We had an incredible weekend at HPC with our special guest, J. John. As an evangelist from a suburb of London, he has served in ministry in 54 countries on 6 continents. He is an amazing man with a genuine heart for the lost. The fruit of his ministry was evident this weekend as he gave a salvation invitation in each one of our services, and 91 people made a decision for Christ. This is 16 more than those that attended the church at the first-ever Easter service when we first started back in 1993. Now, 15 years later, God is still using this house to bring the Good News to the lost, the poor, and the hurting. What an awesome privilege!

This weekend we celebrated HPC’s 15th birthday at Vision Night. Thank you to the many families that came out to celebrate the big 1-5. Together, we were able to reminisce about the rich history that we have here. Pastor Dino gave us a strong word for the bright future that lies ahead. The best is yet to come!!

It has was an honor to represent HPC in Dallas, TX this past week. I spoke at the amazing training center, Christ for the Nations, with a long time friend and former Baton Rouge boy, Adam McCain. Adam is now the director of the institute that has grown to engage over 1200 students from 60 different countries. We experienced such a move of God in the services there. It was such a blessing to see so many students who are on fire for the cause of Christ. I am so encouraged to see the 2nd mile spirit catching this next generation. A special shout out goes to my boy, Dustin Anderson, who served it up with me the whole week. He was an awesome travel partner, and he took some major initiative in assisting me the whole week! He is the man.

I landed at 4:30 in Baton Rouge, and made my way straight to the Hub, the service for our College and 20-Somethings. We had an awesome launch service! The atmosphere was so cool, Chris Cole was working it on the guitar with some live music in the Hub Cafe for our pre-service gathering. For the rest of the night, we had a great time of ministry stocked with strong worship and awesome connections. I look forward to all that God is doing in the College and 20-Somethings, this is going to be exciting!! Stay tuned…

I am so excited about this Thursday night! We are launching a new service specifically designed for college and 20/Somethings called, The Hub. The Hub is a weekly gathering for college students and twenty- somethings. It’s designed around authentic community, intimate worship and relevant teaching. I am convinced that the Hub is the place to be if you are in your college and 20/Something years. Come check us out at the HPC Annex this Thursday night! Doors open at 8pm!

Check out this picture of the latest development on our new worship space. When I saw the men putting pieces of the wall up, I began to think of the purposes of God & His construction in our lives. Some projects are bigger than others, but even the most elaborate buildings begin with simple steps. God wants to build something in each of us this year - the raw materials of strength, commitment, purity, faithfulness - all for His glory! He is the Great Architect & we trust His divine design.

I am really pumped about the ground we will cover as we start a new series on Wednesday nights called, The Second Mile. This series of sermons will be based on the new book to be released from our church on January 19th called, The Second Mile: Because Ordinary Living is Never Enough (to view click on www.secondmilebook.com). You and I were made for so much more than ordinary. I am honored to author this book, because it is the reflection of the spirit of Healing Place. Jesus made an extraordinary sacrifice for us on the Cross–the call on our lives is anything but ordinary! I see the men and women of our church going the second mile everyday, and it inspires me. I strongly believe their story deserves to be told, and that I am simply called to be the spokesperson for it.

It’s exciting to consider the future we have at Healing Place. This house is packed with some young men and women who are on fire for God and anointed to do amazing works. During our first Wednesday service this week, two of our young guys spoke on stage and led us as we took communion. Shaun Ray, on the right, works in our sports ministry, and every week he is out on the basketball courts coordinating our Upward Basketball program. Through Upward we reach so many families that do not attend our church, and Shaun plays a key role in putting this together and moving it forward. Adam Hymel, on the left, is passionately ministering to families at our newest Dream Center location on Winbourne Ave. He has been the point person for getting the facilities in shape and overseeing the outreach that goes from there into the downtown BR community. I can’t wait to see all that God is going to do through the next generation at HPC. Our expectations are so high in 2008!