Josh Whitehead » Great Churches

In need of chairs

Josh — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:38:57 +0000

Seriously. Church planter Morgan Clough, pastor of Outreach Across America – Worship Center, is in need of 100 chairs. He’s not picky – he just needs chairs.

Can your church help? Do you have extra chairs around your facility? Help me help Morgan. Let me know what you can do.

Obvious signs

Josh — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:01:55 +0000

Every weekend your church has services. People come on to your campus and people leave your campus. They have an experience – or do they. This verse hit me the other day.

What should we do with these men? For an obvious sign, evident to all who live in Jerusalem, has been done through them, and we cannot deny it! Acts 4:16 (emphasis added)

Does your church have any obvious signs that God is present? Do people experience God at your church in such a way that they cannnot deny it? Is it known by everyone who lives in your city?

I want Faith Promise to have obvious signs.

Congrats Graystone

Josh — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:12:09 +0000

Yesterday my friend Jonathan Howes saw a dream become a reality. Their church celebrated the opening of a new 25,000 sq. ft. facility in the city of Grayson, GA. Amazingly, over 1,100 people worshiped at Graystone Church with them this weekend – over double their attendance from the previous weekend! Here’s what Jonathan said on Twitter:

Pray for the staff at Graystone! They have a lot to figure out this week as they prepare for the second weekend in their new home. Take a minute and pray for:

Many of the people who attended last weekend to attend again and experience the life-changing message of Christ.
The church to say “thanks” to God – it’s all about Him.
The staff team to have strategic wisdom to process this past weekend and the changes needed for next weekend.
The volunteers to have patience as they “figure things out.”

Jonathan, Jennifer and Graystone – Congratulations! We’re not surprised and cannot wait to see what God does through you!

I wonder if…

Josh — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:00:24 +0000

We’ve been in an incredible series at church called Home Invasion and it has provoked me to think about a lot of things. Confession: I don’t always do a great job at just stopping and being thankful. So, here’s what I’ve been thinking.

I wonder if…I will ever understand fully on this earth what Christ did for me and serve Him as effectively as possible with my life. The more I learn, the less I feel that I “get” it. It’s amazing.
I wonder if…I will ever value and appreciate my family like I should. I have an amazing wife (Kim) and two adorable kids (Hayden & Madison). So often I blow it with my words and reactions, but they still love me!
I wonder if…I will ever understand fully how blessed I am to have the parents that I have. They have supported me in every endeavor in life (and financed most of them).
I wonder if…I will ever fully comprehend the awesome privilege it is to serve on staff at Faith Promise and why God allowed me to be a part of something so special.
I wonder if…

I. wonder. if. The list could go on and on, but I just needed to stop and say, “I am so grateful for the life that God has given me.” I wonder if I will ever even fully comprehend those words and what God has done for me.

What are you wondering about?

Pray for Graystone Church

Josh — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:00:28 +0000

This past weekend we had the chance to hang out with our friends Jonathan and Jennifer Howes. I have known the Howes for over 11 years – Jonathan and I attended seminary together and have been great friends since then.

Their church, Graystone, is poised to make a huge impact on the community of Grayson in 5 weeks. On November 8th, they move out of the warehouse that they leased 5 years ago and enter their permanent residence – a new, 25,000 square foot facility.

Would you join me in praying for a few things to happen at Graystone?

Pray that the last $120,000 needed to finish the project is given by October 25th.
Pray that those attending become courageous inviters of their friends.
Pray for volunteers to step up and serve to meet the needs at the new campus.
Pray for peace for their staff in some crazy times between now and then.

And, if you know are the person that has the $120,000, I’m sure they’ll take it (will you let them know that I sent you)!

Would you write a prayer in the comment section and I will forward them on to Graystone?

The church in Costa Rica

Josh — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:00:42 +0000

Last week was an awesome experience working with Terry DuPont and Open Eyes Ministries in Costa Rica. Our job was to train church leaders and pastors in discipleship strategy and church administration in 3 hours! Although we did have some great free time, most of our days were full of travel with our sessions. For instance on Tuesday, we left the house before 7am and returned after midnight. That included 6 hours of teaching and a lot of driving! We taught in four cities in three days: Nicoya, Puntarenas, Liberia and Canas.

Here are some things that I noticed about the church in Costa Rica:

The leaders and pastors that Terry works with seem very willing to help one another.
The buildings are poorly furnished and not very nice, but the people that fill them appear happy, eager to learn and very gracious. Most of them appeared to be very humble.
Many of the issues facing the church in Costa Rica are similar to the US church – church structure plagues them, lack of vision, lack of leadership development, etc. The pastor’s there try to do it all instead of delegating responsibility and empowering their people.
The churches are scrambling to meet the needs of the community and are overwhelmed by the extreme poverty in their areas.

There are obviously tons of challenges facing the church in the US. What do you think is the greatest one?

Pray for Graystone Church

Josh — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:54:46 +0000

Last night I had a late meeting with a great friend. Jonathan Howes and I met at Southwestern Seminary while sitting in our first day of Hebrew class (anyone who has taken Hebrews knows that it creates life-long friendships). We have kept in touch for the past 11 years and about 6 years ago, Jonathan and his family started Graystone Church in Grayson, GA. Graystone has been a dynamic church and has been blessed with awesome growth over the past few years. In October they are going to move into a new facility, so we spent three hours last night catching up and talking strategy for the growth that will happen when the enter the new campus.

Pray for what God wants to do at Graystone, the challenges of significant growth and for wisdom for the many church planters out there like Jonathan. Church planters are part of the backbone for the future of the church in America!