Day 8 of the Fast - Day after Boom

What a awesome victory we experience last night at GRAVITYyouthchurch. 320 students and 60 students received salvation. God's power was there and people's lives were changed. Jesus is awesome!

I just wanted to encourage you today that your fasting and praying is paying off. God is up to something much bigger than ourselves. Make sure that you are placing yourself right in the middle of it. God is only beginning something amazing at GRAVITY. Don't stop, don't let up, don't let your guard down for one moment. Understand that you will continue to have Victory in your life if you keep your eyes and your heart fixed on Jesus. We must be passionately in love with Jesus! Press in like never before. Tomorrow our Daniel fast starts!!!

So proud of you GRAVITYyouthchurch!

Pastor Jesse Norman

FASTING

Today is Day 6 of our 14 days of fasting and Day 2 of our food fast. I just wanted to encourage you to press in like never before. Pour yourself out so that God can fill you with His presence. We be the generation that is going to carry the presence of God into darkness. God is light and he wants us to have our lamps burning and shining brightly. Be light to someone today!

I will be praying for you all. May your fasting tear down the walls that are standing in front of you!

Pastor Jesse Norman

BOOM "Double In A Day"

This Wed. is going to be a event to remember. BOOM is going to be packed full of students praising God and people getting saved. Students have been working their High Schools for weeks and are running with the vision that God has given us.

The 14 Day fast is going to bring such breakthrough to GRAVITY. You won't want to miss out on this event. Be here at 5:30 for the tailgate party!!!

GOD IS GOING TO GET THE GLORY THIS WEEK. LET'S LIFT UP THE NAME OF JESUS!

Pastor Jesse

14 Day Fast until 'VISION" Fall Renewal '09

We are about to enter into a time of prayer and fasting for 14 Days starting this Wed. Night. I believe that God is going to release something awesome on GRAVITYyouthchurch over the next month. I am challenging everyone to join into this time of fighting for the Vision God has given us for the city of Omaha.

In the bible Daniel had to fight for his answer to pray. The answer to Daniel's prayers was being hindered by the enemy, so he decided to humble himself, fast, and pray. We are wanting God to breakthrough in the city of Omaha, High Schools, and at GRAVITYyouthchurch. So we are going to fast and pray for the purpose of releasing the Vision God has given us for this city.

The next month is going to be awesome. With BOOM, VISION, and then DO UNTO OTHERS coming up we need to be prepared for all that God is going to do. Get yourself ready and chase after the purposes of God like never before.

- Pastor Jesse

The CADRE has started

THE CADRE

The CADRE started this week and I am so excited for all that God is doing. I believe that God is position the leadership and the students of GRAVITY for a time of growth like never before. God has brought us the finest groups of interns that I have ever been around or worked with. There is so much Destiny and Purpose in everyone of them. It is going to be amazing to watch over the next year and see each one of them begin to take ground and enter into their own promise land.

The CADRE has started in an awesome time in the history of GRAVITYyouthchurch. We are about to enter a season of CAMPUSconnect ministry like never before. With BOOM and "VISION" coming up it is going to be a amazing first couple of month. I am believing that GRAVITY is about to blow up like never before. See you all this week at 9.9.9 for our CAMPUSconnect launch.

- P. Jesse

"5" COMPEL NIGHT - God is doing something!

Over the next three weeks some great things are going to be happening at GRAVITYyouthchurch. We are ending the school year full steam. Many times when we come to the end of a season we check out. The thing is the way you end one season is the way that you will enter the next. What I am saying is that the way we end this school year is the way that we will enter next year. I feel that God is wanting to do some amazing things at the end of this school year. Here is the schedule of events:

May 6th - Papio South High

May 13th - Papio North High

May 20th - Benson High School

I believe that God want hundreds of new students to come to "5" and encounter the power of God. I am challenging you all to believe and to pray that God does more than we could ever dream. Start working on those that you are trying to bring. Everyone have "5" people there, it is going to be a awesome month. I love what God is doing at GRAVITY.

- p. jesse

CONNECT with GOD - Dreams and Vision are given!

CONNECT with GOD. It is the first step in the GRAVITYyouthchurch vision. without a connection with God nothing has purpose. God speaks to His people through dreams and visions. You will never receive a vision from God unless you are connected with Him. Lets look at two things that will help you as a leader and you CONNECTgroup stay connected with God.

1. Worship - The entertaining and welcoming of God's presence. Worship is always the first step in connecting with God is a real way. Worship is what you give you time, money, and attention to. If you did a time management sheet, you would find out what you really worship. You connection with God will be directly tied to you level of worship.

2. Prayer - In my personal opinion prayer is worship with the purpose of not just glorifying Jesus, but furthering His kingdom. Prayer is often times fuel by your point of complaint. Some people think that a point of complaint is a bad thing. I can tell you that it is not. In fact you point of complaint is the place of your prayer breakthrough and revolution. 

Just want to challenge you today how is your prayer life, and what has your time or worship. God is calling everyone of us to a new level of commitment, but your commitment will become stronger when your priorities begin to change. We must be leaders that have the right priorities. We must ask ourselves today is my whole heart sold out to Jesus and His calling. 

Love you all. It is going to be a rockin couple of weeks at GRAVITY. 3 high school and alot of Jesus. It is going to be a great time. 

P. Jesse

GRAVITYvision

Hey everyone. Today I was wanting to take sometime and talk more about the GRAVITYvision. We talked in leadership this Sunday about 3 things.

