All Hands. All In | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando Podcast.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.

If you are joining us online or in our family lounge, we want to welcome you and thank you so much for worshiping with us, church.

We put our hands together for all of our online and digital community.

Thank you guys so much for worshiping uh with us today.

In addition to that, man, like I knew when I walked in here the atmosphere was thick with the presence of God, but also it's because my brothers from Fresh Start is in the building.

It is always a joy to see when you guys are with us.

I'm so glad um that you are here with us uh today.

And and today is really uh a special day for us here at Celebration Church.

If this is your first time here, uh let me give you a quick breakdown of who we are, but also the day that you find yourself visiting us uh today.

Uh today is is our all hands, all in Sunday offering day.

And so once a year we we we preach on stewardship of our resources in partnership with the local church, um, and we basically build this momentum, leading us to a place where we're gonna worship God in the area of our giving in partnership with the vision that God has given us as a church family.

Um and so we want to thank you so much for coming to join us today, and you're gonna get a little bit of clarity on who we are as a church.

But towards the end of today's time today, we're gonna create some space for us to kind of meditate and reflect on what God has placed on our hearts, um, to give in partnership with our vision, which particularly is centered around us getting a permanent location, and then we're gonna give together as a community at the end of service.

And for us, this is a sacred moment.

This is a moment where we get a chance to participate um in a finite way with an infinite God, and it's a powerful moment, it's a moment of worship, and so we're gonna do that um in just a little bit.

But as we are preparing to do that, I want to give us just a little bit of context.

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been talking um about financial stewardship, and we talked about um what is the tithe, and we we talked about offerings, and and and last week we made a little bit of a shift from our regularly scheduled program, and and and we spoke about spiritual warfare because it was an important topic that I believe that God had placed on our hearts to share.

So if you missed any of that, um go back and check it out.

Go check out our after the message resources that kind of bring it all together.

Um, but today we are we are centered around this idea of what it looks like for us to partner um with our resources, with what God is calling us ultimately to do individually as well as collectively.

If you have your Bibles, uh, I want to invite you to join me in 1 Chronicles chapter 29.

1 Chronicles 29 · chapter mention

1 Chronicles.

This is in the Old Testament, not to be confused with 1 Corinthians.

This is the Old Testament, 1 Chronicles uh chapter 9.

I mean chapter 29, excuse me.

Um and this is gonna be our teaching theme and text for us today.

We actually kicked off the series um reading a passage from here, and we're gonna circle back on that and the end uh as a book end, but just to give you some context that we're talking right now and entering into the story of King David.

Many of us are familiar with King David, he's a man of renown in scripture, he's uh a man who's been defined as being a man after God's own heart.

He's he's a man that is known for defeating Goliath.

King David is a really, really big deal and in scripture.

And and what we see by looking at the life of King David is that King David also had a big burning passion to build a house for God.

Up until this point, there had not been an established religious structure in a way that was that was stable for the people to come and worship God.

So so David had it on his heart.

I want to build a house for God, and we'll unpack that in just a moment.

And so the moment has finally come for David to pull out of his own resources as well as from the community so that they can begin to enact this building project that they believe that God was calling them to do.

So entering into the text with that understanding, starting at 1 Chronicles chapter 29, looking at verse number one, this is what the word of the Lord says to us.

1 Chronicles 29 · chapter mention

It says, Then King David turned to the entire assembly, and he said, My son Solomon, whom God has clearly chosen as the next king of Israel, is still young and inexperienced.

The work of head of him is enormous, for the temple he will build is not for mere mortals, it is for the Lord God Himself.

Using every resource at my command, I have gathered as much as I could for the building of the temple of my God.

Now, there is enough gold, silver, bronze, iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of onyx and other precious stones, costly jewels, and all kinds of fine stone and marble.

And now, because of my devotion to the temple of my God, I am giving of my own private treasures and gold and silver to help in the construction.

This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy temple.

I am donating more than 112 tons of gold from Orphar, 262 tons of refined silver to be used and overlaying the walls for the buildings, um the other gold and silver work to be done by craftsmen.

Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?

Verse number six.

Then the family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and the captains of the army, the king's administrative offices, all gave willingly.

For the construction of the temple of God, they gave about 188 tons of gold, ten thousand gold coins, three hundred and seventy-five tons of silver, six hundred and seventy-five tons of bronze, three thousand seven hundred and fifty tons of iron.

They also contributed numerous precious stones, which were deposited in the treasury of the house of the Lord under the care of Jehilo, a descendant of Gershon.

