- Eight churches in America close their doors every day.
- Less than 20% of Americans now attend church.
- The average church has shrunk to less than 90 people.
- The average church member gives $756 a year!
- Less than 10% of a church’s giving is for any form of outreach.

These numbers confirm what I already know in my heart…..
We need more churches!
We need to get more people saved!
We need to teach more about giving in the church!
We need to get outside the 4 walls of a building to reach those who are on their way to hell!

It is my prayer the 72:12 Church will be active in going against the flow of these stats.

1. I am believing God for new and fresh ways to present the Gospel to people in my city. Over 65% of our population don’t attend church on a regular or have a personal relationship with God.

2. I am believing God for a sold-out crew to come alongside me to launch 72:12 Church next spring. We are looking for all races, ages, experiences, etc. to make an impact for God in Joliet.

3. I am believing God for wisdom and strength to handle whatever comes our way in our journey. He has never failed us and I look forward to Him showing off in the future!

Nevertheless, God has put His imprint on my heart for the people of Joliet.
This area has grown tremendously in the last 10-15 years.
It has also gotten to be incredibly diverse.
Just in my subdivision alone there must be 10 different nationalities represented.

There are also over 15,000 college students within a short drive from my house.

All of these different people have one thing in common:

The need to experience Life in Christ.

With this in mind

72:12 Church is a new church that will be launching in Joliet, Ill in the spring of 2011.

One of the craziest things about this whole process is that I am not scared to jump into this with both feet.
God has called me to do His work and connect people to life in Christ.
This is not my idea but His.
His plan. His purpose.
I am fully committed to seeing the vision come to pass.

I pray that you would consider partnering with us in either prayer, financial contribution, hands-on, or a combination of the 3

God is up to something amazing in our city.

For what are you trading your life for?

This question has really stuck with me for a while.
You see, for many years I thought that my life was not worth much
I never thought that I would ever amount to a whole lot.

What could I exchange me for?

To my amazement, Jesus showed up and let me know that I have value.
I am worth something.

Not just anything but He was willing to trade His life for mine.
And not only that, He gave me an lifetime assignment to share His love with others.

And to also let them know how much they are worth.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Until now

I have come to realize that I have placed too much emphasis on things like structure, plans, and PEOPLE.
I have neglected the thing that got me here to begin with….PASSION.

My heart breaks on a daily basis for people in my community who dont have a connection with God.
Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Bi-racial, Women, Men, Children, Thugs, Hookers, Drop-outs, Lawyers, etc

They all need God

They all need to know that there is hope for a better today and tomorrow.

Stay tuned…..

I am blown away by the stories that I read abut all over the country on how God is doing His thing.
It inspires me and it builds my faith.

…double in 1 week…hmmmm…..

To see how that works in my neck of the woods, I am going to put my faith on the line.
I am going to believe God to double the results of my efforts.

1=2, 2=4, 4=8, 8=16, etc.

Although my church plant is still months away from being launched, I am going to ramp up my efforts to make a difference in the community and impact people with the love of God.

It is good to have a like-minded group of people who are willing to come alongside you in making an impact for the Kingdom.

For Soul Purpose Church, we are looking for people and churches who are willing to join our prayer team.
If you would like to team up with us click here.

1. New churches lower the age profile of the American church, increase its multiethnicity, and better position the whole church for future changes.

2. New churches provide synergistic benefits to established churches. Research show that denominations that plant many strong churches have more healthy, growing, established churches than those who plant few churches.

3. The continued growth of new churches will extend up to 40 years after their start. The growth that occurs in years 10 to 40 is critical for creating a strong base of churches for the future.

4. New churches provide a channel to express the energy and ideas of passionate, innovative young pastors. Church planting encourages the development of the expansionist gifts of ministry and leadership. Denominations that plant few churches unintentionally focus on training pastors in stabilizing gifts. A denomination needs both stabilizing and expansionist gifts to be both healthy and growing.

5. New churches are the research and development unit of God’s kingdom. New churches create most of the current models and visions for healthy life. Healthy cultural adaptations and theological vitality occur more often in a denomination that excels at church planting, because the ferment of new ideas and ministry solutions is more robust.

6. New churches are the test laboratory for lay leadership development. Because top lay leadership positions are usually already filled in the parent church, new churches provide a new group of emerging lay leaders the opportunity to grow and develop as primary leaders. In new church plants that do well, most lay members report that being part of the beginning of the new church was one of the defining spiritual events in their life.

7. New churches are historically the best method for reaching each emerging new generation. While many established churches have the ability to connect with the younger cohort, each generation also seems to need their own new type of churches that speak the gospel with their own cultural values and communications style.

8. New churches are the only truly effective means to reach the growing ethnic populations coming to America. Every people group needs to hear the gospel in a way that makes sense to their culture. It is difficult for established churches to become diverse. Church planting can effectively create both ethnic-specific and multiethnic congregations.
9. New churches are more effective than established churches at conversion growth. Studies show that new churches have three to four times the conversion rate per attendee than established churches.

10. Because the large majority of Americans do not attend a local church, many more new churches are needed. In 2005, 17.5% of Americans attended a local church on any given Sunday. Seventy-seven percent of Americans do not have a consistent connection with an orthodox Christian church. To keep up with population growth is to start new churches.”

God has called me to launch a church and while we are no where near the launch date, we are making some progress.
We recently had a great couple join our crew and I know they will help us tremendously.

In the midst of disappointments, it is great to cast vision and see people get it.

We are still looking for prayer partners, so if that is you or someone you know click here to sign up.

God is up to something BIG in Joliet.
It’s ON!

Planting a church is going to take everything that I have, and then some.
There are some things that I will have to sacrifice (my family is not one of them!)
This is not going to be the easiest road to travel.

I can hardly wait!

Everyday my heart bleeds for people in my city who don’t know God.
They have no idea about being connected to Him and the change that can be produced from that relationship.

There is a huge mission field right in my back yard.

I’m ready!