If you’d like to know more about our ministry please visit us at transformchurch.us. And if you have a testimony of the amazing things that God is doing in your life through our ministry, please email it to [email protected].
we’re gonna end this series I’ve stride
a little differently because I think
it’s my responsibility as the visionary
in the lead pastor of this church to let
you know where we’re going and this is
our vision series and for four weeks
I’ve talked to you personally about how
you’re supposed to strive how Jesus
walked in and then we talked about
running is overrated and why are we
running and then we talked about finding
the pace of grace and last week we
talked about less is more yeah and today
God practically wants me to not even
really preach but present to you what
this church is called to do because a
lot of you I have experienced
transformation church but you don’t know
why and and what we’re doing and I
believe that it’s very important that
you understand what we’re doing why
we’re doing it so there can be a deeper
level of commitment and involvement and
what God’s doing here cuz he wants to
use you to get his will done on the
earth and so today we’re gonna talk
about vision and it’s about you but it’s
about you second it’s about what God
wants to do first and how he wants to
use you to be a part of it and it’s kind
of that Matthew 6:33 life that if we
seek first the kingdom of God and right
standing righteousness he says if you do
my will first he’s like I know the
desires of your heart like I know the
things that you want he said but do what
I want first and I’ll add those things
to you that you desire and it won’t just
be what you think you desire it would be
what you really want see we only have a
part of what we think we want but God
knows what we really wanted what we
really need but he says I gotta come
first cuz he’s a God of priority and so
I want to talk about this church God’s
church and the vision of transformation
Church today because vision is a big
deal I want you to write that down right
now I want you to write that down
vision is a big deal and vision is a big
deal for your family for your business
vision is a big deal for for your
marriage it’s a big deal if you’re in
high school where are you going what are
you doing what are you trying to do well
what what has God placed on your heart
and many people go through life and they
have a vision they just see things and
they go after them and that’s the
difference between sight and vision
vision is what you see when your eyes
are closed
sight is what you see when your eyes are
open and many of us don’t have vision we
have sight oh that’s a good job I’ll do
that oh that’s a degree that seems
awesome I’ll do that oh that’s somebody
I could marry I mean I could work it out
I’ll do that and so we live our life the
scripture in our minds is like we walk
by sight and not by faith oh you know
that’s the wrong thing but that’s how
you live God I only can believe you for
what I see I only can believe you for
what’s here but God says we walk by day
and not by so the only way you can do
that is if you get a vision and so I’m
excited today because I get to talk
about the thing that I see where my eyes
are closed like I get to I get to stand
up here and I get to see because when
there was only this many people in the
church I stood here and I saw this many
people and I saw more than this many
people I saw an auditorium I saw us
being able to go across the entire word
preaching the message of God but I can’t
see it now that’s my sight I see it now
and God’s asking you today what do you
see when your eyes are closed what house
are you living in when your eyes are
closed what what who are you impacting
when your eyes are closed because that’s
what needs to be your motivation not
what you see yeah not what well god I’m
working this job but do you see your
business but do you see your fortune 500
company start working off of the vision
I’ve given you cuz vision is a big deal
some of you husbands and wives you look
like look at this god is this what I
found out for and he said stop looking
with sight look with vision oh God he
got a steward
hey y’all bow
but but what happens is you start
declaring and working on what you see
when your eyes are closed not what you
see when your eyes are open and so God
wants us to have everybody shot at me
vision he wants us to have vision
because vision is a big deal look at
proverbs 29:18 and i’ma read it in the
message version because it really
encapsulates what we are supposed to do
it says if people can’t see what God is
doing they stumble all over themselves
like I want you to see how powerful that
is if y’all can’t see what God is doing
we stumble into wrong relationships we
stumble into bad business deals we
stumble into these things and we act
like God left us he said you don’t see
what I’m doing but look what the rest of
this fence it says but when they attend
or they partner or they get in line or
the pace they get in pace with what I
reveal he said they are most blessed and
that’s my desire for every person that
you would be most blessed the only way
you can be most bless is if you find out
what God is doing and you see it clearly
that’s why he wants me to spend a whole
Sunday talking about the vision of this
church because I only have three
objectives today I want you to see what
God is doing at teasing I want everybody
to see what God is doing so imma tell
stories I’m gonna give I’m gonna give
numbers I’m gonna do all those things
because I think this will help you
clearly see what God is doing then I
want you to figure out that there
there’s opportunities for you to take
part in what God is doing at TCC this is
not a church for patrons this is a
church for participants the day to come
to church and to sit down and watch and
that was good I’ll tip them today go to
another church and most people wouldn’t
say that but we have a world to change
here we don’t have a religious club to
check off of our Sunday duties up went
to church selphie God is good that’s not
what we do here we came to establish the
kingdom of God on earth through a bunch
of people who are not perfect but who
are progressing and so this season many
of you are going to start participating
in what is
what God is doing and my my highest goal
as a pastor is to see you be most
blessed like like I want what the word
says for you to come to passed in your
life and that’s why I’m gonna share
vision today and I want to just tell you
for those of you that don’t know I want
to tell you t sees vision and it’s real
simple but if you’ve never seen it
before I want you to write it down some
of you you can tattoo it on your back I
don’t know but I want you to to remember
this our vision that transformation
church is representing God to the Lost
and Found for transformation in Christ
can we say that together our vision here
is representing God to the lost in found
for transformation in Christ and I want
