This is a very challenging vision because you seldom find people far from God go to church…in fact they are most probably if not afraid, hate to attend a church, an institution directly identified with God.

To make them love to be in our church we need to have Bold Actions, one of which is to have BOLD INVITATIONS. But do you know people will not be interested in your concern unless they sense that you are interested with their concerns and that you are interested to know who they are and what they are? If they sense that….they will be attracted to what you are telling them and as a result will be interested with your invitation. That calls for INVESTING in in them!

Investing in people means spending time with them when they needed you. That may even mean investing your personal money to share goods or food to them and let me add emotional investment – that is a bit uncomfortable but if you really wanted your friends who are not incline to be with God will love and enjoy our church experiences we are called to boldly do that.

...to Christ for our BIG MOVE!

I have some few strategical tips in INVESTING and INVITING your friends and family (like that of what most networking companies are advising their members) whom you will invite:

1. First, PRAY BOLDLY for God to open your eyes of who are the people whom He would like you to lead to Him.
2. Secondly, you need to MAKE A LIST OF AS MANY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHO ARE FAR FROM GOD. Do not label them by behaviors, characteristics and attitudes while you are writing down their names. Just make a list of all of them.
3. After doing so, start the screening process, again not by their characteristics and attitudes but by IDENTIFYING THEIR RESIDENTIAL LOCATION. Take out from the list those who are living in the Visayas and the Mindanao and retain the ones who are living closest to the Makati area so that our church venue will be accessible to them.
4. Then after identifying those who are residing closest to LifeChurch Makati venue…begin the big work of investing in them by RECOGNIZING WHO AMONG YOUR FRIENDS  AND FAMILY MEMBERS ARE LOW MAINTENANCE, RETAIN THEM IN THE LIST, because people who are high maintenance will tear you down in the long run. Later go back to your high maintenance friends and family when the Lord molded you with more patience and love!

As we prepare for the BIG MOVE on September we have our slogan of “LEAD ONE  to Christ!” From the remaining names in your list God will give you the right insight of whom to invest and invite  so that you will have someONE to lead.

I pray that you will enjoy your INVEST and INVITE…so that you will be over joyed when you see them enjoying our church’s experiences. God Bless your INVESTING and INVITING!!!

Murad, MILF leader & PNoy talking for peace for Mindanao (done secretly in Japan)

The secret-but-not-secret-anymore talk of PNoy with the MILF leadership in Japan is a big news these days. There are positive and negative reactions to it but one thing is sure…this surprising unconventional step of PNoy’s administration is a try to achieve the very evasive ‘peace vision for Mindanao.’

LifeChurch Makati have the big vision of ‘building a church where people far from God would love to attend!’

In achieving that vision we need to do something ‘different’ not for the sake of doing different but to have unconventional steps to reach those who are the most evasive & most unlikely to be led to Christ – that is a grand vision! In doing so, like PNoy’s Team who made unusual way to achieve a vision, as a church ‘we have to do things, short of sin, no other church is doing to reach people that no other churches are reaching.’

With that I would like to ask you Lifers to be with your church leaders on the following:

1. BE WITH US IN THIS VISION. Let us be in one page as we step in building our church where people far from God would love to attend. Let us start to think for them, let us be more concern on their comfort than on our comfort, say on the time schedule of our services. Let us equip ourselves so we can welcome and serve them well. And SERVE in a particular team where you think you will be good at!
2. TELL THE LEADERS ‘OUT-OF-THE-BOX’ STRATEGIES YOU MAY THINK OF…so that we can consider those to reach those who are far from God.
3. PRAY FOR THE THINGS WE WILL BE DOING IN THE COMING MONTHS. We need the empowerment of God’s Spirit for only in Him we can find strength & courage in reaching our target people.
4. And lastly, SHARE GENEROUSLY so that we can do excellent service and so that your family members and friends will be enticed to be in our church though they maybe far from God.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR RIDING INTO THIS VISION!

