Grateful.

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

Almost 3 years ago, Lara Beth and I moved here with nothing but a call from God and a fuzzy picture of what we hoped God would do in Columbia, SC. Our only desire was to plant a church that God would use to transform lives, our city, and the nations.

Without jumping ahead of the game, it is truly humbling to see that dream becoming a reality as Awaken Church gains more and more traction in our community. One word describes my feelings: grateful.

I’m grateful to have the privilege of planting and leading a church where, as of yesterday, 53 people have trusted Jesus as Savior in just under 1 year.

I’m grateful that Awaken has grown in attendance by 50% since June. Many of those who are new to our church have quickly begun serving on our volunteer teams.

I’m grateful to see so many gifted people serve faithfully week after week knowing that they are a link in the chain of life change.

I’m grateful to see a church that has come alive with a sense anticipation and expectation for the grace and power of God to transform lives every time we gather.

I’m grateful to see so many first time guests each week. It seems that God has truly made Awaken a hospital for sinners.

I’m grateful that so many who call Awaken home are living as missionaries in their neighborhoods, workplaces, dorms, and classes.

I’m grateful to pastor a church that is so hungry for the Word.

I’m grateful to be surrounded by a team of leaders who love Jesus, love our church, and love me. They push me to lead out of my calling and gifting.

I’m grateful. AC’ers…I hope you are, too. God is doing a tremendous work and no question, He has given us a wave of momentum.

Let’s ride it with an audacious faith that knows God is nowhere near finished with what He wants to do in and through Awaken Church. Keep praying and keep inviting your friends!

Let’s ride it as a contagious community that reflects the gospel by the way we love, serve, and honor one another.

Let’s ride it with radical generosity by investing more of the time, gifts, and finances God has given us to use for His glory & mission. If you are not giving or serving yet, now is the time!

Let’s be sure to do it all with a sense of deep gratitude. Our God is good and He’s on a mission and we get to be a part of it. May we never get used to seeing God move powerfully among us, but instead, may we anticipate and expect His power all the more.

It’s happening, AC’ers…let’s be grateful and keep pressing on!

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This Sunday at Awaken :: What He Must Be

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

God moved in power last Sunday at Awaken with a record attendance & 10 people publicly trusting Jesus as Savior! Can’t wait for Part 2 of Going All the Way this Sunday.

God calls men to lead their wives and families. The reality is that most men have no idea what that means or how to do it. While many men successfully step up in other areas of their lives, many struggle to step up in the place that matters the most: at home.
If that’s you, then this Sunday is for you.
Join us as we continue the Going All the Way series by looking at role God has uniquely called and equipped men to carry out in marriage.

God’s power and grace will be on display once again this Sunday. I believe lives, marriages, and families will be transformed beginning Sunday. Get here and invite your friends!
See you Sunday at 10:30am at Polo Road Elementary School.
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Weekend Recap :: Fall Launch Edition

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

Seriously, this will go down as one of the most memorable weekends of my life. I love my church and what God is doing…check out a few highlights:

  • Wrapped up a successful summer of Movies in the Park with another great event on Friday night. Average attendance for the 4 events was over 1700 and we connected with over 120 families that expressed interest in Awaken Church. Also, we were able to make great donations to A Home in Haiti and Harvest Hope Food Bank.
  • Emma, a girl who just started the 6th grade, came up to me Friday night and said, “Pastor Jay…I can’t wait for Sunday!” “Great! Why is that, Emma,” I replied. “I get to volunteer in AwakenKids Sunday!” she said back to me. Emma served in one of our preschool groups today. Wow…6th grade.
  • One of the top 5 moments of my life happened this morning at 9:30 when I arrived at Polo Road. Our entire volunteer team was waiting for me in the auditorium, and after lots of cheering and high fives, laid hands on and prayed for me. I was speechless. I love these people.
  • A record crowd of 187 people joined us this morning for the launch of the Going All the Way series. Better than that, 9 people told us they prayed to trust Jesus as Savior this morning! That’s 48 since we launched! Many more raised their hands saying they prayed to receive Jesus, but we only count those that turn in cards.
  • One of our most faithful volunteers came up to me after the service with tears in his eyes and said, “It’s happening, Pastor Jay! It’s happening!” Yes it is, church! Glory to God!
  • AwakenKids was jamming today with new sound equipment, new layouts, and some sweet volunteer t-shirts.
  • Our Guest Services team killed it today! They were serving people all over the parking lot, down the halls, and everywhere in between.
  • Our Media Team took some big steps forward with a couple of well done video projects, a beautiful stage set, and a tight service.
  • Gil and the Awaken Band led us to the throne in a big way! Great is the Lord (Elevation), Glory to God (Fee), There is No One Higher/The Stand (Fee), and Kingdom Come (Elevation) were our songs.
  • Can’t wait to see what happens over the next several weeks as we explore more of what it means to have a gospel-centered marriage that goes the distance. If today was any indication, I really believe we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of what God is going to do.