to break that down just a little more
for you but that word representing when
God gave me this vision he impacted in
and kind of like unfolded it to me and
that word representing has a few
different meanings in it the first one
is that we’re gonna represent God or
show God differently and and this is
something that I love because this is
what we do in everything that we do how
we dress how we mark it
I speak the word we’re trying to show
God differently and I think of the
example of McDonald’s McDonald’s has
been a company that’s been around since
1940 okay and McDonald’s started off
with the cheeseburger the Big Mac and
french fries and over over years and
decades they have been able to last as
an organization and now they got bougie
and they got the mick cafe you
understand their ain’t no
McDonald’s no more stomach half bag
anyway but they’ve been able to last
because they decided to show their
product differently they they decided to
take the same core ingredients and the
same core beliefs but but continue to
update them as it goes on and and this
McDonald’s back here was one of the
originals in 1940 where they had 15 cent
hamburgers and we all can agree that
McDonald’s does not have the best
hamburger amen but they have the most
famous hamburger because they decided
that they were going to continue to
change an update and represent
themselves know
what came and so now I go up to
McDonald’s this week to give my son some
chicken nuggets and that woman said to
me I never met her before guess what she
said to me welcome back to McDonald’s
how do you know I’ve been here but they
are so confident that their their
products has penetrated the whole world
that they can say they know you’ve
experienced them before and what God
wants us to do is have a church that
pushes the product that never changes
that bet that people we would be so
confident that we will be able to say
welcome back to the experience of God
welcome back to the presence of God
welcome back to life change because we
kept updating with the time or we can be
a blockbuster Church see some of y’all
that are younger don’t even know what
blockbuster is like what his blog was
for everybody who’s about 25 or older
there was this building that you used to
go to and it was yellow and blue and you
used to have to rent movies and then
they upgrade it and you can rent DVDs
and if you didn’t bring them back over
time you paid $100
anybody remember blockbuster out there
okay but the thing that’s so sad about
blockbuster is they were the first
company who had an opportunity to go
into streaming videos and they decided
not to because they said it would never
catch on and because they didn’t
represent what they were doing they are
now extinct you cannot find a
blockbuster anywhere in America because
they didn’t represent themselves and it
kind of looks like the church right now
that the church is so dead so religious
so full of what has been and we won’t
start representing ourselves and so what
happens is we become extinct but not on
our watch oh come on not on our watch we
are going to represent we’re going to
show God differently and then that same
word we’re gonna re present like we’re
gonna give God differently I don’t know
about you but some of my best gifts
we’re gifts that were given to me
that somebody else once had and it
brought them joy and then they decided
to give it to me and it brought me joy
too that’s what God wants us to do with
salvation he doesn’t want us to receive
salvation and then hoard it he wants us
to be those that have gotten life change
and then we give it to other people it’s
kind of like this hoodie that I have I
have a hoodie um give it to me please
brother ad this is my favorite hoodie
right now this represent goodie we just
came out with these a little bit ago and
it has the vision on the side of it I
literally wear this hoodie six times a
week like not even playing going to the
grocery store this hoodie going on a
date this hoodie like I’m serious like I
wear all the time and it’s brought me
great joy what God wants us to do is
take things that have brought us great
joy and he wants to give it to somebody
else I saw your hand right there you
want the city baby girl come get it
real quick we all give it up for my
sister right now she knew what was
happening
she was discerning in the spirit she
said I am the one what’s your name Haley
Katie we’re so glad that you’re here I
hope this brings you so much joy god
bless you we all give it up for Katie
matter of fact Katie you can put that on
right now I’m anyway happy just fun okay
look what I’m saying to you when she
walked away she had joy because
something that brought me life and joy I
gave it to somebody else and it brought
them life and joy that’s what God wants
you to do with the gospel no longer for
silent Christians well I don’t want to
offend anybody the Word of God offends
people but we’re not supposed to offend
people oh you missed it you missed it
the Word of God offends people you’re
not supposed to offend people see many
times we take a stance like we wrote the
Bible and we were set up we look we
learning it too there’s an area if we
put a microscope on our life there’s an
area that is not lining up with the Word
of God even the one speaking
so what we’re supposed to do is put out
the Word of God but wrap it in love and
say hey I know this is hard to hear but
I’m struggling with this too but maybe
we can walk together and we can we can
go the same way and so we got to be a
church that read presents God and gives
it differently
and then this is the last part of that
we got to be a church that represents
God same word we’re gonna represent him
we’re gonna repress in him and we’re
gonna represent him and that means we’re
gonna promote God differently now today
is the Super Bowl and I don’t know if
you go on for the Eagles or the Patriots
but let me hear you real quick who you
going for right now okay how many y’all
don’t care anybody we don’t care we
don’t care that’s hilarious
but no matter who you’re rooting for
because my team is not in it Dallas but
I just you know now if they was in it
it’d be on another I’d be up here today
preaching in a full football pads no but
but why why would I feel inclined to do
that is because I believe in something
that I’ve been able to attach to that
really doesn’t give me anything but joy
temporarily or so maybe we shouldn’t
call it Jovi should just call it
happiness because I know I’ve been sick
sometimes when the Dallas Cowboys just
lost just like oh my god my wife was
like do you want to eat no why did that
have why did that have an effect on my
emotions when these people don’t even
they don’t even know I’m alive and they
have no they have no care think I paid
millions whether i watch or not but
somehow I attach to something that was
greater than me and that’s what God
wants us to do but he wants it to do it
to the thing that won’t ever change and
I want to show you a picture because
today there are people painting their
