5 Things to Encourage You Today

By tonygraffam

Just a quick blog today to remind everyone that there are good things to focus on no matter what is going on in your life. Many times in the morning I will read a devotional or a blog from one of the people I follow and God will use just a word or sentence to remind me of the blessings in my life. I am thankful for the people who have spoken into my life(most of whom have no idea) and how God uses something they say or write to lift me up and bring perspective back into my life. Here are 5 things I want you to remember today-

1. The answer is usually closer than we think. Sometimes we have to turn over some rocks, listen a little harder, get out of our comfort zones, read a book, ask for help.

2. You are not alone. Others are experiencing the same issues that you are right now. Some have already been where you are and have made it. Find these people. Do not do life alone.

3. This too shall pass. One of my favorite quotes. And its true.

4. Dont stop dreaming. Are your dreams bigger than your memories. I hope so. Your best days are ahead and not behind you.

5. God is still in control. I know, sounds so cliché but its true. Jesus was led by God into the wilderness where he experienced great hardship. God was with Him, He was working something out in His life. He may be doing the same thing in your life…Dont give up

Be Blessed

Church Planting…Get Back to Work

We planted Connecting Place Church almost 6 months ago. We read all the books, went to all the seminars, and spoke with many church planters. We have been blessed by God along this difficult journey…God is good and we are thankful to be here. I am writing this blog today as an update for those who have supported us along the way and as a reminder to other church planters that it may be time to get back to work again.

I’m not talking about the work of leading a local church (which is hard enough in and of itself) I’m talking about the work of a church planter. It is my opinion that we may move away from this work far too soon in the journey.

This week my focus has been getting back to the basics. The work of praying over our cities. The work of being intentional about building relationships so we can invite people to join us on the journey. The work of inviting people to church, hanging door hangers, getting the word out, handing out touch cards, and the list goes on and on of the things that are uncomfortable to do.

Getting away from this kind of work is the fastest way to stagnate the growth potential of our young churches. It’s the kind of tenacity that often separates the good from the great. I love what God is doing in our church, but my fear is that we will get away from this work too soon and settle for much less than God has for us because of it.

Church planting is hard enough as it is, so we are getting back to work. Building, pushing, praying, inviting, and remembering why we are here. We are church planters! The road is long and hard! And we embrace it!

The best is yet to come!!!

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting Place Church Update

Its been too long since my last blog so thought I would give an update on the young life of Connecting Place Church! We had our first worship experience on November the 11th, so Sunday was our 10th week. It has been an incredible journey to say the least. We have experienced many challenges over the last year as we prepared for opening day…God has been faithful every step of the way!

Our faith has been tested on every front. From finding a location to hold services at, to losing our worship leader just months before the big day. Once again God is so good. Our team pulled together and everyone has sacrificed to make this happen. (Carey and I are blessed to have the very best people in and around our lives)

Opening day came and went quicker than we could imagine. We had 47 people in service that day. The next month was difficult as we worked like it depended on us and prayed like it depended on God. Honestly there were many times when I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it…have I mentioned that God is good- even when we struggle to trust Him!!!

This past Sunday we had our highest attendance sense opening day. Families are coming and getting connected to what God is doing in the life of our church. Our team continues to grow as people are eager to get involved and serve…what a blessing. God has provided every step of the way and Connecting Place Church is starting to feel like community.

I am grateful to all who have prayed, given, and been a part of this dream becoming a reality. You have been a huge blessing.

Our prayer is that Connecting Place Church becomes a life changing church in our community and beyond. We are already seeing this happen as people come and are challenged and encouraged by God’s Word.

Thanks again to everyone who has been a part of this. We love and appreciate all of you.

Blessings

Tony

Doing Life Together

We believe in doing life together! One of the benefits of doing life with great people is the blessing of watching those you love grow and succeed. Celebrating the accomplishments of those close to you is one of the great blessings in life.

We had a great team meeting last night for Connecting Place Church. We are so excited to launch in just 5 weeks. Carey and Adam took the lead as we talked about guest services and creating an atmosphere where people can connect with God. My wife is so gifted and has brought those gifting’s to the table for years now wherever we have served. She understands what it takes to reach people in the 21st Century. She is a blessing.

Adam opened our meeting with prayer and devotions. Its been my privilege to watch him grow into a committed follower of Jesus and leader in the church. He encouraged us last night with his transparency and passion to do something great in our city… He gets it!

We have been blessed with great people who have caught the vision of our church and are committed to serving this generation…I love out team. We are growing closer every week and I am excited to start Connecting Place Church with them at my side. The people on out team are not just fellow ministers, they are my friends. Carey and I are blessed to do life with great people.

Blessings

Tony

Right around the corner!!!

Carey and I moved here 10 months ago and the start of Connecting Place Church seemed so far away. Now we are 6 weeks from our first preview service and it seems like it’s coming to fast as we tie up all the loose ends of a year of planning. In just 6 weeks the dream will become reality. Please keep us in your prayers. So here is where we are-

Save the date– November 11th is the grand opening of Connecting Place Church @ Red and Jerry’s Event Center @ 10:00 am!!! We invite anyone who can to join us for the big day.

The 31 Campaign– donations are starting to come in and we are grateful for everyone’s support. If you’re thinking about giving now is the time. over the next few weeks we will be ordering all of the equipment, supplies, banners, and a million other things it takes to have church. Every dollar helps so please consider joining The 31 Campaign or giving a one time gift to help us start strong in November. Please visit our website to make a donation. http://connectingplacechurch.com

Online Campus– We are already working on an online campus where you can see our services online from anywhere in the world. Connor Grim has been in contact with Lifechurch.tv and they are helping us in this venture. So keep your fingers crossed and soon you will be able to be with us in service from anywhere!

