8 months and 5 days ago I stepped into what would be the most challenging thing I would ever do professionally. On October 5, 2008, my good friend Vince Antonucci announced that the leadership had chosen me (with God’s leading and after much prayer & searching from both sides), as the lead pastor of God’s church here at Forefront. It’s been a growth experience for me ever since that day.
After doing ministry over 10 years behind the scenes, it was now God’s prompting to be up front. To be the guy who answers the calls. The one who listens to God’s voice and directs the staff and body as we move forward. It meant I would have an extremely close relationship with our MPW team (spiritual leadership/mentors), and have guys like Vince (who you know), and Tim, Doug, Brandon, and Chris (who you don’t know) to call and ask questions about leadership and how to lead a body of believers to reach out and use their faith for others.
Since then, people have been watching, listening, talking, observing, and wondering…
“Is this guy legit?”
“He’s kinda young, I’m not too sure he can lead me?”
“What kind of changes will he make?”
“Is Forefront still going to be my church?”
“What about the music?”
“Will Forefront still be about people who are far from God?”
“What is my place at this church with his leadership?”
“How can he help me be a better Christ-follower?”
Well, I figured the honey moon period is over. The interesting thing is we haven’t made a whole lot of changes. Here is what has changed at Forefront since October 5, 2008 to June 10, 2009:
- Program- We changed the program to a smaller more cost effective format, did away with an unused portion of the weekly study and replaced it with a daily Bible reading plan (which we have heard a ton of great feedback about). We’ve heard about the small print and I totally understand that wen it comes to the Gel Study. We have provided a copy of the study on the website for you to download if you’d like. Or at anytime you call/email the church office and we can send you a copy.
- Website- We heard the groans from many people (from our church and visitors) that our website was not attractive or user friendly. We changed over to Clover Websites and created a streamlined site for people to access and share with their friends (39 people have visited our church just because they liked our website).
- Discipleship- After visiting all the Gel Groups I heard the need for discipleship & growth. The idea of growth happens when we as believers choose to feed ourselves. So, we placed a book recommendation section on the site, beefed up the Gel Studies for the leaders, and also have in the works to provide spiritual disciplines booklets on the hub table for free. We also added the Bible reading plan to have everyone going through the New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs during this year.
Another thing we’ve encouraged our Gel Group Leaders to do is foster a place where true relationships molded around discipleship happen. We want people to be meeting with a couple other guys or a couple other girls outside of Gel Group during the week and spurring each other on through reading their Bibles, sharing struggles, and holding each other accountable. If we just started a “discipleship program” it would fail. You can’t mandate discipleship, it has to happen organically. We are trying every avenue in this to allow people to follow it organically through their own personal study and meeting with other Christians and helping each other live closer to Jesus.
- Music- With the resignation of our worship pastor, we had to look at our options. We wondered how we would get new music if someone wasn’t writing it. Before we added songs, we were already doing 3 songs that weren’t “Forefront” written over the last two years (My Glorious, O Praise Him, Signature of Divine). We started incorporating music that we felt moved people in worship.
We quickly realized that some of the songs we were doing and the speed at which we were doing it was too much too soon. I as the lead pastor apologize for that. The buck stops here. But with worship (which is not just music/songs), it’s not about us. It’s about pointing our joy to God. We realized that the attachment of the songs was deeper than just music, it was a connection to God. So we scaled it back. Waaaay back. We’ve only added to the mix three new songs that have stuck in 8 months, 5 days (Carbon Ribs by John Mark MacMillan, Came to My Rescue by Hillsong United, and You Are Here by Need To Breathe, they also wrote Signature of Divine which people sing the mess out of).
So, we’ve had a learning curve. It happens to everyone. You start a new thing, you try things out, you see how they fit, and then you take the good and drop the bad. The bigger thing to remember is that we are to worship the Creator of the Universe. The God of Eternity who cared enough about us to send His Son to die on a cross for the sins we’ve committed (even the ones we haven’t done yet). That makes me want to sing no matter if it’s an organ and my grandmother singing or a rock band that makes we want to mosh and dance. By the way, we’re NEVER adding and organ. EVER. I PROMISE YOU THAT.
- Auditorium- We moved the drums, bass, and guitarists from the lower stage up to the top stage and left the acoustic & lead singer up front. This gives the stage a more well rounded look and doesn’t leave the back stage like a blank wasteland. What we have noticed though is that with everything more at ear level, it has elevated the volume. So, we’re getting a drum shield and adjusting the setting to make it work. But, getting it cost money. We’ve had 45 families hit with either 1 or both bread winners in the home losing their jobs. So, money is tight- but we’ve got a drum shield and will have it there Sunday.
And that’s all the changes that have taken place to the structure of things here at Forefront. The good news is… there is way more happening than just that. Just look at some of the amazing things going on:
- We had a group of middle school girls collect money to buy hundreds of socks for P.I.N. Ministry
- We had one of our highest attended Christmas Eve Services to date.
- We’ve sent two teams to Vietnam and one more is prepping to go in July
- We’re sending a team to Laos in August
- We’re sending a student ministry team of 24 to build 2 houses in July
- Our ladies are hosting a baby shower for the crisis pregnancy center & 25 expectant moms in June
- We’ve had 2 baptism services 13 people have come to Jesus
- We’ve just acquired a new office space (moving in June 24-26) that has a 2,200 sq ft area to host bands, do outreach events, food drives, and more.
- And God has mended multiple marriages, aided people to walk away from addiction, and has given a home to those who needed a place to belong and connect with Jesus.
Forefront has done quite a bit in the last 8 months and 5 days. When I reflect back on it. I’ve learned a ton, I’ve made some amazing friends, the leadership has searched after Jesus, and…
We’ve looked to honor God in every single thing we do. Because it’s not about our wants or desires- it’s about Jesus and the message of grace and love as we- Love God, Love People, and Turn The World Upside Down.
Looking forward to many more years of reaching up to God and reaching out to our community.
Jason *over and out*
Been going through the message for Sunday on Spiritual Disciplines. Our S.D.’s are an avenue to point us towards God, grow closer to Him, understand His heart, will & plan for our lives. One of the things we’ll be discussing Sunday is “Fasting.” Fasting is abstaining from food, or food and drink, for spiritual purposes. While doing the fast, you use prayer, bible reading, and meditation to draw close to God. You can also fast from things like TV, Social Media, Sports, etc. But Sunday we’re looking strictly at the biblical example of food and/or drink fasting.