faces that there are people right now
prepared to be in Minnesota with no
clothes on I want you to hear what I’m
saying
this man right here has feathered
himself now he has a family probably
investments it probably drives a nice
car he did not care about how he looked
because he was promoting what he
believed in now why can we find people
in all races
ages and genres to do that for a gang
where people are running a pigskin
crossed some hashed lines and we come in
here and got it saved us sustained us
provide it for us and we want to but I
dare you to be a church that says I will
not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus
because it is the power of God until I
dare you just for one second to forget
who’s around you and begin to praise God
and the waves make out you’re worthy
yeah what a mighty God we serve what I’m
telling you is if you get sick of
praising and shouting and clapping
you’re not gonna like this and I’m not
saying that everybody has the worship
and praise the same but there has to be
some expression for what God has done
because and everybody’s thing is not
football but yours may be fashion make
up some of the women’s sales you’ll do a
dance so for a target sale like you and
you’ll tell everybody about it did y’all
know y’all be God is good yeah that’s
what you wanna praise all I’m saying is
as a church we’re called to representing
represent him re present him give him
differently and they represent him we’re
supposed to promote him differently and
I believe when we do that we get to
understand and see what God is doing so
who who are we to do this for Pastor
Mike we’re to do this for the lost and
the family and I love this because the
lost is God’s passion I want you to
realize this every parent would
understand this if you lose your kid you
do not care what’s going on in life you
want to be back with your time my
parents lost me when I was about 10
years old and I was being disobedient
and we stopped at a gas station between
Texas and Louisiana Shreveport Louisiana
and uh and my dad told me stay in the
car Michael and I was like okay and I
saw some money in the ashtray that he
used for tow so I stole the money Jesus
all that’s crazy and I went inside and I
saw taken anybody remember the the the
tech in the fighting game yeah I was
killer at that game and I saw that and I
went in and played the game and I came
back outside and the van was gone now
this was in the middle of nowhere I
walked back in and I just started crying
and my parents had so many kids they
didn’t know that I was gone for 45
minutes just gone just praising the Lord
praying in tongues turn around and at
some moment they realized I was gone and
they had an appointment to be – I
remember it like it was just they were
supposed to be ministering that night
but they had an appointment but they
didn’t care because their son was gone
so they cancelled their plans they
turned around no matter what it cost and
they went back to where they thought I
was because they did not want to live
life without me
that’s the same thing God does for every
person who’s lost
you’re in an alternate lifestyle you’re
homosexual you’re still God’s passion I
know church people don’t like to hear
that stuff but I’m telling you God loves
you and he’s so sad that you’re not not
with him right now and he’s chasing
after you if you’re broken if you’re
hurting and that’s why this place is a
place it’s a meeting place for daddy and
his children so so so why do you invite
your friends here and cuz daddy’s gonna
be here and maybe they haven’t been able
to find a place where they knew that
that daddy was invited because a lot of
times we took him out of our schools
he’s not invited there anymore we took
him out of government we took him out of
and he said but I need a place where
people can know no matter what they’re
going through no matter how broken they
are no matter how jacked up then no
matter what they’re still addicted to
they can meet daddy here and that’s why
this church is focused on seeing people
that are lost far from God come to
Christ but then he gives us a double
assignment that we’re supposed to reach
out and represent to those who are found
that’s God’s people and this is the
thing it is so funny that the prodigal
son story many times we get as people
who are believers and we’ve been saved
and God’s done to work on us we get mad
because so much attention goes to those
who are wiling out like maybe I should
don’t have sex with everybody and maybe
I should stop giving then I can get some
attention and the father came like God
comes to us and says don’t you realize
that everything that I’ve had is yours
like like you don’t need to be like
we’re rejoicing and throwing a party
because the one who was lost has now
been found but you’ve been found this
whole time you have access to everything
that I have so the peace that they’ve
been searching for you you got access to
it the whole time and that’s why I want
you to understand as a church we are not
leave focused we are we focused we can
not be about us we have to be about
others and God honors us as we’re about
others and so one of the things we have
to realize is that this church is
supposed to help found people who’ve
been dead in their faith and just coming
out of religion we want you to be
revived when you come here why
administer with so much passion why I’m
sweating out of my clothes is because I
want something my same to go clear and
shoot life and shoot and soup hope back
into your life because we’re not
supposed to exist as believers we’re
supposed to thrive as believers and be
light and salt in the earth and so I
want dry them out round the mouth
Christians to come in here I want people
who haven’t worship in the wild coming
and staying here long enough did you go
and get around somebody and the Holy
peer is gonna say player homie
and you go you’re gonna start serving
and you’re gonna start moving things
because God’s plan for you is bigger
than what you’ve been living and so
we’re gonna represent two lost-and-found
and I think about it because over this
course of the the past three months
we’ve been able to clarify I’m something
I want to share with you for the first
time that transformation church is not
going to be a church who does everything
we’re not gonna be a church that tries
to do everything we’re gonna be a church
that does a few things really well
and I’ve struggled with this for the
past three years because I’ve always
wanted everybody to realize how we want
to do this for you and we want to have
men’s ministry and we want to have dog
ministry and then we want to have then
we want to have makeup ministry and we
want to have and God said you will be
you will be good at a lot of things and
never great at one thing he said I need
you to focus the same rememberwhat
striding means walking and long decisive
steps in a specific direction and so we
got with the team and a coach and we
were getting to go to do a process to
