This isn’t exactly the equivalent of the L.A. Times, but Granger Community Church was featured in a recent edition of the Inside Granger magazine. The entire senior management team was interviewed for this article. (They actually quoted me!) There are also several pictures with the article. You can download it here.

By the way, there’s a misquote from my friend, Mark Waltz, in the article. So, when you question is Granger really OK with people staying where they are spiritually? The answer, of course, is no. In fact, our mission statement indicates very clearly that we’re all about helping people take their next step toward Christ…together. That’s our primary focus. Aside from that, though, this was a great article, and we were honored that the magazine chose to feature our ministry. Nothing like a little free advertising.

Here’s the "box score" for this past weekend at Granger Community Church.

Music: "Living in Fast Forward" by Kenny Chesney; "Free" by Shawn McDonald

Message: "iRest" — Bob Laurent, Teaching Pastor, talked about three barriers to rest (addiction to busyness, thinking achievement is agenda completion and believing our value is tied to production) and three solutions for breaking through the barriers (reevaluating our contentment quotient, reframing our definition of achievement and resourcing our significance and security).

Service Highlights: I don’t know whether or not to classify this as a service highlight or not, but people really seemed to appreciate the band’s cover of Kenny Chesney’s song. The crowd was singing along. Made me think people actually listen to country music in Granger, Indiana. To be honest, I’m not even sure it’s legal to play country music in a church. Maybe there’s a verse buried in Leviticus that could help me make my case for banning country music.

Stats: 5,268 total attendance (4,069 adults + 1,199 kids); 17.7% increase from same weekend last year

Percentage of weekend attendance by service:

1. Sun 10:15 am = 29%
2. Sun 11:45 am = 20%
3. Sat 7:30 pm = 18%
4. Sat 5:30 pm = 18%
5. Sun 8:45 am = 16%

Final Notes: My apologies for not updating the box scores in recent weeks. My travel schedule has hampered my blogging. I’m home now, though, so I’ll try to be more consistent.

You may be interested in knowing that we’ve launched a new podcast at Granger. This podcast features the messages from our weekend services. You can also download free message notes and discussion guides for the current series. Hope you enjoy the new podcast.

BuildingChurchLeaders.com has reprinted portions of Mark Beeson’s session from last year’s Innovative Church Conference highlighting how we plan weekend services at Granger Community Church. The article includes five different video segments including a sample brainstorming session and a few PDF files including one that outlines our planning process. Wanting specific and practical insights on how we do series planning at Granger? Here’s your chance to get an inside look. (By the way, I’m the guy on the right closest to the camera with the reflective and contemplative look on his face.)

I’m pumped about the new series launching this weekend at Granger. It’s called "Face the Music." We’re giving away a new iPod at every service throughout the series. That’s 25 iPods over 5 weeks.

Great music. Great messages. iPod give-a-ways. I love my church!

(Thanks to Springcreek Community Church for giving us the idea for packaging this series.)

I’m sitting at O’Hare waiting for my flight to Orange County, CA. I hear the sun is actually shining in SoCal, so I can’t wait to get there. It’s been rainy and overcast for the past several days in South Bend, so I’m ready for some sunlight.

Tim and I are teaching a workshop at the Purpose Driven Church conference at Saddleback tomorrow. Hopefully we’re going to encourage leaders and challenge them to consider new ways of attracting a crowd to their weekend services. It’s one of my favorite topics to talk about…if you haven’t figured that out.

Speaking of crowds at weekend services, we included an opportunity for people to accept Christ during all five of this weekend’s services. Though we talk about Jesus every weekend, we only offer a specific invitation two or three times a year. It was an amazing weekend. It’s my understanding that over 575 people committed their lives to Christ. Unbelievable! After Mark led them through a prayer, he invited people who were making first-time commitments to come forward and sign their names to a large replica of the "Last Supper" painting. You can check out the video from this weekend’s service to see it for yourself. It was amazing! I’ll try to get you more details about the weekend services sometime after I land in SoCal.

