Top Searches @ Elevate Blog

I want to take this opportunity to share with you some of the top search terms at the Elevate Blog. I think you will find it interesting. Gives me some insight to what people are look for. Enjoy. I also rejoice that we hit over 3000 hits so far this month.

Searches include:

victory outreach sandiego

empowering members for church growth

alcance victoria east los angeles (this is a big one, always at the top)

pastor sonny arguinzoni

changing seasons of our lives

pastor tom vasquez

breaking barriers in the church

pastor mitchell petersen

how to deal with tough personalities

georgina valdez

what to do when you want to quit

nick walker

changing your mentality

what is twitter?

mega church growth

how to develop cell groups in your church

developing leaders

assimilating newcomers

Have a great week.

ELEVATE

Legacy Leaders

legacy |ˈlegəsē|

noun ( pl. -cies)an amount of money or property left to someone in a will.• a thing handed down by a predecessor

As I was doing a word search I was kind of surprised to find out what the word legacy really meant. I did not know that it was in direct regard to money. I have been doing a great amount of study on financial breakthrough because I believe that God has set up VOSD for a powerful financial promotion. We have done our part and now we are asking God to do his part. However, our financial blessing is not for us. We believe that it will be for the next generation. Every seed that we sow into God’s kingdom will be felt in the next generation to come. Our children & our children’s children will feel the vibration of our giving. The Bible is clear. In Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children” Our aim is to be those leaders that leave a legacy. An inheritance to those who are behind us.

Legacy Leaders are people who have the ability to do 3 things:

1. Legacy Leaders can see beyond others. They look past their own future to the generations that follow. They are not caught up in the temporal but they have a heart for the eternal. They know that their giving goes to the furtherance of God’s agenda in the earth and that the great benefit will fall to the next generation. This is my hearts desire. I want to not only impact my generation but I want to impact the next generation. They will be the greatest generation!

2. Legacy Leaders can see before others. They see what must happen long before others are ready to see it. I thank God for a father who saw something different for his family. Being the first amongst his family to move out of East LA, was a big step for a young man with a small family. His vision was so that his family would have a better opportunity that he did when he was young. None of it would be possible without sacrifice. Physical, emotional, spiritual, financial sacrifice. Your sacrifice makes a difference.

3. Legacy Leaders can see bigger than others They have a larger than usual vision of what can happen. They can just see what others cannot see, when it comes to the size and magnitude of God’s plan. These types of leaders have rescued and envisioned a generation for greatness. Their sacrifice has always had the bigness of God’s plan in mind. Their attitude is: The bigger the vision, the bigger the sacrifice. They have been willing to pay that price. My pastor is my greatest example of that sacrifice. His life will forever be linked to our generation and those to come because he saw it before anyone else did. God gave him that honor.

The question is: What will we do about the future. Will we leave a brand new legacy for those who are depending on our sacrifice? 

 

Enduring the Financial Crunch

It is difficult to overlook the financial crisis that has hit our country. What is hopeful for us is that it seems to be turning for the better. The country should be back on its feet soon, but what about us? What about the church? Here is a question, how is your church doing financially? Have you made any adjustments in your monthly budget? What steps are you taking to encourage givers in your church? What is your stance on tithes & offerings? Here is a few steps you can take to endure & build in a time of financial uncertainty.

1. Evaluate your giving. As leaders we must be the greatest example of giving. A person who does not practice personal integrity in regards to giving cannot challenge others with conviction. How can we challenge others to do what we do not believe ourselves? Why do we give? Is it because we are going to be blessed? Listen we give for 2 reasons:

First, our love for God creates an overflow of giving in our lives. We give because our character becomes just like God’s. God was a giver, therefore we have become givers. As our love grows, we give even more. 

Secondly, our obedience is a reflection of our priorities. Whether you admit it or not, our heart strings are attached to our wallet strings. When we put God first in tithe & offering, we are telling God a story about our heart. We are saying God my heart is fully trusting you.

