It's Official!

It's official! We have been approved by the Anderson District One School Board to begin our services on October 7th, 2007. This now means that we can begin with our advertising and print stuff. Anderson District One rents out the school to us for one year. After our year is up we have to find another location. We are already looking for our locations for next year when our contract with the school is up. We are thinking a lot about not having just one location but rather two- three locations in the upstate area. We are currently pursuing several different locations in the Easley, Powdersville, Williamston, Piedmont and Anderson areas.

We hope to have at least two locations nailed down by March. That will give us time to prepare for the move. Some people have asked if we will be doing video venues. The answer is no. The whole service will be live and in person. (I know that Sea Coast, North Pointe and others have been using video effectively but it doesn't fit into the vision of what we are trying to do. No offense is intended toward churches doing video but it is just not us.) We will be simply staggering our times to allow some of the staff to travel to the different locations. Our goal is to meet these different communities where they are and make a difference in each of these areas.

As we add our third and fourth location, we will add an additional speaker and we will rotate between locations. This way it will not be known as one person's church but rather a church of many people. We will have the same ministries at each location. I shared some of this in the Core Groups this past week and it was really cool to see the reactions of everyone there. There was a buzz about what God is going to do.

We will be one church with 4 locations. It will be cool to see people from different communities coming together as one. This next year is going to be amazing.

What Does it Take to Start a Church? (Part 3)

Recently, someone who knew I was starting a church, asked me how much money does it take to start a church. I told him that it depends on a number of factors.

You have to consider things like: what type facilities are you going to be renting for your weekly service? Will it be furnished? Is there a sound system? Are you planning on having a projection system? Will you have any paid staff to start? What will you do about computers? How much will it cost to furnish the Children's Area? Will you need a trailer to carry all the stuff you rent or buy? How much will your materials cost for Home Groups? This list could go on and on but I think you get the point.

Anyway, we have decided to focus on some key things at the beginning of our church start. Our main focus is the following aspects: Home Group Fellowship, Children, Youth, College, and Corporate Worship Time.

Having nailed that down, then we had to look and say what are they key elements we need to start? Then we proceeded from there. We wanted to avoid being in heavy debt so we have focused on the basics. Don't get me wrong we are going to do ministry in an excellent way but we did not want to start out way over our head.

So for us that number is $18,000. It will take us about $18000 to start a church. That covers facility rental, sound system, projection system, children's area, computers,materials for home groups, web design and more. The cool thing is that I have hardly shared this with anyone and so far we have had over $5000 given to the church. I am amazed at what God is doing and is going to do. My goal is for us to start into our first week and be completely debt free right from the start.

What Does it Take to Start a Church? Part 2

People- To start a church requires people, but not just warm bodies. To start a church it takes people that are committed to the vision of the church. When people unite with a shared vision of what a church can and should be, then we begin to see the church making a difference in the community in which it operates.

In Acts 2 it talks about how they were working together in unison. They were doing life together. They were authentic in their everyday dealings in the community. People could see that worship was their everyday lifestyle and not just a service on Sunday. They were doing ministry simply by living out each day of their life for Christ.

Starting a church requires people who are willing to do as Mathew 5:16 says when we're called to live our lives each day so that others see Christ working through us and in us.

To many, church today has become a Sunday Morning performance. People dress up and show up to put on their show. On the outside everything looks great but on the inside there is a longing for something more. To start a church it requires people who are committed to allow Sunday Morning to be an extension of Christ working in their lives the other six days of the week. When this begins to happen, the church comes to life and lives begin to be changed.

What Does it take to Start a Church? Part 1

Part 1 Vision-

Back several years ago, Melissa and I began taking a look at church and how it was or wasn't impacting the lives of the people in it. Being on staff it was an introspection process for me and all I was doing or not doing at the time. Melissa and I had several conversations on how the church was impacting or not impacting the lives of people. Then one Sunday we were sitting there in the service and it hit me. I had watched as soloist, deacons, the choir and others had done one part or another in the service and it seemed as if there was a total disconnect.

I began thinking about what I was doing and I realized where the disconnect came from. Most everything that the church(myself included) was doing was totally irrelevant in the life of the average person outside the walls of the church. The reason people were'nt coming was because we had failed to meet people where they were. We were in the 21st century conducting ministry from the 19th century. The same old way of doing things wasn't working but no one would change because it was so comfortable to continue doing things the way they always had been done.

That was over 6 years ago.

God placed a vision on my heart that church could be different. God is still in the business of using the people of the church to reach the world. But if we are going to do this then we have to be willing to change.

I see a church where people are passionate about God. I see a church where it's people are passionate about others. Not concerned about just themselves and what's in it for them but a people who look out for the needs of others.

I see a church where the people are authentic, a place where people are real in their worship. I see a church that lives out this authenticity each day of the week as they worship God with their lifestyle.


I see a church that is relevant in it's presentation of the Message of Christ. I see a church that doesn't get stuck in the rut of traditions. I see a church that is willing to step out in faith to become all things to all men.

And finally I see a church where people give their best to God, not just a half hearted effort. But giving their best realizing that people's eternity is at stake. A church where people don't merely go through the motions but rather dive in head first giving their full effort.

