Keep Pointing in Waterloo

A Note from Pastor John

Hey Waterloo Campus!!

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement on my time away…it was refreshing and challenging. I have come back more fired-up than ever about what God is doing and is going to do with Prairie Lakes. He is always out in front and always wanting what is best for His people…and that is true right now for the Waterloo campus. (Even if we wonder sometimes!!)

I am very grateful for Ron’s leadership and energy in launching the Waterloo campus. He did a great job of launching us on this crazy adventure with Jesus and His Kingdom. But now, God has a new plan for the Phares family in Mankato. As pastors, we simply have to be obedient and Ron is being obedient to the call of God in his life. Elevate Church needs him to get them going…they need his leadership and energy just like we did.

God has something completely awesome in store for us…His plan hasn’t changed, His mission hasn’t been altered, His vision to reach Waterloo isn’t in jeopardy! He is the King! So, stay focused and stay strong. Prairie Lakes is going to be used mightily in Waterloo. We are still on mission. Our friends, neighbors, coworkers and relatives that don’t know Jesus still need to know Jesus. The most important stuff has not changed…Jesus and His Kingdom.

I am excited to be a part of this curvy road with you. I am not scared, mad, or anxious…just excited that we can partner with God on this great adventure. Stay strong. Keep praying. Keep inviting. Keep growing deeper.

Love you all…

Pastor John

S'mores Galore location changed!

Graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate...what more could you ask for?  Well, maybe some HOT DOGS and chips to go with it! 

Meet at Lookout Park in Cedar Falls tonight from 5:30-8:30 PM, and enjoy scrumptious food, family games, playground time and the great outdoors!

Pool Party and Baptism tonight at the Falls Aquatic Center!!!

Do I really have to say more? 8:45-10:45pm. There are 22 people signed up to take that step with God tonight. Pretty awesome considering we just had 31 in June! Anyway, come be a part of the celebration, which hopefully will include bellyflops and cannonballs as well! See ya there!

Things I learned from John Fuller

Over the next few weeks I hope to share some things I have learned about Jesus, life and ministry while under the leadership of John Fuller. And here is why…WE ALL COULD LEARN A FEW THINGS FROM THAT GUY!

Anyway, one of the best pieces of advice received on the matter of funerals was, “preach to the living, not the dead.” This has been life-changing for me and others. I have watched people take incredible steps toward God because of this advice, including last week when I officiated the funeral of a close friend’s stepmom.

The take home lesson here is WE ALL SHOULD PREACH TO THE LIVING! Some of us use words, but most of us just need to be living out the gospel message that Jesus saves.

Going, not Leaving

I just wanted to say thank you all so very much for your lavish encouragement this weekend. My simple observation was that this is all about "going" where God calls, rather than "leaving" Prairie Lakes Church.

In my last post I mentioned this feeling I had about needing a strong evangelical presence in MN? Well, here is a message Amy and I received this week from someone who use to live in Mankato...

"Just heard the news...congrats to you guys! I pray that God will use you to move people in Mankato for Him. Went to grad school there and our years there were difficult due to lack of a strong spiritual community. We ended up making the drive up to the cities most weekends to go to a church up there that we love. So happy that people are joining together to change that!!! So excited for you guys and can't wait to see how God uses you both! - Anne"

This just fuels my passion to see an authentic and invitational church up there! Thank you Waterloo and PLC for giving us the "go"!  

Leaving the Loo

Dear Waterloo,

As you know, I am not one for beating around the bush or keeping my heart a secret, so I just need to say it…

I have accepted the Call as senior pastor of Elevate Church in Mankato.

Amy and I went to visit a small, but determined group of people in Mankato, MN that have been seeking God’s point-leader for their church. As Amy and I drove around the community and talked to the folks, it became clear that God’s next step for us was there. The Cedar Valley has plenty of great churches in the community, PLC being my favorite of course, but there just doesn’t seem to be a strong evangelical presence in their community and that broke our heart.

So, I must take dangerous steps of obedience to see God’s calling fulfilled in my life and my family’s. I love the people here in Iowa. I love Prairie Lakes Church, but I love God more than anything, and for four years that is what you all have been teaching me: Love God. Love People. Influence the World. I hope one day Elevate Church will be known, just as PLC is, for being faithful to the Bible and always inviting others another step toward God.

May God grant you continued success and may He continue to raise up leaders in your midst that will be obedient and live a life worthy of the calling they have received.

Your friend, Ron

So what is the plan? What comes next?

The Elders and leadership have chosen Jesse Tink to take on the role of Interim Waterloo Campus Pastor in mid-August when I finish on August 12th. This is very wise. Jesse will continue to function as the Programming and Production Director during this interim role. Having Jesse step into the Campus Pastor position will allow for continuity for the Waterloo congregation as well as allow time for us to facilitate a search for my replacement.

I will see you this weekend and look forward to teaching live and sharing more info then.

Raising the Bar

Today was a big day. Today I sat across from our Office Manager, Kim Stout, and did an audit of sorts about our systems and how things are going. After a few months of settling into our new office we needed to do some critical assessment b/c time is of the essence, there is a ton of Kingdom work to do and only so many hours in the day!

Anyway, when we finished our first session it became clear there were opportunities to invite people into areas that we normally do ourselves or manage where key volunteers can come and raise the bar here at the office and on the weekends. Four volunteers have already accepted new assignments and I am so glad we have people that are capable of GREAT WORK!

The blog post below really encouraged me today. Hope you find it the same for you...

"Low esteem and the factory If you want to hire people to do a job, to be cogs in the system and to do what they're told, you might want to focus on people who don't think very highly of themselves. People with low self esteem might be more happy to be bossed around, timed, abused, misused and micromanaged, no? And the converse is true as well. If you want to raise your game and build an organization filled with people who will change everything, the first thing to look for is someone who hasn't been brainwashed into believing that they're not capable of great work. A harried teacher might find it easier to teach a class to obey first and think second, but is that sort of behavior valuable or scarce now? Industries that need to subjugate women or demonstrate power over one class of person or another are always on the lookout for people they can diminish. Our task, then, is to find people we can encourage and nurture until they're as impatient with average as we are. The paradox is that the very people that are the easiest to categorize, to command and to dominate are the last people we want to work with." -Seth Godin Blog

July 4th- Live and Explosive?

Like many of you, I will be looking for a reason to use volatile materials that can be set to flame in order to celebrate my freedom in a few days. Along those lines I am hoping to bring an element of surprise to the services this weekend. I do not mean fireworks – just cool ways to interact and be thankful for the freedom we are given by God through courageous men and women who defend our country. So, are you in? Read through ACTS 4 and see you this weekend!

Roll Clouds

From what I can gather, these things form when two different types of air (hot/cold/dry/moist) come in contact with one another and the cold air gets pushed to the front. They are an indication of potentially dangerous storms and hard not to watch. There have been many storms over the past week for each of us. (This isn’t just a metaphor.)

Where have you seen two opposing things in your world collide? Where is the roll cloud of your soul? As I began to process this question this morning I was reading Acts 2 again. What happens when the perfect and Holy, Spirit come in contact with the cold parts of my soul? What happens when a person yields to the Holy Spirit in their life? Read Acts 2 before this weekend and let’s see what God reveals.

LIVE this weekend

As you know, we like to mix things up every once in awhile, so this weekend we are going to tackle Acts 3 LIVE at the Waterloo Campus. I am looking forward to teaching about choices and chances to be extraordinary. This weekend, like every weekend, is a great one to invite, so who is on your list?

I will just let you know, I am pumped about what God has to say on this topic! Hope to see you there!