The First Panel Goes Up!

If you’ve been watching the progress at the Blaine campus construction site, you’ll be glad to know that the first panel is in place. It won’t be long before all the exterior walls are up. Check it out:

Installing the First Panel at Blaine

Blaine Campus Now Under Construction

Eagle Brook Church-Blaine is temporarily meeting in the Spring Lake Park facilities on Sunday evenings at 4:05 and 6:05 until the Blaine facilities are ready sometime this fall. This is a unique opportunity for several hundred of the SLP Sunday morning attenders to make their seats available for guests who are coming for the new message series, How to Build a Great Life.

Blaine Ground Breaking Service – March 26

A small group of representatives from various groups gathered at the Blaine construction site to break ground for the new facilities.

Blaine Ground Breaking

Construction Begins on Blaine Campus – March 31

Construction is underway and it won’t be long before the walls go up on the new Blaine campus.

Blaine Construction Begins

I’ll Never Be the Same

The words are different, but I’ve heard the same theme over and again, “After what I’ve experienced, I’ll never be the same. God is changing me.”

The Micah Project is leaving its mark on individuals and families, literally transforming our church. Our awareness of those whom Jesus described as “the least of these” is growing. Our passion to be people of love, mercy and action is peaking. And we’re making the necessary adjustments in our personal lives to put faith into action. Way to go Spring Lake Park!

SLP Food Pack with Feed My Starving Children

Nicaragua Mission Trip

One of the highly anticipated opportunities of this summer will stretch many of us beyond our comfort zone. Each Eagle Brook campus will serve on separate dates with OrphaNetwork to provide water, food, housing and education with the goal of building a strong Christian faith with orphans living in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

On my recent trip to Nicaragua, I was impressed with our potential to make a lasting impact. As you can see in the picture below, the kids are eager for our arrival.

Feeding Center in Nicaragua

The Spring Lake Park mission trip will be August 23-30. We’ve broadened the SLP mission team to include the new Blaine campus. Blaine campus pastor, Matt Anderson, and I will serve together as the trip pastors.

Openings for the trip are limited—those who want to go to Nicaragua will need to apply as soon as possible.

The New Blaine Campus

The soft launch of the Blaine campus is now a reality. Eagle Brook Church-Blaine will temporarily meet in the SLP facilities on Sunday evenings at 4:05 and 6:05 until the Blaine facilities are ready sometime this fall.

We’ll continue offering services at the Corner House on Saturdays at 4:05 and Sundays at 9:05 and 11:05 to make sure we have enough seating for our guests in the main worship center. Thank you for participating as part of the team by using the Corner House to help us reach others for Christ by giving up your seat for a newcomer.

It’s February, Be Happy!

February in Minnesota—I can’t think of a better time to be here! Why? Because February overflows with opportunities to step out in faith, trust God and serve others. Here are two great ways to find a little warmth in the month ahead.

The Micah Project

“…the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

The Micah Project pulls together challenging messages from our teaching pastors, hands-on experiences with our ministry partners, and practical action plans for individuals, families and small groups.

The Micah Project is an initiative of the Not Without You campaign that extends far beyond the walls of Eagle Brook. This is our opportunity for each of us to be the church in the world in a big way. You can find out more about The Micah Project by clicking here.

The Blaine Initiative

I’ve always loved pioneering new projects. And as a long-time church planter, there’s nothing more fulfilling at this point in my life than helping to launch a new EBC campus.

Like The Micah Project, the Blaine initiative is taking shape because of the generosity of those who are giving toward the Not Without You campaign. It’s rewarding to see the immediate impact of our contributions, even though we’re just a few months into the campaign.

Here’s how the Blaine initiative is shaping up:

The Blaine staff and volunteers will lead temporary Sunday evening services at the SLP campus at 4:05 and 6:05 beginning on February 28. Those who wish to serve as Blaine volunteers must complete a serving interest form and check the box marked “Blaine.”

The Sunday evening services will be available until the Blaine campus opens (which we anticipate to be sometime in the fall of 2010).

The Sunday evening services will be a full Eagle Brook weekend experience with live worship, Café 5000, Beyond Books, Kid-O-Deo, Club K-Rock, and the current weekend message (recorded earlier that day).

We’re asking those who plan to attend at Blaine when it opens, as well as a few hundred people who plan to stay at SLP, to make a Sunday evening service their primary choice for weekend worship. This will make seats available for our guests in the regularly scheduled weekend services.

Ah yes, February in Minnesota. With all the opportunities to serve, we’ll breeze through the final weeks of winter. And before you can catch your breath, spring will be upon us. Now that’s something to smile about!

Solving the Attendance Challenge

God continues to stretch us at Spring Lake Park. Last weekend’s attendance exceeded 2,750 people…and more want to come.

It’s heartbreaking to know that many arrived at SLP last weekend and were unable to find parking, so they drove away before the service started. Others found a place to park but had to sit in a less than ideal overflow space because the worship center and Corner House were beyond capacity.

To make matters more complex, we had hoped to open the new Blaine campus by Easter of 2010, but complications have pushed the potential opening to sometime in the Fall of 2010.

As you might imagine, we’ve been scrambling to find a way to open more seats at SLP as well as prepare for the launch of the Blaine campus. We’ve identified a solution, but it’ll take all of us to make it work. Here’s what we plan to do:

From February 28 until the EBC Blaine campus opens.

• Beginning February 28 and running until the Blaine campus opens, we’ll offer Sunday evening services at the SLP campus at 4:05 and 6:05.

• The Sunday evening services will ultimately be lead by the staff and volunteers that plan to serve at Blaine when it opens. It’ll take a few weeks to get all the staff and volunteers in place.

• The Sunday evening services will be a full Eagle Brook weekend experience with live worship, Café 5000, Beyond Books, children’s worship, and the current weekend message (recorded earlier that day).

• We’re asking those who plan to attend at Blaine when it opens, as well as a few hundred people who plan to stay at SLP, to make a Sunday evening service their primary choice for weekend worship. This will make seats available for our guests in the regularly scheduled weekend services.

From now until February 28.

• We still have room in our Saturday 6:05 pm service. If possible, choose this service.

• We’ve installed broadcast gear and added an additional 60 seats in the Student ministry café downstairs in the Corner House. We’ll use the lower room whenever the upper room is full.

• Until the Sunday evening services begin on February 28, those who are regular SLP attenders can serve our guests by choosing to attend at the Corner House before the main worship center fills up on Saturdays at 4:05 or Sundays at 9:05 and 11:05.

I’m grateful for each person who is part of the SLP church family. Your willingness to do whatever it takes to reach others for Christ is remarkable. Thank you for facing into our attendance challenge and taking the steps to resolve it. Thank you for being the church. You get it! And it’s a privilege to serve as your campus pastor.