The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they were given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord, and the king David was filled with joy.

The apostle Paul says some very significant words that have shaken my heart ever since I read them many years ago.

And it's a simple phrase where he says these thoughts we are co-laborers with Christ.

The idea that God calls us to be his co-workers, that he invites us to work alongside him.

It's mind-blowing to consider the enormity of God and his infinite resources, but but yet he chooses to invite us to work alongside him.

And you may be asking, in what ways can we honestly be co-workers of God?

It's with our willingness to participate.

And that is by sharing the gospel, and that is also by giving generously into kingdom initiatives so that the gospel of Jesus Christ can continue to be preached.

And so today is a day where we get a chance to show up as God's co-workers.

And so if you're taking notes, and I hope that you are, because I truly believe that the Word of God has the ability to change our lives.

And so I don't want you to just be listeners to what we are talking about today.

I want you to take notes, go back, reflect, and meditate so it can become not just a truth, but it can become your truth.

So if you're taking notes, I want you to write down this message title, All Hands, all the end.

Let's pray and let's see what it is that the Lord wants to speak to us today.

Lord, we are humbled at the idea that you would that you would invite finite, flawed human beings to somehow partner with the infinite perfection of God.

And Jesus paves the way with his blood, allowing us to have access into the throne room of grace.

So Lord, we don't take it lightly that we can come boldly before your throne, that we have an opportunity to stand in your presence, but also to be ambassadors of your truth.

So Lord, I just pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you.

I pray that you give us open ears to hear you above all else.

And God, I pray for open hearts so that your word can be planted deep inside of our hearts and then covered by your spirit so that it can take root and so it can bring about transformation.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

You know, I I've been thinking a lot lately just about the varying ways that that we as a community get a chance to show up and help one another.

It's been a very long time, if I could be quite honest with you.

It's been a very long time since someone has has reached out to me specifically and asked me to help them move.

I suspect as I've gotten older, I've become more of a liability than an asset.

But but I did have somebody that I was talking to and I was saying to them, like, hey, if you ever need anything, let me know.

Let me know if you if you need anything.

And so this individual let me know that they were in the process of a move.

And so it's one of those things where it's like, hey, if you if you need help, let me know.

And so the person reached out to me, he's like, hey, you know, you always say if I need anything, let you know.

Well, I'm reaching out to let you know.

And I'm like, I but I thought you knew that when I said that, I didn't really mean that.

Um, I'm just being a pastor.

I'm kidding.

So, so so kind of.

So, so so immediately I did what I knew to do, and I turned to the men of the church in my community.

I'm like, hey, there's one amongst us who needs our help.

I volunteered the whole team.

I'm like, hey, so so here's what we're gonna be doing.

There's somebody amongst us.

I need about five or six of us that if you're available to come and help us with this move.

And so, just like the men of our church do, they quick to respond.

I'm in, I'm in.

When is it?

I'm in.

Like they quick to respond.

I I love, I love the guys in our church.

And so immediately the guys swarmed in to say that they're gonna help this precious um single lady.

And so that it was amazing because when I got all the information and I was kind of like the middleman, I was like, okay, so here's where we're gonna meet at, this is when we're gonna meet there.

I'm like, but man, I'm so sorry, I have an appointment, so I'm gonna get there a little bit later um than you guys, but you guys go ahead and get started without me.

I'm I'm gonna pull up, but you guys will go ahead and get started um without me.

And that wasn't planned, but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

So, so so when I did get there, I was anticipating because I remember when I was in my younger years, like moving is is is is arduous.

It's it's it's just a lot.

And so I was like preparing myself, like, okay, like this is gonna be one of those days, like I'm I'm gonna be in it, we're gonna be bumping into things.

But when I got there, everything was so organized.

The the lady had packed up her house in such an organized way that when I had got there, like most of the work was already done.

The guys had already un, they already packed up her apartment, had the truck almost fully loaded.

So here I am thinking and preparing and thinking to myself, like, this is gonna dominate my entire day.

But when I got there, I really just got a chance to just be a foreman and encage with the community, encourage them and thank them for their participation.

I picked up a couple of boxes here and there.

I'm like, hey man, let me help you with this side over here.

But I but I played, I played my part.

I ended up feeding the guys later, so I feel like I played my part.

Um but but I it was amazing because something that I had made up in my mind that that was gonna take all day and a lot of energy and a lot of sweat and a lot of blood and a lot of emotions, but because multiple people showed up, because multiple people put their hands in, something that would have taken a couple of people an entire weekend to do took a bunch of people the ability to do it in only one hour.

