The Day Is Finally Here

We are excited to announce that we will be kicking of our very first small group church meeting Sunday, Feb. 1 at 9:12 a.m. Why 9:12? Why not? We want to be different at livewire and we want to start right away!
Click on the flyer to view the details about Sunday. Be ready to receive an encouraging word from Josh, get connected with others and hear the vision of livewire. And by the way, dress is casual... if you wear a suit you will be thrown out of Starbucks, lol!
We do realize that Starbucks is not conducive to the needs of families with small children. This location is only temporary and we will meet childcare needs asap! We will keep you informed. We are currently working with another venue which has childcare facilities... so it is definitely in the works.
We hope to see you Sunday... it's time to get wired!

And The Name Is....

Drumroll please....

After much thought & consideration, we've come up with a name that we believe is just right for us. It reflects our uniqueness and relevance to the culture... and stirs the interest of the unchurched who will hear it around town. Ready? Again.. drumroll!

livewire.

Not livewire church. Not livewire ministries. Just... livewire.

So, if you're ready to get wired, then livewire is where you are going to want to plug in!

the name has been chosen

(entry written by Josh)

Ok, so here is how the name came about. Kristine told me a specific word that she liked. After thinking for maybe 3 seconds at the most, I said "what about..." and I added a second word with hers. Let me just pause here... The reason I did not say her word or what word I put with the word she said which makes it now 2 words (If you are confused right now, step away from the computer for 1 minute and then come back) has to do with the previous post. So, if you have not read it, do so now.

Now, let's play a game. Here is your opportunity to try and guess the name of our church. Let's play Wheel of Fortune, but you will only know if you guessed right when we post it. Sorry. However, I will give you 1 vowel. Ok, ready? Drum roll please.


The name of the church is:

_ i _ _ _ i _ _

Share your guess with all of us by leaving a "comment", so we can see who came the closest. Simply click "comments" at the bottom right of this particular post.

Becoming More Real

(entry written by Josh)

The new church is becoming more real. Today we submitted and mailed the Articles of Incorporation. As much as we want to share with everyone the name we have chosen we cannot just yet until the State of Florida has communicated back with us that the name and church has been registered and filed as a corporation in Florida.

Once we receive this information we can submit the application for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. We must have our Articles stamped, because we must then send them to IRS for the tax exempt status. Like we said, it is becoming more real and more real every day.

Its exciting stuff for sure!

Our New Hope Farewell

(entry written by Kristine)


Sunday evening was bittersweet. We said our final good-byes to the church family we have known and loved for 18 years. The church surprised us with a power point of Josh and I... including pictures of Josh's Sophomore year homecoming dance! Just imagine John Travolta with feathery black hair! It was a great service of memories and laughter and even some tears. They surprised us by asking Don and Toni Tomei to attend (our youth pastors when we were teenagers at New Hope). Don said a few words on stage about Josh's years as a teenager and how he grew as a young adult and now the man he is today. Pastor Grant spoke next, and of course, he made us cry. We were holding it together pretty well until we heard him say, "You know, we just thought that "Joshie" would be with us at New Hope forever... " I think that's one of the hardest parts for Josh and I... to feel as if we are hurting anyone. But we know, and Grant knows, and so many others also know that this is something God is doing. If it were up to us, we'd probably stay at New Hope forever. But life is about God and fulfilling His call no matter how emotional and difficult it is to leave what you know and love.
We had hot dogs & chili outside with everyone, gave lots of hugs, and received so many sweet cards and letters. We are so appreciative of every single one. We are so thankful for the people who are giving into this new ministry by offering prayers, financial help, and their time and talent... God is clearly blessing us and it is so evident that his hand is on our every step.
We love you New Hope Ministries... and as I stated in a letter I wrote to Grant a couple of weeks ago, the church we are beginning is just an extension of New Hope. New Hope Ministries has been the very foundation for what we are about to do. Our hearts will always be as one. Blessings on you now and forever!

Good Stuff

We had the opportunity to visit Summit Church (www.summitlife.com) in Estero near FGCU. They have a great ministry taking place over there. Once again, they did some pretty cool things over there that we liked. Orlando Cabrera, the teaching Pastor and I (Josh) are friends and have known each other for 5 or so years, but I have not seen him in a while. It was great to catch up and talk about what God is stirring in us and the Body of Christ.

Some other news includes, the proposal for the Hollywood 20 movie theater has been submitted to Regal Cinemas, the organization, to see if they would allow us in there and what the lease would be weekly. Also, ARC, (www.relatedchurches.com) the organization we are working with who helps plants churches all across the United States, called us for the initial phone interview. We shared the vision the Lord has given us with them. The next step now is that we must fly out to Virginia in February for their next Church Planting Roundtable where we will learn more about them, their vision, and see what exactly they do to help us plant the new church. We know this, one of the things they do is help financially. Well, these are two exciting things taking place to continue things moving forward.

New Year - New Challenge

(entry written by Josh)

Last Wednesday, December 31 was officially our last day at New Hope Ministries. It was a day we never saw coming, but God knowing the beginning and the end and His desire for our lives had organized and orchestrated it all along. As we stated to the congregation and many others individually, we have left our father, mother, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This was not an easy choice at all, but we must follow God's direction and desire for our lives.

This past Sunday we began moving into this new year, this new phase, and this new challenge. We are taking January and possibly a few Sundays in February to visit churches that are doing some of the same things we desire to do in our church. We want to see it in action, generate other ideas, and talk with the pastor and staff. This past Sunday we visited Next Level Church in Ft. Myers. You can check out their website at www.nextlevelchurch.com. This church started in the same way our church will. They started as a small group of 12 that began meeting in a coffeehouse. Then, they launched their service at Bell Tower 20 Theater and 35 were in attendance. Presently, they meet at South Ft. Myers High School which is where we went this past Sunday.

Again, our church will start much the same as they did. We will start meeting in either Starbucks or Panera Bread, but our sights are set on the Hollywood 20 Theater. We will be calling the Pastor at Next Level Church to meet up for lunch to talk over where they are and where they have come from. We want to know from them the challenges, pros, and cons to meeting in a movie theater. They are willing to give us any resources and ideas we may need which is awesome. It was cool even though they are no longer meeting in the movie theater, they are still a portable church since they meet at a high school. It was cool to see it and get a bunch of ideas of what we want to do.

This Sunday we plan to visit Summit Church in Estero. Then, Sunday night we will see all of you at New Hope for our final goodbye. We are looking forward to it!

Thank you for your prayers! Please pray regarding Hollywood 20. We will have a site visit scheduled soon, so they can let us know what we can and cannot do in the auditoriums. How soon we get in the movie theater depends on how soon God wants us there. We are also working with an organization called ARC who helps plant churches in the United States. We should be receiving a call from them in the next couple days for a phone interview to get that ball rolling. You can pray for us regarding these things and that we do not get ahead of the Lord, but walk in step with Him.

Happy New Year and much love to all of you!