The Chocolate Fountain Church

Okay, its about time for a completely random blog. Today I would like to propose a new ministry concept that I am certain will sweep our blue planet with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I call it The Chocolate Fountain Church. It would make a great book title don't you think? The idea is pretty simple really, you get yourself a building, a ginormus chocolate fountain and some dippable delights. The statistics don't lie 122.9% of people surveyed love chocolate fountains but hate having to wait for weddings to partake of them. You wouldnt need any advertising as the word of mouth will travel quickly and in a few weeks you wont be able to hold the droves of people. I cannot think of a more prolific ministry tool. You could even program the worship elements around it, singing songs like Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing and use verses like "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). I can assure you of this, many will come to know Him through the chocolate fountain. Thats all I got today, mull on that and let me know what you think.

Frontline Arlington VIP Night

Frontline Arlinton's VIP Night was certainly the place to be on Friday evening and a lot of fun for our staff and volunteers. This was a special thank you event providing our Arlington Campus staff an opportunity to serve the leaders and volunteers who have truly made Frontline Arlington a success. This grand gala was held atop Gallery Place at Virginia Square featuring the red carpet extravaganza, incredible food, and amazing views. Everyone who entered got the VIP treatment they deserve. And, yes, as a matter of fact there was a chocolate fountain, which I secretly believe is the key to evangelizing the Globe.

To view a few pics from red carpet and earlier in the evening click http://picasaweb.google.com/therealtodd/VIPNight

Thanks again to all those who serve at FLARL.

11 IMMERSED

This past Monday night 543 young adults from Frontline Arlington packed out The Church at Clarendon. The highlight of the evening was the 11 people who were a part of our first baptism service as a community campus.

It was an amazing sight to see hundreds of young adults pouring into a church with so many coming and going on the street nearby. I have already heard several different stories of people who came in after being invited off the street and from the metro. I am eager to see what happens this week.

See a few of the baptisms at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mtxNOpi1L4

Small Things

I had aother affirmation yesterday about how God is in both the big and small things with Frontline Arlington. I was having a lunch meeting with David Wall, who is over Monday night teams, talking about preparations for IMMERSED at 7:30 on Monday night at The Church at Clarendon. As I was trying to explain the layout and where I thought we might post volunteers he stopped me and told me he had worked on the site plans for the church as an engineer with his company. How cool is that a couple years ago God worked it out so that one of our key guys would know this special venue inside and out. Information

See you Monday!

Thirty Professions of Faith

It was amazing to be a part of the first Easter Monday at Frontline Arlington. Last night toward the end of the service a significant number of people breathed eternally for the first time. Thirty of those people who prayed along with Todd to accept Christ stopped by our welcome center to give us their information and pick up a new believers kit.
In the last month close to 70 people have given their lives to Christ at McLean Bible Church's first community campus. For those that ask themselves if community campuses are effective at reaching the unreached where they live, work, and play; the answer is YES! Pray for our staff as we follow up with these new believers over the next week.

Confessions

I used to read a couple books a week, now I'm lucky to get one in a month. As a result I have become quite discriminatory about the books I spend valuable reading time on. Earlier this week someone gave me a new book and last night I cracked it open for the first time. I have a system I go through to see if I want to read a book or not. It always helps if there is a recommendation from a respected friend, but I still work a book over before a commitment. I look at who's on the back, the publisher, the synopsis and after a glance at the table of contents I sample the first chapter and the most interesting sounding chapter. Yes, I'm a book snob.

Confessions Of A Pastor has me hooked. I am committed after the first chapter no questions asked, no need to sample the most interesting looking chapter as it was the first entitled, I Can't Stand A Lot Of Christians. Craig Groeschel describes what pastors and many Christians deal with as they supposedly mature; fear of being found out for who and what you really are. As a result we often feel the pressure to Pose putting on the right masks for the the every situation and setting. I'll let you know how it challenges me as I go along this week.

Baptisms at Frontline Arlington

Special Service on April 23rd at The Church at Clarendon

This morning I was thinking about putting together an analysis of the first 90 days of our new campus. I soon realized that in essence we are having a 90 day celebration on April 23rd complete with baptism of some of those who've come to know Christ in first few weeks of our existence. Perfect timing!!! I'm still amazed how God continues to go before us removing obstacles and making our paths straight. When we first signed a contract with the Rosslyn Spectrum there was a glitch on Monday, April 23rd. What appeared as an obstacle, God has turned into a blessing. Not only did we find a facility in the heart of Arlington that has a great location, free parking, and can hold us all in one service; we also have the ability to celebrate in baptism making this a very special service. An added bonus is that Total Praise, Frontline's singing community, will be able to participate as we will have a larger stage. We couldn't have planned it better 6 months ago if we tried. Its crazy to see how God continues to drop things into place.

Family Communion

Last night was indeed a special night for Frontline Arlington as we came to the table shared in communion for the very first time as a body of believers. This act has always been and always will be a "family" affair. The actions of taking bread and taking wine, praying a blessing over them and passing them to those gathered around the meal table was something which happened in every Hebrew home and especially at Passover. In the New Testament at his "Last Supper"we see Christ giving this traditional act new significance and meaning by stating that the bread was his body broken and the wine his blood poured out. He then said these do in remembrance of me. I know we've been launched for over two months now, but for me there was something about last night's celebration of remembrance that solidified the family ties of our community in Arlington. It's my most memorable service to date and one I won't soon forget.

Office Space

Checked out some prime office space today in Arlington between Ballston and Virginia Square. The space was previously a tanning salon and as such has a nice coconut smell. Please be in prayer for this potential location as we desperately want to office closer to where we church.

P.S. Don't forget to thank God it's Monday!

Frontlines Latest Blitz Card

Frontline will be rolling out a new blitz card this coming week. The new card capitalizes on the overwhelming success of the first metro blitz card in bringing new people to both campuses by promoting both campuses at once. On the back of the card is frontlines new url www.frontlinedc.com which takes you to a splash page where you can choose your campus. We will be passing out 10,000 of the new blitz cards at metro stations all around D.C. on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the first two weeks of April. If you would like to help us blitz the metro stations Click Here