It's amazing what can happen when all hands are all in.

Something that seems so big and beyond our reach is is can be overwhelming, but when everybody shows up and when everybody contributes and everybody does something, it has the ability to move us significantly further and faster.

This is my friends, is how I believe it works in the church.

I believe that sometimes we we show up and and we hear about the varying needs and the varying activities and the varying things that we're inviting you to participate in.

And sometimes we can say to ourselves, like, well, other people got it, they they don't need my help, or or I don't know if I have anything that I can contribute of of value.

But what I want you to recognize is that if we all are truly all hands all in, there is nothing that the enemy can do to stop us.

That there is not a single place that we would not be able to go.

The truth of the matter is our church is not built off of the gifts of the many, but it's off of the gifts of the few, but it's actually built off of the contributions of the many.

But but here's our sobering reality.

As it stands right now, about 17% of the people that call Celebration Church home are the ones who actively participate specifically financially in our church.

And in that, we have been able to do some incredible things.

But I often find myself, imagine if we were all hands all in.

Imagine if our our our vision of reaching the loss, equipment of found, and helping the hurting, if we were all hands all in, how quickly we would be able to advance the kingdom of God.

Because I truly believe this big, audacious vision that God has given us is going to require all of us to play our collective parts.

When I look at David, the Bible describes David as being a man after God's own heart.

1 Samuel chapter 13, 14 tells us this.

1 Samuel 13 · chapter mention

The book of Acts, chapter 13, 22.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

It speaks about how David had this insatiable passion for the word and the presence of God.

And David was far from a perfect man.

But one of the things that set David apart is that David had these God moments, these encounters where he knew that the presence of God was important.

He knew that the presence of God was substantial.

In fact, the Bible tells this story of when the children of Israel were engaged in battle.

This is before they had a king, and they were fighting against their one number one arch nemesis, the Philistines.

And what the Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 4 is that because the children of Israel were being disobedient, that the Ark of the Covenant, which was the literal presence of God, had gotten captured by the enemy.

That the enemy had stolen the very presence of God from God's people while they were in the middle of warfare.

Let me say that again because maybe this will resonate with some of us.

Have you ever felt that you were in the middle of some substantial opposition and you felt like the presence of God wasn't there?

Have you ever felt that you were engaged in battle and you were wondering why I feel so devoid of any strength?

This was a tangible example of what had happened to the people of God.

The presence of God had left them, and so they felt defeated and felt deflated.

So for David, once he was aware of this, for decades he had this burning desire to have an encounter with the living God.

Many of the Psalms were inspired in those moments of him reflecting on what the presence of God would do.

So for David, when he became king, when he became king, the first thing he said is that we need to go back and bring the presence of God to be back amongst God's people.

Because David had known how powerful the presence of God was.

David had had his own encounters with the presence of God.

David even gives an account of when he was out in the wilderness tending to his father's sheep, that he gives an account of when a bear had come to attack the sheep and that he literally fought off a bear.

Help the bear.

Like David was literally fighting a bear and he defeated a bear.

The Bible also describes a moment where David had fought a lion and the lion had faced defeat.

David had known these powerful moments that in his own strength he wouldn't have survived, but he knew it was the power and presence of God.

So he was thinking to himself, I have had these moments with God that were transformational and supernatural for me as an individual.

What I want to do is bring the presence of God so that the people collectively can have the experience that I had.

This is why he says, Taste and see that the Lord is good.

I need you to experience what I have experienced.

I need you to encounter what I have encountered.

I need you to recognize the strength that comes from God's power and presence the same way that I have.

So I want to invite you into this space to do it.

So when David was able to go and retrieve the Ark of the Covenant, the literal presence of God, that brother danced so much until his clothes came off.

Nobody getting no ideas.

I'm looking at you, fresh start.

Like, so but this brother through a party, he was dancing so much that his clothes came off.

And his wife was looking at him and she was like, You're supposed to be a king.

You're supposed to be dignified.

Why are you why are you worshiping so much?

Why are you so excited?

Don't you know that you're supposed to have a certain poise and a certain demeanor?

This is so beneath the behavior of someone who is as intellectual as you are, who is as regal as you are, that worshiping in this way is so beneath you.

But David said, You don't know my story.

You you don't know what I've been through, you don't know what I've seen.

I I've had the previous king try to kill me.

I've endured so many battles, I've been on the run for my life.

The enemy did not want me here.

