Starting this week Calvary Spartanburg will be running a new spot on 2 radio stations here in the upstate. 93.3 the Planet (hard rock) and B93.7 (top 40) will be playing the spot for the next 2 weeks, and after a short break for Valentines day week, for 2 more weeks.
These 2 stations have a combined reach of 700,000+ people. That’s a lot of people! The figure that I’ve heard is that more than 80% of Spartanburg county is un-churched. I’ve never claimed to be a math nut but my back-of-the-napkin figure says… well, lets just say 80% of 700,000 is big number.
Luke 19:10 says that Jesus came “…to seek and to save that which was lost.” I think Jesus is still doing this today through His church. This spot is in line with that purpose. To seek out those who are lost so that we can tell and show them the live saving and changing message of Jesus.
Join me in praying that God would lead people to hear this spot and respond. That they would come to call on Jesus as Savior and Lord.
You can hear the spot by clicking here or by visiting www.calvaryspartanburg.com
Jason Mills, January 27th 2010 |
Posted in Ministries, Technology, website
Kevin Miller is the pastor of Awaken Church in Clarksville Tennessee. He is a great Bible teacher, fellow church planter and good friend. Head over to Kevin’s Blog today. He’s posted an interview he did with me as a part of a series about church planters. Even if you are not a church planter I still think you’ll find this blog series interesting.
Check it out!
Kevin’s Blog: http://awakenthechurch.blogspot.com/
Awaken Church: http://www.awakenchurch.org
Jason Mills, December 15th 2009 |
Posted in Uncategorized
Almost twenty years ago I went on a mission trip to Jamaica. I know what you’re thinking…Jamaica…mission trip…yeah right. But really, it was a mission trip; snorkeling was only slightly involved. On that trip was a guy from my Sunday school class, Wes. Today he’s a pastor down in Columbia, SC and his dad runs a Spartanburg tradition: the Beacon.
The Beacon is a staple of Spartanburg culture and history. Its greasy chili-cheese burgers, onion rings and icy cold sweet tea have been filling Southerners up (and out) for over 60 years. It opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1946 and has kept going six days a week (closed on Sundays), 52 weeks per year, serving 1,000,000 customers yearly.
Not only is the Beacon good eats, but it’s a meeting place for the community. Posted along the walls are weekly high school football scores, ads for local businesses and schedules for monthly or bi-monthly Bible studies held right there in one of the dining rooms.
A few weeks ago I reconnected with Wes’s Dad while also reconnecting with a Chili Cheese A-Plenty (think giant hamburger covered in Texas chili and hidden beneath a pile of onion rings). I shared with him about the church and he said he wanted to help. He said he would let Calvary Spartanburg advertise at the Beacon, for free. He put me in touch with the man who hand paints every sign that goes up in the restaurant. Last week I saw it for the first time.
The New Sign at the Famous Beacon
If you live in the area or ever have the opportunity to visit the Beacon, swing by and take a look. It’s just opposite the main cash register.
God keeps blessing me with opportunities through old relationships like this. I guess there is something to be said for ministering where you grew up.
Jason Mills, December 14th 2009 |
Posted in Uncategorized
Sometimes I felt like this day would never come. It always seemed off in the distance. Yet here I am on the other side of Calvary Spartanburg’s amazing first service. We had a great crowd and “Calvary Kids” (our Children’s ministry) was pretty active. It was a great time that went by in a flash.
It wasn’t without its share of problems however. I found out last week that we would only have 15 minutes before service to setup. That obstacle alone would have made yesterday very challenging but we had 2 families from Calvary Chapel Pickens helping us and we were able to start the service only 5 minutes late. I want to give a big thank you the Hudsons and the Lathrops for all their support and sacrificial service to this new congregation.
We are going through the Gospel of Luke at Calvary Spartanburg and yesterday I started with the first 4 verses of chapter 1. Luke wrote this gospel to Theophilus (which is translated “Lover of God”) so he would be informed and assured of what he believed as a young Christian. I think a lot of people think they know what the message of the Bible is or who Jesus said He was, or how Christians should act. This is often based on experience, tradition or hearsay rather than from carefully reading the Bible to find the truth. The Gospel of Luke is a message to all modern “Lovers of God” so that they can know for sure the answers to those questions. Next Sunday we will be picking up where we left off in verse 5 as we continue in Luke chapter 1. If you plan on attending next week, feel free to read ahead.
Jason Mills, November 9th 2009 |
Posted in Reflections, Starting, Teaching
Our park outreach yesterday was a big success! Everyone who came was very surprised that everything was free; a few folks thought it was a birthday party. One person who was new to the area even told us that they would be coming to the first service today. We gave out all but 4 of the gift bags, most of the hotdogs and all of the balloons! In all we had about 200 people stop by.
