I have been married to my best friend Casey for 10 years. We have two beautiful girls Charli and Chloe, and I love being a dad. We started Foundations Church Sept. 7, 2008, I love our church, I love our people, and am blessed to be the lead pastor. Believe, Belong, Become.
I love, love, love Foundations Church. So many exciting things are happening and going on and getting ready to come. It is going to be an exciting fall for us. Here is the weekend in review:
Canvas- We had a lot of fun this week talking about mess-ups. They are going to happen, and remember, you can't mess up too much or too big. It was a lot of fun being very transparent today, and don't think about putting smashed up Oreo's in my car!
Worship Team- Our worship team sounded so great today! Shannon, you are doing a phenomenal job leading us in worship, and Randy Detring did a great job on the sound. Our worship band is dyanmic! Thank you all for your heart and energy you bring every Sunday.
Volunteer of the Week- Sara Dyer. Sara was in our nursery volunteering this week. While she was feeding a baby and burping it, she got completely covered in baby spit up! Oh man! I saw her come out of the nursery, went in the bathroom and washed off, and went back and continued helping out. Thank you so much, Sara, for getting puked on and still going back to serve more. Sara, you are the type of person that makes Foundations Church such a great place. Thank you so much.
The Everyone Campaign Video- Thanks to Kyle for all your help with the video. You did a great job! We will have the video on the website for you to download and watch. More and more videos are going to be coming your way Foundations!
Life Change- We had 6 people raise their hand for life change this morning. This is why we are here, and every week we have people raise their hands. I love that this is happening and that people are experiencing God week after week as the Lord and Savior. We are starting "The Slab" in September. That is a new believer's/next step class for people that experience life change at Foundations. Be in prayer for this new experience coming our way. We are very excited! Let's keep bringing people in and let God do the work.
Baby Dedication- It was my honor to dedicate Kaden this past week. Amber and Josh you guys are going to be great parents. Thanks for coming and honoring God by dedicating yourselves and Kaden to God today. We will be praying for you, and will help any way we can.
Community Group- We are heading to our community group tonight. I love hanging out with other people who are facing the same struggles and challenges in parenting. It is so much fun getting together with all these other couples.
We are going to have a big time Fall as a church. So much is happening and going on that I can't wait to see all that God is going to do. This week we should have our Foundations T-Shirts in and I am looking forward to preaching in a t-shirt. Make sure you are here this coming Sunday, we are concluding our series Canvas and you won't want to miss it. Hope you have a great week.
Yesterday I took Charli to Pre K, yes I guess I am getting that old. On our way there I told her, "Charli, I want you to know that I love you very, very much." She said " Dad I know. Why do you always tell me that? "Well, Charli, because I want you to know that I will love you always." Charli again says, "Dad I know you love me always, cause you always tell me." This is one of my favorite conversations I have had with her. I love that she knows I love her. She then went on to tell me that she was never going to get married, never have babies, and never move out of the house. Wow!
One challenge I want to leave for all of us out there this weekend, is make sure the one's you love, especially the one's you love the most, know they are loved. Loving one another is the biggest thing that the Bible tells us to do. So do it to the absolute best degree that you can. I want everyone around me to know that I really love them. Don't take it for granted, don't let the moment pass you by, just let others know you love them.
By the way, this Sunday's service is going to be great. We are continuing our series called Canvas, and this week we are talking about mess-ups. This is a great one to invite your friends to, and if you are perfectionist, this sermon is so for you. Hope you have a great weekend. Remember you are the best invitation anyone is going to receive to Foundations. See you Sunday!
So there are some times I think I just get too excited that I can't sleep. I have been up since about 2 this morning and so I thought, "Hey might as well blog right now", so here it goes. Here are some of the things that are keeping me up because honestly I am just too excited:
1. Life Change- Literally every week someone is accepting Christ as their Lord and Savior at Foundations Church. It doesn't get any better or more exciting to me than this.
2. The Everyone Campaign- I can't wait to see what happens when all of Foundations Church is moving and going in the same direction for the same purpose. Make sure you sign up, you can do it on our website, it is going to be Awesome!
