A new Direction

News About the New Church and A Strange Twist in Our Personal Lives

We know several of you have been asking what is going on with us and the new church that God allowed us to plant in Smyrna TN.

First let me tell you about the church!

We are happy to say that New Vision Smyrna is healthy and will celebrate its one year anniversary by moving into a brand new community activity building just being completed by the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee. The new home for the church will be centrally located right beside the city baseball fields and Smyrna Middle School. It will give us more worship space, more classroom space, and the ability to have Wed night programing and permanent signage!

To think that two years ago when God first laid the vision on our heart for a new church, there was no money, there were no people, and neither the movie theater that we now meet in or this brand new community center that we will be moving into in October were even built. What we discovered is that if we trust God and take that step of faith, He knows what is coming and is more that able to take care of us and to do what He says He will do.

Which brings us to a brand new twist in our personal lives.

After an incredible Easter service at the new church last April (almost 300 in attendance) and really seeing what God had accomplished in 2 years, we came to a very strange conclusion. God used us to get people excited about starting a new church, He allowed us to watch Him literally do miracles as it came to fruition, but now that it was launched and healthy, He had a different plan for us.

We know that sounds crazy but this thought had been brewing for a few months and in April God made it very clear that we were supposed to step aside and let New Vision bring in a new campus pastor for the new church. There are several reasons why we felt this was the right thing to do, but the main one was that Blake felt like this is what God was saying. We announced this to the church and in July we officially stopped being supported by New Vision and handed the leadership of the campus to an interim pastor.

What now?

Well that's a great question? All we know is that God has a plan and we are patiently waiting till God reveals that plan. Rebecca is still working for Women of Faith Ministries and homeschooling Sydnie, Sara and Shae. During this time of unemployment, Blake is working as a children's entertainer at local daycares and schools and has started to be invited by some local churches to do special programs for kids and teenagers. (We are wondering if God is going to open up a ministry to families where Blake would come in and do weekend events at churches.) He is also in conversations with several churches about possible staff positions.

We're not sure where the next step on our journey is going to take us. What we know is that if God could take a dream of a new church and use our small talents and experiences to make it happen, then we are confident that same God is faithful to move us into the next part of our journey. We are excited to discover where God is leading next!

The Nichols Family and New Vision Smyrna

Well hello everyone! Greetings from the Nichols Family in Nashville TN. We just wanted to take a few minutes to catch everyone up on the new church and what God is doing in our lives.

What Has Happened So Far

April 2008-We feel God telling us now is the time to plant a new church and start considering where God wants us to locate it.

June 2008-We visit with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and first visit Smyrna TN, a growing town south of Nashville in need of some new churches focused on the young families moving into the area.

August 2008-We tell our home church about our new journey and begin raising funds for the future new church: Crossbridge Community Church in Smyrna TN.

October 2008 -We move to Smyrna!

November 2008 to June 2009- We continue fundraising, we secure a location at the Malco Theater, we gain a local church sponsor, we launch our website, we begin meeting people, we start going door to door sharing information about the new church, and we do a 30,000 phone call greeting to the surrounding area.

July 2009- We begin discussions with a local church about a larger partnership and the possibility of launching Crossbidge as a campus of their church.

August 2009- We transition the Crossbridge church plant into New Vision Church: Smyrna Campus, Blake will become the Campus Pastor.

October 2009- We launch New Vision Smyrna at the Malco Roxy Theater with over 200 people in attendance.

November 2009-March 2010- The church averages over 175 in attendance each week as we learn the best way to have church in a movie theater.

April 2010- Two years after God begins laying the vision on our heart, we run two services and have almost 300 people in attendance on Easter Sunday morning!

May 2010- We have our first baptism!!!

What's Happening In Smyrna

Hola!

Guess what is going on in Smyrna, Tennessee!?! No, we are not going to Mexico, as you might have predicted from my introduction!

