Winner or Loser?!?

In ministry, it’s not always easy to measure whether you’re “Winning or Losing.”  One of the trickiest parts about being in ministry is developing the gauges that can tell you from month to month whether or not you’re taking ground and being successful.

The common guages of “Bucks, Budgets & Bodies” are a pathetic measuring tool for Pastors, because they just don’t tell the whole story… at all!

So today, I sat down for a few minutes and reflected on the last 30 days of Matt Keller’s life.  Here’s what I realized…

•    This month I helped a guy raise $15,000 for his Church Plant  (www.YourPlaceChurch.com)
•    I was the catalyst for a feeding the hungry campaign that will feed several hundred people for a month!  (www.FeedingFortMyers.com)
•    I also inspired over 100 people and families to walk across the street and invite their neighbors to a part where they can know their names and start actually building a relationship with people that live within a few hundred feet of their front door.  (www.FeedingFortMyers.com)
•    I inspired a Church Planter in Youngstown, OH to keep going, to keep believing and dreaming and going Up-the-Middle, and yesterday they had 7 new visitors and 2 people are no longer going to hell because of it.  (www.LifewayCommunity.com)
•    This month I got to have a 12 hour conversation with 50 pastors in Minnesota because the Assemblies of God bought them all a copy of my book.  (www.UptheMiddle.com)
•    This month I got to inspire a woman in IN & a pastor in Estero, FL to get their churches to start spending time daily in God’s Word w/ SOAP!  (www.nextlevelchurch.com/SOAP)
•    This month I taught a girl in our Last-Saturday SOAP Group to SOAP for the 1st time.
•    This month I spent 2 hours teaching a Pastor in Lehigh how we think about church.
•    This month I inspired 50 leaders to see Young Leaders in our church and create space for them.
•    This month I gave our worship team permission to stretch themselves and lead our church into a more experiential expression of who God is that we worship.
•    This month I had a great date night with my wife
•    This month I had a great Boys day at the ballpark with my 2 boys, Will & Drew, at the Rays Game!
•    This month I SOAPed everyday!

What a great month!  I like my new filters for success…

Matt

I'm Pumped about my SOAP Group!!!

I wanted to let everyone know that my SOAP Connection Group is meeting this Saturday @ 8:30 am @ Panera on US 41 in the Best Buy Plaza in Fort Myers.

If you've never SOAPed before, then this is the time for you! It's so cool and casual and yet God is so real and present.

All you need to do is show up, bring your Bible and Journal, and I'll take care of the rest.

I'm always amazed at how God shows up and speaks to each of us individually and then to all of us collectively as a group as well.

I hope you can make it Saturday,

See you then,

Pastor Matt

For a complete explanation of SOAP go to:  www.NextLevelChurch.com/SOAP

Welcome to the Benjamin Revolution

So I got this idea while on the phone last week with one of our Church Planters that we trained at R9 last November.

We're calling it:

The Benjamin Revolution

Here's the deal:

He needs to raise $15,000 cash by his launch day on Easter Sunday, April 12th, which is like 3 weeks away! So I challenged him that we don't need a couple of people to give him several thousand dollars.  We need 150 people to simply give him a $100 bill.

So we're going for it.  The countdown is on!!!  150, $100 bills in 3 weeks!

AND... (& I love this) he's using his twitter account to keep people up to date minute by minute!  (@DarianRains)

So people can literally follow along every time someone gives him another Benjamin.

If you want to help my friend get to 150 Benjamin's by launch day, it's easy, you can use your Visa, MasterCard, or Debit simply click this link:

The Benjamin Revolution

Let's work together and see Darian absolutely blow 150 Benjamin's out of the water!

What a great way to go into the launch of your church plant!!!

Oh yeah, one more thing... Can you send this blog link to about 6 people who could throw Darian a Benji??? Thanks!

www.MattKellerOnline.com

Thanks for your help,

Matt Keller

If you're NOT at NLC, you're missing it!

I can't even begin to tell you how God is showing up at NLC recently.  What an amazing thing to see Jesus taking us to a deeper place in Him then we've ever been before.

In addition, God is giving us unprecedented opportunities as a church to impact:

1. Our Neighborhoods. I am pumped that we are SO CLOSE to having all 100 Parties for our FeedingFortMyers.com campaign on Saturday, April 4th.  If you haven't registered your party go to www.NextLevelChurch.com/party and register now.  We have never had an easier way for you to "Build a bridge" and connect to your neighbors relationally and invite them to be apart of something that is changing lives!  People find hope when they get beyond themselves and touch someone else!


2. Our Community. FeedingFortMyers.com is going to be huge! I spent last week doing radio and TV interviews and each time all I heard was, "I've never heard of anyone doing anything like this before!"  I'm telling you empowering neighborhoods to "Party with a Purpose" is a revolutionary idea with Exponential Impact!!!  We're going to feed hundreds of people RIGHT HERE in our community for nearly a month!!!


3. Our Region. Do you know what happens when you empower hundreds of people to connect with hundreds of neighbors to give food to feed thousands of people???  Answer:  GOD SHOWS UP!!!  And man, is He ever!  God is showing up in our Sunday mornings at South Fort Myers High School.  Make it a priority to be there every week.
   


4. Our Nation. We are now coaching 30 churches across the US.  Also, we are working with Nathan and Lisa Camp to launch Next Level Church - Orlando in September! God is multiplying our influence nationwide!