More to come on the blog this week. AC’ers…words cannot express how much I love you . I am anticipating even greater things in the weeks ahead. Let’s turn this city upside down with the gospel of Jesus for the glory of God!

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This Weekend at Awaken Church

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

To say this is a huge weekend at Awaken Church would be the understatement of the year. We’ve been planning for and anticipating this weekend for quite a while now. Can’t wait to see what God does!

Tonight is the last Movies in the Park of the summer and it promises to be the biggest and best yet. Our band will be playing LIVE before the movie, we’ll have a live DJ, and we’re showing the movie “UP!” Gates at North Springs Park open at 7:30 pm and as always, everything is FREE!

On Sunday, we launch a brand new series called Going All the Way. I really believe this will be the most powerful and life-changing series we have done to date. If you are married, engaged, or hope to get married someday, this series is for you. Don’t miss it!

Invite everybody you know and join us tonight at North Springs Park for Movies in the Park and on Sunday at 10:30 am at Polo Road Elementary (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223) for the start of Going All the Way.

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Top 10 Ways to Invite Your A-List

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

Last Sunday at Awaken, we handed everyone a card that looked like an iPhone with 5 blanks on it. We encouraged everyone to write in the names of 5 people they would commit to pray for, invest in, serve, and invite to Awaken. We called this our “A-List.”

Everyday this week, I have received emails and texts from AC’ers who are inviting their A-List to church and their friends are saying, “yes!” Love hearing those stories!

As we fast and pray today, I thought I’d give you a few ideas for how you can invite your A-List to join us Sunday for the start of Going All the Way. It’s been reported that over 80% of people who do not go to church are at least somewhat likely to attend if invited by a friend.

Top 10 Ways to Invite Your A-List to Church:

  1. Pray for them everyday. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully in their lives and melt down whatever resistance might exist.
  2. Take them to lunch, coffee, breakfast, or have them over for dinner. As part of your conversation, hand them an invite and encourage them to come with you.
  3. Offer to meet for breakfast on Sunday morning and then ride together or caravan to church.
  4. Offer to meet them at the door or in the parking lot so you can help them know where to go, get their kids checked-in, and, if you’re not volunteering, sit with them in the service.
  5. Offer to give them a ride on Sunday morning. This could be especially helpful if you are a college student or young professional.
  6. Send them a link to our website and highlight a few areas that might specifically interest them. For instance, if they have kids, make sure they see the AwakenKids page on our site.
  7. Download a recent sermon, burn it to a CD, and hand it along with an invite card to your friend. Explain that you wanted to give them a taste of what to expect.
  8. Let your friend listen to a few songs we sing on Sundays. This is will help them get a feel for the style of our service. Songs like “Glory to God” (Steve Fee), “Our God” (Chris Tomlin), the new “Kingdom Come” (Elevation Worship), and “Mighty to Save” (Hillsong) would work well.
  9. Offer to take them to lunch or have them over to your house for lunch after the service on Sunday.
  10. If your friend is having a hard time in their marriage, then use this series as a line of hope. Urge them to come for the sake of their marriage.

These are just a handful of ideas – you can undoubtedly come up with your own and come up with some that are event better than these.

The point: make sure you pray for and invite your friends. You’ve got 72 hours left!

What’s the worse thing that can happen? They say “no” or just throw the invite card in the trash. What’s the best thing that can happen? They say “yes”, hear the gospel, God does a work in their marriage, they trust Jesus as Savior, and follow Him all the days of their lives!

The “yes” is big time worth the invite!

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Pray Bold Prayers

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

Last Sunday, I called our church to a day of fasting and prayer on Thursday, August 19. As we enter what promises to be the most significant ministry season in our short history, we don’t want to take the first step without declaring our full and complete dependence upon Jesus and His power.

AC’ers, as we prepare to fast and pray, I want to share some tips and ideas with you so that you are well-equipped for the fast.

1. Remember why we are fasting. 2 Chronicles 7:14 sums it up well:

…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

We are fasting and praying tomorrow as a means of humbling ourselves before the Lord, asking God to forgive us of our sin, and asking for Him to move in power in our church, in our friends’ lives, and in our city.

2. Determine how you will fast. The point of fasting is not just to refrain from eating. The point is to take the energy and longing we would normally have for these physical needs and direct them fully to the Lord.

