Huddles do not grow by adding new members; Huddles grow when members of your Huddle start their own. Why do it this way? Because we take seriously the principle that Jesus established: Every disciple disciples. You can’t be a disciple if you aren’t willing to invest in and disciple others. That’s simply the call of the Great Commission. Cockram, Steve; Breen, Mike (2011-08-16). Building a Discipling Culture (Kindle Locations 551-553). 3DM. Kindle Edition.

Jesus' Call to Discipleship

Jesus called us to count the cost and become disciples of his. While salvation happens at the instant we place our faith in Christ, discipleship is a lifelong pursuit of becoming more like Jesus.

Disciplemaking Culture

Huddles do not grow by adding new members; Huddles grow when members of your Huddle start their own. Why do it this way? Because we take seriously the principle that Jesus established: Every disciple disciples. You can’t be a disciple if you aren’t willing to invest in and disciple others. That’s simply the call of the Great Commission. Practically, we’ve seen it play out in what we call the 8:6:4 Principle. In this picture, the senior leader gathers eight leaders, and eventually those eight leaders Huddle six people each after an agreed period of time.

Cockram, Steve; Breen, Mike (2011-08-16). Building a Discipling Culture (Kindle Locations 551-556). 3DM. Kindle Edition.


So how can we challenge people to obey Jesus' command to make disciples, when they have somehow concluded that it is ok to ignore Matthew 28:18-20?

African Renewal Christian College, Uganda

In July, five of us from The LIFEhouse travelled to Uganda for an amazing two week mission experience. I was invited to speak for several days at the Alumni Conference for the African Renewal Christian College in Kampala, Uganda. As we flew across the Atlantic, I was reading about the East African Revival in a book called, "God Sized Vision." I was fascinated to read about how God used Simeon Nsibambi and an Anglican Missionary by the name of Joe Church, to bring about the largest recorded revival in the history of Africa. These two met in 1922 and were committed to pursing the holiness of God and the victorious Christian life.

When I arrived at the African Renewal Christian College, I was fascinated to see that Apollo Nsibambi, Simeon's son, the Prime Minister of Africa, dedicated the school at the grand opening in March, 2011. The following video tells the story of how God coordinated the details so that this amazing Bible institute would be located on the family land of Simeon Nsibambi, whom God used incredibly to bring revival to Africa. Check out the rest of the amazing details in the following video that we put together!

African Renewal Christian College from Stan Lubeck on Vimeo.

Ministering in Uganda

I'm sitting at a desk in the administrative offices of Gaba Bible Institute. This campus is an example of the power of networking and functioning as a team. So much more can be accomplished when we work together as a team, than when we isolate ourselves and think we can do it ourselves. Gaba Bible Institute, under the umbrella of African Renewal Ministry is benefiting from many partners who have been bringing resources and manpower to bring this former boarding school back up to speed to be used to equip Christian leaders to impact the nation for Christ.
This morning I met Samuel, the "Community coordinator," for GBI. He oversees the intern ministry where they go out into the community to identify the needs, then prepare students to be equipped to meed the needs of the community. As the needs are identified, the school then researches the best resources for meeting those needs, with an eye for equipping students to meet those needs.

Just a Thot

This short video describes the challenge we face in helping people stay in the world, so they can reach their friends for Christ, while not being "of" the world.

The natural gravitational pull is always inward, so that all of our friends are Christ followers. It is the most comfortable to hang out with believers, but if we are to carry out the Great Commission, we must have loving relationships with those who do not know Christ. Enjoy the video... and let me know what you think.

Freddie Milligan Testimony

Who would have known, when I first met and invited Freddy Milligan to church, that God would do such a fantastic work...

Freddie Milligan from Stan Lubeck on Vimeo.

Bob Felt's LIFEgroup leadership testimony

I love this testimony of how God used Bob and Katy Felts because of their willingness to move out of their comfortable cocoon. They are friends of mine that remind me of what God can do when people are willing to obey the prompting of God's Spirit.