5. Our World. We are coaching 40 pastors every month in the Philippines just to name one!  Not to mention what God is doing through our missionaries in Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, the Dominican Republic and Latin America! Seriously, it's awesome!

3 Ways You Can Be Apart of the Move of God at NLC:

1. Show Up. If you haven't made Sundays at NLC a priority, why in the world not???  By the way, if you haven't come to 1st service at 9 am, you really need to! It's like being the first kid in line for the drinking fountain, the water's just colder!


2. Sign Up. Register your party at www.NextLevelChurch.com/party Get involved in a ministry.  Start giving online.  Do something.  Take a step because God is doing the miraculous!


3. Step Up. Where do you need to take a step in terms of involvement at NLC.  When we step up, God will show up and the impact we can make together is staggering!  Don't miss this amazing season we're in as a church!

Praying for you this week,

Pastor Matt

The FeedingFortMyers Campaign is going to be HUGE!!!

In an effort to impact the hurting and needy of Southwest Florida, Next Level Church is launching a campaign called, FeedingFortMyers.com.  The goal is simple:  Enlist 100 neighborhoods to throw 100 parties in 1 day to raise 10,000 cans for our local Soup Kitchen.

If you haven't signed up your party and gotten your "Official Party Kit", you can do so today at www.NextLevelChurch.com.

The parties will all be taking place on Saturday, April 4th at various times!  The details are completely up to each Party Host, and the vision is clear.  Challenge your neighbors to collectively bring at least 100 cans to the party.

Then... on Palm Sunday, April 5th, we're gathering all of the cans from all of the parties at Next Level Church at South Fort Myers High School! Think of it, over 10,000 cans in 1 day!

It's crazy to think of the thousands of lives we're going to impact together as we empower our neighborhoods to Eat Food... Bring Cans... & Feed the Hungry.

Check out www.FeedingFortMyers.com for all the details!!!

Why I'm excited about the Economy!!!

There is one aspect of our economy that makes me excited these days.  The turn toward Wise Stewardship and Simplicity.

Dave Ramsey said, "In an UP economy, my principles seem weird.  But in a DOWN economy, my principles seem wise." I am so excited that our nation is swinging back toward Wise Stewardship and Simplicity when it comes to the way we handle our money.  It's the message of the Bible and our churches and I'm grateful that for a season, the culture around us, is giving us a healthy shove!

It's so easy to complain about the negative messages our culture sends to people today, but this is one that the church should be standing up and applauding, because it is the same as OUR Message!

We, as leaders in the church world today, need to be capitalizing on this opportunity to teach our people about how to handle their finances God's way. There is a renewed hunger among the young generation to hear a "different" and "unique" approach to handling our money.  After all, perhaps for the first time in several generations, young people are saying, "Maybe the way the world says to handle money DOESN'T work?!?"

Leaders, let's take advantage of this.  If they're asking, we need to be telling.  Don't be afraid to teach people in your influence what God says about money.  "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." Let's appear! It's time for the leaders in the Body of Christ to show up and start setting the record straight about how we can honor God and invite His blessing on our personal finances.

For more information on what that can look like, check out the series we did in February of this year entitled:  Piggybank.

Just a bloggish thought,

Matt

Update from Luke Walters; Missionary to Sri Lanka

I had a chance to spend 45 minutes on the phone with one of our missionaries, Luke Walters, last week.  God is using this guy in a huge way in the nation of Sri Lanka and in the 10/40 window, which is where the greatest number of "unreached" people in the world live.

Over the past couple of years, Luke has worked to establish a beachhead for the Gospel in some incredible ways.  Listen to this:

• He is helping to train over 200 government officials and business leaders in the nation on what it means to live their lives according to the Bible and honor God with their lives.

• Luke said, "In the midst of civil war, God is raising up a people to take the nation for the Gospel in the next generation.

• In the midst of all that God is doing in Sri Lanka, Luke and his family are in transition personally.  His daughter is going to be married very soon and his youngest daughter graduates from high school in June, thus making he and Sandi "empty nesters."

We need to pray for God's guiding as they step into the next season of what God has for them, their family and their ministry in the next 20 years.

What a privilege to be a supporter of such a powerful, God focused ministry.

Check out their website at:  www.Map1040.com

We're in a Unique Season

For about a week or so now, I have had this strong sense that we are in a Unique Season as a church.  If you were in either of our services yesterday, March 1st, then you know what I'm talking about.  If not, you can catch it on Video at www.Nextlevelchurch.com/video or go to iTunes and search their podcast section for Next Level Church Video.

Anyway, I have this strong sense that even in the midst of an "Economic Winter" season in our community, God is bringing a "Spiritual Summer" Season to our church!  God is wanting to bring harvest, and refreshment, and increase to our lives in some profound ways in the days ahead.

If you're apart of Next Level Church here in SW FL, I encourage you to not miss what God is doing in our church. Each Sunday God is going to touch us in some profound ways.  Make it a priority to be there, especially thorughout this Taboo Series we're doing on Questions.  God is going to make Himself real to so many of us.

I would love to hear your story or testimony of what God is doing in your heart. Feel free to share it in the comments section of this blog.

Let's keep pressing in to God during this unique season we find ourselves in...

Pastor Matt