THE LOOP

VERGE VISION/STRATEGY MEETING 2/12/06

WORD ON THE VERGE:

In late 2005 I believe the Lord wanted to convince of who we are in Him. During a time of deep prayer I began to preach the following words to myself:

I am a person of FAVOR
I am a person of POSITIVE INFLUENCE
I am a work of EXCELLENCE
I am the EVIDENCE of MY GOD

These phrases have become our anthem. A new work needs confident people to move it forward. These prophetic words have helped to lift our heads high in expectation for what God will do when we see what He sees and become what He desires.

Last week, as I sought the Lord in a “where to from here” mode, I was drawn away from the message I was planning to preach and into the following passage:

Luke 14:16-24
Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. [17] At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
[18] "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
[19] "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
[20] "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
[21] "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
[22] " 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
[23] "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. [24] I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "

Again, during a time of deep prayer, I believe I began to speak prophetically the words- “God’s Wants a Full House!!!!”

This obviously agrees with the Word and it also meets us where we are.

During a time of devotions last week I read a passage that seems to knit things together:

Isaiah 57:14
And it will be said:

"Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."

Contextually that passage doesn’t connect- but it spoke to me prophetically. In late 2005, the Lord was “building us up.” Now, I believe He’s desiring us to remove the obstacles that hinder us from filling His house.

Two obstacles we spoke about last week:

Poor eyesight-
When we don’t see a full house we miss God! God wants us to see what He sees!!! See the difference, Be the Difference!

Poor priorities-
While we certainly need to take care of our families, many of us do not prioritize bring people into the kingdom. Beginning with our own families could there be a more important priority that seeing people saved and knitted into the Body?


MOMENTUM is when we are all moving in the same direction. I’d ask you all to meditate carefully on these sermons and scriptures to see how God wants to use you- to give Him....A FULL HOUSE!

VISION STRATEGY NOTES:

This past week the Verge Executive Staff gathered for our monthly meeting . Here’s the headlines:

OLD NEWS:

What a great 2006 so far!

VERGE ONE
V1 drew 150 out for a Saturday night packed with incredible worship. What an awesome time! I believe God has called us to be a people of positive influence in our community. Leadership from at least three different churches in our community came out for Verge One. Special thanks to Bryan Thompson for bringing out the wall of sound and light!

VERGE LIFE SUNDAY
Eddie and Audio Impact brought Saturday night worship into Sunday morning and it was awesome. Robert Cameron from the Wave Church (formerly Va. Beach CLC) brought a timely message on the importance of VISION. His Scottish accent and wry humor made the message palatable for every age.

SPECIAL SPEAKERS

Myra Hess
Our very own Myra Hess preached at the Verge Youth on how God can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. She really connected with the students. I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see Myra in the pulpit.

Daniel McKee
Yes! Danny Boy brought the goods at Verge Life on February 4th in a pre-Super Bowl service. “You got the ball, now what are you gonna do with it?” A question we should ask ourselves everyday. This message also plays into the FULL HOUSE! Daniel & Jannifer also did an awesome job of decorating the Verge Center in football garb!
Eddie Romero
Mr. Ed spoke at the Verge Youth just this past week on the spirit of python and how the enemy wants to slither around us and suddenly put The Big Squeeze on our lives. But, thanks be to God, Jesus crushed the python’s head and even his tightest grip can be broken!

SUPER BOWL PARTY
Thanks again to Daniel & Jannifer, along with the Crave Life Cafe’ and Mike Diffucia for helping put on a stellar Super Bowl party. The Steelers won and four souls got saved at half-time! Who could ask for a better game and half-time show than that?

VALENTINE’S DINNER
Oh so many people to thank for this one. Angela Romero spear headed the effort but Ashley, Crystal, Amanda Baird, Amanda Corney, Dawn Moore, Craig Baird, Sarah Bundy, ...my gosh...the whole Verge Life staff helped put on a terrific V-Day dinner for our church. Lee & Nardozzi did a fantastic job catering the event.

WAVE COLLEGE
Nine of us have been taking a class on “Multi-:Level Worship” at the Wave Church each Tuesday night. The Wave Church is the fastest growing church in our region. They are an offshoot of Hillsong Church in Sydney- one of the fastest growing, influential churches of our day. After only three classes it’s easy to see why the Lord has so blessed. Worship, done with utter excellence, is their aim. I don’t think we could go wrong in following their lead on that one!


COMING SOON:

2/23-2/25 Verge Ski Retreat

2/25 John Bundy speaking @ Verge Life

2/26 Verge Breakout Session on Sunday morning

3/3-3/5 Unforgettable Women’s Conference @ the Wave Church

3/12 Verge One Sunday School

3/19 Evangelist Tony Cruz @ LWC Sunday Morning

3/22 Pastor Jason Hess speaks @ the Verge Youth

3/25 Billy Wayne Simmons speaks @ Verge Life