Bob Felts Testimony from Stan Lubeck on Vimeo.

LIFEgroups that Multiply

What are the factors that cause a LIFEgroup to grow and multiply the blessing?

Multiplying a LIFEgroup from Stan Lubeck on Vimeo.

Why People Don't Go to Church

There are many reasons why people don't come to church and why they should.

Uganda/Mali Pics

I'm reminded of what God has done in the past through our ministry on the mission field in the past and look forward to continuing these relationships as we move into the future. What a privilege to see our church step forward to partner with these world changing ministries.

Who is qualified to lead a LIFEgroup?

This fun video effectively drives home the message that God uses imperfect people. Aren't you glad that you don't have to be perfect for God to use you?

Keeping Current

I'm committed to being a lifelong learner. Watch this video to see all that there is to learn... :)

Facilitating discussion

Many people can facilitate a Bible study.  Here at the LIFEhouse we provide homework that dovetails with the sermon, so that people can dig deeper into the topic that has been preached.  Then many of our LIFEgroups meet during the week to talk about the sermon and share what they learned from the homework.
Here is a video by Mac Lake that provides some helpful ideas of how to be a good facilitator.

How Can I Improve My Facilitation Skills? from Seacoast Church on Vimeo.

Apprenticeship

Friday morning at 6:00 am I begin meeting with a group of men to study the book, "The Lost Art of Disciplemaking." I agree with the title. We have not only lost the art, we have lost the definition of the word. Somehow disciplemaking as become watered down to mean little more than "learning" Biblical content. Jesus' disciplemaking was more like what we call "apprenticeship." Jesus was on a mission. He told the Twelve His agenda from the very beginning, then he progressively prepared them to to take on the mantle of leadership for the church. He modeled what he expected, then he sent them out and continued to mentor them and develop them into Christ followers in the true sense of the word.

Good Samaritan Video

We had a great idea to place a car with the hood up in front of the church, to see who would stop on the way to church to hear a message about "The Good Samaritan." The real test was to see who noticed that we needed someone who knew how to run the video camera...

Church on a mission!

What is the goal for our church? Why are we here and where are we going? From the beginning, the church grew exponentially. Last Sunday we saw how 5,000 men came to faith in Christ because they believed the eye witness testimonies of those who saw Jesus alive after the grave. Jesus followers were transformed by the resurrection from cowards to conquerors. The people heard the message, saw the change in Jesus' followers and chose to believe.
The book of Acts is about "all that Jesus began to do and to teach, and because Jesus is alive, He is continuing to do it through His people as the Spirit of Christ empowers and enables from within.
Will you join us in the greatest mission imaginable?

Now, watch this inspiring video and pray about what God wants you to do.

Northpoint Church's Four Trends to Defy:

1. Churches gravitate toward insiders and away from outsiders.
2. Churches gravitate toward law and away from grace.
3. Churches gravitate toward complexity and away from simplicity.
4. Churches gravitate toward preserving and away from advancing.

In essence, we tend to fall back to what is safe instead of stepping out in faith and continue to trust God.

Leadership

In Luke 9, Jesus has achieved "rock star" status as everyone wants to be near him.  Word has spread about all the wonderful things he has done and he is the point person of a powerful movement. What is it that always had the potential for destroying a great movement of God? It is the same today as it was then… Pride.  Pride goes before the fall and pride was rearing it's ugly head with Jesus' followers.  We find them arguing about who is the greatest.  This was another Divine appointment for Jesus to prepare the disciples for what real ministry is all about, taking what we are great at, and using it to serve others.

Pastor Stan Lubeck

www.rocklinchurch.com

Table Project

Just enjoyed a webinar about a new tool for connecting people to one another.  Here is the main website for information on this tool, followed by a link to the LIFEhouse "Table Project."

Table Project

The LIFEhouse Church Table Project

I love any tool that will assist us in connecting better with one another through prayer and sharing.

God's best to you,
Pastor Stan Lubeck