I LOVE my city. I love all of the natural beauty of Rome, the vision our leaders have for the it, and yes, even the people. Having traveled to many places all over the world, and yes...there are cities and towns I was tempted to move to and settle down in, but, I'm glad that I am home.

I love the coastal towns up the eastern seaboard of the US. All of them. I thought Salem Mass. would be a great place to raise a family, as would famous townships like Gettysburg, or even Cooperstown. Kittery Maine is beautiful, as is all of up state New York. You really have to ride through a state such as Vermont only once to really appreciate the reason people don't move away from there.

I love the wide open skies of Wyoming, with it's mountains and the native streams full of indigenous trout. I've seen lakes so clear that it is hard to tell where the sky begins and the lake ends.

The way the light of a full moon bounces off of the ocean on a clear night as I rode my Harley through Navarre Florida was nothing short of breath taking.

Drinking coffee at a diner in Little Switzerland NC, or in Jim Thorpe PA is something most people have never experienced. I have.

Sitting at the top of a 1000 plus year old pyramid in the jungle of Guatemala was something I will never forget, nor was the clearest skies in the world that I have enjoyed while on a medical boat sailing down the Amazon from Peru to Brazil. It was Amazing.

I've experienced Christmas in Germany, and rode the high speed trains from one city to the next.I took a couple of hours just to climb to the top of one of the tallest churches in the world in Cologne.

But, I feel the most blessed to be asked of God to help Him reach my city.

Sometimes I feel that every place I have experienced, every person that I have met, and every relationship that I have had was somehow orchestrated by God for what I am to do now.

Yep....I love my city. I'm looking for people who will join with me to love her too...

Pastor Douglas

I'm doing this today because we went late yesterday with meetings, and I wanted to invest the time I had with Mrs. Debbie.

We still are having new families each week coming in from just word of mouth. I believe this is the best way to grow a church.

We did a mock new members class with 30 brave souls yesterday. The purpose of the run through was to gather feed-back for the next one, and also have leaders that can help assist in it. Overall, I think it went great and the feed-back I have heard so far has been mostly positive. I do, however, need the negative input that wil help us improve.

I have a HUGE announcement that I hope to make this coming Sunday. To say that I'm stoked is an understatement.

It will be great having Danielle and Josh back with us this week. They went to visit Gary and Elena Lamb @ Action church yesterday and loved it.

I know it's Monday, but I already can't wait till this coming Sunday.

God is surrounding us with some very smart leaders who are also very creative. I love it!

I asked three very seasoned ministers to be on our board of Overseers and all three said yes. I'll announce who they are later, and give a short bio on each one. I look forward to having each one of them come speak @ the Journey.

I'm thinking of converting this typepad account over to Word-press. What do you think? Email me at pdc@jcrome.com

I love you all.

Pastor Douglas

Like no other type of leaders, Ministry leaders, and especially those who are being diligent to do the work of the Lord, are under severe attack from the enemy.

There are many ways that leaders have responded to the attack of Satan. They range from simple frustration, to actual leaping into the temptation that ALWAYS comes with the attack. For example, He will try and place certain people and issues in front of the leader trying to get them offended, then, he will provide a release or escape for them in the form of alcohol, apathy, depression, porn or a hundred other things. Remember, Satan will always try to counterfeit God, and he does so even with this. He will always provide his way of escape, but it always leads to deeper sin, huge regrets, and even larger problems.

To the one who leads for Christ, there will always be Jezebel's, Ahab's and even the dreaded Absalom's that Satan will send to you, hoping to cause you distraction, disappointment, and destruction.

Because of this, and because we are not ignorant of Satan's devices, it is important for every leader to have two kinds of relationships in their life. We must have a fathering relationship with someone who knows all the details of everything about us, loves us enough to be honest with us, and not afraid to take necessary steps and make hard decisions concerning our ministry if necessary. Secondly, we must surround ourselves with peer relationships that will inspire us TOWARDS godliness, holiness, finishing our race, and yes..to greatness.

Many minister's "fall" because they do not have these key relationships who will intentionally speak into their life.

Words such as transparency, humility, submission, and honesty, are not 4 letter words. In fact, it's the leaders (pastor's) responsibility to model these virtues to the congregation, not demand it from them and then live the opposite. The pastor's role is to serve his or her anointing to the people, steward their ministry, and help them to reach their God-given potential. In turn, the minister of the gospel must have those in his life that do the same towards him.

