Newest ST PATRICK Series- Law & Order

Rules can seem so… restrictive, so… prudish.  Morals and regulations seem to limit all of our fun and freedom.  What’s more, Christianity seems to be the greatest offender of that freedom.  Many people view the Bible as nothing more than a list of do’s and don’ts.  In their estimate, it’s filled with rules designed to restrict and rob us of pleasure.  Could their assumptions be true?

Join Pastor Patrick Sundays 8:45, 10:00 or 11:15 AM as he dives into "LAW & ORDER: St. Patrick Unit," a new series that explains that God's laws were not meant to be burdensome but to be a blessing.  God's laws reveal his heart and his character, so as we turn our focus from the law to the Lawgiver, we discover the key to a free and fulfilled life!

Catch a sneak peak of the series by watching the trailer, and we hope to see you this Sunday!

How NOT to INVITE friends to Church

Friend Day is THIS Sunday! Follow these simple steps to avoid an awkward invitation situation...



DON'T FORGET- Invite friends, family, co-workers, classmates, fellow-graduates- pretty much ANYONE you know who does NOT currently go to church! See you and then on Sunday for Friend Day and the Kick-off of our latest sermon series. I'll post that next!

How Not to Invite Your Friends

Check out a latest teaching video to help you develop the skills to invite your friends to Lifehouse:



Don't forget- NEXT SUNDAY, June 5th is Friend Day! So, take your newly gotten skills, and enjoy inviting your friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates- pretty much anyone you know who does NOT currently go to church.

We look forward to seeing YOU and your friends on June 5th!

Invite your FRIENDS & NEW Sermon Series

Don't Miss Out or Miss this incredible opportunity to invite your friends to Lifehouse. Hopefully, this video will inspire you to invite everyone you can to join us THIS weekend for Spring Fever Sunday:


TAG, YOU'RE IT! We'll do our part making it a great experience and helping people hear and experience the Gospel and be touch by God's transforming power. But you've got to do your part by inviting them and talking them about Jesus.

Kicking off new sermon series (with a title that you may remember from last year):




You don't want to miss this series. PLUS, we'll be passing out the NEW study guides to go along with this series. This is one of those sermon series that your friends will want to hear.

TAG, YOU'RE IT!

Don't Miss Out

Hang up heavy coats, burn the boots, and scrap the scarves!  Spring is on it's way, and at Lifehouse Church East-- that calls for a CELEBRATION!

On April 3, we're inviting you and your kids to be our guests of honor at "Spring Fever Sunday!"  While the adults enjoy free breakfast, live music, and an inspiring message, the kids will be treated to a full morning of carnival-style fun at our 8:45, 10:00 and 11:15 AM services!

Egg hunts, moonbounces, carnival games, live performers, candy, concessions and prizes are all part of the fun.  Sound a little crazy?  What can we say...we have SPRING FEVER!! Do YOU??


INVITE your FRIENDS. Do whatever it takes to get them to Lifehouse, they won't regret that you got them there. It's going to be a blast!

Critical Announcements

TWO Big Announcements for ALL Lifehousers:


Three (3) Services start THIS Sunday!

When they said, "Good things come in threes," they must have been talking about Lifehouse Church East!

Beginning March 27, Lifehouse Church East will offer 3 Sunday morning services at 8:45, 10:00 and 11:15 AM.

"Why the change?" you might ask. It's simple-- each service was beginning to reach max capacity, and we want to share God's love with as many people possible!

You can expect each service to be jam-packed with all the things you love about Lifehouse: free breakfast, great kids programs, live music, and a message that speaks to your everyday life.

So pass the news on to your friends and family, and we look forward to seeing you March 27th!

NEXT Weekend is Spring Fever Sunday!


Hang up heavy coats, burn the boots, and scrap the scarves!  Spring is on it's way, and at Lifehouse Church East-- that calls for a CELEBRATION!