CONNECT with GOD

CONNECT with PEOPLE

CONNECT with PURPOSE

These three things have to be the cry of our hearts as leaders in the church. We must be connected with God in a really and powerful way. We must remember as leaders that we must continually grow our relationship with God. Remember that growth does not come unless you make a choice to stretch yourself and to do things that make you uncomfortable. Many of us as leaders know all the right things to say, but our level of commitment and dedication shows otherwise. Please don't just read over that last line. Think about your life and you commitment to connecting with God. You cannot say that you are committed to connecting with God and not share the same values as He does. God values faithfulness, trust, character, and servanthood. How is your faithfulness. When is the last time that you went the extra mile in your relationship with God.

Tomorrow, I will be writing about connecting with people. Connecting with people will happen naturally when you are connecting with God. When you connected with God you will begin to find love in your heart for others like never before. It is going to be a great season coming up, but we as leaders have to go to a new place. Love you all!

p. Jesse

IT HAS BEEN TO LONG!

Hey Everyone! It has been along time since I have written a blog. It has been a couple of crazy weeks. The name change of the youth ministry was a lot of work, but so worth it. I am so excited to see what God is beginning to do in GRAVITYyouthchurch.  Today I wanted to begin to talk about the vision of GRAVITYyouthchurch. 

1. GRAVITY is more than a name, it is our Identity!

a. We are called to be the Gravity of God everywhere we go. People should be drawn to us!

b. God has given us a vision of one youth church in many locations. A once a month GRAVITATION night will be a big part of keeping the vision strong every month.

2. GRAVITYvision is going to be amazing!

a. At the beginning of this school year in August we will launch the full vision of GRAVITYyouthchurch. 

b. We will be relaunching cell groups as CONNECTgroups and CAMPUSconnect ministries.

c. We will be unveiling the vision of CONNECTING with 3 things

CONNECT with GOD

CONNECT with PEOPLE

CONNECT with PURPOSE

d. We will also be launching 2 discipleship courses called

- GRAVITYgenetics

- GRAVITYvision

e. We will be looking to plant our first satellite campus in Papillion. We are working with Papio South on getting a weekly service on campus.

3. 2009 School Year is going to rock your socks off!

There is so much more to talk about. It is going to be a great summer of preparation. I am so excited to see God move in a powerful way in Omaha, NE. I challenge you to begin to take ownership of the vision. We are going to EMPOWER THIS GENERATION!

Chasing Him,

P. Jesse

GENERATION TO GENERATION

Was sitting in my office thinking that it has been awhile since I wrote a blog. So here I am thinking about what to write???? Still thinking??? Ok! I figured something out. Can you guess what it is going to be about??? That is right -- LEADERSHIP!

Leadership is just one of those things that makes me tick. I love to read about it, learn about it, and teach it to other people. I believe that great leadership is what separates people from the pack. It is what makes the difference between someone who loves God, and someone who truly makes a difference even beyond his own life time. You see, the impact that you make today effects your tomorrow.  Today lets look at the story of Elijah and Elisha and the passing on of leadership to the next generation.

Many people make some kind of difference in their lifetime. It is said that even the most introverted person on the earth will influence 10,000 people during their lifetime. So you are bound to have some kind of impact in someone's life. But few people take the time about being purposeful with the people that they will influence in their lifetime. Today I want to share with you a few key points that I have come across when looking for someone to pour into. 

1. Mutual Vision

Followers do not naturally line up with a leader whose vision they don't respect. Both Elijah and Elisha possessed a vision to serve God for the sake of their generation. When Elisha had the opportunity to leave His old life of farming and follow Elijah's vision and leadership he did it. 

2. Mutual Expectation

Mutual Expectation develops naturally from mutual vision. Both Elijah and Elisha expected to do great things for God. That is why Elisha was a great choice to pass the baton to. He want the same things that Elijah did.

3. Mutual Contribution 

Individuals follow leaders because they believe those leaders can take them where they want to go. Leaders enlist followers because they understand that followers help them to realize their vision. Both people in the relationship need to learn to play their role and to grow off of each other. 

4. Mutual Commitment

Without strong mutual commitment, leaders and followers cannot achieve their mutual goals. As Elijah neared the end of his leadership, Elisha renewed his commitment to his mentor. Three times when Elijah offered to release his protege, Elisha respond, "I will not leave you!". Elijah's commitment to Elisha had grown equally strong, culminating in his offer to do whatever he could for his servant-including the blessing of a double portion of his spirit. 

All four of these things need to be present when looking for someone to pass the baton to. Remember if you are not developing someone to take your place you can never go up. 

P. Jesse

Leadership Summit - WE is always better than ME

Building a great team is the difference between people that are good and people that are great. A dream that can be accomplished by one person is a dream that is too small. In ministry, people are the most valuable asset that you have. So, that is where you as a leader need to spend your time. Many people choose not to grow a team because it is hard work. My prayer is that myself and the leaders that are around me are the kind of people that build a team and learn to multiply themselves through those that are around them. 

That is my heart for this Leadership Summit. More than going to Mall of America to have fun, I want to go there to make a difference. We are going to work hard at learning how to dream, work, and function as a team. We are also going to be purposeful with growing ourselves in the area of mentoring and leading a team. I am excited to see what God is going to do over the next 4 days and I hope you are too. May we be the kind of people that rise to the challenge that God has laid before us for 2009. 

P. Jesse