When it comes to organizational leadership, I’m a pretty big nerd. I love hearing how a coach runs a team or how a CEO leads a Fortune 500 company. Hearing the details of their day-to-day operation and decision making begins to show the culture behind the product. The details reveal how seriously the organization takes their mission and how much they value what they do.

I was reading Exodus 24-27 this morning when – to be honest – I hit a patch that I began thinking to myself, “This is pretty stinking boring.” It was in Exodus 26-27 when it starts laying out in excruciating detail how they were supposed to build the Tabernacle and everything in it. Everything down to the materials used and what artistic emblems would be embroidered on the curtains is given.

I literally stopped and asked out loud, “Why in the world is this in here?!” And then it hit me: because the details matter! As Exodus carefully lays out exactly what God wanted in his house of worship, we begin to see how much God values our worship and giving Him our absolute best.

That’s why at OneLife we try our hardest to dig deep into the details. It’s why the band practices, and volunteers come to VIP meetings. It’s why we have trainings for volunteers, structure our worship services with intentionality, and carefully plan everything from each individual sign to the kids rooms and even down to each row of chairs.

Because details matter.

And in those details we display to our God how seriously we take him and how much we desire to offer him our absolute best.

Check out this awesome guest post from OneLife Kidz Director Cris Patterson. Then get involved making a difference in the next generation!

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As I look around at my to do list, it seems neverending. As a multi-tasker, I sometimes tend to start lots of projects and not finish them. But this season of my life has been different. God has handed me a position of leadership that may seem overwhelming to most as I take on the leadership of OneLife Kidz.

To me it is a dream come true, a welcomed challenge, and most of all a time of growth and drawing near to Him. As the Halls building was completed last month, I could have focused on the exciting transformation of our Onelife Kidz area with all the murals being painted, projects being completed to help us stay organized, the awesome curriculum plans, and making sure we had everything we needed in order to launch.

But the focus I believe God wants for us is this: What is so different about OneLife Kidz? Why would families come back? Is this the best hour of the week for the kids? So as we start this new journey as a multi-site church, what will our culture be for kids ministries? Will families be impressed by the enviroment? The logo? The freshly painted walls? Or will there be more to it than that?

In order for our ministry to be built with excellence and a strong foundation, these things won’t matter as much as the one thing that matters most: the condition of our hearts. Will families trust us? Will they see Jesus in us? That is what will make OneLife Kidz a success – you!

Families come to OneLife Kidz and get connected to life change. A mom drops off a crying baby only to come back to a smiling face. A dad leaves his elementary kids in a shy, quiet state to find them excited about church. That’s why a huge difference can be made by rocking a baby, coloring with toddlers, teaching a bible story to preschoolers, and dancing/singing with Elementary kids, because it is much more than that!

But this difference is so much more than one hour on Sundays. It takes a team of focused players who are all-in and believing our vision of leading kids to become fully devoted followers of Christ! If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, waiting to get involved at OneLife, there may be no better place for you than in OneLife Kidz. From checking in families to rocking babies to hanging out with older kids to pressing buttons on the Kidz Tech Team, there is a place for you! Find out more by emailing me at cris@onelifeknox.com or by talking to the pastor at your location.

The best is yet to come in OneLife Kidz! Come be a part of it with us!

Choosing a church to attend can be like picking out a restaurant. Questions like “Which one has the best service?” “Which one is best for my kids?” and “Which one will feed me the best?” seem to be what gets asked the most. Oh yeah, and “Which one will be the cheapest?” probably factors in there, too

But those questions only get asked by people who like going to restaurants already. Or in this case, people who like going to church already. The question that gets asked by people who don’t already go to church is much different:

“Why in the world should I?!”

And I believe that’s how the already-convinced should choose a church. By answering that question with another question of their own: “If I go to this church, how will I play a role in changing the lives of those around me and seeing them become part of the Church, so they can then play a role in even more lives being changed!?”

It is for that very reason that OneLife has adopted this vision of having multiple locations in communities across Knox County and ultimately East Tennessee. We want to see OneLifers connect to people in their own communities where they live, work, and play. We believe you can make the greatest difference at home. So why drive 30 minutes to church when your biggest influence is right across the street?

We are taking our first step in making this happen with the opening of OneLife Halls on August 19. And that is why we are encouraging any current OneLifers who live in Fountain City, Halls, Corryton, Maynardville, or other communities northeast of Knoxville to plug in at the new location. Because we believe strongly that it will help you become even more effective at reaching the people in your very own community.

If that’s you and you’re ready to be connected to OneLife closer to your own community, we want to hear from you! Go here and fill out the form to let us know that you will be attending OneLife Halls on August 19 and beyond, and making a huge difference in the lives of those around you! www.onelifeknox.com/halls And if you’re staying at the Powell location, get ready to join us in reaching Powell – and the rest of Knoxville – like never before.

The best is yet to come!

Yesterday I wrote about the first two core values that drive everything at OneLife. Today we look at the last two.

3. We Keep it Real.
Too many lives are ruined by people who never get real. Life is too painful and eternity is too serious for us to allow this in the church. For this reason, we will do everything in our power to prevent people from falling through the cracks by “playing church.” We’ll do this by:

• Understanding our culture. We’ll teach for life-change, have worship that is relevant, and environments that are contagious rather than judgmental.
• Dealing with sin. An aspect of church leadership that isn’t so fun is church discipline. The Bible is very clear that one of the main functions of the church is to hold believers accountable.
• Growing smaller as we grow larger. Truly caring for each other happens when we engage in life together in small groups; either in volunteer teams or home groups.

4. We are laser focused and fiercely intentional.
Simplicity is our mojo. This allows us to do fewer things very well, increasing our ability to connect with those who are far from God. We focus on doing a few things really well – those things that we believe can make the most impact. With this focus we can:

• Give our best to God in everything that we do.
• Adjust quickly, making changes that need to be made as we reach more and more people for Jesus.
• Care for our partners, allowing for rest rather than stress!

These four values are what filters everything we do. Nothing more and nothing less!

Yesterday I wrote about the simplification of our core values, what we call “The Gauge” at OneLife. Today I want to start unpacking those four, and talk about why they are so important to us.

1. We are sold out to God’s vision for OneLife.

This isn’t my church, and it isn’t my vision. God wants to do something so great that only HE can get the credit for it! But we will only allow God to do that when each and every one of us are completely and totally sold out to His vision for us! When that happens, we will:

• Aggressively defend our leadership and our unity. We trust those in spiritual authority while infighting has no place here.
• Sacrifice freely. A portion of our time will be given through volunteering and a portion of our resources will be given through tithes and offerings; both to help reach more and more people for Jesus!

2. We are on a mission to reproduce.

Jesus gave us a simple mission: reproduce! Just like all healthy organisms reproduce, healthy Christians reproduce baby Christians and healthy churches reproduce baby churches. If you are sold out to the vision, you will live every day of your life on mission to reproduce! As a church, we will do that through campus churches and planting churches. We must never stop growing and multiplying because:

• God loves people. “The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
• God commands us to reach out. “Go out into the country lanes and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.” Luke 14:23
• Growth is God’s will. “Under Christ’s control the whole body is nourished and grows as God wants it to grow.” Colossians 2:19

Before we move on to numbers three and four tomorrow, you have homework! If you are a OneLifer, take some time to consider this: Are you sold out to God’s vision here? If not, please let us help you find a local church where your answer to that question will be a huge YES! And secondly, do you live everyday on a mission to reproduce and multiply? If not, you are missing out on the key command that Jesus gave. Take some time pray for boldness in sharing your story with someone, and then go share it!