On April 3, we're inviting you and your kids to be our guests of honor at "Spring Fever Sunday!"  While the adults enjoy free breakfast, live music, and an inspiring message, the kids will be treated to a full morning of carnival-style fun at our 8:45, 10:00 and 11:15 AM services!

Egg hunts, moonbounces, carnival games, live performers, candy, concessions and prizes are all part of the fun.  Sound a little crazy?  What can we say...we have SPRING FEVER!! Do YOU??

Friend Day

No need to sign up for the "Lonely Hearts Club" this Valentine's Weekend!

February 13th is FRIEND DAY at Lifehouse Church East!

Surround yourself with good company, good food, and good music as we kick off a brand new series, "Love & Other 4 Letter Words." Watch the teaser video here.

Services begin at 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM, with free coffee & breakfast available before each service.  So, grab a friend, co-worker, or frienemy and we'll see you Valentine's weekend at Lifehouse Church East!

Exciting Stuff Happening at Lifehouse

Join us for Friend Day on 2/13! Invite your FRIENDS: http://www.lifehousechurcheast.org/feb-13-friend-day.


Kicking off new series: "Love & Other 4 Letter Words"

**Plus FREE showing of Fireproof at Leitersburg Cinemas from 2/11-14 for Valentine's Day: http://www.fireproofthemovie.com.





***The Grace Card MOVIE coming to Cinemas on 2/25-27, sponsored by Lifehouse & area churches: 



Tell everyone!

-Pastor Patrick
www.twitter.com/patrickgrach
www.barenakedfaith.blogspot.com

COMING SOON: Red Carpet Sunday!

On Sunday, December 5, we’re rolling out the RED CARPET for all friends and family members of Lifehouse Church East! Every guest of honor can enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides, continental breakfast, family portraits, and admission to Legend, a special Christmas series.

Tickets for the event are FREE, but seating is limited in each service, so start making your guest list today!



The box office will be open November 21 & 28 before and after the 9:00 & 10:30 AM service. You may also call 301-824-4656 or email info@lifehousechurcheast.org for WILL CALL information.

Every guest can also submit their contact information on their ticket stub to be entered in the VIP Gift Package drawing ($225 value!). There will be one winner drawn for the 9:00 AM service, and one drawn for the 10:30 AM service. Guests must be present to receive their prize. Ticket stubs can be submitted at the box office on Sundays.

"Be the Church" Sunday

We don't want anyone at Lifehouse to show up at the theater on Sunday, October 31st and be caught off guard, so we're spreading the word now- DON'T GO to Church!! That's right, we're inviting you to BE the Church!

On October 31st, instead of collectively meeting at the theater, we're meeting in 25 groups across the entire region. We're asking YOU and everyone connecting with Lifehouse to find a group and Be the Church by going to a life group that Sunday morning.

It's FRIEND DAY too, so invite your neighbors, friends, family out to the life group you'll be joining, and let's pack out 25 homes across this region! We'll have invite cards available on this Sunday, October 24th.

Most groups will meet at 10:30 in homes and various locations, a few will meet at 9 and 9:30am. Some will have childcare, most will have a live worship leaders, all will take communion, and YES! I will be preaching a message that morning!

We'll be kicking off a new sermon series that morning called "BIG: if you feed it, it will grow".

Don't GO to Church...

That's right, as a conclusion to our Bare-Naked Faith series, we're asking ever everyone at Lifehouse and all your friends to NOT go to church on October 31st, 2010.

Why would Lifehouse be making such a crazy request?

We don't want you to GO to church but BE the church. So, we're doing something very DIFFERENT on 10/31. Please mark your calendars, start telling your friends, and invite your neighbors to join us for "Don't GO to church Sunday"! You are NOT going to want to miss this Sunday morning experience, and you may never be the same.

We're asking everyone to get involved! It's going to be a FRIEND DAY, so we want you to start inviting your friends out soon.

We'll tell you more about what's happening in our next post... (can't wait, it's crazy, and just downright biblical!!)

Invite your friends, enemies, neighbors, family THIS Sunday!