3. Football Season- Come on OU and the Dallas Cowboys! I love football and love fantasy football too, they are both about to begin...woo hoo!
4. Billboards, Direct Mail Out, and Door Hangers- Starting late August all the way through September, we are going to be doing all we can to get Foundations Church seen in our community. Can't wait to see who starts coming and who's lives are changed, all because of God's grace and mercy. We have never done this much advertising, be praying.
5. Foundations T Shirts- I am very excited that in the next few weeks our T-Shirts will be here for Foundations! They are going to be wicked awesome (sweet use of 80's term for all of you out there).
6. Our 1 year anniversary- Foundations Church turns 1 on Sept. 13th. It is going to be an incredible service so make sure you are here, and invite, invite, invite.
Okay I need to stop there are so many more things I am excited about that are coming up like The Slab (our new believers class), the children's ministry, youth ministry, community groups, I could keep going. It is going to be an awesome and exciting fall so be praying with us that God will continue to change lives and advance His kingdom. Have a great rest of the week!
1. Canvas- This past Sunday we talked about the big picture. Often times we can get caught up with where we are currently or we get confused and it is hard for us to see the big picture Christ has in mind for our lives. This has really been an amazing series so far, so make sure you don't miss next week.
2. Volunteer of the Week- Ashley Jones. Ashley is doing an amazing job helping us coordinate our nursery. We realize there is no way we could do it without her, and people like her. So Ashley thank you so much for all your help.
3. The Lake and Friends- Saturday we went to Lake Skiatook with Cory and Jennifer Spurlock and The Dalrymple's and we had a blast. I have never laughed so hard on the back of a tube with two other guys in my life. The only down side was when you crashed you swallowed soooo much water. It was a great time and I am glad my friends came up and brought their boat.
4. Church Planters- I had dinner with some future church planters Sunday Night. It is so great and refreshing to be around people who are experiencing many of the same emotions and thoughts I have and still have at times. We had a great time. Thank you Steve and Cindy for setting this all up.
5. Baby Dedication- I got to dedicate Shane and Heidi Weber's son little Joel this past Sunday. It never gets old getting to do baby dedications, and they are such great parents already. They took such an awesome step this past Sunday, so excited for them. Joel did great too, he just slept all the way through, so far no babies have cried!
6. The Everyone Campaign- Make sure you get involved in our Everyone Campaign. We need everyone at Foundations Church to help us reach everyone. So Sept. 12th and 19th we are asking for everyone to get involved and help us reach people for Christ.
I hope all of you have a great week, and that it is a productive week too. Getting ready to do staff meeting...I love the team God has given us! Have an awesome week.
Sorry I missed my Wednesday blog this week. It has been, as I said on Monday, a busy week. There have been so many different meetings this week, but it has been a productive week. We have great things happening in the next month at Foundations, let me give you a few...
a.) 5th Sunday- Every time there are 5 Sundays in a month we are going to come together as a church on that Sunday Night and spend time worshiping and sharing in communion. The first one is going to be the last Sunday of August. We are going to have child care for those 2 years old and younger. The reason for this is to worship as a family. I think it is really important for our kids to see us as parents worship. They learn by watching. So make plans on August 30th, from 6 to 7 pm, we are going to simply spend time worshipping and taking communion as a church.
b.) The Everyone Campaign. On Sept. 12 and 19th we are wanting everyone that comes to Foundations to help us with getting the word out about our church. We need everyone to help reach everyone. We are planning to go to neighborhoods with door hangers and just get the word out. We are also launching 12 different billboards around Tulsa, along with a direct mail out. But here is the deal.... you are the best invitation anyone will ever receive. So get geared up to help us get the word out about Foundations Church, and get ready to invite everyone you know. We are showing a great video about this at church this Sunday... it is hilarious!
c.) Hybrid Youth Ministry- We have some cool things getting ready to happen in our youth ministry. I can't elaborate too much, but great things are on the way.
d.) Foundations Kids- We have some exciting activities, some cool changes, and just some great things happening in our kids area. We are constantly needing more help in our children's ministry. This is a great problem to have and we are anticipating a fun fall season.
e.) I love the excitement that all of our people have every Sunday. I love that Foundations is a church you want to come to instead of feel obligated to attend. God is doing some really big things and this truly is just the beginning of what is going to happen, lives that are going to be changed, and families that are going to be reached. Let's keep staying passionate about God and people.
