Jeff Jackson Live

I recently answered some questions for a pastor who is working on another mission’s partnership and he wanted to know about what we are doing in Haiti.  I thought the questions were good so I thought I would share.  Here you go:

What led you to adopt Haiti as a mission?
I had been on a trip there before in the summer of 2003. Haiti as this way of grabbing you and never letting go. Our church wanted to be involved in a foreign mission so we starting praying for opportunity. There were already some local churches working in a village so I inquired more about the situation. When we heard there were 54 orphans without a home we decided then and there we couldn’t turn our backs and this was what we had been praying for.

How did you raise your initial funds to go to Haiti?
We took up a special offering at church for the trip but we mostly paid for the trip out of our general budget. We have some very dedicated givers at Journey which allowed us to go on mission.

How did you decide to build an orphanage in Haiti?
When we saw the need for the orphanage we couldn’t turn away. There was already a church working in the area raising money to support the kids with food, school and clothes. We knew the next step was building an orphanage.

What are the strategies that you are moving forward with to promote the campaign?
We had planned on using lots of different modes of marketing but we have landed on the viral loop. Social media and word of mouth remain the best advertising at least for our situation. We started a twtiter page, facebook page, youtube channel, we will have different bloggers writing about us and we will be placing ads on facebook. We are also going to rely heavily on our community for help (ie. poster, collection jars, forums, etc.)

How do you plan to get 30K in 30 days?
Good question!….Well, without sounding too churchy, we are going to rely on God. When I was in Haiti this last August I felt the Lord was telling me to start this campaign, www.30kin30days.org. I hesitated for awhile but confirmation after confirmation came so we went for it. We are simply believing that God is going to do something amazing. The great thing about this campaign is its not only going to change the lives of these orphans forever it will also change our community and our church.

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This campaign started because we, Journey Church, found out about a need in a small rural village in Haiti called Susaub.  We heard that there were 55 orphans living homeless in this village.  We later found out that the Pastor’s daughter from the village dreamed one day when she could build an orphanage for the kids.  She moved to Port Au Prince to get a degree and work so she could send money back to care for the orphans.  Tragically she died in the earthquake and the hope of the orphanage died as well.  Until now…The village believes God is using us to not only save the children but help honor and keep Rebecca’s memory alive in Susaub.

We took a trip in August of 2011 to document this epidemic and to start devising a plan to build this orphanage.  You can see the initial video here.  A final video is being produced that will tell Rebecca’s story.  Today we have started a facebook page and we are asking 1000 friends to join and help this cause.  We are also going to use justcoz.org you can see our PENDING profile here.

All of our efforts will point everyone to www.rebeccashope.org which is in final production as we speak.  I believe through facebook, twitter and youtube we will raise the money quickly.

Here is how you can help:

• like us on facebook
• follow us on twitter
• tweet, blog and write out this campaign

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I have heard before that tithing is not for the new testament (NT) Church.  I used to get really bad at this statement because I thought most people wanted a way out of giving to the Lord.  I was asked the other day what I thought about NT tithing so here are my thoughts.

TITHING which is a tenth or commonly know as giving 10% of your income to the church is for the church and is biblical for the NT church.  The most common argument against a tithe for the NT church is that tithing was Old Testament law.  Well…in Genesis we see Abraham giving a tithe to Melchizedek who was the priest of the most high God.  This tithe that we see took place over 400 years before the law came into existence.  Now with that said, I want to make sure everyone, especially at Journey Church, understands that tithing is not a destination but rather a starting point.  We see in 1 Corinthians 8 and 9 that the NT church gave sacrificially and well above the tithe.  I would encourage everyone to start with 10% and go from there.

Also, remember that the tithe should always be given out of devotion and never focused on a dollar amount. Journey Church members, if you give 10% because you think the church demands this from you then give your tithe to another church because we want people to give out of devotion to the Lord and to the mission that He has called us.

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So for a few weeks I’ve been struggling with lots of different things and one of them was our finances at church.  For what ever reason we think money gives us security.  Last week, while spending time with the Lord I told God that he had to provide. Basically this is my way of saying, “God, I can’t do it on my own…I give you control.”  Guess what happened when I let go….?