Until then, I’m humbled daily by the opportunity I have to serve Jesus at Granger Community Church. Lives are being changed for eternity. It’s truly an honor to be a part of a ministry like this.

Here’s the "box score" for this past weekend at Granger Community Church.

Music: "Please Come" by Nichole Nordeman

Message: "The Mystery of Human Value" — Rob Wegner, Pastor of Life Missions, addressed the question raised in the DaVinci Code as to whether or not Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. Rob acknowledged that Dan Brown did correctly characterize Jesus as being revolutionary in the way he interacted with women. Jesus challenged cultural practices in his acceptance and respect for women.

Service Highlights: The band did a fantastic job with Nichole Nordeman’s song "Please Come." The lyrics really reaffirmed the message Rob shared. I love how all our services stay on one message from beginning to end.

Stats: 5,324 total attendance (4,107 adults + 1,217 kids); 5.4% decrease from same weekend last year

Percentage of weekend attendance by service:

1. Sun 10:15 am = 28%
2. Sun 11:45 am = 22%
3. Sat 7:30 pm = 18%
4. Sat 5:30 pm = 17%
5. Sun 8:45 am = 14%

Final Notes: Last weekend’s program included an insert for the next series called "Face the Music." Each week, we will listen to one of today’s hottest songs and consider how our generation uses music to express our desires, our dreams and our journey to find truth.

Here’s the "box score" for this past weekend at Granger Community Church.

Music: "Anyway" by Nichole Nordeman

Message: "The Mystery of the Arts" — Mark Beeson, senior pastor, talked about the importance of the arts in helping the church connect with today’s culture. He also challenged us to look for God’s Truth in the art around us and consider: What does this beauty say to me? How does the art help me understand my role in my Creator’s story?

Service Highlights: The media team put together a thought-provoking video that demonstrated how people respond to art (and Jesus) differently. The video, of course, is available online with the rest of the service on GCCwired.com.

Stats: 5,860 total attendance (4,633 adults + 1,227 kids); 27.4% increase from same weekend last year

Percentage of weekend attendance by service:

1. Sun 10:15 am = 24%
2. Sat 5:30 pm = 23%
3. Sun 11:45 am = 21%
4. Sat 7:30 pm = 20%
5. Sun 8:45 am = 13%

Final Notes: Next week’s message will focus on the "Mystery of the Bible." That will also offer an opportunity to help the church "Focus on 5."

Here’s the "box score" for this past weekend at Granger Community Church.

Music: "What If" by Nichole Nordeman; "I Am" by Mark Shultz

Message: "The Mystery of Jesus" — Mark Beeson, senior pastor, taught from Luke 19:1-10 about how Jesus came "to seek and to save the lost." Mark also shared one of his classic stories: "Kick the Can."

Service Highlights: The highlight for me was walking into the auditorium; it had been transformed into an art museum featuring the works of DaVinci. Like all services at Granger, it was more than just music and a message, it was an experience.

Stats: 10,262 total attendance (8,336 adults + 1,926 kids); 22.3% increase compared to Easter last year

Percentage of weekend attendance by day:

1. Saturday Evening (3 services) = 52%
2. Sunday Morning (4 services) = 48%

Final Notes: You read that right. We actually had more people show up on Saturday evening to celebrate Easter than we did on Sunday morning even though we had more services on Sunday morning. It was an unbelievable weekend. As I mentioned in a previous post, you can view the entire service on GCCwired.com.

Here’s the big announcement: Beginning with the launch of the Unlocking the DaVinci Code series that began this past weekend, you can now view or listen to the previous weekend’s service on GCCwired.com. And, here’s the better news–it’s FREE. If you go to the series page, you can watch the entire service, listen to message download, view the message notes or download the small group discussion guide. Messages from prior weeks and other series resources will be available on WiredChurches.com. If you’re subscribing to podcasts through iTunes, that feature is coming soon.

Dial it in and give us your feedback. I’d love to hear what you think. If you’d like more details on how we’re doing the video, check out Jason’s blog.