Sunday Splash!

* Once again Doug Flores and the worship team took us to the throne of God with an inspired combination of praise and worship songs !
* I truly believe that God is spurring us forward to new limits we never thought possible!
* Did you notice all the new faces today at SC? We had even more guests today than last week! It was incredible!
* We are being challenged, chosen, and compelled by God to do whatever it takes by whatever means possible to reach Miami for Christ!!
* I am really looking forward to making numerous new friends and doing life together with them as more and more people discover Sunset Chapel!!!
* Today's message was really stirring in my heart long before sunrise occurred this morning. Our upcoming month long emphasis on Prayer and Fasting holds so much potential and promise for everyone and our church as we become willing to set aside our agendas,habits and appetites.
* I was thrilled at the sight of seeing so many individuals come forward and sign up to participate in this important spiritual endeavor!
* I can't wait to see what God brings to reality in the weeks ahead!
* The church sanctuary can be a great place to come and pray through out the week! I will be in and out of there often during the next month to spend some extra face time with God! I hope to have some additional prayer partners join me!
* Be sure to mark your calendars for the kick off of our upcoming message series "God's VIP Club".
* This series is going to be HUGE in the life and progress of Sunset Chapel!
* I am believing that God will open doors for everyone to distribute their "invite cards" to friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers and anyone else that comes into your everyday paths.
* Don't forget to join with us as we transition our Wednesday evening format. We will still offer for our boys and girls "Missionettes and Royal Rangers" and for our Jr/Sr high students "Fusion". Our adults will be joining together in the sanctuary for Praise and Worship and significant times of Prayer! This will be a life changing experience for all involved!
* Speaking of our Kids Ministry, Pastor Kevin did a great job of taking Christ outside the walls of our church to an area apartment complex. The kids and volunteers who attended this outreach event had a great time! I posted some pics on my face book.
* Finally let me say how great it was to have our son Randall in the service with us. Since we moved here to Miami we hadn't seen him since May! It's always good to spend time with our boys. Randall turns 25 tomorrow! Boy I am really getting old!!!
* We hope to have some time to enjoy his visit with us for a couple of days!
* Hope you all have a great week!! I will be praying for you!
* I love you all..thank you for letting me be your partner in ministry and your Pastor!

Sunday Splash!

We experienced top-notch worship today! Once again Doug Flores and the worship team challenged us to go deeper in our hearts for worship. Our worship experience provided us with a breath of fresh air connecting our hearts and minds with God. It was incredibly awesome as we blended our voices with the musicians and vocalists on the platform and amped up our praise to our living God! I really enjoyed all the elements and influences that were incorporated into today's worship. Who knew that you could include Caribbean, Reggae and Spanish music and lyrics into church worship?!!

Every week I have had the pleasure of meeting and making numerous new friends! Today was no exception. For the second straight weekend we had an encouraging number of guests! Also it looks like we set a new twelve week attendance record! Way to go people! Keep inviting and investing!

At Sunset Chapel we want to constantly strive to eliminate the barriers that are keeping people from experiencing a relationship with Christ. I realize that not every one's life is perfect who attends SC. Some come experiencing a crumbling marriage, others with broken hearts, real hurts, health scares, and moral failings. The last thing I want is a message that doesn't connect. Each weekend I aspire to give my best to communicate God's message in ways that say something substantial, inspires, informs and educates. It has to hit home with people. I realize that it's essential that I spend my best time of each day on things that have redeeming quality. For the past twelve weeks I've struggled, stretched myself and grown as I have endeavored to give my very best for God each time I've stood on the platform. Our journey together during this time has been AMAZING! Something is happening. God is at work here at Sunset Chapel!

Tomorrow is the first day of school at Sunset Christian Academy! Anticipation and excitement is in the air as students and teachers return for a new school year. Already I have had the opportunity to make some valuable connections with many of the families who are entrusting their children into our care. We have assembled the best teaching team to be found! Our teachers are committed to the academic and spiritual development of each student placed into their care. Let's keep them all in our prayers!

Sunday Splash!

Today convinced me that I need to carve out more creative thought time in my schedule to prepare weekend messages better. The video's, power points and props really allowed the message to hit home with many today. It was wonderful watching God work in our church especially around the altar. He's bringing people in from all walks of life and I love it! We had so many new guests in the service. I hope they will all come back again next week! We have double digit connection cards to add to our database tomorrow. That really excites me!!

Today's "Rescue" message should be a reminder to us all that God wants us to get involved. It's time for action with so many people hurting and far from Him. I think preaching today wearing a Miami-Dade Fire fighter's uniform helped to focus our attention on the fact that there is a sense of urgency. People are dying daily without Christ and will spend eternity in the flames of hell. We must combine our efforts and resources to reach as many as possible! Christ came to earth to release and remove people from danger. God wants everyone to experience that rescue! It was so awesome to observe 4-5 people accept Christ's offer today!