So what is happening, “B?” I know you must be asking yourself. We are (insert Doobie brothers tune) Takin’ it to the streets!! Not that I am trying to prove my age, just giving a shout out to our Nashville neighbor, Michael McDonald!

What does ‘takin’ it to the streets’ look like in Smyrna? As you have heard before, we have found additional success in getting the word out to the community through door hangers. These door hangers communicate general info about Crossbridge, direct readers to the website, and supply information as an invite to first preview service on July 12th.

When: Next week
Where: Smyrna, TN
What: Distribute door hangers to 5,000, or 50% of the homes in Smyrna
How: Accepting the assistance of FBC Cordele Georgia’s rockstar youth group
Why: Because it works!!

Questions? Yes, You in the back there. ‘Blake, How do you know people have taken notice of the church through these initiatives?’

Glad you asked! I just happen to know the answer to that one! If inundation was not enough, through the 1,000 door hangers we passed out through neighborhoods with the Southside youth group from Tyler, TX, mailing 250 more brochures to, specifically interested people, 200+ ‘business’ cards passed to people that we made connections with, and 37,000 phones calls with over 2,000 listeners being interested in more information…if that was not enough to gain an audience, I will share one of the encounters that I had over the previous week.

Last week, I preached at a church in the heart of Nashville. The service went great and it was wonderful to meet several more people, but there was one lady that came to me and offered me a bit of encouragement, whether she knew it or not.

Through the course of our conversation, this lady asked if I was the one starting the church at the theatre in Smyrna. After stating that I was beginning this new venture she shared that her sister had a door hanger placed by her phone. Her sister told her that once this new church started she was going to start back to church again.

How exciting!
Those are the conversations that we measure our effectiveness and this is only one of the stories that we have heard of Crossbridge getting someone’s attention!

With all that said, we know that this is not something that we have done alone and only the LORD controls the destiny of His church. He blesses us through you all who have prayed for and supported us throughout the last several months. We praise the LORD for you all and request continued blessing in your life for you willingness to be used by our maker.

Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Amen!

It's Time To Start Ramping UP

Okay prayer warriors I think God is bringing me out of my slump. The last month has been a battle just to stay focused. But this morning something just feels different. Let's load up the prayers and start moving ahead. God's got a church to start!

God Moments 2: Southside Mission Trip

It was great having the Youth Mission Trip from Southside up. There are a 100 great stories ranging from Chic-Fil-a Guitar Guy, Playing Outburst in the Garage, and Bowling for Missions.

Two of my favorite stories are:

1. My friend Chuck Brown and I were going to a local apartment complex to ask if we could put door hangers on the doors. We already guessed the answer would be no, but it never hurts to ask. Just as we thought, that request was met with a resounding "No". But then it was as if God whispered something in the manager's ear, she turned around and said maybe you can do something for the kids here in the club house! Wow! We were invited by the apartment complex's manager to come back Wed. night and do a kid's activity night and hand out our flyers. That night Bruce Thompson and I did a magic show, we handed out popcorn, and did face paint. The kids loved it. But the coolest part of the night was all the apartment kids hanging out afterwords and singing worship songs with the mission team. It was a God Moment.

A few weeks later I was at a local church and a kid came up to me and said "Your the magician," I smiled.

2. The Super Door Hanger: We hung literally 1000 door hangers on Wednesday. Several of the door hangers were put on empty houses. We figured that you never know what might happen. Sure enough, 3 weeks later I get a call about the new church. I asked them where they had heard about us and they said last week they were looking at a house that was for sale and our door hanger was still there!

God Moments 1: Answered Prayers

A couple of cool God moments and answered prayers since our last Newsletter:

In our last newsletter we put down some "need" requests:

1. 37,000 Phone Calls - $3500
Answer: This need was answered by a diverse group of people and churches giving anywhere from $100 to $1000! It was the most incredible outpouring of support as friends from high school, pastor friends, churches that we had come in contact with all joined together. We raised this money in 4 days!