Location

It seems as though I missed the deadline to get on this weeks docket at the school board meeting by a day. So the final decision from the school board won't be made until later this month. Basically though, the school has already signed off on us using the school which is usually the main part. So with all of that said, I am not going to make everyone wait any longer to find out where we will be meeting. Keep in mind that this location is subject to the approval of the school board.

On 10/07/07 at 10:07 a.m. Stone Bridge Church will hold its very first service in the auditorium at Wren High School.

The reason this area was chosen for a new church plant is because Nothern Anderson County/Southern Pickens County is one of the fastest growing areas in the Upstate of SC. Currently, there are 20,000 unchurched people within a 5 mile radius of our location and more than 60,000 unchurched people with in a 10 mile radius. There are currently two new neighborhoods with in 4 miles of our location that will have over 600 new homes with in the next two-three years. That is not including a number of new smaller neighborhoods with 20-100 homes. With all of the growth there comes a need for a new church plant to reach this growing community.

We will focus on our core values as we strive to reach people for Christ. 1.Passionate- We are passionate about God and passionate about people. Luke 10:27
2. Authentic- The world is looking for people who are real. We want to be authentic in our worship while realizing that worship is our lifestyle. Romans 12:1

3. Relevant- Relevant to today's culture. Changing our methods, never changing God's message. 1 Corinthians 9:21-23
4. Excellent- Excellence in all we do. Excellence is not perfection but rather offering our best. Luke 21:1-3

More details will be coming out in the next couple of weeks. Our website is getting closer to being up and running. Be sure to mark your calendars for 10/07/07 and begin inviting folks on what promises to be an awesome day.

More Logistics

This morning I started the day with a couple of hours worth of paper work getting all of the proper stuff together for our 501 3c status. I had no idea that there was so much paper work involved in the process. It wasn't that hard, just time consuming.

After that I headed off to meet with a sound and projection guy. He is working us up a qoute for all of our sound system and projection needs. We won't necessarily have all of the bells and whistles but we will have enough to be functional from the start. We will be making a decision on what system this week. We are working with my friend Danny Crawford at the Music Maker in Easley. Be sure and check those guys out if you are in need of anything sound equipment related.

After I left Easley, it was off to Greenville to the lawyers office to get our paper work checked out. I left there and then went by Comp USA where I spent the better part of 2 hours checking about exactly what Macs we would need for our editing, graphics and presenting. After that it was after five and I called it a day.

Tommorrow is the big day with the school board and I hope to be able to share our location with everyone on Wednesday. I also will be sharing more on the vision of Stone Bridge when I share the location. Things are getting exciting. There is a buzz in the air and I can't wait to see what takes place.

10 07 07 @10:07

10 07 07 @10:07. So what does that mean? Well, that is the start date for Stone Bridge Church. 10/07/07 at 10:07 a.m.. You will see that a ton in the next two months. Today was another day of getting after it. Today I spent a lot of time talking with the new church plant office and they have sent out the papers for us to get our 501 3c status as a non profit church. I had a meeting with the school that we will probably be meeting at for our services. I met with the principal and everything is looking good. I have filled out all the paperwork and will be sending in our first month's rent tommorrow to lease out the facility for Sundays. We are looking at another location to have our youth ministry on Wednesdays.

I have spent the last few days answering questions about the church and gearing up for our first week. I am going to meet with the guys who will be leading our worship tommorrow. We are also taking a look at some graphics and stuff tommorrow as well. I have a meeting with our web designer on Friday. We have purchased our web domain and it will be Stonebridgechurch.tv . Dot com, dot net , and dot org were already taken so we went with dot tv.

I am going to set up our core group meetings and they will begin meeting in the next few weeks. This will be a chance to learn more about the church as well as ask questions. It will be awesome.

Stone Bridge Church

It's official, Stone Bridge Church will be launching mid to late Fall of 2007. In the Fall of 2002, Sammy and Melissa Clary began praying about a new church plant in the upstate of South Carolina. Over the course of the next few years things began to fall in place and the wheels began to be set in motion. In 2004, Sammy met with one of his good friends from Alabama, Cavin Cawthon, and they identified a couple of areas in the upstate of South Carolina for a new church plant. Again, the timing was not right but things still began to progress. Over the course of the last few years things have gradually moved in that direction. In February, Sammy and Melissa returned from Cincinnati,OH after spending a year and three months there during their son's bone marrow transplant.

Over the past six months, some amazing things took place. Sammy was able to be involved in Marathon Church as just a regular church member. This allowed him to learn and began to refine the vision for Stone Bridge Church. After much prayer, it was time to make a move. Sammy shared this vision with some friends and they began to pray. Again Sammy's friend Cavin Cawthon was able to provide demographic information and a location was chosen. The location will reach people from across the Easley, Liberty, and Piedmont areas. The exact location will be announced in the coming days as soon as contracts are signed.

This blog will provide a step by step look into the planting of a church. It will be candid and will share what takes place during the first year in the life of a church.

What can you do? Pray for us as we begin this new endeavor. We will begin some informational and core group meetings in the coming days. They will be announced on this site and Sammy's personal site.

Who are the staff? Sammy Clary is the lead pastor. Sammy has 14 years experience in Student Ministry and served on staff of churches varying in size and nature. Other staff members will be announced in the coming weeks and months.