This Sunday we celebrate 100 services at OneLife Church and announce some big changes that will take us to the next level. I thought it would be fun to take a trip back in time and highlight some of the more memorable days and weeks of the 100 we’ve had together so far (and what I was thinking along the way).

• September 13, 2009 – OneLife launched with 158 people and more importantly one person gave their life to Jesus! A true testament to our incredible launch team that had grown to around 30 by this time. (“Are any of these people gonna come back next week?!”)
• September 20, 2009 – The first “real” week after launch. So-called experts say only 50% of launch people will come back. They were wrong. 77% came back.
• October 18, 2009 – Lowest attendance ever at 114. (“Maybe the experts were right?! Nobody is ever going to come back now.”)
• November 3, 2009 – Staff meeting in my kitchen gave birth to two new ideas. One, we have great services and put on a great event each week but we aren’t yet a church. We care too much about the wrong things! (see previous thoughts all about attendance) As a result, volunteer teams began functioning as small groups leading toward our current VIP structure. And second, we realized a huge need for an office space! We found one and moved in three weeks later.
• December 6, 2009 – HUGE day. Our first ever baptism service with six baptisms, 250 people attended the worship service, and more than 80 volunteers came to the Volunteer Appreciation Christmas Party that night. (“In just three months?! God, this is CRAZY! THANK YOU!!!”)
• January 31, 2010 – Snow and high temperatures in the 20s led to an ice-covered parking lot at our storage unit so our trailer wouldn’t budge! That forced us to do something I hope we NEVER do again…cancel a service. But we had to, and it led to our first ever live streaming service from my living room. About 100 people connected to the service live online.
• April 3, 2010 – The Egg Drop. More than 3,000 people showed up, but only around 2,300 could fit! (“What were we smokin’?!”)
• April 4, 2010 – Our first Easter and launch of second service.
• June 6, 2010 – Student Ministry Kick-Off with tons of students showing up to worship Jesus and get involved with a small group.
• September 12, 2010 – An unbelievable day. Our one year anniversary, 20 baptisms, a packed-out auditorium for one service and small groups called “Communities” kicked off that night.
• November 16, 2010 – Staff meeting was about me sharing my burden and vision to do more for current OneLifers to see them grow in discipleship and leadership. (“I feel God so strong saying we need to develop people, but how? All the traditional methods don’t seem to work.”)
• December 24, 2010 – The most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced as an attender. The Powell Community Christmas Eve hosted by OneLife attracted nearly 400 people, mostly from the community! Our creative, tech, and band teams blew this one out of the water.
• January 16, 2011 – The Overflow Church, the first church plant sponsored by OneLife, launched in South Knoxville.
• March 8, 2011 – Our staff met with Dan Grider, a pastor on our oversight team, who I had been meeting and praying with for months. Dan helped us develop a plan for Xcellerate, God’s answer to our prayer from November to develop better disciples and leaders. This is not a program, but a way to change what we care about! Xcellerate launched a month later, and we are still seeing people grow like crazy and become better equipped to lead the multitudes to Jesus.
• April 24, 2011 – Our second Easter was more than I could have ever dreamed. 440 people attended and 23 prayed to receive Christ. (“God, it feels like you are answering my prayer that you do something so big only you can get the credit. This is far more than I ever imagined, and in only 18 months. Wow.”)
• June 27, 2011 – A meeting was held with key leaders at OneLife to share the vision of our next big step. An awesome time of prayer led to two weeks of seeking God’s direction for this step.
• July 13, 2011 – A follow-up meeting confirmed this is God’s plan for our church. The wheels were set in motion to begin the process of this move that will be announced on August 21.
• August 21, 2011 – 100th Sunday morning at OneLife. One HUGE service at 10 a.m. will celebrate all that God has done and IS doing as we move forward! (“I CAN’T WAIT!!!!”)

This past Sunday was another incredible day at OneLife. Record “normal” attendance, hosted a church planter we are partnering with to reach another part of town, great worship from the OneLife choir (aka the congregation!), and - best of all – two more people started a relationship with Christ.

That’s an awesome day!

But this recap is going to be a different one. Often we don’t celebrate the intangibles enough. We get distracted by numbers, details, and nuts & bolts. Not that those things are bad, but they can distract. So I want to share an awesome story.

A 21-year old single mom came back this week for just the second time. She told one of our staff guys that the night before she really debated on whether or not she should come again but she did. After the service she told him that after a second visit she really felt like OneLife was the place for her.

“This is the first time I’ve walked into a church and didn’t feel like everyone was staring at me,” she told him. “Other places I’ve been have made me feel like I needed to walk in and do a ring check and say ‘No, I’m not married and I have a baby.’”

It’s sad that Christians would make someone feel that way but reality is, we often do. I am excited beyond what words can describe that in just two visits a young lady came to OneLife and found a place that loves her right where she is. And not a superficial love – one that is real and showed we truly care about her and her child discovering God and how their one life can make a difference.

OneLifers, that’s what it’s all about. Jesus said that it’s not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. He said he didn’t come for the religious, but for the irreligious. Let’s never forget that and keep sharing the love of Christ in a way that people will come in off the streets and immediately feel a difference.

Wow. What a weekend. That really sums it up! But here are some of the details.