2. Starter for the Truck $400
Answer: This one was all God. I went out one day and just had the crazy idea that maybe God had fixed our truck. The truck had been dead for over a month and had not responded at all when we tried to jump it off in December. But this time, I got in and turned the key and it started. Not only did it start but it has kept on starting for a couple of months now. I'm sure there is a mechanical explanation but I like to think God just decided that we needed our truck to work.

3. New Computer $500
Answer: Two computers. That's right. We had a good friend come and visit us from Texas. He said he had a gift for us and he brought in two brand new computers.

4. Living Expenses for 4 months
Answer: Well here it is April and we haven't missed a pay check yet! We're not exactly sure where the next pay check comes from but everyone has been so generous and God has been so good!

5. Business Cards and a Block Party
Answer: We've done them both!

Good News/OK News and a Immediate Need

Hey every one! Well, today will go down as one of those Good News/OK News days in the brief history of the Crossbridge Community Church.

The Good News is really good and the OK news isn't that bad.

The Good News is that our funding request for start up funds was approved by the Tennessee Baptist Convention!!! TBC has decided to put up considerable start-up funds for the Crossbridge Community Church. These funds will help us pay for block parties, preview services, mail outs, equipment, and community events for this summer as we ramp up to the launch in September. It greatly improves our ability to reach out to the Smyrna/LaVergne area! I'm so excited to see God provide this way.

The OK News is that our request for personal monthly support through the TBC was only half way met. We asked for $2000 a month for the 1st year and it looks like we'll receive about $850 a month. Now this isn't bad news. I'm am so thankful for the $850. That's over $10,000 TBC will be investing in us personally this year not counting the start-up money. God is Good!

But, we will have to figure out how to make ends meet. Rebecca and I have both put resumes out for extra jobs and we are waiting to see what happens. I actually had an interview this morning for one possibility. It will take a bit for us to find these alternate streams of income so the big need will be over the next two months.

The Immediate Need with the lower number than we had hoped for from TBC and a pretty hefty tax bill due on the 15th, we are going to come up short of our needs by about $1200 this month (and possibly the same for the next month). So if God has been stirring anybody to give, now would be a good time. Every little bit helps and adds up.

When you give you will be partnering with us and the vision of creating a new church focused on the 100's and 100's of young families that have moved into the Smyrna/LaVergne are of Tennessee.

You'll give us the ability to keep meeting and recruiting new families. So far we have gathered 5 strong families and have another 10 families that are very interested. I'm having coffee with two new families this week to discuss the joining the launch team.

You'll be giving us the time to plan the out reaches, the block parties, the kids events, and the preview services and vision meetings.

Thanks for considering partnering with us!

-Blake

Click here to donate

That's My Storm!

I read the story of Jesus calming the storm this morning in Mark chapter 4.

It hit me that when Jesus stopped the storm and replied "why were you so afraid" basically he was saying " Didn't you know this is my storm. I can stop it and start it anytime I want. If it is here, it is because I have allowed it to be here. If you trust me, then you don't have to fear."

It's kind of hard for me, just like the disciples to be able to grasp this: The Storms are His!

I wonder what would happened if Jesus had not stopped the storm, was there something else that the disciples would have learned if they would have just trusted Jesus.

I can have peace, not because the storm stops, but because I trust the one who can stop the storm.

When the pressure hits I'm just going to imagine Jesus saying "That's my storm" and then I'm going to just keep trusting that the Storm Maker is in control.

FBC Cordele GA

I got to meet Scott Alexander from FBC Cordele GA yesterday. He's bringing a group of middle schoolers up June 13th to do some leg work for the new church. Our goal is to do 3 events (block party, Chick-fil-a Family Night, apartment outreach) and to put door hangers on over 2000 homes in the the 3 days they are with us.

God just keeps sending cool people and churches to partner with us.