define who’s our target audience like
who are we trying to reach and I want to
introduce you to him today
his name is stormy everybody say hi
stormy and you’re saying who is stormy
let me tell you who’s stormy is he’s the
culturally consuming 28-year old dad who
is hurting and far from God let me give
you some actual images of some body I
would consider stormy these are people
who care about their fashion and they
they care about how it looks and they
care about about being seen but they’re
really searching for peace and they they
they may have had a child out of wedlock
or maybe got a couple baby mamas on the
side but but they’re really trying to
figure out what life is all about in
they’re worried about status and all of
that other stuff this is our target
audience and this young man right here
is my real little brother that this is
who I pray for when I come to this
church when I sit on this altar and I
and I and I cry out to God I said I
don’t want to lead a church that my
family can’t be reached
I don’t want to reach the world and the
people that I grew up in I don’t I don’t
want to live a life where the people
closest to me that can’t see the
authenticity of what God is doing in my
life
and this wasn’t just me that we started
the criteria and I was like that’s my
brother I said though that’s that’s him
and and I came in here because I already
hear somebody well what about me I’m not
culturally relevant I’m not I’m not
twenty-eight uh this is what I want you
to realize that that that if we don’t
target something we miss everything and
and we we learned that we got to have
aim in what God is doing and so let me
put it to you like this
how many people over the age of 20 have
an apple product iPhone iPad raise your
hand high Apple Computer all that other
stuff they’ve stopped
they’ve never marketed to you they’ve
been marketing to people from the age of
12 to 17 you’re not Apple’s target
market they’ve never done it for a very
long time because they know that if they
can hit that target market it’ll
splatter over to everybody else and what
God wants us to realize it’s that we’re
the splatter of this person let me put
it like if I had a a ball full of paint
and I don’t want you to put this target
up there and you imagine me throwing and
I hit the target and I hit stormie what
happens is that ball full of paint
splatters onto everybody else and so
when we get stormy and and and we do
things for him his family gonna come see
his mama gonna say who in the world
change this boy I’ve been praying for
him for 68 years and his friends his
baby mama his crew everybody be like you
don’t say it’s for me
you don’t even talking about God I mean
we was lit up last night but he just
really got a real spiritual on us and
invited us all to church and said we
could come to this place smelling like
weed like and we could do this and he
started leading I see y’all don’t see
the vision gap and and once we get his
friends did we get all his fans all his
groupies
all the girls that think he’s so cute
and so professional and so fine and all
this other stuff what happens is
everybody gets affected if we hit our
target as a church we’re gonna be the
chick-fil-a of churches y’all know what
I’m talking about
chick-fil-a does chicken they don’t do
tacos
they don’t do fish sticks do you
understand what I’m saying what is
chick-fil-a do chicken and because they
do chicken and they do chicken whale and
they have perfected their sauces my god
today I’m gonna give them a chick-fil-a
sauce phrase in the name because they
perfected what they do where all other
fast food chains are usually open 24
hours a day seven days a week
chick-fil-a is open from I believe 6
a.m. to 10 p.m. 6 days a week and the
average fast food restaurant does 1
million dollars a year in in gross
revenue chick-fil-a 5 million because
they decided that they’re not gonna do
everything but they’re gonna do some
things really well y’all why am I
telling you about stormy because I want
you to stop judging him and stormy can
be a man or a woman it can be yeah y’all
got what I’m saying it’s not a specific
important but it’s a type of person and
many times when we say I’ll look at them
I’m coming in here oh you need to change
her clothes or Alma no that’s what we’re
called to reach
that’s who you start supporting that’s
what that’s what you take out to lunch
why do I do that Pastor Mike because if
we get them we’re gonna get everybody
else and so some of you are sitting here
and you’re saying so why is TC doing
this why why do we feel like we’re doing
this it’s for one reason and one reason
only transformation in crisis I know for
me that there was nothing that was able
to change my heart from being
manipulative or it lustful or anything
except the power of Jesus that’s it
money just magnified who I really was
like it just it just took it to another
level
but Jesus can actually transform your
life and so what we want to do is we
want to see people transform why are we
doing this because I really believe the
old song that Andre crowd saying that
Jesus is the answer for the world today
above him there’s no other Jesus is the
way government’s not gonna do it the
entertainment industry is not gonna do
it’s going to be one word that at that
name every knee will bow and every
tongue confess can we say it together
what’s his name she if we don’t provide
a place where people can be transformed
in Christ everything goes wrong and some
of you still aren’t believing me y’all
sitting up here like okay pass a mic
that’s good where we presenting God’s
laws and found for transformation in
Christ but how Becca to to look what her
Becca to to says because I want you to
get a vision for your life for this
church for your business it says and
then God answered it says write this but
like write what you see everybody say
what I see not your sight your vision
write what you see when your eyes are
closed write what you see in that dorm
room but that you barely can pay for
write what you see and he says write it
out in big black letters so that it can
be read on the run or maybe I say read
while we’re walking the vision message
is a witness pointing to what’s coming I
stood here three years ago to this day
and I received the baton from Bishop
Gary and pastor Debbie and I stood up
and I said this church is gonna be
multi-ethnic and multiplying it
multi-generational and go to multiple
services and blah blah blah blah blah
and I just started I started saying what
I saw not not what I could see but what
I saw and and I started doing what
Romans tells us about about Abraham I
called those things that were not yeah
yeah and when’s the last time you called
something into existence that’s not here
right now
and I just want to show some people
because I know there’s some people that
are still skeptic I’m gonna show you a
video with the most horrible video
quality and even a more horrible sweater
that I was wearing okay but 2014 I stood
on this very stage and started declaring