It wasn't until all hell broke loose in my life, and everything was turned upside down did I realize how much that I needed these relationships in my life...But by then it was too late.

Now, I am much more intentional, and careful, with who I relate with. I have mentoring/fathering relationships with about three seasoned men of God, and I have friends with whom we sharpen one another spiritually. I have a team of leaders who work with me and are not afraid to question my actions, motives, and intentions. In fact, I don't make any major decision anymore without receiving council from those people God has sent to me. We are creating a culture whereby leaders can actually do that...Lead.

I'm building not just for the now, but for the longevity of the ministry long after I'm gone.

I love you all...

Pastor Douglas

I begin a new series called, "Broke" today. lot's of info, but I'm determined to lead Journey to be one of the most generous churches in our area.

The emotions that came by talking about our church's potential, and the thousands we could see come to Christ, hit me hard emotionally today.

SInce none of us are paid full time, I am very thankful for the folks at SEEDS in allowing us to use a lot of their designs for free.

New people continue to come, and I am so amazed at God's blessings

We had 2 elementary kids accept Jesus today!

One thing that is a priority for us right now is finding a place for weekly and corporate prayer.

Everything with the Ministry Partners is coming along great. Many have volunteered and are ready to work.

This week will be brutally busy. We have a couple of major decisions that will be made by Tuesday, then you better buckle your seat belt. I was hoping to ride the Harley some this week, with the great weather and all, but there's tons of more important things that need to be done.

I NEED all of you prayer warriors to be praying for Journey all day tomorrow and Tuesday. Some potentially huge things on the horizon.

I'll be finishing a couple of books this week that I've been reading, and I plan to listen to a 2 part series called, "Creating a Kingdom Culture" by Bill Johnson. I love the insight he has on the Kingdom of God.

I feel like the little pig on the zip line in the Geico commercial.....pure adrenalin

I love you all!

Pastor Douglas

I just want to let the whole world know that I love my church!

I taught out of the book of Nehemiah today and drew out 6 pretty good points that the Lord shared with us today concerning Nehemiah's character and ours as leaders of our families, churches and businesses.

We had the largest crowd to date and the place was packed. Loved it!

We have a meeting with the trustees of the place we are meeting at on Tuesday. I've got to ask them for more space so prayer will be appreciated. I don't like working with organizations who have many bosses, but it is what it is.

We have had several people volunteer to be ministry partners, leaders, etc. but we still need more.

We just brought on Kevin Belk to oversee our Guest Services ministry: Ushers, Greeters, and Parking. I'm excited about this move and know from working with Kevin for years that he will do an amazing job. So, we need more ministry partners in the areas of ushers, greeters and parking cars. Please see Jason, Mark or Debbie if you are interested, or email us at office@jcrome.com

We already have nearly 60 kids from elementary age down. This ministry is our next huge priority. but, of course, there are many things that need attention in a fast growing church.

One HUGE issue that I am dealing with and hopefully will be resolved this week is finding a place for a weekly, corporate prayer. We have many prayer warriors, but I want to be more intentional with this part of our church.

I love you all!

Pastor Douglas

I'm still amazed at the growth with new people every week. I love seeing new families come in and get excited about what God is doing here.

It seems like we almost had as many kids today as we did adults. It sounded that way too. I love it!

I'm not sure what they are putting in their cereal, but Mark and the band have gotten to the amazing point again. I believe we have some of the Best worship leadership anywhere.

I'm thinking of doing a New series next month called Hostage. I really enjoyed what a friend of mine did with it. and I'll try to talk him into letting us have his stage set-up for the series. :)

We, (Jesus and me both) need you to volunteer to become a ministry partner in one of these areas.

1. Ushers
2. Greeters
3. Altar Care
4. Small Groups
5. Set-up and Tear-down
6. Parking Lot
7. Outreach and Visitation
8. Children's and or Youth ministry

Let Mark or Jason know your interests or email us here at office@jcrome.com

Things we need right now.

1. More cushioned chairs
2. Portable Stage sections
3. Donations in the form of Money

If you're a church leader or pastor and have any of these to donate/sell please email us at office@jcrome.com Of course, if you'd like to just give towards our launch you can do so by going to our web site HERE.

Blessings!

Pastor Douglas

Today Debbie and I celebrate 30 years of marriage, not always easy, but worth the fight it takes sometimes, just to stay together.

More on the Anniversay later, I'm planning a huge suprise for her later this year in celebration of the 30 years, but don't tell her. ...wink...

