olds) were given a bag to bring in tooth paste and tooth brushes to give to those in need. All-Stars (6-10 year olds) will be given bags this week to fill with any personal hygiene products to give to the needy. Our Loop (11-12 year olds) class had a wonderful opportunity last Wednesday to meet at Care Net to learn about what they do and who they help and then were able to spend some time helping with sorting and boxing food. They were encouraged to donate a box of needed items! It was a great experience for these kids to serve others!

I was able to be a part of the outreach meeting this week and many lives are being touched in a variety of ways through this team!! 197 shoe boxes were delivered through Operation Christmas Child, 13 families were touched by Life Groups through Holiday Angel and over 30 loads of wood have been delivered around our community! Look for more information very soon on how you too can get plugged into this team! Over 25 baby bottles full of change were delivered to Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center this week. Please turn those into the information table when you fill them!

Did you see the wonderful pictures from our kids last week? They were hanging outside the theater for all to see! Check out the blog next week for a better look at these great pictures on what LifeKIDS means to our kids!!

Have a great week,
Lisa
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

The last week of I Quit is in the books and what an end to the series it was. Here are some thoughts from the weekend:

- We collected notecards that everyone wrote their fears on so we could as a church lay them down and quit living with them. We prayed over them together and this week our team will continue to pray over them with you.

- 4 people gave their lives to Christ Sunday. That's another thing to shout about. God is good.

- LifeKIDS had another record day. We had 85 checked in this week. God is using his area in big ways.

- $9,000 more was given above and beyond the tithe towards our portable church initiative which puts us at our $30k goal!

- The LifeChurch.tv video and photo crew had a blast with us Sunday shooting video and stills that they will be taking back to share with their church and how we are using the LifeChurch.tv Network to reach our community with the Gospel.

- We are in the mist of some amazing days at LCF. God is really working in people hearts to bring them to him and be used for his plans and purposes. It is so incredible to be a part of this all as we lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Vision 2011 Sermon

If you missed Sunday at Life Church watch Lead Pastor Patrick Moore's message for "Vision 2011".

Vision. Can you see it?

This past Sunday I had the honor of teaching and sharing our vision for 2011 at Life Church Franklin. There was so much to share and talk about. Of course the "big news" was important as I got to share about our move to Mountain View Intermediate School for Sunday worship experiences starting March 27th, but there was a lot more.

I think having a vision for the local church is greatly importantly. God is not a haphazard God. He has a purpose and meaning for us, our lives and our churches. We all know the church is here to glorify God and build the kingdom of God, but how do we do that? How do we reach people no one is reaching? How do we connect and grow those in our fellowship? It's called vision.

At Life Church we have a very clear and purposeful vision for who God has called us to be as a local church and also who he not called us to be. We can't and won't be the church for everyone. That's ok, but we are going to give everything we have to be the best church we can in alignment with the vision and heart God has given us.

Vision...leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ.


Vision...to connect people in corporate worship through music and worship

Vision...to grow people in meaningful relationship with Jesus and people through Life Groups.

Vision...to serve our neighbors, church and the world

It goes on and on.
Vision. Do you see it?

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

We had an awesome service this week at Life Church Franklin!!! It was our three year celebration and we had a big announcement from Patrick! LifeKIDS started the morning with our biggest prayer huddle ever and Patrick came over to pray with the volunteers and share the announcement of our upcoming move to the Mountain View Intermediate School on March 27th! I loved having almost the whole team together for prayer like that!!!

Two of our LifeKIDS classes were able to be a part of the adult worship experience and then our six to ten year old All-Stars class led the church in “Happy Birthday” complete with party hats and blowers!!! Church ended with an outdoor celebration and a time of fellowship with ice cream sandwiches and balloons!!! So fun:)

LifeKIDS had some difficulties the week before with our check in computers and printers and this week that all went smoothly!! Praise God!

God is growing and stretching LifeKIDS with the last two weeks having over 80 kids join our energy packed, Gospel filled worship/learning experience of God and His word! Two weeks in a row of over 10 visitors!! With that we are also in need of a few more volunteers to help meet the needs to grow His church! After service I did get a great response for new volunteers to join our team, however we do still need a couple more to help with our babies and as a substitute! Please visit our web site at www.lifechurchfranklin.com to fill out the volunteer form.

I love doing life with all of you and coordinating LifeKIDS is a joy!
Have a great week and see you on Sunday,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

I'm not sure how or if I can fully put into words what yesterday was like for us at Life Church but here are some thoughts from the day.

