Mr. & Mrs. Starbucks

I've had a few people ask if Mr. & Mrs. Starbucks were in attendance last night at our Bible study (if you don't know who I'm talking about, read this blog). Unfortunately, they were not. However, I keep them and many others in my prayers who are looking for a good church with solid Bible teaching. I pray that God would bring the people that are supposed to be there and that they'd find out in interesting ways (like the cards or on craigslist - both of which have worked well so far). Thankfully Starbucks is a frequent stop for me, so I hope to become well-acquainted with the people there.

Oh, and speaking of Starbucks, if you're a fan of the coffee or the coffee shop vibe, you may find this interesting.

First Awaken Bible study

What a night! We had way too much good food and lots of great
fellowship at Awaken's first Bible study tonight. There were 4 couples
plus me, Jenn, Denver, Nate, 2 dogs, and 6 kids under 5 years old! We
studied Romans 12:1 as we looked at the fact that the logical response
to God's mercy toward us is to live our lives as a sacrifice to Him.
Make sure to come out for next Wednesday's study in Romans 12:2! Maps
and more info at awakenchurch.org.

Oh, and we're working on the science of podcasting- the audio and
video should be up in the next couple days on iTunes.

Coffee and confirmation

Every once in a while, God must think He needs to confirm to us that we're in the right spot, doing exactly what we should be doing. That's what He did tonight.
Denver and I got off work early, so we went in to study at Starbucks. Turns out it closed an hour earlier than we thought, but there was certainly a reason we went. As we got up to leave, here's the conversation I had with the girl behind the counter...

"Is your name Kevin?"

"Yes."

"Are you a pastor?"

"Yes, (starting to get a little weirded out at this point because that's never happened before in Clarksville) how did you know that?"

"This is crazy, but about 2 months ago you must have left a bunch of business cards in here when you were in here. I was cleaning up, saw the card that asked 'Are you awake?', wondered what that was all about, and stuck one in my pocket. I got home, did laundry, totally forgot about it. Yesterday, I put those pants on, and your business card was in there - totally intact, even after going through the wash. I was like, 'What is the Are you awake? thing', so I looked up your website. The first thing I saw was that you guys were doing outreaches in a park. That's so cool - my church used to do that. My husband and I have been looking for a good church and we can't find ANY around here that are any good. I saw your site, and I thought, 'We have to check that out.'"

"Well, we're actually kicking off a Bible study..." (I was going to tell her about tomorrow night's Bible study, but she interrupted me)

"Yeah, September 19th, right?!"

"Well yeah, that's our first service, but we're kicking off a Bible study tomorrow night. Check our website for a map and info."

"Really? We're there. We'll see you then."

Then I turned around and received a really dirty look from the other Starbucks guy who apparently really wanted us to leave. As Denver and I walked out the door, we realized why we had come to Starbucks tonight. It seems like every once in a while, God loves to give us another glimpse of some confirmation that we're doing what we should be doing. I told Denver, "I knew we were in the right spot!"

I really hope we get to meet Mrs. Starbucks lady (I didn't get her name) and her husband tomorrow (we'll call him Mr. Starbucks, since his wife works there).

I love those moments.
I love these people.
I love our God.

3 down, 5 to go

BEST. ONE. YET. I could just stop with that, but I think that would leave you wondering why it was so great, so here's a summary...

We drove by earlier today and got a little freaked out. The park that we went to, Heritage Park, is also a huge Sports Complex, and the main place for soccer games. There had to have been 1,500 people in the park! No joke. We looked at our 100 burgers and started to get a little scared. We prayed that God would multiply the food if need be. Thankfully, be the time we got there, the soccer games had cleared out, but the skate park hadn't! That's what we were hoping for. Word spread real fast that free food and drinks had arrived, so the skaters loved that we were there and began cleaning us out of drinks real quick. Nate had to run back home to grab more drinks and it's a good thing we did - we probably went through 300 drinks!

We got to hang out with skaters all evening. We watched them skate, threw the football around, talked church, and just hung out. They loved our music, and were amazed that I am the pastor. They've never seen a pastor dress/look like me. We also met about 12 people who just showed up. One couple heard about us from a family member in Albuquerque that had passed our info onto them, and most of the rest saw our ads on craigslist and campbellyardsales.com (a local craigslist-type site), and decided to come see what it was all about. Most of them didn't want food, they just wanted to meet us and hang out, so that's what we did. We told them all about our Wednesday night Bible study that's starting up this week and it sounds like almost all of them will be there! I thought I would teach the first few Bible studies to just 2 or 3 people, but it's looking like we may start around 15! WOW!

