In the book of Joshua Ch. 10 God did something super-natural; He stopped the sun so that His work could be accomplished.  Though I have people all around me helping Epic Church get launched, there is sooo much to do!!! Do you ever feel that way?  Wish that you could replicate yourself, or hire someone people to help?  I feel ya!!!  Through it all I have battled to keep a Sabbath on Fridays and to be refreshed daily through prayer and bible study.  Trust me when I tell you that there is a power, rest, and satisfaction that comes from those times that are A MUST no matter how busy you get.  If you are not making that time…GET ON IT!!!  I promise it is the best investment you can make with your time.

OK I better stop before I start preaching!!!!  With all that said…

I hope you get as blown away and excited as me with all that is coming together:

• Graphic that are getting designed (that will be finalized later this week)
• The new EpicChurch.co website is about to have media available, it offers a giving page for people to give tithes/offerings/donations, and so much more
• Athena has agreed to be our interim Director of Epic Kids (check out the staff page on our website for more on this awesome lady!!!
• We have secured El Camino Creek Elementary as our venue starting May 20th AT LEAST through the summer.
• We are pumped to announce Shadow Hills Church (Las Vegas, NV) as our newest partner church!!!  They are the largest baptist church in the state of Nevada and have already put together their first mission team to come out the week before Easter to prayer walk and put out 5,000 door hangers.
• We regretfully had to cancel our bonfire last sunday due to bad weather, so we are calling an audible and doing a day at the park this Saturday instead with games, pizza, and salad.  I will speak out of the book of Nehemiah on the passion and purpose that the church has to love people of the city.
• As of yesterday our Facebook advertising started and we have already had 60 1st time visitors to our website in these two days!  WHAT-WHAT!!!
• This week I am working to get some audio/video/lighting/signage to ensure an awesome environment for our first service that is LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY.
• I am trying to find a way to get a promo video shot that we can post up on the website…ahhhh the website…TALK ABOUT TIME CONSUMING!!!!  Cannot wait to have someone that can handle updating that!!!!!
• Two weeks ago Stacie, M, and I unplugged for 36 hours and took advantage of an amazingly cheap Groupon special that sent us on a fairy boat ride to Catalina Island.  Though it was chilly, I was able to curl up with a great book, unwind and read/pray/rest without the detraction of my cell, email, and reminders constantly going off.  This was a needed get away and I praise God for it.

There is sooo much more going down, but I do not want to kill ya with too many details.

FINANCIAL PARTNERS - For those of you who have given or are praying about becoming a financial I want to start by saying “Thank You” for your sacrifice to see God’s church built here in North County San Diego! A great question recently came my way about giving money to support Epic:  “What checks and balances do you have to ensure you are doing the right things with any money I give to Epic?”  GREAT QUESTION!!!

• We have another local church (Generation Church) that  that handles all our finances (writing checks, assessing expense reports, managing payroll, etc.) and holds me accountable.
• Epic currently has 6 Board of Directors (1 banker/1 CPA) who must approve our budget annually.  The people on this board have each made significant financial investments to Epic, and desire for us to be great stewards of the money given.
• The book keeping done by Generation Church will be audited annually to ensure that they are held accountable.

WANT TO GIVE TO EPIC CHURCH?  CLICK HERE

PRAYER PARTNERS –

• Pray that God will open the doors for us to meet weekly at El Camino Creek Elementary once we Launch on Sept.16
• Pray for AT LEAST 40 to come to church at E Street Cafe this Easter @ 6pm and that AT LEAST 1 person will give their life to Jesus Christ for the very first time!
• Pray for an addition $100 per week to come available for us to hire a part-time staff person.  This would allow for so much more to be accomplished.
• Pray for our Launch Team to grow to 21 (that would be an increase of 5 people) after our Easter service!
• Pray that the Holy Spirit speaks His message through me on Easter.
• Pray that all the pieces begin falling into place quickly for us to most effectively love and minister to the men, women, teachers, children, waiters, engineers, surf bums, office managers, and everyone else who needs the love of Jesus Christ here!
• Though I love my sleep to much to want the sun to stand still, I do see soooo much that is yet to fall into place…Pray for my sanity!!!

Blessing to you all…thank you for your love and support…I hope to see you here on mission this summer if possible!!!!

Blessing from Encinitas, CA!!!!

We are on the cusp of experiencing something extraordinary & powerful, but there is SO MUCH to be accomplished in the next two to three months!

PRAISE & PRAYER:

• Please pray for AT LEAST 25 PEOPLE to be at our BBQ & BONFIRE this weekend to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ & the vision of Epic Church.
• Please pray that commitments to our launch team grow to 17 people strong over the coming week.
• Pray for us as we seek a more permanent location for us to gather…one that will include space for EPIC KIDS to effectively communicate the gospel in understandable terms for our children.  We are having a REALLY hard time finding something we can afford that will meet the needs of our church and allow us to meet the needs of our community.  The city has shut us down from using the latest location we were shooting for.  We have a fall back, but are looking for something better logistically.
  