- It was a blast getting to share the history and vision for where Life Church is and where are going. The biggest announcement was about our move to Mountain View Intermediate School beginning Sunday, March 27th. We will beginning using the school as our Sunday morning meeting space for adults and LifeKIDS. Myself, the staff and our leadership team are so excited about all God is doing through you all and this is just another step in the journey of our church. (I will post more this week about the move.)

- The energy and excitement for our church was overwhelming. So many of you are getting the whole concept of leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. many of you are realizing that to invest into others and give generously through your time and resources actually draws you closer to God. It leads you to become a more fully devoted follower of Christ.

- My passion and excitement for our church and community has never been greater. I feel like I did when we started out on this church plant journey 3 years ago. The potential of what God can and will do through our church has never been greater. This is just the beginning.

- The handmade ice cream sandwiches after church were delicious. It was a blast to end our celebration chowing down, laughing and talking with each other and the kids.

Patrick

LifeKIDS with Lisa

All I can say about Sunday in LifeKIDS is WOW!! It was amazing, we had over 80 kids signed in and it was a busy place!! We had quite a few visitors and it is such a blessing to see them come through the door! I pray that each of them were blessed by their experience with LifeKIDS at Life Church Franklin!

It is a joy to hear from teachers and parents of LifeKIDS and this week I heard a few great comments!
One parent asked her son about what he did today in his class and he told her that he sang about Jesus, Jesus loves him and he had fun!
One of the teachers told me this week that she loves our rotation of 2 weeks on and 4 weeks off but also misses seeing the kids in between her volunteer days!!
I heard another teacher testify of how much she gains each time she volunteers with the kids and how she has grown in the Lord by teaching them!!! I can personally attest to that, in the past when I taught on Sunday mornings I definitely grew spiritually as I taught/they were teaching me too!!

If you are not plugged in anywhere and have been thinking about joining a team, please pray about joining LifeKIDS!!! It is a great place to serve and has many rewards!


Hope to see you this Sunday,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Around Life

- As we are in the mist of our new series "I Quit" I wanted to just update you on what's been happening so far. I have seen and heard lots of positive comments about people committing to stop making excuses and to quit complaining. Yesterday was tough as Craig dove into not complaining. We all complain. It's whether we can focus on the good and joy God is bringing to our lives to not complain about the small things.

- LifeKIDS was crazy yesterday. We had over 80 kids check-in. We did have a hiccup with our child check in system but we are working hard to fix those issues. These kids are so excited about learning about Jesus and it shows. I am so thankful for all our volunteers and all the time they are investing into this kids. They are learning to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

- One of our outreach things we currently have going to delivering firewood to those with need. We have logs that have been made available to us for free, but we need to cut to size and delivered when needed. We are working with CareNet to identify families who need firewood for their heat and then delivering to them. CareNet does a good job of qualifying the families so we make sure those in need are getting it. if your interested in being a part of cutting or delivering please contact Mike McCall by email at mccall@lifechurchfranklin.com .

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Life Church Franklin is a church of believers who want to reach our community and the lost to become fully devoted followers of Christ! Our volunteers make it all happen each week! LifeKIDS, our children’s ministry, is an up-lifting experience for both our children and teachers. I hear parents say that their kids have fun learning about the Lord and our teachers feel as if they learn more than the kids sometimes!

This week we received letters from our children we are sponsoring through Compassion International and our kids were able to write letters back to share the love of Jesus across the miles!!

The message this week was called “I Quit” and focused on quit making excuses! We all need to remember that we need to do what we can do and trust God to do what we can not do! Do you fully rely on God? (FROG) “He who began a good work in you will complete it!” Philippians 1:6

Have a wonderful week,
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Our amazing volunteers did it again!!!! Everyone was there to pour into the lives of our kids Sunday!!! There was bad weather Saturday and then they were calling for much worse weather Monday on. Sunday was a very cold morning and being portable we had a few obstacles that God took care of and other than cold, it was a great day to be at church!!!! Our dedicated set-up team, host team and LifeKIDS volunteers were there to serve Him!!! It was a great day for the kids and I could hear some awesome worship from the All-Stars class!!! God is so good!

If you missed the message, it was wonderful! Craig shared about his dedication to Life Church TV and challenged each of us to be “ALL-IN”! This may mean joining a Life Group, volunteering your time, tithing, a mission trip, it may be very different for each of us. If you weren’t there watch it on-line this week! As Patrick shared Sunday, many families are “ALL-IN” and it shows! If you are sitting on the fence about this please pray that God will direct your path and your commitment to Him and the local church! He has a plan and a vision for your life!

I pray you are having a wonderful week and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday!
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

Are You "All In"?