The skater crowd seems to be very overlooked out here, but with our experience with skate parks, we hope to put an end to that. They lit up when we talked about hosting a skate competition at their park! They were all for it and want to help any way they can. We hope to host a competition some time in the next few months, then maybe next summer, if a mission trip team comes out here, we'll do something huge with a big band, maybe some pro skaters, etc. More on that later (when it's a bit more realistic).

All in all, it was the best one yet. Great response. Lots of excitement. About 60 burgers and 50 hot dogs! We'll definitely be back to Heritage Park. We made some good friends.

Head to our UNIGHT pictures page to check out pics from tonight's event and please keep the next 5 in your prayers! You can specifically pray that God will provide financially for the outreaches. This one really cleaned us out and we'll need to almost completely restock for next week. That's a good problem though.

Be Transformed - a study through Romans 12

Awaken's first Bible study will begin THIS Wednesday, July 29 from 6-8pm. We'll take 6 weeks to study verse-by-verse through Romans 12 as we look at how to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
Everyone of all ages is welcome. We will even have toys for the kids. We'll eat dinner (potluck-style) at 6pm, then begin the study around 7.

Until our building is ready to meet in, we'll be meeting in the home of Jeremy and Julie Edler (a map is below).

Whether you're a Bible scholar or a Bible stranger, come and hang with us. We hope to see you there!

Jeremy and Julie Edler's house:

View Larger Map

Awaken's first building!

It sure has been a process finding this place! We've driven almost every inch of Clarksville in search of a good place to hold services. Most places we wanted were just too expensive and those that we did like were not in the right area of town (which is a lot of the reason we could afford them). We've spent countless hours in prayer and lots of gas money driving around, calling any number we saw that said "space for lease." We found a place that we thought would work great and the guy said he'd be willing to work with us because he really needed someone in there. So, since he was desperate, we figured we'd offer low. We did and didn't hear back from him. By the end of the day yesterday, we had finally exhausted all of our resources. We had no idea where else we'd go. On our way home, the guy called me back and asked if we still wanted it and accepted our very low offer. Wherever we rented, we didn't want to be in there for more than a year. That was another challenge we had faced - everyone wanted at least a 2-year, some a 3-year lease. This guy told me, "After a year, we need you guys out - we really need to be making more money than this." Ha! So of course we agreed to that!

Anyway, our lease starts on Sat, Aug 15. We'll have about 1 month to get in there, paint, possibly re-carpet portions of it, and get it all ready for services. Before us, it was a tanning salon (as you can tell from a few of the pictures), called "Tropical Tanz". I guess now, instead of people leaving that place looking like they've been in the sun, hopefully they'll leave living like they've been with the Son! It will take some work - dividing the room up for a kids' ministry as well as sanctuary area and foyer.

It's a 1,500 sq ft building that is in a prime location in the city. It's right in the middle of the city, 2 1/2 miles from the University, 3 1/2 miles from Starbucks, and down the street from a State Park. It also happens to be right across the street from the two buildings I want to buy next year for a huge sanctuary and youth room/skate park, but maybe I should stick to one big financial investment at a time. The price and location of this building literally can't be beat. God has come through again as we knew He would!

Thanks for all the prayers and support. It's so great to finally be in a building. If it weren't for the financial and prayerful support of so many of you, there would be no way we could do this. I believe God has bigger plans than we think He has for this place!

And, speaking of financial support, as soon as we receive our incorporation letters from the state, we'll have a bank account up and going as well as online giving. Be looking for that if you're interested in being a financial part of what God is doing here in Clarksville.

Here's a peek at the back of the building:

Nice big parking lot that we'll have all to ourselves Saturday nights (and eventually Sunday mornings if we expand):

Here's a sketchy pic inside the building. As you can see, it'll take some work, but that's part of the fun. Oh, and another great part about this building is that it comes with the artificial walls! Great for building a classroom!

Here's a a front view from the parking lot. I'm currently looking into the cost of replacing the "Tropical Tanz" sign with our own.

Stay tuned here for more info and pictures in the next month or so of how the work is progressing. The structural renovation starts August 18 and the soul renovation starts September 19!

YOU are the photographer!

You can now show off your photography skills (or lack thereof) right on the Awaken Photos Page! It's really simple. Here's how:

1. Take a picture on your phone or camera. Have fun. You’re the artist.
2. Text or e-mail that picture to awakenpics@awakenchurch.org.

That’s it! As soon as your picture is approved, you’ll see it on our cell phone pictures page. And you thought I was kidding when I said it was easy!

Maybe you made it out to one of our UNIGHT summer evenings in the park or maybe you and a friend are hanging out at a Starbucks and you'd like to document it. This is a perfect way to do it! Anyone on almost any phone can do it!