It is important to keep the subject of finances in front of the church on a consistent basis. Develop a financial strategy for your church. Never approach your church in a frustrated manner. Keeping in mind the subject of finances doesn’t always have to be about tithes & offering, it can be about faith, consistency, trust, kingdom building, etc. It is important to be creative when bringing the message.

2. Evaluate your budget. Here is a question. What can I cut from my budget that is more of a luxury than a necessity. Now I know what you are thinking, “Everything on my budget is a necessity!” Ok, so what can you cut personally? The main idea is to stop the bleeding. Even if its just a small drip, it will add up, and the good news is we can always go back to it once we get back on our feet.

3. Evaluate your spending. A famous cliche comes to mind when one speaks about business, “You have to spend money, to make money”. And it might be true when it comes to church. Our job is to present the gospel in the greatest times of need. If we are going to be effective, it is our job to continue to reach out in the most troubling of times. I kinda get the feeling that God will allow the world to face a famine in order to re-examine their priorities. In other words, these are the times when people are more open to God. People are looking for churches to run to. Especially the ones that are set up to receive them. Guess what? That costs money.

So how can we evaluate? Are we being effective in the money we are spending? Can we say that our dollars are being effective at reaching new & ripe souls that are running to the Lord? Now is not the time to experiment, now is the time to experiment, now is the time to maximize our dollars.

Elevate.

Re:Church

What would happen to us if we could rediscover God’s wonderful plan for our lives? There are numerous seasons in our lives when we must revisit the potter’s wheel. God is never done with us. We may struggle at times, we may battle God’s plan in our lives, and we may go on spiritual vacations that last way too long, we may lose focus in our leadership from time to time, but it is never too late. It is never to late for revival. I have found that older leaders & churches seem to struggle with this at times. Somewhere along the lines there may be a struggle when it comes to the direction of God in our lives.

The word re: is a prefix defined as: “once more, afresh, anew, re-accustomed”. re: also had a negative connotation. re: spoke of “relic” meaning “behind, after, remain”.

How can we see revival in our church?

1. Re:turn to your first love. The Book of Revelations speaks a powerful indictment against a church that had lost its first love. Lukewarmness was a repulsive thing to the Lord. For any of God’s promises to be resurrected, we must come back into contact with our maker. Our first love. The one who first revealed his plan to us. If you can remember, there was a time when you and God were in partnership. The results were mighty. But sometimes we lose contact. When we reconnect, we begin the journey again.

2. Re:discover your original vision. Studies show that the longer a ministry exists, there is a stronger probability that a church will lose track of the original vision. In 2008, Georgina & and I took the lead of a church that was 23 years old. In those years, they had launched out over 20 churches. And in turn, those churches launched out churches and made a powerful impact in Latin America. The vision has not changed. I had to rediscover the vision. AS we continue to grow I believe that churches will be planted out of overflow. God begins to choose those whom He has called. Right now we are birthing and growing a powerful Spanish ministry and many other leaders in our midst. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do.

3. Re:parent your people. Ask yourself, “Who is salvageable?” Who has not abandoned me yet? The longer a church drifts from the original vision the more people tend to drift themselves. However, there are those who are waiting for you. They love their church, they love their pastors, they love their God. Take hold of those people and share the new direction that God is leading you to. And carry it out. Take time giving them the vision once again, knowing that even though the original vision is back, there may be some new methods that have emerged in order for your church to grow.

4. Re:ignite your leadership team. The best way for re-ignition is to allow them to see it in you. A leader must always lead from the front. A hidden leader is an ineffective leader. As your leaders see a new step in you, they will ignited to respond to God’s purpose in their lives.

5. Re:examine your financial situation. Know this. The whole world is reexamining their finances. Don’t be presumptuous. faith is not presuming that we are just a part of “God’s economy”. Faith & reason work together. Are there some things on your budget that can be adjusted. Do you really need everything on your budget in this season or are there some things that you can change that will remove a little pressure from your life so that you can really step back into your original vision? believe me when I say, “If you did it before. You can do it again.”