Sunday Craig shared about the first 15 years of LifeChurch.tv. It was a really great celebration of all God has done through LC.tv. As a part of the LifeChurch.tv Network, here at Life Church Franklin we have been honored to be a small part of that.
Watch this short video from Craig to Network churches just like us at LCF:



Craig talked about him and his family being "all in" at LC.tv. Their commitment to their church and the Church is contagious.
Laurel, myself and our whole staff and leadership feel the same way. We are "all in" for what God is doing at Life Church Franklin.
I tell Laurel a lot that "if starting a church were easy everyone would do it". Well, there are times when leading a church is just plain hard, but it's worth it. The lives, marriages, relationships that have been by the power of Jesus Christ through our church is overwhelming to me at times. It's an honor to be a part of this.
For 2011, are pray is that you and your family will also be "all in". All in for everything God wants to do in and through you and all that God wants for you to do at LCF, your family, your work and community.

Blessings
Patrick

XV First Fifthteen Message Preview

This Sunday we will celebrate along with LifeChurch.tv for their 15 year anniversary. We are thrilled to be a part of the LifeChurch.tv Network for the past 3 years.

LifeKIDS with Lisa

Happy New Year!
LifeKIDS had a great treat this past Sunday!! We meet in a Fun Factory facility that has games, put-put golf, bowling surrounded by classrooms. Each week our families walk past these enticing games to go into their LifeKIDS classrooms. This Sunday, three of our classrooms that include our 4-12 year old kids were blessed by being able to spend some time bowling and/or put-put golf!!!! A great time was had by all!!!

New to LifeKIDS:
Our two-three year old Quest class began a new story called "I Can Help" and is on the four friends helping a paralyzed friend from Matthew 9:1-2. The activities focus on helping around the house and classroom by cleaning up... Our 4-10 year old classrooms are beginning a new series called “Center Stage” that will walk them through the Bible for eight weeks to focus on the many ways we worship God. Our 11-12 year old class The Loop are in the middle of a series called “Ignite” and focuses on how our actions ignite our faith.

Life Church began a fast yesterday January, 3rd for 21 days. I pray you have each had a chance to write down your goals and have begun with daily prayer and reading your Bible. There are various ways to fast and that is between you and God, He will honor your best sacrifice. If you didn’t get the insert Sunday at church, see our web-site for more information. Youversion.com has a wonderful reading plan for the fast too.

Have a great week and remember to put God FIRST!!!!!
Lisa Hanna
Life Church Franklin
LifeKIDS Coordinator

21 Day Fast Begins Today

Join us as we corporately seek God and His will for our lives and Life Church Franklin in 2011.
We will fast for 21 days from Monday, January 3rd through Sunday, January 23rd.

During the fast join us in prayer and scripture readings with the YouVersion.com 21 Day Fast Devotional. It's free here.

How To Fast

How to Begin
Start with a clear goal. Be specific. Why are you fasting? Do you need direction, healing, restoration of marriage or family issues? Are you facing financial difficulties? Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. Pray daily and read the Bible.

Preparing Spiritually
Confess your sins to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of weakness. Forgive all who have offended you and ask forgiveness from those you may have offended (Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4; 17:3-4). Surrender your life fully to Jesus Christ and reject the worldly desires that try to hinder you (Romans 12:1-2).

Deciding What to Fast
The type of fast you go on is up to you. You could go on a full fast in which you only drink liquids, or you may desire to fast like Daniel, who abstained from sweets and meats, and the only liquid he drank was water. Remember to replace that time with prayer and Bible study.


Fasting Basics
The type of fast you choose is between you and God. He will honor your best sacrifice.

Types of fasts:

Full Fast Drink only liquids (you establish the number of days).

The Daniel Fast Eat no meat, no sweets and no bread. Drink water and juice. Eat fruits and vegetables.

Partial Fast A partial fast is from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm or from sun up to sundown. This fast can be a Full Fast, Daniel Fast or give up at least one item of food.

Other Fasting Options If for health reasons or to just ease into fasting, choose a specific food to give up. Consider giving up soft/sugar drinks, all sweets, bread, etc...

Scripture References for Fasting:
Matthew 6:16-18, Matthew 9:14-15, Luke 18:9-14

Relation to Prayer and Reading of the Word:
1 Samuel 1:6-8, 17-18, Nehemiah 1:4, Daniel 9:3, 20, Joel 2:12, Luke 2:37, Acts 10:30, Acts 13:2

Corporate Fasting:
1 Samuel 7:5-6, Ezra 8:21-23, Nehemiah 9:1-3, Joel 2:15-16,
Jonah 3:5-10, Acts 27:33-37