In fact, take a practice run, and give it a shot right now! Take a picture and e-mail it in. And, since you'll be sending a bunch in I'm sure, go ahead and add "awakenpics@awakenchurch.org" as a contact in your phone so you can send them even faster next time!

New teaching clips posted!

If you or a friend just heard about Awaken Church and you're wondering what the teaching will be like, these video clips are a great way to find out. We've posted 15 short clips to our YouTube channel. If one or a couple speak powerfully to you, you can even post them on your blog, website, or profile to share with others.

You can also go to our podcasts page on our website to subscribe to our podcasts. There are a few full-length audio teachings that have been posted there, and of course, once services at Awaken officially begin in September, the video & audio podcasts will be updated weekly.

Hope you're blessed by these clips and teachings...



At Awaken Church, we believe in the necessity for expository Bible teaching. Expository preaching is done by creating the message, points, title, etc only from what is within the text. That way, it's much harder to take Scriptures out of context and much easier to accurately apply what God's Word is saying to our daily lives.

2 down, 6 to go...

UNIGHT #2 was a hit! We rocked Sherwood Forest Park this week - it was awesome! There were more kids than there were adults - and they were really stoked for all the free caffeine and business cards. One kid had to have downed 8 cokes by himself! I'm sure his parents loved that.

This park was a far better location - we were surrounded by houses on every side. A few people were really resistant to us being there - there were a few slammed doors when we said we were from a church. It's all good. The bad was balanced out by the good though. People were really interested and excited to hear about a new church. A couple people were really shocked that I am the pastor. "YOU are the pastor?! Wow!" they'd say. I love those reactions. It just reinforces 1 Timothy 4:12 - let no one despise your youth.

We had a great time this week. Thank you for all the prayers. Keep praying that God would do great things as we reach out to the community of Clarksville.

Click HERE to see pics of the event.

Building (in more ways than one)

When it comes to Awaken Church and the ministry out here in Clarksville, Tennessee, things are building. Let me share the 3 types of "building" that I'm talking about...

The congregation is building...
We're so glad to have finally met some friends out here in Clarksville! As awesome as it is having Nate, Jenn, and Denver here with us, having some new faces around has been very refreshing too! We've met 2 couples so far that are excited about being a part of Awaken and are helping us get the word out about our outreaches and the church.

A physical building...
Tomorrow, Jenn and I will meet a guy at a building that's for lease in a great part of town. It's a 1500 sq ft building that he said he'd be willing to work on a price with us on. He sounds pretty desperate to get someone in there since it's been just sitting there for a couple months since the last tenant moved out. We're hoping to get a screamin' deal on the place. Pray that that meeting goes well and if this is the building that Awaken Church will begin in, the doors will swing wide open.

Excitement is building...
Saturday marks 9 weeks till our first church service on Saturday, September 19, and Sunday is the 2-month mark. We're loving the UNIGHT outreaches (we've only done 1 so far), but we can't wait to be in a place and be holding church services weekly! The excitement and anticipation builds daily as we anticipate beginning the reason that we came out here. As I heard from the Pastor of Calvary Brentwood, "Enjoy each and every step along the way" of a church plant. Very true.

It's been great and we can't wait to see what's just around the corner. Stay tuned to awakenchurch.org for building updates, UNIGHT pictures, and much more!

Good food

I read this verse this morning in my quiet time and had to stop and apply it immediately...

Psalm 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness...

Feed on His faithfulness. Let God's faithfulness become your food - the thing that sustains you from day to day and gives you the nutrients you need to continue. What a great reminder!

I know for me, prayer can easily turn into whining - money is tight, we don't know how we're going to accomplish something, things aren't working out like we had planned, etc. We have so many needs. I can honestly say that some of my most gratifying times of prayer have been when I stopped whining and just fed on God's faithfulness.

Instead of praying for money, I thank God for being my Provider and clothing me even better than the flowers of the field (Matthew 6:28-30).

Instead of praying for things to work out according to my plans, I thank God for working ALL things out according to HIS plan (Romans 8:28).

Instead of worrying about what the future holds, I thank God that He has a great plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11).

Instead of being bogged down by fear and worry, I allow God's peace to guard my heart (Philippians 4:4-7).

Even when God feels far away, instead of whining about it, I can remind myself that He is very near and tells us to approach Him with confidence (Hebrews 4:14-16).

When I've messed up, I can thank God for forgiveness (1 John 1:9) and for remaining faithful even when I'm not (2 Timothy 2:13).

God is so glorified in our lives when we feed on His faithfulness. And the truth is, we NEED to feed on that. God's faithfulness shouldn't be a snack that we pull out every once in a while. God's faithfulness shouldn't even be the dessert (even though it is pretty sweet) that we pull out every so often. The faithfulness of our God should be the main course - the spiritual meal that strengthens us and provides the nutrients and sustenance that we need on a daily basis.