Let me share the recap of the message specially for those of you who were not able to come last Sunday.

Arnold began the message by presenting the vision of LifeChurch Makati which is: TO BUILT A CHURCH WHERE PEOPLE FAR FROM GOD LOVE TO ATTEND!

He mentioned the following situations why do we embraced this vision:

1. Even if we claim to be a Christian country, according to statistics, only 20% have a personal relationship with God and have the personal understanding of what Christ has done to them by dying on the cross. Then the rest of the 80% do not know God in a personal level and do not fully understand Jesus’ act of Sacrifice for men’s Forgiveness and Salvation – literally they are “far from God!”
2. Sadly, most churches create their own Christian subculture, own wardrobe, own lingo, their own hang out places, own books to read, songs to sing and to listen to and feeling like superior than the non-Christians. And whether we like it or not most of us become exclusive in our own Christian-rights so the called “Non-Christians” who are far away from God are considered to be the OUTSIDERS!
3. Bad of all badness most Christian churches are acting like as if the rest of the 80% are like the 20%, forgetting how it feel to be in their shoes when they were invited to a church. That make them feel unwelcome unless they embrace the Christian subculture first.

A picture of a church people would love to attend!

LifeChurch Makati is sure of God’s call to be different by setting this Bold Vision of building a church where these people who don’t even realize that they are far from God would love to attend!

This will not be an easy thing to do because to make these people love to attend our church, whom other churches do not try to reach, we will have to do things that no other churches are doing yet (as long as these things are short of sin)!

This is a BOLD VISION that needs to be done with a bold calling (that is the part that I talked about), and these calling are:

1. First we have to BE BOLD IN OUR INVITATION! Let us invite our friends who maybe the most difficult to invite to a church! Because if we don’t invite them they maybe lost forever and will even haunt us the question: Why didn’t you invite me to Christ when you know that I will be lost in hell forever?
2. Secondly, BE BOLD IN OUR GIVING in two things: in our Money and in our Service! But let me be clear on the first one…God doesn’t need our money because He owns the whole universe. In asking for it He is asking for our hearts which are closely attached to money. So if you would like to support this vision of leading people far from God we ask for that closest thing to your heart. Besides that will help to meet the requirement to build a High Definition church and quality service to people we would like to bring. We also ask for your service because there will be a big work to be done in the coming move to reach these people who are far from God.
3. Third, BE BOLD IN OUR PRAYERS: Let us pray for our family and friends who seemed too difficult to invite! Let us pray for great provision as we move the church together and let us pray for leaders and volunteers to stand and to come so that we can share the work together!

If we do it together…just picture in your mind that in the future you will be happy to say that you are a part of a movement where people with changed  lives are enjoying each other!

Let me invite you to be with us in this BOLD VISION!

Let me write here again the Mission of LifeChurch Makati, which is from LifeChurch.tv’s mission: To lead people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ!

If that is our mission we need to have a mind image or picture of that mission…That is our VISION!

Arnold presenting the vision of LifeChurch Makati.

In our last rainy Vision Casting Night we have talked about our vision where Arnold described its details. So, for those of you who were not able to come that night let me share it here with you and for those of you who were there please read this so that you will have a good reminder of our vision:

“To build a church where people far from God would love to attend!”

Let me share with you my personal thoughts on this vision…

1. Building an edifice is never a loner’s job. It is always a Collaboration. It is always a Team Work. As partners and regular attendees of LifeChurch Makati we need you to share with us the joy of working for God in building this church, which is a church of living PEOPLE. This is not an organization, a denomination nor an institution. We need your expertise. We need your talents. We need your contribution. We need YOU to be part of this building project!
2. We love to see PEOPLE who may know God but on a very distant reality and who doesn’t have any inclination to talk about Him or ‘allergic’ on ideas pertaining to religion or spirituality. They could be one of your family members, a neighbor, a childhood friend, a friend from your work, from your school and from civic group or club you are a member, someone from a place you regularly visits like the gym, barbershop, saloon, your favorite shop, a client or a regular business contact or competitor. They maybe just around your circle of community whom you sense is far from God. Invite them to experience our church!
3. And that we like to see these PEOPLE enjoying and loving to be in our church because they feel not pointed out, labeled nor forced to be ‘Christianized’ or just simply find our church a cool place to hang around.