So, what do I look like being silent when the very thing that sustained me is now around me?

I'm gonna worship God, and I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but I'm gonna give God all the glory.

I'm gonna give God all the praise.

This is why I love when our brothers from Fresh Start are in the building, because there's this zeal that is in the room when we're lifting up our hands in worship.

And sometimes we're wondering if we should lift our hands and worship, but I can look into the faces of these men and they're saying, You don't know what I've been through, and you don't know what the enemy tried to do to me, but I am here today because the presence of God has preserved my life.

So I'm gonna give God glory, I'm gonna give God praise.

And I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but I know what God has done for me, and I will not be silent about it.

David modeled this very idea of recognizing that the presence of God meant everything.

The presence of God was substantial.

David goes on to write about the presence of God.

I want to share a couple of passages with you.

Psalm 26, 8, it says this, Lord, I love the house where you dwell, the place where your glory resides.

Psalm 27, 4, he says, I have asked this one thing from the Lord, it is what I desire to dwell in the house of the Lord our God, for all of my days, glazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple.

Psalm 122, verse number one.

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.

For David, he didn't believe that the house of God in the presence of God was just a symbol.

He didn't believe that it was an inconvenience, he didn't view it as a burden, but for him, it was the literal source of life.

It was a source of hope, it was power for his people.

David recognized that the house of God was the place where heaven touched earth, and we could experience his transformational power in very tangible ways.

So this is why David felt this burden.

Say, I want to raise these resources so that we can create an environment that we can center our lives around, that people can gather around, and that we can all have this experience that we'll be transformed by the power and presence of God.

We see the same momentum even in the church in the New Testament, where the believers would gather together in a way that we would now call the local church, where the gospel was preached and lives were transformed and hearts were healed and people were equipped for ministry.

These gatherings weren't just about community, these gatherings weren't social clubs.

I I love when churches are outfitted with all these things, but but this was a hub for ministry where people can come and feel like they belong and be and be activated and be connected and then be mobilized so they can go out and do what God has calling them to do.

The the local church needs to have that same momentum.

It's not just a place for us to come to worship together and scatter off into our own individual corners, but but we need to view this as the front line of God's kingdom ministry and mission here on earth, where people can come and look at it as a beacon of hope and find healing and where the loss can be embraced and believers can be equipped for what God is ultimately calling them to do.

We know that God's presence can't be contained into a building, but we also recognize that the location could be in the space that we invite people to come in to have an encounter with a living God so they can take God's presence with them.

So before we go into our time of worship, I want to share five reflective thoughts for you to write down and for you to ponder on this week as we consider what it means for us to partner with God's vision for us here at Celebration Orlando.

Here's the first thing that I want you to write down.

A permanent facility will allow us to have a stable base of operations.

A stable base of operations.

Right now, we are presented with logistical challenges virtually every week.

And I say that with this asterisk connected to it.

God has been so faithful to us over the past 10 years.

We have been able to gather in different spaces in partnership with different locations that have opened their doors to us so that we could facilitate a kingdom movement.

So we are truly thankful.

For the high schools, the middle schools, the wedding venues, everywhere that we've been able to gather the people of God for ministry.

We wouldn't be here without that, literally here in OMA without that.

But but here's some logistical challenges and realities.

When we show up, because we are not the only ones that occupy these spaces, we don't know what we're walking into from one week to the next.

One week we may have come in on the back end of a massive party that took place in here, and there literally may be alcohol throughout the seats, then the bathrooms may be a mess.

We may show up on any given Sunday when we're talking about generosity and being humble stewards, and there may be a lineup of BMWs outside, and y'all wonder if that's the church's property.

Like we have no idea what we're going to walk into on any given day, and we're thankful for the space, but it limits our ability to know what we're walking into.

But having a stable base of operations is so much more than that.

I want us to think about even with a military mindset, because I want us to understand that we are not a cruise ship, we are a battleship that God is equipping for us to do some incredible work.

So with a military mindset, think about what happens whenever a military is preparing to take ground.

What they have to do is establish a stable place so that their soldiers can have a space where they can be built up and activated so they can go out and advance whatever initiative they are felt that they were called to do.

A space where they can establish strategy, where they can rest, where they can recover, where they can heal, and then they're activated to go back out.

That is what a stable environment is going to do for us, but it means so much more for me personally.

Because I recognize that in the city, that a local church has the ability of transforming everything.

And my heart and my vision for us specifically is for us to be a beacon of hope, that we can partner with government officials as well as those who are dealing with significant needs, and we can be known as a place where people can come and get exactly what they need.

