Pantano Christian Church

This past week I had the honor of speaking at my grandfather’s funeral in Talladega, Alabama. It was a humbling experience, to say the least. It was a sad occasion to see all my brothers, my mom and dad, cousins, 2^nd cousins, great aunts, great uncles and all the family I haven’t seen in many years.

My grandfather’s name is Marvin Hubbard. To us grandkids he was always Big Daddy. Not Granddaddy, Pop, or Grandfather…but Big Daddy. Big Daddy died in the nursing home at the age of 89. He was married to his wife Eloise for 69 years in May of 2007. Holy cow! 69 years!! Can you even imagine? Wow.

Anyway, I learned a lot of things about Big Daddy this past week that I never knew before. Things that I wish I could have talked about with him. Things that I know had to be “milestones” in his life that truly defined his character. Things that, selfishly, I wanted to learn from and grow from. He was the head of the board of deacons in the 1^st Baptist Church when they planted two churches in Talladega County in the 1950’s. Both of which are alive and thriving today. He owned an old country store on the town square in downtown Talladega from the 1940’s until he died this month. He turned the operation of his store over to his brothers in the early 70’s and went to work for the Alabama Schools for the Deaf and Blind as the salesman for the Southeastern region.

In listening to some of the stories that people shared at his funeral, I was amazed at the generosity of Big Daddy. Over and over again I heard “Mr. Hubbard gave my family food…” and “Mr. Hubbard bought us this…” and “Mr. Hubbard fixed this for us…” time and again. There is no doubt that from a business standpoint, Big Daddy gave away more than he sold. I really don’t think that he was “in the business” to make a profit. But he was a wealthy man. He did have some money, and live a rich life. My brothers and I were talking about what made my grandfather so special, not only to us, but to those he knew. When people saw my grandfather coming – they smiled! They knew that he would love and serve them no matter who they were. Big Daddy was the rare individual that assigned value to everyone he met.

When you met Big Daddy, he had charisma. He knew you, your family, your situation and needs. He smiled, and loved, and gave sincerely. When you talked with him, Big Daddy wanted to know about you. The conversation did not turn to him, it was about you. He had a way about him that made people comfortable and share their hurts. When Big Daddy left, you knew your situation was just a little bit better than it was before he got there. Amazing. He never took away, he always added with love.

One story I want to share is about the ledger. When cleaning out the store or his house, my great uncle found an old ledger filing system. My brother was given this old, rusty metal thing and was telling me about it. Inside this ledger, they found “tickets” that Big Daddy had written for folks as “IOUs” from years ago. Evidently, this ledger was used to track everything that people “owed” my grandfather. Evidently, it was also a “one-way” ticket. Big Daddy put them in, and never pulled them out again. What kind of business plan was this?

Now I may be drawing some conclusions here, but for those who knew Big Daddy I can see some heads nodding north and south on this one. Big Daddy was in the business of serving people, even if it came at a profit loss. Big Daddy was in the business to love people, even if he got nothing in return. Big Daddy was in the business to meet needs, not make money. As I said before, he was wealthy beyond measure. He was never financially “rich”. He was never a CEO of a major corporation, but he was my Big Daddy and a big daddy to countless in the state of Alabama and beyond.

It is a funny thing to think about these days. How radical and counter cultural is this type of life? Am I willing to give and expect nothing in return? Am I willing to love and expect nothing in return? Am I keeping a ledger to “balance the books” and make sure I “get what I am owed” or to demonstrate my generosity and caring to others for my grandchildren?

I wonder how many tickets in that ledger had my name on them.

Below is the transcript of the Sierra Vista Vision meeting held on December 16, 2007. Video links are coming shortly… Enjoy!

Space Shuttle Launch Video “Are you Ready?”

Good evening! I am Hugh and I am the pastor here for Pantano Christian Church in Sierra Vista. Tonight I am going to invite you to be a part of a launch. You know, we have been meeting over the last several months as a church here. The launch I am referring to is the launch of our service on Sunday Mornings and all of the different groups, ministries and teams it takes to do that. So, as of right now, I want you to start thinking about your role in launching a new Sunday service here in Sierra Vista for Pantano Christian Church. Let’s go on this amazing journey together.

I am very anxious and excited to move into this Launch phase of Pantano Christian Church here. Tonight I am going to try to paint a picture for you what I think that will look like. Tonight I am going to describe to you a vision, share some of my heart, give to you some of the details and hopefully give you guys some information about what we need to do to make this happen.

First, let’s do this, I want you all to imagine with me. Dream a little bit if you will, about what things could like. Let’s all imagine a church…..

