The WHY behind "Don't Go to Church" Sunday

In case you're curious...

Here's NOT why we said, "don't go to church" on Sunday, October 31st:

• to save money- we didn't do this to be cheap or try to save on expenses. We believe reaching people for Christ and leading people in life transforming experiences on Sunday mornings are worth the investment,
• to get out of the theater- we like meeting in rented facilities that gives us the flexibility of keeping our focus on reaching the unchurched and serving our city by showing and sharing God's love. Meeting in the theater allows us to do that.

Here's the BIG whys behind why we lead Lifehouse to "don't go to church":

1. To say "YES" to God. First and foremost, this was a God-led idea. We didn't come up with this in a planning meeting. I had been sharing some ideas with our team that I felt God had placed on my heart, but I kept wrestling with them, and finally shared that it wasn't the right timing. However, i also expressed that there was something BIG that God wanted us to do to conclude the Bare-Naked Faith series, but I didn't know what it was. The next morning, in our staff prayer meeting, Lois Quesenberry shared an idea and my spirit leapt. I said, "That's it! That's the thing God wants to do." That's the genesis of the life group Sunday. It happened on a Tuesday, we announced on Sunday. When God calls us to respond, I've made a commitment to always just say "YES!"
2. To teach Lifehouse and our community that we DON'T GO to church, we ARE the Church. Church isn't a location, a building, or a Sunday morning experience. The Church is people gathered through their common faith in Jesus Christ for the purpose of worship, spiritual growth, building community, and sharing the Gospel with unbelievers,
3. To model our commitment to taking bold faith-risk steps. We, at Lifehouse, will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to teach and lead people to being devoted Jesus-followers,
4. To break us out of our routine of Sunday morning "church". Sometimes we need to be shaken out of routine. Even good routines can lose their effectiveness if we forget why we're doing them. So, Lifehouse's leadership takes bold, God-led steps to mix things up, surprise you with creativity, and catch you off guard with how powerful the Christian life is everyday,
5. To empower our life groups and leaders that they can effectively lead a life- transforming worship experience in their home,
6. To tease our community and Lifehouse with fresh ideas. I don't know if we'll lead a "Don't Go to Church" Sunday again, but I do know that we'll continue encouraging people to meet in homes for life groups. Who knows? We may even develop an idea of launching video church campuses in homes all around this region... Who knows?

Thanks for understanding the "why" behind the "what".