I'm talking about us establishing a food pantry where people can come and get the resources that they need, no, so that no matter what the economy says, that no matter what, no matter what the government says, no matter who is in office, that we're going to be able to say, but for us in our house, we're going to make sure that our community has everything that it needs because we have a stable base of operations.

I also believe that God has placed on our hearts as we continue to partner with our local missions such as iDignity and many of their clients who now have their identity, but now they need resources so they can begin to go out and get activated for jobs, that we will make our space available, that not only will we have a thrift store, that they'll be able to come in and get closed for free, that we have all donated and that we've collected, but it also could possibly become work opportunities for people in our community as we're giving back to the community.

I'm talking about establishing a coffee shop, not just because I love coffee, but but I love coffee.

But but I want us to have a coffee shop so that people who may be in the surrounding areas and they don't have anywhere to go, that they can come into a space where they have Wi-Fi, but a very peaceful atmosphere.

And meanwhile, the the presence of God has been permeating there and worship is playing in the background, and people who don't even know God are wondering why all of a sudden they are beginning to experience peace that surpasses all understanding.

It's because we've opened our doors up and made it available to people, not because we're declaring the gospel in a way that's confronting people beyond their challenges, but allowing the presence of God to be lived in our lives in such a way that they organically walk into a place where they say, What do I need to do to have the peace that you have?

But we created a space for that to take place.

This is what the book of Acts was talking about when it said that the believers were gathered all together.

They had all things in common and there wasn't a need amongst them.

The vision that God has given me for us as a church is that we don't just gather on Sunday, but we're a community location that makes ourselves available so that people can get filled up on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and Thursday counseling spaces.

What I'm calling us to do is to be people that recognize that God's presence can't be contained to a single day of the week, but we need to have a space where people can come in.

I needed to pause there because I hadn't breathed in two minutes.

We need to have a stable base of operations so that the people in our community know where to find us and when to find us when the time arises.

Here's the second thing I want you to write down stewardship of people and resources.

Whether you know it or not, and I suspect many of us know it at this point, but but our precious volunteers and our staff members, they get here specifically on Sundays incredibly early to set up an atmosphere.

As I mentioned, we don't know what we're going to encounter on any given Sunday, but we get here early.

We we turn meeting spaces into worship spaces for kids.

We we create an atmosphere.

Many times Vinny and the team have to come and plug all this equipment up that has been back in the back burner and bringing all it back out here every single Sunday.

And then the worship team, they they get up here and they lead us so well, but they have to get here super early.

But because we don't have a permanent facility, we don't have an opportunity to rehearse before the week.

So they get here early so they can rehearse, just so they can operate in excellence so that when we come in, that we can have an experience with God without us being distracted by things not being in order.

The things that people do in order just to set the atmosphere, it's almost endless.

But statistics show us that 42% of people who are actively engaged in ministry are teetering on the edge of burnout because they are often in mobile locations.

Because they have to get up early, they have to stay late, they have to break down, they have to tear, they have to do all of these things that makes it very challenging for them to facilitate ministry.

But but there's an additional component to that.

As I mentioned, we we we set up, we break down.

So that creates a lot of wear and tear.

So stewardship of resources simply means that we will be able to prolong the life of our investments in our equipment if we can set them up and they can actually stay where we place them.

Without us having to worry about is it gonna be a leak?

Is it gonna be, is something gonna happen to it?

Is it gonna be where we need it to be at?

Do we have to plug it in, unplug it over and over again?

That becomes wear and tear.

So one of the bigger burdens, and this is just super practical for us, is that we don't want to wear our people out and we don't want to wear our equipment out.

That a stable location will allow us to operate in excellence and steward what God has provided for us in a manner that I believe is glorifying to Him.

Here's the third and final thing, or not final, but third thing.

Um, make room for community and growth.

We we believe that our our stable location will make room for community as well as growth.

The mission of our church is to reach the lost, equip the found, and to help the hurting.

And a permanent facility isn't just about having space, but it's about making room for the people that God is sending to us.

Right now, it's very difficult for us to really pinpoint what our numbers are, our database, and just because of the way that people engage church remotely, it becomes very challenging.

But what I will tell you that if everyone who calls Celebration Orlando home, whether they come every week or every six weeks or only on Christmas and Easter, if they all were to show up at the same time, in our current format, we wouldn't have enough room for them as it stands.

That's not inclusive of the other people that I believe that God is sending us to care for.