Friend Day is a great opportunity to invite your friends to Lifehouse. We go all out for our guests and do everything we can to make them feel at home. We, as a leadership team, will make sure we give this our best effort. That’s our part.

TAG, YOU’RE IT!!

Your part is to INVITE! So, make it a point to get busy- emailing, calling, asking friends, neighbors, whomever to join us at Lifehouse THIS Sunday, September 12th at either 9 or 10:30am.

We’re also kicking off life groups (all 25 of them) this Sunday and introducing you to the Bare-Naked Faith study guide. It’s going to be incredible.

See you and your guests on Sunday!!

Friend Day & New Sermon Series

Sunday, April 18th is Friend Day so invite your neighbors, friends, classmates, co-workers, family. Just make sure they are NOT plugged into a church already and then do WHATEVER it takes to get them to Lifehouse- bribe, kidnap (just make sure they're over 18), tranquilize, offer a dinner out on your dim... Just get your friends to church on Sunday. There are plenty of sets available in 9am service, but get there early for sets to the 10:30am service.

Also, kicking off a new sermon series called "Mixed Signals". It's about how to get clear direction from God in the midst of the noise around us. Watch the trailer here.

In case you were wondering where I was this past Sunday, I was grateful for a Sunday to visit one of our network churches down in Winchester (Lifehouse Church Shenandoah). Had a great time hanging out with Pastor Joel & Crystal Flower, who are doing a great job church planting. I feel privileged to serve alongside of them in Lifehouse Church Network.

INVITE your FRIENDS to Lifehouse to Church on Valentine's Day

A reminder that tomorrow is Valentine's Day and FRIEND DAY! Invite your FRIENDS! We would strongly encourage you to invite them to either 9am or 10:30, but really want to encourage stronger attendance in the 9am service.

Here's our video to promote this FRIEND DAY and the Kick-off of "Is true love only in fairy tales?"

If you're wondering, graphics and video were taken from a series down by Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Always nice when we don't have to spend 80 hours creating designs and videos from scratch.

10:30am service ONLY on Sunday, February 7th

Lifehouse Church East will have 10:30am services ONLY on Sunday, February 7th.

For those of you who are volunteering, serving, and leading tomorrow, you may want to arrive between 9-9:30, depending on how much time you need to prep.

Please be careful and safe.

After being snowbound since Friday, I'm sure most of you are ready to get out anyway, and I've got a sermon I'm ready to preach. I spent the bulk of the day digging out as I'm sure you did. Here's a pic of my girls enjoying our giant mound of snow outside our door.

Enjoy your evening and we look forward to seeing you at 10:30AM.

DON'T FORGET, NEXT SUNDAY is FRIEND DAY!! So, invite your friends!!

Your Help Needed for Red Carpet Sunday

That's right, I'm using every digital means possible to get help. Here's what we are looking for:

1. Invite as many people as possible to Lifehouse on December 6th,
2. Help us FIND some necessary props for Christmas decorations.

Here's how you can invite friends for Red Carpet Sunday:

• To invite friends and family who are NOT currently in church, send them an evite from our website here or from Facebook here.
• Get a bunch of flyers and pass them out to neighbors, co-workers, friends, family.
• Ask them to "commit" to joining you for Red Carpet Sunday on December 6th at 9:30 for breakfast AND 9:45 to get seated for the 10 am service.
• Once they commit to coming, fill out a ticket with their information and turn it in at the registration table, so that they can be entered into a drawing to win a VIP package of gifts.
• follow up with them and encourage them to actually come on December 6th.

Here's what we want/ need for Christmas decorations BEFORE December 6th: (we would need to keep decorations for the whole month of December, so don't lend us your tree if you want it for Christmas)

• 3-4 normal size outdoor lamp stands- would like 2 with 3 lights and 1 or 2 with 1 light.
• large wreath, probably at least 4 foot in diameter,
• 2- 12' Christmas trees (preferably pre-lit)
• 2- 9' Christmas trees (preferably pre-lit)
• 2 old fashion candle holders (the ones you see in movies that people would use to carry around their house and light a room)

Thanks for your passion and help. Keep inviting friends!