Revival is on its way to you.

Elevate.

Evangelism That Works

Have you ever just battled over your summer evangelism strategy? I mean really wondered if people would enter into a rich relationship with Jesus Christ, after you and your team invested so much time, energy & finance into the plan? Well, it’s important to know that your evangelism plan can work if you are properly prepared to receive the harvest. Here is how:

1. Plan events that will attract people to your worship space. For years, I have seen churches pack-out stadiums, high school auditoriums, parks, etc. We have also seen hundreds & thousands of people get saved, but here is the question. How many of those people are still in church today? How many of them even made it back to church? I have found that when we reach out directly from our worship space, people feel more comfortable to return because they have already become familiar with the environment. They have seen the parking, children’s ministry, worship style, leaders, pastors. They get the full picture and they hunger for a second visit.

2. Have your next event planned & ready for promotion. When someone has a great experience at your church they leave with this thought. I can’t wait to come back! So give them a reason to come back. Have a quality follow up event planned that they can return to. I guarantee, they will be back if they had a great first experience.

3. Develop a mobile & ministering congregation. They most effective type of evangelism is “personal evangelism”. The numbers are mind-boggling & there is so much information to support the fact that people attract people to a church. If we are going be an effective church when it comes to evangelism, our members are the key to the success. Most of your church growth will come from their visiting family members, friends, co-workers. etc. Event committees are great, crusaders/promo teams are great, television & radio is great, but in the end, they don’t get the job done. The people who get it done are the church members.

4. Challenge them to go deeper. Just ask yourself this: Are people coming just to check it out or are they really ready for change? I say, they are really ready for change. I can remember when I was invited to church, I was ready for it. If I wasn’t I could have been so many other places. So this is our chance to challenge them to go deeper in God. I think the best way to do that is water baptism. This is their way of taking a stand for what they have just experienced in Christ.

5. Position your church to receive the harvest. Once people get saved, where do they go? Who do they connect with? What if they don’t have family in the church? This is where your cell group strategy comes in handy. Cell groups provide an atmosphere where people can become comfortable. And you can be secure that there is someone who is taking a personal interest in that new baby in Christ.

In the past 19 months, VOSD has hosted over 10,000 people in our sanctuary through strategic outreaches, baptized close to 600 new members, added 2 new Sunday services & launched out 54 journey groups through the city. We are staying committed to reaching our community with the gospel.

Elevate.

Catalyst Leaders Training

Thanks to John Maxwell & Andy Stanley for the very first Catalyst Conference in Alpharetta, GA. I was invited by Pastor Sonny Jr. as a part of his staff right around 2002. It was an amazing conference. I think it really sparked something new in the Body & it changed the way church was done. I can remember that this was the first time I ever heard of Ed Young Jr. His session was powerful and innovative & at that time he was the most innovative pastor in the world. He continues to be a driving force. I think the overall purpose of the conference was to raise up young leaders who would take their place and bring an explosion to the church. It seems to have worked. And VOSD is going to follow suit. Starting this week, we will be gathering together with roughly 200 men for 3 weeks of strategic discipleship & training. We are calling it Catalyst Leaders. And it is by invite only. Each leader is encouraged to bring just 1 guy who aspires leadership in God’s kingdom and is willing to sacrifice 3 Tuesdays to the Lord. It is going to be life changing. Here are our goals:

1. To raise up 100 brand new leaders in the church. These leaders will be challenged to take their place and develop their leadership.

2. To transmit our vision in a spirit of commitment & excitement. As the church continues to grow & our circles begin to broaden, it becomes difficult to teach on commitment. This special gathering will give our staff an opportunity to impart into a brand new group of leaders.

3. To cause existing leaders to release ministry to a new breed of men. This will be lid removal at its finest.

4. To give leaders an inside look at the VOSD staff and dialogue about our greatest challenges & our greatest victories.

5. To break barriers that exist in our current level of ministry & our desired level of ministry.

The best is yet to come.