So what we have to do is recognize God's hand on our community and make room for what God is bringing into our lives.

In the same way that when we see that a family is expecting a child, they make room, they make preparations for it.

We can sense and see that God is about to release more to us, but we have to make room for what God is ultimately calling us to do.

I I saw this stat that I thought was very interesting because even in spite of many people saying that people's engagement in church every week has dipped significantly, specifically since um the pandemic, but we also are recognizing that 40% of practicing Christians who don't attend church say they are looking for a church to attend if they can find an environment that is more about heart than it is about hype.

They're just looking for a place that's authentic.

They're looking for a place that they can be flawed but still love a perfect God, but yet be challenged to be people who can be ambassadors of the kingdom of God.

They're past all of the extra fluff.

They're just looking for a place that people can engage the presence of God.

And I believe that God has given us a kingdom assignment to be one of those facilities to do it.

There's many in our city, but I can only steward what God has called us to do, and I believe that that's ultimately what God has called us to do.

We need to make room because there are more people that God is calling us to help.

We we need to make room because there are more people that are away from God that God is gonna lead into here.

We we need to make room because we recognize that that many of our brothers from Fresh Start are gonna graduate and they're gonna start coming to Celebration Church, right, Fresh Start?

We need to make room because we recognize there are gonna be more people out there that are looking for a church where they can have an authentic encounter with God without feeling like they're gonna be judged.

And I believe that God has given us that assignment.

We need to make room because as God continues to allow us to have influence in this community, that we need to make space for everyone that God is gonna send to us.

We have a kingdom mandate to make room.

Even the Bible tells us that when Jesus was engaging with his disciples, he said, I need you to cast those nets again.

I need you to broaden those nets.

I need you to reinforce those nets in preparation for the harvest that's about to come.

That is the season that we find ourselves in, and the time is urgent.

We have to make room because God is calling us to steward it.

Here's the fourth thing.

I'm gonna move quickly through this.

We are to call to have multi-generational impact.

We we are a church that's 10 years old, and historically we hadn't thought through the lens of multiple generations.

It was more so like, okay, like we're a church that's that's gonna that's gonna gather and and and whoever's here is who we're going to serve, but but now we're beginning to recognize as we're maturing in age that we're beginning to see multi-generational dynamics in our community.

That that means mothers and fathers and children and even their children are becoming members and family part of our church, and we need to make sure that we have space, but also specific ministry that allows us to serve all of them.

We are a multicultural, multi-generational church.

And that is something that we celebrate because we truly believe that our church is a church that looks like heaven.

But but here's a startling reality.

What we recognize that the data says is that 59% of kids, once they reach that teenage going into adulthood stage, they walk away from the church.

Because they stop feeling as if the church can relate to their reality and they end up going off into the world and struggling in the world and making decisions in the world, and then they come back later with all of this pain and suffering and baggage that they are welcome here.

But but what if we can shorten that because we've created an opportunity where we create enough space where everybody can have ministry that is catered to them?

We would be remiss if we don't acknowledge that reality.

And so we believe that having our permanent facility will allow us to create spaces where we can have a vibrant kids' ministry, where we can actually outfit it so that we can engage kids where they are, where we're able to meet the needs of families no matter where they find themselves, whether it's it's it's on the spectrum or people who have sensory overlook, we're gonna be able to serve and care for them.

Having a youth facility where people can come and they can wrestle with their faith in a healthy way, and we can help them to take the steps they need, where we can have college and young adults ministry where people can come and have the gospel presented in a way that is tangible and practical for them.

What I'm explaining to us is a vision for us to have a church that doesn't just gather on Sunday with all in one room, but specialized ministry opportunities that can engage every member that God has sent us on their terms, in their way, so that they can have an encounter with the truth in a way that is transformational for them.

Having a permanent facility will allow us to create a vibrant kids' ministry, dedicated youth space, opportunities for us to create opportunities, great spaces for groups and for class and for counseling and other things.

But there's another thing that I want to share with us.

We also want to make sure that we have ministry expressions and opportunities for our increasing Spanish community and our increasing Portuguese-speaking community.

Because God is sending them to us, and we want to be able to meet them where they are and have ministry offerings uniquely for them.

What I'm saying to us is that we have a responsibility to meet and empower and engage and speak, and we never want language and other things to be a barrier to what God is doing through our church.

We want to host conferences for youth and women's nights and men's nights, but right now that's a very significant challenge because we have to partner with locations and sometimes we can't get in.

We have to pick off nights.

