Lonny's Blog

Our Vision Determines our Venue.
When coming to Colorado to “plant” a church, I was using a model that has proven to be very successful in many parts of the nation and abroad. We were following the model to a tee, preparing to rent a large auditorium, building a launch team, and raising lots of money.
Three days before we were going to receive funding from the organization, the Holy Spirit prompted me to stop. Well, more like pause…think about what you’re doing. Think about what the American church has turned into. Did I command you to plant a church? Or did I say Make Disciples? This conversation with the Holy Spirit kinda messed everything up. We didn’t rent the big facility, we didn’t get the check from the church planting org. We didn’t launch our team of 30 people to start spinning plates. We just paused.
I met with the team on a Sunday night and told them what I felt we were to do. I said, “Let’s start from the ground up rather from the top down.” This was life saving for some and rattled the brains of others. Some even left…but I knew that I had heard what our instructions were. Start small, start slow, start strong.
For the last 13 weeks, we have been meeting in our home every Sunday morning. It starts with a great breakfast. Around 50 people cram their way through the kitchen eating the cooked wares of the day. Celebration in song is next, then prayer, then teaching.
People would ask me what model are you using to plant your church? I simply say, Acts 2:42. Then I get the funny look with the, “oh…ok”
Because of our vision, we are growing. I can’t help it, I can’t control it, and I can’t stop it. I have found that if we make disciples, Jesus will build His church. I just get to be a part of the movement!
So our Vision…Because we are growing and my living room is limited to the amount of people we can contain, I have started looking for a place to rent. This has become an adventure in and of itself…we want to keep the large kitchen/living room feel. I have found that most places to meet want to sit people down in neat little rows so that they can consume the latest and greatest vision/interpretation of the word for that week. After all, this is how we have done it for centuries…right?
I am re-thinking things. I am currently looking at a pub that would house over 200 people…all the while letting them fellowship, eat, pray, and learn from one another. It’s crazy…but I think I like it. I don’t known if the pub will work out, but it has lead me on a great adventure to discover that even our venues reflect our vision!
And why not have church in a pub? I think this would shake the religious up, and bring to life the ones who truly need Jesus!