what we are sitting in right now and I
want you to know that the vision of God
will come to pass this church is a
daughter to the grandeur to the great
great be able to sit on the same Road
and hear the word oh you’re gonna go
with us in the future you got to be
multi-generational there’ll be some
people on the stage we gray in their
hair
there’ll be some people in the Usher’s
that we’re in tattoos and not a nose
ring no I’m trying to lay it out cuz
when it starts happening that’s when
people start inching everybody wants to
reach souls until they start reaching
souls so we will be multi generations
saying we will be we will be most
generation multi generations be excited
about multi ethnicities coming into this
house but I want you to look at this
picture because this is what our church
is gonna look like in the next 24 months
and see the type of conversations that
are struck up between a 18 year old
black girl and a a UH a 50 year old
white businessman at a bank and be
shocked like how do you know them oh we
serve the same God if we go to the same
this is not my church she just asked me
to steward over it I’m watching another
man’s property we have to be
multi-campus
there will be an explosion of clothing I
mean right now you see some seats right
here y’all might a biggie here at nine
o’clock to get a seat in this place
we’re gonna go to two services please
record this because I’m about to show
you
we’re going to two services and we will
be in both services and I hear some
people even right now that boy just up
there dreaming up there saying
studied have got in this room got on
this computer just some types and stuff
and then try to make it official but put
it on the screen I want you to mark my
word but we gonna play we gonna rehearse
this vision over oh oh oh we did right
now we’re averaging about 600 people
coming then we get to a thousand we’re
gonna rejoice and then we’re gonna
rehearse what we talked about winning
for 600 and we get to 2000 2500 we’re
gonna rejoice and then we’re gonna
rehearse what was talked about when we
were 500 when we get to 20,000 this will
be a work of the spirit not by might nor
by power but by my spirit says the Lord
and we all get a chance and we give God
oh come on can we give God some praise
right there hallelujah God you are safe
your word comes to pass we are sitting
in the vision today y’all I got
goosebumps watching that I’m ready to go
do something watching myself because
those weren’t my words that I had to
hold up that was the Word of God coming
forth and I just want to tell you this
is just the beginning like like like
what God is about to do not through me
through us it’s about to change the
fabric of Tulsa the fabric of Oklahoma
the fabric of the United States and the
fabric of the world Tulsa will again be
the gathering place but it won’t be for
our Park it’s going to be for the will
of God and revival that is going to
happen I’m telling you and you record
again
mark my words that there will be
thousands of people that will come from
all over the world to see what God is
doing at this place and will be ignited
on fire and will take oh y’all better
hear me and they’re gonna take what
God’s done and then go start fires on
the East Coast and on the west coast and
that go across the pond and started in
England and in Ghana and in China
y’all better agree with me here what I’m
sayin transformation will not be a
church it’ll be a movement but he has to
build it on the faith of people’s who
can see it before they see it
that’ll give before they see it that’ll
serve before they see it see see yours
you’re here today because somebody had
not sight their vision and today I just
want to encourage you I feel the
presence of God that everything that God
shows you when your eyes are closed if
you listen you obey you write it down
and you find the pace of grace you can
be sitting in it look down your Road
there’s not one row with one ethnicity
on it there’s multi ethnicities down
every row on the north side of Tulsa
what a big black pastor
do you hear what I’m saying they said it
couldn’t be done but God says if I be
for you
hope know that the vision of God is
coming to pass so let me just give you
some updates I’m gonna run through these
cuz I’m so high right now and it’s just
the beginning of what God is doing here
let me tell you what God’s done and what
he’s doing right now let me give you
just a few updates the first update I
want to give you is I want to talk about
heart for the kingdom our children’s
ministry God put it on my heart to two
and a half years ago that we need to
start right raising funds to make the
most effective children’s ministry that
we could a lot of churches especially
churches in need areas don’t put a lot
of emphasis on the young people they put
the emphasis on people who can give and
God said reverse that I want you to
start putting money effort energy into
your children’s ministry so we started a
campaign to raise $200,000 to begin to
renovate our whole back area and it’s
already started y’all we’ve ways 160
thousand dollars of the 200 of y’all can
do better than that let’s give God
praise if you go back there right now
this is what its gonna begin to look
like in the next few months we’ve
already started they’re priming and
painting and patching and we want to
present our children in our nursys
nursery with the safest most effective
technology-driven cuz we’re gonna
represent remember don’t just have them
kids up there doing what we used to do
we got to keep moving it forward and
we’re gonna be able to do that because
of your generosity your faithfulness and
the kids of this community and your
children are not just going to be
represented we’re gonna present God to
them in a fun and loving way so they can
be transformed can we give God praise
for what he’s doing and our kids
ministry and y’all we haven’t really
talked about it in the past six months
God is going to wipe out the whole the
rest of that $200,000 and we believe
that God’s gonna take it beyond if God
speaks to your heart to do it go ahead
and do it because I’m telling you there
is a blessing for being on the inside of
the vision of what God’s doing and so
we’re so excited about that let me give
you a second update
I want to talk to you about our TC
Riverside campus and many of you know by
now but we have had two Church mergers
in the past year and I mean we we were
able to merge with Liberty World
Outreach and we got amazing outreach
pastors in the Humphreys and uh and then
later on in the year we were able to
merge with Eden Tulsa and got the Med
cast to be a part of what God is doing
and I want to tell you about that cuz
cuz I stood up here and I said we’re
opening the Riverside campus February
2018 and it’s February 2018 and the
rivers the campus is not open and I will
always be a man of integrity to stand up
here and tell you what’s going on
because I want you to know that we want
God to do a miracle at that campus and
God sent a word for us to strive to not