I could go on and on but that gives you an idea of where we are and what were facing. So keep us in your prayers, consider making a donation to the cause, and be there November 11th @ 10 am…

Blessings

T

Would you help us make a difference

Wanted to give everyone an update on all that’s happening with Connecting Place Church. We have seen so many prayers answered the last few weeks, it has been amazing.

We secured the location for our first campus last week. Our very first public service will be November 11th @ Red and Jerry’s Entertainment center. We have leased The Event Center there and we are so excited to get started. The dream is finally becoming a reality.

As always I want to thank all of you who are standing with us in prayer and financial support. We could not do it without you and we thank God for your support. We still have much work to do but we are seeing great progress.

God is also adding great people to our team, something that we have been praying for. We cannot reach everyone God has called us to reach alone so this has been a huge blessing.

Right now we are launching what we are calling The 31 campaign. We are praying for 100 people who will partner with us by giving 31 dollars a month for one year. Church planting, much like missions work, depends on the faithful generosity of Gods people. This monthly support will enable us to start Connecting Place Church strong and will cover things like our building lease, community outreach, and basic operating costs.

Would you consider being a part of what God is calling us to do here in the Denver area. Any donation will be helpful whether a monthly pledge or one time gift. For convenience we have set up a donation page on our website. http://www.connectingplacechurch.com

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog today. I hope you will partner with us as we endeavor to make a difference in this area.

Blessings

Tony

Connecting Place Church

Hello everyone, I had some time this morning so I thought I would give you an update on our journey here in Denver. So  much has happened in the last 4-5 weeks I don’t even know where to begin.

We’ve been working on our logo and website for some time now and should be finished by next week. This will make it much easier to keep everyone updated on whats going on with Connecting Place Church. Jason Burns from Access Church in Florida has been helping us with this and we are grateful to him.

Several families have joined the team lately and we thank God for bringing great people into  our lives. Several key positions have been filled, you can see more on our website next week.

We are continuing to raise financial support as we get closer to our fall launch. I would like to thank Harvest Assembly and Access Church for their generous donations to the work we’re starting here in Denver.

Please keep us in prayer, we have a meeting next Wednesday at a potential location to begin having services in the fall. As always thanks to everyone who is praying and supporting CPC financially.

Blessings

Tony

Great Weekend

We couldn’t have asked for a better weekend here in Denver. The weather was perfect and we had a great time with our friends. The Lord has blessed us with a great team and we are exited about the launch of Connecting Place Church this fall. Sunday everyone was here for an afternoon of games and good food. The kids had a blast and we all enjoyed the day playing corn hole and talking church.

I’m grateful for all that God has done and what He is going to do in the future. A big thank-you to all of you who are praying and supporting, you are a great encouragement to all of us here.

Fall is coming soon and we still have a lot of work to do. Were excited about the possibility of securing a place to start services in the fall. Were looking at a great location in Englewood for our first campus. About 35 resumes have come in for the worship pastor position and we are narrowing the search day by day and believing God to send us the right person.

We are all working hard and our team is anxiously waiting for September to come. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we have many loose ends to tie up. God is good and we are moving forward with great expectation.

Blessings

Tony

God, open my eyes.

I read a blog yesterday that was written by a pastor that I admire and respect. He talked about his fear of failing God… I could relate to that. Lets be honest, we all fail God. I’m thankful today that His mercy is new every morning. I know that I will let God down today or tomorrow or the next day, it’s just a matter of time. But I found myself praying “God, open my eyes. I don’t want to miss what you are trying to do in and through my life today.”

I don’t want to miss the people who God puts in my path that I am supposed to reach out to. The opportunities to make a difference that I miss because I’m not looking for them…God, open my eyes.

The city that I live, that I’m planting a church, is filled with hurting people. I never want to lose sight of that. I have pastored churches that have forgotten why they exist. They have forgotten that the church is not a building but a community of people who make a difference in the lives of those around them…God, open our eyes.

I want to wake up every morning with the realization that today has a purpose. There is a reason I’m here today and its my job to find that reason. I don’t want to miss those divine appointments because I’m so focused on ME and what I’M doing…God, open my eyes

Connecting Place Update!!!

Well its been about a month since my last blog…busy, busy, busy. Everyone is doing well, the kids only have a few weeks of school left.(Hard to believe) I returned from Florida two weeks ago, had a great time speaking at Harvest Assembly and spending some time with my family.

Carey is loving her job and ive been doing some construction work 3-4 days a week for extra money. I havent done that kind of work in a while so my body is still getting use to it.

We are all working hard as we get ready to launch Connecting Place this fall. Adam is working on finding a place for us to have services, we are exploring many different venues. I have begun the search for a worship leader/pastor. We have received dozens of resumes and really needs Gods direction. As most of you know we desire to do things a little different from most churches so we need the right person for this position.

Conner is working on team building and doing some research of the area for us. He is also doing construction work. God has been so good to all of us, He has provided for every need, especially in the area of employment.

Carey is working on our website which should be up and running in the next two weeks. This will enable us to keep everyone updated, help us get the word out about the starting of the church, and give people an easy way to give online.

A big thanks to those who are supporting financially, and the many who are praying for us. If you havent made a decision to give to this new work would you consider it? We are asking all who would to either make a one time donation or even a monthly pledge for one year. We will have our online giving up and running in a few weeks for your convenience.

I hope this update finds you well. If you have any questions you can always e-mail me at info@tcpwired.com

Our address is:

The Connecting Place

PO Box 371851

Denver, Co 80237

Blessings

Tony