Things are fantastic and I hope you have had a great week. I can't tell you how excited I am about Foundations Church. But we can't achieve all God has for this church unless we all get involved. I hope you are planning to be there on Sunday, and can't wait to see you there. Our series "Canvas" is continuing and it is going to be a great, great series. See you there and bring someone with you. Have a great weekend!
Well sorry I missed my Wed. blog this week. It has been as I said on Monday been a busy week. There have been so many different meetings, but it has been a productive week. We have so many great things happening in the next month at Foundations, let me give you a few...
a.) 5th Sunday- Every time there are 5 Sundays in a month we are going to come together as a church on that Sunday Night and spend time worshiping and doing communion. The first one is going to be the last Sunday of August. We are going to have child care for those 2 years old and younger. The reason for this is we want to worship as a family. I think it is really important for our kids to see us as parents worship, they learn by watching. So make plans on August 30th from 6 to 7 pm we are going to simply spend time worshiping and doing communion as a church.
b.) The Everyone Campaign. On Sept. 12 and 19th we are wanting everyone that comes to Foundations to help us with getting the word out about our church. We need everyone to help reach everyone. We are planning to go to neighborhoods and do door hangers and just get the word out. We are also doing 12 different billboards around Tulsa, and doing a direct mail out. But here is the deal you are the best invitation anyone will ever receive. So get geared up to help us get the word out about Foundations Church and get ready to invite everyone you know to church. There is going to be a great video about this happening this week at church, it is hilarious.
c.) Hybrid Youth Ministry- We have some cool things getting ready to happen in our youth ministry. I can elaborate too much, but great things are one the way.
d.) Foundations Kids- We have some great activities, some cool changes, and just some great things happening in our kids area. We are constantly needing more help in our children's ministry. This is a great problem to have.
e.) I love the excitement that all of our people have every Sunday. I love that Foundations is a church you want to come to instead of feel obligated to come to. God is doing some really big things and this truly is just the begging of what is going to happen, lives that are going to be changed, and families that are going to be reached. Let's keep staying passionate about God and people
Things are going great and I hope you have had a great week. I can't tell you how excited I am about Foundations Church. But we can't achieve all God has for this church, unless all of us get involved. I hope you are planning on being there on Sunday, and can't wait to see you there. Our series Canvas is continuing and it is going to be a great great series. See you there and bring someone with you. Have a great weekend
Canvas- We just started our new series Canvas this past weekend. I think this is going to be a great series and I am very excited about the next 3 weeks. Yesterday we talked about that God has a What for your canvas (life). You weren't created to walk around as a blank Canvas, but God has designed you to be a mind blowing work of art. Make sure you download the podcast if you weren't there.
Volunteer of the Week- Cameron Morris. Cameron is helping us out on our worship team, and is doing a great job helping lead us in worship. But he also is helping us big time with our Canvas series. Thanks for bringing the canvases and for painting for us during the sermon. We couldn't do it without you man.
Volunteer Sign Up- We had sign up sheets available for you to sign up and get involved in a ministry at Foundations Church. If you didn't get the chance to sign up email us at www.info@fctulsa.tv and let us know where you want to serve. We don't just want Foundations Church to be the church you attend, we want it to be your church, and that dynamic happens when you start serving. So sign up.
Community Group- My community group went bowling with all the young kids. We had a lot of fun and Adam and Nadia are doing a great job leading our community group. The only bad thing that happened is I was helping Chloe (my 2 year old) bowl and she started to fall. So I go to catch her and in the process drop the bowling ball on my finger! Oh man I had a flood of carnal words come to mind and all I could do is just bite my lip. Why do bowling balls have to be so hard man! Woo still recovering but after whining right now I realize I am going to be okay.
This Week- Have a busy week this week. There are so many exciting things getting ready to happen at Foundations Church, that I can hardly wait. Please make sure you are coming on Sundays and you are getting involved. Hope all of you have a great week, and invite someone to come with you this week.
