Access Church

The Access team has been in Atlanta since Sunday night, hanging with the North Point staff and all the awesome folks at other North Point Partnerships. n*rich combines all the best aspects of education and relationship. It's a great time of learning the best practices of ministry from others that are implementing the North Point model, and it feels like a huge family reunion.

Topics range from the technical to theological, and activities include whiffleball and catering from The Varsity. It's a great time!

We'll be back in Jacksonville tonight. Can't wait to reconnect with all of you and share how excited we are for the fall!

What's the best question you'd like us to ask the North Point Ministries staff today?

Since Access began, we've had the privilege of seeing God work in amazing ways in the lives of those we love. That's prompted us to ask the question, "Could we double it?"

Could we double the change we've seen in the lives of men, women, and children who are coming to know God in a new way?

What if you could double your opportunities to introduce family and friends to the God who loves them?

What if you had twice as many chances to leverage your influence in someone's life and lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ?

Beginning in September, Access Church will meet every Sunday to provide exactly that kind of possibility in the lives of those you love.

This is a huge step for us as a church! We were determined not to take this step until we had 100 volunteers working together to create relevant, excellent, and engaging environments. We could still use a few more (contact Zoie today to sign up!), but we feel confident God will bring us the right people in the next few weeks. We are so excited for all that's ahead!

I want to say thanks to all the volunteers who've worked so hard to bring us to this point. The first 18 months have been amazing. I can't wait to see what God's going to do next!!

Who will you invite this fall?

Access Church has simple roots. Before there were Sunday morning services, before there was a staff, before we even had a name or a bank account, there was a small group of people meeting...to pray.

Their prayers were pretty simple.

"God, this isn't our thing, it's your thing."

At the exact same time Stephanie and I were being challenged to plant a church. Something we'd never done. Yet, we felt strongly called to this city and this movement. We began to constantly pray, "God, this is your idea, not ours, so it's up to you to make this work."

I'm so grateful for the foundation of this church. I'm so grateful for all of you who join us in praying that God would use this church in the lives of those we love.

More than 50 of you have committed to regularly pray for Access Church. Here's why that is so exciting!

1. Prayer aligns our hearts with God's. We begin to see people the way he sees them.
2. It's an exercise in submitting our will to his will.
3. It's an opportunity to acknowledge our dependence on his wisdom and provision.

When we pray, we see the mission through his lens, not ours. It means that when I drive past a great piece of land on Gate Parkway I've stopped praying, "Lord, give that to Access," but rather,"Use that for your glory, Lord."

Here are some specific ways you can pray for Access Church:

• Moral integrity for our leadership
• Unity in our community
• Wisdom and clarity in leadership
• Continued focus on reaching people
• Simplicity in our model
• Partnership with area churches
• Influence in our city

What are some other ways you can think of praying for Access?

This past Sunday at Access, we announced an intense competition!

The family that goes ORANGE in the biggest way between now and August 17 will win an amazing prize. Here is Adam Flynt with a representative from the City of Jacksonville introducing the Go Orange campaign:




So, here's the deal:

1. Come up with a family strategy.
2. Go Orange in a huge way. Kind of like Zach. But not.
3. Send us a video of your family going orange.
3. Win the coolest prize ever.

The family that amazes us with their Orange Spirit will win the Orange Machine. Which is a lot like this Huffy Green Machine, only we've painted it orange. Sweet!

For official contest rules, download this PDF.

Have a super-orange summer!

One week from today, Apple and AT&T will begin selling the new iPhone at 8:00am. In addition to GPS and 3G technologies, the new iPhone will ship with the 2.0 software that supports third-party applications.

Older iPhones can run the 2.0 software as well, which allows the installation of all kinds of cool apps.

The one I'm most excited about?

YouVersion.

Which third-party app are you most excited about?

If you've been attending Access for a while, but have yet to jump into a Community Group, your time is here!

Community Groups are the heartbeat of Access Church. You see, we believe that no matter how big a church gets, it can still stay "small" in the most important ways if we gather around the kitchen table, look each other in the eye, and do life together.

Sunday mornings are great, but they are such a small slice of what we believe the church should be. Groups are where it all comes to life!

GroupLink is your chance to get into a group this fall. Don't miss it!

August 17, 4:30pm, UNF.