GET OUT!

The cold weather is almost over; spring is coming! So is Friend Day at Lifehouse Church East. Since people have been holed up in their houses all winter, they're starting to do strange things. Our goal on March 15th is to challenge everyone to GET OUT!

Friends don't let friends stay in their houses TOO long. And now it's been TOO long. Their stuck behind their webcams, reading magazines, playing video games. They need to GET OUT! Watch this, it'll inspire you!



So, here's the plan. Challenge your friends to GET OUT, and then TAKE them OUT to Lifehouse. Afterward invite them for TAKE OUT or to OUTback (take me along too).

We're also getting cheap at Lifehouse, and don't want to spend money on an expensive Friend Day. So, this is it! No invite cards (well, except the cheap ones we printed off in house), just a funny video and a challenge to get everyone out!

Sunday in the rear view mirror

One of our leaders asked me this week, “What was the one thing that made such a big difference this Red Carpet Sunday?” Yes, it’s true. This Friend Day was our most effective one yet- highest attendance, most first time guests, and so on. So many worked so hard to invite their friends, family, neighbors, and made sure that they showed up.

Effectiveness, changed lives, even great events, and having over 100 guests at one service- these things don’t just happen because of one BIG thing. They’re the accumulation of hundreds, if not thousands, of little things. (read this review of the Flywheel Principle in Good to Great)

What we are BEGINNING to see is the fruit of faithfulness, relationships, sticking to our core values, staying focused on the Cause, prayers, BIG prayers, fasting, prayers, hard-work, servant-mindedness, and above all GIVING GOD ALL THE CREDIT AND GLORY! Another church or ministry could replicate all the ideas, videos, marketing, sermon series, and not get the same results. Why? Because it wasn’t this event! They haven't invest enough "sweat equity".

We’ve planted tons of seeds, been faithful in the small things and now God is entrusting us with more things.

To my point: while we can enjoy and celebrate putting a W in the win column for God’s Kingdom, we stay focused. We continue to be faithful with the little (yes, what we have is little in light of the need- 60,000 people in our community who don’t know Jesus as their Savior). We’ll continue to do the little things- serve willingly, disciple urgently, give generously and sacrificially, love extravagantly, and multiple leaders like we’re a bunch of rabbits:)

Let’s keep our focus on doing and being whatever it takes to win as many to Christ as possible before He returns. I love my team and feel privileged to serve with each of them!

The Truth is Absurd

Here's the trailer for Lifehouse's newest sermon series, beginning on Red Carpet Sunday (we're rolling out the red carpet for YOU), December 7th:


We're exploring the absurdities of Christmas. Most have grown up with Christmas both as a tradition and as a part of their heritage.

Have you ever really just wondered about it? I mean taken a critical look at what the Bible presents as the story of Christmas? It's craziness. The "why's" will make your brain hurt. It doesn't all fit neatly into our logical, reasonable, contractual human minds. God laid a gift under the tree at Christmas, and when we opened it to see what was inside, it has blown our minds away. He defies our reason, and anyone who's intellectually honest, shakes their head and thinks,

"This TRUTH is ABSURD." Discover the hidden treasures, the truths that most be explored, and the story that keeps being retold.

RED CARPET SUNDAY ticket info

You can do it! Get reserved seats of your choice for both YOU and YOUR FRIENDS! "How," you ask. Simple, follow these steps:

1. Just get some fliers.
2. Give fliers to friends and invite them to come on December 7th.
   
   
3. Tell them it will be an amazing experience with FREE breakfast, FREE horse-drawn-carriage rides, FREE family photos, and a chance to win a VIP dinner package.
4. If they are willing to commit to coming, give them a ticket (with reserved seat).
5. Fill out the stub with their info on it and turn it in on Sunday morning.
6. That stub will enter them into the drawing for the VIP dinner packages.
7. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE THEIR ON DEC. 7th!