strive for anything but to start
following the pace of grace and God
spoke to me and confirmed it in our time
of prayer he said Michael I’m planning
you in a need area of Tulsa this church
is gonna be at 61st in Peoria and and
and most most people don’t even plan a
church they’re like why would you know I
mean this week I was over there praying
okay and somebody with the BB gun shot
out the back winch windshield of my car
and and I just got my car fixed the day
before and me and my friend a pastor
friend of mine were in there praying and
somebody tried to break into the campus
while we were in there praying and most
people would say is that a sign that
you’re not supposed to be there I said
no no that’s a sign that’s exactly oh
y’all don’t hear me that’s a sign that
is exactly where we’re supposed to be
[Applause]
it’s not enough to throw money at an
area they need somebody to plant there
and walk with them so God’s called us to
do that but he put it on my heart he
said Michael cuz we took out a loan to
be able to get the property and do all
this other stuff and God just through a
conversation with one of my friends he
challenged me and God told me he said
Michael I want to do this campus
debt-free I don’t want you to take a
million in five a two million dollar
renovation and property budget into a
need area
he said because then you wouldn’t be
trying to meet their needs you just be
trying to fund the vision he said so if
you have the faith to believe me I’m
gonna work a miracle and he said I’m
gonna allow you to start that campus
without owing anybody any money oh I
need somebody to believe with me so that
we can go in the sixty-first in Peoria
area and tell them to come and not even
ask them for anything
no no you don’t have to oh I don’t have
no money maybe we are food for you we
have help for you we have Jesus for you
you can now come on y’all I’m talking
about transformation and so what does
that mean when are we opening the
Riverside campus when God says to like
I’m not gonna be pressured by anybody
well we got it in editor when God will
provide Rick that’s when we’re gonna
open it and I’m leader enough to come up
here and say I was I was I was striving
before I God gave me the campus and you
know I thought you get it now you do
something with it but he said what if I
trusted you to Stewart over it for a
year or two can you hold it in good
quality until until it’s time and then
I’m gonna bring somebody to write the
check for the whole thing yes Lord I
will wait so as a church I want us to be
able to pray and start pleading the
blood of Jesus over that area and we’re
gonna have some prayer walks over there
and we’re gonna walk that community and
we’re gonna begin to establish the
kingdom of God in that place and tear
down straw y’all don’t get me high we’re
gonna tear down strongholds of poverty
and lack and drug abuse it all of that
other stuff because God wants us to be
light in the
darkness so that’s what’s happening with
transformation Church Riverside let me
give you another update I want to tell
you about the finances here at
transformation Church and some of you
saying pastor Mike why are you talk
about the finances because we’re open
and humble and a transparent Church we
want you to know how much money’s coming
in we want you to know what’s happening
with it and all of those different
things
and so this is something that we started
to do because I want to tell you the
faithfulness of God every person that
that does Church analytics tells you
that a church when they go through a
transition like we went through expect
for the money to go down for at least
two to three years and if it’s a good
transition it will come back up God
sustained us for three years at 1.2
million dollars coming in and something
like 1.2 million dollars that is not a
lot of money for what we do but God was
faithful and he said i’ma hold it right
here
people left people came more people left
more people came and God just held it he
said I’m not gonna let you fall from
this place and then last year he told us
he would take us beyond and he did it
this year because of your generosity and
what you have done we were able to bring
in an extra four hundred thousand
dollars in giving so that we could see
the kingdom of God advance you can give
God praise like this and what that does
is when when the hurricane happened in
Houston we didn’t have to take up an
offering we sent fifteen thousand
dollars and then another church called
we sent them three thousand dollars and
when people have needs we didn’t have to
come here and say y’all there’s a crisis
because 10 percent of everything that
comes in we put aside for missions and
we’ve given away over 650 seven thousand
dollars so far and y’all I cannot wait
till March cuz March we’re going to give
away just as a church we’re gonna give
away the largest amount of money over
the month of March that we’ve ever have
because of your faithfulness we’ve
stored up a lot of the missions money
and we are going to begin to sew it into
people all in the same up listen to what
I’m saying we’re gonna give at least a
hundred thousand dollars away Oh y’all
didn’t hear what I said
[Applause]
see see what you what you what you don’t
realize is that first year we were a
pastor I stood up and said hey guys
we’re gonna take one offering and
everything we raised in this offering
we’re gonna give away and we had faith
and we get we raised eight thousand
dollars in that offering and we went to
churches and to organization does
anybody remember when we did that we
went to churches and organizations and
we pay people’s house notes and we did
all that other stuff eight thousand
dollars three years later were able to
give a hundred thousand job will have to
rejoice with me but God’s you’re awesome
now hear what I’m saying and that’s
because of your generosity let me give
you one more update cuz I’m a five let
me tell you what else God has done he’s
growing our church like I don’t know if
you can tell but y’all parking on grass
right now
like and God is God is helping us manage
this and we’re trying to get everything
into place but but we we’re growing
everywhere the first place we’re growing
as our influence on YouTube we post our
messages every week and you know a
hundred to four hundred to a thousand
people started watching and all that
other stuff and in December first this
year okay there were five thousand four
hundred and seventeen people subscribing
and for everybody who doesn’t know that
that means when we post something it
sends an email to them saying hey
transformation church put some up you
said watch it in less than 60 days when
we decided to start striding when we
realize that less is when we stopped
trying to make a name for ourselves as
of today at least first service because
it’s probably more right now eighty two
thousand four hundred and Ariana really
what that means is we’re representing
what God says going to all the world
gets where we’re going to people’s