I want to also thank all those who also donated blood today to the Community Blood Centers of South Florida. Their representative was extremely pleased with the response of so many. I gave for the first time ever! Thanks to all those who stayed after the service to watch a grown man cry!! It is a known fact in my family that I dislike needles very much. It didn't help that I flinched when the nurse stuck me the first time and I had to have her stick me a second time in my other arm! But hey I found out that I was able to help three people who would need that blood! They even gave me a really cool T-shirt to wear after I gave my pint!


I am so thankful to pastor such a caring and committed church! Thanks for all you do to make ministry happen at Sunset Chapel! It was a great day! Be blessed!

Amazing Rescues!

As we journey towards becoming a relevant church within the city of Miami our single greatest challenge is our attempts at rescuing others who are far away from God.We must intensify our efforts to reach people who are presently being held hostage to this dark, evil and messy world. All around us are painful reminders that our world is broken.

Galations 1:5 (Msg) says "God's plan is that we all experience that rescue."

Do you know someone that needs to be rescued? Are you someone who needs to step up and help them? This weekends message will be communicated in the best creative and engaging way possible. Do everything you can to be in attendance this weekend and bring with you several guests. I believe we will see some "AMAZING RESCUES!"

Sunday Splash!

I read recently that Miami is one of America's most fascinating cultural scenes, there are many hot spots to explore. Signs of vibrant life can be found everywhere you look. Yet there is a greater story to be told than what the human eye can see.

God is doing a unique work in our church and He's bringing incredible energy that is going to allow us to accomplish something significant within our community! I feel like we are about to experience a gigantic wave of changed lives like we have never seen before! God is setting us up for some fantastic future WINS!!

This past week while I was attending the A/G General Council meetings in Orlando I was reminded over and over that the mission of the church is to still reach out to those who are far from God. Everywhere you turned, you could sense in the guest speakers messages and in conversations with friends that this is the churches "best opportunity" to make a difference in the lives of so many. We can not slow down or stop now, but we must intensify our efforts. There is no time to waste!!!

I know that a lot of people are looking at this blog to see how things are going here at Sunset Chapel and hear about what's happening on Sunday mornings. Thanks for the support and for caring about what happens in Miami!

Today at SC was one of those days when you realize how blessed you are . . .
* The worship team was once again fantastic!
* God was with us BIG TIME!
* Together you and I honored Him
* Sprinkled among today's crowd, were once again a handful of new guests.
* Keep investing and inviting!
* I radically love our church and the people I serve with!
* Have a Blessed Week!!

After Service Splash!!

After Service Splash! from russell debord on Vimeo.

After our morning service our Kids Pastor, Kevin, and worship team kickin it up a notch and giving God extra Praise!!

Sunday Splash!

* Today at SC was just incredible! It was filled with so many AMAZING moments!!
* Everything just exceeded my hopes and expectations!
* Today was no doubt a very significant day for us as a church.
* There was alot of great excitement and buzz right from the start!
* God's presence was strong in the house today!
* What God did for us today isn't normal! He is moving in a HUGE way and we get to be apart of it! That blows my mind!
* The heartbeat of Sunset Chapel is to eat,sleep and drink in the Holy Spirit, those that are suffering through hurts,habits, and hang ups and seeing them set free by the power of Jesus!
* People came ready today to hear a message that would impact and change their lives.
* FOUR more people accepted Christ today! Yeah God!
* This was just a warm up!
* Again we had a few new guests in our service. That's awesome in itself! Keep inviting!
* Sharing communion together as a church is special to me...and I think it meant a lot to everyone who was in church today.
* Worship today was through the roof!
* The energy they produced was just crazy!!!
* Having more folks on the stage just adds a new dynamic.
* Pastor Kevin was outstanding today in leading our worship team.
* They set up today's message very well.
* SC is blessed with some amazing musicians with incredible heart!
* I am convinced that Terry Blankenship and Oscar Fernandez are the best sound men in Miami!
* We will try to post a sample of the post service afterglow of the worship team taking us to a new level on my blog and on Face Book!
* I felt that I did the best job of communicating God's message than I ever had in my short time as the Lead Pastor of this great church.
* I poured out and got filled up all in a single day!! God is so good!!
* We are beginning to excel here at SC on the weekends. Ninety percent of everything that gets our attention is about the weekend service. Each weekend gives us our best opportunity to reach those who are far from God, have people invite their friends, and show people what God's Word has to say. A lot of our entire ministry teams effort and focus goes into making the weekend service a positive happening for everyone.
* The world around us will become much different as people come and sit before God at SC.
-Businesses and workplaces will be changed!
-Marriages will be affected!
-Relationships will improve!
-People who have felt empty will be filled!
-People headed the wrong way will get on the right track!
-Vision will be given!
-Those seeking God will find Him!
* I can't wait to see what next week brings..and the next.
* Can't wait to look back in 6 months and wonder how we got to where we are.
* My least favorite moment of today was 12:07 I didn't want the service to end!
* Friends, I can't begin to put into words to describe how excited I am about the next few months of ministry here at SC.
* I really believe that the remaining months of 2009 will be very fruitful for us at Sunset Chapel!
* Together we are walking in faith towards new tomorrows!