The Journey was full yesterday... I'm very thankful to Steve Dennis and the New and Living Way Bible church in Rome for letting us use the cushioned chairs. They have made a huge difference. We still had to sit out more metal chairs yesterday for the people, but I believe that we will have more of the nice one's soon. Really, if Everyone would show up on the same Sunday we would already have to use the full floor of the gym.

If you are a pastor or church leader and know of someone with some nice church chairs to loan or donate, please email me at pdc@jcrome.com. This will send an email straight to me an no one else. We need 200 more, but like a good steward, will take all that you have. :)

I find myself so excited about the other new churches that are being planted in our area, and close to us. John Edwards is going to plant Amazing Grace church in Birmingham, so if you are looking for a church home in that area, hit him up on FaceBook, and of course my little fat buddy Gary Lamb over in Canton and what they are doing through the new Action Church. I love these guys.

I just found out about another church starting in Rome by Pastors Greg and Ricki Livingston. I pray for their success too as they plant anothe life-giving church in the city that I love so much.

As we get closer to nailing down an "Official" church launch date, we are working diligently to get leaders in place. Some of the team positions needing filling are the following:

1. Ushers
2. Greeters
3. Counters, (money)
4. Youth Leaders
5. Children's Leaders
6. Parking lot
7. Small group leaders
8. Altar care leaders
9. Outreach team members
10. Set up and take down workers

And of course, with each leader there needs to be team members. If any of these spark something in you to be a ministry partner with us let us know by emailing...office@jcrome.com, or seeing one of these folks on Sunday. Debbie Crumbly, Mark Hilliard, or Jason Weeks. My goal is to have EVERYONE involved in the work of Christ, in His Church. Prayer...Partnership...and Provision...

I love and pray for you all!

Pastor Douglas

Last night, with a huge amount of excitement, my 10 year old daughter brought this drawing she had worked on for me.

And although it would have been a very easy thing to discount this as the hopes of an innocent 10 year old for better gifts and travels the coming year, I believe the Lord is speaking something through this to me...and maybe you too.

Many "experts" believe that on December 21, 2012, this year...that a world-wide cataclysmic event will take place possibly ending life as we know it. Some even believe total world destruction is possible. And...sad to say, many believers will get caught up in the hype that we will only see increase as we get closer to the date. Just like the book, 88 reasons why Christ will come in 1988, Y2K, and many of the post 911 scares, much money will be made off of other people's fears. In fact, many are counting on it.

We as God's people cannot afford to be duped again by getting caught up in the Fear Factor that the world lives in. Instead, God is calling us to use this year's "worry buzz" as as an opportunity to lead people to the truth in Christ. And, trust me, many will be searching for truth this year.

This is one reason we are so adamant @JourneyRome to be doing what we are doing. This is why prayer, and being led by the Spirit is so important to us. After 911 the church in America probably missed one of the greatest opportunities in years to reach a hurting country with the Love of Christ. When the world reached out and needed us, many in the church were still to busy with their religious activities and simply were to slumberous to know what was happening. We cannot afford to let this happen again, and miss an opportunity by which millions could come running to Jesus.

We leaders must be developing and honing our Harvest strategies...We must learn to work together...And...we must have a bigger vision of what God can do with and in our churches.

Do I know exactly what 2012 holds for us? Absolutely not. But, what I do know is this. In the worst case scenario, those of us who Know Jesus...still win.

I love you all.

Pastor Douglas

Here are the things that we are praying for and believing the Lord to take place in 2012 at Journey Rome. I hope that you join with us and believe with us over the next 21 days as well.

1. We are asking God to bring revival to the churches in Rome GA and the surrounding cities and towns within our influence.
2. The Harvest Strategies (systems for assimilation) we (Journey Church) create and develop would be only the ones that He, the Spirit gives to us.
3. Satan and all of his demons will be confused and blinded, especially through the birthing and infancy of Journey Church.
4. God's blessing would rest upon the people of Journey Church to become generous givers, thinkers, and influencers.
5. God would open up doors once again with other pastors in our city to do great works together.
6. God will give us favor with the political kingdom, the educational kingdom, and the church kingdom in 2012.
7. God would give us the strategy and leadership to develop top notch, supernatural youth and children's ministry.
8. God would open up doors of influence with the other cultures that make up our city.
9. God would send to us leaders with a heart for Him, and we would have the sensitivity and wisdom to help steward them into the right place of ministry.
10. God will break walls of prejudice, offense, and jealousy that has held our cities in bondage for way too long.