• Saturday was our first ever community-wide event as we hosted the Powell Egg Drop.
• This was our way to introduce ourselves to the community and give back.
• We also used it to raise money for Powell High School. They have been such great hosts to us over the past 7 months even though our rent money goes to the school board and not the school. So we’ll be taking them a check for $500 to use however they see fit.
• I personally didn’t expect what happened to happen. With it being Spring Break in Knox County and lots of other churches hosting egg hunts, I would have been happy with 500 people coming.
• Nearly 3,000 showed up.
• Unfortunately we could only accomodate around 2,300 people including all of our volunteers. So as much as it broke our hearts, we had to turn about 500 people away to simply keep it safe.
• But for those that were there, it was a great time! Lots of happy kids faces and families thanking us as they left.
• A huge thanks to Drycon, Cars Etc., and Panache Salon for their sponsorship! Also several great local businesses sponsored our inflatables. We couldn’t have done it without you!
• We also couldn’t have done it without 110 awesome volunteers spending their entire Saturday there. You guys amaze me.
• And as if that wasn’t enough, we had our first Sunday of two services as we celebrated Easter.
• 190 showed up for the first service, which had me thinking that would be the “big” service. But then there were 170 at the second one too!
• Tons and tons of first time guests. And most of them came to the table to get our first-time guest gift, which is always a good sign.
• But even better than that, several gave their lives to Christ! That’s what it’s all about!
• The worship was absolutely incredible. It was by far the best we’ve experienced as a church. The band absolutely rocked it and I have no doubt that it made God smile.
• We also had a lot of new volunteers helping out. Tear-down was the fastest yet at less than 30 minutes! Unbelievable! OneLifers – we can’t do it without you. Thanks for stepping up. Keep that happening!!
• This week is part 2 of the Healer series. Really looking forward to seeing more lives changed!
• See ya Sunday but don’t come alone! Invite someone to be there with you!

This Sunday is a historic day at OneLife. It is our last Sunday in just one service. To be making this move in less than 7 months is nothing short of miraculous.

There are a lot of reasons OneLife has been able to reach people so quickly. And those reasons are why I love OneLife. In no certain order, here they are:

• We are a church full of people that aren’t perfect but are transparent and sincere.
• Don’t believe me? Just come walk through the parking lots and lobby one Sunday morning. You’ll see.
• OneLifers aren’t a bunch of churchy people hopping around from church to church, looking for what they selfishly want. Most OneLifers were not going to church – and some even hated church – when they decided to give it a shot.
• We have fun! During set-up, before the service, during the service, tearing down, and throughout the week. Church is fun!
• We have people who would take a bullet for the vision of reaching this community for Christ. We’re here to honor God and reach the lost. Period.
• They understand that there is no such thing as just “going to church.” If you’re just showing up somewhere on Sunday mornings, why bother?
• These are people who volunteer on Sundays, throughout the week, late at night, and early in the morning. They realize the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. A few hours a week? It’s the least we can do!
• OneLifers LOVE inviting other people! I would guess that 90 percent of our first time guests have come because of a personal invitation.
• We have a staff of guys that I wouldn’t trade for the world. They’re young, growing in their leadership daily, abnormally fun to be around, and, well, abnormal And I love them!
• We’re reaching people of all ages and backgrounds. Young and old. Rich and poor. Single and married.
• OneLifers don’t just sacrifice time, but also their finances.
• Each week, more and more are stepping up and being obedient with their giving. 10 percent is a lot for most of us, but that sacrifice is allowing us to reach more and more people. Once again, after what Jesus sacrificed, 10 percent of our money is chump change!
• We have lots of new life – both literally and figuratively! And new things are fun
• 30 people have given their lives to Christ for new spiritual life. And on any given Sunday we’ll have upwards of 25 babies ages 2 and under. Not to mention the at least six pregnant ladies!

The reasons could go on and on and on. But the bottom line is this. God is up to something unusual around here. It’s not normal. But I am extremely thankful to be a part.

I love you, OneLife!

Hanging out in the lobby after church is one of my favorite things to do. Sometimes it backfires – when that incredibly awkward conversation seems to never end and no one rescues me. But most of the time it’s great

And then every once-in-a-while I talk to someone and it reminds me why we do what we do.

That happened this past week. I noticed an older gentleman, probably close to 70, hanging around the lobby. He kept shooting glances my way while I was talking to a family so I wondered if he got drug there by his grandchildren and absolutely hated it. Or was he some kind of teetotaling former pastor that couldn’t believe I taught what the Bible actually says about alcohol. Then he came up to me. I gulped and braced for impact.

“I just want to thank you,” he said as he shook my hand and I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ve been in churches my entire life and for the first time I heard the Bible in a way that I could actually understand it. For once I’ll be glad to come back to church next week.” At about that time his wife came up and joined us – a lady I have seen at our church many times in the past. And here’s the kicker: for several months now she’s been putting her husband down as a prayer request – that he would come to church with her and get back into a relationship with God.

Mission accomplished.

That reminded me of several things. First, that is the reason we teach the Bible for transformation not information. Big difference. Second, being “culturally relevant” doesn’t have an age limit. Sure, we are going to reach mostly the younger crowd. But God’s Word and worship of Him presented in a way that makes sense will reach far greater than our human goals and targets would suggest.

And that’s why we do what we do.