It would be wonderful when one day when our church is bigger than you could imagine, people you know and whom you do not know will approach you and will say THANK YOU for inviting me, THANK YOU for welcoming me, THANK YOU for singing for me, THANK YOU for taking good care of my kids, THANK YOU for just being with me in times that I needed it the most.

Lifers own this vision and keep this vision!

The lifers who attended the rainy Vision Night

Makati churches pastors praying at the office of the Executive Secretary to the City Mayor!

This is the picture of pastors from the different churches in Makati whom I joined praying at the City Hall yesterday morning.  I sensed the heart of these pastors for this city and it was an awesome experience!

Prior to this I was praying for a team of church leaders ministering to the seat of our city’s government. Then an invitation came! It was so wonderful that the leaders of this “Pray for the City” Group welcomed me, this shows our church, LifeChurch Makati, is actively sensitive on leading not only the working young professionals but even the authorities of this city for God!

Also, last week, I was once again invited to serve the small group of yuppies at the Metro Bank Card Corporation. And the fruit of the meeting was a more intentional testing the water on how should we be serving the corporate world of Makati Central Business District!

While these two events unfold the song “God of this City” was ringing in my ears: “Greater things have yet to come…greater things are still to be done in this City…”

I can sense the movement of God in Makati!!!

LIFERS we are part of this movement specially now that we are approaching our 1st year anniversary together!

Would YOU like to experience being part of the MOVE OF GOD?

Here is one thing you can do as we approach the month of May, our anniversary month: THINK of ONE PERSON that you would like to lead to Jesus, through LifeChurch Makati! This person maybe just around you or occasionally come with you to our church…

1. Pray for that person morning and evening, if you like you can message it to Bernard (our Prayer Team Leader)!
2. Tell God that you have the burden of leading him or her to Him.
3. Ask God to soften  this person’s heart so that he/she maybe ready for Jesus!
4. Connect to this person often through text message, a call or a facebook personal message.
5. Seek for any need like a simple friendship, a listening ear, shoulder to cry on or  just a company and provide it!
6. If it is OK invite your friend in the next 2 to 3 weeks at our Sunday Experiences, “Weird” is good for them to hear!
7. Then proceed on with a deeper friendship with him/her!

These people need God, they need Jesus as a friend…so let us be a channel of that friendship!

Imagine on May 15, LifeChurch Makati’s Anniversary Sunday Experience, when each one of us will have a friend to lead to Christ? LifeChurch Makati will be filled with worshiping people like you and me!

GO NOW…LEAD ONE PERSON TO CHRIST!

• Why do we feature Craig Groeschel and the LifeChurch.tv teaching team on HD Video instead of the typical live preachers every church has?
• Why is the sound very loud?
• Why do we use stage lightings that resembles that of a typical musical concert?

Craig himself said in his book “It”:

To reach people no one else is reaching, we must do things no one else is doing.

By featuring Craig on video, not only that we maximize his awesome gift of passionate teaching, we might be able to reach those people who are not used to going to a typical church, but are used to watching “on screen”. Not everyone may appreciate this approach, yet we believe that we can reach those that the “typical” is not reaching.

The sound system maybe loud or the stage comes with a concert set up — things that you might not see in a typical evangelical church. But this set up may tear down the wall that separates the non-church goers and the church. When a first time church goer enters the halls of the church, does it become a hostile ground or a safe place that they can be themselves therefore focusing on the essential — Jesus Christ?

So, whenever you think about inviting a friend, you can be sure that their experience will become life-changing, engaging and non-threatening.  This becomes our starting point in leading them to become a fully devoted follower of Christ.