You may decide to skip a meal or refrain from all foods tomorrow. If you have not fasted before, I would suggest skipping one meal completely and eating lightly for the others. Drink water and juices and avoid caffeine, especially if you will fast from all food tomorrow.

I would also suggest refraining completely from or severely limiting your engagement in television, social media, the internet, etc. as forms of leisure, entertainment, or time fillers. Again, the point is to hunger for God, His Word, and His presence.

Go ahead and plan when your times of prayer and Bible reading will take place. Be sure to dedicate plenty of time to seeking God’s face throughout the day.

For Bible reading, I would suggest reading some in Psalms, the Gospels, Acts, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

3. Prepare yourself spiritually. Spend considerable time at the front end of your fast confessing and repenting of sin. Confess your sins of commission and omission to the Lord and receive His grace that covers over those sins. If needed, make restitution or seek forgiveness from a person you may have sinned against. Confessing sin to the Lord is part of humbling yourself and must be done if we are going to truly seek God’s face.

4. Pray boldly and expectantly. Pray bold prayers throughout the day. We pray bold prayers based on the sovereignty of God, the victory of Jesus, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the power of the gospel.

Pray for the people who are close to you, but far from God. Pray for the people you are inviting to Awaken. Pray for the Going All the Way series. Pray for God’s favor on Movies in the Park. Pray for God to move in power in our city. Pray for other churches. Pray for your personal and family needs. Pray for salvations, baptisms, and spiritual growth at Awaken.

Do not pray as if you are praying to a weak and distant being who is incapable of acting. Pray knowing that you are presenting your requests to the one true God, the God “who is able to do abundantly more than all that we ask or think (Eph. 3:20-21).”

5. Respond obediently. Throughout the day as you pray and read God’s Word, He may prompt you to make a bold move of obedience. Do not resist or ignore His call! Obey and obey quickly. Remember, praying bold prayers will almost always lead to God calling us to make bold moves.

6. Expect spiritual warfare. Obviously, the enemy is mobilizing his forces to their work of bringing about distraction, doubt, fear, and apathy in our lives tomorrow. Satan does not want our church to fast and pray because he knows that God moves in power when His people fast and pray! Expect his attacks and fight them on your knees.

When you feel the most weak, the most vulnerable, the most frustrated, the most distracted, stop what you are doing to pray and read the scriptures. Do not fight the enemy in your strength, but in the power of God.

I am eager to see how God will move in our lives tomorrow and in the weeks ahead. Take this seriously, humble yourself before the Lord, confess your sin, seek His face, and call on His power.

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Radical Generosity Displayed

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

One of the values we want to embody at Awaken Church is Radical Generosity. I hesitate using the word radical, though, because it really should just be Biblical Generosity. But, living biblically is living radically these days…but that’s another blog post altogether.

Sunday night, I took our staff and a handful of leaders from Awaken to worship with and visit our friends at Elevation Church in Charlotte. We had an incredible night and at the end of the service, Pastor Steven Furtick invited me on stage, shared about our friendship and Awaken’s story, and let me share for a couple of minutes with the Elevation crowd. It was a powerful and humbling moment.

But it was only the opening act to what was about to happen.

After the service, our team was heading backstage when several people stopped me to offer encouragement and to even pray over me and for our church, which was awesome. But still, just the opening act.

Just as I was about to walk through the door, someone grabbed my arm. It was a high school student who said, “Pastor, I want you to know I believe in you and I will be praying for you. Here, use this let your team know I am praying with and for you all.”

He then proceeded to empty his pockets and invested $11 and a piece of pocket lint into the ministry of Awaken Church. I was blown away.

Now, to you and me, $11 probably doesn’t seem like much. But what was it to this high school student? And what about him committing to pray for me and our church? And what about him fighting his way through the lines of people to make it to us to offer his encouragement and give what God told him to give.

Radical Generosity is not about the amount of the gift, but about the heart, vision, and obedience that goes with the gift. When God calls, you give. Period. It’s all His anyway. And everything you have is meant for His mission and glory.

You can’t go wrong by being generous. You can’t go wrong by being obedient. You can’t go wrong by investing in God’s rescue mission. Believe it and be generous.