Hope all of you are going to take advantage of the weekend this week. Suppose to be a lot of sunshine, so get some place wet and cold is my recommendation. I have a couple things on my mind today:
1. Foundations is heading in a great direction! I have been meeting with fellow church planters, and other churches who planted 7 years before us. All of them have said we are going in a great direction, and we should be blown back by all that God is doing in our church. Of course there are areas we can improve, and trust me, myself and the staff are trying. But I am so thankful to be a part of a church that is not just seeing hands lifted for life change, but actually seeing lives being changed too. We are heading in a great direction and I can't wait for this fall! I think the important thing to remember is that God is doing this and not man, so please keep praying.
2. Canvas- Our new series is starting this Sunday. I can't tell you enough, that I think this series and the next one coming up are going to be some of the best we have ever done. Make sure you come and don't miss, because you will want to be at each service. Please pray for this series that lives are touched and changed, and invite, invite, invite. You are the best invitation any person will receive to church.
Back to getting ready for the weekend, and chipping in around the house. Hope you have a great weekend and I will see you Sunday!
"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels- everything go started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment." Colossians 1: 16 & 17 (The Message)
About 2 weeks ago there was a lot of parts of my life that felt like they were completely and totally out of control. I had those moments that I wondered if God was there, and if He realized what was happening. Because I sure didn't understand what was going on and happening at all. But the truth is this He has our whole world still in His hands, and even if you think God has forgotten about you or where you are...He hasn't.
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture and I love the part that Paul says "and he holds it all together up to this moment." Maybe your world if falling apart, maybe it feels like everything is crumbling around you, but even in the midst of certain aspects of your life crumbling, He still holds it all together. He still has your whole world in His hands, and God hasn't forgotten about you.
My mom is moving home today! That's right home, she is not going to the Specialized Nursing Center, she is not on a feeding tube, and she is not going to have to have surgery. The doctors told us that she would be in a Nursing Facility for 3 months, she would be on a feeding tube, and she would need some sort of surgery, this was reality. Even in the midst of this we prayed, you prayed, and my mom prayed. The doctor's are amazed, there is no other way to describe what has happened except God. Even in the midst of my mom's world absolutely caving in around her, she knew HE still held her world in His hands. So take comfort and take heart, even though you maybe confused, scared, mad, and hurt, He holds it ALL together right up to this moment!
Have a great week, and make sure you bring someone with you Sunday. Really our new Canvas series is going to be amazing, so do whatever you have to, to get someone to Foundations with you this Sunday!
Rewind is done- We finished out our rewind series this weekend. Getting to speak on the orange slices was great because it was one of the first sermons I preached at Foundations Church. So most of our church didn't ever hear it. I love getting to speak about the vision of our church and where we are going. Good things are happening and even better things are getting ready to happen.
Volunteer of the Day- Tiny (Charles Boyd). Last week "Tiny" was not at the church he was in Oregon seeing his family, and we missed him. Every week Tiny helps us tear down all the children's ministry toys, tables, chairs, curtains, etc...Thank you so much, Tiny, for your awesome attitude, he loves coming to church and we love having him.
Bob Bob and Nana- Casey's parents came up from McKinney this weekend just to see the kids. Our kids love it so much when they have the chance to come up, and it is almost like Casey and I don't exist when they are here. All they want is Bob Bob and Nana, which is fine by me! Glad they got to come up.
Chilling on Sunday Evening- I had the chance to go to lunch with a couple from our church and had a great time just talking at McAllister's with them. While I was there, I saw quite a few couples that didn't know we had started a church and are going to come check it out! Sunday evening, Jonathan Samuels, our intern, came over and hung out at our house. He is one of my kids from when I was a youth pastor, and I couldn't be more proud of who he is. It was a great evening of just hanging out, playing with the kids, and Casey made brownies with some ice cold milk. Whoooo Baby!
Canvas- We have one of the coolest and most creative series starting this Sunday. Make sure you invite your friends to this series because it is going to be great. You can send an ecard from our homepage. Hope all of you have a great week, and if you haven't been in awhile, we have missed seeing you. Have a great week.