If you're reading this know that we are praying for you, and Love you very much.

Pastor Douglas

Tomorrow morning, I, along with many believers from around the world will be joining together for a  21 day fast. As my family and I have done so for a few years in a row now, we will once again go through the Daniel Fast. I have also asked our church to do the same. And while many will be focused on the food and health aspects of the fast, this year more than ever before, I want us to focus on the cities where we live.

I am praying for a great revival to come to Rome GA.

Since I know that the word, "Revival" conjures up different thoughts with every person, I want to give to you what MY ideas and opinions for what I believe Revival to be. And although they are my ideas and opinions, they will be the subjugated frame for the fast that I will do.

1. Revival happens when church people prioritize prayer OVER programs.
2. Revival happens when church people pray, fast, and give.
3. Revival happens when church people understand their role in the earth as a missionary.
4. Revival happens when church people repent from the sins of unforgivness and holding grudges, and then make things right with the one they are offended at.
5. Revival happens when church people stop compromising with their own fleshly desires.
6. Revival happens when church people stop the sins they commit in secret.
7. Revival happens when church people see that the only hope for the world IS the church that they are a part of.
8. Revival happens when church people begin to do these things; love, sacrifice, give, humble themselves, prefer another over themself, and give someone another chance.
9. Revival happens when church people go and show the Love of Christ to their neighbor, AND their Family.
10. Revival happens when church people make their Sunday morning experience a place where 2 different types of people are welcomed. 1. The dirtiest, most sinful person in our town, and 2. The person of the Holy Spirit. (Read 2Corinthians 5:18)
11. Revival happens when church people lay down traditions of man, and embrace cultural relevance
12. Revival happens when church people decide that the city thay are in is their mission field
13. Revival happens when church people determine to be a generous giver, and ask God for creative ways to bring resources to their church
14. Revival happens when church people reach out to one another in other churches for the sake of our city

The results of this?

People will come to Christ by the thousands, churches will explode in growth, Jesus will be glorified, and the culture of our cities will be changed forever.

Father, I am asking you in the Name of Jesus to help me, a local pastor with the influence that I have. Help me to stir believers to be revived!

See you tomorrow @ the Journey!

Pastor Douglas

This morning @JourneyRome went very well considering the low attendance, and most of the band was out of town.

I believe the anointing to teach was stronger today than it has ever been. I really enjoyed myself, but I always do when I talk about vision.

Everyone is so excited, and even with it a holiday, we still had visiting families.

I believe that the Lord is taking my leadership folks to a whole nother level with Him

We're really looking forward this coming Sunday as we begin a corporate fast. 21 day Daniel Fast. If you need a great recipe book, go here and  Download Fastfood. It's a great book and it's free. Our leadership put this together a couple of years back. All I ask is please give us the credit if you use it at your church for distribution.

As we're getting ready for our official launch, we need partners that will sow into our ministry financially. I don't believe there is a greater place to put your much needed funds than a new, life-giving church. Help us make it hard for people to go to hell by going to our website and clicking on the Give link. Go Here... Journey Church

I LOVE the people I see coming in every week already. I LOVE my leaders, and I'm grateful for all the hard work they do to make Journey great.

Everyone is committed to the vision of creating a place where it is easy for people to connect with God, one another, and the world.

I'll be updating this Blog on a more regular basis over the next 30 days. I am really believing God for some things and want to keep you updated. Also, email me with your testimony of answered prayers through the fast and I'll try to keep those posted as well.

When Jesus said that we must work the works of Him who sent us while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work, I believe He was speaking about this generation of believers. We have a huge job to do in our cities. We have to make it hard for people to go to hell from the city where our church is.

I'm praying for you, your family, and believing that 2012 will be your year of Breakthrough.

I love you much!

Pastor Douglas

Two things that I am absolutly pumped about for 2012 are the Fast which begins on January 8th.

And the Series that I am starting this coming Sunday, January 1st, 2012.

You can start the New Year out in 2012 by making sure that you and your entire family are with us this Sunday, January 1st at 11am. We are currently meeting at the Chapel Hill UMC's Gym, 1818 Kingston Rd. It's at the corner of the Rome bypass, and Kingston rd, impossible to miss.

2012 is your year!

See you Sunday!

Pastor Douglas

As many of you already know, we had our very first Christmas Eve Communion Service at the "soon to be official" Journey Church in Rome GA. Here is the things that I observed, walked away with, and want to reflect back to you.