We're very limited by that.

But a permanent location changes all of it.

Here's the fifth and final thing before we go into a moment of worship.

Freedom.

Freedom.

This may be the most important thing.

Freedom.

Let me give you a glimpse into the mindset of us here that are on staff and even for some of the people that serve.

Last week specifically, we had an incredible service where we're able to respond in a moment, come to the altar and worship.

But in the back of our minds, the clock is ticking.

I want everybody in this room to collectively turn around and look around.

Let's look at the top right there.

You see that clock that's ticking?

Four minutes and 35, 34.

That's a reminder for them to say, Keith, wrap it up.

That's the first thing.

But the second thing is we have to prepare for another service, but also for the second service, we have to get out of here at a certain time to honor our agreement with the museum.

So last Sunday, we have this powerful moment in the presence of God.

And God is moving, and God is not limited by time, but we are.

And sometimes we just need the space to encounter God.

My life was transformed at an altar call.

And you know what I didn't have to worry about when I went to the altar is if worship's gonna keep singing or not, because they have to wrap it up.

Or do we have enough time?

I remember going to the altar and someone sitting with me as I was crying and processing, and they were leading me through a prayer moment that then allowed me to be filled with the Spirit of God and it changed everything.

I'm not trying to build a church off of my experience, but what I will tell you is this nothing is more important than the presence of God.

And when you can have an encounter with God, you may not have the theology, you may not have all the prayer, you may not know every scripture you can quote, but one thing the enemy can't take from you is that moment that you had in the presence of God.

That moment that you had that encounter with God.

Like, I don't understand it, but I know that God spoke to me.

I don't understand it, but I know there's something transformed on the inside of me.

I don't have all the doctrinal background for it, but I know that God did something in me and the enemy can't take it from me.

What we truly believe is that we're called to be a church that functions with excellence, but we also want to honor what God is doing in the room.

And to be quite honest with you, we have very significant challenges with doing that.

If there's one of the more pressing things, all the other things are significant for me, but I want to steward the presence of God in a way that when we see that God is moving amongst us, we're like, no, we're gonna keep on going.

It's gonna be all right.

Don't get don't anybody get nervous.

We're not gonna turn into a three-hour church.

That's not what I'm saying.

That's not what I'm saying.

That may happen very rarely.

Every other week, maybe.

We'll just see.

I don't want to put a lid on God.

That's not my job.

But what I'm saying is we want to have the freedom that we can engage the presence of God.

We're gonna make sure that we function with excellence, but I also believe that God is moving amongst us, and we want to give him space to do it.

So there's a couple of things that you guys can do in this moment.

We shared this last year, and I want to reiterate it this year.

Is that if the Lord doesn't build this house, then those who are laboring are laboring in vain.

It's literally our theme for this.

It's why it's on our shirts, it's Psalm 127, verse number one.

So I believe that we have an opportunity to engage this moment, and here's what I want to invite us to do.

First, I want us to pray.

I want us to be people of prayer, praying for our community, praying for resources, praying for favor.

Here's a second thing I want us to do.

I want us to participate.

And I'm gonna unpack that in a little bit more detail in just a moment, but but this is where we have an opportunity to look at what God has placed on our hands, but also what God has placed in our hearts and bring those into alignment.

And then the third thing is we can partner.

And this is very unique and specific, but we have two teams that we invite everyone to be a part of if God has gifted them and led them to do it.

It's our legacy team and our and our vision team.

Our legacy team are people that have self-identified, they have the gift of generosity.

It doesn't matter if you are wealthy or not, but you just feel like God has called you to be generous and you want to be a part of a team that can help to partner with kingdom endeavors that can help our church.

Some people can give thousands, some people give tens.

It does and not about that, but you can join our legacy team, and then you can join our vision team, which is our team of people that that have background and in construction and architect or banking, people that are our vision team that help us make decisions as we're looking at securing our permanent location.

You can get that information in the pamphlets for our all hands building as you leave here today.

But but what I'm talking about today is about so much more than just bricks and mortar.

It's about stewarding what God has given us in the mission with such significant excellence.

I truly believe that what we're building is a place where our children and grandchildren can encounter the presence of God here if the Lord calls us to stay in this wonderful city.

So, what we want to do in this moment is enter into this sacred space where I want to invite us all to pause and reflect and lean into what God is doing in our church.

This is so much more than a financial transaction, it is an act of worship, a step of faith and participation in something eternal.

We are a church of faith, generosity, and commitment.

