Can A Project Leave a Dent in 10 weeks?

A good question that comes up in my mind often is, "Can a summer project like Long Beach leave a lasting impact in a city in just 10 weeks?"

Then I read articles about training trainers and planting churches found at Fuelmovement blog

• Training Leads to thousands of churches
• Getting to Best Movements
• 30 into 100,000

I think I have seen a model that may just answer my question.

Are you applying/thinking?

If you made it to this blog and you're in the process of applying for the Summer Project in Long Beach, drop a comment here. I would love to see who is thinking about it. I would also love to be praying that God's will is made clear. It would also be cool to share with others who is in the process.

A good question.

We just received an email question. What in the world will we be doing in LB? The answer is still evolving but this is what I wrote:

Becka,

Thanks for emailing. I'm encouraged by what God is showing you and challenging you with.

We are going to do some different things in LB. We're really trying to limit the program/events of the summer project to free students/staff up to be in the lives of those around us at work, coffee shops, rec centers, etc (where ever God leads us.) We want to be super intentional in those areas, not just hanging out but getting enough time and freedom to see the Spirit lead us and guide us to plant spiritual movements built on the Gospel.

There probably won't be a weekly meeting on project, lots of other meetings but there will be time in the word, lots of prayer and accountability (in prayer, life, God's word, evangelism and discipleship) via discipleship. Even though we'll be on the beach we probably won't do beach evangelism but we'll be targeting specific areas at LB state, local hang outs, etc. Your nights after work might include going out in two's to local areas praying, sharing, seeing what God does and then seeing him plant movements. Training will come by evaluating, talking and asking questions as we go and come back. We'll also be partnering with some simple church planters down there.

A good grid to see what each day will look like read: http://fuelmovements.blogspot.com/2005/11/leaders-tip-this-week.html

The project is still evolving, praying, shoring things up and getting the leadership team together. There will be elements that change and are added. We'll hold very loosely what we think and do to the guidance of the Spirit.

God moving in Long Beach: Interview with Neil Cole

Neil Cole, author of Organic Church and simple church planter in Long Beach, has an excellent interview in the Next Wave.

It's not required reading yet for the project but it might as well be. It will inspire your heart, encourage you and challenge you with a new way of thinking about church and ministry.

Neil says, "I think we are making a shift from the day of the ordained to the day of the ordinary. A day when common Christians are empowered to do extraordinary things for God and they are no longer going to wait for their pastors to say, “Go.”"

How to's of seeing God move in LB

A great grid of how to think and do for our coming summer project is talked about in the FuelMovements Blog Leader's tip of the week.

Spend some time evaluating what this looks like for a summer project but also immediately in your own life. Our dream is creating an atmosphere that will closely look like real life. We'll answer the question, "How can we as a project train students/staff to do ministry anywhere and anytime, not just campus ministry?"

Look forward to seeing what the Spirit has in store for us.

Summer Project Questions

This question came up regarding the Summer Project in Long Beach (Answer Below):

Hi, Steve!
My name is Dorothy Yang, and I was just wondering if your project allows students to work at
various internships positions while on project. I'm extremely excited about applying for summer
projects and am currently looking at different location options. Thanks for your time!

God bless!
Dorothy
P.S. Great blog!

___

Dorothy,

Great question. Yep, you can find internships as well as local jobs in the area. I'm setting up some employers who will hire us. The key in finding jobs is location to the project (commuting and traffic can be scary in LB) and hours of your job. Normal work hours ending around 5pm would be great so we can do things at night, hang in the community, continue to hang with co-workers, etc.

Steve