I really do not intend on being redundant, but it literally was "off the chain good"

The place we are meeting in was standing room only, and thank God for great ushers more seats were brought in.

At one point we blew all of the breakers, (I think because of the Christmas lights) yet people kept worshipping like nothing had happened. Yes, they finally got them back on.

I had some family members show up that I have not seen in years. This was an extra special blessing to me.

I watched as the Lord ministered to hurts in people that only He can reach. Many were touched by His presence.

The two things that you feel the most @JourneyRome is: 1.the Spirit of God, and 2.the momentum in the place and among the people.

People are tired of religion and want to experience real heart and life change. Even all of the things that many pastors think will make their church great, lights, videos, colors, etc. fail miserably in comparison to a changed life because of the love that is demonstrated to them.

We need chairs, and money, or both. If you have any, or know of a church that has 200 or more cushioned church chairs they are not using, please hit me up on FaceBook, or email me at pdc@jcrome.com. And yes, we needed these yesterday. In fact, I don't care where they are, or what State, we will come pick them up. Thank you very much!

They next few weeks will be intense as I start a new series that I promise you will not want to miss, and as we get ready for our official launch of Journey Church.

I love you all..

Pastor Douglas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was different than usual, good, just different.

We lost all of our technology for the video, and Mark was out of town with his family.

I was glad to see some old friends that showed up today, and disappointed at some who were supposed to be here, but weren't.

Danielle, (my daughter) led worship today in Mark's absence, and did a fantastic job. It was her first time to do so and made me real proud.

We're going to have to get some padded chairs real soon!

I am so pumped about Communion Service next Saturday. It's usually one of our best times together of the year. 5pm

It's still hard to believe all that God is doing and all that He is allowing me to do with Him.

I love my Church!

See you soon!

Pastor Douglas

 

 

 

Usually I try to just post once a week with the updates from our weekend service at the soon to be Journey Church in Rome GA. But, today is different.

Something that I have been thinking about a lot, (for many reasons) is the subject of Revival, and how forgivness is one of the formost parts of Revival DNA. I know that I have a couple of posts that I have written this past year on the subject, but I don't feel that I have written everything that needs to be. So for this post, Instead of just giving information, I want to ask us all a series of very thought provoking questions. Questions that I hope will drive us all to look at the truth of where our heart is. After all, the Book of Truth, the Bible, teaches us that to guard our hearts is of utmost importance and that all of the issues of life spring forth from there.

So, to begin with, Lord, help me, the asker of these questions to ask myself all of these too.

1. Is there anyone, and I mean anyone with whom I need to forgive?
2. Is there anyone that I do not want to be around because I feel they have done me wrong in the past?
3. Is there anyone that I do not want to fellowship with because of past hurts?
4. Is there anyone that I do not want to see succeed at what they are doing because of the past?
5. Is there anyone with whom I am experiencing jealousy?
6. Is there anyone that I could not grab hands with and Joyfully further the cause of Christ?
7. Is there anyone who, when their name is mentioned around me I feel hurt, offended, or can't speak good of?

I've been around long enough to know that many Christians are going to dismiss this because they don't feel like it applies to their "unique" situiation. Here are some of the excuse that I have heard in the past on why believers refuse to get things right with someone they are offended at. Notice that most of these are rooted in nothing more than insecurities.

1. They have tried to talk to the person in the past but they would never listen.
2. I told jesus that I forgave them. (Not what Scripture teaches, but a good start)
3. I'm just to hurt.
4. I'm done with them. (This just means that I've decided to ignore them which is really a better plan that the one Jesus gave us)
5. To pretend they are not there and to cut off fellowship with that person means I have forgiven them. 
6. And here is a huge one..They did me wrong. They are the one who needs to apologize.

How decieved we have become.

The following a a realistic picture of where the church is in the US and why we need Revival.

We preach and teach love, yet our hearts are full of pride...We feed the hungry, yet hate our brother...We lay hands on the sick, yet refuse to embrace someone who Christ died for...We sign our emails and texts that God is Love, and Jesus is Lord, yet it's not real enough in our heart to actually love our brother as ourself...We brag about how many we have reached, yet, we refuse to deal with those we have hurt...We raise our hands and sing our praises to God on Sunday, and hate our brother at the same time...We plan our very expensive mission trips and conferences to give every one in our churches a world view of hurting people, yet won't go across the street to forgive a hurting brother...