Posted in Awaken Church, Mission | 2 Comments

The Morning After :: One More

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

Sunday was a long, but amazing day! Here are some highlights…

  • Wrapped up the Awakening series at Awaken by casting vision for where God has called us to focus in the next season of ministry. To say I am excited and full of faith would be an understatement!
  • God’s message to the Israelites in exile in Jeremiah 29:4-14 was our text as God calls us to live with Audacious Faith, in Contagious Community, displaying Radical Generosity to our city & beyond.
  • Loved seeing new volunteers serving for the first time and many more signing up to join teams after the service. God’s building an army!
  • Once again, a load of first time guests joined us. Each one is opportunity to serve and to display the love of Jesus. Our teams are growing in this area and are all doing a great job loving and serving our guests.
  • Biggest news of all from yesterday…1 more person indicated they made a decision to trust Jesus as Savior! That’s 39 adults who have trusted Jesus as Savior since Awaken launched! YES!
  • Absolutely LOVED our worship set yesterday. Songs filled with hope and faith for our city. We sang: We Unite (Elevation), Kingdom Come (Elevation), Our God (Chris Tomlin), God of this City (Tomlin), Let Your Kingdom Reign (Elevation). Powerful!
  • My mom wat at Awaken yesterday. Always a joy to see my mom in the crowd, Bible open, taking notes, and smiling ear to ear. Love her!
  • The auditorium smelled like a wet sock yesterday because a cleaning crew had just cleaned the carpet at the school. Thankfully our crew knows that “nothing is neutral, everything matters,” so Misti and Brianna broke out the Febreze!
  • Took my staff and a handful of leaders up to Elevation last night. No better way to cast vision for our crew than to let them experience how God is moving in Charlotte through Elevation.
  • I saw my team’s eyes and hearts explode with vision, hope, and faith! Mine did, too.
  • My good friend, Pastor Steven Furtick, called me up on stage at the end of the service. Humbled by the chance to stand by my friend and share a few minutes with his church about what God is doing in Columbia.
  • Thankful for Larry Brey, Wade Joye, John Bishop, and several others for spending time with our team and encouraging us.
  • Had an interaction at Elevation last night that blew me away. But it deserves a blog post of its own.
  • Of course, I couldn’t sleep last night. God stirred my heart so much yesterday reminding me of His faithfulness, His power, and His call on my life.
  • I am absolutely stoked about the upcoming season at Awaken Church. We’re praying and fasting this Thursday. Then, we’re moving forward with greater intensity, boldness, focus, and passion than ever before.

There’s more to share, but that gives you a snapshot. God is moving in a big way. Can’t wait to see what’s next. The best is yet to come!

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This Sunday: Awakening (Part 3)

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

I absolutely cannot wait until Sunday at Awaken Church!

We’re wrapping up the Awakening series by talking about the specific ways God is calling Awaken Church to boldly join Him in His mission to rescue and redeem a lost and broken world.

God has not called our church to merely exist. He’s called us to passionately join Him in what He is doing first in our city and extending to the nations. He has perfectly positioned our church to make an impact on our city and among the nations for His glory and we fully intend to seize the opportunity!

We’d love for you to be a part of it! Join us on Sunday at 10:30 am at Polo Road Elementary School (1250 Polo Road, Columbia, 29223).

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Thursday Rundown

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Jay Hardwick

At the beginning of July, I termed it the “month of insanity.” It has proven to be just that, but in the best possible way. The only words I can find to describe this ministry season at Awaken are “wide open.” God’s hand is tangible and the momentum is building with each “win” God gives us by His grace.

Here are some highlights of what God is up to this week…

  • A-Team Sports Camp was a tremendous success! I couldn’t be more proud of our AwakenKids team, our staff, and our volunteers. They did an incredible job this week!
  • Our hope was for the camp to be accessible to kids/families from the community. God answered that prayer as over half of the kids who attended are not a part of Awaken. And most of those do not have a connection to any church.
  • The gospel saturated every aspect of the camp: huddle groups, sports drills, large group worship, guest speakers, etc. No doubt that gospel seed was planted this week!
  • We’re already looking ahead to next year with plans to take A-Team to the next level!
  • Tomorrow and Saturday, our staff/leadership team is taking an overnight retreat to pray, plan, and dream for the fall. I cannot wait to spend this time together and to pour into our leaders.
  • We are confident that God has given us an opportunity and platform to reach our city and we intend to fully leverage that opportunity.
  • To do so will require intense focus, passion, bold moves, and an even greater confidence in the gospel.
  • Sunday, we launch a 3 week sermon series called, “Awakening.” We’re asking God to awaken us to fully see what He is doing all around us so we can join Him in what He is doing. Can’t wait!
  • We’re having our Fall Kickoff Night for all of our volunteers on Sunday, August 8. We’ll cast vision, train, and prepare for the fall. Should be a huge night!
  • Fall Launch is August 22. Praying for and expecting God to move in big ways as we seek to leverage the influence He has given us in our city.

Can’t wait to see what God has ahead for us…the best is truly yet to come!

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