• A church so vital to the community that they will be missed if they are not there
• A church who serves the community first, and themselves second
• A church that is relevant to people as they live their lives in Sierra Vista.
• A church that positively changes people lives, wherever they are on their journey.
• A church where hearts are transformed
• A church where the members are generously giving of themselves and their resources to the kingdom of God
• A church where anyone in the community knows that they will be loved and accepted
• A church for those who don’t like church or don’t know Jesus
• A church that is a grace wholesaler to everyone
• A church that never asks permission to serve a need with passion
• A Church that shows people Christ and calls that the Church versus showing them the church and calling them Christians
• A church built on Serving rather than sitting, compassion versus indifference, Grace and generosity versus greed, outward versus inward focus.
• Imagine a church loving people to Jesus and Launching passionate people to make our world different.

Here are some videos that demonstrate what that could look like in Sierra Vista.

Rocky Point Video

MADD Video

What is this… church? YES! We are that church. You are that church. These are videos of places where we have already been working here in Sierra Vista. Pantano Christian Church IS that church. Pantano is a group of people who care tremendously about the Kingdom of God and connecting others to it.

We see God leading Pantano Christian Church to fulfill this vision in six concrete ways. These are the “Where are we going” and “How do we get there?”

1. Global and Local Church Planting Multiplication Movements
   1. Sierra Vista Campus is an example of this. We are planting a church here and get to be a part of future churches in Benson, Tombstone….wherever. PCC’s desire is to launch churches in southern Arizona and around the world.
2. A Launching Church
   1. If you have a heart for Mexico missions. We will do what we can to equip and send you out for this calling. If you have a heart to serve Military spouses here in our community we will come along side and help you serve in this community. We want to give you permission to reach out. We want to send people out into the world to make a difference.
3. Spiritual Formation
   1. Pantano is a place where you can find your path and grow on your journey to God. We offer classes to help you understand and deepen your relationship with Jesus. For example: The Crown financial class was huge for me because it helped me understand how God sees stewardship and money. I don’t know about some of you folks, but I kinda felt like the mercenaries that were hired to fight the crusades. They all had to be baptized and they held their swords out of the water. “God you can have my heart, but not my sword”. For me it was “God you can have my heart, but not my wallet”
4. Community Transformation
   1. Pantano has adopted the 29^th street corridor and rodeo fair grounds areas in Tucson. These are very high crime, urban poor communities. We have partnered with these communities to bring restoration, healing, help and Jesus to them like no has before. It started out with a small group of folks that just showed loved and concern. Now, the community leaders, the police and residents are asking Pantano for more help and training to make a difference in their neighborhood.
5. A Bridge to the Emerging Culture
   1. You know, there are people right here in Sierra Vista that are not in church. 60% of this community is not. They may feel like the church doesn’t have anything for them. They don’t feel like they need God. Our job is to connect with these folks, where they are, and show them Jesus in a way that is compelling and real.
6. Strategic Leadership Development
   1. Lisa and I are a good example of this (and launching). We have grown and journeyed for the last several years and PCC has strategically and purposefully prepared us for where we are now. Leadership development is critical to all aspects of the vision. You can’t Launch people, grow them, plant churches or transform communities without the leaders to do it.

My Heart for Sierra Vista.

So of you may be asking “Hugh, why are you here? Why is your family here?”

These are very good questions! My and Lisa’s journey over the last couple of years has been a season of growth and transformation. We have lived and experienced God in our lives is such tremendous ways that is has quite literally changed us forever. If you would have told me 3 years ago that I would be here, in Sierra Vista, leading the launch of a church…I would have laughed. As a matter of fact, sometimes I still do. But God has put a great passion in my heart that as I said at the very beginning – leading or not, pastor or not…I am in. I can not NOT be involved.

Earlier this year, I had a discussion with Bill Fisher – our Pathway Pastor. Bill and I had been meeting together in a leadership group with a handful of other folks. He told me about this group in Sierra Vista that was waiting on us to launch a church. I felt like I had been hit in the head with a shovel. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I began to pray about it, and I asked Lisa to pray about it. And we both new that this is where God wanted us to be.

A few years ago- I prayed that God would give me a calling and not just a career. I prayed that God use me to make other people great for Him. God led me here. And as I have gotten to know the people in this room and as I have learned a little of your stories-God has showed me my heart. God has involved me is something that is much bigger than just me. He has given me a heart for His Kingdom in Sierra Vista. He has given me a heart for the 60% of the people in this city that don’t know Jesus. He has given me a passion to bring His Kingdom to those that need Him here. God has connected me with His calling.

Lisa and I are putting our house up for sale in early January so that we can move here and be a bigger part of this wonderful community. I would ask that you guys pray for this transition for us that would be great.

I believe God is working in this community to prepare them for His unique purposes. I believe that we will change this city with the love of Jesus and the heart for His Kingdom not just plant another church.