We cry out for revival, not realizing that revival is bound up in our hearts..waiting to be released when we release those we have in our heart cage. It has made our hearts sick.

We need to be baptized in a Flood of Forgivness. And no, Forgiveness WILL NOT change the past, but it will Enlarge the Future.

This is when Revival will start among God's people,when we CHOOSE to forgive and Love, and I for one am determined to see Revival in my City...Lord let it start with me.

I love you all...

Pastor Douglas

I want to invite everyone, and I mean everyone to bring your family to our Candlelight/Communion Service on December the 24th @ 5pm. This one is so important as we come together with Jesus, and get ready for 2012.

This service is for people of all ages and all of the kids too.

Also, we will be going through the Daniel Fast together that begins January 8th for 21 days. There will be more information the closer we get, however if you contact me @ pdc@jcrome asking for one, I will be more than happy to send you a FREE Daniel Fast cookbook full of amazing recipes.

See you this Sunday at 11am

Pastor Douglas

 

 

Dear Friend of Journey Church

Well, it was much sooner than I originally thought, but yesterday we were able to hold our first morning service. Thanks to the folks @Chapel Hill, we had the big gym and they used the sanctuary.

It really worked out well for us. With our band, the sound was amazing. Thank you Oz (sound guy) for the great work! These guys have come into their own like no band and worship leaders I have ever seen.

It looks as though the church and the school that also uses the gym during the week will be able to work with us so we can use it as a permanent space. Pray for us that this is what happens.

We ended up having to use twice as much space as we had thought, then had to add chairs as more and more people kept coming in. The momentum was contagious.

We are already facing a good dilemma of what to do next for more auditorium space and we haven't officially launched as a church yet. Our goal is the make the first Sunday in February our Launch day.

**** A married couple came for the first time and ended up giving their hearts to the Lord. Yes God!

There are a few things we NEED ASAP if you have access to, or can give towards, it will be greatly appreciated.

1. Chairs (used for Auditorium seating)
2. Portable Stages
3. Donations towards feeding some needy families over the Holidays

One last random thought I have been having. I want to thank all of the church leaders, some I know personally, some are friends of mine, and some I have just watched, who have taught me so much about church planting, pastoring, and how to reach people for Christ. I appreciate and love you all so much.

Thank you for helping us to make it hard for people to leave North West Georgia and go to a place called Hell...

Pastor Douglas

 

Not sure if you know this but you can follow us on twitter @JourneyRome, and you can follow me on twitter @douglascrumbly

This coming Sunday, the 11th of December we are meeting in the gym at Chapel Hill at 11am. We've been wanting to do this from day one. It will help us get closer to setting our official launch date.

The folks at Chapel Hill are amazing to work with and are so Kingdom minded when it comes to doing church. I can't say enough about how grateful we are to them. It makes me almost want to become a Methodist. Almost...

Our First youth meeting will be on the 9th at Jeremy and Abigail McClendon's home. We're very pumped about this.

On the week of the 19th our church will be delivering food baskets to some of the needy families of our city. There has been such a great response from our church in bringing food, but still more is needed.

If you don't have a service to attend on Christmas Eve, we wil be having a candleight communion service on the 24th at 5pm, emphasizing Jesus our Healer.

Not real pleased with how I communicated the message last night, but hey, God moved and we had someone come back to the Lord. Praise Him!

See you Sunday at 11am!

Pastor Douglas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night I taught on bringing provision to the vision. I felt it went real well and I'm excited about the response. We are a new church plant with HUGE plans and dreams of reaching our city like never before. The vision is so big that it would be hard to not get involved financially.

We are looking for partners outside of those coming to give financially and help us feed the hungry, repair homes of the needy, cloth those who need clothes, and win as many people to Jesus as we possibly can. All of this takes money.

SInce you have not if you don't ask, and I'm certainly not ashamed to ask for something when it will benefit what the Lord is doing, I'm asking you to go to www.jcrome.com and give the biggest most bodacious gift you've ever given and help us meet the needs of so many this year. Yes, your gift to us is tax-deductible. Thank you so much by helping us to make it hard on people from our city to leave here and go to a place called Hell.

