Finding A Home

God provided the perfect home for our family to live in and now seems to be opening doors for
Elements home. Our plan is to open our office on June 1st and launch public services Oct. 7th. We've been researching possible meeting locations since June 0f 2006. We've been researching office space since we moved here at the end of January. As a church plant we obviously are limited on spending (God has provided MARVELOUSLY with finances) so we are looking for the best possible location/space/storage etc. Nothing seemed to be the right fit. Some were great offices but horrible location. Great location but horrible offices. I was driving down Lincolnway Ave. (main drag) the other day and saw a nice office strip with a for lease sign on it. I called them and set up an appointment. When Grant, Terri and I walked through it just felt right. Not only is it an unbelievable location, but it has a 1000 sq. foot warehouse attached to it for storage, drama and praise team practice, AND it was exactly at our budget with ALL utilities included. The landlord even agreed to replace all the carpet in it. The Lord's hand is definitely in this. THEN it seems we have found our meeting location. Lord willing we will be meeting at the Frontier Mall Carmike Theatres. The General Manager is willing to work with us in wonderful ways and is extremely open to some cool stuff with a church in a theatre. As our team walked through the theatre it just felt like home. I'll write more on church in a theatre later. Please continue to pray for us as we walk through these possiblities and look for God's direction.

YES SIR!

Today I met with the Protestant Chaplain at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. He is a great man of God and just a fireball when it comes to his relationship with Jesus and those around him. He drove me around the base which was really cool. Some of the buildings there were from 1905 maybe earlier and were originally used as part of an U.S. Infantry Base. Really cool! I wanted a cammo outfit like his and a rifle like the guy at the gate. Wasn't happening though. But as cool as the base, guns, and cammo were, his words were all the more cooler. (It's a blog I can be incorrect with grammar) He said: "Jeff your time in coming here to start a church in Cheyenne is not of this world." He told me that our church is an answer to his prayers. Another thing he said was "It seems as if the enemy is being evicted from Cheyenne and he won't go quietly." He couldn't say enough about the timing of us being here. It was very cool! Talk about confirmation. The Chaplain said it just feels as if God is getting ready to do something big here. More than being a part of our great countries army, this man was 100% sold out to a greater army. I told him he needs to come meet with our Life group on Sunday nights. Said he would get our people all worked up. I hope to use this connection to reach out to the folks on the base. God is good! Keep praying for the right connections for us here in Cheyenne.

The Beginning

January 10th of 2006 I had done my morning devos and began reading in the book "The Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus. I came across a statement that would forever change my future. Erwin said "God is not there to provide for us creature comforts, but to put us where we will do Him the most good." That statement seemed to leap off the page to me. I stopped reading and said "Lord, if I've had any cooling off in my own life I want a fresh touch." I think I would have heard God's call before that day, but on that day I began praying "Lord, wherever you want me I will go. I want to do you the most good, not just receive from you creature comforts." I literally prayed that for weeks. Later that month I sensed God was preparing my heart for something new. I told Sabrina "I think God's gonna call us into a lead pastor role." We continued praying for God's direction not knowing what would happen. If God wanted us in Gillette we'd have stayed. If He wanted us somewhere else we were ready to go. A few weeks went by and again during my morning devotions I felt strongly the city of Cheyenne on my heart. I told Sabrina again, "Man, I really feel like God is preparing us for Cheyenne." Big problem though, Cheyenne had no church asking me to come. For the next few days we prayed about planting a church in Cheyenne. On February 28th of 2006 I was reading in my normal devotions and was in Isaiah. I remember that morning praying "Lord, if you want us to go to Cheyenne I need confirmation from You.!" I came to Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT) which says "But forget all that. It is nothing compared to what I am going to do, for I am about to do a brand new thing. Do you not see it, it has already begun. I will make a pathway in the wilderness for my people to come home, and will make rivers for them in the desert." It was as if God was speaking straight to my heart. I told Sabrina "We're going to Cheyenne." The rest...well you know... is history! (That's the short version)

Why Cheyenne?

Lot's of people have asked us why we are starting a church in Cheyenne. I don't know why other people plant churches in certain locations. I do know of organizations and individuals who search for the "can't miss" location to start a church. What town is growing the fastest? What community has a high income rate? What city is accepting new churches well? I guess we never asked that question. If those are the major factors in starting a church then that's just plain...well, dumb! (In my opinion) We believe, WITHOUT A DOUBT, that God has asked us to do this. For me there is no other explanation. I loved Gillette. I loved High Plains Community Church and my job. I loved Pastor Dan and all the staff at HPCC, but God began to stir something in my heart and I had to do it. For me, there wasn't a choice of where to plant a church, it was Cheyenne. I don't know if I could do this if it were me that searched for the perfect location or if someone else told me where I should go. For me, it had to be a God thing. Why Cheyenne? Great question. I'm starting to find out the answers. It's more than adding another church in Cheyenne. There are already churches. It's WAY more than being a better church than they have in Cheyenne. It's ALL about getting people into the Kingdom. If we do not connect people with Life in Christ we work in vain. Someone in Cheyenne needs Jesus. Perhaps God has raised up Element Church for such a time as this.

More later on how God worked this all out. For me it's a really cool story.

My first post

I'm a blogger! First it was text messaging. Swore I'd never do it. Talked about how stupid it was. Now I'm a text messager. Now blogging. "It'll never catch on!" Famous last words. Turns out blogging is a great way to share information with people. WHODA THUNK! There are several church planters out there blogging about there experience. I'm hooked to 2 or 3 blogs where these guy's have some incredible insight into chruch planting. My wife thinks that I have some "insights" people could learn from too. I'm not to sure about that, HOWEVER, I do know there are lot's of you out there (friends and family) that would like to know more about our church plant. Be updated on what's going on. Well, this is the easiest way I know how to do it. Instead of a newsletter, mass email, or snail mail, I'll just join the blogging world. Some days it might be as simple as "I spend time with my family at the park today". Other times I know it will be as exciting as "Someone experienced Life in Christ for the first time today." No matter what it is, I hope this keeps you connected to Element Church. Become an Element Insider today for only $19.95 a month. HA there is a fundraising solution. jk (text message for "just kidding") Enjoy! I'll try to update as much as I can. I'll even start at the beginning.

Following Christ

Jeff