So lets talk about this new church in Sierra Vista. What will this new church service look like? What does it mean to plan and launch a church service here in Sierra Vista? Let me give you an example that may help you make more sense of what we are doing.

NASA begins planning for each launch of the space shuttle months and even years before the shuttle is ever placed on the launch pad. It is only after rigorous preparation that each launch takes place. We have become so used to seeing the shuttle lift of the ground and bound into outer space that we often take it for granted. We forget all of the months, days and hours of work that were necessary to insure the success of the launch and the safety of the crew.

Launching a new church takes months, days and hours of preparation just like launching the space shuttle. Numerous months of prayer, preparation, and planning must take place if the new Church launch is to be successful.

This is why we have set the launch date for this new service for Pantano Christian Church in Sierra Vista August 2008.

I want to show you another video of a successful launch and first year of the Vail Christian Church that launched 2 years ago. Our church in Sierra Vista may not look exactly like this video, but I think it will help to give you a flavor of what it could look like.

VCC First Year DVD

Wow, that is pretty amazing! How awesome was that? Vail Launched in February 2006 and know they have close to 500 people meeting every Sunday.

Time to get a little practical. How do we do that here in Sierra Vista? How do we put what you just saw into action for Pantano Christian Church? I really need you guys to listen to understand what I think it takes to get there. It is important to have you guys understand the PCC core values and philosophy of ministry is critical. This will guide us as we establish our community here in Sierra Vista. Putting first things first – without an understanding of who we are trying to become in our community limits our effectiveness at reaching people for Christ.

PCC’s core values are defined by the acronym STEP. STEP stands for -

Sharing Life Together (which we do in our Life Groups), Transforming into Christ’s Likeness (which reprents the classes, seminars and teaching that we will offer in our service), Entrusted with Time, Talents and treasures (these are not only our money, but our time, giving of our homes for meetings…) and Participating in the Great Commandment and Great Commission (this is where we go to Mexico to build houses, where we partner with churches and organizations in Africa, India, Ukraine, and Peru)

Let’s talk about the Life Groups and how we will use them for our service Launch in August of next year. Our goal for launch is to have at least 11 Life groups with 10-12 adults meeting and focused on the kingdom of God in Sierra Vista. This will be our Launch Team!! These Life groups will have the focus of building relationships with each other and community and supporting the launch of the Sunday services.

Please understand that the desire and focus is to have the Life Groups will be the primary “entry point” into the PCC community. Why? Because this is where we establish relationships on a personal basis and this is where life change happens. These Life groups will have focused areas of service in the new church to support a healthy and sustained growth of people being transformed, growing in Christ and serving.

Let’s talk about the people, the “who”, we feel God has called us to connect with. We have spent a lot of time over the last couple of months in small groups and meetings to talk through and pray through who we feel God has called us to serve and reach out to here in Sierra Vista.

Let me introduce you to Ralph and Janet. Ralph is 32 and Janet is 29 years old. They live here in Sierra Vista right here in Pueblo Del Sol neighborhood. Ralph has an associate’s degree from Cochise and works in Law Enforcement. Janet graduated from Buena and is an admin assistant at a doctor’s office here in town. Together they make about $43,000 a year. Ralph and Janet own a home, but they struggle with the cost and demands of keeping it and paying off the $20,000 they have on their credit cards. This has placed a lot of stress on their marriage which impacts Trevor, Janet’s 5 year old son from a previous marriage. Ralph and Janet have not ever been a part of a church before nor do they want to be. There experience has told them that Christians are very judgmental.

Now Ralph and Janet are not real people, but they are made up from the real statistics and demographic data for Sierra Vista. They represent 60% of the population of Sierra Vista that don’t claim a church affiliation and don’t know Jesus. Over the next couple of months we will really narrow down on the exact specifics of this target group of 20 to 35 year olds with families to help us with our outreach and marketing strategies in the community. This picture will shape what we do and don’t do.

One thing I want to highlight for you guys. There are a lot of folks here in this group that are not a part of this demographic. I want to talk to you guys right now. No , please don’t raise your hand if you are outside this range. Here is what I believe. God has called us to reach out to this young target group of families. To effectively reach them, and make disciples for Christ this church will need mature, knowledgeable and experienced Christians. There is no getting around this fact. We will need positive examples of strong marriages, strong mentors, and healthy Christians because we will inviting people into our community who probably won’t have that many good examples in their lives. Our target group is a group of folks that do not know Jesus. One of the best ways we can reach them is to show them Jesus through maturity and health. You may not like the music in the service to be able to connect and teach new Christians. Please do not underestimate your importance in this journey.

Okay, now we have talked about the who, it is time to talk about the Sunday morning services. Please take note that if we don’t do a good job of establishing life groups, and effectively reaching our target group – the service time (one of our places to gather) will not be effective.