December will be a very busy month for Journey. I'll be posting a calender later this week on this Blog, our web site and on FaceBook, but just a few things we have going on are:

1. Our first Youth meeting
2. The organization of three primary teams
3. A real Old-fashioned pot luck fellowship
4. Feeding several families in our city
5. A Christmas Eve Candle light Communion Service
6. Planning a Sunday morning service
7. Working through the details for an outreach that will really help people in our city move ahead 5 years or more from where they are right now.
8. Putting together the rest of our board

These are just a few things that will go along with the Christmas parties and family stuff we have planned.

If you live anywhere near Rome GA and you're not involved in a church, we meet right now on Sunday nights at 6pm and the Chapel Hill UMC at the corner of the Rome Bypass and Kingston Highway.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Douglas

 

 

 

You've been there too huh? Man...to many times to count for me. But that's not what I want to write about this morning. Instead, I want to write about offense and be a transparent as I can about myself, and the things I've learned by being offended.

It will probably be better and easier to read for the Google generation if I give this in a list, or using bullets. so I'll try to keep it simple. And no, I do not mean real bullets, I am referring to bullet points, even though there have been times...

#1... And really number one is this. People, especially Christians, and especially Southern Christians, rarely ever admit they are "Offended". They'll use words like; upset, disappointed, and even mention being through with the person they are offended at. Because to admit offense, is to admit sin, soooo, many believers steer away from the wrong in their on life in order to focus on the wrong in others.

#2...Most, and I do mean most, offense is cause by misunderstood expectations. People will without communicating to the person, place expectations on them, they are then let down, and the rest is history. They get offended. Many times the person they are offended at never knows!

#3...Most people are to intimidated and insecure to go to the person they are offended with and handle it scripturally. It's easier to justify the sin of offense probably more than any sin there is!

#4...Most believers when offended act like it is totally okay to "try and forget" instead of following the guidelines in scripture. OFFENSE acts like cancer to our spirit man. Imagine treating physical cancer this way? It WILL affect your future, your purpose and God's plan for you. You might as well deal with it now and not wait another day.

#5...The BIG deception of Offense is this. Because you were the one wronged, the person who wronged you has the responsibility to come to you and apologize. Being a half truth, this is enough to be like eating M&M's laced with cyanide. Trust me on this. Someone has to be the leader. Fact is, if the person you are offended with does not come to you, You HAVE to go to them to get things right. Email, FaceBook, Twitter, texting or even a call is not good enough. It has to be Face to Face. And for those believers who simply de-friend someone on FaceBook because you are offended at them I have these words for you; Childish, and Passive-Aggressive.

A while back I got seriously offended at a group of people, who from my perspective did me totally wrong, violated trust, scripture and a deep love that I had for them. Honestly, it spring boarded me into some of the worst and toughest days of my life. At that time all I wanted was justice. People who I thought were friends dropped me like a hot potato thus adding to the offense. There was a lot of "Sharing", (Christian for gossip) happening causing me to feel like I was inside a barrel and that God had forsaken me. I remember telling the parties involved that one day we'd all look back at our broken relationships and not really understand why. Although that day arrived, the truth is that it (the offense) was still only about these two things, Lack of Good Communication, and Wrong Expectations.

It got so bad for me that I finally, (I know I know...) sought God. To my amazement, and against my flesh He had me to go to every person that I was offended at and get this, APOLOGIZE to them! At first I was sick about it, but afterwards, I realized the freedom that it brought me. I truly discovered that by releasing them out of the cage I had them locked in my heart, freed me from the cage I was in. It was liberating to say the least. The greatest blessing in this is to be free to pray for them, speak good of them, and hope for their best. After all, it was because I loved them so much that I got so offended in the first place, and, I still love them deeply today.

I would have NEVER experienced God's best for me and my family if I had not taken the first steps towards those who I thought should come to me. And neither will you.

Who are you offended at today? I want to encourage you from someone who became an expert in offense, to go to them, apologize for being offended, seek to restore, (if possible) the relationship. At least give them the opportunity, and see them through God's eyes. Ask the Lord to show you the good in the person you are offended at. View them as God's child, precious in His eyes. You owe it to yourself and the plan God has for your life.

Pastor Douglas

I've uploaded this letter to you (In Word) from our church letting you know about a great opportunity to partner with us and feed and reach several families in Floyd County.

Download Dear Parents and Journey Church friends

We have so many with children coming right now that our children's ministry is the top priority for us right now.

We're putting in place several teams this week to facilitate the fast growth of the church.

I hope we are able to go to a Sunday morning service by January and have the official Launch of the Journey here in Rome.

It was great having the pastor of Chapel Hill worshipping with us last night.

