Lubbock Campus Blog

Highlight of Bulgaria!

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:02:35 CDT

We just recently went to Bulgaria for a National Men's Conference and it was incredible. There were 60 men (pastors & leaders) representing over 30 churches from the nation of Bulgaria. To put that in perspective, Sofia, which is the capitol of Bulgaria, has 1.5 million people and only 20 churches!

The first day we were there I met the man in the picture and because we didn't speak the same language we were unable to communicate. Long story short...I felt the Lord telling me to go pray for him during ministry time at one of the main sessions and I didn't want to because of the language barrier. Needless to say, I placed my hand on his back and began praying for him in my prayer language and when he turned around and saw it was me he began weeping uncontrollably and we just stood there and hugged. Amazing how the Holy Spirit breaks ALL the communication barriers we have.

This truly was the highlight of my trip.

- Justen

LOVE

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:27:38 CDT

The LOVE of God is the most foundational component of basic Christianity, but probably the most misunderstood. God couldn't love you anymore or any less no matter what you've done...good or bad. In fact, God wants a relationship with you so much that He's done everything possible to make it happen. If God is love and loves us so much, what keeps most people from experiencing Him?

The truth is most people have an incorrect view of God's LOVE because many churches (sadly) have preached a works righteousness gospel as opposed to faith righteousness.

There are two approaches to righteousness:
1) Earn it (works - only Jesus did that)
2) Receive it (faith - it's a gift of love)

Be perfect or recieve a gift. We are righteous by simply
believing in what Jesus accomplished at the cross. That's it.

Sadly, most Christians fear God (not the awe kind of fear) and
are not fully convinced that He loves them. See 1 John 4:18.
God loves you no matter what you've done. That will never change.

Listen to the message LOVE.

- Justen

Destinations & Saturday Service a Success!

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:21:42 CDT

Three weeks ago we started a new series entitled 'Destinations' and launched a new 5:00pm Saturday evening service. Both have been successful and we've seen 10 people over the last 3 weeks commit their lives to Christ!

During this series we also had our highest attended weekend with 393 people walking through our doors. Some may ask, "Why do you make a big deal out of numbers?" The simple answer is because every number represents a person and at the end of the day it's about winning people to Jesus. It's about intentionally pointing people to Jesus and helping them get on a path they can travel the rest of their lives. The Bible says Jesus saw the multitude and had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). It also says that He did something about it...He began to teach them many things.

There are over 450 churches in Lubbock, TX and over 150,000 people who don't go to church. In a city with a population
of 220,000, the church to attendance ratio is considerably out
of whack. My heart and I hope your heart as a follower of Christ is
to win as many as possible and point them to the Chief Shepherd...
JESUS.

- Justen

Swimming with Sharks!

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:44:29 CDT

How ironic that we're in a series going through the book of Jonah and talking about a man who was swallowed by a 'great fish' and I'm swimming with my family (IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN) with several GREAT FISH! The reason I'm wearing those Michael Phelps look alike goggles is so I can see what is about to swallow me. To hear the full story you'll have to listen to Pt.3 "The Darkest Hour" of our Jonah series, but seriously am I the only one who thinks of the Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week' when I'm swimming in the ocean? Unbelievable!

Despite near death experiences, Cancun was the best family vacation we've ever had. Usually you need a vacation from your vacation because you're exhausted when you get home. For us, we almost didn't make it to Cancun because Erica's passport was MIA. Our flight was scheduled to leave Sunday morning and Friday we were still without a passport. Having done everything possible in our power to get it here on time, including expediting the process, God was about to show us AGAIN His Great Love!

Not Your Typical Pool Party!

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:39:15 CDT

With temperatures ranging in the 100's this summer, we found a way to beat the heat and party with Jesus all at the same time. Over 150 were in attendance to watch 14 people make a public profession of faith and follow Jesus in water baptism. Even though our new facility has a baptismal it's more fun to throw a party, so everyone can get wet.

This year has been outstanding as we've seen over 30 people give their lives to Christ! For me personally, stories of life change make everything worth while. I love the 'Life' t-shirts that everyone was wearing at the baptism party. The first thing every person saw as they came up out of the water was the word 'Life' in a bright arrangement of colors. Here's to keeping church fun and Jesus real!

Click Here to Watch the Baptism Video!

- Justen

Justen, Crystal and Erica!

Tue, 12 May 2009 23:56:12 CDT

The last two months of our life have been absolutely incredible! Back on March 7th, Crystal and I both felt the Lord leading us to pursue adopting a beautiful teenage girl. Through a series of events God confirmed to us that we should move forward. To make a long story short, we completed 29 hours of training, CPR, First Aid, fire inspections, health inspections, etc.

On Thursday May 7th Crystal and I were chosen as the adoptive family for Erica! There are many amazing things that have happened over the course of the last two months, but too many to tell here. God's amazing love and sovereignty have been overwhelming. Maybe someday Erica can write a book, but for now here's a picture of me, Crystal and Erica at our first meeting after eating at Outback Steakhouse! She's incredible!

- Justen

Baptism Party!

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:00:15 CDT

We recently had a Baptism Party where we baptized 11 people! As a pastor, this is one of the most rewarding things that I get to be apart of. It's incredible watching the Lord change people from the inside out. One encounter with Jesus will change your life forever.

Everyone who was baptized invited their family and close friends to be a part of this special event. People flew and drove in from all over. There was one young lady whose family flew in from California to support their daughter! We were planning on 40 people being in attendance and ended up with almost 90...the more the merrier.

Watching everyone being baptized was so powerful that a young girl began weeping. Her brother had given his life to the Lord at church earlier that morning and she was ready to trust Jesus too. One of the ladies went over and prayed with her and she gave her life to the Lord! Now that's a good baptism party!

- Justen

Harvest Tailgate is a Huge Success!

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:58:15 CDT

A few weeks ago we had a Tailgate party between our two Sunday services that brought around 270 people. It was plenty cold, but not quite like tailgating in Green Bay! Many people have asked me what a Tailgate is and why we do it. The answer is really pretty simple...it's relevant to our city and it's FUN! Our tailgate is before the big game that happens at 9 & 10:50 every Sunday morning. People love it, there's plenty of food and the kids have a great time! I want to thank everyone who helped with the Tailgate. Without you it wouldn't have been possible!

- Justen