1. Tonight going on a double date with another couple. Always excited to go out with Casey, and we are excited about going out with the other couple too. Hello Charlestons!
2. Casey's parents Bob and Debbie, or as our kids call them Bob Bob and Nanna, are coming in town. They arrived about 3 o'clock this afternoon.
3. Swimming- We will be going swimming as much as possible this weekend. Come on sunshine! We have gone once already trying to squeeze in 3 times this weekend.
4. Family Breakfast- Tomorrow going to lay off the gym and we are going to do a big family breakfast. This is news to everyone else, but it's going to happen. Will probably cook, may go to a restaurant. I love breakfast, my favorite place to go is The Wild Fork in Utica. It is simply amazing.
5. We are ending our series Rewind this week. Don't miss it, please please don't miss it, the title is called The Orange Slices and it's just straight up good!
6. Hanging with my family. I love just spending time with my family and love that they truly are a priority and I don't just say they are.
I hope you all have a great weekend and really bring someone with you to Foundations. See you soon.
Let me say thank you to all of you that have been praying for my friends Cory and Jennifer, my mom, and myself. The one thing I do know is that prayer helps and truly does make a difference so thank you. All of the support that you have shown me and my family has been amazing so thank you so much.
Let me give you a little update about the church. We are having an amazing summer! We really are, we are actually growing and things are going really really great. We have seen new families come through the doors almost every week, and they are loving it. Now for all of you that call Foundations Church home, help us plug them in, and get to know them. I am so excited about the fall coming up. Families will be in town on a consistent basis, we have some great new series coming up, and we have a huge advertising push that is going to involve everyone. It is going to be an awesome fall!
When I went and saw my mom this Sunday and Monday, we were talking. My mom for those of you who don't know, has kidney failure, been through 2 strokes, broken her hip, her hip still hasn't healed, and now has some serious problems with her intestines and is going to have to stay in a specialized nursing center for 2 to 3 months. We were talking and we had one of the best talks I have had with her yet. We started talking about Paul in Philippians 4:12 where Paul says "I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstance." My mom is determined even in her state to be content and still realize God is good, despite the circumstances. Having a good attitude when things are going good is hard enough, but when your life is full of questions and you are in a valley of life it's even harder. But let me challenge you this week no matter if you are having a good week or bad one, be content whatever your circumstance might be, and thank Him because God is good. Hope all of you have a great week. Invite someone with you to church, it is going to be great!
This is Shannon blogging for Justin this week. We had a great weekend again. 8 people commited to follow Christ either for the first time or made a fresh commitment. Just awesome! We continue to have good crowds, especially for the summer months with so many out of town. We also had a baby dedication which is one of our highlights @ FC. Just a great service!
Volunteer of the week: We want to thank John Watkins this week. He's one of our guitarist in the band. He helps every week with worship but also with set up and tear down. Always there and so dependable.
Community Groups: We had several Community Groups meet last night. Our group, Young Families, met at the Kunkel's. Had so much fun. If you're not currently involved in CGs, find one to be a part of. You can check them out online @ www.fctulsa.tv under our Ministries tab. It's so good to be a part of community; I find that my best friends are those folks in our CG. Need to get involved.
Prayer Request: We would ask you to continue to remember the Spurlock family in your prayers. Cory and Jennifer are such special people in our church family. Also, please help us pray for the Graves family. Justin's mother is having a lot of health problems and needs God's healing and help. Their are many other needs I'm sure. If you would like to send us your prayer request, please do so to info@fctulsa.tv.
We love you all, and are so glad to be a part of your lives. This church is just simply awesome. We pray that you have a great week, and we look forward to seeing you Sunday.
It has been a long week this week. But I can't wait till Sunday. You know there are a lot of times when people go through hard times or times they don't understand things that they pull away from God, but these are the times I find God to be so close and intimate. If life is great man I rejoice with you, if times are difficult and tough know I hurt with you. But know this just because our situations change doesn't mean God does. The one constant is this, God's character never changes.
Be there this Sunday, bring somebody with you too, because it is going to be oh so good. We have some great things planned, and I am praying for all of you too. Love you all and have a great weekend. See you Sunday.