Stated differently, Pantano needs to be a church of Life groups and not a church with Life groups. Some of you have heard me say this before and I guarantee you will hear me say it again. Almost everything we do at PCC in SV will be Life group focused and driven. Starting with the teams we need to launch this service.

The large gathering will exist to serve our life groups. This service will be a gathering point for our community to worship, connect with the larger church community and to have fellowship with the body of Christ in Sierra Vista.

Several of us went to the Church Planting Bootcamp in November. We have prayed through and discussed what our Opening Day will look like. Here is where we landed:

· Target 400 adults and children in August 2008

· 2 services of 1 hour each on Sunday morning

· Dynamic worship - Music that will attract the un-churched in our target group

· High definition video teaching from PCC Tucson

· Safe and inviting Children’s ministry for Birth thru 5^th grade

· Engaging Student Ministry for MS and HS

· Coffee and food will be available to attendees

· Opportunities to connect will be presented at each service (tables, service needs, ministry opportunities)

Remember earlier we talked about the 11 Life groups we want to set up for the Launch team? Well, based on the opening day expectations here is a list of the teams and the number of folks needed on each team.

If you do the math, our launch team will be around 100-120 folks. Where are we going to gather the rest of the adults and children in the community? You say “That’s a lot of folks!” And you would be right. We have a plan!!! Don’t worry.

Over the next 8 months we will conduct 10-15 gathering events to reach out to our target group. The small groups can do block parties; we will be present at the carnivals and city of Sierra Vista events. We will have movie nights in our neighborhood using our sound system and video projection equipment. We will have a Serve Sierra Vista day in April, a marriage seminar in May, community BBQ in July. We will be present, serving our community needs over the next eight months. Tutoring, marriage seminars, parenting seminars can be offered. This is the fun part!!! We get to go and be present in the community. Over the next 8 months we will connect with our community to purposefully point folks to our Life groups toward a direction of church launch.

Please – do not underestimate what a personal invitation can do. Talk to your neighbors and friends. Invite them to your life group. Invite them to serve along side with you as we have opportunities in our city. Invite them to a marriage or parenting seminar.

There are four things, or priorities that we will need to do with excellence to fulfill God’s call for our church in Sierra Vista.

· Life Groups

· Children’s Ministry

· Student Ministry

· Worship service

These are the things that we will align our finances, people, effort and energy around. These priorities will be how we make decisions as a church. These priorities are how we will establish our culture in this community. We estimate that it will cost around $200K to launch this church in Sierra Vista. We have currently around $75K designated for the PCC Sierra Vista church launch. Our Pantano campus in Tucson has committed to designating the Christmas offering this year to the launch of the campus in Sierra Vista.

Well let’s talk about the next couple of weeks. Next week we are going to have a Christmas gathering at Laurie and Hank Schaeffer’s house. We will drink cocoa, sing Christmas carols and hopefully be able to have a bonfire. On December 30 we will have a prayer meeting right here at Pueblo Del Sol.

Starting on January 6th we will move these gatherings to Sunday Mornings. These will be our Launch team meetings. We will have weekly gatherings to plan, be trained, pray and one Sunday every month or so we will visit other church plants and launches in our area to view them. We will use this time to plan our outreach events, marketing strategies and teams. We will use this time to build relationships with each other and to communicate to each other.

So What?

If you have been around Pantano for any length of time, you know we like to end our gatherings with a “so what”? It is a “Now what am I supposed to do with what I just heard?”

Folks, I am asking you to buy into this plan and this vision for PCC here in Sierra Vista. I am asking you to invest your time, resources and energy into this calling for Sierra Vista.

We have talked about Life Groups and the Launch Team members that we need. I want you to prayerfully consider where you want to connect. What place do you want to be here in our church? Where do you see yourself serving and growing in our church? I know I have thrown a lot of language and information at you. If you heard something that you didn’t understand, or just want to sit down and talk some more please call me and let’s sit down to talk about it. I would love to do it. My business cards are in the back on the table. If you need to go home and process all this stuff, that is fine too.

I have placed eleven sign up sheets on the tables in the back of the room for the Launch Team Life Groups. If you know right now where you want to serve, please feel free to sign up tonight. Please put your name, email and phone number. Starting in January we will be putting these teams together and laying out the plans for the launch.

Guys – make no mistake about this. I want to be as clear as I can. There is no doubt in my mind that God has called us to do this in Sierra Vista. There is no doubt in my mind that the people sitting in this room will impact the kingdom of God here in Sierra Vista. There is no doubt in my mind that God has and will prepare the way for us to do His work here in Sierra Vista. There is no doubt in my mind that God has shown us where He is working and invited us to join Him.

Are You Ready?