Wow! Over 500 People at our new Campus!

Campus Launch Team at Northwestern

Today we officially launched a new Substance campus at Northwestern.   And, thanks to God, it was a wild success.  Using viral networking alone, we ended up getting over 400 new visitors at our new campus this Sunday… (And we’re not even going to do our “real promotion” of the new campus for another 4 weeks!!!!)  Wow!

Obviously, we’ve been growing all through out the summer; yet, we had over 400 college students gone for summer.  And we knew that, as soon as our students returned, we’d be out of seats (as Fridley High-school Theater only seats around 1400 in two services).  So, having the ability to launch a new site in Northwestern’s 1300 seat multi-media auditorium was perfect.

In fact, I did a short video diary of the entire day (I.e., I videotaped my thoughts as I travelled and experienced both campuses).  Check it out on youtube!   www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlQhySWKu1k

Of course, our fancy new video technology almost failed us for our first service at Fridley (where I preached live); but, never fear:  It was flawless for the second one (which was the one that counted).  Then I went over to Northwestern to preach at the 10:30 service.  Of course, Northwestern is gorgeous (& the sound & lighting system is equally amazing).

So hat’s off to all of our amazing ministry teams who made this happen.  Believe it or not, we’ve involved almost 300 new people into ministry in the last couple months.  And we not only expanded into Northwestern; but, if you pay close attention to Fridley, we’re upgrading both our video and our sound.  So great job everyone!

Also, I just want to re-clarify our new meeting times:  (So here’s the big picture).

Saturday,             5pm – Live Video Recording and cafe

Sunday,             9 & 11 am – Fridley Highschool Auditorium

Sunday,             10:30 am – Northwestern College’s Maranatha Hall

I’m actually going to be speaking live at all three locations each weekend.  (The 11am at Fridley will be a mix between creative video and live).  However, both the worship band and I are going to be mixing it up so that no venue feels like a “lesser” venue.

But let me warn you:  The first couple weeks may be a bit chaotic.  Attendance at specific services may fluctuate wildly for about a month.  But, just hold on; after all, by this November, everything will level off!

So, we appreciate your patience with all of our “growth chaos.”  But even more, we appreciate your volunteerism and prayers in the coming weeks.

I believe in my heart that the Twin Cities will never be the same!!!!  So let’s give thanks to God.  Agreed?