offices to people’s cell phones when
we’re preaching we’re not just preaching
to who’s in here we’re preaching to the
world they’re texting us from Ghana and
and places you gotta stand and young
dangan don’t I don’t mean I’m literally
out the places I don’t even know how to
pronounce yet that people are being
affected by transformation church and
it’s your faithfulness and your giving
and your participation that is helping
that can I help you that literally when
we post a service online last week over
twenty thousand people watched it in six
days no no I need y’all to hear me so
that means that the Word of God went
past this stage into you then into those
cameras and and check this out guess how
many people were watching online last
week okay but she heard it four thousand
they were watching online
this one says 3156 that’s wrong it was
over four thousand they’re watching
online can we hide to our online CC
family right now
do y’all give it up for them we love you
we believe in you we support you we want
you to be a part of what God is doing
but God is growing us and he’s not just
going us out there he’s growing us in
here y’all look at this
our attendance January at the beginning
of January was 908 people 30 days later
fourteen hundred and forty nine people
in a weekend what I’m trying to tell you
is when we decided that less was more
and we were gonna follow the pace of
grace God breathed on everything we did
he said what I’m trying to tell you if
you get this concept in Revelation
because God never does anything for his
house that he doesn’t want to do for
your house use like I God I can’t give
up this job he said less is more
let me be Jehovah Jireh your provider
let me give up one of those jobs you
doing six things and don’t have no time
God says trust me believe me and keep
tithing and keep sowing and keeps up and
guess what I’ll do I’ll open up the
windows of heaven
and I’ll pour you out a blessing you
don’t even have room enough to receive
we are experiencing this and to put it
into context
they say that 7% church growth is
healthy and amazing we’ve grown over
seven-d percent in the past year 7% is
healthy but not by power not by might
not by marketing not by a plan it’s been
by the Spirit of God amen and let me
tell you this last thing I said it in
the video which I already know ain’t no
room for nobody else in this service
they asked you I need some of y’all I
need a hundred of y’all to really commit
to go into first service because there
are people that are gonna be at the club
or they’re gonna be working or they’re
gonna be whatever and they need to come
to the later service and there’s no room
for them to sit down and if the enemy
will use anything to detour them from
transformation I’ll know they know room
there I just don’t like to people I
don’t like Casa phobic let’s make some
room let’s commit to coming to our first
service and getting up a little earlier
you get to have brunch you won’t even
miss lunch you get to have brunch but
we’ve decided as a staff that a hundred
and fifty more people in our first
service and it looks like this we got to
go to a third service y’all and we put
out another container for God to feel
and so what I’m saying to you is God is
doing this this is my favorite number
right here that over the past year we
decided to start documenting salvations
and we do this to see transformation in
Christ and six hundred and sixty-eight
people gave their life that’s why we did
that’s why we pray that’s why we come we
saw six hundred and sixty eight people
come to Jesus guys that’s why we do what
we do but what I want you to realize is
it’s time for you to be a part of it
because some of us are saying that’s
great the transformation church did that
you’re a transformation Church this is
not about a building or an organization
it’s about an organism and God says what
can you do for some of you you need to
get activated you need to join this
church and say this year I’m gonna plant
I’m gonna put my roots down I’ve been
wandering I’ve been a gypsy I’ve been a
nomad I’ve been dating y’all but I’m
gonna make a decision to go through
activate right after service you can go
back there 30 minutes or where is it
it’s over here just it’s gonna be in the
VIP room today join the church take 30
minutes in god I’m gonna plant and I’m
gonna take a step towards being used by
you for others of you you need to get in
the community you need to belong next
week I start a new sermon series called
the inner circle y’all do not want to
miss this but it’s talking about
connection and right community and many
of you you can live in so isolated or
you’ve been living and trying to change
with all the same people around you and
you just keep falling in cycles but God
wants to help you join a B group and
somebody I want to take another step you
don’t just want to join a B group it’s
time for you to lead one you can say
gone what’s my next I am I am better
when I’m leading other people you don’t
have to be perfect you have to be
progressing and some of you want to open
your home and get with people it doesn’t
matter where you’re at God wants to use
you if that’s you I want you to go to
classroom one after service and say you
know what I’m gonna hear about becoming
a be group facilitator cuz we’re
starting those hearing just about a week
Caleb I’ll meet you back there but we
want you to get plugged into the vision
because God wants you not to just be a
participant or a patron he wants you to
be a participant
some of you need to start serving cuz
I’m like why are you telling us this
because the vision now requires you
the reason we can’t go to a third
service yet because we don’t have enough
volunteers it would be unhealthy for us
to ask all of our children’s workers to
be here from 8 o’clock to 3 o’clock
because that’s what’s gonna have to
happen if we have three services but if
we could adopt the concept that every
week we come to a service and we serve
at a service yeah nobody would be burnt
out everybody would be excited and we’d
be able to bring people into the kingdom
God in droves the season for you sitting
well I don’t know what I’m supposed to
do way that’s somebody and say hi hold
the sign clean the bathrooms straighten
the chairs work in the a/v you learn how
to do the camera if you do graphics or
if you can do marketing or if you can do
social media if where you can roll up a
cord if you can pray like join the print
like be a part start serving with what
God’s doing because the harvest is ripe
but the laborers are few
and everybody’s one of Tonk it’s harvest
time it’s harvest time if you talk to a
farmer harvest time is the hardest part
because you got to go pick what you
planted and what you don’t reap rots and
I will not stand here it allowed the
promises of God to come to pass and we
let it rock because there was not enough
of us who had sacrificed to get a part
of the game so I’m asking you to serve
and the last thing I’m asking everybody