I thought last night's teaching I did on prayer was one of the best I've done in years. There is such a great flow to teach and minister @journeyrome.

I have a big staff meeting tomorrow night and I'm already pumped about it as we're initiating lots of new things for the church, and bringing in new/added leadership.

This week will be one of family, food and lot's of laughs...

I love you all!

Pastor Douglas

 

No doubt, I'm loving what I do. We are in a great season of freshness, newness, and spiritual discovery as a church. Our DNA is forming and I love what I am seeing.

I've met with some really neat people this past week. Some are them are people who the church has sorta given up on, or doesn't want. I believe Journey will be a place for these people to thrive. No doubt, Rome and the surronding towns are full of people who need/deserve a Second Chance.

There is so much to do, and people are coming in so fast that I don't want to miss what the Holy Spirit wants to do. These people are for the most part very hungry for a Revival in our city. A real authentic move of God that shakes all the man-made Kingdoms around us. If you are an Intercessor, please pray for us diligently.

God has sent, and is sending some crazy awesome pastors in my life.

I've been feeding off the teachings of some of these great ministers. Bill Johnson, Graham Cooke, Willie George, T.D. Jakes, RIck Renner and Scott Webb.

I've been asked to speak at a Sunday morning service at a traditional Methodist church. I'm hope they let me where a robe!

We're planning a couple of things this year that we do each year, one is the Christmas Communion service and the other is a 21 day Daniel fast starting in January that our entire church will go through together.Yes, we have a great cookbook full of Daniel fast recipes.

The Spiritual Waters are rising...

 

I know this sounds redundant, but the info service Sunday night was awesome.

Not sure when the official launch will be, maybe next spring.

I am meeting with some folks this week about a facility for use on Sunday mornings.

Each week the anointing seems to increase, and a young man gave hs heart to Jesus last week.

I'm excited that this church will be able to really help people where they are at, Spiritually, Emotionally, and Physically.

I've been reconnecting with some old friends, and making lots of new ones.

I've found Rome to be much like it was before I left, very religious, somewhat closed off to anything new and fresh, and a heavy dose of the papa bear syndrome. (Some churches are trying to be the (THE BIG DEAL) and very territorial instead of working together. I recognize it so much because honestly that is where I was at one time. But, those days will and are changing for this city I love so much.

I pray for all of the life-giving churches in my city. If you pastor a life-giving church in Rome, give me a call, I'd love to sow into your ministry. We believe in what you are doing!

I am very blessed to have the intercessors that God has sent to us.

I love the leaders that God has sent to me. I am literally working with the BEST people I have ever been privileged to work with. (Cept for Tony Howard who we all miss!)

I'll keep you all updated on the building progress. Just keep praying.

The idea of secondchancerome gets me pumped like you cant believe.

The Spiritual waters are definitely on the rise.

Peace

Pastor Douglas

 

 

 

 

I am so amazed at the new people coming in each week, and we haven't even officially "launched" Journey Rome....

Last night was one of those special "God" times where He ministered deeply to those there.

I could get used to Sunday nights...But I'm not going to.

I'm seeing excitement build each week more than the last. I love the Journey that I am on.

My leaders really are the best anywhere. I am so blessed to be able to work with such gifted and anointed people.

The people who are praying for us is more than I could have ever asked to be partnered with.

I've been thinking a lot about my friend Gary Lamb in Canton and how God LOVES to prove religious people wrong and give all of us a Second Chance.

I ordered the domains secondchancerome because there are so many of us here in this area that will be given a Second Chance through the ministry of Journey Church.

Today, I resigned where I had been working to only consult on a part time basis, giving Debbie and I more time to helping the people of our city.

The next few weeks I will be meeting, meeting, meeting with people of a second chance Rome. I love the thought of this.

I've been speaking with a few of our city leaders getting re-connected and have been received with open arms and excitement about Journey Church.

I've been praying a lot asking for creative ways to be more effective in reaching people in Rome, when I got a call from a friend in Arkansas. After sharing with me some things the Lord has his church doing to reach Little Rock, I can say right now is that Journey is going to blow the socks off of our city in the months to come.

Were now officially looking for minisry partners to Pray and Give towards this movement. If you believe God is directing you to help in this area please go to Journey Church and you can donate there through paypal.

If you aren't actively serving the Lord anywhere and want to be part of God movement, be with us Next Sunday night at 6pm at Chapel Hill UMC in Rome.

See you soon!

Pastor Douglas