• Our building flooded (causing us to spend $1800)
• But then an anonymous $1500 donation came in the SAME DAY!!
• Then another $1000 donation that was expected
• And then today at the post office box a $2000 check…once again unexpected
• Also, $2100 has been raised for the Haiti Orphanage and we haven’t even begun to raise money…I guess we have!!

Its amazing what happens we when relinquish control and let God do His thing.  Here is what I learned from this expereince:

• God is good
• We need to step up our giving at Journey Church
• God is about to do something big in our church
• He is not done working in America
• We need to let go and hold loosely what God has given us

I’m wondering…what do you need to let go of?

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What church is not…

Church is not a country club
Church is not a museum of saints
Church is not a democracy
Church is not political
Church is not a retail shop
Church is not for the perfect or proud
Church is not designed to accommodate your schedule
Church is not a business or a business meeting
Church is not comprised of programs

That’s all for now. What is your definition or lack there of for the church?

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I recently read this week that pastors should quit using the word Gospel unless they define it. We talk the talk but are we living the Gospel out on a daily basis. I want to make sure everyone at Journey Church knows what the Gospel is all about. So here we go! I believe the more we learn about the Gospel the more we realize how messed up we are and in need of the Gospel. The Gospel, or the good news, is the story about how Jesus Christ came and lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death for OUR sins and rose to life so SIN could be conquered indefinitely. Our sin is so bad that Jesus had to come and die for us.

Like I said before the deeper we understand the Gospel the deeper we understand our sin and we also know how bad we are and how much Jesus loves us unconditionally showing us by dying for our sin and taking our place on the cross. That’s the Gospel.

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What would your life look like if you were living out the calling God has placed on your life? I find most people work their way through the corporate grind punching the time clock allowing a dream about retirement to be the only motivation to get up each day. I am not satisfied with that notion. I believe we are missing a complete dimension of our faith when we fail to live a sent and called life. We need a generation that will step up and live an audaciously transformed live. A live that will not stop until God’s call is accomplished.

What does audacious transformation look like? Audacious transformation is arriving at the end of your life with no regrets. Most people will end their life with all the regrets in the world. Start identifying your calling God has placed on your life today.

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I recently was reminded that in our culture men have become wimps. I for one am fed up with this and challenge all men to start acting like one. Our grandpas wouldn’t walk around without a pocket knife and now we can’t walk around without a latte. Something is wrong with this picture. I am not saying there is anything wrong with lattes but we have let culture ruin our perception of the man. TV will tell us that men are spineless, incompetent and unimportant. I know we are not perfect and we have definitely brought some of this misconception on ourselves but we have to be done acting like boys. MEN…grow up, man up, put a pocket knife in your pocket and eat some red meat. Just some randomness from my scattered thoughts. What do you think?

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Just finished our video for “Simply Christmas” offering on December 19th.  Check it out…

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I love this time of year – Holiday parties, Christmas trees, hot chocolate and the spirit of generosity that seems to swell up in our society. There’s something about peace on earth and goodwill towards men that makes me think about other people a little more than usual.  This year as you begin to purchase presents for friends and family I want you to consider others.

On December 19h we are going to take a special offering that will go directly to three ministry areas called Simply Christmas:

1. Our benevolence ministry – We have had so many opportunities to share the love of Jesus through helping others in need.  This ministry will bless many and we will see people give their lives to Jesus through this ministry.
2. Choices for Women – Each year there are 100s of ab0rtions in our community alone.  By supporting this ministry we will help educate individuals on the effects of abortions and they will have an opportunity to see their baby through the ministries ultra sound technology.
3. Local and National Church Planting – we have said from the beginning that we are going to be a church planting church.  So lets put our money where our mouth is and help plant others churches.  We have some exciting opportunities in 2011

This one day special offering will prove to be a very exciting day at Journey Church.  I want you to start praying now as to what God is asking you to give.  Please don’t give out of guilt or pressure but honestly take time, pray and ask the Lord to guide you through this special time of giving as we seek to celebrate through giving in the “Simply Christmas” season.  Learn more and give online if you are unable to attend our December 19th service.

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