do is give it takes a lot of money to do
what we’re trying to do and we’ve been
doing it on a shoestring budget for the
for the amount of people that we have
and what we need we need more staff
members we need more missions dollars we
need all of that stuff but God’s asking
us he said can I do it through you some
of you have been enjoying this thing but
you said I’m not gonna give yet like I
don’t know I don’t know if they listen
we’ve shown you everything here we are
we just want to see people transform but
we need your support if you’re watching
online right now 3,000 of y’all or how
many of a thousand of y’all if this
ministry is
changing your life give because if we
can get together we can have more to
expand the kingdom of God amen amen
so fast so might you just want more
people in this place yes I want more
people because people have stories and
if we have stories we see transformation
see ry is not numbers ry is people
people like Amber and AG I want you to
see on why they were standing here today
ministering on the platform together but
that’s not where they always were what
your giving and your participation and
an atmosphere of love creates as a place
for a couple like Amber and AG who five
years ago were on the brink of divorce
they sent right over here at one service
and I saw them like I remember one of
them got up and ran out the building
because the other was found out in a lie
they were in church and I found out
later I mean just all kinds of stuff
happening and the enemy tried to take
them out but they said I’m gonna come to
this church I’m gonna get playing it
here I’m gonna start I’m gonna start
getting around people who will help us
I’ll get in a community I’ll get an
accountability I’m gonna start giving
I’m gonna start believing my faith is
gonna be bolstered he started a business
of men’s grooming business out of that
one of the leading barbershops in our
city now they just celebrated for years
yesterday their marriage is healing and
a whole their family is beautiful and
this is what I’m telling you they’re
leading us in worship because we were
able to create a place for them to be
transformed this is our life our why are
people like Vicky and Bill this is Vicky
and Bill and they came here a few years
ago and their marriage was horrible and
they said you know what we’re gonna give
this one last shot at a church called
transformation and you know what world
standards say bill and Vicky don’t look
like they go to transformation shirts
come on
if if you saw them and said that’s my
pastor up there and ripped up jeans and
high-top tennis shoes but God doesn’t
care about the package if the content
works bill and Vicki got in counseling
and accountability with some of the
people here at transformation church and
their lives have been totally
transformed bill a few months ago
rededicated his life to God and last
week this is a picture of them getting
baptized together a new life in Christ
has come that is our why that’s why we
give that’s why we serve that’s what we
love that’s why we’re here and ry is
extending beyond the four corners of
this wall we get thousands of stories
now that we don’t even have time to sift
through but I want to read you one story
of a young lady that doesn’t even go to
this church and how your generosity and
your faith and the atmosphere of love
that we have created has transformed her
life listen to this and we’re going home
she said dear transformation Church this
is to us I wanted to send you this email
to tell you how much your church has
done for me as a member of City Church
which is another church in the city
earlier this year our past from accent
around the table with other Tulsa
pastors and shine the light on the
heartbreak our city is going through a
racial tension without that video I
would never even have known that your
church exists a girl from our small
group posted on Facebook week six of
your relationship goal series called sex
container that little title caught my
eye as I listened to the sermon driving
to work the truth radiating from the
word Pastor Mike was speaking shook me
to my core at age 19 I begin an affair
with a married man 15 years older than
me at that time I wanted so badly to be
loved and believed that that was the way
to do it I grew up in church so I knew
it was wrong yet the soult I begin to
form so tightly lit around my heart and
it
stronger than any pool I ever desire
I’ve ever known in my life the affair
tore my family completely apart for two
years I had no communication with my
family no communication with friends and
no communication with community that
helped raise me I believed I was happy
and I sacrificed so much to be with
someone I thought loved me fast forward
to when I was 21 while in the same
relationship excessive drinking and drug
use become became common I was going out
and partying was the lifestyle it became
a regular occurrence and the next thing
I know the relationship had become
physically and emotionally abusive I say
all that to fast forward to today
through city church God’s grace and my
relentless love for my family I’m in a
much better place no longer in that
relationship being so young and going
through that it shaped me it was so hard
to hear Pastor Mike mentioned that many
of you have these soul ties that you’re
trying so hard to go forward but you
feel like there’s a weight and there’s
strings that are keeping you back so
last Sunday night I decided to let those
soul ties go along with many other
things that have been holding me down I
was so scared and fearful to walk up to
that fire that’s her detox burning I had
his name written on a piece of paper and
I remember standing with tears streaming
down my face I was about to let go of
all I had ever known as an adult I knew
it wasn’t good I knew it wasn’t healthy
but it was where I found myself and if I
threw him into the fire I felt if if I
was going to lose myself I had a diamond
necklace he gave me when I was 20 years
old I wore it around my neck every day
for four years Sunday night I decided to
throw it into the fire I threw away my
past my hurt my shame and guilt along
with that necklace it was symbolic of a
chain around my throat
keeping me bound to the soul tie and I
choked it into the fire I want to say
I’m I won’t say I’m still not scared at
times that I won’t make mistakes but I
wanted your church and your community to
know that you are changing my life your
sermons have begun to repair the
foundations I built my life on that were
cracked and in shambles and I am
building my life on the foundation and
the freedom found only in Jesus Christ I
am no longer the woman who had an affair
I am no longer woman who has starred and
was left I am no longer the woman who
was bound by my past my past is behind
me and I am loved I am forgiven and I am
free Thank You transformation Church
from the bottom of my heart I’ll never
be the same
Hannah can we give God
no that’s what you are part of God we
give you glory God we thank you
[Applause]