My prayer is that God gives me cravings for His faithfulness. You know the feeling. Sometimes you can't go on without a large cherry limeade with extra cherries from Sonic, or a Reese's Blizzard from Dairy Queen, or a grande Americano from Starbucks. What if, throughout the day, you craved God's faithfulness? What if you craved it so much that you had to get to the nearest spot where it could just be you and God - even for just a couple minutes - and fest on His faithfulness?!

Eat up, folks. God's faithfulness is bigger and far better than any all-you-can-eat buffet you've ever been to!

Bon Apetit!

1 down, 7 to go!

Our first UNIGHT Summer Evening in the Park was tonight! It was great to finally get this party started - it's literally been years in the making! Once we pulled up to Airport Park, we realized we hadn't chosen the best park for the event - it wasn't surrounded by many houses - you had to drive to get there. Maybe we got too caught up in the nice basketball and volleyball courts. I don't know. The rest of our locations should be much better though - very residential.

Regardless of the fact that we didn't choose the best of locations, it was a success. About 4 or 5 families came by and we met some great people that were so excited to be a part of this new adventure. 2 families have been a part of Calvary Chapels for quite a while, so they were happy to hear that a new one was coming to town!

We were a bit worried about the weather throughout the day - it rained all day till about 3:30. We kept praying and eventually things cleared up. The humidity was ridiculous - nothing we're used to. It felt like we were walking through clouds (actually, I think we were). It was great though. In fact, one of the families that came, Jeremy and Julie, were only able to come because the rain had canceled another event that they were going to be attending. The weather actually worked out in our favor, surprisingly!

Thanks for the prayers throughout the day and please keep them up! We have 7 more parks to hit and thousand of people who need Jesus!

Check out pics from the event here and go to the UNIGHT page to get the schedule so you don't miss the next ones!

The party is about to start

Awaken Church has been in my prayers for years. For so long, we didn't know where we'd go to plant a church, when we'd go, or even what we'd call it or how we'd do it, but we knew we'd go. Back in February of this year, we flew out here for our final scouting trip to Clarksville. That was when God gave me the vision for the church and the name "Awaken". We began to think and plan how we'd accomplish this huge task in front of us, and we eventually came up with Unight: Summer Evenings in the Park. Our prayer is to build the church as we start from the ground up, but our ultimate and most important prayer is that whether or not people get involved with Awaken, we pray that they get involved with Jesus. We want to build HIS church.

That's what the next 8 weeks of the summer are all about. As we unite at night in the parks, we pray that many will come out - saved and unsaved - and experience the genuine love of Jesus Christ. Each week, toward the end of the event, I'll share for a couple minutes about the vision of the church and how people can get involved. However, most importantly, I'll share about a different person from Scripture who was awakened to the relevance of God's Word and His saving grace (Paul, the Ethiopian in Acts 8, James and John, etc.). Each week, people will be given a chance to accept Christ right there in the park. Please pray that many would come to know Him!

We've planned for months and years, and it's finally here. Pictures will be posted after the event. Stay tuned to the pictures page and our blog to see how it went.

Head HERE to get an Awaken banner for your website or blog and get the Word out!

New Awaken video clips!

We're in the process of uploading a bunch of teaching clips to our YouTube channel so you can get a sampling of what's coming in September when Awaken Church starts meeting. Make sure to check them out. You can even get the code from each video and put them on your own site or blog so that others can see, or you can email them to a friend to get the Word out! Enjoy!

UNIGHT locations finalized!

We finally were able to map out all 8 parks that we'll be heading to over the next 8 weeks for out UNIGHT outreaches! If you're in the area, you won't want to miss these!

Here are 5 ways you can be involved:

1. Go here to see all 8 locations, get maps, and plan on being there!

2. Click here to download UNIGHT flyers to pass out to your friends and family.

3. Copy the code at the bottom of this page into your blog or website to advertise for UNIGHT with a sweet UNIGHT banner!

4. Keep up with Awaken Church on Facebook and Twitter.

5. PRAY! Probably the most important way you can be involved! Pray for God's provision for the events, and most importantly, pray that many people would come to know Jesus and get involved with the church!

UNIGHT is coming!

We finally have our first location for our UNIGHT Summer Evenings in the Park!

It will be held Saturday, July 11 from 6:00-8:00pm at Airport Park. ALL AGES are welcome! There will be free burgers, hot dogs, and drinks, as well as some games and great fellowship! Hope to see you there if you're in the area.

Airport Park is located on Outlaw Field Rd just south of Tiny Town Rd. See the map below for directions. As always, check our website for all the info!

View Larger Map