• Praise God for 3 more potential partnerships that are being prayed through, and please join us in praying for favor with & discernment in partnering with other churches.
  
•  Praise God for all the amazing conversations I have had in the past week with people like Brian, Seth, and more where we have been able to talk about spiritual things and how they ultimately are about Jesus Christ and His role as their Hero and Lord.  Pray for great fruit to come of them!!!!

Ruined for the Ordinary,

Chaz

I noticed a tweet this morning of another pastor talking about his reading list for the year, and it reminded me that I wanted to develop one as well.  It is important as a Christ follower to grow in knowledge of what we believe, and it is important to give our best to our job (whatever it is).  These can be aided by becoming a life-long student!

BOOK LIST

Below is a list of 9 books, though not exhaustive, that I am committed to read this year.

• 3 On Grasping and Communicating the Bible Better

• 3 on Leadership

• 3 on Defending My Faith

PRAISE & PRAYER LIST

• We just got in some general inviter cards that we hope will begin to build awareness of us in the community AND we have our ”new” EpicChurch.co website up.  PRAISE God for the resources to purchase these things (they ain’t free!) and PRAY that God will begin to soften and prepare the hearts of this community as we start to engage them on larger levels over the coming months

front of card:

back of card:

• PRAISE for the fact that our launch team is growing and God is grooming me daily to better lead this church…I am beyond grateful for those who are investing in me, and whom I have the opportunity to invest in.
  • PRAISE that we have someone volunteering to do a photo shoot with us in the next couple of weeks to get some great photos together for the website and for our welcome packets.
• Stacie, M, myself and one other person will knock on over 100 doors this Friday & Saturday to invite people over to my house for a super bowl party.  PRAY that we have a great turnout and that God connects AT LEAST 3 people to be a part of our launch team here at Epic.
• In the next couple of weeks I should be meeting with two churches about starting a major partnership with Epic.  One church is located in Carlsbad, CA and the other is in Las Vegas, NV.  Please PRAY for God’s wisdom and favor in all of this.  We have covered most of our normal budget costs for 2012  BUT have little money to purchase much needed equipment (such as signs for people to find the church, microphones for people to hear the gospel, etc…).  PRAY continued financial provision for Epic!
• PRAY for my house to stop being sick!  In the past month I have gotten (and currently am) sick TWICE, and both M & Stacie have gotten sick.
• Finally, please pray for God to provide for us to hire a worship leader & director of children’s ministry

Ruined for the Ordinary,

Chaz Churchwell

“SLEEPLESS IN SAN DIEGO”

I think that pretty much describes my past few days.  Ever since we crossed the barrier of 1 month till our first event my mind has been in overload!  Dave Matthews sums up my thoughts as of late, “So much to do, So much to say.”

I AM FIRED UP!!!  I feel like a kid in the days leading up to Christmas, except my thoughts are on what God is going to do…not Santa.  “Who is God going to bring to Epic Church?!?!?!”  My mind is racing with all the powerful, important, and yes, even the mundane things that need to be done.

God just keeps blowing me away with His love and blessings.  RestoreSanDiegoNow.com has now received nearly 2,100 hits!  That means a great deal of prayer from some and curiosity from others.  Just the other day I had someone that I had know for less than an hour give us a check for $1,000, because they prayed before they met me and felt the Lord lead them to give.  On Sunday we were invited to The Way Church in Ramona, CA where we were prayed over and offered some electronics that will help us on our way.  We now have 3 people beyond Stacie, M, and I who are committed to seeing this church happen.  THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE DOUBLED OUR CONGREGATION…HAHA!!!

God is rocking our faces off and doing some powerful things.  Please praise God with us for the things already mentioned, and pray to God with us for the things below.

•  FELIZ “NACHO”DA - This Sunday @ 6pm PST we are inviting the 70 apartments that surround us to come into our home and join us for some free food, Christmas music, and Chargers Football.  Stacie, M, and I will be going door-to-door on Thursday evening to personally invite everyone over.  Pray that at least 20 people come and that more that 2 will come to our 1st Inviter Event.  Pray that God will open more doors for us to minister to our neighbors.
• 1st INVITER EVENT - Sunday Jan. 8th @ 6pm PST we are inviting everyone who is interested in seeing this church start to join us at Moonlight Beach for a Bonfire & BBQ.  I will connect with people and share some of the vision for Epic Church.  Pray that we have at least 15 people attend and that God plants His vision into the hearts of those that come.
• MADELEINE – Madeleine started walking about 3 weeks ago.  It is a big accomplishment for our little girl!  Though she is doing great, she still wobbles and falls like any kid her age.  Our poor girl has fallen and smacked her head into several things over the past few days, which has led to several bumps and bruises.  Compound that with EXTREME teething, and you have a little girl that is in a great deal of pain.  Pray for balance to come soon, teething to be easy, and healing to come quick.

Thanks to each of you that partner with my family and God’s work here in Encinitas, CA!