In just a moment, the ushers are going to come down the aisles with commitment cards and offering envelopes.

If you're giving by cash or check today, you can put that inside of the envelope.

For those who are joining us online or those who prefer to give digitally, that information and the ability to do that is gonna come up on the screen, and all you need to do is scan the QR code.

I want to give you some very specific instructions, so I want you just to kind of lean in with me for just another minute, and then we're gonna take some time to reflect on this.

Here's what I want us to do this commitment card that you're giving towards our all hands campaign over the next year.

You can fill it out digitally or you can fill it out in person, and again, our team is gonna make that available to us.

You may be wondering why we are collecting commitment cards, because it really is a commitment between you and God that is facilitated through our church.

But there's a couple of practical reasons why we're doing this.

That the practical reason why we're doing this is one, because you're gonna see in the coming months, especially next year, that we're updating our systems and it's gonna be incredible.

But but one of the system updates that we're going to do is for you to be able to track your giving in real time, inclusive your giving towards our permanent location.

So you'll be able to see what you've committed, you'll be able to see what you've given, and you'll be able to constantly recognize and monitor not only your progress, but the progress for all of us as a church.

And so we have our giving kiosk out there where we give you updates on where we are in our building campaign, but we want to make it more practical for you so that you can see exactly where you are in fulfilling that commitment.

But beyond understanding how it works in our database, that's going to be amazing.

But we want you to recognize these commitments also serve as a financial credibility for our church.

Here's the brass tax of it.

Last year, when we had this exact same offering, we had$1.8 million committed to be given over the year.

And now, one year later, we've collected about$570,000 of that$1.8.

Now, for me, I'm I'm encouraged by that.

It doesn't discourage me.

It's amazing the way to see the way that our church has responded.

But but what I want you to understand is that when we look at these commitments, we truly believe, like, hey, these are people that are saying, I'm committing to give this amount over the next 12 months.

So at the end of 12 months, that number is what I'm committing.

That then allows us to know the timing, the pacing, and it also allows us to know when to engage varying stages of us securing our permanent location.

When we're beginning to talk with financial institutions in their own unique way, they look at these things because they understand that we're a nonprofit.

So they consider those things and they look at the completion rate, and that's all a part of the way that they view if we're a viable candidate for making grants and other resources available to us.

So I want us to, as we enter into this moment, to genuinely think about what I'm committing to is me partnering with the church.

And if this isn't your church home, then this it's okay.

You can give as God leads you to give, and that's perfectly fine.

But if this is your church home and God has stirred your heart, we've been talking about this for the past couple of weeks, and you know what that moment or that amount is going to be.

We just simply want you to complete it, knowing that this is my commitment for the year.

Now some came in saying, hey, here's my year of commitment, all in one, and all in one transaction.

That's beautiful.

But for others, it may be like God's led me to give a thousand dollars, but I'm giving 25 today.

And then you'll begin to work on that commitment, but it helps us to plan.

So as the team prepares to lead us in worship, I want us to take this time to reflect and listen to what God is calling us to do.

The usher is gonna come down and they're gonna pass buckets, and inside the buckets are going to be the resources I told you, the commitment card and the giving envelope.

Take one out if you feel like God is leading you to engage in this moment and complete it, and then pass it down.

And then the usher is gonna come again and pass the buckets one more time to when you can actually put your offering in it.

So, again, you're just collecting it right now and reflecting, writing it out, and then we're gonna come back again and instruct you when to actually put your commitment in there, and it's gonna be a very powerful sacred moment.

Just as a reminder.

If this is your church home and you have not yet begun to tithe yet, we're asking you to make that your priority.

We want you to tithe first, and then everything from the commitment is above and beyond that.

But we want to make sure that you are first honoring God in that area.

So as we enter into this moment of worship and reflection, let me lead us in a quick moment of prayer.

Lord, we thank you that we have heard from you, that you have spoken to us about your heart for your house and the way that you invite us to participate in this moment.

Lord, as we are collecting our commitment cards, as we're getting the giving envelopes, as we're looking at QR codes, Lord, we are giving unto you through your church.

And so, Father, I just pray that as you stir our hearts, that we also recognize there are going to be voices of doubt, voices of fear, voices of what if, how about if I can't?

This this is not this is not a transaction.

This is an opportunity for us to engage you in faith and trust.

So Lord, I just pray that as we respond in this moment, that not only will it have transformational impact in our church, but it will do something significant inside of all of us.

So speak to us and stir our hearts in Jesus' name.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at Celebration ORL or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.