Let me just say thank you to all of you who helped out and to those who were praying for Family Fun Day. Thanks also to all of you who are helping out and praying for our first service today.
A perfect day for the event.
We had 5 games for kids to play; everyone got a prize bag when they finished.
The expertly manned info table.
“Go past the fire eater and you’ll see the prize table on the left…”
I love this sign; we can use it at events or at church and it collapses into a small container.
Hey, I know that kid!
Jason Mills, November 8th 2009 |
Posted in Uncategorized
Click this banner to visit
Passionate Harvest is a coffee retailer whose coffee comes directly from either Christian coffee farmers and/or missionaries from around the world. So when you purchase their coffee (and you really should) you are also supporting Great Commission work.
They also partner with local churches, and provide them with whole sale coffee beans so they can sell 1lb bags as a fundraiser for short term mission trips. The end result is Missions supporting Missions. It’s a great concept and a great ministry. You can visit their site at www.PassionateHarvest.org or by clicking the banner at the top.
Mark is the main roast master there and I’ve had the privilege to work with him a number of times. He used to be the assistant manager at Calvary Albuquerque’s coffee shop and while we where in Montreal he built and donated a mobile espresso bar to the church. He also let me make his website.
I called him the other day to order beans and get some advice on making coffee at Calvary Spartanburg. He recommended a Bunn Airpot Brewer. It makes a perfect pot of coffee in about 3 minutes and the Airpot will keep it hot for hours. After I got off the phone I ordered a small one online. The next day Mark called me and told me to cancel the order.
“I’ll get something in the mail for you in a few days” he said
Well, look what just came in the mail!
Bunn is beautiful
It barely fits on my counter!
Not only did Mark donate the Bunn to the church, but it’s also a much bigger brewer than I originally had ordered. Thanks Mark!
Jason Mills, November 4th 2009 |
Posted in Ministries, Starting, Technology
Today we went to the YMCA and did a practice set-up. Basically we went a week early to set things up so we could look for problems and snags so we don’t have to deal with them next week as people are coming in. It’s something we had done in Montreal and I thought that it was a good idea to use here. Glad we did!
About 80% of what we had planned worked out fine the first time around,but the other 20% took some creative problem solving. For starters there were two big trash cans full of water in the middle of the area we had wanted to set up chairs. The building is pretty old so the roof leaks right there after a big rain. We also had to trouble shoot the placement of the projector. Everywhere that would be out of the way of the congregation was either too close or too far away from the screen. Finally, I had to play with the recording settings on the laptop until the audio didn’t sound like I was talking through equipment from a Wendy’s drive-thru. Most of the bugs we were able to fix before we left, and the few things that remain I can easily fix this week.
Please pray for this final week as we get ready for not only the first service of Calvary Spartanburg but also Family Fun Day.
Trying out the sound system
Checking the layout
Our First Congregation
Jason Mills, November 2nd 2009 |
Posted in Uncategorized
Saturday November the 7th, the day before Calvary Spartanburg’s first service, we are holding our last outreach called Family Fun Day.
Here are the Details:
Happy Hollow Park in Spartanburg
12-4pm Saturday, November 7th
Hot Dogs & Drinks
Balloons & Face painting
Bouncers &Slides
Games & Prizes
All free!
View Larger Map
If you are in the Spartanburg area come have some fun and grab some lunch on us.
Also, if you want to help promote this event right click here to download a full-size flier that will print up just great!
Jason Mills, November 1st 2009 |
Posted in Events, Starting
I’ve got two opportunities to speak this week. Monday night I’m leading worship and teaching at a home Bible study with Harvest Chapel in Travelers Rest SC. Harvest Chapel is a Calvary church plant not far from where I went to college that just started up this March. I’m looking forward to getting to know this congregation better and encouraging them as we discuss the Word.
Thursday, I’ve been invited to teach at the weekly Campus Crusade meeting at USC Upstate. I met with some of the staff of Campus Crusade last week to discuss how Calvary Spartanburg could help them reach the area Colleges. We had a good time of fellowship and at the end of the time they asked me to come a speak at their meeting. I’m very excited about this opportunity because I have such a desire to see students encouraged in their Christian walks.
Pray for these two speaking engagements, that God would speak through His Word and those that hear it would act on the message.
Jason Mills, October 26th 2009 |
Posted in Teaching
I made some changes to the church website. I’ve tweaked with the design, added an “About” page with a statement of faith, and started a new twitter feed to make church announcements. If you haven’t visited Calvaryspartanburg.com recently take a second and check it out.
Jason Mills, October 22nd 2009 |
Posted in Starting, Technology, website
